Yuta Okkotsu battles three players, Kurourushi, Takako Uro, and Ryu Ishigori in the Culling Games. Kurourushi is a cockroach cursed spirit, and one of the 16 registered special grade curses. It shares a level of intelligence like Jogo, Mahito, Hanami, and Dagon. Armed with the Festering Life Sword, Kurourushi proves to be a danger to humanity. After Yuta defeats Dhruv Lakdawalla, Kurourushi begins his assault. It sends a horde of cockroaches to eat the civilians. Yuta uses his katana, in combination with Rika to protect the civilians.
Yuta vs Kurourushi
Yuta and Kurourushi face off. Yuta severs the arm of cursed spirit and hits it with an elbow. Yuta runs across the bridge and attacks from above. Kurourushi defends itself with a swarm of cockroaches. It then sends the swarm to chase Yuta. The special grade sorcerer evades the swarm and is surrounded by two twisters of cockroaches. Yuta knows that he can defeat the curses with reverse curse technique but he doesn’t want Uro and Ryu to know he can use it.
His plan fails as Kurourushi gets the better of him, using insects to blind Yuta and strike him with his Festering Life Sword, spawning insects out of Yuta’s wound. Desperate, Yuta plants a kiss of death on Kurourushi, forcing positive energy into the cursed spirit killing it.
Yuta vs Uro vs Ryu
Uro sends out a wave of destruction that blasts Yuta several meters back. He lands on his feet while guarding the back of his neck where the surprise attack came from. Uro doesn’t let up and immediately closes the distance, throwing a right punch at his head. Yuta dodges so it only grazes his shoulder, and he tries to counter with a right hook at the same time. Uro is ready for it and uses her innate technique to distort the space around his arm, changing its shape.
Yuta’s arm stretches unnaturally, throwing him off just long enough for Uro to land an elbow to his jaw. She follows up by breaking the space in front of him. Yuta tries to block but the force from the distorted space blasts him backward. He lands on his feet again but he’s clearly struggling to understand how her attacks keep getting through his guard.
His arm returns to normal without any pain. Yuta starts to figure out that her technique manipulates space without directly harming anything inside it, comparing it to a lens that creates distortion. Uro, knowing he’s analyzing her anyway, explains her ability and says her innate technique lets her treat the sky like a surface and control it.
Ryu interrupts
Ryu interrupts the fight and fires Granite Blast, a wide ranged blast of cursed energy that tears through everything in its path. Both sorcerers turn to face it as the surrounding area is destroyed. Uro avoids the attack by manipulating the space around her while Yuta takes the hit head on and heals himself.
The attack reveals Ryu’s location and shows just how wide his range is. With civilians nearby under Rika’s protection and Kurourushi no longer a factor for Uro, both decide Ryu is the bigger threat. Yuta makes the first move and rushes toward the rooftop where Ryu is waiting.
Ryu welcomes the challenge and fires a barrage of cursed energy beams from his pompadour. Yuta increases his speed and moves around the debris to avoid the blasts. The continuous fire makes it look like he gets hit multiple times. Ryu is disappointed at first but quickly realizes Yuta avoided the attacks. Using the opening Rika created earlier during the fight with Kurourushi’s cockroaches, Yuta slips through and reaches the rooftop.
Yuta attacks first and tries to land an elbow strike but Ryu blocks it with a burst of cursed energy from his palm. The impact is strong enough to leave a mark even through Yuta’s reinforcement. Yuta says it’s time to take the fight up close. Ryu, with smoke rising from his hand, asks if that will be enough to satisfy “the hunger.”
Rita enters the fight
Overwhelmed by the 2 on 1 that has formed, Yuta puts his ring on and calls for Rita to join him. Rika appears next to Yuta fully manifested and at full power, and it immediately shifts the fight. Uro and Ryu are caught off guard since they didn’t realize Yuta was holding back, and now they can feel his cursed energy refilling in real time. Through Orimoto’s ring, Yuta is able to access Rika’s stored cursed energy and cursed tools. Rika opens her chest and reveals a full arsenal for him to choose from. Yuta selects a metal arm casing, and she equips it to his right arm.
Yuta and Rika begin their assault by focusing on Uro. Rika charges in while Uro prepares a surface to counter, but it’s just a distraction. Yuta uses the opening to activate cursed speech with the Snake Eyes and Fangs sigil of the Inumaki clan. Uro recognizes it and tries to react, but she’s too late. Yuta’s command freezes her in place, leaving her completely defenseless as he and Rika overwhelm her with a barrage of punches from both sides.
As Uro is getting overwhelmed, Ryu steps in and fires a Granite Blast to break it up. Rika launches Yuta forward to keep the pressure on Uro, then turns and blocks the blast with one hand. That moment clearly surprises Ryu, who admits she’s even tougher than Yuta.
Rika gets angry after taking damage to her hand and immediately goes on the offensive. She rushes Ryu and lands a heavy punch that sends him flying. She tries to follow up at his landing point, but Ryu recovers mid-roll and counters with a powerful hit of his own. The impact sends Rika crashing into a nearby building. Ryu, clearly enjoying the fight, says he’s still hungry and ready for more.
Domain Expansion times three
Ryu decides there’s no point in talking anymore—it’s time to finish this. Yuta, Uro, and Ryu all activate Domain Expansion at the same time. The three domains collide and cancel out each other’s guaranteed-hit effects. Uro and Ryu focus on building their barriers faster to keep Rika out and stop Yuta from gaining the advantage. Rika had already been blasted away by Ryu, so she’s stuck outside for now.
But Rika isn’t backing down. She forces out more power, shown by her cycloptic eye opening. Before she can break in, Kurourushi suddenly shows up and enters the domain. It had reproduced earlier, passing its cursed energy to its offspring. Now it sends a swarm of cockroaches to keep Rika busy outside while it jumps into the fight.
Three overlapping domains prove too unstable. The barriers start breaking apart before they’re fully formed. The different conditions and Kurourushi’s interference push everything over the edge. The domain shatters, and all four fighters drop back to the ground, ready to keep going.
Yuta takes advantage immediately. He kicks Uro from behind, sending her straight toward Kurourushi. She manages to stay on her feet and tries to defend herself, but her technique fails—using cursed techniques right after a Domain Expansion is tough.
That opening is all Kurourushi needs. It attacks and slices off Uro’s arm with the Festering Life Sword. Rika rushes in and devours the arm. Even Ryu is impressed, pointing out that Uro probably can’t fully regenerate it, even with reverse cursed technique. Uro snaps and goes after Yuta again, but Ryu steps in and tells her that’s enough.
Ryu vs Yuta
With Yuta and Ryu the only players left standing, the clash using their respective beams. Yuta’s beam is inferior and he needs to attack Ryu directly. Ryu catches him approaching and uses his Granite Blast. However, Yuta has recovered his innate technique and uses his “Copy” to Uro’s ability and reflects the Granite Blast.
Ryu and Yuta engage in hand to hand combat. Yuta gets the advantage. He grabs Ryu and holds him in place, as the blast of curse energy from the Granite Blast to hit Ryu. The cursed user survives but is exhausted. Yuta spares the lives of Ryu and Uro, in exchange for over a hundred points. Yuta prepares to gain more points as his friends continue to fight for theirs. We see glimpses of Hakari and Charles, Megumi and Angel, Yuji and Takaba, Maki, and Kenjaku.
