Chapter 79 & 68 Liberation Combined
“Why is Ooka here…?”
Yuibihama Yui’s volume gradually decreased.
A chestnut-haired teenager, hunched over and moving stiffly down the corridor, resembled a zombie from a film, eyes bloodshot.
“What has happened to him?” Even as an ordinary person, Yuibihama Yui could tell he was abnormal and asked worriedly.
She wanted to approach and ask, after all, he was her classmate. But Yukinoshita Yukino grabbed her wrist.
“Step back, Yuibihama-san,” Yukinoshita said sternly. “Now, Ooka is very dangerous.”
“Dangerous?” She had never seen Yukinoshita look so serious, obeying her without thought, her body being pulled behind Yukinoshita.
Overflowing curse energy mixed with a cursed aura, as if his consciousness had been taken by curses. His red eyes reflected the image of the black-haired girl.
Yukinoshita glanced at the disoriented pink-haired girl next to her, “Hachiman, take Yuibihama away.”
“Understood.” Hachiman Hikigaya nodded, retreating quickly.
But at that moment, Ooka moved unexpectedly.
Last second he looked like a feeble elderly man, next second he shot towards Yukinoshita with astounding speed. Facing the trapped Hachiman in between them, Ooka swung his arm like a pendulum smashing Hachiman away.
Only able to raise his arms to block, the force sent him flying through the window, falling from the building.
No way? Another time?? Hachi’s thoughts spun.
Looking at the familiar yellowish sky, Hachiman’s eyes were lifeless.
“Little Shizuka!?”
Seeing Hachiman be flung off the building by Ooka, Yuibihama naturally let out a scream.
Without stopping, Ooka’s eyes only focused on Yukinoshita. For days, he had been tormented by his nightly whispers. Under the influence of his twisted soul and curses, all he had in his mind was the pure intent of killing the girl he stood face-to-face with.
His actions were swift, but he couldn’t evade Yukinoshita’s gaze. Just as he entered her attacking range, she delivered a side-kick that slammed against him. It looked as if he had run into her himself.
Stumbling backward, he rolled faster than he charged.
Yuibihama took this chance to rush to the window and look down anxiously.
She saw Hachiman lying sprawled below, his lips stained with blood, giving her a thumbs up.
When plummeting, Hachiman used his curse energy to protect himself. Other than the impact causing him to cough up blood, he wasn’t seriously injured.
Though puzzled by how he wasn’t severely hurt from the fall, she breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his state.
“Yuibihama, stay behind me.” Yukinoshita spoke, walking towards the renewed Ooka.
“Okay…” Yuibihama, after another glance at Hachiman below, ran quickly to Yukinoshita’s side. “That, uh, Yuiko, what’s going on?”
“I’ll explain later,” Yukinoshita sighed, this situation impossible to hide any longer. Right now, the foremost task was to neutralize Ooka.
The revived Ooka did not attempt further attack. Bowing forward, something odd began happening to his school uniform.
Rip!
With the sound of the uniform tearing, spider-like limbs emerged from his back, gripping the ground with eight in total, lifting him entirely off the ground. They even appeared slightly hairy.
“These…are spider legs?”
Yukinoshita frowned. Lin Qi had mentioned Ooka was a sorcerer rather than a curse spirit. Was this his technique? Ordinary people aren’t sorcerers though. So why did he suddenly awaken his curse power? Could it be something similar to Hachiman or the curse on him…
The sight of human appendages growing spider legs horrified the pink-haired girl. She collapsed, passing out from the shock.
Yukinoshita considered Ooka’s strange new ability when she heard a thump behind her, “Yuibihama? Passed out…”
As she wrestled with where to put a now unconscious Yuibihama, a panting Hachiman climbed up.
Yuibihama passed out from the terror, take her and go. Stay here and deal with Ooka, commanded Yukinoshita.
“Alright.”
Thus Hachiman carried Yuibihama down with him.
Free to confront their enemy, Yukinoshita faced him confidently, also conversing freely with Lin Qi, “Parasitic Bug, so Ooka and Hachiman are both normal people who suddenly awakened their curse abilities like?”
“Not quite.” Lin Qi narrowed his eyes, watching a temporarily still Ooka. “It’s due to an altered technique, maybe someone tampered with him.”
Sharing a body and soul state with Yukinoshita, he sensed the minuscule distortion in Ooka’s soul.
This technique, he recognized it from the system’s list.
“Inaction Transformation.” That must be it, Lin Qi explained, “a technique that alters one’s soul shape, be it their own or others’.
