February 13, 2013, Wednesday, Nakameguro High School, 6:00 pm...
The sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of amber and violet. A bone-chilling wind swept through the streets, carrying the promise of snow. Despite the day ending, the atmosphere hung heavy with unease. Something was wrong.
Miruko Horigawa had planned to return to her family home after school, but an unshakable dread clawed at her. It wasn't something she could ignore. Her instincts screamed louder than ever, warning her that something had gone terribly amiss.
It had always been Elric's routine to escort Aoi Matsunaga back to her family's estate once the school day ended, but today was different. Miruko had caught a glimpse of Uncle Ryosuke picking Aoi up instead. Seeing that small, unexpected change was like the final piece of a troubling puzzle. Elric was missing.
Heart pounding, Miruko retraced her steps back to Nakameguro High School. She reached the familiar gates just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared. There, she froze in her tracks.
A massive black dome of cursed energy loomed over part of the campus, its presence radiating an oppressive, suffocating force. The air felt heavier with each passing second as if the school was being consumed by some malevolent entity.
Without hesitation, Miruko scaled the school gate, relying on her basic military exercise training to navigate the climb. Her body moved instinctively, her focus solely on reaching the barrier. Once on the other side, she paused to take in the dome's unsettling presence.
"This is bad," she murmured, her breath visible in the frigid air. Her eyes darted across the shadowed grounds, trying to gauge the barrier's purpose and strength. She knew one thing for sure: Elric had to be inside.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice cutting through the darkness.
"Hey! What are you doing here? It's past bedtime!"
The unexpected sound startled Miruko. She spun around to find its source and saw a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, stepping out of the shadows. Behind her, two more figures emerged, their features obscured by the low light.
The woman, clearly the leader, tilted her head and smirked. Something was unnerving about her casual demeanor.
"You shouldn't be here, little girl," she added, her voice dripping with mockery. "This is no place for a curious child."
Miruko clenched her fists, her body tensing as she assessed the situation. The unease in her gut flared into full-blown alarm. Whoever these people were, they weren't ordinary civilians.
The rooftop of the classroom building became a chaotic battlefield, the air crackling with tension and the echoes of clashing attacks. Elric moved like a storm, his makeshift combat batons in hand. Crafted from the scrap metal of a folded chair Nanami had sliced with his cursed technique, the batons gleamed under the fading light. Against him stood two formidable jujutsu sorcerers, Nanami Kento and Takuma Ino.
Elric's combat style was a whirlwind of unpredictability, seamlessly blending Silat, Kali, and Krav Maga. His movements were precise, brutal, and efficient. Against him, Ino darted in and out of range using Second Auspicious Beast: Reiki, delivering an unrelenting barrage of punches and kicks. The masked sorcerer even launched Kaichi, his cursed energy manifestation, only for Elric to deflect it effortlessly with his makeshift batons, the sturdy scrap metal holding up with every strike.
Nanami, ever composed, took his chance to strike. His cursed technique, Ratio Technique, activated as his blunt blade sought to exploit the weak points in Elric's defense. Metal clashed against metal in a sharp, resounding echo.
Nanami's eyes narrowed. His technique hadn't sliced through Elric's baton. Instead, the metal weapon remained intact, deflecting the strike with a precision that surprised even him.
Elric smirked. "It's not about the weapon. It's about the one holding it," he said, his movements fluid as he stepped back.
Nanami realized Elric hadn't blocked but had deflected the attack with such accuracy that it avoided the full force of his technique. The realization sent a ripple of admiration through both sorcerers, though they didn't let it show.
"This guy…" Ino muttered, stepping back to regroup.
"He's not just improvising," Nanami added. "He's adapting."
For a brief moment, the two sorcerers retreated to reevaluate their approach. Elric stood in the center of the rooftop, calm yet exuding an aura of readiness. His ability to combine martial arts, handle cursed energy attacks, and even counter Nanami's deadly blade with makeshift weapons was remarkable.
