Ruby's lips twitched at the sight off her weapon being held by the boy once again, it wasn't really their first time this happened to her nor will it be the last.
Weiss had an annoyed look on her face. "I really hate this guy."
Chara looked at Rael who was not able to communicate with him or was he able to communicate with her since it seemed something was blocking their mental link.
Nonetheless he raised his arm and a knife made from DT appeared on his palm. "I am not really keen on letting my knife be kept by that thing, should I kill him?."
Ruby immediately declined. "No, don't kill him if you do our weapons will be lost somewhere in the school and he'll come back somewhere, we have to play by its rules before we are able to get back our weapons."
Itadori was already ready to fight the corrupted student but he sighed upon hearing Ruby's words, he didn't think he could fend of all those arms. "What exactly is it's rule, our source only told us vague information about it."
Weiss was the one to speak with a hateful expression on her face. "Whatever we touch that belongs to us will no longer be owned by us, if the locker fully opens our items will be scattered into the school, in order to get them back we would have to get the locker away from him or somehow forcefully take back our weapons and we also haven't to avoid his attacks in the process."
To chara, that didn't sound particularly hard, he had many ways to do that, the next moment his eyes glowed a gentle blue. "Is that all?."
Confused by his sudden change of eye colour but not really weirded out she nodded.
Upon obtaining her conformation two blue ribbons wrapped around Charas arms, his front leg was forward and his left leg back, they were both slowly tipped upwards. "Not really a great dancer but what choice do I really have."
Without a hint of hesitation, Chara began to walk forward, his movements were graceful and at the same time there was a hypnotic rhythm to it.
Then with a sudden movement, he dashed forward and the moment he did one of the boys numerous arms shot out and stretched towards him.
The ribbon on one of charas arm extended like a string and intercepted it and redirected it towards the side of the halll. The corrupted paused for a moment before ten more arms stretched towards chara with impressive speed.
Chara clicked his tongue and the ribbon on his other arm shot out accompanied by new ribbons that manifested around his back towards the incoming arms.
Just like the first one, the rest of the ten arms were all held by a ribbon, suspended in mid air as they tried to break free from them. "You know, this is the perfect chance for you guys to try and close that locker, I may have seven souls but that does not mean I have an unlimited amount of energy."
Itadori did not need to be told twice, he rushed towards the corrupted student, ignoring the suspended arms and reached towards him. A hand curled into a fist targeted itadori but it was sadly blocked and deflected from him.
Itadori fought against the assault of the rest of the arms, Ruby and Weiss were already in the corrupteds perimeter, Weiss was using her semblance to create runes and propel herself away once she was attacked even though she could risk making the corruption spread faster.
Ruby effortlessly dodged the arms with her semblance and was the first to reach the locker, with her weight, she immediately stepped on the locker, making it creak and stopped it from opening, though she was met with quite large amounts of force.
The locker hissed, a sound like steam escaping a pressure cooker, as the black-red sludge bubbled from the seams. Ruby's feet nearly slipped on the slick, corrosive surface, but she held firm, her cape billowing as she braced herself.
"It's... it's heavy!" Ruby gasped, her face pale. "The corruption inside is pushing back!"
Weiss skidded to a halt beside her, weaving a white glyph beneath Ruby's feet to provide extra friction and stability. "Don't just stand there! Itadori! Chara! We need a way to lock this thing permanently, or at least suppress the student!"
Chara's eyes, still glowing with the Patience soul's azure light, narrowed. He could feel the drain. The ribbons were an extension of his soul's energy, and the "Hoarder" was incredibly strong.
The corrupted student let out a distorted, gargling scream, his translucent skin rippling as more black arms began to tear through his back to replace the ones Chara had tied up.
Chara's lips twitched, this guy was truly annoying, One of Chara's eyes flashed a Dark Blue, instantly a Dark Blue platform appeared under the corrupted student and gravity pressed down upon him as well as Ruby and Weiss.
It couldn't be helped, it's not like he had instant mastery over the seven souls, he still needed to practice in order for him to use them better.
The hallway floor groans under the sudden increase in weight. Cracks spiderweb out from under the Hoarder's feet, and the locker let out a metallic screech as it was crushed against the floor.
"Chara!" Weiss shrieked, her knees buckling as the dark blue pressure forced her into a crouch. "A little... less... gravity!"
Ruby was coughing, her hands still pressed against the lid of the locker. The black sludge was being squeezed out of the seams like oil, and where it touched the floor, the wood hissed and dissolved.
The Hoarder's translucent face was distorted. Under the crushing weight, his purple skin began to tear, but instead of blood, more of the black arms forced their way out, acting like pillars to prop his body up against the gravity.
"I'm working on it!" Chara hissed, his teeth gritted. The strain was making his vision swim.
Itadori, however, was in his element. His high physical resistance and the Core of Sentience pulsing in his soul allowed him to move through the heavy gravity better than the others. He saw an opening. The Hoarder was so focused on holding himself up that his midsection was exposed.
"Chara, hold him for three more seconds!" Itadori yelled. He pulled his fist back, cursed energy flickering like black sparks around his knuckles.
Itadori's feet dig into the cracked stone, the gravity acting as an anchor for his explosive power.
"Three..." Chara begins to count.
"Two..."
The Hoarder's gargling scream reaches a crescendo, his purple skin splitting as a massive, obsidian arm—thick as a tree trunk—erupts from his chest, aiming directly for Itadori's heart.
"ONE!"
Itadori's fist struck out and collided with that of the Hoarder, his cursed energy flared up, accompanied by a strange almost alive feeling.
The cursed energy and strange energy traveled from the Hoarders arms, straight to it's chest, a second later the delayed cursed energy exploded and the Hoarder let out a scream, the arm that sprouted from its chest dissolved into pool of black goo.
Using the opportunity that was provided, Ruby immediately closed the latch on the locker. The Hoarder let out another scream as it began to dissolve.
The weapon on its arms wavered like Illusions before completely disappearing and returning to their owners. The Hoarder continously screamed as it began to melt from the head down.
Ruby and Weiss are catching their breath, clutching their weapons like lifelines. The silence that follows the Hoarder's scream is even more oppressive than before.
"We got them back," Ruby whispers, her fingers tracing the familiar cold steel of her scythe. A bit of the color has returned to her face. "Thank you. I didn't think... I didn't think we'd see these again."
Weiss looks at the puddle of black goo that used to be a student. Her expression is a mix of disgust and pity. "He's gone. Truly gone this time. At least he won't be 'owning' anyone else."
Chara sighed, stretching his body as energy began to return to him, he realised that fighting monsters seemed more easier than fighting that thing, maybe because he was still level 2 that he was weak and speaking of levels, he might need to go monster hunting once he returned home.
Itadori walked towards them with a triumphant smile on his face. "We won guys."
While the team is celebrating their small victory.
In another part of the academy, Homura, Blake, Misaka and Kazuma were walking around. The silence in this part of the school was different. It didn't feel like a tomb; it felt like a trap.
"Remind me why I'm the one in front?" Kazuma whispered, his hands shaking as he gripped his sword. He had his Steal skill ready, though he wasn't sure if he could steal the corruption out of someone's heart—probably not.