Rolling his neck while staring at Luo Yu, Haruta Shigemo muttered irritably,
"That gravity was really suffocating… but now it's gone."
His lips curled into a vicious grin.
"Finally, I can properly deal with you."
Without another word, he charged forward alongside Ogami Juzo, the two of them attacking from opposite sides.
All eyes in the banquet hall focused on Luo Yu.
Yet his expression remained completely unchanged.
With a simple sidestep, he effortlessly avoided both attacks.
At the same moment, a katana appeared in his hand.
The blade was silver-white, faintly radiating a soft glow.
Hum—
Starlight shimmered along the blade.
In the next instant—
A streak of blood sprayed into the air.
Ogami Juzo's right arm—still gripping the axe—was severed cleanly from the shoulder.
He lost his ability to fight in a single strike.
Haruta Shigemo, meanwhile, had reacted quickly enough to retreat.
Even so, a cross-shaped slash appeared across his chest.
Strands of violent energy clung to the wound, steadily devouring his body.
Gritting his teeth, Haruta Shigemo finally felt true fear.
"Where the hell did this guy come from?"
"I've never seen a weapon or technique like that… and he's ridiculously fast."
"If I hadn't used my cursed technique just now, I might've been done for too."
He glanced toward Ogami Juzo.
"Juzo! Can you still move?"
But before the bald man could answer—
Luo Yu had already appeared in front of him.
The legendary blade Moonveil slowly lifted.
"Wait—"
Before he could finish speaking, Moonveil flashed with magic.
The blade pierced straight through Ogami Juzo's forehead.
One strike.
Instant death.
After killing Ogami Juzo, Luo Yu calmly pulled the blade free.
The sword remained immaculate—no blood staining its surface.
Ignoring the horrified gazes around him, he raised his eyes toward the stage.
Uraume.
Mahito.
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"You're not planning to fight?"
"One of you is a thousand-year-old sorcerer and subordinate of Sukuna. The other is a Special Grade cursed spirit."
"And yet you send your subordinates to die instead of acting yourselves?"
"Isn't that a bit insulting?"
Mahito smiled slowly.
"How interesting."
"I didn't expect someone like you to appear tonight."
"I'm actually starting to feel excited."
While Luo Yu's attention was on the stage, Haruta Shigemo glanced at the corpse of Ogami Juzo.
Fear immediately replaced his earlier arrogance.
He began quietly searching for an escape route through the crowd.
But before he could move—
A small flash of light appeared near one of the banquet hall windows.
Crack!
A silver-white arrow punched through the glass.
Before Haruta Shigemo could react, it pierced straight through his heart.
He looked down in disbelief.
A massive hole gaped in his chest.
Slowly, he lifted his head toward the direction the arrow had come from.
Far outside the window, in the distance, a figure kneeling with a bow gradually faded away.
The arrow embedded halfway into the floor also dissolved into light.
It had never been a physical arrow at all.
"Wh… what is…"
Haruta Shigemo collapsed backward.
His life ended instantly.
Luo Yu calmly took out a small dark box.
A faint gray, dust-like substance emitting a strange glow drifted along the floor and gathered into the container.
"Good work, Latenna."
Before arriving at the banquet hall, Luo Yu had already summoned the Albinauric Latenna and stationed her nearby.
Her role had been simple—
Watch for anyone attempting to escape.
If necessary, eliminate them.
And she had performed perfectly.
With a single arrow, she had pierced Haruta Shigemo's heart.
In less than a minute—
Two sorcerers were dead.
The powerful families gathered in the hall were completely stunned.
Some began quietly speculating about Luo Yu's identity.
As for the deaths—
Aside from a few young women who looked shaken, most of the attendees were not easily disturbed.
Their minds were already racing.
Who exactly was this young man?
Could he be recruited?
Or befriended?
On the stage, Gan'an Shinomiya frowned deeply.
He had no idea who Luo Yu was.
He only knew that this man had come for the Yukinoshita family.
The situation had completely spiraled beyond the Shinomiya family's expectations.
However, pride prevented Gan'an Shinomiya from backing down.
He could only glance toward Uraume and Mahito, silently urging them to resolve the situation.
At the same time, he began considering an alternative plan.
Uraume remained silent for two seconds.
The deaths of two sorcerers seemed to provoke no emotion at all.
Finally, she spoke.
"I don't know your origins."
"But this time, we will consider it our loss."
"We will not touch that girl."
"And in return, you will not interfere with our operations."
"Chiba will also be left alone."
"How about it?"
Luo Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her with interest.
"Oh?"
"You're being far more reasonable than I expected."
"But are your words really valid?"
"Perhaps your leader should come negotiate with me."
"Or you could summon a few more Special Grade cursed spirits."
He shrugged lazily.
"I haven't even finished warming up yet."
Mahito laughed.
"Hahaha! I'd love to call a few others over to help."
"But unfortunately, they're busy with other missions."
"Our leader as well."
He tilted his head.
"If you want to meet him, you can visit the Time Vessel Association yourself next time."
"I'm sure our leader would be very interested in meeting you."
"Meeting him?"
Luo Yu chuckled faintly.
"I'll pass."
"I'm not particularly interested in Geto Suguru."
"I already know what he's planning."
"In the end, he'll just be someone Gojo Satoru deals with sooner or later."
Those words immediately made Uraume and Mahito more alert.
This man knew far too much.
He was definitely someone worth being cautious about.
"Ranni."
Luo Yu called softly.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
Hearing her name, Ranni nodded and put away her handheld console.
After scanning the surroundings, the Carian Regal Scepter appeared in her hand.
With a gentle wave—
Dark mist spread across the hall.
The ordinary guests attending the banquet suddenly became blank-eyed.
One by one, they turned and quietly walked out of the hall.
Ranni then looked toward Yukino.
"I modified their memories."
"Once they leave, they'll return home and only remember attending a pleasant banquet tonight."
She spoke calmly.
"The books I obtained from the Roundtable Hold were somewhat useful."
"I learned a few new spells."
Yukino suddenly understood.
The last time she had visited Luo Yu's home, Ranni had been constantly reading magic tomes.
So this was something she had learned from them.
"That means everyone leaving will forget everything that happened tonight… including cursed spirits?"
Ranni nodded.
"Those who already knew about such things will still remember."
"I could alter their memories as well, but that would consume far too much magic."
"And there's no need."
"Tokyo isn't our territory. The people here can handle the aftermath themselves."
Only four people beside Ranni were unaffected.
The Yukinoshita family.
Yukino's parents stared at Ranni in astonishment, silently wondering who this extraordinary blue-haired girl truly was.
But what intrigued them even more—
Was Luo Yu.
The young man who had just killed two sorcerers.
The interaction between him and Yukino was clearly not that of ordinary acquaintances.
Her boyfriend?
But that didn't seem quite right either.
After all—
There was still that blue-haired girl standing beside them.
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