Curse Returns: Eight Extraordinary Skills? I lack nothing.

"Above this location is the former site of the Xianshouyuan Cemetery. Back when the tunnel was being built, in order to meet the construction schedule, they excavated directly beneath the cemetery."

Yuuto frowned upon hearing this and said:

"In other words, traffic is running over dead people day and night."

To dare to play like this in this kind of extraordinary world, one can only say they are incredibly bold, completely unafraid of the cursed spirits coming after them, Yuu thought to himself.

Nishimiya Momo nodded and said, "Yes, this is the biggest source of the curse in this tunnel."

Ijichi added from the side, "According to the analysis of the staff at the window, the cursed power below the tunnel has been slowly accumulating."

“Under normal circumstances, this level of resentment should have given birth to a higher-level cursed spirit long ago.”

"But strangely, until a month ago, there were only some level four minions here, and no high-level cursed spirits ever appeared."

Upon hearing this, Yuuto also realized that something was amiss.

With so many problems piled up, it would be a miracle if a high-level cursed spirit didn't appear.

Nishimiya Momo picked up another document and said, "But two weeks ago, the magical energy reaction here suddenly started to spike."

"On May 15, an increase in the number of Level 5 cursed spirits was detected."

"On May 20th, a level three cursed spirit reaction occurred."

"On May 27th, a Level 5 Cursed Spirit was born."

After a few seconds of silence, Yuuto spoke:

"So, this mission isn't just about clearing out enemies?"

Xi Gongtao's lips curled up: "Smart. Although our mission is ostensibly to exorcise that level-two cursed spirit, what we really need to find out is why this place suddenly erupted."

"Is there anything else to add?" Yuuto asked.

Ijichi said, "That's all we know for now. You'll only know the specifics after you enter the tunnel."

Yuuto nodded and closed the file: "When do we depart?"

Nishimiya Momo walked ahead and said, "The car is downstairs now."

The three of them left the conference room and took the elevator downstairs.

A black minivan was parked in front of the building. The driver, a young man in a suit, got out of the car and opened the door as soon as he saw them come out.

Yuuto got into the car, Nishimiya Momo sat next to him, and Ijichi sat in the passenger seat.

As the car started and merged into the traffic of Shibuya, Momo Nishimiya suddenly spoke:

"By the way, since the tunnel is a main road in Shibuya, there is heavy traffic during the day, and our mission level is not high enough to block it directly."

"We have to wait until the traffic volume drops to its lowest point in the early morning before the relevant departments can close the site."

After saying this, Xigong Tao paused for a moment before continuing:

"Moreover, according to urban legends, 2 a.m. is the time when the Hanging Blood Woman is most likely to appear."

People are puzzled as to why professionals would choose to believe urban legends.

However, adhering to the principle that Nishimiya Momo had been a sorcerer longer than himself, Yuuto still chose to believe her.

During a break on the way to the mission location, Yuuto asked his question:

"When it comes to carrying out joint missions, shouldn't your classmate be the more suitable candidate?"

Chapter 10 Handprints and the Hangman

Do you think I don't want to find them?

Why do you think I would suddenly contact you in the middle of the night?

"It's because the mission was too urgent, and the students from the Kyoto school are far away in Kyoto and couldn't get here in time. Besides, they all have their own missions..."

After Nishimiya Momo poured out her heart, Yuuto finally understood what had happened.

As everyone knows, there are two majors in the world of sorcery.

No, they are two high schools.

The main characters attend Tokyo Magic Academy, located in the capital city of Tokyo.

Momo Nishimiya attends the Kyoto Jujutsu High School, located in Kyoto, the former capital of Japan.

It's currently a week-long break for college students. Since Momo Nishimiya's family lives in Tokyo, she naturally wants to go home and spend the week with her parents.

Unexpectedly, I suddenly received this urgent and mandatory task, and there was no time to wait for the students from the Kyoto campus to arrive.

As for the Tokyo campus, it doesn't have a good relationship with the Kyoto campus, so Momo Nishimiya is too embarrassed to ask them for help.

Other graduating seniors are too busy to find a suitable partner.

It's really pathetic to be still at the intermediate level after graduation. The official spellcasting system won't recruit people like that into vocational colleges.

Therefore, compared to the strangers assigned by the system, Nishimiya Momo preferred to carry out the mission with Yuuto, whom she had met in person and had chatted well with online.

…………

At 2 a.m., traffic police had already closed the road at the entrance of the Senda Valley Tunnel.

