"Lord Naoya—!"
Ranta Zenin wailed loudly and used his Innate Technique again without hesitation.
"Cursed Spirit... I want you dead—!"
—Divine Might!
Lightning flashed in the sky, and the curtain of rain obscured everyone's vision.
Only a silver arc of light appeared in the darkness.
Before Divine Might could activate, Mahito threw the Mirokuji Kirigiri in his hand, as if Odin had thrown Gungnir!
Ranta Zenin activated Divine Might and stared at Mahito, but in an instant, his vision was covered by the blade light of Kirigiri.
"Ranta!"
A squad member pulled Ranta Zenin back.
Kirigiri's blade light brushed past Ranta's ear, and the Cursed Technique he had just released was interrupted.
Mahito suddenly leaped, arriving at Ranta's side in an instant.
No one reacted to this move because Mahito's neck had just been half-severed; everyone thought he was dead, and no one expected him to survive such a situation.
Mahito raised one hand, his palm covering Ranta Zenin's entire face.
At that moment, Ranta's entire field of vision consisted only of the lines on that palm; he felt like a monkey in the palm of the Buddha.
"Don't even think about it!"
A muffled voice boomed as a massive force smashed into Mahito's forearm.
Mahito's forearm snapped instantly, the explosive sound scattering the curtain of rain, like a massive whale letting out an abyssal cry in the deep sea.
The person pulling Ranta had struck at the critical moment.
He didn't use a Cursed Technique release but simply used his own fist to smash Mahito's outstretched forearm.
Mahito's speed was unquestionable, yet he was able to accurately grasp this timing to punch, his sharp eyesight like an eagle preying on a wild rabbit from high above.
Mahito's eyes shifted, his heterochromatic eyes glowing faintly beneath his bamboo hat in the rain.
A sturdy middle-aged man appeared before Mahito's eyes.
He had wild long hair that reached down to his lumbar vertebrae, draped across his back like the bristles of a wild boar standing on end.
He stood over two meters tall, his body as sturdy as a brown bear, with muscles as tense as rock.
On his forehead was a prominent cross-shaped scar, and beneath his thick eyebrows were eyes filled with immense majesty.
These eyes looked directly into Mahito's demon-like heterochromatic eyes, without flinching or dodging.
"Hei" squad member.
Special Grade 1 Sorcerer.
Jinichi Zenin.
"Cursed Spirit, I will not give you another chance."
"Face the Zenin's wrath!"
Jinichi Zenin reached out and grabbed his kimono, tearing it apart with just the strength of his fingers.
He did not discard the torn kimono; instead, he wrapped it around his waist and tied a dead knot with the sleeves.
His exposed upper body had thick chest hair and knotted muscles.
The heavy rain poured over him as if wind and rain were striking a rocky mountain.
He stood upright, looking down at Mahito like a massive mountain looking down at a tiny ant.
A second Special Grade 1 Sorcerer!
The Zenin Clan had a total of four Special Grade 1 Sorcerers, and now they were finally appearing before Mahito one by one.
This showed that Mahito had almost torn through the Zenin Clan single-handedly.
Mahito raised his hand, and Idle Transfiguration healed his broken forearm.
He extended his five fingers, clenching and opening them; the healed hand felt no discomfort at all.
"I'm looking forward to it," Mahito said.
Jinichi Zenin let out a wild roar!
The massive roar scattered the surrounding rain, and sound waves continuously rippled outward, swallowing Mahito in an instant.
Jinichi Zenin raised his fist amidst the roar.
In the heavy rain, his muscles rippled; all the muscles in his body had already activated as he raised his hand.
Mahito could see the muscle patterns on Jinichi Zenin's body rushing forward like a roaring river, finally converging into Jinichi Zenin's fist.
Then, Jinichi Zenin swung this fist fiercely, smashing it toward Mahito.
One! Strike!
Mahito immediately wanted to dodge.
Just seeing Jinichi Zenin's rippling muscles, he knew he couldn't take this powerful punch head-on.
But just as he lifted his foot, his body froze.
—Divine Might!
Ranta, who had been saved, actually didn't flee out of cowardice.
He stared directly at Mahito, using all his strength to maintain his Cursed Technique, causing Mahito to freeze in place at the critical moment.
Jinichi Zenin's fist smashed into Mahito's face, sending the bamboo hat flying.
