Yuki ran toward the infirmary carrying Koenji on her back, thinking, 'I need to hurry. I need to get back quickly, or Kiyotaka will die!'
She rushed into the infirmary as Hiyori looked startled, saying, "You're back, earl- Koenji?! What happened to him?"
"He needs rest. I have to go back out there and help Kiyotaka."
Hiyori nodded, saying, "Bring him over here."
Yuki put him on a bed as Hiyori said, "His skin is pale."
"I think Kiyotaka healed him a little."
Yuki said this as Ichinose rushed over, saying, "He must have done the bare minimum to keep him alive, but... what in the world could hurt Koenji like this?"
"Something dangerous. I have to go, but Ichinose-San did not attempt to use your Cursed technique on him. You will not be able to remain conscious for long enough to use the Reverse Cursed Technique."
Yuyki said this, but Kei stopped her, saying, "I've been gathering Cursed Energy. Just a little here and there from people in the infirmary in case Kiyotaka needed it again. Let me fill you up before you go."
Yuki nodded, saying, "Do it quickly."
Kei touched her navel and began transferring Cursed Energy as Yuki thought, 'I feel full of Cursed Energy.'
Yuki then rushed out of the building, running desperately towards the loud noises of combat, when ice formed in front of her, and a monk appeared, standing in her way.
Yuki stared at them, asking, "Wh-who are you?"
Uraume replied, saying, "I'm simply Sukuna-sama's servant."
Yuki sweated, thinking, 'She's strong! If I hesitate, I'll die. Can I... even win against her? No. I have to win.'
Uraume looked to her and said, "Stay out of the way."
Yuki got into a stance, thinking, 'Ice generation ability. It's not a good match for me.'
Uraume blew ice from her hands as Yuki shouted, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
A giant wolf made of fire appeared and slammed into the ice Uraume had generated as steam billowed up from the impact as Uraume looked to her and asked, "Who are you?"
"Sakurako Yuki."
She responded as Urami nodded, blowing out ice again, as Yuki jumped into a building, smashing through a window and thinking, 'Heat source. I need a heat source.'
Uraume looked to Yuki, thinking, 'A coward? Perhaps I overestimated her.'
Uruame entered the building as she thought, 'That smell... gas?'
In the next second, a fire could be seened int he disstance as light flooded into Uraume's eyes and the building exploded with flames, but as Uraume raised her hands to block it, she felt a fist slam into her arms as she was sent flying through a building.
Yuki had caused the eplosion to get a reaction out of Uraume. While Uraume reacted, Yuki proceeded to absorb the heat from the explosion and land a punch on Uraume's arms.
Uraume felt her arms shake from the impact, thinking, 'It was a trap.'
Suddenly, Yuki appeared in front of Uraume, slamming her leg into Uraume's stomach and sending them flying through another building as Uraume coughed up blood, thinking, 'How is she so much stronger and faster now?!'
Yuki again appeared in front of her as Uraume coated her fingers in icicles, striking out at her, only for Yuki to dodge and make Uraume think, 'She's even faster?'
Yuki slammed her foot into Uraume's chin with a roundhouse kick, sending her up crashing up through the building and through the roof, as Uraume landed on the roof, healing herself and thinking, 'I feel cold. How strange. Is that part of her technique?'
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
A giant wolf rushed up after Uraume, who chanted, "Ice Formation: Frost Clam", as their ice collided with the creature, and she turned around, blocking a hit from Yuki, thinking, 'I understand now. You steal heat from your opponent, and the difference in temperature aligns with your physical abilities.'
Yuki stood there as she thought, 'She's figured it out. This might just become an uphill battle from here on.'
Uraume waved her hands as ice formed, and Yuki threw up her hands, being frozen in place as she felt her body temperature lowering, and she started using Heat Return to melt the ice, thinking, 'It's as problematic as I thought. Her attacks lower my body temperature and freeze me in place, forcing me to expend more heat to break free.'