Nanami and Ino exchanged a silent look and moved into position. They had to end this fight quickly.
Nanami took the lead, charging forward to draw Elric's attention. His blade came down in a swift arc, forcing Elric to focus entirely on the immediate threat. It was the opening Ino needed.
From behind, Ino dashed toward the fight. His masked figure blurred as he spun into a roundhouse kick aimed at Elric's left temple. The strike connected, sending Elric tumbling to his right.
"We've got him," Ino said, confidence brimming in his voice.
"Step back!" Nanami shouted suddenly, his instincts flaring.
Before Ino could react, Elric twisted mid-fall, his body moving in a way that defied natural balance. His foot anchored on a single toe, his torso coiled, and in one fluid motion, he unleashed a devastating punch into Ino's gut.
The force knocked the wind out of Ino, sending him to his knees. At the same time, Nanami felt the faint ripple of an invisible strike pass by him. He stepped back just in time, avoiding what could have been a debilitating blow.
Ino coughed violently, clutching his stomach. Nanami studied Elric, noting his stance. Elric was perched precariously on his big toe, his body taut like a coiled spring.
"Unbelievable," Nanami murmured. "His balance and core strength… They're beyond human."
Without missing a beat, Elric flipped into a handstand and launched himself into a kick aimed at Nanami's face. The senior sorcerer blocked with his blade, though the force of the attack still forced him to retreat.
Ino staggered to his feet as Nanami regrouped. The two sorcerers exchanged glances again, their respect for Elric growing even as they prepared to continue.
"You're no ordinary fighter," Nanami remarked.
Elric grinned, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip. "Neither are you. But let's be honest; this isn't a fight either of us can drag out."
"Agreed," Nanami said, his tone cool.
The battle resumed in a blur of strikes, counters, and movement. Elric was driven toward the rooftop corner as Nanami and Ino executed a coordinated strategy. With Nanami leading the assault, Elric's focus was split just enough for the trap to spring into action.
Nanami's hand glowed with cursed energy as he activated Collapse, slamming his fist into the rooftop. A shockwave rippled outward, shattering the surface beneath Elric's feet. The corner of the building crumbled, the structural integrity collapsing instantly.
Elric's eyes narrowed as he realized the danger too late. The rooftop gave way, debris cascading downward in a deafening crash. He twisted his body mid-air, narrowly avoiding several falling chunks of concrete, but he couldn't escape entirely. The rubble buried him as the sorcerers landed safely on the ground below.
Ino dusted himself off, glaring at Nanami. "Was that really necessary? Collapse is overkill on a rooftop."
Nanami adjusted his tie calmly. "Everyone's fine, aren't they? Besides, he left us no choice."
As they debated, a faint rumbling sound came from the wreckage. Both sorcerers froze as a hand emerged from the debris, pushing aside chunks of concrete and steel.
Elric stood, his body covered in dust and his shirt shredded from the impact. His makeshift batons remained clutched in his hands. His expression was calm, though his eyes gleamed with intensity.
He combed his fingers through his hair, brushing it back as he stepped free of the rubble. A crooked grin spread across his face as he looked at the stunned sorcerers.
"Nice trick," he said, his voice steady. "Leading me into a trap like that, trying to knock me out in one go."
He dusted off his shoulders and cracked his neck.
"But dropping a building or part of it on me? You've just declared war."
The intensity of the battle seethed, the tension thick enough to cut through. Ino, catching his breath from the previous exchange, pointed out that their opponent was beyond what they could handle.
"This guy's not normal," Ino muttered, his voice laced with unease. "We should be reassessing our options."
Nanami, however, remained unfazed. His expression was as composed as ever, his mind already formulating a plan. But this time, it didn't involve Ino fighting.
"Step back," Nanami instructed, adjusting his tie. "Let me handle this."
Brushing the dust off his shoulders, Elric watched Nanami approach with measured steps. His makeshift batons remained in his grip, the weight of battle evident in his stance.
