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Seizing the initiative in battle is a fleeting opportunity. A single mistake can lead to irreversible consequences.
A ferocious slash tore through the air, carrying overwhelming power. The destructive blow generated a shockwave so intense that Yomi Isayama, watching from a distance, could barely keep her eyes open.
A high-pitched CLANG of metal on metal rang out like a final whistle, declaring the victor.
Even though several blossoming wounds had appeared on his chest and on the Inventory Curse wrapped around him, Toji Fushiguro's face was still frozen in shock. His eyes tracked his massive blade spinning through the air, his brain struggling to accept reality.
The Special Grade Cursed Tool, the Split Soul Katana, which should have been firmly in his grip, had been knocked out of his hand. It flew through the air and embedded itself straight into a distant concrete wall.
Losing one's weapon was tantamount to losing a warrior's dignity.
Whether he admitted it or not, Toji had lost this round.
Yomi stared wide-eyed at the familiar figure now standing with his back to her, sword in hand. Her shock was beyond words.
"Kenmei... actually defeated the 'Heavenly Tyrant'."
Those four words represented absolute power. Toji's title of "Sorcerer Killer" was built on a mountain of Sorcerer corpses.
For a top-tier Grade 1 Sorcerer like Yomi, lasting five minutes against the "Heavenly Tyrant" would be considered an achievement. After all, this guy was benchmarked against Special Grade Sorcerers. Even against Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Toji could handle them effortlessly with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, which nullified all techniques.
Being targeted by someone of his caliber was definitely not a pleasant experience.
Since Yomi was Toji's target, Kenmei would have been hindered if he had to distract himself protecting her during the fight. So, he had told her to stay back.
"Looks like I screwed up today."
Swaying on his feet, Toji spat out a large mouthful of blood. The pain from his wounds felt like it was acting directly on his soul; even his brain was trembling.
He tried to apply pressure to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop.
Toji glanced apologetically at the Inventory Curse on his shoulder, which was also covered in blood and breathing weakly.
In the distance, a massive swarm of unknown creatures approached with a buzzing sound. Their density was incredibly high, rushing into the brutal battlefield from all directions like dark clouds.
"Fly Heads? That many?"
Yomi recognized the low-level Cursed Spirits that looked like flies. Aside from their numbers, they had almost no attack power. But seeing over a million of them at once was definitely abnormal.
This was Toji's backup plan. Fly Heads were perfect for creating confusion. Since he had no Cursed Energy, his only tell was the Inventory Curse on his shoulder. This massive swarm was enough to mask its energy signature.
He hadn't been injured this badly since he started his career. Even a man of iron couldn't take this. Toji was preparing to retreat.
Watching the swarm blot out the sky, Kenmei merely whispered:
"These spirits count as bugs, right?"
Before retreating, Toji planned to retrieve his lost weapon. That Special Grade Cursed Tool was worth 500 million yen. Leaving it behind would be a huge loss.
"The Fly Heads should buy me some time."
But what Toji didn't expect was that the flood of Fly Heads didn't engulf Kenmei as planned.
Instead, the vast army acted like they had encountered their natural predator. Screaming in terror, they fled even faster than they had arrived, scrambling over each other to get away. Even the Inventory Curse on Toji's shoulder showed a human-like expression of fear, twisting its body to escape, as if the boy standing nearby was a terrifying existence.
"The Cursed Spirits are afraid?"
Yomi was just as surprised as Toji by their abnormal behavior.
The reason Kenmei could cause this reaction was his special title:
[Tyranid Slayer]
Effect 2: Tyranids (and bug-like creatures) will have an innate fear of you, unable to approach. (Ineffective against high-level Tyranids).
Effect 3: Damage dealt to Tyranid monsters increases by +35%.
Kenmei hadn't fully utilized Effect 2 before, but he suddenly realized he could use it on these insect-like spirits. When he activated the [Tyranid Slayer] aura, all the bug-shaped spirits recoiled in terror, daring not to cross the line.
The anomaly with the Inventory Curse forced Toji to change his plans. Making a tough call, he abandoned the 500 million yen Cursed Tool and vanished from the spot at high speed, leaving only a pool of blood behind.
"You can't escape, old man."
Kenmei wouldn't let Toji leave safely without getting the intel he wanted.
The roles of hunter and prey had swapped. Kenmei possessed the best hunting dogs in the universe; Toji absolutely couldn't escape.
By the time Kenmei caught up, he found a pale-faced Toji fighting off three Flesh Hounds with a steel knife. One hound had clamped its jaws onto his thigh, creating an opening. Clearly, the once-spirited "Heavenly Tyrant" was at the end of his rope. Moments later, three terrifying maws clamped down on Toji's arm, torso, and thigh.
"Checkmate, old man."
Kenmei walked up slowly.
Collapsed in a pool of blood, Toji looked utterly wretched. Seeing the blade point inches from his throat and feeling the intense pain from his wounds, the exhausted Toji gave up struggling. He coughed up blood.
"My luck really is terrible."
He thought it was a simple job—get his groove back and earn some extra cash. The opponent was just a greenhorn girl.
But he never expected her "ordinary" guardian angel to push him this far. All his attacks were blocked by the enemy's shield, and he had been defeated without even fully understanding how.
"Now, can you tell me the reason?"
Kenmei looked down at Toji from above and spoke coldly.
"Tch... cough... do whatever you want."
Toji spat out bloody foam.
"Someone paid eight million for that girl's head..."
"Funny thing is, the person paying is..."
As Kenmei listened to Toji's broken statement, the gloom on his face grew darker and darker.