Yuki broke out as she rushed towards Uraume, throwing a punch as Uraume blocked the attack, forming ice on her hands as Yuki thought, 'She's using something between her hand and my attack just like Kiyotaka did against Hidaka. I need to find a way to get past it.'
Yuki slammed her leg into Uraume's arm, who blocked it with ice armour, saying, "Your technique won't work on me anymore.'
Yuki jumped back, thinking, 'Reversal can break through it, but it consumes more Cursed Energy, and if I use it too many times, I'll freeze to death from expending heat.'
Uraume rushed towards her as Yuka began parrying her strikes, thinking, 'Don't let her hit you. Every attack she gets off makes you slower and weaker.'
That's when Yuki tripped and felt her back touch the railing as she fell off, and Uraume thought, 'The idiot fell, but she's not weak enough to die from it', as she jumped down.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
Uraume heard this as she formed ice on her arms, blocking the attack as steam billowed, obscuring her vision, making her think, 'I can't see!'
As they fell past the steam, Uraume saw Yuki's fist in front of her face right before it landed, sending her flying back as she thought, 'Ugh! Another trap!'
Yuki appeared above Uraume, axe-kicking them into the ground as Uraume coughed up blood, thinking, 'How did she gain such strength?!'
Then she saw a downed power line and the electrical burns on Yuki's hands before they healed, thinking, 'She absorbed the heat from the electricity?!'
Uraume got up, healing her injuries as Yuki slammed her fist into her mid-heal, sending her flying back as she smashed through a building and began healing again.
Yuki appeared in front of Uraume again as ice sprouted out at Yuki attempting to catch her, only for Yuki to dodge and slam her leg into Uraume, sending her flying through another building, thinking, 'It makes sense you'd try to make a trap like that.'
Uraume coughed up blood, thinking, 'She's not giving me even a second to heal. She's relentless.'
Uraume healed herself at a quicker pace, thinking, 'My temperature isn't going back to normal!'
"Maximum Technique: Dad Calm!"
Uraume chanted this as everything around her froze, and Yuki was frozen on the spot as she barely managed to chant, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
The wolf melted the ice, freeing Yuki and upon impact, sent Uraume flying through another building.
Yuki began breathing heavily, thinking, 'I- I... almost died.'
She coughed up some water as she composed herself, thinking, 'I've lost most of the heat from the electrical line. I need to gather more heat and finish this up quickly. Every second I waste is another second where Kiyotaka could die.'
Uraume got up thinking, 'She managed to avoid an attack at the last second. Impressive. Even if I can lower her temperature, my temperature has lowered as well to a dangerous degree, and using Ice Formation lowers my temperature further for a second.'
Both Yuki and Uraume sweated, both thinking, 'This girl... is my absolute worst match up.'
Yuki sighed, thinking, 'Hidaka didn't like using this one because of the large charge-up time, how much Cursed Energy it costs and because of the after effects, but...'
"Maximum Technique: World Siphon."
World Siphon enhances the effects of conduction and acts as a heat magnet to allow the user to absorb heat through multiple layers, but it is a very costly technique, and its greatest application is...
Yuki touched the ground as she began to siphon heat from the ground. Uraume saw this, and their eyes widened, thinking, 'From the ground?!'
Uraume then felt the ground become chillingly cold as she thought she was absorbing heat from the ground around us?!'
Yuki was absorbing heat from the ground below her as the heat transferred from rock to rock to her hands. Her range reached 50 meters below the surface, allowing her to absorb the geothermal energy.
Uraume rushed in thinking, 'I can't let her finish charging that technique!'
But as Uraume swung her leg, Yuki cancelled the technique, blocking her attack and hugging Uraume as she calmly chanted, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Supernova!"
Yuki released heat from all over her body, and Uraume was hit point-blank as the light filled her eyes, and her entire body was scorched
Yuki fell to her knees thinking, 'That was... close.'
She looked at Uraume lying there just barely alive and funnelling everything towards the Reverse Cursed Technique, thinking, 'She... survived that? How? She's so strong.'