"I have to admit," Nanami began, his tone neutral but with a hint of genuine acknowledgment. "Surviving a fall like that, getting buried under debris, and standing back up like it was nothing... most people would've died."
Elric scoffed, cracking his neck. "That's on you, isn't it? You dropped a building on me."
Nanami raised a brow. "And yet, you're still standing."
Elric exhaled, his expression shifting into something darker. "That's because getting buried alive was part of my family's training."
Nanami paused. He wasn't easily shaken, but the sheer weight of that statement made him reassess just what kind of upbringing Elric had endured.
Elric's fingers gripped the edges of his tattered shirt before he ripped it clean off, revealing a body riddled with scars, old and new, deep and shallow, each telling a story of past battles. The brutal history etched into his skin was enough to momentarily quiet the battlefield.
On the sideline, Ino's eyes widened in shock. "The hell did this guy go through…?"
Nanami, ever analytical, observed the markings more closely. Some scars were from blades, some from animal bites, and others bore signs of inflicted torture. But one mark stood out, a clawed tattoo inked onto Elric's left shoulder.
Nanami's gaze sharpened. That insignia wasn't just decoration. It was a military tattoo, an unmistakable mark of American special forces.
'So he has military experience on top of all this?' Nanami thought, his respect for Elric's combat prowess growing further.
But it didn't stop there. Elric rolled his shoulders before reaching up to his biceps, where two black rings encircled each arm. Without a word, he unfastened them and let them drop.
A thunderous crash echoed across the battlefield when they hit the ground. The impact left two small craters where they landed, shaking the surrounding debris.
Nanami and Ino instinctively braced themselves, eyes locked onto the weighted rings in disbelief.
"What the..." Ino began, but his words trailed off as an overwhelming surge of intimidating energy erupted from Elric. The sheer intensity of it sent a wave of pressure through the air, rattling the ruins of the rooftop collapse.
Nanami narrowed his eyes. "So, you were holding back."
Elric rolled his shoulders, his muscles flexing as he adjusted to the sudden release of power. His grin was razor-sharp.
"If I went all out from the start," Elric admitted, "this fight would've been over already."
The weight of his words settled between them, but Nanami didn't flinch. Instead, he reached up and adjusted his tie once more.
"If that's the case," Nanami said, his tone unwavering, "then I'll do the same."
Nanami's cursed energy flared as he wrapped his right fist with his necktie and invoked Overtime. The pressure around him shifted, his already formidable presence growing exponentially.
Elric raised an eyebrow. "Didn't expect a sorcerer's power to be tied to a work schedule."
Nanami smirked slightly, explaining, "Overtime is a binding vow. While on the clock, I restrict the amount of cursed energy I use. Once my work shift ends, my energy output increases exponentially. Since my work shift was supposed to finish by 6 pm, I am getting a power boost."
Elric's amusement was evident. "Then why didn't you use it before?"
"Because I didn't need to," Nanami replied coolly. "Had I activated Overtime earlier, my Collapse technique wouldn't have just brought down the rooftop corner. It would have leveled the entire classroom building."
Elric chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Now, that's exciting." His grin widened, his stance lowering into a combat-ready position. "Let's see how this goes then. A simple slugfest would do. No weapons, no technique, just good old fist."
Nanami's fingers tightened around his blunt blade. He studied Elric for a brief moment before letting out a small breath.
Then, in one smooth motion, he dropped his weapon.
The blunt blade hit the ground with a dull thud.
Elric, without breaking eye contact, followed suit. He let go of his makeshift combat batons, the metal scrap clanking against the concrete.
The two warriors stood before each other, their cursed energy surging without restraint. No more weapons. No more holding back.
Nanami adjusted his gloves. "Let's settle this properly."
Elric cracked his knuckles, his grin unwavering. "Couldn't agree more."