“Brilliant concept to grant ordinary humans curse ability,” commented Hachiman, but Ooka, judging by appearances, is a failure.”
“This boy might die.” He stated gravely.
“Huh?” Yukinoshita started. “What do you mean?”
“The curses spread to his whole body, soul reconstruction imperfect, death imminent.” Lin Qi declared coldly, “probably influenced mentally, perhaps not Ooka controlling his body anymore.”
“It must have begun when you punished him, likely encountering someone who manipulated him or his curse.” Lin Qi speculated.
“To experiment on people with such malice, a despicable act,” he added.
“And he just said…” Her voice faltered.
Back when she knew, non-magical people in this world with curses rarely had good outcomes once meeting a curse spirit or magician.
Still, when things like this occurred around her, the absurdity felt unbelievable.
Nonetheless, anger at whoever caused such trouble didn’t change.
“Snow…Snow之下…”
Ooka, head lowered, fists clenched, spoke unevenly like an electrical glitch.
“Quick…escape…”
The black-haired girl took a deep breath, composing herself, then looked at the chestnut-headed youth again, seriousness in her gaze, “I will release you, Ooka-senpai.”
As if understanding, Ooka hung his head, his body slumped in mid-air. The spider legs rapidly advanced, charging toward Yukinoshita.
Yukinoshita stretched out her hand, invisible slashes cleaved through four spider limbs. Struggling, Ooka lost balance, tumbling across the hall, sliding toward her.
She lunged, ready to attack. But as she approached the fallen Ooka, alarm bells rang.
Spider limbs protruded from his back again, with tips like spears, black with a toxic sheen.
The new limbs plunged toward Yukinoshita. She stopped short, leaping to the side to dodge Ooka’s attack. Floors beneath shattered, revealing stark concrete surfaces.
“Regeneration?”
Worry filled Yukinoshita’s eyes watching the new limbs emerge from Ooka’s back. Fortunately, she dodged. Otherwise, even healed, such wounds would hurt.
“No, regeneration rebuilt entirely.” Corrected Lin Qi, “his technique; observe closely, the limbs are curse-power-based.”
“I see.” Yukinoshita understood.
“Sorcerer battles rely heavily on information, observe and analyze.” Lin Qi instructed, “equal-strength sorcerers, knowing opponents’ techniques can target them.”
“If a known technique doesn’t hinder, expose it to gain power.”
“I understand.” She nodded, taking a fighting stance.
Surrounded by the eight limb-spiderified Ooka, he ascended to the ceiling. From above, he lunged downward with sharp limbs.
Yukinoshita launched another curse-powered strike, severing the limbs. The strike kept advancing, striking Ooka’s chest, sending both crashing into the ceiling.
The ceiling crumbled under their impact. Yukinoshita evaded falling debris.
Above, a series of crushing sounds came. As she was cornered, she turned, knees bent, vaulting upward.
A punch smashed through the ceiling, while a slash severed an incoming limb. She seized Ooka’s collar, pressing against his chest.
“Rest in peace.”
The girl spoke softly. Without cutting, she cleanly destroyed Ooka’s heart with curse power, preserving his corporeal form.
Shattered limbs ceased reformation, turning into dark curse, scattered like black sparks.
Carrying his body down, Yukinoshita gently laid him on the ground.
Nine face with compassion, she reached, brushing his eyes closed.
Ooka’s face relaxed, as if he had drifted into a peaceful slumber.
“He was fighting the curse till the end, probably,” Yukinoshita thought deeply, exhaling weightily.
“Well, for an ordinary person, he really did try hard,” Lin Qi remarked.
Not long after, at the stairwell, light footsteps approached hurriedly. Hachiman appeared out of breath, “Brought Yuibihama to the infirmary, how’s it?”
He halted upon seeing Ooka lying there silently.
Both fell silent for a moment until Yukinoshita softly spoke, “Thank you, Hachiman-san.”
“Was nothing.” Hachiman responded honestly.
He had only climbed ladders and then carried Yuibihama.
Back at their clubroom, Yukinoshita updated him, asking Lin Qi to employ a reversal technique to help heal his wounds. His aching body recovered instantly.
“Thanks, that blow hurt,” he said, casting a mournful glance at Ooka. “What next?”
Hating that clique led by Sakurai, yet his feelings weren’t that dark. It pained all to lose a classmate.
Thanks to Yukinoshita’s care, Hachiman didn’t fall ill with disgust.
“Let’s contact Ijichi-san.”
Yukinoshita retrieved her phone from her bag within the clubroom and dialed Ijichi.
