Tokiya Shingen stepped out from the shadows at once and sprinted toward the moving taxi.
The moment he moved—
The driver seemed to notice him.
The taxi suddenly accelerated.
Shingen raised his hand, gathering a small amount of cursed energy.
He aimed at the moving vehicle—
And fired toward its rear tire.
But in the next instant—
A surge of cursed energy erupted from the taxi.
A curse—
Merged with the vehicle itself.
Something grotesque flickered across the car's surface, as if trying to break through.
His attack—
Was completely blocked.
The tire remained intact.
The taxi sped up further, pulling away.
And Shingen couldn't simply blow it apart—
Not with Akari Nitta still inside.
Yet—
There was no frustration on his face.
Instead—
He smiled.
"Bold, just like I thought."
"First… I'll get Nitta-san out."
"Wheel of Time—Forward."
The speeding taxi—
Stopped.
Instantly.
Like a moth frozen mid-flight beneath a streetlight—
Suspended in place.
As if encased in invisible amber.
Shingen reached the vehicle in a flash.
He punched through the car window.
The shattered glass—
Hung motionless in the air.
Only shifting slightly when touched.
He opened the door—
Pulled the frozen Nitta out—
And slung her over his shoulder.
With his free hand—
He drew the blade at his waist.
Without hesitation—
He drove it straight into the driver's neck.
The man—
The curse user they had been hunting.
Shingen stepped back smoothly.
The Timeless State—
Ended.
The moths resumed flapping.
The taxi—
Exploded back into motion.
A deafening burst of noise erupted all at once.
The car veered wildly—
Flipped—
Rolled several times—
Glass shattered—
Metal twisted—
And finally skidded to a halt dozens of meters away.
Nitta gasped, clinging to Shingen like someone who had just escaped drowning.
When she regained her senses, she spoke quickly:
"The curse user… he can influence people's consciousness and movement."
"I'm not sure if it's his innate technique."
Shingen set her down.
He flicked the blood from his blade.
Then looked toward the wrecked car.
"It doesn't matter."
"He's already on his last breath."
Nitta frowned in confusion.
Then—
A sound came from the wreck.
The car door burst open.
And a man crawled out—
Covered in blood.
"That's him!" Nitta cried, pointing.
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
The man—
Was in a miserable state.
Clutching his throat—
Dragging himself forward—
Blood pouring through his fingers.
The once-arrogant expression on his face—
Now twisted with fear and rage.
As he emerged—
Something unnatural began to happen.
Black, eerie energy rose from the overturned car.
Within seconds—
It condensed into something grotesque.
A shifting mass—
Like fog—
But filled with countless eyes and mouths—
Constantly writhing.
Terrifying.
Its cursed energy—
Was immense.
Even stronger than the Grade 2 curse Shingen had faced with Maki.
If it possessed a technique—
It would easily qualify as Semi-Grade 1.
Most likely—
A shikigami.
The dying curse user summoned it—
And it drifted toward him.
Then—
It twisted—
Compressed—
And plunged into his body.
His torn neck—
Begun to fill with black, bubbling matter—
Like a swamp rotting from within.
It sealed the wound.
His condition—
Improved visibly.
He staggered—
And stood.
But his face—
Was worse.
He glared at Nitta—
Then at Shingen.
No doubt.
This boy—
Had done it.
Damn it!!!
Rage surged—
But it was born from something deeper.
Fear.
The primal fear of death.
His throat—
Had been completely severed.
Artery.
Windpipe.
All destroyed.
He was only alive—
Because of his shikigami's ability.
But it wasn't healing.
Just delaying.
A flicker of dying light.
"Is this… what death feels like…?"
Then—
His thoughts twisted.
"No…!"
"I can't die yet!"
"There are still so many 'worthless women' who haven't been punished!"
His hatred swallowed him.
He forgot the gap between them.
All he wanted—
Was revenge.
Break Shingen's limbs.
Torture the woman in front of him.
Kill them both.
Shingen watched calmly.
"…Just the barking of a dying dog."
Nitta, however, was tense.
"He's still moving…"
"And we didn't deploy a curtain…"
"If this escalates, civilians might see—"
"I know."
Shingen stepped forward.
Blade in hand.
He recalled something Gojo Satoru once told him.
"Shingen—your technique is a nightmare for curse users."
"Humans have limits."
"Most sorcerers can't use Reverse Cursed Technique."
"So if you hit a vital point…"
"They die."
"And your speed…"
"Surpasses human reaction entirely."
"Even if they activate a technique—"
"You can kill them before it completes."
Back then, Shingen had grinned.
"So I'm basically unstoppable?"
Gojo had laughed.
"Not quite~"
"If they deploy a Domain Expansion…"
"You're in trouble."
"And curses—"
"High-level ones regenerate fast."
"They don't have true weak points."
"Be careful."
Now—
Shingen fully agreed.
Against curses—
It depended.
But against humans like this?
Too easy.
One clean strike.
Done.
Even now—
It was just a repeat.
If he mastered technique reversal—
Like Gojo—
Combining forward and reverse…
Then I'll challenge him.
I want to see that smug face break.
Suddenly—
A surge of cursed energy.
Shingen looked up.
The curse user held a nail-like object.
A black spike shot toward him.
The man's face twisted in ecstatic anticipation.
Shingen smiled.
He raised two fingers.
"Wheel of Time—Reverse."
The attack—
Vanished.
Instantly.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
The man screamed, losing control.
His body deteriorating—
His mind collapsing.
He forced out more cursed energy—
Trying to attack again.
Shingen exhaled.
"Time to end this."
He entered the Timeless State again.
In a few steps—
He was already in front of him.
This time—
No blade.
Too messy.
A punch—
Infused with cursed energy—
Struck the man's heart.
Another—
To the abdomen.
Organs—
Shattered.
Shingen stepped aside—
And released the technique.
"PFFT—!"
Blood exploded outward—
Mixed with fragments of organs.
The curse user collapsed—
Unable to speak.
Even the curse within him—
Was failing.
With his last strength—
He forced his shikigami free.
"Re… release…"
"Kill… everything…"
His body—
Swelled—
Twisted—
And was replaced—
By a grotesque mass of flesh.
The curse user—
Dead.
Only the curse remained.
Shingen switched his grip on his blade—
And activated his technique again.
From Nitta's Perspective
"What… just happened…?"
The fight—
Had been incomprehensible.
The man—
Collapsed.
Rose again—
As a monster.
Then—
Like a skipped frame in a film—
The creature—
Fell apart.
Piece by piece.
And Shingen—
Was already standing there.
"…That speed…"
"…It's terrifying…"
Before she could process it—
He waved her over.
They needed to clean up.
The crash had been loud.
But—
He had finished everything quickly.
They could still pass it off—
As a traffic accident.
With proper follow-up—
No problem.