The fused curse grinned, its warped face splitting into three uneven mouths.
"Let's finish what your blood started."
The ground rippled.
In an instant, it dived into the earth, its body melting into the concrete like black water.
Kael's pupils shrank.
Tch… it can swim through the ground?
The next heartbeat—
BOOM.
The creature burst out beside him, a blur of cursed flesh.
Its first strike—a left jab—came faster than his eyes could follow.
Kael barely raised his arm in time.
Crack!
The impact sent a jolt through his bones, splintering the hardened plating under his skin. Pain flared bright and hot.
Before he could reset his stance, a right kick smashed into his ribs.
Crackkk!
The blow lifted him off his feet, throwing him across the alley. He slammed into a wall hard enough to crater the brick. Dust and debris rained down.
The curse crawled forward, its steps heavy, its voice a chorus of overlapping tones.
"So—" it hissed, grinning wider—
"How about that, kid?"
Kael coughed once, straightened slowly, and spat blood onto the cracked pavement.
Steam rose from his shoulders, his bones already re-knitting under the hum of cursed energy.
He rolled his neck, the sound of bone grinding echoing in the silence.
His crimson eyes burned like coals through the smoke.
"Not bad," he muttered, stepping forward.
"But you hit like a toddler."
The curse snarled. "What did you—"
Kael didn't wait.
His four arms flared with white light as the bones beneath his flesh began to twist and spread.
The sound was terrible—wet, cracking, alive.
[Cursed Technique: Asura Style – Second Form: Naraka]
Additional arms sprouted from his shoulders—sleek ivory limbs forged from hardened marrow.
The transformation didn't stop there.
Bones crawled across his skin, encasing his arms, chest, and legs until his entire upper body gleamed like a white exoskeleton.
From his knees to his thighs, the armor thickened, each plate pulsing faintly with cursed energy.
Kael had become something between a man and a revenant—
a walking battlefield of bone.
He said nothing.
Only moved.
In the blink of an eye, he leapt, cutting through the air like a spear.
He landed before the curse with explosive force, dust spiraling around them.
The creature grinned, its three mouths twisting in glee.
Kael struck first.
A left jab, fast and direct.
Bang!
The curse blocked, skidding backward.
Kael followed with another blow—
Bang! Crack!
The ground split under their feet.
The curse hissed, then suddenly melted into the earth, vanishing completely.
Kael froze, scanning the cracked pavement.
His heartbeat slowed, senses sharp.
The silence pressed in.
A faint ripple passed under his feet.
It's circling me…
It was like a scene from Jaws—
but instead of water, the ground itself became the hunting field, and Kael was the prey.
[Cursed Technique: Earth Lock]
The air snapped.
Kael's feet locked in place—trapped, as though invisible chains clamped around his legs.
"Shit," he muttered.
The ground bulged before the curse erupted upward—its monstrous head splitting open like a demonic Pac-Man
"Dieee!" it roared.
Kael strained, muscles tearing under the curse's hold.
Bone plates along his legs cracked.
Then—shatter!
He broke free.
Instead of retreating, he lunged straight toward the gaping maw.
"Come on, you little shit!" Kael roared.
Their collision shook the street.
BANGGG!
Shockwaves blasted through the air, blowing apart debris, cracking windows.
Both figures were hurled backward, slamming into opposite walls.
Kael slid down, coughing dust, then looked up with a savage grin.
"Not bad," he muttered. "But you hit like a toddler."
The curse was already rising again, blood-black mist curling off its body.
They charged—
and the fight devolved into pure, brutal rhythm.
Punch for punch.
Claw for claw.
Bone against curse.
A symphony of violence played under the moonlit sky.
Each impact echoed through the empty streets like thunder.
Sparks of cursed energy flashed white and black, lighting the night like a storm in motion.
…
High above, Gojo Satoru remained seated on the edge of the rooftop, chin resting on his hand.
His blindfold fluttered lightly in the wind, reflecting the chaotic flashes below.
"Wow," he murmured, voice lazy but laced with genuine interest.
"What an amazing fight."
Even now—amid the carnage, the shattered ground, the echoes of death—
Gojo still wore that same goofy smile.
But behind it—
a flicker of something sharper glinted in his hidden eyes.
Curiosity.
Amusement.
And maybe… a spark of excitement.
"Interesting kid," Gojo said softly. "Let's see how long you can keep up, Kael Eidric."
Below, the night still roared with violence.
Bone shards scattered through the air.
Black mist spilled across the broken street.
Kael and the curse collided again and again—
two monsters in human form tearing the world apart.
…
Then, Kael staggered back.
His breathing was rough, shoulders trembling.
This isn't working.
If he kept fighting head-on, he'd lose.
He glanced at his fractured arm plates, cracked and bleeding faintly beneath the bone armor.
Enough.
"Let's finish this," he muttered.
[Cursed Technique: Black Bone – Gungnir]
The air screamed.
A spear of pure bone formed in his right hand—but this one was black, dark as obsidian and veined with red light.
Cursed energy surged around it, dense and hungry, warping the air.
Even Gojo's head tilted slightly, a rare flicker of surprise crossing his face.
"Huh… that's a lot of cursed energy."
Down below, the curse's smile faltered.
"I… can't get hit by that," it hissed.
…
Kael didn't answer.
He simply took a stance—one knee bent, arm drawn back.
Then he threw.
The Gungnir left his hand like lightning, tearing through the air with a shriek that split the night.
The curse sneered.
"Are you dumb?!"
It dove into the ground instantly—its domain, its safety.
The spear sailed past, vanishing into the darkness.
For a moment, silence.
Then—
Sruuttt.
The curse froze.
It looked down.
A black spike jutted through its abdomen, pulsing with its own cursed energy.
Its eyes widened.
"How—"
Kael stood several meters away, breathing hard, a faint smirk curving his lips.
"My Gungnir doesn't miss."
The spear began to glow, eating away at the curse's flesh from the inside.
"You used my energy…" the curse rasped.
"Exactly," Kael said coldly. "Your energy marked you. That's what my technique does. Bone manipulation is my bloodline… but cursed assimilation—that's my technique."
The spear pulsed once—
and devoured the curse whole.
The creature dissolved into smoke and ash, its death scream fading into the wind.
[Quest Complete]
The system window flickered before Kael's eyes.
He exhaled slowly, the adrenaline draining from his body. His bone armor cracked, crumbled, and fell away like dust.
Then his legs gave out.
He hit the ground, armor crumbling into dust. The silence pressed down like ash. For a moment, he wasn't sure if the thing he'd killed was the curse—or what was left of him.
Above him, Gojo watched silently, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Impressive," he murmured. "He's got potential."
The city was quiet again—only Kael's shallow breathing broke the stillness.
And for the first time since awakening in this world, he let his eyes close.