Curse Return: Demon Void Girl Doesn't Want to Be a Weakling

Her questions were so natural and insightful that she even accurately guessed the mission's level might be quite high, which made Nanami think even more highly of her.

"The report from the window indicates that there is a Level 1 cursed spirit reacting nearby, with distinct characteristics and strong aggression. I'm heading there to confirm." Nanami Kento didn't hide anything; he was curious to know what Mashiro would say once she found out.

"Level 1...Attack type?" Mashiro's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of eager anticipation flashing deep within her crimson pupils. "That's perfect. Can I come along?"

"Bring you along? It's too dangerous." Qi Hai said seriously, "A level one cursed spirit is no joke, people can die, and your injuries haven't healed yet."

“But that’s the mindset of the weak.” Mashiro took a step closer, her crimson eyes filled with a hint of madness, staring straight into Nanami Kento’s eyes.

"If I die now, it means that Kujo Mashiro deserves to die."

Her decisiveness reaffirmed to Nanami that this child was definitely extraordinary.

"Keep up." He said no more, turned and walked steadily out of the park.

"The target location is an abandoned shrine to the north. The cursed spirit is suspected to be a 'Fire Monk,' characterized by a combination of intense heat and physical attacks. Your task is to distract me as much as possible while I launch my main attack, protect yourself, and look for opportunities. If you are too badly injured or unable to hold on, retreat immediately, understand?"

He spoke as he walked, his pace steady and his thoughts clear, as he began to outline his tactics.

"Understood. Restrain, take the hits, find an opportunity, and run if necessary." Mashiro quickly summarized, catching up with him in a relaxed tone as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. "And the reward?"

"...If it does indeed provide effective assistance, 800,000 yen." Qi Hai announced a figure. Although this was already higher than the usual assistance reward for a level one mission, he felt that the girl was worth the price, or rather, she might need this price.

"Deal!" Mashiro's eyes lit up, and he gripped the Murasaki belt tightly.

Chapter 8 Level One Cursed Spirit

The two stopped talking and hurried through the deepening twilight.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the dilapidated shrine situated on the hillside. Even before they got close, a scorching, violent magical energy rushed towards them, causing the air to distort slightly. From the direction of the main hall, a faint, dark red flame could be seen.

"This is it." Nanami stopped in front of the torii gate, his short sword wrapped in cloth, the magic power steadily covering the blade.

"Stay close, watch out for flames and sudden physical impacts. Its attack range can be quite large."

Mashiro nodded, her right hand gripping the hilt of Murasame's sword tightly.

Click, click, the Falun above my head started spinning faster.

She could feel the magical power flowing excitedly within her body, her wounds itching and healing, and a certain instinct deep within her soul—a desire from Mo Xuluo to clash with powerful enemies—waking up, causing her to feel hot as well.

“Hey,” she said, staring in the direction of the main hall, a smile spreading across her face, “don’t make me get too excited, okay?”

The two passed through the torii gate and entered the shrine grounds. The scorching heat suddenly intensified, and on the stone slab in the open space in front of the main hall, a humanoid cursed spirit about three meters tall slowly rose.

Its body is composed of magma and rock, with dark red, fiery light flowing from the cracks in its surface.

It had no head, and a ball of flame burned above its neck, radiating terrifying heat. The ends of its thick arms were fists covered with solidified lava.

The mere presence of the Karmic Fire Monk exuded a pressure far exceeding that of any cursed spirit Mashiro had encountered before.

It looked at the intruder, and the flames on its neck suddenly flared up.

Without any warning, a massive lava right fist blasted towards Nanami, who was at the front, from a distance!

A dark red pillar of fire tore through the air, sweeping in with devastating heat.

"Get out of the way!" Nanami shouted, his body flashing to the side. At the same time, his short sword drew an arc and slashed with cursed power to meet the side of the fire pillar, trying to deflect its direction.

Mashiro ignored him; the strong always rise to the challenge!

