章節 18: Finger Bearer (II)
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"My blade… cries."
From afar it looked human for the most part, wearing a bright red and white hakama alongside a crimson-red kabuto. A plated half face-mask representing that of some sort of demon of myth, and body armor similar to what samurai wore during the Edo period.
It wielded an unnaturally lengthy blade that seemed to reach almost two meters in length, with a scarlet light eliminating from it as it surged with cursed energy.
And most strikingly of all, it had no face. Or rather it did, but the features that were supposed to be present were not. No eyes, no nose, no mouth, nothing.
Just blank skin, that was it.
There was even something wrong about the way it moved, each and every step felt awfully wobbly. Like a child trying to take its first steps.
Even its arm trembled endlessly, made clear through the audible chattering of its armor.
"You…"
It groggily raised its blade, pointing its tip towards Ginko.
"Will you… satiate… my blade?"
Ginko smiled, unsheathing the katana Kusakabe had given him and allowing it to course with cursed energy. Without breaking it this time, that was. "No idea, wanna find out?" It was clear that he still didn't have any grasp on actual swordplay, but he insisted on using his sword nonetheless.
"I… see."
Kusakabe grew perplexed, noticing that all the pressure the cursed spirit had been exuding vanished. "Huh?" He blurted out.
The reason being, right now it was focusing all its pressure on Ginko. Allowing him to feel the full weight of the monster he was trying to challenge.
"You're Special-grade alright." Chills ran down his spine as his body began to perspire in spite of what his mind felt. His shoulders slumped ever so slightly as it felt like boulders were crashing down on him. The twitching of his hand grew so uncontrollable that he had to stop it by force.
"Is… your answer… still… the same?"
"Yup, now quit talking and just come at me already. As you can see my body's getting impatient." Ginko assumed his stance.
It tilted its head, glaring at Ginko with its nonexistent eyes. Slowly, it positioned its right foot backwards, and leaned forwards.
"Under… stood."
"Ginko-kun, watch out—"
CLANG!
Before the Grade 1 sorcerer could finish his sentence, Ginko's blade had already met the cursed spirit's with the former on the defensive.
'Tch, he's got me outclassed physically.' The curse seemed to be pushing back Ginko's strength effortlessly, making the back of the latter's own blade inch nearer and nearer to his face.
"Weak…"
BOOM!
Just by putting a bit more of its strength behind its swing, Ginko was sent hurling into the trees behind him. Spit jetting out of his mouth as his back was slammed against the bark behind him.
'I see. I can't beat it through physical strength alone, and there's no way [Galeforce] is strong enough to handle this thing.'
The heat in Ginko's soul didn't dwindle in the slightest, as a matter of fact it only grew hotter the more the true caliber of the opponent he was facing sunk in.
'Kusakabe would probably have an easier time defending than me, but he's going to struggle on offense as well. In that case, there's only one possible way I can beat this thing.'
He charged his feet with his cursed technique, making it back to Kusakabe's side in the span of a breath.
"I'm still alive, relax." He noticed the worry on his teacher's face. "I'm going to assume you've realized there's only one method we can use if we want any chance at winning?" Kusakabe nodded.
"You… lived."
It turned its attention towards Kusakabe.
"What about… you?"
It flickered in front of him, clasping its oversized-katana with both hands and swinging downwards.
The older sorcerer didn't hesitate to activate his Simple Domain and adopt his guard stance, forcing himself to endure the full weight of the blow.
CLINK!
"My wrists feel like they're on fire already." He groaned, having his feet dragged through the dirt as a result of the curse's strength, and his arms already trembling just from parrying a single attack which more likely than not wasn't done at full strength.
However, he did indeed receive much less damage than Ginko did.
"Now's not the time for whining. Just so you know I'm using my cursed technique just to keep my breathing stable." Kusakabe recoiled internally upon realizing what he had just said wasn't a joke.
"Durable ants… but… ants nonetheless."
Choosing the closer of the two, the curse went after Ginko. It's cursed energy output rising ever so slightly to signal that it wanted to end him on the spot.
'Forget everything, focus your mind. Think of only your cursed energy and swing, concentrate.'
Their blades met once again, but nothing special seemed to come from Ginko's attack in spite of him attempting to make something happen.
'Yeah, didn't think it would be that easy.'
Ginko was forced onto one-knee, his foot about to be buried in the soil as the curse quite literally attempted to put him 6 feet under.
"Looks like someone got tunnel-visioned." Kusakabe appeared behind the curse, activating his Simple Domain in record time and reaching for his now-sheathed blade.
'Batto!'
His attack managed to create a small dent in the curse's armor, but beyond that the damage it had done was negligible. Beginning to turn around in order to punish Kusakabe for his impudence.
'Wait, I could capitalize on this.' Ginko thought to himself, feeling a bit of rhythm starting to build up.
He made a familiar hand-sign.
"Thorough cyclone."
"Benevolent hurricane."
"Tailwinded mantra."
The chant was followed by a bone-shattering full-powered [Wind Slice], hurling itself towards the cursed spirit with all its might.
