In the center of the battlefield, Furōkawa stood firm, his wings spread wide as the four sorcerers surrounded him. He didn't wait for them to make the first move; instead, he chose to eliminate the weakest link. His eyes locked on Rin Ayasaka, who had already been disarmed, her meteor hammer lying useless on the ground.
With Onamazu in its axe form, Furō cleaved through the air with brutal efficiency, slicing off her left arm in a clean motion. Rin screamed in agony, but Furō silenced her with a spinning kick to the face. Her body collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Before Furō could catch his breath, a barrage of fireballs came from Retsu Takakura, the flames tearing through the air. Furō raised his wings to block them, feeling the irritating heat singe their surface. The wings were grafted to his soul, creating a new body part for Furōkawa that similarly can feel pain.
"I've had enough of this," Furō muttered, materializing a Spear of Putrefaction.
As another fireball approached, Furō dodged through the flames, bursting forward with a single flap of his wings.
The spear drove into Retsu's chest, pinning him against a nearby wall. Retsu coughed up blood, the cursed energy seeping into his body, but Furō mistakenly missed every vital organ.
"You're finished," Furō growled, preparing to summon another spear for a finishing blow. However, before he could strike, Tsuyoshi Ono intervened, his massive odachi slicing cleanly between Furō and Retsu. The attack forced Furō to retreat a few steps, leaving Retsu pinned to the wall by the now shortened spear.
"You guys are the most annoying people I've ever had the displeasure of fighting against," Furō said, his tone laced with irritation.
Using the Bracelets of Hrist and Mist, Furō conjured a cloud of toxic gas, which he condensed into sharp blades.
With a wave of his hand, he launched the blades at Tsuyoshi. The toxic knives struck one after another, making shallow punctures in the odachi wielder's flesh. Tsuyoshi winced in pain, the acid from the blades already corroding everything away.
Before Furōkawa could capitalize on the attack, Naoto extended his hand, releasing another devastating soundwave. The blast struck Furō again with enough force to send him skidding down the street.
Naoto approached Tsuyoshi with a soulless smile, patting his ally on the shoulder while he tore out the toxic blades. The knives burned to the touch, causing vapor to rise from his skin.
"You know, Tsuyoshi, I'm not really a fan of having you around," Naoto said casually. "You stopped the kid from killing Retsu when he lost his fight. Losing that fast deserves death."
Before Tsuyoshi could respond, Naoto placed his hand on the top of his head.
The air grew heavy as Naoto's cursed energy surged. Blood began pouring from Tsuyoshi's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. With a sickening gurgle, Tsuyoshi fell silent, his body crumpling to the ground beside his sword.
Naoto's unnerving Kogane appeared beside him, its voice deep and distorted as it announced, "5 points have been added."
"80 points. Nice," Naoto said nonchalantly, turning his attention back to Furō.
Furō stood, his wings trembling slightly as he formed a barrage of sharp blades with his cursed energy. The blades floated around him, aimed directly at Naoto. Without hesitation, Furō launched the knives and took to the air, flying alongside them.
Naoto raised his hands, releasing a series of soundwaves to intercept the incoming attack. The blasts shredded many of the knives mid-air, but Furō used the environment to dodge the soundwaves, running along walls and weaving through debris.
Finally, some of the blades pierced Naoto's body, embedding themselves deep into his flesh.
"I've been waiting for this!" Furō shouted, his voice echoing through the chaos. "Burst!"
The knives inside Naoto detonated, popping and releasing a corrosive gas that spread through his body. Naoto staggered, coughing violently as the poison ate away at his cursed energy. Before he could recover, Furō descended from above, holding Oryx high above his head. With a powerful slash, the axe cut through Naoto's shoulder to the center of his chest, nearly bisecting him.
Naoto dropped to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. His breathing grew shallow as Furō absorbed Onamazu back into his ring, standing over his defeated opponent.
"You were such an annoying piece of crap, you know?" Furō muttered, shaking his head.
Naoto smirked weakly, his voice barely audible. "You're a lot stronger than you let on... Why do you hide such power?"
"Wasn't hiding," Furō replied, his tone cold. "You just didn't push me far enough."
Naoto let out a raspy laugh. "I suppose that's a valid answer. See you in hell, Furōkawa." With that, his body fell still.
Furō's Kogane appeared, its irritating voice cutting through the silence. "5 points have been added."
Furō sighed, his frustration evident.
"What a waste of points."
Furō walked back toward the coffee shop, grabbing a protein bar from behind the counter. He ripped open the wrapper and ate quickly, trying to reduce his hunger a bit.
When he stepped back outside, his eyes fell on Retsu, who was still pinned to the wall by Furō's spear. Furō approached and released the technique, letting the spear dissolve completely.
"You better not even think about running," Furō said, his tone stern.
Retsu coughed weakly, blood dripping from his mouth. "I might be too injured to run, especially with this hole in my chest... But why won't you kill me?"
Furō glared at him. "Do you people listen at all? I. Need. Your. Points. That's why. Here, I'll take the initiative to make a pact. In exchange for sparing you now, you'll stay with me and give me your points when the rule is added."
Retsu narrowed his eyes skeptically. "And what's stopping you from killing me after I give you my points?"
Furō extended his hand, his expression firm. "I won't kill you after you transfer your points."
After a moment of hesitation, Retsu accepted Furō's hand and stood shakily.
Furō glanced over at Rin Ayasaka, still unconscious on the ground. "I'm grabbing her too. I need her points as well."
Hoisting Rin over his shoulder, Furō led the group to a secluded area nearby where they could rest and recover.