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

Abandoned waterworks in Shinagawa Ward.

The air here is colder than at the college, filled with the stench of rust and stagnant water fermentation.

The mottled concrete exterior walls, covered with dead ivy, appeared lifeless under the gray-blue skylight.

"Born of darkness, from darkness to darkness, cleansing away filth and impurities."

Assistant Supervisor Kiyotaka Ijichi quickly formed hand seals at the entrance, and a black "tent" descended like ink, completely isolating this ruin from the outside world.

"Everyone, please be careful. The higher-ups reported that the density of magical energy here suddenly surged half an hour ago." Ijichi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Li Ren walked at the front, his leather boots making a monotonous "plop" sound as they stepped into the puddles.

Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugizaki followed behind, one on each side.

Fukuro's hands hung naturally at his sides, his shadow stretching sharply beneath his feet; Kugizaki gripped the hammer in a reverse grip, his gaze sweeping across the dark, dead corners.

As we entered the core area of ​​the water plant through the damaged passage, the light suddenly dimmed.

The intersecting steel bars overhead resembled the ribs of a giant beast, and the faint light filtering through the broken skylight refracted a cold halo onto the surface of the huge circular reservoir.

"despair."

Water droplets hit the iron railing, producing a hollow echo.

"Spread out and maintain the triangular formation," Rito said in a low voice.

Unexpectedly, the calm water suddenly shattered as soon as he finished speaking.

Whoosh—!

Three level-two cursed spirits with compound eyes shot out from the bottom of the water.

Instead of letting out the roars typical of wild cursed spirits, they precisely pounced on the three of them.

"Jade Dog!" Fushiguro Megumi crossed her hands instantly.

In the boiling shadows, "Jade Dog Hun" suddenly sprang up, unleashing two jet-black claw lights that tore the cursed spirit rushing towards Fu Hei to pieces at the waist.

At the same time, Kugisaki snorted coldly, stomped his right foot, and the iron hammer, wrapped in blue cursed power, smashed into the face of the second cursed spirit.

"Get down!"

Bones shattered, and the cursed spirit was sent flying backward.

Kugizaki then threw out three nails, which were then struck heavily in mid-air by the hammer.

"Go to hell!!"

The cursed power was detonated remotely, and the level-two cursed spirit was blasted into dust in mid-air.

However, the third cursed spirit rushing towards Rito forcibly twisted its body in mid-air.

It stomped hard on the concrete pillar next to it with its claws, and with the force of the rebound, it crashed into Kugizaki, who was exposed and had no power!

"Kugizaki! Side!" Fushiguro Megumi shouted, but the Jade Dog was entangled by two other level-three cursed spirits that had just crawled out of the water, and it was too late to rescue it.

As Li Ren stomped his foot, a burst of icy air erupted from the sole of his shoe.

[Zero coffin]!

The moisture in the air was instantly stripped of its heat, turning into three ice spikes that pierced the joints of the level-two cursed spirit, freezing it to a point less than half a meter away from Kugizaki.

Immediately afterwards, Rito pressed down in the air with his left hand.

"Hot!"

A burst of heat erupted, and the frozen cursed spirits dissipated into countless gray fragments.

The battle ended, but Rito did not sheath his sword; instead, his gaze darkened.

"Fukuhiro, that cursed spirit just now..." Rito said.

"That's strange!" Fushiguro Megumi stepped forward, her brows furrowed tightly.

"The first two attracted my and Kugizaki's attention, while the third one pretended to attack you, but actually it was to take advantage of Kugizaki's weakness."

"Huh? These brainless bastards know tactics now?" Kugizaki patted her skirt, but unconsciously tightened her grip on the hammer.

Wild cursed spirits, driven by negative emotions, would never exhibit such sacrificial tactical coordination!

Thinking of this, Rito's mood suddenly became even more somber.

At that moment, a heavy tremor came from the deepest purification pool in the water plant.

