Reverse Cursed Technique

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Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Inside the underground vault shrouded in darkness, the air was thick with something strange and ominous.

Cursed spirits of all shapes were piled into the corners, packed so densely there was barely space between them.

They struggled desperately against the chains restraining them, their roars echoing without end.

Whenever they looked toward the boy and the shikigami in the center of the vault, they grew even more agitated.

Some drooled across the floor.

The underground vault had been widened and modified.

On a platform ten meters above the floor stood every member of the Hei and the Kukuru Unit.

They gripped bundles of chains tightly, waiting for the boy at the center to give the order.

Naobito, the former clan head and current head of the Hei, stood on the platform as well, his expression solemn.

Below them, the number of cursed spirits had reached four digits.

The strongest were Grade 1. The weakest were Grade 3.

This was the result of half a month of mobilizing the Zenin Clan's sorcerers after the clan head gave the order.

It was also the largest feeding since he entered the underground vault to devour cursed spirits.

At the center of the vault, Itsuki stood bare from the waist up, his torso marked with scars.

His scarlet eyes seemed to hold a devouring vortex.

He glanced at the two shikigami beside him and gave the order in a cold voice.

"Release them."

The sorcerers above immediately loosened the chains in their hands, then surged cursed energy through their bodies, ready to support at any moment.

The next second...

"Roooar!"

The newly released cursed spirits rushed toward the figure and shikigami at the center like a landslide.

Boom!

The pitch-black shikigami, Piercing Ox, shot forward the instant the restraints were removed, as if fired from a bow.

With a single charge, Piercing Ox carved a clear corridor through the packed swarm.

Countless remains of cursed spirits and reeking blood flew through the air.

But the gap was quickly swallowed again by the surging mass.

At the same time, four Grade 1 cursed spirits rushed straight up to Itsuki.

Just as they opened their gaping mouths, the other shikigami beside him, the pure-white Round Deer, lowered its head and charged, sending three of them flying with its antlers.

The cursed spirit he had deliberately left behind had green skin, the body of a boar, the head of a snake, and the claws of a wolf.

Those blade-like claws were already inches from his chest.

With danger closing in, he did not resist.

Instead, anticipation filled his face as he willingly released Kamui: Phasing.

Its claws tore into Itsuki's chest. Blood burst into the darkness.

"Itsuki?!"

Naobito recoiled.

He could not understand why the boy had not dodged or counterattacked.

And why would he deliberately deactivate a technique that could ignore physical attacks?

Naobito was just about to lead the others down to rescue him when a sharp shout cut him off.

"Stop."

"No one moves."

Every sorcerer who had prepared to act froze and returned to their positions.

They could not afford the price of disobeying an order.

Round Deer, which could use Reverse Cursed Technique, was already buried under the endless swarm of cursed spirits.

As the healer among the shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique, Round Deer was not suited for direct combat.

Looking at the young clan head's mangled chest, where the movement of his organs could almost be seen, Naobito hesitated.

An injury that severe could kill him at any moment if no one intervened.

By now, Naobito had long since begun to regard Itsuki as the future of the clan.

Even if it meant disobeying an order, he could not let the boy die here.

The next second, Naobito's body froze.

His eyes widened.

Below him, the torn flesh across the boy's chest began weaving itself back together at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Reverse Cursed Technique?!"

Naobito growled in disbelief.

Only now did he understand what that madness had been aiming for.

Itsuki Zenin was a prodigy who defied even comparison with Satoru Gojo.

Once he understood, Naobito obediently returned to his spot, caught between surprise and delight.

The boy looked down at his restored chest.

Excitement broke through his expression.

He had deliberately injured himself many times before and let Round Deer heal him with Reverse Cursed Technique.

After more than half a year of studying and testing Reverse Cursed Technique, he had finally mastered using it on himself.

A brush with death brought terror, but also insight.

His original plan had been to keep Round Deer beside him as insurance in case the reversal failed.

But in the final moment, he had chosen success or death.

That reckless decision to send Round Deer away had not only allowed him to learn Reverse Cursed Technique, it had also given him a deeper understanding of how cursed energy worked at its core.

"Now that's a damn surprise."

His goal achieved, he activated Kamui: Phasing.

He ignored the cursed spirits surging toward him like a tide.

The instant Round Deer sank into the shadows, the massive body of the Great Serpent shot out from the darkness.

The Ten Shadows Technique allowed at most two types of shikigami to be summoned at once.

Even Itsuki could not break that rule.

The two shikigami carved through the ring of cursed spirits, killing their way in and out.

Piercing Ox could only charge in a straight line. It specialized in straight-line ramming power, and the longer its charge continued, the stronger its attack became.

Each uninterrupted charge made Piercing Ox more destructive, carving another bloody corridor through the swarm and forcing the watching sorcerers to flinch.

Having succeeded with Reverse Cursed Technique, he was in an excellent mood.

He even showed the people above a rare hint of mercy.

"Move back. Defend yourselves."

But he seemed to have forgotten, or simply did not care, that everyone on the platform had their backs to the wall and nowhere left to retreat.

He formed a complex hand sign with both hands, pouring vast cursed energy into it.

Having done their part, the Great Serpent and Piercing Ox plunged straight back into the shadows.

Naobito, who understood the Ten Shadows Technique, recognized the sign in the boy's hands, and his expression changed sharply.

"Sorcerers, forward! Full-strength cursed energy barriers! Non-sorcerers, crouch and cover your heads!"

The moment Naobito finished shouting, the spacious underground vault began to shake violently.

As the sorcerers watched in horror, the ceiling above them shattered.

Boom!

Max Elephant dropped from above.

Its thick limbs and massive rear crashed into the ground.

The impact roared like thunder.

Dust and broken stone blasted in every direction.

The remaining several hundred cursed spirits were reduced to ash in a blink.

The raised platform collapsed into broken chunks.

With Kamui: Phasing active, he ignored the flying rubble completely.

He simply spread his arms and absorbed the vast cursed energy filling the air with visible satisfaction.

After more than half a year of the clan feeding it, the Gedo Statue finally began its second evolution under his expectant gaze.

Inside the Kamui Dimension, in an endless void, the crouching Gedo Statue slowly grew a pair of thin legs.

One eye opened on its forehead, nine scarlet tomoe rotating within it.

What delighted him even more was the sight of ten massive tails swaying in the void, with countless pale humanoid cursed spirits faintly emerging from them.

Rubble clattered as injured sorcerers pushed it aside one by one.

They stared at Itsuki with a mix of relief, disbelief, and resentment.

Perhaps it was because they had bathed in sunlight for the first time inside that dim underground chamber.

Or perhaps it was because they had just received their leader's sudden, violent form of concern.

Naobito gritted his teeth as he looked at the boy standing in the center, absorbed in the result.

He looked like he wanted to curse the boy out, but did not dare.

Resentment practically filled the air.

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