Hitting the ground with a thud, Kasumi gasped and fought the urge to curl up into a ball as her diaphragm spasmed from Kiniro's kick, 'How did he hit me so hard?! I didn't sense any cursed energy in that blow!'
Gritting her teeth, Kasumi managed to climb to her feet and lifted her eyes to glare at Kiniro, who regarded her with an entertained smile, "Good, at least you have some fighting spirit. Now let's see if you can channel it into something worthwhile."
Holding up the sword he had stolen, Kiniro gave it a once-over, "Seems like you've been using this blade for quite some time; it's already a semi-grade cursed tool. But it still looks a bit thirsty, don't you think?"
Kasumi's cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment as she watched Kiniro wield her sword after so easily disarming her. But Kiniro ignored her anger and instead grabbed Gluttony from his waist and popped the cork keeping it sealed, letting the rancid residue from the cursed energy inside waft through the air.
The smell hit Kasumi like a truck, even from several feet away, making her vision blur and her knees tremble. Even worse, an incoherent voice started to whisper in the back of her mind, demanding that she imbibe from the acursed gourd and taste its nectar.
'W-what is that thing?!' Kasumi thought with horror as she watched Kiniro casually hold the flask above her sword before tipping it over. Like oil, a pitch-black liquid poured from the flask and dripped onto the sword; however, instead of running off the metal, the liquid was absorbed.
"What are you doing!?" Kasumi cried out, unable to stand by and watch as her blade was defiled.
"Just a bit more," Kiniro muttered as he carefully tracked the sword's absorption of cursed energy, making sure that the blade didn't consume more than it could handle, "And there. All done."
After sealing Gluttony and silencing its whispers, Kiniro turned his attention back to Kasumi, "Here, catch."
Kiniro then, to Kasumi's shock, tossed back her sword, which she snatched out of the air on sheer reflex rather than conscious thought. But the moment Kasumi felt her hand wrap around the leather-bound grip, her eyes widened as a terrifying aura erupted from her sword.
'Why does it feel like a cursed spirit!?' Kasumi's thoughts were a panicked mess as she stared at her sword as if it were about to come alive and cut her into pieces.
"Right now your sword is on the cusp of something wonderful," Kiniro suddenly spoke, drawing Kasumi's attention, "Right now it has the same amount of energy needed to give birth to a peak grade 1 curse, but it's missing intent and direction."
With a sharp crack, the knife that had been chasing after Momo flew back into Kiniro's palm while its twin reappeared in his other hand, "Pour yourself into the blade, and I'll let you live. I swear it on my soul."
Kasumi's eyes widened as she felt a weight in the air that was far too real to be just a figment of her imagination, 'He just made a binding vow.'
A chill passed through Kasumi's entire body as she watched a cruel light flare to life in Kiniro's eyes and he slowly started walking towards her, 'He's really gonna try and kill me…I-I don't stand a chance.'
A wave of despair gripped Kasumi's heart, and in response, the aura surrounding her sword flared as if a log had just been dropped onto a roaring flame.
"Careful now," Kiniro chided as he continued to march towards Kasumi, "It's at a very impressionable stage of its life right now."
Kasumi grit her teeth, steeling her nerves as she returned her sword to its sheath and spread her legs apart.
"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain"
A blazing circle of cursed energy flared to life around Kasumi, outlining the area of her domain as she prepared for the fight of her life.
Undeterred, Kiniro continued to walk Kasumi down, seemingly with no plan to avoid or counter her measures.
The seconds seemed to stretch on for an eternity, as Kasumi began to count down in her head, 'Five…four…three…'
Each count was punctuated by Kiniro's footstep as he drew closer and closer. Digging in her feet, Kasumi felt the world around her fall away as she stared Kiniro down and the cruel light in his eyes.
'There is only one I can survive,' Kasumi thought as she remembered Kiniro's vow, 'Pour yourself into the blade, and I'll let you live.'
With a thought, Kasumi emptied herself into her sword; the constant stress and worry that had plagued her, the fear of being a burden, all of it vanished, with her blade greedily drinking in the surge of negative emotions.
Kasumi felt a dead calm encompass her mind, allowing her thoughts to flow unimpeded like water through a stream, 'I can feel it so easily…my cursed energy, it's never acted like this before.'
With a thought, Kasumi poured all of her cursed energy into the sheath of her sword, 'Cursed energy is derived from emotion, yet how is it that when I feel nothing, I can feel…everything?'
'She's almost there,' Kiniro thought eagerly as he watched Kasumi's aura transform before his very eyes, 'Please, don't make me kill you; I don't think I could live with the regret of not seeing you blossom.'
With his excitement reaching an all-time high, Kiniro raised his foot to take his final step, the one that would cross into Kasumi's domain, 'Unfurl your petals and show me your colors.'
With a soft thud, Kiniro's foot landed, and suddenly the moment of serenity was broken, but not by Kiniro or Kasumi.
"Convergence: Piercing Blood"
A crimson laser tore through the air, arriving in what seemed like an instant with a terrifying amount of power that made Kiniro's eyes widen. Making a split-second decision, Kiniro twisted his body to face the lance of blood head-on as he crossed his knives together in front of him.
There was an ear-splitting screech as Lust deflected the piercing attack, splitting the beam into countless refractions that carved into whatever they hit. But in spite of the technique's terrifying power, Kiniro emerged unscathed a second later as the attack fizzled out.
Watching from afar, Noritoshi's face contorted into one of disbelief, 'Not only did he manage to react in time, but he completely nullified my strongest attack!'
A grin of relief spread across Kiniro's face at the unsuccessful ambush, 'Almost but not quite enou-'
"Iaido"
Kiniro's grin turned into a massive smile as a deathly quiet incantation was followed by a frighteningly powerful sense of danger, one that easily eclipsed the attack he had just parried, 'How could I possibly forget?'
Glancing over his right shoulder, Kiniro stared at Kasumi and the terrifying air that surrounded her, 'I almost missed your bloom.'
Kasumi's eyes were completely devoid of light, and Kiniro doubted she was even seeing out of them, given how well her soul had managed to merge with its environment: 'Her will is being carried out by the binding vow of her domain.'
Kasumi's body moved on its own as she executed her attack, drawing her sword to perform the fastest attack in her repertoire. However, this time, as her sword emerged from its scabbard, the blade was bathed in black lightning tinted red along the very edge. Not only that, but the sword itself had changed, with the spine and sides turning pitch black, while the edge adopted the same crimson glow as the lightning.
'What beautiful colors,' Kiniro thought as he watched Kasumi's blade carve through the air, black lightning trailing behind it and leaving a searing impression in its wake. In reality, the strike happened in an instant faster than Kiniro could react, and he instead relied on his soul to observe the beautiful sword stroke.
And as Kasumi finished her perfect execution, Kiniro felt the binding vow compelling him to end her life, shatter as its other condition was filled.
Kasumi inhaled sharply as she felt her awareness return, though it was as if she was looking out through a pair of brand-new eyes, 'W-what just happened?'
"Congratulations."
Kasumi's eyes focused on Kiniro as he spoke, only to widen as she noticed his current state, "You've just tasted the true essence of Jujutsu Sorcery."
Kiniro smiled as he held up his severed arm and used his cursed energy to make a thumbs-up, "Stand proud; you are no longer useless."