The air around them boiled. Hana—now controlled by the God of Curses—no longer waited. With a single stomp of her foot, the asphalt beneath her shattered as she lunged forward like a silver bullet.
BOOM!
Hana's fist slammed into the youth's arms, which were crossed to block the attack. The impact created a shockwave that shattered every remaining pane of glass within a 100-meter radius. The youth was hurled backward, but mid-air, he performed a lightning-fast hand symbol.
SHUUT!
He teleported directly above Hana, driving his heel downward. Hana dodged with a movement nearly invisible to the human eye, twisting her body to launch a counter-kick that sliced through the air.
"Lendo: Asshuku (Compression)!" Hana cried out.
The space in front of her hand forcibly contracted, creating an incredibly sharp gravitational pressure. The youth was pushed to his limit; his black cloak was torn by the gravitational slashes. Yet, he did not retreat. He pressed forward into close quarters—the danger zone for long-range power users.
A brutal brawl erupted amidst the ruins. Blow after blow was exchanged at supersonic speeds.
Plak! Buk! Duar! The youth's hands were shrouded in a thick black aura from his shadows, each parry sparking cursed embers. Hana smirked; she was enjoying the pain. She used the Lendo symbols repeatedly to manipulate her own body weight, making her punches feel like the strikes of a giant hammer weighing thousands of tons.
"Die, insect!" Hana shouted while forming a Lendo symbol with both hands. The ground beneath them rose up, pinning the youth between two giant concrete slabs.
CRASH!
However, the concrete only crushed an empty shadow.
"Too slow," a cold voice whispered from behind Hana's back.
The youth had set a trap. Surrounding Hana, ten Yokai creatures shaped like long, spindly hands emerged from the shadows of the debris, gripping Hana's wrists and ankles with immense strength.
"Release me!" Hana raged. Gravitational energy exploded from her body, obliterating the Yokai, but that was enough to give him a one-second opening.
One decisive second.
The youth lunged forward, his hands forming the second hand symbol (the crossed/stacked symbol). A pale blue light radiated from between his fingers.
"Sealing Technique: Yami no Hitsugi (Coffin of Darkness)!"
He slammed his palm directly onto Hana's forehead. An ancient sealing circle appeared on Hana's skin, spreading rapidly across her entire body. The figure of the Grim Reaper, which had been merged with Hana's soul, began to revolt, screaming soundlessly as it was forcibly pulled out by shadow chains emerging from the youth's palm.
"Gwaaaaahhh!"
A massive black shadow—the Grim Reaper—tore away from Hana's back, dragged into an ancient paper scroll the youth pulled from beneath his cloak. Once the figure was fully sucked in, the scroll snapped shut with a wax seal that froze instantly.
Hana went limp. Her body lost that massive cursed energy. She collapsed forward, and the youth swiftly caught her before she could hit the ruined ground.
The atmosphere instantly turned silent. Only the sound of fires from burning cars and the youth's heavy breathing could be heard. The dust of battle slowly settled, blanketing the now-still battlefield.
The youth stood tall, holding the sealing scroll in one hand and supporting Hana's unconscious body with the other. He looked toward the night sky, which was beginning to brighten with the dawn, then glanced at Hana's friends who were still frozen in fear in the distance.
He let out a long sigh, his tired gaze returning to its flat expression.
"It's over."
And that's the end of Chapter 1 Part 4! Please support us so we stay motivated!!!!