Maki pulled out her Tenshō Yari, her divine spear.
Keitaro stood relaxed, watching his daughter. She seemed locked in, completely focused.
As if she didn't want to lose... too badly.
She knew she was going to lose. She just didn't want to lose too badly.
"Let's see your progress, okay, Maki?" Keitaro said, stretching a bit.
He had already set up barriers to ensure she didn't accidentally kill or injure someone with her inhuman strength.
"I will win."
"Sure."
"We'll start when the coin hits the floor."
"Okay."
Keitaro took a coin from his pocket and tossed it into the air. He stood there leisurely, one hand in his pocket, watching as the coin slowly descended.
As soon as the coin landed, Maki rushed toward him at full speed.
To Keitaro, it looked like twenty Maki were running at him.
"You're predictable," he said calmly, raising his fist.
Maki's face collided with his open palm—she had run straight into him.
"Running fast is good, but if you don't have the reaction time to match your speed, you'll get killed in a fight," he remarked.
She quickly retreated into hiding, resuming the hunt.
Keitaro ducked as her blade barely grazed past him.
She slashed at him again—he dodged.
Her long spear suddenly shortened into a dagger, which she aimed straight for his torso.
Keitaro parried her blow with ease and casually backhanded her. While she was still airborne, he cocked his fist back and punched her—not at full force, but hard enough.
The impact knocked the wind out of Maki, making her gasp.
She flipped back, tossing a dagger to create space.
Then, she charged again.
Her dagger transformed into a pair of gauntlets, and she began trading blows with Keitaro.
She threw a left hook—Keitaro parried with his left hand.
Seeing an opening in her defense, he aimed a punch at her gut.
A smile spread across Maki's face.
Keitaro was forced to leap back as a dagger narrowly missed his neck.
That was close.
Flames flickered in her hair. Her entire body ignited.
She rushed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks.
Keitaro narrowed his eyes.
She's gotten faster... her strength feels less raw, more refined. She can imbue it into herself?
That caught him off guard. He had tried something similar before, but it had never worked for him.
It was difficult—something about his cursed energy reserves restricting the flow of his natural energy.
Think of natural energy as pure water and cursed energy as oil.
Keitaro was beginning to realize the reason he couldn't access this state: unlike Maki, he wasn't a Heavenly Restriction user.
Sure, he could use Sage Energy, but at the end of the day, his body was still tainted by cursed energy, while Maki's was completely pure.
He threw a punch at her without imbuing his fist with cursed energy.
His fist passed through her.
Maki used that moment to kick him away.
At the last second, he blocked.
Keitaro skidded back a few meters, looking down at his arm—flames were burning his cursed energy.
He removed the thin layer of cursed energy coating his skin and watched as the fire died out.
So... it burns cursed energy to fuel itself?
The longer the fight went on, the more Keitaro realized—he may have just created a nightmare for Jujutsu Sorcerers.
"I'm not done with you yet!"
Maki's voice roared across the battlefield.
Keitaro watched as she pulled out her spear, channeling natural energy into it.
The spear glowed—brighter and brighter, until it shone like the sun.
The temperature in the sealed arena was becoming unbearably hot.
Not feeling like letting this drag on any longer, Keitaro rushed forward, drawing his blade.
Maki gripped her spear, aiming it at him.
As he entered her range, she swung.
With overwhelming force.
With deadly precision.
As if she were aiming to kill.
Keitaro's eyes gleamed.
Temporal Distortion.
The world slowed.
The roar of Maki's flames became a drawn-out hum.
He could see it now—how the heat warped the air, how the spear's energy pulsed with each passing second.
He had a small window. A fraction of time to act before the full force of her attack reached him.
Mirage Afterimage.
Keitaro's form flickered—several blurred silhouettes spread out in all directions, making it impossible for Maki to pinpoint his real location.
Then, he moved.
Cursed Flash Step.
A blur. A flicker.
Keitaro surged forward—not directly at Maki, but just outside her immediate reach.
His blade sliced through the air with calculated precision.
He wasn't aiming at her.
He was targeting the space around her flames.
Keitaro had a theory. Fire thrived on oxygen, on the natural flow of air. If he could manipulate that, he could suppress Maki's growing inferno before it reached catastrophic levels.
Swift Mirage: Vacuous Severance.
A single, seamless slash.
His cursed technique twisted space—not through teleportation, but by momentarily severing the airflow around Maki's fire.
It was subtle, but immediate.
The moment his blade passed, the oxygen around her spear was abruptly displaced.
The fire, robbed of its sustenance, flickered violently. Its glow dimmed, struggling to hold on.
Maki's eyes widened.
She swung the spear again, trying to reignite the flames—but the moment her attack surged forward, Keitaro was already gone.
Cursed Seal Marking had ensured that.
He reappeared behind her in an instant, his blade resting lightly against her back.
"Your flames are strong, but they still follow the laws of nature," Keitaro murmured, breath steady despite the intensity of the battle.
"If you want to make them unstoppable... you'll need to find a way around that."
Maki scoffed.
Electricity crackled around her body.
The air around them stirred unnaturally.
Wind.
"Well... damn," Keitaro muttered.