The battlefield stilled for a fleeting moment, and they both moved simultaneously.
The clash between Unrestrained Elric and Overtime Nanami began.
Meanwhile, outside the veil, Miruko found herself in an unexpected encounter with three unknown individuals. Suspicion crept into her mind as she assessed the situation. The most striking among them was a young woman with fiery orange hair, exuding a mix of professionalism and barely restrained delinquent energy. Though she carried herself disciplined, a wild edge lurked beneath the surface.
One of her subordinates referred to her as Benikiba, a Grade 2 sorcerer, identifying her by her unmistakable flame-colored hair. The second individual, standing guard, kept a watchful eye on the third member of their group, a timid girl with soft features, diligently maintaining the veil.
The shy girl, seemingly flustered by the tense atmosphere, accidentally let slip a name, "Chii-chan…"
The room fell silent, the air thick with anticipation, before a sudden outburst shattered the calm.
"Oi! How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me that here!" Benikiba's voice roared through the air as she turned on her little sister, her delinquent persona breaking through the carefully maintained facade.
Miruko blinked at the sight. The intimidating sorcerer, who moments ago looked like she could bite someone's head off, was now red-faced and fuming, not from battle but from sheer embarrassment.
Hina Takamine, the barrier specialist, shrank back under her sister's glare, clutching her sleeves nervously. "I-I'm sorry, it just slipped out!"
The bodyguard, standing nearby, awkwardly shifted on his feet, clearly unwilling to get involved.
Miruko, watching the spectacle unfold, barely suppressed a smirk. This was too good. The fearsome Benikiba, a Grade 2 sorcerer, was getting flustered over a nickname? The sheer absurdity of the situation was almost comical.
However, the moment was short-lived.
Benikiba turned sharply toward Miruko, her earlier embarrassment immediately replaced with suspicion.
"You. Who the hell are you?" Her piercing gaze locked onto Miruko. "I don't recognize you, and I sure as hell don't remember inviting an outsider."
Miruko, unfazed, crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here?" She scanned their uniforms. "You don't look like school staff."
Hina, still timid, hesitated before offering an explanation. "W-We're, um, special agents..."
Miruko scoffed. "Yeah, right. That's the best you could come up with?"
Hina's attempt at deception fell flat. Benikiba clicked her tongue in annoyance, turning her irritation on Miruko.
"You're out past curfew," Benikiba growled. "What's a high school brat like you doing sneaking around here at this hour?"
Miruko raised an eyebrow. "You think you have the authority to lecture me about curfew? You're acting suspiciously, hanging around my school with this weird barrier."
Hina and the bodyguard exchanged nervous glances as the argument escalated. The tension between Benikiba and Miruko sizzled literally.
Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the ground beneath them. Everyone snapped to attention.
"The hell was that?" Benikiba asked, her delinquent bravado giving way to a genuine sense of concern.
Hina quickly checked the veil's stability, her hands glowing faintly as she reinforced it. "The barrier is still holding steady. That wasn't from an outside force… it came from within."
A phone rang, breaking the tense silence. The bodyguard answered immediately.
"Ino?" His voice was serious. "What's the situation?"
A stern command came from the other end of the line, "We are preparing to capture Elric Ho. Standby for now."
The words hung in the air like a hammer dropping. Miruko's body went rigid, and her gaze darkened as she slowly approached them.
Intimidated, Miruko asked, "What did you just say?"
A shift occurred in the atmosphere. An unseen force crackled through the air, creating a sense of static pressure that thickened around them. Although the temperature didn't change, sparks erupted around Miruko, flickering and dancing.
Her hair, previously dark, began to change, the tips turning a striking yellow, flickering like flames. One of her eyes glowed with electric gold, hidden partly under the shadows of her face.
Benikiba and her group froze, sensing the sudden spike in cursed energy. It wasn't just an increase; it was a shift. The atmosphere had changed entirely.
Miruko's voice cut through the tension, slow and deliberate.
