"If I'd known, I would have listened to my seniors earlier," the jujutsu sorcerer's blurry vision began to clear. Despite the bitterness in his heart, he knew he had no choice but to continue.
"This is all I can do!" The sorcerer took a deep breath, prepared to sacrifice himself, and quickly formed hand seals: "Great Binding Curse Technique - Full Ground Prison!"
"This has to work!"
The sorcerer shouted as intense purple light erupted between his hands. Cages of purple cursed energy appeared out of thin air above the cursed spirit and rapidly slammed down.
Boom!
With a thunderous noise, the ground cracked as the massive body of the cursed spirit was crushed under the purple cages, unable to move.
"Did it work?" The sorcerer was astonished. He had assumed the technique would fail, but somehow, it succeeded.
The gray-haired curse user squinted his eyes. "All your techniques are binding curses. Are you from the Tokyo Binding Society?"
"Heh, I'm just an unworthy sorcerer from their ranks. Don't think all of us are this weak," the sorcerer slowly stood up, now feeling a sense of fulfillment. Even though his death was imminent, he had managed to cast a technique he had never been able to before.
Although he still had regrets, this was the best outcome he could hope for.
"How laughable! The Tokyo Binding Society focuses on restraints. While your bloodline might be special, your combat abilities are pathetic. Even if you trapped it, what good does it do? You haven't even fully restrained it!"
The gray-haired curse user clasped his hands together. "Spirit Manipulation Technique - Crush!"
Roar!
The cursed spirit's eyes turned blood-red, and its body began to swell as tremendous power surged through it. Under this immense force, cracks began to form in the purple cages holding it.
"Still too weak," the jujutsu sorcerer laughed at himself bitterly. While he had managed to cast 'Full Ground Prison,' it wasn't the real version. If the society's leader had been here, they would have completely trapped the spirit.
Boom!
A resounding crash echoed as the cursed spirit broke free of the purple cages with sheer force and charged toward the jujutsu sorcerer with even greater power.
The sorcerer stood still, closing his eyes. He had no more cursed energy left. That last technique had used up everything he had.
Bam!
The cursed spirit's fist came crashing down, but after a few seconds, the sorcerer didn't feel the pain of death. He slowly opened his eyes.
In front of him stood a figure clad in deep blue armor, blocking the cursed spirit's deadly strike.
The cursed spirit's powerful, seemingly fatal punch was stopped in its tracks, unable to advance further. The force of the blow seemed to be absorbed by the armor, vanishing into an endless abyss.
"Not much of a punch," Hayashi sneered, pushing the cursed spirit's fist aside. He then raised his leg and delivered a powerful kick to the cursed spirit's abdomen.
Boom!
The kick, infused with a faint blue light, struck the cursed spirit's stomach, causing it to cave in. The spirit was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the distance.
The gray-haired curse user hadn't even realized what had happened. In the blink of an eye, another person had appeared and sent his cursed spirit flying.
"Who are you?" The curse user's face turned serious. That kick was clearly no ordinary strike. It felt familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Hayashi didn't respond to his question. Instead, he turned to the jujutsu sorcerer. "You okay?"
"I'm not dead yet," the sorcerer responded instinctively, then quickly added, "Thank you for saving me, senpai. I would've been dead if not for you."
"That's good. Rest for now; I'll handle the rest," Hayashi said as he stepped forward, his armor gleaming, making him look like a god of war.
As for the bald middle-aged man nearby, he had already fainted.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What does matter is that you, a curse user, are bold enough to openly cast a 'Curtain.' Aren't you afraid of being discovered?" Hayashi asked as he walked forward.
Just as the curse user was about to ask another question, a female voice interrupted him. Turning around, he saw a woman blocking the entrance.
Zhang Yiyi was slightly puzzled. Just a moment ago, Hayashi had been running beside her, but suddenly, he had vanished. Now she saw him here, as if he had teleported. She couldn't figure out how he did it. This kid had a lot of secrets.
"Damn it!" The curse user's face grew darker. These two sorcerers had appeared out of nowhere, and both seemed formidable. The one who had kicked his cursed spirit must be at least a semi-Grade 1 or even a Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer. If the woman was also a Grade 1, he was in serious trouble.
"The range of the 'Curtain' must have been too broad, covering other sorcerers in the area," he thought, trying to rationalize how two powerful sorcerers had shown up in such a remote, in-between area.
"Sister Yiyi, I'll handle the cursed spirit. You take care of the curse user," Hayashi said with a grin. This was a Grade 1 cursed spirit, and it didn't seem like an ordinary one. The points for this would be significant.
"You're already giving me orders now, huh?" Zhang Yiyi raised an eyebrow but wasn't actually bothered. Taking on two opponents would've been tough, so splitting the fight made sense.
"Thanks, Sister Yiyi," Hayashi joked, clasping his hands together in a mock bow.
"You two dividing up the tasks already? I haven't even said my piece yet!" The curse user's face twisted into a scowl. "If you want to die so badly, I'll gladly oblige!"
Curse users weren't all that different from jujutsu sorcerers in essence, but curse users specialized in manipulating curses and dark techniques, often using underhanded and ruthless methods. Sorcerers at the same level frequently found themselves at a disadvantage against curse users. And curse users, compared to cursed spirits, were even more despicable, as they had chosen to fall from grace.
"Spirit Manipulation Technique - Curse Strengthening."
"Spirit Manipulation Technique - Curse Weakening."
"Reversal Technique - Fusion!"
The curse user continuously formed hand seals, and the cursed spirit, which had been kicked away by Hayashi, suddenly surged with power. The energy it released filled the entire factory.
"He's using a desperate method to rapidly increase the cursed spirit's power. After one use, it'll collapse. Hayashi, be careful!" Zhang Yiyi immediately recognized what was happening.
"Quite the keen eye. Without this, I'd stand no chance against you two. So what if I sacrifice one cursed spirit?" The curse user might have sounded confident, but he was pained by the thought of losing his Grade 1 cursed spirit. It was rare to find one of that caliber.
Hayashi shrugged. "How strong could it get? Can it become special grade?"
"Special grade?" The curse user was taken aback. This kid was cocky, mentioning special grades so casually. If it could reach special grade, why would he still be here?
"Its strength has increased significantly but hasn't reached semi-special grade yet," Zhang Yiyi noted, surprised by Hayashi's comment. This kid, straight out of Jujutsu High, was casually talking about special grades. Did everyone from Jujutsu High have special grade-level powers?
"Ha!" Hayashi chuckled, pointing at the enraged cursed spirit. "Not even semi-special grade? And you dare show your face like this?"