Chapter 253

On the grey concrete path that wound its way through weathered wooden structures, bathed in the warm golden glow of lanterns swaying in the stillness, two figures stood beneath the sacred silence of the Tomb of Stars.

Riko Amanai, the Star Plasma Vessel—Tengen's living sacrifice—stood with tears on her cheeks, her voice trembling but bold. Opposite her was Suguru Geto, one of Jujutsu High's most powerful sorcerers, still so young yet already a pillar of strength.

"I want to be with everyone!" Amanai cried, her heart pouring out of her words.

"I want to see all kinds of things and do more!"

She reached out with a trembling hand, her eyes filled with unfiltered longing. Geto, touched by her raw honesty, smiled gently. He extended his hand in turn, ready to grasp her future.

BANG!

A gunshot cracked through the silence like thunder through glass. The sound bounced off the walls of the tomb, deafening and abrupt.

The bullet struck the ceiling. Dust rained down.

Amanai and Geto spun in place, their eyes shooting to the entrance—and there he stood: Toji Fushiguro, the Sorcerer Killer. Towering, cold-eyed, dressed in black. A gun rested casually in his outstretched hand.

But he wasn't alone.

Standing beside him was a giant in comparison—Ali, masked, broader, taller, and far more imposing. One hand gripped the barrel of Toji's handgun, pulling it upward toward the ceiling. He had diverted the kill shot.

Toji's dark eyes, usually still and calculating, narrowed as he turned his head and looked at the stranger beside him. 'I couldn't feel him coming at all!' His grip on the gun tightened instinctively, muscles flexing as he tried to wrench it free.

Ali, eyes like obsidian behind the gold and black mask, met Toji's gaze without flinching. The masked giant let go just before the sudden wave of force from Toji's counterattack hit—and in a blink, Ali vanished.

WHOOSH

A burst of displaced air roared as Ali reappeared in front of Geto and Amanai. The air bent around him from the sheer momentum. He landed with purpose, standing between the stunned pair and the Sorcerer Killer.

Geto, still processing the shock of Toji's presence and now facing a second unknown, raised a cursed energy-coated hand. His body positioned to defend Amanai, whose fingers clung to the back of his sleeve.

"Who are you?" he demanded, his eyes flicking across Ali's mask, trying to sense cursed energy—finding none.

"The man who saved her," Ali said. His voice was low, cold, and full of command. "Now take her and get out. Leave him to me."

The pressure in the air shifted instantly. The sheer presence of Ali sent a ripple of tension through Geto's nerves. The sorcerer swallowed and looked behind Ali at the man who as rubbing his head with a handgun. 'No cursed energy. Just like him…' he realised, looking at Toji.

Then Toji moved his hand holding the gun and aimed at Ali's exposed back.

"Watch out!" Amanai shouted, her voice cracking as she warned Ali of the threat behind him.

Ali didn't turn. He didn't flinch. Instead, he spoke one word with calm, lethal precision:

"BITE."

The world beneath Toji's feet rumbled.

ZZZZZZZZZZ

A black portal tore itself open under Toji's position—vortex-like, rippling outward like a pool of liquid darkness. The tomb trembled slightly as a monstrous presence surged through it.

From within the shadows, a giant, horrifying dragon head erupted. Its scales were obsidian, and its open jaws stretched impossibly wide, rows upon rows of sword-sized teeth glinting in the lantern light. Its breath carried the scent of blood and death.

Toji was at the centre of it.

Still—he didn't move.

Geto and Amanai, standing a distance away beside Ali, froze in horror as they witnessed the beast lunge with divine fury.

And yet, Toji smiled. A wicked grin, not fear. His black eyes burned with thrill as the massive teeth closed in.

Ali remained still, his voice a low command that cut through the growing roar.

"LEAVE."

The word jolted Geto out of his frozen trance. His eyes shot to Amanai, then to Ali—and he understood. He scooped Amanai into his arms without hesitation and turned, sprinting toward the far end of the tomb.

Ali, slowly and deliberately, turned to face the scene behind him. His black eyes reflected the image of his summon with its prey in it's mouth like a victorious lion with it's teeth dug into it's prey's neck.

'This is gonna be fun,' he thought with a cold grin beneath his mask. With one hand, he reached up—and removed it.

The moment the mask came off—

SLASH. SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.

In an instant, four blinding white cuts ripped across the dragon's face and neck in perfect precision. The massive summon split into four clean pieces mid-air, black ichor spraying across the ground like ink.

Its body hit the concrete in thunderous, wet thuds. Black blood pooled, bubbling, before evaporating in waves of steam. The remaining chunks of dragon flesh dissolved rapidly, fading into nothingness.

Standing at the epicentre of destruction, calmly wiping a thin line of blood from his blade, was Toji Fushiguro.

His large frame rose through the smoke and blood like a demon born from the void, his Split Soul Katana resting effortlessly on his shoulder.

Only someone like Toji could wield it. Only someone as strong as him could bring out it's true power. The sword enhanced his senses to the extreme and enabled him to see souls of curses and inanimate objects.

'Even with the katana, I could barely feel him. Still not a trace of cursed energy…' Ali's mind sharpened. 'Heavenly Restriction. That confirms it. But his speed and strength… they're no joke.'

Toji's smile lingered, eyes narrowing as he studied the man before him.

Ali opened his palm, unbothered by the death of his summon. A black handle materialised in his hand.

Toji's grin twitched slightly. 'Where did that come from?'

Ali pressed the button.

SHRRRAK.

A grotesque, muscle-like red great-sword exploded out of the handle, extending to nearly twice the size of Toji's own katana. The blade pulsed like a living thing—veins of crimson glowing along its sinews, its weight cracking the ground as Ali gripped it with both hands.

Toji chuckled.

"I'll add it to my collection after I kill you."

Geto lowered into a stance—his body coiled like a spring, katana resting on his shoulder, the anticipation thick enough to choke.

Ali gripped the quinque with both hands, the tip dragging against the floor with a high-pitched screech that echoed off the stone walls. His body flexed—black veins bulging from his arms, crawling up his neck like burning rivers. His left eye was now a solid ink-black orb.

He looked like death given form.

'I can't figure him out… I've never seen a transformation like this,' Toji thought, analysing Ali with surgical focus. 'If he's housing a curse inside him, why is there still no cursed energy?'

The air between them grew impossibly tense.

Two grandmasters. No words. Just silence. The kind of silence that only lives before monsters do battle.

Ali's breathing slowed. His fingers tightened. His muscles were coiled like steel cables.

CRACK.

The stone beneath Toji's feet spiderwebbed. In an instant, he vanished.

Ali's eyes didn't flinch.

He opened his intent—a drop of it—and let it spill.

——————-

Be ready for one of—if not my best fight so far, I tried hard on this one.

Please donate some of your power stones, it would help my ff massively.

Five chapters ahead of webnovel on patreon.com/Rondo312