Timewheel: Forward Rotation.
With a single kick, Tokiya Shingen shattered the wooden door leading into the corridor. Passing through the suspended fragments, he rushed straight toward the source of the screams.
The cursed energy there surged to its peak.
Another door exploded apart under his force.
As he stepped inside—
An eerie scene unfolded before him.
A tattooed man knelt on the ground, clutching a short blade.
In front of him lay two corpses.
His face was twisted with a bizarre mixture of exhilaration and fear.
But that wasn't what drew Shingen's attention.
At the center of the room—
A grotesque monster dominated everything.
Its body was a massive, cube-like lump of flesh.
On its front face—
A gigantic vertical eye split open.
The black-red pupil resembled an insect trapped in amber.
And Shingen could feel—
It was turning toward him.
It had no conventional limbs.
Instead—
Two oversized humanoid arms extended from its sides, bracing it against the ground.
On its underside—
A gaping, toothless maw.
And across its six faces—
Eyes.
Dozens of them.
Restless.
Rolling.
Unsettling.
Like a living, cursed die.
At that moment—
It was devouring half a corpse.
Blood hung suspended in midair—
Frozen into a grotesque tableau.
Shingen didn't hesitate.
He immediately released his technique—
and channeled reversed cursed energy into it.
Timewheel: Reverse.
His target—
The murdered civilians.
But the moment the technique took hold—
Resistance surged.
The three victims already partially consumed by the curse—
were the source.
It felt like a massive rock lodged in a raging river—
unmovable.
And worse—
This curse was likely special grade.
The strain skyrocketed.
Cursed energy drained violently.
Pain throbbed through Shingen's head.
Then—
Warm liquid slipped past his lips.
Blood.
The technique collapsed.
Four figures—three women and one man—
reappeared, dazed.
Fear still etched across their faces.
They stared blankly at the scene—
until their eyes fell on the tattooed man.
They screamed.
"What… what just happened?!"
The tattooed man himself was stunned.
His memory still held—
the ritual sacrifice.
Five offerings.
Yet now—
Four lived.
Then his gaze snapped to Shingen.
Blood trailing from his nose.
"It was you!"
"You ruined the offering to the Great One!"
"I'll sacrifice you too!"
He lunged forward—
blade raised.
Shingen didn't even look at him.
His attention was locked on the curse—
which had begun to stir violently.
The man closed in—
blade aimed at Shingen's neck—
Then—
Boom.
A single kick.
The man vanished—
and reappeared embedded in a wall ten meters away.
Blood sprayed through the air—
yet somehow—
he lived.
Barely.
"Shingen!"
Kento Nanami arrived.
The moment he saw the curse—
his grip tightened.
"Nanami-senpai," Shingen said without turning.
"Get those four out of here."
Nanami made his decision instantly.
He grabbed one of the mentally shattered women—
"Move! All of you!"
Timewheel: Forward Rotation.
Godspeed Slash.
The curse's body split open—
like cloth torn apart.
Black blood sprayed everywhere—
drenching Shingen.
At the same time—
the ordinary cursed blade in his hand shattered.
Too much cursed energy.
Too many simultaneous strikes.
It couldn't withstand the load.
The curse howled—
Then—
Its main eye flashed.
A beam of gray-black light fired—
thick as a barrel—
scorching the air.
It missed.
Of course.
Its eyes shifted—
tracking movement behind it—
A man stood there.
Fist raised.
Cursed energy surging.
Then—
He vanished.
One punch.
Two punches.
Black Flash.
Then—
Technique reversal.
The curse froze—
again.
Pseudo–Black Flash: Second Strike.
The black lightning-like energy exploded—
into its central eye—
shattering it.
But Shingen wasn't done.
He reversed again.
Ignoring the strain building in his body—
His fist descended—
like a devouring maw.
Pseudo–Black Flash: Third Strike.
The technique released.
The curse's body convulsed violently—
then exploded backward—
smashing through multiple walls—
and out of the building.
"…Is that… the Great One?"
The tattooed man lay dying—
yet his face lit with ecstatic reverence.
Shingen stepped over him.
Blood-soaked.
Silent.
The man stared—
and whispered:
"…a demon…"
Shingen grabbed him—
and walked through the ruined wall.
Outside—
The curse was already regenerating.
Its crushed body—
reforming.
Even its destroyed eye—
growing back.
The sight was grotesque.
The man finally saw it clearly—
his "god."
And for the first time—
fear overtook faith.
The countless eyes—
watching him—
whispering—
wailing—
"Hmm?"
Shingen narrowed his eyes.
Its recovery speed—
had increased.
And its presence—
had grown stronger.
"Fear."
Nanami spoke as he stepped beside him.
Shingen looked down.
The tattooed man—
now calm.
No fear left.
"…It feeds on fear?" Shingen muttered.
Curses were born from negative emotions—
but this one—
actively consumed fear.
That meant—
The more fear it induced—
the stronger it became.
A feedback loop.
Growth.
Fear.
More growth.
It could spiral endlessly—
until it reached something monstrous.
"…So that's how it got this strong."
Shingen moved.
He kicked the dying man—
sending him flying toward the curse.
The creature didn't distinguish friend from foe.
It caught him—
and crushed him—
like wringing out a soaked rag.
Nanami adjusted his tie.
Said nothing.
He had seen enough.
As he prepared to engage—
"Nanami-senpai, leave this to me."
Shingen stopped him.
"There are victims inside."
"And their leader is still upstairs."
"Control the situation."
"I'll take this thing away."
"If it stays here—"
"It'll keep getting stronger."
Inside the building—
fear was already spreading.
And the curse—
was healing.
Its massive body surged forward—
eyes glowing—
firing multiple beams of black light.
Shingen dodged effortlessly.
Behind him—
the building was torn apart.
"…Not good."
He activated his technique instantly.
And in the next moment—
Both he—
and the curse—
vanished.
Leaving behind—
a gaping hole in the compound wall.