The black, stagnant water parted to both sides, and a level-one cursed spirit, shaped like a giant spider and covered with human faces, crawled out.

Around it, a dozen or so low-level curse spirits crawled out in dense numbers.

Instead of roaring in chaos, they lined up in an orderly fashion, surrounding the three people in the center.

"Nue!"

A strange, electrified bird soared into the sky from the shadows, and lightning illuminated the factory.

The level one curse spirit spewed out a large amount of corrosive poisonous mist, and the level two curse spirits began to charge.

Rito moved like lightning, and the chilling aura of [Zero Coffin] froze the rushing cursed spirits in patches, followed closely by Kugizaki's nails which exploded.

Fukuro commanded the shikigami to cut off the encirclement route of the level one cursed spirits.

The three worked together seamlessly, but the bizarre nature of the battle made Rito's movements increasingly sluggish.

With a single stroke, he severed the neck of a cursed spirit, black blood splattering onto Rito's cheek.

When he attempted to cross the defenses and directly attack the core of a level-one cursed spirit with [Decay], two or three level-two cursed spirits immediately recklessly rammed their bodies into his blade.

"They...are stalling for time!"

Rito took a half step back, flicked the black blood off his blade, and stared intently at the group of monsters arrayed in formation.

"These cursed spirits must be being manipulated by someone, and if I'm not mistaken, it's probably that guy!"

The scene before him made Li Ren even more certain of his inner guess. Apart from the spell spirit manipulation technique, he couldn't think of any other way to make these lowly spell spirits cooperate so precisely.

The rational mind works at high speed under the pressure of real combat.

As he watched another wave of low-level cursed spirits surge forward to shield him from the attack, the previously scattered clues suddenly came together in his mind.

"Use these cursed spirits to keep us, the only ones on high alert, firmly pinned down in Shinagawa..."

"They deliberately sent us away...because we'd get in the way, if that's the case..."

Li Ren's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Gokumon, Gojo-sensei, Shinjuku... Oh no, Gojo-sensei is in danger!!"

"Rito! Get out of the way!"

Kugizaki's sharp shout interrupted Rito's whisper.

The massive body of the first-level cursed spirit tore through the air, its barbed spider legs crashing down on the dazed Li Ren like Mount Tai.

The shadow beneath Fukuro's feet instantly expanded, attempting to pull Rito into refuge.

"Get...out of my way!!"

Li Ren suddenly raised his head, and a resolute glint ignited in his usually rational eyes.

He did not dodge.

All the magical power within his body erupted in that instant, and extreme cold and scorching decay completely merged.

Zero coffin - disintegration!

boom----!!!

A violent shockwave exploded outwards from the center of the rational man.

The gray-blue and withered-yellow light instantly engulfed the level one cursed spirit along with all the low-level cursed spirits within a radius of several dozen meters.

The ice shattered, and the flesh was annihilated.

Under the absolute release of magical power, the marionette was completely wiped out.

The strong wind made the steel bars in the ruins hum and buzz.

"Huff... huff..."

Rito knelt on one knee on the cracked ground, panting heavily, his right hand pressed tightly against the long sword.

"Rito, what's gotten into you all of a sudden..." Kugizaki walked over carrying a hammer, but his voice stopped abruptly when he saw Rito's expression.

Fu Hei Hui dispersed his shadow and quickly approached.

Rito's body was trembling slightly, but he ignored the emptiness of his curse power and used his strength to support himself against the broken concrete block, swaying as he stood up.

The air was filled with the viscous residue unique to the spellcasting technique.

"Fushiguro... Kugizaki..."

Rito suddenly turned his head, his face pale and his eyes filled with urgency.

"These cursed spirits are manipulated by humans to lure us here in order to completely separate us from Shinjuku."

Li Ren gritted his teeth and spoke slowly, word by word:

"Quick, go back! Gojo-sensei is in danger!!"