'That did a lot less damage than I was hoping.' However, all it had managed to achieve was draw a small line of blood from the curse, which had already begun to heal only moments after it had been dealt.
'But I should have bought enough time for him to land one more attack before we need to make some distance. I'm counting on you, teach.'
Kusakabe neglected to cast his simple domain, simply infusing his blade with cursed energy as he went for a direct swing to the curse's ribcage, an act that seemed to be that of flatout idiocy—
SPARK!
But instead of merely grazing the creature, an eruption of black lightning surged from his blade. Hitting it in the weak-spot he had created earlier.
"See? You're strong." Ginko smiled, watching as the creature was pushed back with a waterfall of purple-sludge leaking from its wound.
"Hmph. It was just plain luck." He said with a repressed smile.
This was the only way they would have any hope of beating the behemoth before him. They would have to surpass the limits of their potential through the sparks, there was simply no other way.
"I… stand… corrected."
The samurai curse recollected itself as it sealed the grotesque wound that had pierced through its armor.
"Show me… if you… are worthy."
It stuck its blade into the ground, and the two sorcerers' faces went pale within seconds. Shrines made of birch and brick tiling started popping up around them as if to form an arena for the three, each of them brimming to the core with unmatched malice.
'Shit! It had a domain this whole time!' Kusakabe swallowed his fear as he prepared to protect himself with his domain, only to be stopped by the motion of Ginko placing his hand in front of him.
"Don't bother. It's incomplete, you'd just be wasting your cursed energy." The most prominent flaw of an incomplete domain was the fact that it didn't possess the sure-hit attack that a complete one did.
However, that by no means meant that they were in a good spot.
"It's output is getting even higher? Just how monstrous is this thing going to become?" Ginko clenched the hilt of his katana, steeling himself so as to not crumble under the pressure of the cursed spirit.
"Hopefully not any more." Kusakabe said with a twitching smile. "Ginko-kun, you do you realize you also have to land one for this to work right?"
"Mhm." He nodded, taking a deep breath as his concentration soared.
Both sorcerers rushed the cursed spirit at the same time, appearing on either side of it with their blades in hand.
Neither of them really understood how, or why, but just by glancing at each other they could figure out what the other's intentions were. As if it were just a part of their natural instincts.
Kusakabe planned on creating an opening for Ginko to land a Black Flash. If both of them couldn't enter the "zone", victory was but a pipe dream.
This time he activated his Simple Domain, staring into the cursed spirit's absent eyes.
['New Shadow Style Iai, Evening Moon: Quick Draw!']
TING!
But his blade simply bounced off its armor, making it clear just how much stronger the cursed output of the samurai had become following its Domain Expansion, even if it was incomplete.
"My intrigue… wavers."
Knowing that this was a chance he couldn't afford to waste, Ginko's right arm surged forth with all its might, gunning towards the cursed spirit with both his cursed energy and technique.
BOOM!
It crashed against its abdomen, producing a shockwave strong enough to make an adult human airborne.
'Damnit.' But the sparks never came, after all they did not choose whom to bless.
"GINKO!" Kusakabe called out, knowing exactly what was about to befall his student. But even with the boost that landing a Black Flash had given him, he simply just wasn't fast enough.
SLASH!
The samurai's blade cut into Ginko's shoulder, slicing downwards all the way towards his abdomen as blood gushed out of his body relentlessly. The feeling of coldness quickly encroached upon his body as he found himself beginning to fall backwards.
'I guess that's what happens when you gamble on luck in order to win, hah.' He smiled inwardly as he entered what could possibly be his last moments if he didn't find some way to stop his bleeding.
"A fitting… end."
Kusakabe was hit with a forceful kick to the stomach, catapulting him away from any hopes he had at aiding Ginko.
'If only I had figured out [Reverse Cursed Technique]. Oh well, at least I'm going out like a badass.' His back was inches away from the ground beneath him. 'But I have to admit, I expected to climb a lot higher than this before I met my end. I wonder, is there any way for me to continue?'
Blood continued to drip from his open wound as the warmth left his body. His eyes showed a mix of displeasure and regret at what looked to be his demise.
But in spite of everything, his mind was still functional. And that was enough for the man known as Ginko Kyofu to continue.
'It probably won't work, and even if it does I doubt it'll last long. However, if I'm going to end up dead anyways I might as well give it a try right?'
It took everything that his fleeting body had, but with all his strength he successfully managed to place both his hands on the open wound of his body. Calling upon his cursed technique as he undertook the excruciating process of pushing the open parts of his skin back together.
'And now for the moment of the truth.'
But that alone obviously wouldn't suffice, forcing him to endure even more agony as he created a temporary vacuum seal in between his wound. Successfully managing to prevent more life from leaving his being.
'That's more like it, I didn't train for almost a decade to be killed off so easily.'
With the samurai now caught off-guard, Ginko had the cleanest shot he would probably ever have.
"... What?"
