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

Kugizaki's face instantly turned extremely gloomy.

She might not care about the villagers, but the little girl was truly innocent, and she would never allow anyone to harm an innocent person.

At that moment, Kugizaki noticed a gaze and turned to look.

That is reason.

The two stared at each other for a second, and although they didn't say anything, Kugizaki understood.

Then, she turned around and walked towards the direction where the scorpion mound was enshrined.

"Hmph! Why didn't you do this sooner?"

Nizaki snorted coldly, his gaze fixed on Kugisaki's footsteps.

Only after confirming that she wasn't playing any tricks did he slowly follow her.

Rito was a beat slower, but he quickly caught up.

As we left the shrine, the sky grew even more gloomy.

The four of them walked uphill along a narrow path on the side of the shrine that was almost completely covered by weeds.

The stone steps had long since broken, shattered into irregular, scattered stones.

The fir trees on both sides were taller and denser than those at the foot of the mountain, their canopies overlapping and filtering out most of the last bit of sunlight.

The higher you go, the quieter the forest becomes.

Soon, the group arrived at an open space on the back of the mountain.

In the center of the open space stood a stone niche covered in moss.

"Scorpion Mound—"

Looking at the two large characters on the stone niche, blurred by time, Ni Qi suddenly became excited.

Sixteen years. He had waited sixteen years for this moment.

If Che wasn't lying to him, this cursed artifact should be able to eliminate the side effects of his spell.

He will soon be able to become like a normal person, no longer suffering from the pain of toxins day and night.

"Quick, open it!" Niqi urged.

Kugizaki glanced at the little girl but did not respond.

She stood in front of the stone niche, took a deep breath, and then raised her right hand, placing her palm on the talisman at the center of the seal.

next second.

Azure blue magical power surged from her fingertips, spreading along the patterns on the talisman.

One by one, the grayish-yellow talismans on the seal were lit up, the light expanding outward from the center, and the entire stone niche began to emit a deep, resonant sound.

Immediately afterwards, the ground shook.

The dust inside the stone lantern was shaken up, and the remaining branches on the withered tree fell down in a rustling sound.

After doing all this, Kugizaki slowly stepped back and stood side by side with Rito.

However, Ni Qi was so focused on the seal that it was about to be opened that he ignored her actions.

Three seconds later, all the talismans lit up.

The tremors of the stone niche reached a critical point, and an aura of curse slowly seeped out from beneath the soil.

"Kugizaki!"

In that instant, Rito let out a low growl.

Immediately afterwards, he took something out of his pocket and quickly handed it to Kugizaki.

It was a strip of cloth, a tattered strip of cloth.

It fell off Niqi during the battle at the shrine.

Although it is not part of his body, it is covered with the remnants of Nizaki's curse power from sixteen years ago, and has an unbreakable connection with his body.

This connection is the perfect medium for Kugizaki to activate his technique.

Without hesitation, Kugizaki took out the scarecrow, wrapped it around, and finally gripped the cursed tool tightly.

All in one go.

"resonance!"

Ding!

The nails, imbued with Kugizaki's technique, instantly pierced the scarecrow wrapped in cloth.

"Ugh—that damn brat!!"

The moment the scarecrow was pierced, Niqi's body stiffened, and his soul suffered a severe blow.

The little girl slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

"Now!"

Upon seeing this, Li Ren suddenly rushed over.

He couldn't do anything because the girl was being held hostage.

Whether it's a domain or a collapse, any impulsive action could potentially hurt the girl.

And that was the best chance to save the little girl.

"Damn brats, how dare you plot against me! Die, all of you!!!"

As a curse master who had survived for many years, Niqi reacted faster than Liren had expected.

Almost the instant Liren picked up the girl, his counterattack began.

"Corrosive poison!!"

In an instant, black poisonous mist gushed out from every gap in his bandages, spreading across the open ground like a living thing.

The surface of the stone lantern not far away is rusting at a visible speed, and the stone is peeling off like rotten wood.

"not good!"

Kugizaki's heart tightened, and he stared intently in Rito's direction.

Rito hugged the girl and desperately tried to escape.