"What do you mean… by 'capture' Elric Ho?"
The electricity sizzling through the air grew sharper, louder. The crackling arcs of energy around Miruko hissed with barely contained fury.
Benikiba, unfazed by the surge of cursed energy, dropped all pretense of professionalism. Her demeanor shifted instantly from controlled sorcerer to full-blown delinquent mode.
Benikiba cracked her knuckles, a smirk curling her lips. "Oh? Are you mad about something?" She stepped closer, tauntingly. "Then what are you going to do about it?" Her head tilted a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Huuuh?"
The tension in the schoolyard swelled to an overwhelming degree as Unrestrained Elric and Overtime Nanami stepped forward, their battered yet unwavering bodies illuminated by the faint glow of cursed energy.
Without hesitation, Nanami pulled off his protective glasses and tossed them toward Ino, ensuring they wouldn't break in the intense battle. Ino caught them, but his focus remained on the spectacle unfolding before him.
Then, in a flash, they launched at each other. A devastating cross-counter had occurred.
Their fists crashed simultaneously into each other's jaws, sending a shockwave. The sheer force of their cursed energy clashing cracked the ground beneath them, and Ino, now a spectator, felt the resounding force from where he stood.
What followed was a pure slugfest. Elric and Nanami abandoned the technique in favor of raw power, trading blow after blow, and were neither willing to back down. Each strike was heavy, each hit filled with cursed energy and determination. Their bodies bore the damage, but their spirits refused to waver.
The battle escalated to a brutal exchange until Nanami launched an unexpected strike.
Black lightning crackled through the air.
A sharp impact struck Elric's face, a surge of raw, refined, cursed energy surging through his body like a tidal wave. Nanami had landed a Black Flash.
Elric stumbled slightly, his head snapping to the side, but he didn't go down.
Nanami's eyes widened in disbelief as he retreated, assessing his opponent. Elric, unhinged and unshaken, checked his injury.
Elric's voice was calm, but the edge in his tone was undeniable. "What the hell was that?"
Nanami, adjusting his tie as he steadied himself, answered with calculated precision, "Black Flash. A phenomenon where cursed energy lands within 0.000001 seconds of a physical hit, creating a spatial distortion and increasing the attack's power by 2.5 times. Once achieved, it's a technique that grants the user a state where cursed energy control feels as natural as breathing."
Elric listened, absorbing every detail. Then, without warning, he vanished.
Nanami's senses screamed danger. Before he could react, Elric was already beneath him, striking upward with a lightning-fast choku-tsuki punch launched from a deep stance. Nanami moved to block, but something was wrong. The moment Elric's fist connected, the air itself sizzled. Black lightning flared.
Nanami's entire body lurched backward, the force of the impact sending him skidding across the yard. Elric had performed a Black Flash.
Nanami steadied himself, pressing his hand to his chest where the impact had landed. "How… did you do that so easily?" he asked, his intrigue undeniable.
Elric flexed his fingers, his body humming with the new sensation. "I listened to your explanation and applied it," he replied, smirking.
Nanami's surprise turned to excitement. His analytical mind could only conclude one thing, Elric wasn't normal.
With that realization, they resumed their brutal slugfest. Black Flashes sparked intermittently, each collision creating a thunderous display of cursed energy mastery. Their blows became sharper, faster, and more refined.
But Nanami, ever the tactician, had been waiting for his moment. Finally, he found a slight opening. He seized Elric's momentary lapse and hurled him directly toward Ino's position.
Ino was ready. A giant sphere of water formed, trapping Elric mid-flight. The sudden submersion caught Elric off guard. His body twisted, adjusting, but the currents inside the sphere held him in place.
Nanami, watching from a distance, adjusted his sleeves.
"You were busy digging yourself out of the rubble," Nanami said. "That gave us time to prepare."
Ino, outside the water sphere, exhaled heavily and drained from using so much cursed energy. "This much water… took a hell of a lot out of me."
