Clouds swirled overhead, thunder rattling within the dark mass as flashes of blue and white lit the night sky.
In the air, the two n were a blur of violence. Kashimo's assault was a deluge, a relentless storm of strikes that left no room for breath. The Soul Split Katana traced jagged black arcs through the moonlight, each swing carrying the weight of a thunderbolt, forcing Arashi back.
Arashi gritted his teeth, his Six Eyes capturing every movent as he dodged at the edge of his limits. It wasn't enough. Kashimo was getting faster.
Arashi saw a microscopic opening and raised his hand.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue"
A massive suction force erupted behind Kashimo, dragging him backward and pulling his blade half an inch off course. It was all Arashi needed. He plumted to the ground, landing on one knee. He was gasping for air, chest heaving, his face a ss of sweat and blood. His reverse cursed technique was active, but the repairs were struggling to keep up with the sheer rate of damage.
Kashimo landed ten paces away. They stared at one another across the ruined clearing, two n with bloodied faces and eyes that burned with a manic intensity.
There were no more words.
Arashi lunged, the ground shattering beneath him. He was a white blur as he closed the distance, throwing a punch that carried every ounce of his remaining strength. It wasn't a technique, just pure physical effort.
Kashimo didn't move. He raised an arm and braced for the impact.
BANG!
Arashi felt as if he'd struck a wall of solid iron, the vibration numbing his entire arm. In the next heartbeat, Kashimo used the montum of the punch to flip over Arashi's head. He twisted his torso mid-air and drove his elbow down with the force of a falling hamr.
It slamd into Arashi's face.
Blood sprayed. Arashi's head snapped back, and he stumbled away, nearly losing his footing. His face was a mask of heat and pain, and the world was beginning to spin. But he didn't fall. He steadied himself and looked back at Kashimo with a jagged, bloody smile.
Arashi struck again. This ti, he didn't miss.
His fist buried itself in Kashimo's stomach.
Kashimo's body doubled over like a bowstring being drawn, and then he was launched backward. He snapped through a tree trunk and tumbled through the brush before hitting the dirt, coughing up a spray of crimson that stained the dead leaves.
Kashimo lay there for a second, stunned. It wasn't a normal blow. At the mont of impact, he'd felt a violent pull, as if his internal organs were being dragged toward Arashi's fist. He was attaching the concept of Blue to his physical strikes.
Kashimo pushed himself up and wiped his mouth. Clever.
He looked at the white-haired man. Arashi was gasping, his fist still extended, sweat and blood dripping from his chin. Kashimo's smile returned.
It still wasn't enough. He could feel the voltage. The charges were nearly set.
Kashimo vanished.
An instant later, he was behind Arashi. The Soul Split Katana fell in a black arc, shearing through Arashi's shoulder. There was a sickening crunch of bone, a mist of blood, and an arm tumbled into the dirt.
Arashi's eyes widened, and he began to turn, but Kashimo had already dropped the sword. He moved in close and drove a fist into Arashi's face.
The thin, blue link between them flickered to life, bright as a spark.
Then, the world turned red.
Half of Arashi's body exploded.
Flesh, bone, and organs were vaporized into a fine mist. From his shoulder down to his waist, a massive, jagged hole had been carved out of his torso. Through the hollow space, the moonlight illuminated the trees behind him.
He didn't fall.
What was left of Arashi Gojo remained standing. He raised his remaining hand, forming the shape of a pistol. He pointed his index finger at Kashimo's face.
"Cursed Techniqu Reversal: Red"
His voice was a gravelly rasp, forced through a throat full of blood.
The light exploded at his fingertips.
At that range, there was no dodging. Kashimo felt a heavy impact in his chest, driving the air out of his lungs in an instant. His bones groaned, and his internal organs shuddered as the force tore through him.
He coughed blood and was hurled backward, snapping through tree after tree until he was driven deep into the face of a massive boulder.
Dust and debris rained down. Kashimo was pinned in the rock, his chest heaving as his reverse cursed technique worked frantically to knit his flesh back together.
In the distance, the ruined half of Arashi's body was already beginning to heal. Positive energy flooded the wounds, bone and skin growing back over the void in his side. He wiped the blood from his lips with a hand that was still missing its fingernails. His blue eyes tracked Kashimo through the dust.
Kashimo pulled himself from the stone, shards of rock clattering to the ground. He rolled his shoulders, his joints popping, blood soaking his white robes. He reached down and picked up a stone the size of a fist.
He weighed it in his hand. It was perfect. It was ti for a test.
Across the clearing, Arashi raised his newly ford arm. He flexed his fingers, ensuring the bones were set. His face was unnervingly calm.
"The trouble with a family legacy," Arashi began, "is that the techniques eventually beco common knowledge…"
He paused.
"But even within the Gojo clan, there is a secret technique known only to a few and hidden from the rest of the world. When it's invoked through sacred words, it goes beyond its limits… and becos sothing far more dangerous."
Arashi raised his left hand. Cursed energy began to churn. "Phase: Paramita. Pillar of Light."
A sphere of crimson light manifested in his palm, vibrating with enough repulsive force to crack the earth below.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
Then his right hand flared with a deep, crushing azure. A bottomless well of attraction ford, dragging the surrounding shadows into its center.
"Phase. Twilight. Eyes of Wisdom."
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
A second sphere ford, a deep, swirling vortex of blue light that seed to swallow the moonlight itself.
Repulsion and attraction. One in each hand.
Kashimo's pupils constricted. He knew exactly what was coming.
He didn't hesitate. His cursed energy flared to its absolute maximum, the arcs of electricity around him turning into a blinding, deafening storm. The air beca scorched and heavy. He gripped the stone in his hand, flooding it with voltage. He wasn't just dumping energy into it; he was packing positive and negative charges at a density that shouldn't have been possible.
His nature was lightning. Physics was his playground. If he could apply enough voltage and pressure to a projectile, he could create an electromagnetic cannon in the palm of his hand. He'd known the theory for years.
Now, he finally had a reason to use it.
Opposite him, Arashi's incantation reached its peak. He brought the Red and Blue spheres together. They didn't explode or repel; they rged, twisting into a singular, terrifying void of violet energy. The sphere hung in the air, distorting light and space around it.
Arashi held the purple orb like a marble, his thumb poised to flick it forward.
"Nine ropes. Polarized light. Crow and declaration. Between the front and the back."
Arashi's thumb snapped forward.
"Hollow Technique: Purple."
A massive pillar of violet light roared across the clearing.
At the sa instant, Kashimo's railgun fired.
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For early access to 10 chapters ahead: p@tre~~/Demonic_Fiction (Link is in the synopsis and my profile).
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