Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

In the northwest corner of the industrial area, the three men's footsteps made soft sounds among the gravel and weeds.

Kuga Makoto led the way, his steps steady, stopping from time to time to check the direction.

Saya followed closely beside Rito, her eyes scanning the surrounding shadows warily.

In her vision, the intertwined threads became even clearer in the darkness.

Blue barrier structure lines spread throughout the area like blood vessels, red curse energy flow lines meandered on the ground and walls, and the severed white lines looked like nerves cut off, with faint light remaining at the cut.

"It's just ahead." Kuga Makoto stopped and pointed to a building hidden behind a withered tree not far away.

Rito followed his finger and looked.

It was a small Gothic chapel, standing out starkly against the surrounding dilapidated industrial buildings.

A corner of the red roof had collapsed, revealing the rotten wooden beams underneath. Most of the stained glass windows were shattered, with only a few fragments remaining, reflecting a faint luster in the moonlight.

The steps in front of the church were covered with withered vines, as if they had been forgotten for many years.

But this church has not been truly forgotten.

Rin could sense a peculiar aura permeating the air.

It was a residual fluctuation of magical power, like an invisible dome, enveloping the entire church.

It's similar to an extension of a rule.

"The remnants of Hiromi Nichisha's domain," Rito said in a low voice.

He had read about the effects of the Sun Chariot technique in the original work; its "judgment" domain characteristics left behind a residual magical power similar to court order around the user.

Even after the boundaries are lifted, this sense of order will persist for a while, just as the solemn atmosphere remains in the courtroom after the judge leaves.

"Wait for me here." Rito turned his head and looked at Sayo and Kuga Makoto.

"But..." Xiaoye wanted to say something.

"If a battle breaks out inside, your presence will only distract me," Rito said firmly.

Xiaoye bit her lip and finally nodded.

Kuga Makoto pushed up his glasses, said nothing, but took two steps back and leaned against a collapsed low wall.

Rito turned around and walked alone towards the church door.

He deliberately walked very lightly, each step landing precisely where there were the fewest pebbles.

The church doors are heavy oak doors, with intricate religious patterns carved on their surface.

But the door was tightly shut at the moment, covered with a faint layer of magical energy fluctuations, like a transparent lock, separating the inside from the outside.

Liren did not push the door open immediately.

He listened intently for a few seconds to make sure there was no unusual noise inside the door before extending his right hand and gently placing it on the door panel.

crunch--

The two large doors swung open inwards with a jarring sound.

The interior of the church was laid bare before Li Ren at this moment.

The church is small, only about 100 square meters.

Two rows of wooden benches are neatly arranged on both sides of the central aisle, with intricate patterns carved on the backs.

Several faded oil paintings, depicting biblical stories, hung on the walls on both sides. Most of the paint had peeled off, revealing the yellowed canvas underneath.

Directly in front was a marble altar with a silver candle on it. The candlelight flickered, casting alternating light and shadow on the wall.

In the candlelight, Rihito saw two people.

The first one was a girl.

She knelt before the altar, her back to the door.

Her long, silvery-white hair cascaded over her shoulders, gleaming softly in the candlelight.

Her body trembled slightly, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, as if she were under immense pressure.

Lai Xihua.

Rin's heart skipped a beat.

The second one was a man.

He stood on the right side of the altar, with his back to the gate.

He was wearing a long black trench coat and holding a silver gavel in his right hand.

The sun shines brightly.

Even when he heard the sound, he didn't turn around; he simply maintained the position of holding the gavel.

The candlelight cast his long shadow, projecting a huge black shadow onto the wall behind him.

The church was silent for a few seconds.

Then, Hiromi Hitsugaya's voice broke the silence.

"I'll ask you one last time, are you willing to use it?"

His voice was calm, without any threat, but rather carried a sense of... weariness.

Kurosaki's body trembled even more violently.

She lowered her head, her long, silvery-white hair obscuring her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

Hiromi Hiraki was silent for a few seconds, then slowly spoke: "You need to make a choice. This choice not only concerns your life or death, but also..."

He suddenly stopped.

Then, he slowly turned around.

The candlelight illuminated a young face, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing frameless glasses, his gaze behind the lenses calm yet profound.

"The very existence of the technique itself is flawed, don't you think?"

Li Ren was taken aback, and then began to seriously consider the sentence.

"The existence of spells is not wrong; the only wrong ones are those sorcerers who use spells to commit crimes. Spells are merely tools."

Upon hearing this, a slight ripple appeared in Hiroshi Nichisha's gradually calm eyes.

"You're right, the only ones at fault are those spellcasters who, after awakening their spells, act recklessly. But what if we erased all of everyone's spells?"

Upon hearing this, Rito's pupils constricted sharply.

He looked at Lai Xihua sitting on the ground, then at Ri Che Kuanjian who had a calm expression, and finally understood why he had been tracking Lai Xihua.

He wanted to use the spell from the Westward Journey—Jacob's Ladder—to eliminate all the spells of sorcerers in the entire Death and Annihilation Journey.

Although we don't know exactly what he's going to do, there's no doubt that his goal is correct.

"You want to use her spell to eliminate the spells of everyone in the entire Death Recurrence."

The voice of the man echoed in the empty church.

Hiromi neither denied nor admitted it; he simply looked at Rito quietly, waiting for him to continue.

"But have you ever thought about this?" Rito took a step forward, his gaze fixed on the sun.

"What will these people become after the spell is removed?"

Nichisha frowned slightly. "Become an ordinary person."

"Yes, ordinary people." Rito nodded.

"In this barrier filled with cursed spirits and sending shockwaves every two hours, if you remove all the spells from everyone, it's tantamount to sending them to their deaths."

Riche's expression remained calm: "Before they awakened the spell, they were just ordinary people. I'm simply bringing them back to where they started."

"Back to square one?" Rito's voice suddenly turned cold.

"This is not a reason for you to arbitrarily control the fate of others."

The Japanese car fell silent.

Kurosaki raised her head, revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes through her loose silver hair.

She looked at Rito, as if she wanted to say something.

"I'm not here to argue with you." Rito withdrew his gaze and turned to Kurusu Hana.

"I've come to find her. Gojo-sensei has been sealed away, and only her magic can break the prison gates. Until then, her power cannot be wasted anywhere."

The chariot lifts the gavel.

"But I think that making the spell itself disappear is more important than saving a person!"