Countless cockroaches dove downward, their wings buzzing with a scalp-numbing drone as they swarmed toward Bocchi-chan, seemingly intent on devouring her whole.
But just as the cloud-like swarm was about to bite into Bocchi-chan, the talisman paper Yamada Ryo had thrown suddenly flashed with light. A shimmering, simple barrier manifested around Bocchi-chan, enveloping her like layers of watery film. The cockroaches cracked their mandibles against it, unable to touch her in the slightest.
The barrier itself wasn't particularly strong in terms of defense—it was just that the cockroaches' offensive relied entirely on numbers, with each individual attack being too weak to break through.
However, the talisman paper's stored magical energy was limited. Under continuous assault, it would inevitably run dry.
Yamada Ryo glanced at the two beside her.
Kita-chan had already fainted—likely from witnessing something that shattered her sanity.
Nijika clung to both Kita-chan and Bocchi-chan, calling out to them in panic, clearly unable to stay calm.
"No choice!"
Yamada Ryo took a deep breath, resolve hardening in her eyes.
She crouched down, pushed Nijika aside, and helped Bocchi-chan up.
Seeing Bocchi-chan's face twisted in terror, her teeth chattering, her eyes lifeless, Yamada Ryo could only grit her teeth and take a gamble.
"Bocchi-chan, snap out of it! Is this all the strength you have? What about your dreams? If you collapse now, it's all over! Don't lose to your own cowardice!"
Nijika, having been shoved aside, had expected something else—but upon hearing this, she stared at Yamada Ryo in shock.
Is this really the kind of thing you should be saying right now?
And do you even understand Bocchi-chan's power?
You know exactly how fragile her mentality is. If this kind of pep talk worked, it'd be a miracle!
Under their gazes, Bocchi-chan lifted her head.
The fear on her face hadn't lessened in the slightest.
Cockroaches were terrifying!
And there were so many—thousands upon thousands of them!
But Yamada Ryou's words reminded her of something.
Last time she fought this man, hadn't she won overwhelmingly?
Only a little over a month had passed—was she really going to lose this time?
No way!
Yamada Ryo watched as Bocchi-chan seemed to regain a sliver of spirit, her eyes lighting up with hope.
The endless swarm of cockroaches continued gnawing at the barrier. One by one, the talisman papers flared brightly before dimming, their power exhausted as they turned blank.
Yamada Ryo couldn't see the cockroaches, but seeing the talismans being consumed one after another, she knew the situation was dire. She couldn't afford to waste a single second.
In desperation, she pulled out her phone and pointed it at Bocchi-chan.
"Bocchi-chan, do your best! I'll record your heroic battle and upload it later—you'll go viral for sure! Tons of people will be asking for your socials!"
"We're counting on you now!"
Counting on me?
Counting on me!
COUNTING ON ME!!!
What a cool line!
Bocchi-chan suddenly raised her head, flames burning in her eyes.
"Hmph, so it's come to this... I'm the only one left... Hahahaha! Fine, I guess I have no choice. Since it's all up to me, I can't just run away now!"
Bocchi-chan struggled to her feet, swaying unsteadily as if severely injured.
Nijika watched her with concern, scanning her body but finding no visible wounds—just some dust on her clothes.
"Now, witness my true power!"
A determined grin spread across Bocchi-chan's face.
"My dream of making a hundred friends by year's end—I'll never give up on it!"
She remembered.
During Roy's training sessions, he had put her through similar drills!
The Bluetooth earphones were essentially just a switch to help her control her mindset. The real key was the training Roy had ingrained in her heart!
That's right—for example, when backed into a corner, I become invincible!
The activation phrase, if she recalled correctly, was that one!
"Don't underestimate the bonds between us!"
With a fierce shout, boundless energy surged through Bocchi-chan's entire body.
Limitless cursed energy erupted from her, accentuating her physique with dynamic tension, her entire presence radiating the intensity of a shonen manga climax.
Exactly.
After realizing Bocchi-chan's power was tied to her mental state, Roy had specifically trained her in mindset control.
Bocchi-chan struggled to regulate her emotions—her moods shifted too rapidly and erratically to consciously control. So Roy devised an alternative approach.
Hypnosis.
Making her believe she was invincible.
Once in this state, her technique would activate automatically. Whether the mindset was self-generated or externally imposed, she could enter this unstoppable mode.
In this form, even Roy would find it nearly impossible to defeat her at full strength. She could probably one-shot Sukuna if she tried.
However, Bocchi-chan's training was still recent—she couldn't reliably access this state yet. Hence the Bluetooth earphones as a mental control aid.
But their absence didn't mean the power was gone.
Through specific heroic catchphrases, she could self-hypnotize into the same condition!
"Take this!"
Bocchi-chan clasped her hands at her waist in a flower-bud pose, compressing massive cursed energy into a sphere.
With a whoosh, the energy blasted forth like a beam, annihilating every cockroach in its path.
