Because of the sure-hit effect, Hakari’s [Domain Expansion] and the rules of his technique are initiated inside Junpei’s brain.
Before his eyes, a chibi-style illusion of Hakari appeared, as if he were kindly giving a presentation.
It was a complicated set of rules to explain in words, but thanks to the flow of information being forced into him, Junpei quickly finished understanding it.
"So basically, if he gambles and hits the jackpot, Hakari-senpai gets a buff."
The process went like this.
1. The roulette spins with a prelude sequence.
2. If the roulette hits a richi—two identical pictures appearing—then a richi action plays.
3. Once the richi action ends, the roulette result is decided.
4. If a jackpot (ooatari) hits, he gains a bonus; if not, it goes back to step 1.
5. This repeats endlessly until one of them goes down or Hakari hits a jackpot.
6. If he hits a jackpot even once, the odds of hitting one next time go up. If an odd-numbered jackpot hits, this effect becomes even stronger.
It was a strange ability where the domain, the technique, and the release of information were all fused into one.
Junpei remembered the conversation he’d had with Panda before entering this place.
"What’s Hakari-senpai’s technique?"
"I can’t explain it in words. You’ll figure it out naturally once you fight him anyway."
"Wasn’t that why he fought the higher-ups?"
"The higher-ups hate techniques that combine new technology with cursed energy. On the other hand, your girlfriend’s technique is exactly the kind of thing those old men would love."
Now he understood both the rules and why Hakari had fought the higher-ups.
When he thought about the motif being pachinko—more specifically, moe-pachi, those otaku-style pachinko machines based on manga—he could see why the higher-ups would have been horrified.
Hakari walked out from between the ordinary-stage scenery packed with pachinko machines.
"I’m starting to get warmed up."
"This is pretty interesting."
"That’s life. Everyone gambles to live."
Hakari chuckled and stamped his feet lightly as he took a fighting stance.
"Isn’t there also people who just want to live peacefully?"
"I don’t care about those guys. I hope you’re not that boring."
Unlike Hakari, who was already practically sweating dopamine with anticipation, Junpei fell into thought.
"What should I do?"
Right now, this was the ordinary stage.
If he beat Hakari down before Hakari hit a jackpot, Junpei would win.
No, even if Hakari did hit a jackpot, Junpei was confident he could still win.
Reverse cursed technique activates in the brain.
And neutralizing poison is several times more complicated and time-consuming than healing ordinary injuries.
That was why the way to deal with a reverse cursed technique user was poison and overwhelming firepower.
Coincidentally, Junpei had both.
"Either I take him down with poison, or I blow his head off with [Vortex] in one shot."
Of course, he had no intention of making Hakari’s shoulder look like a hollowed-out mess.
He hadn’t come to kill him. He’d come to ask for cooperation.
What mattered wasn’t victory itself, but how he won.
"Hakari-senpai."
"What is it?"
"Want to make a bet?"
This was a ritual.
Simply beating him down quickly before he hit a jackpot would not be enough to secure cooperation.
Only by passing the gate of earning Hakari’s recognition could he truly move his heart.
"If I can get you to surrender before Hakari-senpai hits three ooatari, I win. If not, then you win."
He would completely subdue Hakari, who kept coming at him without dying.
And through that, he would prove it.
My strength and my resolve.
"Are you serious? The release isn’t messed up, is it?"
"I’m completely serious."
"Ha ha......"
Veins bulged on Hakari’s forehead with a twitch.
For Junpei to say something like that even after the release had already completed meant he was saying he would completely overpower Hakari in his immortal mode.
Hakari wasn’t the kind of person who could calmly swallow that kind of disrespect.
"A bet? Fine!!"
It was time to educate this arrogant underclassman.
My innate luck versus your hidden blade—let’s see which one’s stronger.
Without even realizing it, cursed energy began rising slowly from Hakari’s body, which had been swallowed by heat.
"I’ll tell you in advance, I’ve always been lucky in situations like this."
"I’ll surpass that luck with skill."
If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha.
If you meet an immortal, kill the immortal.
With a prelude sequence, the fight between the two men began.
-------------------------------------
Click!
The prelude sequence Hakari chose was a shutter.
It was one of his favorite attack sequences.
Junpei leaped quickly onto the closing door to avoid the attack and checked the shutter’s color.
"Red."
Green, red, gold—the expectation level rises in that order.
Red was the middle tier.
And as soon as the prelude sequence ended, a character illustration with a number written behind Hakari appeared.
Baam-paparabam!
"Richi."
Number 2, Amanogawa Sayuri.
The stage inside the domain changed, and her flustered figure inside an express train was projected.
Junpei smiled at the movement, which looked like a manga scene recreated by lifting it into animation.
"What a ridiculous technique, seriously."
He laughed because it was so absurd.
It was a technique with a cheerful disposition, just like its owner.
