The first to strike was the panda.
The originally clumsy-looking giant panda suddenly seed to undergo a mutation, and its appearance drastically changed.
The round body first flattened, then muscles bulged out prominently.
It looked less like a panda and more like a panda-colored gorilla.
"Oh oh oh oh...!"
Transford into a black and white gorilla, the panda’s temperant also seed to grow more ferocious. Its eyes glead fiercely as it suddenly leaped forward, shattering the ground beneath its feet and kicking up a cloud of dust as it charged towards Reiger.
"[Nue]!"
Fushiguro gumi was just a step behind the panda, forming a shadow puppet with his hands to summon the Nue, which took flight into the air as he also charged towards Reiger.
"Since we’re fighting, and it’s five against one, we must win!"
Kugisaki Nobara shouted, waving her hand as several nails infused with cursed energy flew into the air, which she pounded with her hamr, sending them shooting towards Reiger.
Including Zenin Maki, everyone except Inumaki Toge moved, forming a perfectly synchronized encirclent as they attacked Reiger.
"Pretty decent."
Reiger just dodged Zenin Maki’s swing, watching as both the panda and Fushiguro gumi rushed towards him. In the air, the Nue, sparkling with lightning, swooped down while nails infused with cursed energy shot towards him. An involuntary smile appeared on his face.
At first glance, it seed that Fushiguro gumi and the others were rely attacking him simultaneously, but in fact, their positioning and the sequence of their attacks were well thought out, neither hindering each other’s movents nor their ability to switch positions effectively for mutual support and assistance.
This wasn’t a mindless charge and attack, but a coordinated assault launched after careful consideration and observation.
Though perhaps not quite as telepathic as the Fla Gold Four Warriors, the coordination between Fushiguro gumi and the others could be considered perfect.
This showed that Fushiguro gumi and the others didn’t just train together every day; they also studied coordination for an exchange eting in half a month.
At this mont, Reiger wanted to respond.
However—
"[Stop.]"
When a voice, as if reaching into the deepest part of the world, resounded, Reiger felt an astounding force fall upon him, binding him securely to the spot.
This was Inumaki Toge’s jujutsu.
The only one who hadn’t moved, Inumaki Toge, had lowered his collar to expose his mouth, uttering a brief yet powerful phrase endowed with aning and force.
A spell that amplifies language with cursed energy to exert compulsion is [Curse Speech].
When Inumaki Toge activated this technique and spoke words with clear aning, his words beca reality, catching Reiger off guard in a binding.
The frightening thing about the Curse Master is that they can form power with words alone, compelling individuals and reality to obey.
Due to the specialty and potency of [Curse Speech], Inumaki Toge, as a descendant of the Curse Master, is quite renowned in the world of sorcery. His jujutsu is just as famous as the Gojo Family’s [Limitless Cursed Technique] and the Zenin Family’s [Ten Shadow Techniques], making this seemingly unremarkable young man an elite-grade sorcerer in his second year, ranking just below Reiger.
Even soone with trendous power would fall prey to this kind of quickly manifesting force.
After all, the jujutsu completes the instant the words are spoken, and once targeted, there is no escape—not even for Reiger.
But, in the mont right after being bound by [Curse Speech], the binding on Reiger suddenly vanished.
"Cough...!"
At the sa ti, Inumaki Toge in the back suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, kneeling on the ground.
"Toge!"
"Inumaki-senpai!"
This sudden turn of events astonished Fushiguro gumi and the others, causing them to hesitate for half a second.
"Curse energy recoil...?!"
Especially Zenin Maki and the panda quickly realized what had happened to Inumaki Toge.
[Curse Speech] is potent and terrifying, but its effects depend on the difference in power between the caster and the target.
A powerful word brings potent recoil, and if the opponent’s curse energy is overwhelmingly strong, [Curse Speech] can rebound, causing backlash injury to the caster.
This is a flaw of [Curse Speech], which in facing opponents far stronger than oneself often leads to hurting oneself significantly while dealing little to the enemy.
Currently, Inumaki Toge encountered this situation, having suffered a backlash from Reiger’s curse energy, possibly leaving his throat ruined.
In such circumstances, regaining his freedom, Reiger suddenly lunged to evade the incoming curse-infused nails, then leaped, brushing past the airborne [Nue], dodging its electrified wings, before charging at the nearest Zenin Maki.
"Now isn’t the ti to be distracted, senpai."
With a light chuckle, Reiger suddenly extended his hand, pressing his palm against the caught-off-guard Zenin Maki’s abdon.
"Bang!"
With the burst of curse energy, Zenin Maki was blasted away like she was struck by a point-blank punch, grunting as she flew off.
"What?"
In the back, Kugisaki Nobara was horrified.
