"Will Satoru and the others be okay?"
Riko Amanai, dragged along by Suguru Geto's rapid pace, kept glancing back.
Suguru's face was grim. "They're in trouble! Big trouble!"
"Huh?"
Riko looked puzzled.
"Aren't you guys best friends? Shouldn't you at least lie to put me at ease?!"
Suguru took a deep breath. "Before, I wouldn't have worried about Sawa or Satoru, but…"
He recalled Sawa's words from the beach yesterday.
"I don't know if Sawa can see the future, but this is clearly the crisis he warned about!"
"We need to move fast!"
"Hey, slow down, I can't keep up… Wait, this isn't the way to the Tombs of the Star Corridor, is it?"
Suguru glanced back. "What, you really want to merge with Lord Tengen?"
"Huh?"
"'Assimilation isn't death, it's another form of existence'—that sounds like a fairy tale for kids, doesn't it?"
Suguru's lips curved into a faint smile. "This is your life. You should choose how to live it."
"Whatever you decide, we'll protect your future!"
Riko froze, memories flooding her mind—classmates, teachers, friends, Misato Kuroi, and her three new friends.
"I really…"
Her nose stung, tears streaming down her reddened eyes.
"I want to stay with everyone!"
Suguru gave a relieved smile. "Good. Follow me!"
They reached a clearing where two figures awaited.
"Misato!"
Riko, stunned, broke into a joyful grin.
Misato, seeing Riko, teared up and hugged her tightly. "Miss! Sob…"
"So that's it, Yaga-sensei!"
Suguru grinned at the man before them—Masamichi Yaga, their teacher!
"Interfering with Tengen's assimilation with the Star Plasma Vessel? You sure about this, Sensei? Kiss your principal promotion goodbye!"
Yaga sighed. "That Sawa… Fine, these old bones will join you kids' crazy plan!"
He summoned a human-sized rabbit cursed corpse. "This is the isolation cursed corpse Sawa asked me to make."
Yaga unzipped the rabbit's belly, gesturing to Riko. "I don't know how they track the Star Plasma Vessel, but it's likely a technique."
"This corpse blocks your aura and all cursed energy. You'll need to stay inside for a while."
Riko nodded, curling up to slip inside.
Yaga zipped it shut and turned to Suguru, who was leaving. "You're going back?"
Suguru flashed a smile. "Those two are still fighting. The Strongest Trio can't be short one!"
Yaga nodded. "Be careful!"
He left with Misato and the rabbit corpse.
Suguru retraced his steps to the Tombs of the Star Corridor. A figure emerged from the shadows.
Suguru's eyes narrowed. "You! Where's Sawa and Satoru?"
Toji Fushiguro smirked. "Those brothers? Let's see… probably dead by now!"
"Where's the girl?"
Suguru's forehead veins pulsed, ignoring Toji's question.
Despite Sawa's warning, rage consumed him.
"Then… you die too!"
Behind Suguru, countless terrifying cursed spirits materialized.
"Sandworm: Earth Burial Devourer!"
The ground split, a massive sandworm's serrated maw swallowing Toji whole.
BAM!
But the next moment, Toji's Inverted Spear of Heaven carved the sandworm into chunks from within!
Purple cursed blood drenched him.
ROAR!
A Rainbow Dragon charged, hurling Toji skyward.
Toji countered, slicing the dragon in half along its length with the Inverted Spear.
Suguru gaped. "What? That's the toughest Rainbow Dragon!"
Toji rose, ready to strike again, when a woman's voice echoed behind him.
"Am I… am I… beautiful?"
The Slit-Mouthed Woman's countless eyes beneath her hair and beastly maw were chilling.
A phantasmal vengeful spirit—her question forced both parties to refrain from attack until answered.
Toji glanced sidelong, deadpanning, "Let's see… not my type!"
SHRIEK!
The Slit-Mouthed Woman howled, her scissors flashing like a comet.
Schlik!
A lock of hair fell, blood trickling from Toji's ear.
Unfazed, he drew the Split Soul Katana, instantly shattering her domain.
In that moment, Suguru closed in behind Toji, reaching for the cursed spirit "Ugly Treasure" on him.
He'd figured it out—Toji had no cursed energy, relying on cursed tools to harm spirits.
Ugly Treasure stored those tools.
A low-grade spirit like that? One touch, and Suguru could subdue it!
But Toji didn't give him the chance.
His freakish reflexes kicked in, slashing backward without a thought.
Suguru's chest sprouted a bloody X, and Toji's kick sent him crashing through buildings, stopping in rubble.
Dizzy and bleeding, Suguru lay helpless.
Toji stepped on him.
"Sorcerers don't die from a few cuts."
"Honestly, if you were just a spirit user, I'd kill you. But Cursed Spirit Manipulation…"
Toji shrugged. "Who knows what happens to your tamed spirits if you die? They might haunt me or curse me. Too much hassle!"
"Still, you technique-awakened types owe it all to your parents' gifts. Yet you still lost to a cursed-energy-less monkey like me!"
Toji mocked, grinding his foot on Suguru's face, snatching the Special Grade cursed tool Yurei from his waist.
"I wanted this bad back then, but the Gojo heir snagged it. Funny how it ends up mine!"
Stuffing Yurei into Ugly Treasure's mouth, Toji eyed Suguru. "Now, where's the Star Plasma Vessel?"
"I could search, but you telling me would save time."
Suguru, eyes half-closed, stayed silent, seemingly delirious.
Toji scratched his head, sighing. "Fine, I'll track her myself."
His senses, a hundred times sharper than a normal human's, and his hunter's instincts made finding the Star Plasma Vessel easy.
He'd tracked them this far already.
But as he turned to leave, he froze.
Looking down, Suguru's hand gripped his ankle tightly.
"Only by nearing death can one grasp the truth of existence."
Recalling Sawa's words from yesterday, a wild resolve surged in Suguru.
He sneered at Toji. "Beg me, and maybe I'll tell you where she is."
Toji's eyes chilled. "You wanna die?"
Suguru laughed maniacally, blood streaming down his face, wild and feral.
"Bring it!"
"If I die, my tamed spirits just vanish. No trouble for you!"
"Wanna test it?"
A taunt?
Toji studied Suguru's expression, realizing he meant it, and his killing intent flared.
"You asked for it!"
"Sorcerers… such weird creatures!"
Schlik!
Toji drove the Inverted Spear of Heaven into Suguru's heart, watching his life fade.