Chapter 106: Weakness and Strategy

Chapter 106: Weakness and Strategy

A massive crater had erupted in the middle of the street, leaving the once bustling commercial district in ruins. Men, women, children, and the elderly—countless broken bodies littered the streets of New York, turning the area into a living hell where no one could survive.

"Huff... huff..."

Several heavy breaths echoed from the crater as the blue-green blood of the Cursed Spirits splattered on the ground. The remaining top-tier Cursed Spirits stood, finally bringing the brutal battle to a close.

In the center of the crater lay a young man with a delicate appearance, his face frozen in a permanent expression of pain and fury, marking the moment his life slipped away. Beside him, the Cursed Spirit known as Ayame was placing her hands on his body to perform the ritual of restoration.

Top-tier Curse User—Yotaro Yaguchi—confirmed dead.

"That was close. We almost died."

Jin's face, usually plastered with a carefree grin, now bore the marks of a setback.

He was born from humanity's fear of itself, both in form and essence, embodying the evil within. His potential was the greatest among the Cursed Spirits, and he was their nominal leader.

Leak, who had just repaired his damaged limbs, looked grave. He was the embodiment of humanity's fear of volcanic eruptions and one of the strongest top-tier Cursed Spirits in the area.

"Are all top-tier Curse Users this monstrous?"

Recalling Yotaro Yaguchi's seemingly endless curse energy, his high firing efficiency, and the immense power of the giant Cursed Spirit that emerged from his back when his technique reactivated, he couldn't help but feel a chill.

He was practically a Queen of Curses!

"The Yotaro Yaguchi we faced has already been weakened once. The spirit behind him, Rika, has already transcended, leaving only the residual effects of her technique."

Keigo, controlling the corpse of Kento Nanami, responded calmly, "Each top-tier Curse User has their unique traits, but in terms of raw power, he is probably the weakest."

He had natural talent, but compared to other top-tiers, he lacked depth and experience.

Most importantly, he was kind.

Humanity was Yotaro Yaguchi's greatest weakness. In a perfect state, he could have escaped even if he couldn't win.

The Cursed Spirits present fell silent. The weakest top-tier Curse User had put up such a fight even after they had pre-emptively weakened him, used ambushes, and attacked in numbers. How would they handle the remaining three?

"What exactly are you planning, Kento, or should I call you Keigo!"

Leak, sensing the low morale, couldn't hold back his anger. The Mount Fuji on his head erupted, spewing lava in a fiery stream.

"Den has already died to protect us, and this time we almost suffered another loss. If you don't come up with a concrete plan, we won't follow you to our deaths!"

Keigo's smile remained gentle, "Leak, are you afraid of death, or are you giving up on the dream of Cursed Spirits replacing humans?"

"In a hundred years, the ones running on the grasslands don't necessarily have to be me. As long as the age of Cursed Spirits arrives, dying on the eve of that day is meaningless."

Leak's eyes glinted with malice, "But there's a difference between dying to achieve a goal and dying in vain."

Keigo's smile never wavered, "Do you remember what I said about the balance of the world? Balance means weakening the strong and strengthening the weak."

"But that compensation is far from enough! T0-level human cards, even if their power is limited by new scenarios, are still T0. Even if Cursed Spirits become a bit stronger, they are still light-years away from the top-tier combatants."

"We need to think like the weak. Only by using underhanded means can we achieve our goals."

He closed his eyes, his tone bordering on madness, "Yes, we are the weak. Facing them directly will only lead to our annihilation. We need to use every dirty trick to succeed."

"Curse Users are indeed powerful, but they are arrogant and overconfident. Once they gain the upper hand, they become blind to the dangers. Their internal management is chaotic, and a group of self-interested humans can never match the unity of Cursed Spirits!"

"Yotaro Yaguchi is dead, and Kyoka Kurogane is a lazy parasite. The problem lies with the remaining two top-tiers."

Gojo Satoru and Riku Fujiwara.

Either of them had the power to wipe out all the Cursed Spirits in a single fight, acting as engines of destruction.

"So, what exactly do you plan to do?" Leak pressed.

Keigo pulled out a strange-looking box from his pocket, tossing it lightly, his tone casual.

"Top-tier Cursed Object—Gokumon no Kyo. The seal formed from Genji's body after his death. Nothing can escape its seal on its own. If we can seal one of Gojo Satoru or Riku Fujiwara, the balance of power will shift in our favor."

Leak silently calculated, "What about the other one?"

"Don't overlook our strongest asset." Keigo's lips curled into a smile, "Though they are trapped now, things will soon turn in our favor."

Nearby, Ayame spoke, her words incomprehensible but forming thoughts in their minds.

"Restoration complete. This body is as good as new, except for the fact that it's dead."

Ayame stepped away from the corpse, "You're going to desecrate the dead again, Keigo?"

