CHAPTER 17: EDGE OF COLLAPSE

The city burned behind them.

Cursed flames danced along shattered glass and broken pavement. Smoke choked the air, and Tokyo trembled under the weight of Geto's declaration of war.

At the shattered edge of a once-bustling plaza, Maki, Panda, and Inumaki stood bloodied and bruised.

They had pushed back dozens of cursed spirits. The area was nearly cleared.

But then—

BOOM.

A violent shockwave tore through the air. Debris flew in every direction. A massive crater opened in the plaza's center.

From the smoke, walking with calm cruelty, emerged the mastermind himself.

Suguru Geto.

Hair swaying behind him, his black robe spotless despite the chaos. His smile—cold and carved in confidence.

"Tch. Just three left?" he said mockingly. "I was hoping for a little more... excitement."

Maki gritted her teeth, standing despite her battered legs. "You son of a—!"

She launched forward, spear spinning—only for Geto to flick his wrist. A cursed spirit burst forth from his sleeve like a whip and cracked her across the square, sending her skidding through rubble.

"Maki!" Panda shouted, charging with animalistic fury.

Geto raised a finger.

With a flick, ten curses exploded from behind him—an army compressed into a wave of destruction. Panda slammed his fists into two, but the rest swarmed him.

"Sleep." Inumaki's voice rasped, forcing several of the curses into paralysis.

But it wasn't enough.

Geto moved through them like a storm.

With a sickening crunch, Panda was thrown against a wall. Maki groaned, coughing blood as she tried to rise. Inumaki fell to one knee, his throat raw, blood trickling from his lips.

Geto hovered above them all, laughing madly.

"No Ryoiki Tenkai," he said, almost taunting himself. "No need to waste such a beautiful technique on the likes of you."

He stretched out his arms like a conductor in a symphony of screams.

"Pathetic."

And just as his foot began to rise—to crush Maki's face beneath it—

A shadow moved.

In the blink of an eye, a katana intercepted his heel.

The steel vibrated with cursed energy, humming like a war drum.

Geto's eyes flicked behind him.

Standing there—back straight, eyes cold, sword drawn—

Yuta Okkotsu.

And beside him, glowing with monstrous loyalty, snarling in silence—

Rika.

"I've heard enough," Yuta said, his voice low and burning.

Suguru Geto smiled wider.

"Well… took you long enough."