Cursed energy coated his fist as he planted his feet and stepped towards the spirit. "You're awfully expressive for someone with no face." He flashed a grin.
SPARK!
At last, the fabled black light was bestowed upon him in all its brilliant radiance. Forcing the spirit to keel over as a torrent of purple sludge shot out of its mouth, its mind incapable of comprehending what had just happened.
"Get up, this doesn't end until one of us is dead." From this point onwards, both sorcerers would be able to fight at 120% of their potential. Their gamble had paid off, honoring them with a genuine fighting chance of beating the creature before them.
He attempted to follow up by landing a kick on its hunched over body, but the spirit was still able to outspeed Ginko and distance himself from the now awakened sorcerer.
'The damage is still there, I don't know how long I can keep my wound sealed like this. But I doubt it's a generous amount of time.' He concluded, collecting his thoughts as his teacher approached him.
"How long?" Kusakabe asked, well aware of what Ginko had just done.
"No idea. But if you're looking for a way to keep me alive, then I suggest we make this quick." The swordsmen nodded, fully prepared to see their gamble through. "Hold on, do you see that?" Ginko pointed towards the makeshift arena surrounding them.
"Yeah, some of the shrines have been destroyed. Which means its domain is probably beginning to crumble, I guess it makes sense considering this is the first time its ever used one."
Even though the samurai managed to heal its wounds, both sorcerers could see clear as day that its output had taken a significant drop. The curtains would soon close on their battle.
"Go for its right." Ginko did as Kusakabe asked as they both rushed the cursed spirit down with their newfound strength.
"Worthy…"
Kusakabe met blades with the samurai, this time managing to keep up with its strength as they each attempted to force each other's blades back.
"I told you not to get tunnel-visioned." The peacoat-wearer smirked as Ginko appeared behind the cursed spirit.
BOOM!
Making full use of his Gale Kata training, Ginko pummeled a wind-powered palm strike into the samurai's back. Managing to hurt it enough in order to release some of the grip it had on its katana.
'That's all you teach.'
SLASH!
Kusakabe knocked the blade out of the curse's hand and drove his sword into its forearm. "Aren't you a durable piece of shit?" But the raw durability of its armor proved to be stronger than he had anticipated, making him unable to take its limb off.
"Looks like you could use an assist." Just like he had done with Mei Mei, Ginko leaped over the curse and drove the sole of his feet into the back of Kusakabe's blade. Giving it the extra boost it needed to dismember the samurai.
More of the shrine's around them crumbled into piles of rubble, the spirit's output dropping even further as the sorcerer's tempo only continued to soar.
And with the curse still discombobulated from having its arm lopped off, there was no better time for them to launch an offensive than the present.
Kusakabe assaulted the samurai with a flurry of slashes towards its torso whilst Ginko hammered away at its lower body so it couldn't get a chance to find its footing again.
Each cut dug deeper and deeper into its armor and flesh.
And the strikes from Ginko's fists made its head spin as it struggled to decipher left from right.
There wasn't so much as even a second of breathing room given to it as it was forced to rely on nothing but its raw defense to guard itself.
'I wonder, if teach had a cursed technique, how strong would he be?' Ginko couldn't even begin to wrap his head around as to why Kusakabe loathed combat so much.
After all, combat seemed to love him quite a bit.
SPARK!
The samurai's chest armor was blown to smithereens as Kusakabe's blade struck at it with the intensity of a wrathful God. Catapulting the curse spirit backwards as its output finally dropped below what it had been when the fight first began.
'The fact that it's still able to keep its domain up is impressive, but at this point it's no longer really a deciding factor.' Ginko smartly positioned himself in the trajectory of the curse with another palm strike ready.
CRACK!
Taking full advantage of the momentum Kusakabe had generated, Ginko drove his palm into its back. Shattering its armor from its rear in addition to its already broken front.
But Ginko didn't take his hand off the samurai, aware that there was now exposed flesh on both sides of its midsection. "This move seems to have become a favorite of mine." He sent a point-blank [Wind Slice] through the opening, splitting the cursed spirit cleanly in two. "I doubt I'll be able to forget this fight for a while. You did well, samurai."
"I… see… worthy… indeed."
The remaining shrines were all reduced to dust as the cursed spirit's Domain Expansion finally gave in. Signaling that the fight had finally reached its conclusion.
All that was left in the samurai's wake were two discolored fingers with rotted cartilage and pointed black nails on them, each giving off a suffocating presence as if they were the remains of animosity itself.
"So these are Sukuna's fingers?" He picked them up, intrigued by their intensity. His observations only interrupted by the sound of Kusakabe's footsteps nearing him. "Landing two of them in one day, that's some fire you have there." He complimented his teacher, but Kusakabe didn't express any sense of accomplishment on his face in spite of them having exorcized such a formidable opponent. "What's wrong?" His teacher slowly pointed to Ginko's chest.
His wound had reopened.
"Ah, that is rather unfortunate."
And with a thud, Ginko fell to the floor.
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This chapter took a minute to write since the whole thing was just straight combat. But I hope it was enjoyable.
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