Maki knew it was a cursed spirit making the move. She immediately retreated and, following Akira's advice, put on her glasses.
Although after a period of self-punishing training, she had developed the ability to sense the general presence of cursed spirits even without glasses, she could only locate them vaguely. She still needed her special glasses, imbued with cursed energy, to see the details of their shape, size, and appearance.
And then, she saw it.
The massive figure looming behind Okkotsu Yuta, nearly taking over the entire blackboard.
It had human-like hands, with its chest sunken as though it had been struck hard. Its ribs were visible through its skin. The upper part of its face, like Gojo Satoru's, was obscured, but instead of a mask, this cursed spirit had what appeared to be a mass of flesh covering its face. The lower part of its face, however, was all too clear—sharp fangs lined a grotesquely large mouth, giving it a demonic appearance.
Even though the spirit hadn't fully materialized, its presence, pressure, and sheer cursed energy far exceeded any cursed spirit Maki had ever encountered. This included the giant caterpillar-like creature from her first encounter with Akira, which had nearly killed her.
No explanation was needed—just from its overwhelming aura, she could tell it was a special grade.
The cursed spirit crushed Maki's weapon with ease but didn't stop there. Its other hand reached forward, aiming to grab the one responsible for "bullying" Yuta.
As its fingers sliced through the air, distorting the atmosphere, desks, chairs, and anything in its path were reduced to splinters.
Seeing this, Maki finally understood how Okkotsu Yuta had managed to stuff four students into lockers barely big enough for two, yet leave them only severely injured rather than dead.
The cursed spirit attached to him had transcended ordinary attacks, reaching a level where even casual strikes were equivalent to a full-fledged curse technique—similar to a powerful attack with a devastating follow-up strike.
For someone like Maki, who relied purely on close combat, this was the worst possible opponent.
At the critical moment, Akira stepped in.
Having been silently observing the whole time, he grabbed a desk, infused it with cursed energy, and hurled it at the giant hand.
With a loud bang, the desk shattered instantly, but the combined force of Akira's cursed energy and physical strength managed to halt the special grade cursed spirit's attack.
The impact caused Akira to stagger backward until he bumped into something soft. He turned and saw Maki looking away. "Thanks."
"No need to thank me," Maki replied curtly, averting her gaze. Akira couldn't help but smile. Was this what they meant by good deeds being rewarded?
Undeterred by its failed attack, the special grade cursed spirit revealed more of its body. One hand protected Okkotsu Yuta, while the other flexed its fingers, its voice chillingly innocent yet deeply unsettling: "Do you want to play with Rika?"
"Wait, Rika! Don't come out!" Yuta finally snapped out of his daze and tried desperately to stop the cursed spirit's rampage.
But Akira waved his hand dismissively. "Let her stretch a bit. It's fine to play for a little while."
Having exorcised hundreds of cursed spirits, Akira had yet to face a true powerhouse. He had allowed things to escalate to this point because he wanted to test his own strength against a formidable opponent.
And there was no better candidate than Rika Orimoto, the special grade cursed spirit.
Besides, with Gojo Satoru present and Ieiri Shoko nearby at Jujutsu High, there was zero risk involved.
Akira glanced at Gojo's iconic white hair to ensure he had no objections. Satisfied, he punched a hole through the classroom wall.
"It's too cramped in here. Let's take this outside to play. Gardevoir, Psychic."
"Sha~" Gardevoir's petite form lifted into the air as she enveloped Akira, Yuta, and Rika Orimoto in a swirl of psychic energy, sending them flying outside.
Yuta, having never experienced anything like this before, fell into a dazed, weak-kneed state once again.
In contrast, Rika seemed delighted, clapping her hands and exclaiming, "We're flying! So much fun!"
Gardevoir's expression soured.
This was the first time she had ever seen anyone completely resist her psychic control and move normally.
In the past, whenever Gardevoir used her psychic energy, her enemies were forcibly restrained. Even if they could move, they would be heavily hindered.
Gojo was the exception. Her psychic energy couldn't even latch onto him; it was deflected entirely.
Akira gently patted Gardevoir's head. "That's a special grade cursed spirit for you. Not so easy to deal with. Don't hold back this time—give it everything you've got."
"Sha~sha!" Gardevoir's resolve strengthened, her confusion turning into determination.
Instead of her usual Psychic, she switched to a new move she had learned after reaching level 42.
Move: Psystrike.
It was an upgraded version of Psychic—stronger, more precise, and nearly twice the range and destructive power. The result was an exponential increase in overall effectiveness.
Even though Akira had gained more Pokémon since joining Jujutsu High, the frequency of battles hadn't decreased. In fact, Gardevoir's rate of gaining experience had only accelerated, thanks to Akira's newly unlocked Trainer Blueprint: Green.
Green, one of the protagonists from the first three volumes of Pokémon Adventures, had been dubbed "The Trainer" by Professor Oak. The system translated this trait into a simple but potent effect—increased experience gain.
As Gardevoir prepared to unleash her move, Akira warned, "Yuta, step back. You don't want to get caught in this."
"Ah, right! Be careful! Rika is really strong!" Yuta shouted as he ran for safety, still kind-hearted despite the chaos.
"Got it."
Facing Rika Orimoto was no joke. A single mistake could spell disaster for both Akira and Gardevoir.
Akira took a deep breath, reached into his backpack, and pulled out an ancient sword—a cursed tool he had selected from the school's arsenal.
While hand-to-hand combat was convenient, when it came to raw destructive power, cursed tools were unmatched. This meant Akira was now fully prepared for battle.
Additionally, this cursed tool had a special effect.
With a slash through the air, a crescent-shaped energy wave flew toward Rika.
Infused with cursed energy, the long-range slash mimicked the effect of a sword beam—a rare feature of a grade 1 cursed tool.
Just like Jujutsu sorcerers, cursed tools had a ranking system, ranging from Grade 4 to Grade 1 and finally Special Grade. The lower the number, the higher the value, with the rarest cursed tools costing billions.
For reference, Toji Fushiguro had sold his son, Megumi, to the Zenin clan for 1 billion yen, enough to buy only two Special Grade cursed tools.
As the sword's energy wave descended, Gardevoir's Psystrike followed, a pure psychic blast cutting through the air with a terrifying sound.
Facing such an attack, Rika didn't dodge. Instead, she raised her hands and caught it head-on.
Even as the force of Psystrike pushed her into the ground and her arms and chest deformed from the impact, she managed to hold her ground.
"Unbelievable."
Akira couldn't help but blurt out in astonishment.
He knew Rika was strong, but not this strong. She could take on Gardevoir's current best move without flinching.
With her body quickly regenerating thanks to the nature of cursed spirits, Rika's injuries were superficial. In the blink of an eye, she was back to full strength, with barely any reduction in cursed energy. And this wasn't even her final form.
Using cursed energy to restore her body, Rika, who had previously only manifested her upper half, now revealed her full form.
Her lower half matched her upper body, with thick, muscular limbs, devilish claws, and cursed energy that flowed like blood.
Even Gojo Satoru remarked, "Scary, scary. That's Rika Orimoto in her full form."
She was truly the pinnacle of cursed spirits.
Now, her attention was fixed on Gardevoir.
"Red… Rika likes red."
And Gardevoir's pendant is red.