Upgrade vs All (IV) - Cursed Item Restriction - Angel vs All (I)

After seeing Sheena flying across the stage with a spinning metal spear as shockwaves swirl around her body, Celine could only smile and receive Sheena's challenge with open arms. She could see the drive on her eyes to win against her even though Sheena knows she has no chance against Celine

Celine would reciprocate her feelings and show Sheena her own power, even if she has a restriction that is put on her

'Breathing Technique: Constricted Muscles'

Celine's eyes became extremely serious and piercing. An aura of a killer and a warrior grew around her body. She deeply inhaled and the air coursed through her body. Her muscles began to constrict themselves and the mass was increased. The potential energy of all of her muscles inscreased drastically. The muscle lines across her arms, legs, and abs deepened as her skin glistened from being stretched

Celine stepped her right foot behind her to the right. The moment she stepped down her foot, the ground caved in and created a crater. She twisted her upper body to the right and pulled her right arm behind her and lifted her left arm in front of her. Wind circulated around her arms and legs that it made her hair flutter. Technically, she hasn't move away in her position because her left foot stayed in place

The air around her began to get constricted and collapse onto her body. She then clenched her right fist that her veins popped across her constricted arms

The distance between Celine and Sheena shortened in just under a second. Celine closed her eyes and an overbearing force sweeped across the stage, yet Sheena wasn't fazed

Celine began to mutter under her breath

"Recoiless Technique: Reverse Rifling"

The world slowed down drastically for everybody and Philip had to stand because of what Celine said through his sensitive hearing from his reformed body. His eyes also flashed golden. Sheena is just a few feet in front of Celine with the spear spinning rapidly that it seemed to warp the very spear. Wind was swirling around the spear and the lightning surged across the ground and Sheena's body

Celine abruptly opened her eyes and drove her right fist forwards. The fist dramatically rotated the opposite direction of the rotating spear and generated centripetal force. It also quickly generated vapor from the friction of her arm and the air. The wind also swirled around her right arm and vacuum picked up behind her

The vacuum then sucked in the air and caused a massive shockwave behind her that shattered the ground of the stage. The atmosphere became extremely dense and the heavy strike can be felt by everybody

In just a fraction of the second, Celine's fist made contact with Sheena's spear and the ground under her right foot caved in deeper. The point between Celine's fist at the edge of the spear warped the space around them, like the event horizon of a black hole

Philip's eyes glowed golden upon seeing the warped space, his Extreme Self-awareness activated and the Pureblood reacted

The spear shattered from the warped space and torn apart from the overpowering centripetal force of Celine's fist. The shockwave was directed towards Sheena and obliterated her with the shield. The warped space exploded and cracked more of the ground, the walls, and the observation deck of the training room

The recoil from Celine's fist was removed and contained in her fist. Once her fist made contact and released the contained recoil on her fist, it released all the potential energy and centripetal force in one point that it was enough to warp the fabric of space and cause astronomical amounts of shockwaves and burst explosions

This made Philip's hair on his skin stand up and made Justine widen her eyes and peel off her sight on Philip. Her heart started to pump wildly and her hands were shaking

She was struck away from Celine because of the shockwave. She tumbled on the ground and the glow on her eyes and the symbol on her forehead disappeared. As she was tumbling down, she managed to stand back to her feet, which caused Celine to be very impressed at her

Celine's fist was smoking and she exhaled deeply after holding her breath and unleashing a powerful attack. Celine was about to do another martial technique to hit the persevering Sheena from afar but Sheena beat her to it

"I surrender!"

Sheena was breathing more heavily than when she pressed the trigger of the Harp shotgun earlier. She was very tired and she might likely surrender her fight against Mark

"Very well, Celine, you won! Get out of there and Mark come down the stage"

Chris acknowledged Sheena's forfeit from the match. He sympathized with her too, since he will also have a hard time against Celine

"I surrender against Mark also"

Sheena declared once more to which Chris frowned

"What? The match hasn't started yet. At least, you should try to fight him. He hasn't had the chance to fight

Chris tried to change Sheena's mind but Mark called out to him

"It's fine. I accept the surrender. She's tired and rest is important"

It was at this moment that Sheena fell unconscious and plopped on the ground before she could hear the second half of what Chris said. Celine walked towards Sheena and carried her back to the control room

Meanwhile, as Celine is jumping up the observation deck, Philip had her golden eyes stuck on Celine, trying to assess her true power. It was the same for Justine

"Philip, did you know what was that?"

Justine asked regarding the warp in space

"I don't know... There must be something behind it or she's just that strong... We'll figure it out later"

"Okay"

Philip sat back down and closed his eyes to turn off the golden glow on his eyes

"I'll just wait for my fight against Tenshi"

Mark commented before sitting back down. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes and waited for the next fight

"Okay... Let's move on to the next fight again! Tenshi, do you want to fight?"