Kiyotaka Ijichi unbuckled his seatbelt, turned to look at the two people in the back seat, and said:

"Wait a moment, I'll go set up the tent first."

He got out of the car, took three black tent pegs from the trunk, and strode towards the tunnel entrance.

After setting up tent pegs from three different directions, Ijichi stepped back a few paces, formed hand seals, and slightly moved his lips.

"Born of darkness, darker than black."

“All filth and impurities will be completely cleansed.”

The next second, a pure black, semi-transparent film began to spread from mid-air, eventually enveloping the entire tunnel.

As the tent was set up, the magical power specifically designed to stimulate the cursed spirits slowly emanated. Inside the tunnel, the cursed spirits that had been hidden and in a dormant state awoke one after another, letting out impatient roars.

After setting up the tent, Ijichi looked at the two who were preparing to enter the tunnel and said:

"Gentlemen, I will stay here and keep watch. Please contact me immediately if anything happens."

"Understood." Xi Gongtao took her broom from the back seat, straddled it, and hovered in mid-air with her feet off the ground.

After stretching his shoulders, Yuuto walked ahead and said, "Nishimiya, let's go."

Nishimiya Momo nodded and flew behind Yuuto, glancing at the weapon at his waist that wasn't even a spell tool, and asked:

"Your knife is too ordinary. Won't it break if you go in and make a cut?"

Yuuto said casually, "So what if it's broken? It's just an ordinary knife."

"What, are you going to make it up to me?"

Xigong Tao, holding the broom handle, glanced down at him and said, "We'll see how you perform. If you don't drag us down later, I might consider getting you a magic tool."

"Much better than your piece of junk."

Yu Ren glanced back at her and said, "Why don't you just give it to me directly? Why bother with this trial period?"

"Dream on." Xi Gongtao turned her head away, raising the broom half a meter. "We're not that close, why should I give it to you for free?"

Yuuto didn't say anything more, just smiled slightly, and turned to continue walking towards the tunnel entrance.

Xigong Tao followed behind, her gaze lingering on the knife at his waist for a second longer before looking away.

The two bickered the whole way until they reached the tunnel entrance.

"The profound origin of heaven and earth, the root of all energies..."

After entering the tunnel, You recited an incantation, circulating his internal energy, and golden light covered his entire body.

"The concentration of cursed energy is much higher than outside." Xigong Tao lowered her voice and raised the broom slightly, keeping it at a height of about four meters.

It can ensure its own safety, as well as scout the situation ahead and provide support at any time.

Not far along, cursed spirits began to appear on the tunnel walls.

They were clumps of palm-sized, grayish-black objects, like melted mud, slowly moving along the wall.

Yuuto activated his lightning technique, and bolts of lightning shot out from his body.

As the lightning streaked across them, they didn't even have time to scream before they instantly turned into black smoke and vanished.

[System Notification: Defeat 5 Level 4 Cursed Spirits, gain 10 points]

"You're really good at exorcising cursed spirits, you're practically a born sorcerer." Nishimiya Momo watched from the air, and seeing that she didn't need to take action, she slightly turned her broom and stared deeper into the tunnel.

“I enjoy killing cursed spirits,” Yuuto replied, his hand flashing with even more lightning, which he then directed at the cursed spirits.

These level four cursed spirits are so weak that they pose almost no threat, lacking even the instinct to dodge; they are simply free points.

Nishimiya Momo tried to help several times, but Yuuto stopped her and refused, as he didn't want to miss this opportunity to rack up points.

Although Nishimiya Momo was puzzled, there was nothing she could do but offer a reminder from the air:

"Two on the left wall."

Without turning his head, Yuuto raised his left hand, and lightning shot out from his fingertips, hitting the target precisely.

There's another one on the ground to the right.

With a backhand strike, Yuuto pinned a crawling cursed spirit to the ground, whereupon it disintegrated.

In less than a minute, Yuuto had cleared out all the level-four cursed spirits at the tunnel entrance.

The deeper you go, the dimmer the light becomes in the tunnel.

Yu Ren gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, maintaining the Golden Light Mantra on his body, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Nishimiya Momo flew diagonally behind his head, the broom hovering very steadily.

Her gaze kept scanning back and forth between the depths of the tunnel and the walls on both sides.

This is what she does best: high-altitude reconnaissance and suppressing enemy vision.

“There’s something ahead,” she suddenly said. “On the left wall, about fifteen meters away.”

Yuuto looked in the direction she indicated.