A faint hissing sound came from behind me, like water boiling in a pan of oil.

That was the sound of the stone slabs being corroded; the poisonous fog was engulfing the ground, creeping up inch by inch.

Li Ren channeled his magical power into his legs, leaving a footprint on the hard stone bricks with each step.

The girl in his arms was also burning up, her little hands clutching his collar as if she were grasping at a lifeline.

But it was too fast; the poisonous fog was just too fast.

"ah--!"

The girl in his arms let out a scream filled with pain.

Li Ren's heart sank. After escaping the poisonous miasma, he immediately looked at the girl.

Kugizaki immediately squatted down, his gaze falling on the girl.

The girl's face was unusually pale, her eyes were closed, and two streams of black liquid slowly flowed down from the corners of her eyes.

"Poisoned!"

Their expressions instantly turned ugly.

They had seen the effects of Niqi's technique; Kugizaki's grandmother's wound was the best example.

And now, the girl's eyes...

"Rito, let's do it!"

Kugizaki stood up from the ground, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

Rito gently placed the girl on the ground and looked over as well.

There is only one way to completely remove the toxins produced by the procedure.

Kill the caster!

Only in this way can the girl's life be guaranteed, and only then can Kugizaki's grandmother's injuries possibly heal.

At this moment, Kugizaki's nail was already between his fingertips, and Rito's curse power was already gathering on his fist.

Nizaki looked at the two of them and suddenly smiled.

The smile split open from the corner of his festering mouth, extending all the way to his ears, revealing the blackened gums underneath.

His body had reached its limit after the release of the poisonous miasma.

With each step, bits of bandage fell from beneath the bandage, making a sticky sound as they hit the ground.

Sixteen years of waiting, only to be driven to the brink of despair by two little devils.

"I'm not reconciled... I'm not reconciled at all!!"

Niqi's voice squeezed out from deep in his throat, like the whimper of some dying animal.

Immediately afterwards, he turned around abruptly and lunged towards the stone niche.

Seeing this, Kugizaki's nails pierced through the air, and Rito's figure rushed out at the same moment.

The next instant, the nail pierced through Niqi's shoulder, penetrating his entire left arm.

But he used the force of the impact to continue falling forward, landing in front of the stone niche.

Before he fell to the ground, his hand had already reached into the niche.

Immediately afterwards, he took out a cursed object the size of a finger, resembling a cicada pupa.

"The thing in the Scorpion Mound... is a cursed embryo!"

Kugizaki's pupils contracted sharply.

That's too late.

Amidst her shocked and angry gaze, Nizaki stuffed the cicada pupa in his hand into his mouth and swallowed it whole.

The next second, his body began to swell.

Dark red lines spread from the chest cavity to the whole body, as if something was reweaving this broken body from the inside.

The muscle tissue twisted and proliferated in an unnatural way, the ulcerated skin was stretched open and cracked, and new black tissue grew out of the cracks.

"Teresa...you lied to me..."

Nizaki's cloudy eyes darted wildly around in their sockets, finally locking onto Kugizaki.

A hoarse murmur squeezed out from between the barbs in his mouth, the last trace of human resentment remaining in his voice.

Then, the pupils disappeared completely.

After gently setting the girl down, Rito extended his magical perception forward, and the feedback from the girl caused his expression to change.

The curse energy reaction from Nizaki was fading, but the scattered and dissipating curse energy had not dissipated.

They are regrouping, as if being drawn in by something, contracting towards the center of that swollen body.

Rinto's perception of the curse's power felt like it had hit a barrier.

The cursed embryo was reorganizing internally. Although it could not be seen inside, it could be sensed that its total curse power was increasing at an extremely terrifying rate.

Sixteen years of obsession ultimately fed not liberation, but a monster that broke free of its restraints.

On the open ground, the aura of curse surged like a tidal wave.

Kugizaki looked up at the lifeless body, her hand gripping the hammer tightly.

Rito stood beside her, side by side.

The wind from the mountaintop pressed down, dispersing the lingering effects of the poisonous miasma and carrying the curse into the gloomy sky.