The moment the pillar of fire struck, she didn't retreat. Instead, she channeled her magical power into her legs and charged towards the side of the cursed spirit, closing the distance.

"Too impulsive!" Nanami frowned when he saw her action, but it was too late to stop her.

Enraged by Mashiro's actions, the Fire Monk unleashed a left fist that swept towards the charging Mashiro with a speed disproportionate to his massive body. Before the fist even arrived, the violent wind from the punch and the accompanying heat wave made her gasp for breath.

"Come!"

Mashiro neither dodged nor evaded, but instead held Murasame horizontally in front of her, channeling her magical power into the punch and choosing to take it head-on. The Dharma Wheel above her head spun; she needed to start getting used to it!

"clang--!!!"

A terrifyingly loud explosion rang out. Mashiro felt as if she had struck gold. Her arm, which was gripping Congyu's tightly, trembled violently, and her hand split open, bleeding profusely.

The immense force lifted her feet off the ground, throwing her backward and slamming her hard into a stone lantern more than ten meters away!

"Cough!" She coughed up a small amount of blood, her back was so painful that she lost all feeling, she didn't know how many bones were broken, and her right arm was limp and unable to exert any force.

"Kujou!" Nanami shouted sharply, trying to force the cursed spirits to retreat and come to the rescue.

"Leave me alone!" Mashiro shouted hoarsely, struggling to stand up with his left hand on the ground, his red eyes reflecting the karmic fire monk who was pouncing on him again.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the Falun above our heads spun wildly.

Come on! I'm starting the spin!

To his surprise, Nanami Kento found that she was actually smiling.

Blood still clung to the corner of his mouth, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light as he shouted, "Are you satisfied now? Let's do it again!"

Enraged by her provocation, the Fiery Monk's flames surged, and his fists, blazing with intense heat, slammed down towards Mashiro. The intense heat spread outwards, even distorting the air itself.

Mashiro did not run away. Dragging her temporarily disabled right arm, she frantically poured her magical power into her legs and narrowly escaped between the fists at the last second.

Flames grazed her body, instantly charring and burning her sportswear. Her skin felt a searing pain, but she paid no heed. The Falun spun, and her body adapted to the terrifying heat and violent physical impact.

"Spatial Cut!" Shinpaku's mantra surged, and several slashes cut through the arms and legs of the Karmic Fire Monk, attempting to reduce its mobility, but with little effect.

Pshaw, spells that work well against people are pretty ineffective against rocks!

Mashiro clicked her tongue, retreated to the rear, and organized a second attack.

At this moment, Qi Haijian moved, and the ten-stroke spell allowed him to see the flaw in the body of the Karmic Fire Monk.

"Sever!" he shouted softly, and swiftly slashed at the same spot with two swords, cutting off the right leg of the Fiery Monk.

"Well done, Nanami!"

Mashiro laughed loudly, her silver hair fluttering in the wind, her eyes turning even redder. She once again pulled up Murasaki and launched an attack on her left leg.

"That's it? Is this all your flames can do? You're the challenger!" She dodged the barrage of punches and the occasional bursts of fire as she approached the cursed spirit, constantly provoking it with her words.

Each time she was grazed by the force of a punch, each time she was burned by flames, she gritted her teeth, suppressed the pain, and allowed her body to adapt further.

Her movements became increasingly fluid, and at first she could only barely dodge fatal attacks, with burns and bruises constantly appearing on her body.

Gradually, she began to be able to predict the trajectory of the punches and dodge before the flames erupted.

The effects of the high temperature on her are diminishing, her skin's resistance to flames is slowly increasing, and the hardness of her skin in the face of that heavy physical impact is being optimized by her body's instincts.

"Faster..." she silently chanted, her crimson eyes fixed on the cursed spirit's movements. The bones in her right arm had been reconnected thanks to the cursed power and her self-healing ability. Although she still felt waves of pain, it no longer affected her ability to exert force.

