CHAPTER 16: STORM OVER TOKYO

The wind howled violently over the steel and stone skyline of Tokyo, where neon lights flickered beneath a bruised sky. Rain clouds hung low, pressing against the rooftops like a lid over a boiling pot.

At the tallest tower in the city, a lone figure stood at the edge of the observation deck—Satoru Gojo, his blindfold fluttering in the wind.

From here, he could see everything.

Curses.

Dozens of them. Some slithering between alleyways, others leaping across rooftops, their grotesque shapes blending with the shadows of the city. Their eyes glowed like coals. Their whispers scraped against the skyline like insects crawling beneath flesh.

Gojo narrowed his eyes.

"They're all over… exactly like Geto said."

He raised a hand, cursed energy crackling like a thunderstorm building behind his back.

"I could erase ten blocks in five seconds…"

He stepped forward—

But a sudden pressure hit him.

Not from the sky. Not from below.

From behind.

In the blink of an eye, a man landed across the roof's edge, dressed in a long obsidian coat, eyes glowing faintly silver under the moonlight.

His name was Mikkel.

"You must be Gojo," he said, his voice low, faintly accented. "I was told you would be here."

Gojo tilted his head. "Huh. So Geto's sending lapdogs now?"

Mikkel didn't flinch. "I volunteered."

Gojo smiled wide. "Good. I was hoping to stretch a bit before slaughtering curses tonight."

Suddenly—they moved.

Two blurs collided atop the skyscraper—shockwaves cracked the tower's frame. Mikkel unsheathed two short cursed daggers with jagged red inscriptions. Gojo weaved between them, his Infinity humming as cursed blades bounced mere millimeters from his skin.

Steel sparked. Air split.

Their battle lit up the Tokyo skyline like fireworks.

Meanwhile, in the streets below—

Maki, Panda, and Inumaki dashed between overturned cars and flaming alleyways.

Cursed spirits lunged at civilians, only to be cleaved by Maki's spear, flattened by Panda's heavy fists, or commanded into stillness by Inumaki's raspy voice.

"Don't move!" he yelled, blood leaking from the edge of his lips.

They were holding the line. Barely.

"I thought we were supposed to be backup!" Panda shouted, smashing a lizard-like curse through a storefront window.

"Guess we're the main act now!" Maki yelled back, flipping over a collapsed truck.

From rooftops, curses leapt toward them—unrelenting, grotesque, shrieking.

"Where the hell is Yuta?!" she barked.

Inumaki looked around, shaking his head.

No sign.

Elsewhere—

Yuta Okkotsu stood alone on the edge of a dark underpass.

He breathed slowly, eyes scanning the quiet.

He'd been separated.

He didn't know where the others were.

But cursed energy tickled the air like static.

Rika hovered faintly beside him—her monstrous face solemn, protective.

"…We need to find them," Yuta whispered. "And fast."

Rika growled softly.

In the distance, a building erupted into flame.

War had begun.

And everyone was scattered.