The attack continued upward into the airborne swarm, engulfing the humanoid cockroach at its center—blasting it into nothingness with a spectacular explosion that painted the sky with fiery brilliance.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit Kurotsuchi, without ever showcasing its true capabilities, was obliterated beyond ashes.
"I know that move!"
Nijika gasped in recognition.
"Me too!"
Yamada Ryou nodded vigorously.
"It's the Kamehameha!"
"The hell?!"
Kenjaku reeled in shock.
How had the situation flipped so drastically?
One moment she was struggling, the next declaring victory?
Wait—this felt familiar!
What was this called again? It's a very common trope in anime... the power surge!
That's right, the power surge!
"Damn it, I can't win this. I need to get out of here!"
Kenjaku instantly realized he stood absolutely no chance against Bocchi-chan in this moment.
The power surge—that was a protagonist's exclusive skill, only activated when the atmosphere was just right!
When the moment arrived, the protagonist would unleash their power surge, pulling off ridiculously cool moves that were simply awe-inspiring. No enemy could possibly win against them then!
Without hesitation, Kenjaku released over a dozen low-grade cursed spirits, sending them charging toward Bocchi-chan while he turned and fled.
No matter. He had already figured out the true nature of Gotou Hitori's technique.
Even if he couldn't win this time, next time would be no problem.
As long as he didn't give her the chance to shift her mindset, Gotoh Hitori was far from invincible!
"Yo."
The next instant.
A shadowy figure silently appeared right in front of Kenjaku.
The man curled his scarred lips into a smirk, his hawk-like eyes brimming with razor-sharp killing intent.
Thud.
With a single thrust, the man drove a dagger straight through Kenjaku's chest.
"Didn't kill you ten years ago. Consider this payback."
"You bastard... Toji Fushiguro?!"
Kenjaku barely had time to blink before his chest was pierced.
His eyes widened in shock as he stared at the black-haired man before him.
"How are you here?!"
He'd been so busy lately, he'd completely forgotten about this guy!
Had Granny Ogami's technique not been undone yet?!
Toji Fushiguro—the Heavenly Restriction, born with zero cursed energy. There was no way to predict his movements through cursed energy sensing. The only way was to see him with your own eyes, and if you couldn't, you'd never detect his approach.
He was the perfect natural-born assassin!
Even if Kenjaku hadn't been in the middle of fighting Bocchi-chan, evading Toji's ambush would've been nearly impossible under normal circumstances!
"Huh?"
Bocchi-chan's overwhelming aura instantly dissipated, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
"Didn't I say I'd kill you eventually...? Or did I? Eh, whatever."
Toji yanked the dagger free, stepping back to avoid the spray of blood from Kenjaku's chest as he scratched his head, deciding not to overthink it.
"Anyway, I rushed over as soon as I heard something was going down here. Figured it had to be your doing—guess I was right!"
"Keh... keh..."
Clutching his chest, Kenjaku slowly collapsed to his knees, his face deathly pale.
Gritting through the agony of his pierced heart, he desperately channeled cursed energy to sustain his life. His face twitched as he forced out a mocking grin.
"Toji Fushiguro... For a man, you're not cute at all when you act tsundere... In the end, you're just trying to eliminate any threats to your son, aren't you?"
"Still clinging to that kid you sold off so early? You think he'd appreciate this? He definitely hates you. Who are you even doing this for? Just to pat yourself on the back?"
Toji's lips curled as he swung his blade.
A chilling wave of murderous intent erupted—the flash of steel severed Kenjaku's head from his shoulders.
"Say whatever you want. Point is, you're dying today."
Damn it!
That one might have actually hit the mark!
Kenjaku's head tumbled to the ground, seething with silent fury.
With just a head left, even he wouldn't survive for long!
If he had more time to switch bodies, that would be one thing—but right now, there was no suitable body to transfer into, nor anyone to assist him with the brain transplant surgery!
"First, I need to escape from him!"
Despite the extreme danger of the situation, Kenjaku's mind remained eerily calm.
The moment his head was severed, he lifted the restrictions on his technique.
His technique—or more accurately, Suguru Geto's technique, Cursed Spirit Manipulation—allowed him to subjugate cursed spirits and wield them at will. Normally, he could freely command them in battle.
Since this body was already a lost cause, he might as well squeeze the last bit of use out of it.
"Grrraaahh!"
"Roooar!"
"Screeeech!"
From Suguru Geto's headless corpse on the ground, countless chaotic roars erupted.
A dense, ominous surge of cursed energy burst forth from the decapitated body as countless cursed spirits howled and writhed, struggling to break free from the control of his technique.
Toji instinctively sensed danger and swiftly retreated.
Bocchi, witnessing the scene, quickly pulled Nijika and the others away.
At that moment, a small avian cursed spirit broke free from Suguru Geto's corpse and took flight.
Just as it seemed about to soar into the sky, it suddenly veered its wings, swooping toward Geto Suguru's disembodied head. With a swift grab of its talons, it snatched the head and flew off into the distance.
"Don't even think about escaping!"