Yuki fell to the floor thinking, 'My adrenaline was helping me before, but... ugh!!! Too hot! I'm... overheating! Ah!!! It hurts! Everything feels like... It's melting! My skin. My bones. I'm brain. Everything feels like it's melting.'
This was the drawback of her Maximum Technique. Absorbing Geothermal Energy pushed her far past her thermal limit, even when factoring in that her Cursed Technique would allow for a much higher thermal limit than normal humans or even normal sorcerers. The pain was excruciating. The pain from a fully charged use of this technique is even more brutal.
She groaned, thinking, 'Even using Supernova wasn't enough to get rid of most of the heat', as she took deep breaths, breathing out fire through Cursed Technique Reversal to reduce her temperature as much as possible.
She gritted her teeth, thinking, 'It hurts but... I have to get up.'
She slowly got up, only to fall back to the floor as if her legs were made out of jelly as she thought, 'Get up! Get up! Get up!'
That's when a shadowed figure towered over her and chanted, "Maximum Technique: Dead Calm!"
Yuki's eyes widened, thinking, 'She's received already?!!'
Yuki quickly shouted, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Supernova!" as the two attacks clashed against each other, forming a contrast on the battlefield.
Yuki slowly got up, thinking, 'My overheating is done. A second Supernova brought me back down below my thermal limit. I can fight!'
Uraume stared at her and said, "You are strong."
Yuki stared at her and said, "So are you."
Uraume got into a stance and said, "It seems the former vessel has a fitting attendant."
"Attendant? Former vessel?"
Yuki asked this in confusion as Uraume asked, "Are you not the attendant of my lord's former vessel Ayanokoji Kiyotaka?"
"I'm not his attendant. I'm... his friend."
Yuki said this, taking a stance as well, thinking, 'I can't say I'm his girlfriend, right? We haven't made anything official after all. Ugh? What am I even thinking about right now?'
Uraume looked annoyed, saying, "How worthless."
Yuki deadpanned and said, "I don't really care if you think it's worthless, though. I see worth in it. That's that."
Uraume sighed, thinking, 'I'm running low on Cursed Energy. I'll need to finish her off quickly.'
Yuki looked to her, thinking, 'Even if I have a lot of Cursed Energy left, a single Dead Calm from her could end up killing me. I have to be careful.'
Yuki strained, thinking, 'I haven't gotten the chance to use the Reverse Cursed technique either. If I do, she'll definitely take advantage. Even if I should be way faster and stronger right now, my body can't handle that kind of power or speed.'
They looked at each other, both thinking, 'I have to end this in the next strike.'
They stared at each other, sweat dripping down their faces as Yuki charged forward and Uraume chanted, "Maximum Technique: Dead Calm!"
Yuki stopped in her tracks, shouting, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!!!"
The two attacks collided, forming steam as Uraume fired off icicles into the steam, but Yuki rushed through the ice melting before they could make contact as Uraume thought, 'She covered herself in a layer of heat that hot?!'
Yuki slammed her fists into Uraume, shouting, "Maximum Technique: World Siphon!" as Uraume's eyes rolled back and she felt her cells freeze.
Uraume lay there unmoving as Yuki stepped past, walking towards the battle Kiyotaka was having with Sukuna, thinking, 'I'm at 50%. Still, I need to fight.'
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Yuki rushed over to the battle when the barrier collapsed, and she saw Kiyotaka lying there, barely holding onto life, as Sukuna smirked and said, "Not bad. I had some fun."
Her eyes widened as she shouted, "Kiyotaka!!!"
Kiyotaka coughed up blood and looked to Yuki, thinking, 'No. You need to get out of here.'
Sukuna looked surprised, thinking, 'She made it past Uraume?'
Yuki rushed forward, slamming her leg into Sukuna, sending him flying back as he got up, thinking, 'Not bad. She's about as strong as Uraume, but their techniques are a bad match-up for each other. Looks like she was able to take advantage better.'
Yuki disappeared from sight as Sukuna thought, 'She's enhancing her physical prowess through her Cursed Technique just like that Hidaka woman who used her body. As if her techniques engraved themselves into her body. How interesting.'
