Chapter 1381 - 977: What Is Your Goal?

"Roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar roar...!"

Amidst the chaotic, beast-like roars, countless Curse Spirits of various shapes and sizes surged out from Knot’s palm, as if his hand contained a black hole housing infinite Curse Spirits. They flooded forward, charging towards Reiger.

"Boom!"

A streak of sun flame suddenly appeared. Reiger, enveloped in tongues of fire, drew his ancient sword, his figure as swift as lightning. Advancing instead of retreating, he dashed out amidst a thunderous burst of sound, and with one slash, it seemed as though he cut through space itself. A dazzling fiery slash flashed through the oncoming Curse Spirit horde.

This astonishing slash not only caused the temperature in the air to soar sharply but also, like slicing through paper, effortlessly cut through the slew of incoming Curse Spirits, slaying them all in an instant.

It was just a single slash, yet it instantly annihilated dozens of Curse Spirits. This sight was akin to living in a dream.

"...It seems that sword really is the Demon Slayer."

Knot watched the sword in Reiger’s hand, wrapped in Karmic Fire, with a blank expression and spoke.

"For Genji’s treasured heirloom to fall into the hands of a foreign practitioner... no, into the hands of a monkey who doesn’t even qualify as a practitioner, it’s simply a disgrace to this country."

As he spoke, Knot released several more Curse Spirits.

This time, the Curse Spirits that appeared were no longer the large, conspicuous combat-type Spirits but smaller ones, snake-like, waiting for an opportunity around Knot.

Then, a surge of curse energy like Flowing Flames erupted from Knot’s whole body, as he charged towards Reiger.

"Pa!"

Knot suddenly appeared in front of Reiger and thrust a punch towards his face, which was easily intercepted by Reiger’s casually raised palm.

"Knowing my physical capabilities are exceptional, you still dare to approach me?" Reiger raised an eyebrow and spoke calmly to Knot, who was within reach: "Your combat style is quite bold, unlike your usual way."

"If possible, I wouldn’t want to." Knot maintained his punching posture and smiled calmly, "But I have no choice, our compatibility is too poor."

As a user of the Curse Spirit Manipulation Technique, Reiger was indeed a troublesome opponent for Knot.

Because the Demon Slayer is a Divine Weapon specifically for killing Curse Spirits, even demons could lose an arm to this cursed tool.

Facing such a cursed tool, simply releasing Curse Spirits for autonomous combat stood no chance of victory.

"Therefore, I must take the initiative."

Knot raised his free hand and once again punched with curse-enhanced force towards Reiger’s face.

"That’s the logic." Reiger said indifferently, "Unfortunately, you don’t have the ability."

Ignoring Knot’s heavy blow, which was quite significant for an ordinary practitioner, Reiger gripped the Demon Slayer tighter, poised to slash at Knot’s head.

However——

"Anti-gravity Mechanism."

Knot’s deep voice reached Reiger’s ears.

"————"

An astonishing weight suddenly enveloped Reiger’s entire body, catching him off guard. Not only was the Demon Slayer, about to be slashed out, pressed down, but his whole body was weighed down, almost causing him to fall prostrate onto the ground.

"Is this... gravity?"

Reiger’s face showed surprise.

"Bang!"

Knot’s punch landed squarely on Reiger’s face, stirring a gust of air and tilting Reiger’s head backward involuntarily.

But this punch, enough to blow a human’s head off and at worst send someone flying, was withstood by Reiger. He slowly raised his head back against Knot’s fist, looking at him coldly.

"...Are you serious?"

Knot’s eyes widened slightly, and a cold sweat also trickled down his forehead.

"Swoosh!"

The next second, a fire-enveloped slash swept through, instantly severing Knot’s arm that had punched Reiger’s face. He quickly retreated, leaving a trail of blood, putting distance between himself and Reiger.

"Tsk..."

Watching his arm being severed with a single slash, Knot clicked his tongue and looked back at Reiger.

"The gravity just now was unleashed at a level strong enough to crush a skyscraper," Knot said, twitching his facial muscles into a smile, "You really are human, to withstand that level of gravity without collapsing and still manage to cut my hand off?"

"That’s something I should be asking you, isn’t it?" Reiger wiped his face, expressionless. "That technique just now wasn’t released by a Curse Spirit under your control, could it be an inherent second technique of yours?"

It’s common knowledge among those aware of the Curse Spirit Manipulation Technique that Knot can use multiple techniques.

Because Curse Spirits of Grade 1 and above can already use curse techniques, Knot naturally can release various techniques through the Grade 1 and above Curse Spirits under his command.

But just now, the Anti-gravity Mechanism was not unleashed by a Curse Spirit controlled by Knot but instead by his own technique.

But there’s nothing strange about that.

"Since I can possess others’ techniques by switching bodies, why wouldn’t I be able to bring the techniques of a previously occupied body to a new body?"

