Ultimate Mechamaru had been destroyed.
Noritoshi Kamo lay unconscious.
In only a few minutes, the Kyoto team had lost more than half of its fighting power.
And the one responsible—
Was standing alone in the center of the battlefield.
Yagami Sora.
To him, defeating them had seemed no more difficult than stepping on ants.
A heavy silence hung over the forest.
Despair filled the air.
The remaining Kyoto students—
Mai Zenin, Momo Nishimiya, and Kasumi Miwa—stood frozen.
Their hands trembled around their weapons.
Fear filled their eyes.
This wasn't a competition anymore.
It was a massacre.
A one-sided domination.
"What do we do…?"
Momo hovered above the ground on her broom, clearly panicking.
"We can't beat that monster!"
"Even Kamo was taken down instantly…"
Tears began forming at the corners of her eyes.
Then—
A figure stepped out from the trees.
"Salmon?"
It was Toge Inumaki.
He held a small bottle of throat medicine in his hand.
Originally, he had come to support Sora according to the team plan.
But the battlefield in front of him looked strange.
Two Kyoto students were already down.
Three more stood trembling.
And Sora stood calmly in the middle.
Like a demon king surveying his territory.
"Tuna?"
Inumaki pointed toward Kamo on the ground.
Silently asking what had happened.
Mai's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"If we control him…"
She whispered urgently to the others.
"Inumaki uses Cursed Speech."
"If we seal his mouth somehow…"
"…we might still turn this around."
Before she could finish—
Sora turned toward Inumaki.
"Yo, Inumaki-senpai."
He waved casually.
"Nice timing."
"This battlefield was getting boring."
Inumaki tilted his head.
"Bonito flakes?"
Sora pointed lazily toward the Kyoto students.
"Mind helping me out?"
"If you shout once…"
"…I won't have to chase them down."
"Too much work."
Inumaki understood immediately.
He unzipped the collar of his uniform.
The cursed speech markings around his mouth became visible.
Even though he usually spoke only in rice-ball ingredients to avoid harming people accidentally—
In battle, he was one of the most reliable support sorcerers.
He faced the Kyoto students.
Then spoke.
"Sleep."
Cursed energy surged through the word.
The command spread through the air like an invisible shockwave.
This was Cursed Speech.
A technique where words become binding laws.
Mai, Momo, and Miwa instantly felt it.
Their eyelids grew heavy.
Their bodies weakened.
Their weapons suddenly felt impossible to hold.
But at that moment—
A shout came from deeper inside the forest.
"Stop!"
A hidden Kyoto student jumped out.
In his hands was a specially prepared megaphone-type cursed tool.
It amplified a prerecorded command meant to counter Cursed Speech.
This trap had been prepared in advance.
The Kamo family had anticipated the possibility of facing Inumaki.
The amplified sound waves collided with Inumaki's command.
The air vibrated violently.
Inumaki's body stiffened slightly.
Sound-based techniques were difficult to evade.
The clash between the two commands created chaotic resonance.
But—
Sora smiled.
"Sound waves?"
He raised one hand calmly.
"That's still a vector."
"And actually…"
"…one of the easiest ones to manipulate."
An invisible barrier formed in front of his palm.
Vector Manipulation — Reflection.
Target: Sound source.
The command "Stop" was instantly redirected.
Its spreading vibration compressed into a narrow beam.
Then—
Reflected.
With twice the force.
The sound wave shot back toward the Kyoto student like an invisible cannon.
The air visibly warped.
Under Sora's control, the sound vibration condensed into a spear-like pressure wave.
CRACK.
Glass monitoring equipment nearby shattered instantly.
When the reflected command struck—
The Kyoto student froze.
Not only his will—
But even the movement of his muscles seemed locked.
"Sto—"
He couldn't finish the word.
His body stiffened mid-movement.
Eyes wide with terror.
The backlash of his own technique had sealed him in place.
Sora casually patted Inumaki on the shoulder.
"Don't worry."
"I've got you covered."
Inumaki looked at the frozen student.
Then gave Sora a thumbs-up.
"Salmon."
(Amazing.)
With Sora's vector control—
Cursed Speech became even more dangerous.
One protected the other perfectly.
Sora nodded toward the remaining Kyoto girls.
"Go ahead, senpai."
"Finish it."
Inumaki looked toward them again.
Then spoke calmly.
"Sleep."
This time—
There was no interruption.
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Mai Zenin.
Momo Nishimiya.
Kasumi Miwa.
All three collapsed to the ground.
Deep asleep.
Fear still lingered on their faces.
But their bodies relaxed completely.
Sora looked around the battlefield.
Kyoto students were scattered across the forest floor.
Completely defeated.
He shrugged.
"All wiped out."
He glanced down at the unconscious opponents.
"…Honestly."
"That wasn't even a challenge."
Then he stretched lazily.
"Hopefully the next round is more interesting."
Otherwise—
This exchange event would be incredibly boring.
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