Sukuna sent slashes as Yuki, who dodged, thinking, 'They're so fast!'
She aimed her hands and chanted, "Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
A huge wolf of fire rushed out at Sukuna, who smiled with Glee as he lifted his arms, blocking the attack as he smirked and said, "Not bad..."
He appeared in front of her, slamming his fist into her and flinging her back and said, "... for an amateur."
Yuki slowly got up but fell back onto the ground, thinking, 'How can he hit that hard?'
Sukuna sighed, thinking, 'Well, that was interesting for a little while.'
"Maximum Technique: World Siphon."
Yuki said this as Sukuna's eyes widened, thinking, 'What?'
Yuki rushed forward. thinking, 'Everything burns! Ugh!'
Sukuna tried to track her movement, thinking, 'She's fast!'
That's when Yuki slammed her fist into Sukuna, shouting, "Hollow Technique: Freezing Flame!"
Sukuna was sent flying back, his body was charred black, and his eyes opened red from strain as he laughed, shouting, "How marvellous!"
Steam was rising from Yuki as her skin was melting, and Sukuna grinned, thinking, 'This woman is strong.'
Yuki began healing herself, thinking, 'Keep the heat in. Don't expel it. You'll need as much as you can get to beat him.'
Yuki rushed forward as Sukuna healed away his charred skin as he thought, 'She's tearing her own body apart and stitching it back together with Reverse Cursed Technique. She'll probably last 5 minutes before her reserves run dry.'
Sukuna then waved his hand and chanted, "Dismantle"
Ryomen Sukuna's Cursed Technique had recovered from burnout, but...
Yuki runs right through it, the slashing marks healing instantly as Sukuna's eyes widened, thinking, 'The speed of her regeneration is that fast?!'
Sukuna and Yuki began a clash of fists as Sukuna laughed, saying, "Out of all the women I've fought, you're the strongest!"
Yuki couldn't even hear him. The fluid in her ears had long since evaporated, and the hairs in her ears had been burnt to a crisp. She deliberately chose to mitigate healing to [non-essential] areas to ensure her healing in vital organs and joints was able to withstand the heat permeating from her body.
Sukuna grabbed her shoulder using Cleave as her arm was cut off, but before Sukuna could react, it instantly grew back, slamming into his jaw and sending him flying back as he looked to her and grinned, saying, "Now that is true beauty."
Yuki fell to one knee, coughing from the strain as she gritted her teeth in pain and thought, 'I can't hold it any longer. Not even Hidaka's ever been able to store this much heat. One last attack.'
"Fire That Burns All. Warmth Of The World. Harbringer Of Fire And Death. Cursed Technique Reversal: Fenrir!"
"Fuga!"
They both unleashed their attacks as they collided, as Kiyotaka's eyes opened wide and seeing it, shouted, "Domain Expansion: White Expanse That Awaits Colour!"
Kiyotaka formed a barrier around Sukuna, and the attacks focused on every neuron in his brain to maintain the barrier as Sukuna was sent flying through the barrier, his body was charred black again.
He crashed into a building and smirked, thinking, 'Truly beautiful', as he healed himself, thinking, 'I'm down to half my reserves.'
Yuki fell to the floor as she twitched in pain, thinking, 'Everything burns!'
She began expelling heat through Cursed Technique Reversal as she lay there.
Sukuna smirked and said, "I'll let you two go for now. I have someone to recover as well, after all."
Sukuna smiled and said, "You two proved yourselves today. Both of you are magnificent", before leaving to fine Uraume.
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Sukuna walked over to Uraume and used Reverse Cursed Technique Output on them as Uraume's eyes flickered open, and against the pain in their body, they bowed to Sukuna in apology, saying, "I deeply apologise for failing in the task given to me."
"Raise your head, Uraume. You lost, but because of that, I got to fight with someone quite interesting for a bit. I'm pleased to see how far you pushed them in spite of your disadvantage."
Sukuna said this as Uraume nodded, saying, "I thank you for your generosity."
Sukuna smiled and said, "Let's go convene with Kenjaku."
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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