Only because Reiger seed to calculate perfectly so that the blasted Zenin Maki flew directly at her, crashing into her heavily and sending her rolling across the ground.
"Oh oh oh oh!"
After Zenin Maki had been knocked away, the panda, being closest to Reiger, finally managed to react, roaring as it charged at Reiger, throwing a punch.
"Boom!"
A powerful blow landed on the ground, shattering it completely.
Unfortunately, Reiger had already gently leaped up, avoiding Panda’s direct hit.
"It’s not over yet!"
Panda, changing from his previously honest deanor, beca exceptionally fierce. His hands, donned with boxing gloves, roared as they struck towards Reiger, each punch carrying force capable of shattering the ground, attacking Reiger’s entire body.
"Clap!"
Reiger, in mid-air, rely slapped Panda’s outstretched arm, then shot upward backflip-wise, avoiding the punches. The remaining punches were either dodged, jumped over, or brushed aside by him. His body flickered like an afterimage within the howling wind of punches, unbelievably avoiding Panda’s violent barrage.
"[Great Serpent]!"
At this mont, Fushiguro gumi’s shout appeared, allowing a shadow to quietly erge beneath Reiger.
A giant white serpent slithered out of the shadow, like a monstrous python lurking in a swamp, opening its bloody mouth to bite Reiger, who was dodging Panda’s attack.
[Great Serpent], one of the ten shikigami of the [Ten Shadow Techniques] passed down by the Zenin Family, has a tough body and massive size, attacking enemies with its body and fangs like [Jade Hound].
"Got him!"
Seeing Reiger bitten by [Great Serpent], his figure frozen there, Panda shouted and rcilessly punched towards him.
But when Panda’s fist landed on Reiger, it was shocked to find its fist went through Reiger’s body.
This is...
"Afterimage!"
Panda cried out in astonishnt.
"Panda! Behind you!"
Fushiguro gumi shouted at Panda in this state, but it was too late.
"This body shifting technique is called [Mirage], not so much an afterimage as a mirage, no?"
As the voice entered Panda’s ears, a heavy kick landed fiercely on Panda’s sturdy waist.
"Boom!"
With astonishing force exploding from the leg, even a heavyweight like Panda was directly sent flying by the kick, smashing into the distant ground, raising dust.
"Tsk!"
At this mont, Fushiguro gumi also rushed in front of Reiger, wielding an Oriental staff in his hands, sending a series of stick shadows howling towards Reiger.
"Caw!"
"Hiss!"
The shikigami eagle and shikigami snake, under Fushiguro gumi’s control, also attacked Reiger, one continuously diving down from mid-air, the other slithering on the ground, forming an up-and-down pincer attack on Reiger.
Faced with Fushiguro gumi’s Oriental staff, Reiger handled it with ease, knocking away the staff with his fists several tis. However, against [Nue] and [Great Serpent]—the two shikigami attacking from above and below—he could only dodge, escaping again and again from the lightning wings and large snake mouth, retreating rapidly.
Of course, this was also to avoid destroying Fushiguro gumi’s shikigami, sothing he had no choice but to do.
Once a shikigami of the [Ten Shadow Techniques] is completely destroyed, it can never be summoned again.
If not for this concern, Reiger only needed to act a bit more violently for these two shikigami to be no more.
"Then, how about this?"
As Reiger retreated, he raised the corners of his mouth under Fushiguro gumi’s pursuit.
"[Nue]."
"[Great Serpent]."
Two low murmurs sounded from Reiger’s mouth, and the shadow beneath him swelled.
"Caw!"
Suddenly, a giant owl shikigami shot out from Reiger’s shadow.
"Hiss!"
A similarly gigantic white serpent followed, bursting from the shadow like a dragon out to sea, creating a trendously spectacular scene.
"What?"
Seeing this sight, Fushiguro gumi’s pupils contracted in great shock.
"So, so big...!"
Behind, Kugisaki Nobara, having just recovered from a dizzy spell, exclaid upon seeing the two shikigami summoned by Reiger.
Though they were the sa shikigami, Reiger’s were much larger than Fushiguro gumi’s.
Fushiguro gumi’s [Nue] at full wingspan was less than two ters, while Reiger’s [Nue] exceeded four ters in wingspan, double the size of Fushiguro gumi’s [Nue]!
Fushiguro gumi’s [Great Serpent] could swallow a person whole, but Reiger’s [Great Serpent] might even swallow a house!
Compared to each other, it’s as if a father were beating his son, making Fushiguro gumi feel cold all over.
No, that’s not the most important thing.
The most important thing is...
"He doesn’t need hand shadows to summon his shikigami!"
Indeed, this was the biggest difference between the two.
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