Knot didn’t deny it, and from the stump of his arm surged a wave of curse energy, quickly restoring his arm with regenerative speed.

(He’s even using the Reversal Technique so exquisitely?)

Reiger had a deeper understanding of Knot upon seeing this.

Knot flexed his newly healed arm and continued explaining.

"Also, allow me to correct you, just now wasn’t my second technique, but my third."

Knot smiled meaningfully at Reiger.

"My first technique isn’t [Curse Spirit Manipulation], you know?"

Indeed, Knot’s first technique wasn’t [Curse Spirit Manipulation], but rather his technique that could transform his body.

That was his own technique, while the rest like [Curse Spirit Manipulation] and [Anti-gravity Mechanism] were techniques inherently born from other people’s bodies, techniques gained because Knot inhabited their bodies.

Moreover, with [Curse Spirit Manipulation] controlling Grade 1 or higher curse spirits capable of casting spells, Knot actually had far more techniques to use in battle than others imagined.

"Although not as effortlessly as Reiger Brillhaut, I’m essentially the same type, able to wield multiple and diverse techniques in combat."

Knot’s smile deepened.

"Of course, a monkey like you who doesn’t even possess curse energy could never understand how incredible this is."

As soon as the words dropped, countless snake-like curse spirits suddenly appeared on Reiger’s body and began biting him all over.

These were the support-type curse spirits just released by Knot.

They bit into Reiger while tightly binding him in place, a few even moving towards the hand holding the blade.

Clearly, Knot intended first to snatch the troublesome demon-slaying blade, Onikiri, from Reiger’s hands, to break down the means extremely restraining his [Curse Spirit Manipulation].

Yet Knot was soon shocked to discover that the person the curse spirits had encumbered and bitten turned out to resemble a mirage, slowly twisting and vanishing.

"Did you think I’d overlook the presence of those curse spirits?"

Reiger’s figure appeared behind Knot, shimmering like a heat haze.

Sun Breathing Fourth Form· Illusory Sun Rainbow!

"Being able to blend your body surface with the surrounding environment and hide your form, just like a chameleon... A fairly unimpressive group of curse spirits."

As he spoke, Onikiri, enveloped in Karmic Fire, was already slicing towards Knot like a blooming red lotus.

"[Anti-gravity Mechanism]!"

Knot tensed up, releasing a spell in the second before feeling the scorching heat, transforming the surrounding area into a gravity field.

This time, Knot undoubtedly adjusted the gravity to its maximum, collapsing and suddenly shattering the area around him.

"Boom!"

The phenomenal gravity crushed a corner of the plaza, like an invisible gigantic explosion, shattering the ground.

Knot retreated within, attempting to distance himself from Reiger.

But still, Reiger withstood the terrifying gravity, exploding with astonishing speed to catch up to Knot.

"Pssht!"

The strike aimed at him was swiftly blocked by Knot’s raised arm, sinking into his arm and getting lodged against his hand bone.

"Limit Extreme!"

Amidst the splattering blood, Knot broke into a smile of cold sweat as he faced Reiger, while countless small curse spirits emerged from the palm of his other hand, converging, tangling, twisting, and merging into a vortex.

The so-called Limit Extreme refers to the ultimate secret move in all other techniques apart from domains.

The Limit Extreme of [Curse Spirit Manipulation] is about gathering the curse spirits one possesses into one entity, attacking the opponent with extremely high-density curse energy, with formidable power.

This move, it’s called—

"[Vortex]!"

The incredible curse energy erupted immediately from Knot’s palm, like a missile, blasting towards Reiger.

"Boom!"

With the violent explosion phenomenon, the already shattered ground collapsed as though struck by a thunderbolt, drawing the entire plaza into the explosive event of curse energy, blowing it into fragments.

Reiger exited the explosion, smoking all over, landing on the edge of the shattered plaza.

"You’re much more capable than I thought."

Gazing across at the shattered plaza’s opposite side, Reiger surprisingly offered praise.

"...You’re also far stronger than I anticipated; it seems Fushiguro Toji couldn’t even match you in a single bout, could he?"

All wounds covering Knot’s body told of his struggles, one hand left hanging by a piece of skin, forcing a rather strained smile from him.

He indeed hadn’t foreseen that the reverse case of [Heaven and Curse Binding] before him which he initially dismissed had such strength.

Originally believing the opponent to be at most like Fushiguro Toji, although formidable, not overly troublesome, planning to easily deal with a non-sorcerer with solely physical abilities once seizing Onikiri, against his multitudes of techniques.

But now it seems he severely underestimated his opponent.

"Given that, here’s a question for you."

As Knot’s reverse technique repaired his body, he kept his gaze fixed on Reiger and posed a question.

"Why do you want to rescue Gojo Satoru?"

This question prompted Reiger to respond with a question.

"Then I’ll ask you..."

Facing Knot’s gaze, Reiger finally voiced his inquiry.

"What is your goal?"