Mahito's facial features were almost entirely caved in, and the massive force pierced through Mahito's brain, turning it into mush.
His body flew backward uncontrollably; the massive impact made it impossible for him to stay in place, and he was about to be blasted back like a cannonball.
But Jinichi Zenin wouldn't allow it!
The range of the Divine Might Cursed Technique was within Ranta Zenin's line of sight.
If Mahito flew backward due to the impact, he would leave Ranta Zenin's sight in that instant, and the Divine Might on Mahito would be immediately released.
Having finally caught this opportunity, how could Jinichi Zenin let Mahito escape so easily?
He grabbed Mahito just as his feet left the ground from the impact.
He grabbed Mahito's collar with one hand and smashed down again with the other!
One hit! Two hits!
Ten hits! Twenty hits!
A flurry of punches!
Jinichi Zenin continued to strike amidst his roars.
His fists fell upon Mahito's body like the torrential rain from the sky.
Mahito was beaten by Jinichi Zenin's fists like a lifeless wooden stake.
Each time he was hit, his body let out a massive explosive sound.
In the end, the cumulative sounds of flesh exploding were continuous, like a rushing ocean tide.
But it was the attacker, Jinichi Zenin, whose expression changed!
At this moment, Mahito actually maintained his human form.
Even though he was a bloody mess and his originally neat kimono and haori were torn into rags fluttering in the wind—and the bamboo hat had flown off to who knows where—his flesh always returned to its original state after exploding, bitterly waiting for the moment of recovery amidst Jinichi Zenin's barrage.
Mahito's body vibrated violently.
Bloodshot veins suddenly appeared in Ranta's eyes, and his hands reached out instinctively.
This was not his hand-seal gesture but an unconscious action.
His Cursed Technique, Divine Might, was a rare technique that could be maintained continuously without hand seals.
There was only one reason he made this movement instinctively:
Ranta Zenin shouted loudly: "Jinichi-sama! Don't stop the barrage!"
"This Cursed Spirit is still struggling... he's still struggling!"
The surrounding squad members were stunned.
One couldn't help but shout: "Are you joking?"
"Even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with incredible recovery abilities would surely die in this situation!"
Only Jinichi Zenin, who was currently throwing punches, knew that Ranta was right.
Mahito was not dead.
Not only was he not dead, but his recovery speed was actually increasing.
This Cursed Spirit, who had almost slaughtered the Zenin Clan, had not yet grown into his complete form; he was still adapting, still growing!
One of Ranta Zenin's eyes suddenly burst, blood flowing from the corner of his eye.
But he let out a scream and did not move his gaze away from Mahito.
Divine Might was still being maintained.
Jinichi Zenin couldn't help but look back at Ranta Zenin.
Ranta Zenin's Divine Might Cursed Technique was indeed excellent, practical, and easy to activate.
It had great potential whether as support or as a main attacker.
But even such an excellent technique was not invincible; his Divine Might could not cope with opponents with too large a rank difference.
In the original work...
When facing an enemy on the level of the Heavenly Restriction, his final result was both eyes bursting, dying from the backlash of his Cursed Technique after using all his strength.
Now, Ranta Zenin was meeting the same fate as in the original work.
He had used all his strength to restrict Mahito's movements, but because Mahito's struggle intensity had increased, his eyes were already overburdened.
His eyes first became bloodshot, then burst.
If he didn't release the technique now, his only fate would be dying from the technique's backlash just like in the original work!
But having come this far, how could he release the technique?
Ranta Zenin roared with all his might: "Jinichi-sama, don't worry about me!"
"Now, just kill this Cursed Spirit!"
"It's still growing... at a rate visible to the naked eye!"
"Before it continues to grow... you must...!"
Ranta Zenin's other eye also bulged, almost about to burst.
But at this moment, Jinichi Zenin had already turned back and swung his fist again.
The flurry of punches had not stopped, had not stopped!
Within the time Ranta Zenin had bought with his life, he would kill the Cursed Spirit before him!
Jinichi Zenin had made his resolution.
A Cursed Spirit's recovery power has a limit, even for a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
The King of Curses before him was of a rank that surpassed all Cursed Spirits recorded in history, yet even so, he still had his limits.
Jinichi Zenin firmly believed this.
Therefore, what he had to do was simple.
Use violence!
Blast him into nothingness!
Jinichi Zenin roared loudly.