Unable to break through, the Fiery Monk grew increasingly frenzied. It abruptly stopped its pursuit, clasped its hands together in front of its chest, and flames surged wildly between its hands, rapidly condensing and expanding into a dark red fireball radiating destructive energy!

It's going to be enlarged!

Mashiro's heart tightened, but she smiled expectantly again; her adaptation was almost complete!

"Danger! Retreat!" Nanami's expression changed. He had been trying to sever its limbs, but to no avail.

Although it can attack weaknesses, it can never cut through them. After making a cut, it is restored. The range and power of this attack are obviously extraordinary.

Mashiro, however, kept her eyes fixed on the fireball and advanced instead of retreating.

"Yes! That's it! Going it slow like that would get boring!" She laughed wildly, pouring all the magic power she had just recovered into Cong Yu. The silver blade hummed as it charged toward the center of the fireball that was about to explode!

She will use the Rain of Clouds' ability to sever the curse's power and cut through its fireball!

"You are crazy!"

Nanami could no longer care about anything else. His figure turned into a blur as he rushed toward the side of the cursed spirit. His short sword, imbued with a large amount of cursed power, stabbed straight at the spirit's arm joint, attempting to interrupt the attack.

Despite the greater threat posed by Nanami, the Fire Monk disregarded everything and risked losing an arm to forcefully push the fireball, which was concentrated with terrifying magical power, towards the oncoming Mashiro!

A massive fireball, capable of destroying everything, hurtled towards them. Mashiro raised both hands high, poured all her magical power into it, and furiously slashed down!

The instant the fireball made contact with the blade, the intense light engulfed everything.

Chapter 9 The Responsibility of an Adult

Boom! ...

A burst of flames shot into the sky, and the scorching blast wave sent debris and dust flying. The entire shrine grounds trembled.

Nanami was forced back several steps by the shockwave, and his heart sank.

Even he would have had a hard time escaping unscathed from such an explosion's epicenter, and that girl...

As the flames and smoke slowly dissipated, a shallow crater was blasted into the center of the open space.

The monk with the karmic fire stood still, the flames on his neck dimming considerably.

At the edge of the pit, a petite figure, with her hair heavily embedded in the ground, knelt on one knee, supporting herself and preventing herself from falling.

Her sportswear was almost completely charred, her exposed skin was covered with large, horrific blisters and scorch marks, a section of her silver hair was singed, and her face was streaked with black and red—a truly wretched sight. But she was indeed still alive.

She raised her head, her face covered in dust but unable to conceal the gleam in her eyes.

The Dharma wheel above her head gradually stopped spinning and became quiet. Mashiro slowly straightened up, her movements slightly swaying.

“I see…” she said, her voice hoarse and broken, yet carrying a hint of satisfied laughter. “High temperature, impact, and the cursed will that has been burned away in the flames… it’s really interesting, but I’ve completely adapted.”

She raised the rain-soaked sword, its tip pointing at the astonished and bewildered monk.

“Your technique,” ​​she grinned, revealing blood-stained teeth, her smile unrestrained and arrogant, “I accept it.”

The next moment, Mashiro moved.

Nanami stared in astonishment at the rapidly moving figure; her speed was far greater than before!

His figure almost became a blurry black line, not rushing in a straight line, but following an arc-shaped trajectory, instantly circling around to the side and rear of the Karmic Fire Monk.

That was a relatively weak point in the flow of its magical power, something she had just realized during the explosion.

The Fiery Monk roared and swung his burning giant fist back, but Mashiro neither dodged nor avoided it, taking the punch without a scratch, and not even being able to take a step back.

She brandished the Rain Blade, a faint red light swirling around its blade, and plunged it fiercely into the weak point of the Karmic Fire Monk!

The raindrops were imbued with the characteristics of karmic fire that she had just come to understand.

"Pfft!"

It was no longer the dull thud of a hard object colliding, but rather the sound of a cleaver cutting into grease.