Once, a person who enjoyed winter swimming said a classic motivational quote.
No matter what difficulties we encounter, we must not be afraid. Face them with a smile. The best way to eliminate fear is to face it. Come on, give it your all!
At this moment, four Nine-tailed Foxes were doing just that, facing the fear in their hearts head-on.
The enemy before them was simply too strange.
Claws couldn't scratch him. Teeth couldn't bite him. Tails couldn't flatten him. The four Nine-tailed Foxes tried everything they could think of, but nothing worked on Satoru.
The worst part was, they couldn't run away either.
After realizing they couldn't harm Satoru, some of the Nine-tailed Foxes tried to retreat from the battlefield.
Their plan was simple. Leave one or two behind to stall Satoru. If none volunteered, whoever got caught would be the unlucky one.
Every fox for itself.
The problem was, escape was impossible.
Every time they tried to run, they'd be pulled back.
Or that white-haired man would suddenly appear out of nowhere and swat them back like flies.
Humiliated and furious, they finally decided to stop running and resist him directly.
"My little foxes finally decided not to run anymore, huh?"
Satoru said happily.
What followed was chaos.
With the precision of the Six Eyes, Satoru could read every movement and technique the Nine-tailed Foxes used.
The result was a one-sided beatdown. Not only did they have to endure Satoru's playful slaps and punches to the chest, but they were also accidentally hit by their teammates' claws and tails in the confusion.
"That tail looks so familiar…"
Satoru glanced at a Nine-tailed Fox with its tail puffed up in rage and flailing helplessly.
A scene popped into his mind.
Utahime, with a calm expression, wearing one of the many identical miko outfits in her wardrobe, quietly sweeping the courtyard at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
She hummed softly as she worked.
"Ah, it's Utahime."
Satoru gently tapped his left hand with his right, as if a lightbulb had lit up beside his head.
The next moment, he appeared in front of the Nine-tailed Fox's forehead.
The Nine-tailed Fox watched in horror as his fist descended.
It was too fast. It couldn't dodge.
Thud.
"Not bad, that's a good head."
Satoru nodded in satisfaction.
Then he placed his right hand on the Nine-tailed Fox's forehead.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
Just like that, the Nine-tailed Fox was held in place by Satoru's technique.
"Cleanup time!"
So, Satoru grabbed the fox by the tail, using it like a broom, and began chasing the other Nine-tailed Foxes around, sweeping them across the battlefield.
Nine-tailed Fox: This is the first time someone hasn't petted our tails, but used them as a broom… Heartbreaking.
While Satoru was locked in fierce combat with the four Nine-tailed Foxes, the other three didn't charge the four gates like he expected.
Instead, they plunged straight into the Cursed Spirit army.
The Special Grade Nine-tailed Foxes, radiating terrifying auras, opened their bloody maws and mercilessly devoured the fleeing Cursed Spirits.
Their long tails lashed out repeatedly.
Any Cursed Spirit they struck exploded, turning into Cursed Energy and getting absorbed instantly.
The terrified Cursed Spirits fled in all directions, but none could escape the Nine-tailed Foxes' pursuit.
The smaller foxes, condensed from Cursed Energy by Tamamo-no-Mae, also joined the hunt, absorbing weaker Cursed Spirits.
They were like worker bees in a strategy game, constantly harvesting and delivering Cursed Energy to the Nine-tailed Foxes holding Sesshoseki.
The Cursed Spirits turned to the Advanced Cursed Spirits they had always looked up to.
They hoped those higher-level Cursed Spirits could protect or help them.
Unfortunately, those Advanced Cursed Spirits had been under Tamamo-no-Mae's control from the start.
Now, even they joined in the slaughter, encircling and wiping out their weaker kind.
The Cursed Spirits began to scatter and flee in desperation.
Suddenly, the number of Cursed Spirits on the battlefield began dropping at an alarming rate.
At that moment, Tamamo-no-Mae's consciousness was hidden inside one of the Nine-tailed Foxes, overseeing the battlefield and directing the absorption of Cursed Energy.
Her own power continued to grow stronger.
"Where did those foxes come from?"
Eichi looked curiously at the three Nine-tailed Foxes rampaging through the Cursed Spirit army.
He clearly remembered that at first there was only one large fox, which had been blasted by Satoru.
Now there were three more, and they were slaughtering Cursed Spirits.
"Strange. Where did these allies come from? Why didn't anyone report them? Wait, why is Satoru pounding on one of our allies?"
The chaos left Eichi full of questions.
To clarify the situation, he contacted Medea.
Medea had been watching the battlefield from the defensive line and providing real-time support to Eichi and the others.
"You mean those foxes split from the big one earlier?"
Eichi was a little surprised at Medea's explanation.
"You're saying Tamamo-no-Mae is trying to strengthen herself by devouring Cursed Spirits to power up? How is she even doing that? Oh… she's already become a Cursed Spirit…"
Soon, Eichi got the full picture from Medea.
"It doesn't actually sound like a bad thing…"
Eichi thought for a moment. Tamamo-no-Mae's actions didn't pose much of a threat to them.
On the contrary, it might help them end this battle even sooner.
And so, the soul-killing race began.
Eichi activated all his Shikigami to massacre Cursed Spirits, then had Medea absorb their energy before Tamamo-no-Mae could get to it.
Meanwhile, Tamamo-no-Mae was also going all-out, slaughtering Cursed Spirits to absorb their energy and prepare for a final desperate attack.
Cursed Spirits: …Why does this feel like a game?
Eichi Arthas, commanding the Human faction, was competing in a classic city-purge race against Tamamo-no-Mae Mal'Ganis, commander of the Undead.
And so, with both the Jujutsu Sorcerers and Tamamo-no-Mae working together in a bizarre way,
The number of Cursed Spirits dropped rapidly, falling below one hundred thousand.
The remaining spirits continued to flee in every direction, unable to threaten the four gates any longer.
With the front lines secure, the Special Grade sorcerers moved out.
Eichi and Artoria rode Qiongqi and flew toward the center of the battlefield.
Suguru led hundreds of Cursed Spirits, charging toward the Nine-tailed Foxes.
Yuki dashed halfway, then launched a powerful kick.
Mahoraga, who had been in standby mode at the South Gate, protecting Utata and tasked with eliminating Tamamo-no-Mae, also responded to Eichi's summons and charged toward the chaotic battlefield where the foxes raged.
Specialized attacks were crucial. Now that Tamamo-no-Mae had become a full-fledged Cursed Spirit, Eichi had no reason to leave Mahoraga unused.
Previously, Tamamo-no-Mae had only been a Curse User brought back through embodiment, so Mahoraga's Sword of Exorcism hadn't been fully effective.
As for Utata, who held a Sesshoseki, Eichi wasn't worried.
He didn't believe Tamamo-no-Mae could break through this many defenders and get close enough to steal it from Utata.
But before any of them arrived, the first strike came from Emiya's nuclear arrow.
The massive explosion purified large numbers of foxes transporting Cursed Energy.
Seeing the Special Grade powerhouses converging on her location,
Tamamo-no-Mae knew her time was running out.
The three Nine-tailed Foxes slaughtering the Cursed Spirit army immediately turned and charged toward Satoru.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)