Elric held his breath inside the water prison, fighting against the flow, but the current resisted. It wasn't just water. It was a controlled curse technique, a vortex to keep him trapped. He was running out of oxygen.
Standing just beyond the water sphere, Nanami adjusted his tie and exhaled, his voice calm but absolute.
"Elric, the battle ends here."
Elric's vision blurred slightly as he stared at the sorcerer through the swirling water, "You're strong," Nanami continued, "but this fight is meaningless now. We have a mission to complete, and you're in the way."
Elric clenched his fists, his muscles tensing.
"Stay down," Nanami warned. "Or you won't be getting back up."
Elric, despite the suffocating weight of the water, grinned. His voice, though muffled, was defiant, "Try me."
As he struggled, a sudden shift in the veil rippled through the air.
Nanami's eyes narrowed. 'Someone broke in?'
From the direction of the corner building, a high school girl emerged, dirt covering her face, breathing heavily. It was Miruko.
Nanami and Ino immediately stiffened. 'How did a civilian break through the veil?'
Miruko's eyes locked onto Elric, who was trapped and struggling to break free.
Miruko yelled out, "Elric!!"
Miruko sprinted forward. But before she could reach Elric, a dark blur shot forward. A sickening impact could be heard. Miruko's face slammed into the ground, the sharp crack of impact echoing across the battlefield.
Benikiba stood over her, bruised and covered in dirt but grinning triumphantly. "Tch. Finally took down this annoying little thunderbug."
Elric, watching from within the water sphere, felt something snap. Then electricity flared; Miruko's body convulsed.
Benikiba barely had time to react before a violent surge of electricity erupted, shocking her brutally. She yelped, staggering backward, her arms numb from the sudden jolt.
Hina and the bodyguard caught up but stopped dead in their tracks.
Miruko rose. Her hair fully turned yellow. Her eyes unleashed electric gold. Something had awakened.
But Miruko immediately sensed something wrong. The power was too much. Her cursed energy was overloading.
Miruko dropped to her knees, shaking. "I can't... control it."
The sorcerers hesitated. Even Ino, despite his exhaustion, moved to intervene. But before he could, a presence grabbed him from behind.
The next moment, Ino was inside his water ball with the prisoner. Elric had him in a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Python Hold: rear naked choke, legs locked, arms trapped.
Inside the suffocating water sphere, Ino panicked. His vision blurred as Elric's grip tightened. The realization struck him. Elric wasn't trying to kill him. He was forcing him to release the technique.
The water prison collapsed.
Nanami's eyes widened. 'He held his breath that long… just to take Ino down?'
But there was no time to think. Elric moved in a sprint faster than anything the sorcerers had seen before. He rushed forward, grabbed long rebars from the rubble, and sprinted toward Miruko.
Every sorcerer except the unconscious Ino tensed. Was he going for the kill?
Elric leaped. The rebars stabbed deep into the ground beside Miruko.
Nanami shouted, "You fool! You're in a kill zone, evacuate!"
Elric didn't move. He knelt beside the trembling girl, holding onto the rebars.
Miruko sobbed, her electricity surging violently, "Run! If you don't...it'll"
Elric's voice was calm, "Let it all out."
Miruko had no choice. She embraced Elric. A blast of electricity filled the area, and a thunderstrike fell upon them.
The entire battlefield was consumed in smoke. As it cleared, Elric still stood. Miruko clutched onto him, sobbing.
Elric exhaled his breath, visible smoke.
Realizing the rebars were used as lightning rods, Nanami whispered, "He… redirected it."
Elric stood up, slightly stumbling. He looked at Nanami, grinning.
"So," Elric asked, "wanna keep going?"
Nanami stared. For the first time in years, he felt his core shake.
Nanami exhaled, "…I concede."
A silence fell.
Ino, just waking up, choked on his breath, "Wait, what...?"
Nanami, still staring at Elric, declared, "We lost."