She was the most gentle of all the Cursed Spirits, her aura resembling that of a forest spirit, born from humanity's fear of the woods. Despite sharing the cruel and warlike nature of Cursed Spirits, she was more rational.

Even she believed that good people didn't need to be killed and could coexist peacefully, but the efforts of good people were insignificant compared to the malice of humanity, so she joined the Cursed Spirits.

"All this is for the arrival of a new era."

Behind him, a spatial rift tore open, and a curse spirit swallowed Yotaka Ibuki's body. He looked up at the sky, took out his phone, and checked the time.

"The backup plan should be kicking in soon. Gotta get serious, Gojo."

...

At the High School's training ground, three figures charged at Luk from the front, left, and right.

"Against a special-class curse, there are no rules. Attack together!"

Nobara Kugisaki, positioned on the left, took the lead, forming a hand sign to activate her technique. "Jade Dogs!"

A black and a white dog appeared, but they didn't look at their master. Instead, they wagged their tails and ran towards their new master.

"Huh, what are you doing, Nobara!"

Toge Inumaki, attacking from the front, used his physical advantages to reach Luk first. Before he could strike, the two Jade Dogs pounced on him.

Nobara licked her lips and shouted, "Oops, force of habit!"

Toge's mouth twitched. He had no choice but to take down the enemy before the Jade Dogs could help. He summoned all his strength, and his massive punch broke the air, but it was gently caught by a white hand, without a ripple.

"Toge, while your body is exceptional, that's compared to ordinary people without curse power. What if your opponent is stronger and tougher?"

"Then I'll fight him head-on."

Toge's left fist came at Luk again, but it was deflected with a simple flick of Luk's finger.

"Wrong answer. You should run and regroup, or seek protection from a teacher."

Nobara, attacking from the right, was about to lose her temper at these two useless men. She held a nail in one hand and a hammer in the other, and the sharp nails, enhanced by curse power, shot towards Luk.

Luk casually used Toge as a shield, and the nails pierced Toge's body, causing him to scream in pain.

"Damn."

Nobara, who had injured her teammate, didn't dare to activate her technique to explode the nails. She swung her hammer forward.

"Arf, arf."

The Jade Dogs arrived, but instead of attacking, they stood obediently, tongues out, waiting to be petted. Luk's heart warmed, and he threw Toge at Nobara.

Toge's spinning attack collided with the unprepared Nobara, and they both fell to the ground.

Luk then squatted down, petting the spirits' heads.

"Good boys, good boys. I'll buy you some ribs later."

"Orochi!"

In the moment Luk was distracted by the dogs, a giant white snake burst from the ground, grabbing Luk in its mouth and lifting him into the air.

"Nue!"

In the air, a bird-like spirit appeared, diving down with sharp claws aimed at Luk's head.

Luk's eyes turned a deep red, and the Nue's movements froze. The poor spirit suddenly saw itself being cooked in a dish, and it froze in terror, even forgetting to flap its wings, causing it to fall from the sky.

Luk pried open the snake's mouth, used its head as a stepping stone, and landed in front of Nobara.

Nobara, frozen in place, raised her fists. As a close-combat specialist, she posed no threat to Luk, who knocked her out with two punches.

All three were out.

"Terrible. Even when I suppress myself to your level, you still lose so easily. You need more practice."

Luk healed them with a reversal technique and gave a brief critique. "Toge, you need to learn to use curse power. Techniques can't be forced. Your physical strength is your foundation. With curse power and your fists, you can rival a second-class curse user."

"Nobara, you lack team awareness. When a teammate is in close combat and under control, you shouldn't attack without considering the hostage's safety. It was reckless."

"Nobara, you did well. You took advantage of the opening created by your teammates' attacks and used the Jade Dogs to distract me. The combination of Orochi and Nue was also good. Focus on mastering your techniques; you have great potential."

Toge pouted. "So, you're going to announce that Nobara and Kugisaki passed, and we'll work on our teamwork, right?"

"Wrong. Only Kugisaki passed. You two, go clean the school's restrooms."

Luk pointed at Toge.

"You clean the men's room."

Then at Nobara.

"You clean the women's room."

Finally, he pointed at Nobara.

"You, bring the Jade Dogs to my room."

"Damn it, this is pure favoritism!!"

Toge and Nobara cried out in unison.

...

Gojo Satoru looked at the Kamo family's mansion. His Six Eyes showed no one inside, and he furrowed his brow.

As one of the three great families in the curse world, even if the Kamo family's power had declined, they should still have servants and collateral branches. It shouldn't be empty.

With a puzzled expression, he walked into the yard.

There was nothing to fear, for he was the strongest.

Diary of a Failure: Chapter 2

Me: Boss, the data is failing (╥_╥)



Boss: It will rise.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end