If he thought about its actual performance, it was vicious beyond belief, but all those unnecessarily detailed elements came together to create a small, silly kind of fun.
"You’ve got time to laugh?"
Thwack!
Junpei blocked Hakari’s fist, spun, and smashed his elbow into Hakari’s temple.
Hakari looked like he might stagger for a moment, but even with his stance broken, he brutally shoved his body forward.
"Hah!"
Thud!
Junpei ducked his waist to take the tackle, then used the force against him and threw Hakari backward.
Just before his head hit the ground, Hakari planted a hand down and, with movement that didn’t suit his size at all, quickly put distance between them.
As Junpei got back up, another barrage of powerful punches came flying at him.
Dudududududu!
Each strike carried real force.
That wasn’t all.
As he had felt before, Hakari’s cursed energy had a strangely painful edge to it.
"How long are you going to keep defending?"
"Your cursed energy hurts a little, senpai."
"Everybody says that. They say my cursed energy is rougher than other people’s."
Junpei blocked the assault with Black Scale covering both arms like guards, and the richi action that was nearly over came into view.
[Ahh, where is this train even going? I’m going crazy......]
If Amanogawa Sayuri held it in until the train safely reached the station, it was ooatari.
Otherwise, it was a failure.
A red bead at the middle expectation level, a richi action with a jackpot chance of over 40 to 60 percent.
So what was the result?
Ding......
[Waaah......]
In the end, Amanogawa Sayuri couldn’t hold it anymore and wet herself in her pants.
As her crying figure disappeared, the number 5 appeared in the middle of the richi that had been completed as 2-2.
Failure.
"What a shame."
The prelude sequence and the richi action were both decent enough to make you hope for something.
Once again, the domain returned to the ordinary stage, and Hakari clicked his tongue in disappointment.
From here on, he would have to endure in hand-to-hand combat again until he hit a jackpot.
"He’s been doing nothing but close-quarters fighting this whole time, so I’m relieved, but..."
His hand-to-hand combat was strong. His basic cursed energy control and output were absurdly high too.
But that probably wasn’t his full power. In the end, his essence was a shikigami user. He still hadn’t brought out his proper technique.
Aside from the gauntlets he’d used to block strikes, Yoshino Junpei had been fighting purely defensively so far.
As if he were waiting for Hakari to hit a jackpot.
"He’s looking down on me."
He didn’t like the face of Yoshino standing there, still grinning from ear to ear.
Even if he smashed that face with a full-power right hook, it probably wouldn’t feel satisfying.
And yet, he also wanted to see that face twist in panic when he finally hit a jackpot.
What you need to beat an opponent above you is great luck.
He had lost plenty of times, but in big gambles he had always won with uncanny luck.
He would win both the bet at the core of this and the battle itself.
Ping
The prelude sequence activated again.
This time, he chose a bead.
And its color was—
"!!"
"As expected."
Rainbow-colored.
Just appearing meant a jackpot was guaranteed.
"Richi!"
Shrrrkk!
This time, the number was 4.
Since the jackpot was already guaranteed, the richi action passed by quickly as well.
The transit IC card richi, with the lowest expectation level.
Normally, the sequence would end only after Kato Hiro stamped the card and passed through the ticket gate four times, but Hakari’s fist flew out and smashed the entire gate to pieces.
"Finally!"
At the same time a thick smile spread across Junpei’s lips, the final piece clicked into place and the 4-4-4 ooatari was completed.
Hakari’s domain was released, and the two of them returned to the original rooftop.
At a glance he looked ordinary, but an ominous aura was already rising from Hakari’s body.
"Ahh... I’m getting drunk on it. On these overflowing bonuses...!"
Now this was the real thing.
Hakari opened the eyes he had closed and shouted in a spirited voice.
"Music, start!"
Zaaang♪♩♪ !!
A bizarre BGM kicked in, and explosive cursed energy overflowed from Hakari’s body.
A bonus delivered with music for 4 minutes and 11 seconds.
Hakari, his body bouncing with exhilaration, couldn’t contain his overflowing excitement and began dancing, thrusting his hips in a strange pose.
VAI, VAI, VAI, VAI, VAAIII!
"It’s started! The invincible mode after ooatari!"
Endless surging cursed energy, plus full-auto reverse cursed technique.
Right now, he was worthy of being called an immortal.
In other words, he would not die from anything short of a devastating attack.
"Might as well prepare your own funeral while you’re still alive!"
DADE, DADE, DADE, DADE!
The cursed energy that had been concentrated in Junpei’s hand-to-hand combat until now flowed through his entire body and transformed into black armor.
Since he won’t die, I can beat him as much as I want.
Now was the time to show his true power.
"If you don’t want to die, turn the volume up, Hakari-senpai!"
"Hah, that’s more like it!"
He would break Hakari’s will within 4 minutes and 11 seconds!
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