"Yes, definitely Sensei! I want to fight and test Celine nee-san's prowess against my own"

"Very well then, you can go down to the stage now"

Tenshi nodded. She went ahead and jumped down from the control room to the stage. She then walked towards the middle of the stage while holding the Harp shotgun. The stage has no more debris and obstacles and it's clear. Tenshi closed her eyes to concentrate and rest for a little bit

~~~

After Tenshi stood in the middle of the stage, Rue jumped down from the observation deck and walked towards Tenshi to give her own restriction. She is carrying a small ornamental blue box on her hands

Tenshi opened her eyes after she sensed Rue approaching her

"Hello there, Rue-san. What's my restriction today?"

"Hi hi! First of all, how are you? Are you fine after what happened earlier?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking"

"Very well then. You're restriction is inside this ornamental box"

"Oooh! Pretty"

"Yup, but what's inside is not pretty at all. What's inside is a cursed item as some sort of a severed finger that is wrapped by bandages and enchanted with talismans and Chris' ability"

"How will it restrict me?"

"You will wear the finger like an amulet, there's already a chain attached. Apparently, this finger will have the ability to diminish the power of your Heavenly Prayers to half. You'll only be able to fight like that and you need to break your limits to increase your maximum power"

"Hm..."

Tenshi pondered for a moment if it's fine to wear the amulet. She then decided to accept it since she likes the challenge

"Alright"

Rue then slowly opened the ornamental box and the wrapped finger could be seen. A dense aura was released that couldn't be felt by Rue and other people like Chris, Mark, and the other squadron members, but Tenshi definitely twitched and her eyes dilated. Her expression also drastically changed from her usual joyous and confident self

Meanwhile, Philip definitely twitched and he suddenly pulled his head back and closed his eyes, as if a smoke blasted on his face

"Gahaaagh!"

His eyes turned golden and he felt the atmopshere dramatically drop

Justine also twitched and her eyes turned red and the tips of her blonde hair turned red. The red marks on her arms faintly appeared and her body started to tremble. Her mind began to get stirred up and she started to get dizzy

She was detecting a very powerful and dense Cursed Energy that instantly filled the entire training room. The Swirlonic Agent reacted to it and immediately transformed her into her maximum power. Her eyes flickered because the color of the air inside the training room turned dark and purple

E-1 also started to shake and tremble violently on her chair that it makes loud noises

Chris, Mark, and the others turned towards the three and became confused. They were surprised by Justine's new appearance and confused about E-1 and Philip's behaviors

"Gah! Chris! What is that?!"

Philip shouted at Chris to which he became startled. Philip had his right palm on his right eye as his eyes started to tear up

"Huh? What's wrong? It's a cursed item, but it's securely contained by sacred talismans and my power. It's a restriction for her power so she could use her power to the limit and increase the capacity of her tank"

"What cursed item?!"

"Some kind of a finger? I don't know anything about it except for it being cursed. What's wrong with you people? You're overreacting"

"God damn! The cursed aura is too overwhelming that it makes me drown! The amount of Cursed Energy is super dangerous!!!"

"Graaaaah!"

Justine had to exhale with a loud sound because the Cursed Energy is also drowning her

Chris narrowed his eyes in confusion and suspicion. Even E-1 was acting strange and Chris considered her as a buffer. If E-1 isn't reacting, then nothing serious is happening, but E-1 is currently acting very strange and that makes Chris feel off

At this point, Philip stood up to see the source of the Cursed Energy and cursed aura. He used his Eye Vision ability and saw the wrapped cursed finger on the ornamental box that Rue opened. He also saw Tenshi's change in expression and he panicked

"Tenshi!!!"

Justine couldn't move from her seat as she was clutching her head with force

At the same time as Philip shouted for Tenshi's name, Rue has holding the ornamental box towards the frozen Tenshi. She was expecting her to pick the finger and wear the amulet by herself

"Tenshi?"

Rue called out to Tenshi but she wasn't responding

"Do you want me to put it on you? I'll gladly do so"

Rue misunderstood Tenshi's silence. She picked up the cursed finger and spread the chain acros her hands. She detached the lock and extended her arms around Tenshi's neck and locked it behind her. Tenshi has successfully equipped the cursed finger necklace

The moment the cursed finger landed on her chest, her blue-white hair bounced behind her back like air bursted from her body. The heavy air and atmosphere that couldn't be felt by anyone also disappeared towards Tenshi

Justine's headache stopped but her transformation is still activated. E-1 also stopped shaking but she's still hiding

"No..."

Philip remained in front of the broken glass frame, staring at Tenshi's static body. Chris only looked at Philip with uncaring eyes

"Elaine, do you want a rematch against Tenshi?"

Chris asked Elaine

"I'll pass"

"Okay then, since Sheena is unconscious, Celine will fight against Tenshi"

Celine nodded and stood up from her chair. She looked at the stunned Philip with confused and worried eyes because of how worried he looks when looking at Tenshi. She then turned her head towards Tenshi and her eyes are warm but full of worry

She then jumped down towards the stage and stood in position. Her fists are clenched because she suddenly felt the slight presence of the Cursed Energy in the air. She also felt weird by the strange expression from Tenshi's face

Tenshi turned around dramatically to face Celine as her eyes are filled with malice