Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

Xia Youjie's pupils contracted slightly, but he reacted extremely quickly, almost immediately shouting, "Wu! Leave them alive!"

"Understood~" Gojo Satoru's lips curled up, and before he finished speaking, his figure had already disappeared from the spot.

The next second, Gojo Satoru appeared beside the cursed spirit, his left hand casually in his pocket, while his right hand, like an iron clamp, lightly pressed down on the cursed spirit's head, and then...

A terrifying burst of force! Before the cursed spirit could even react, its entire head and upper body were slammed hard onto the hard concrete ground by Gojo Satoru's single hand!

The cursed spirit's body convulsed violently as it tried to struggle, but its head was firmly pressed into the pit by Gojo Satoru's hand, rendering it unable to move.

Chapter 22 I Have a Way

This cursed spirit was easily suppressed by Gojo Satoru.

Duanmu Yan and Xia Youjie walked over. Duanmu Yan looked at the level two cursed spirit that Wutiao Wu had subdued like a chicken, and his eyes flashed with surprise: "It's really rare that it can speak in complete logical sentences. The level two spirits I've encountered before could only say a few words at most."

Xia Youjie squatted down, ignoring the foul aura emanating from the cursed spirit, and carefully examined it.

"The ability of a cursed spirit to communicate clearly usually signifies a higher level of intelligence and understanding of human language and society. This typically requires a massive accumulation of negative emotions and a special opportunity, and is at least something a near-Special Grade spirit can possess. A Level 2 cursed spirit... this is highly abnormal. It's more like it's been 'given' a dialogue template."

As if to confirm Xia Youjie's words, the "headmaster" spirit, who was being held down in the pit, began to repeat those words.

"Disobedient...disobedient...bad child...needs punishment...why didn't hide...why ran around...bad child...must be punished..."

It repeats the same few sentences over and over again.

Duanmu Yan tried asking a few questions, but the other party kept repeating the same few sentences.

He stood up, his brow furrowed: "We can't get anything out of it. The communication is one-way, just repeating the same old reprimands. It seems we can't get any information from it."

Wu Tiao Wu felt that this cursed spirit was useless and was just about to deal with it when Duanmu Yan suddenly spoke up. His voice was uncertain, but his eyes were sharp as he stared at the cursed spirit.

"Wait, Wu, don't you guys think... this cursed spirit looks a bit like the person on that ID we just found?"

Gojo Satoru and Natsume Yuuki were both taken aback.

Xia Youjie immediately took out the charred and damaged ID card from his pocket and, in the dim light, compared the resolute face of Ito Kenji in the photo with the face of the cursed spirit in front of him.

Facial features, face shape... Although the cursed spirit's face is distorted and stiff, full of inhumanity, the basic template is surprisingly similar!

“It’s not just like…” Xia Youjie’s voice deepened, carrying a hint of coldness, “it’s a doll made based on him. Look here, the direction of the nasolabial folds, the curve of the brow bone… almost identical.”

Gojo Satoru leaned over for a look. The blue light behind his sunglasses flashed, and he clicked his tongue: "Is it really a sculpted replica? What a twisted sense of humor."

Duanmu Yan's heart sank heavily as an even more terrifying conjecture surfaced: "According to previous intelligence, from the time he entered this place to confirm the situation to the time he lost contact, it was no more than half an hour. In such a short time, to 'create' such a lifelike cursed spirit puppet that even imitates the details... this efficiency and high precision are illogical."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the puppets hiding in the shadows on both sides of the corridor, before uttering the conclusion in a dry voice:

"The most likely possibility is not that it was created... but that this puppet is actually him in disguise."

As soon as the words were spoken, even the whispers in the background seemed to freeze for a moment in the corridor.

Xia Youjie's fingers tightened suddenly as he gripped the ID. He abruptly looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the stiff, puppet-like figures around him before finally meeting Duanmu Yan's eyes. His eyes were filled with shock, anger, and disbelief: "Could it be...?!"

“I’m afraid so.” Duanmu Yan nodded, his voice heavy, as if a boulder was pressing down on him. “The puppet spirits we encountered before, those ‘students’ and ‘teachers’… were very likely transformed from the original living people in this school. The detectors didn’t show any other living people because they… have all become like this now.”

The impact of this conclusion is far more devastating than the discovery that hundreds of people may have perished.

Death is the end, but this transformation into a state of numbness and unconsciousness, like a puppet on a string, is a more chilling kind of despair.

"What a joke..." Gojo Satoru's smile vanished completely. He straightened up, his nonchalant aura replaced by a cold, menacing one. He glanced at the cursed spirit he had smashed into the ground, then looked around, his voice filled with rare irritation.

"Turning a person into this grotesque state? What is this?! What does this cursed spirit take humanity for?!"

Xia Youjie took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, but his brows were tightly furrowed: "The key is... once transformed, how can one turn back? The alienation caused to humans by cursed spirits, especially this kind of transformation that involves the essence, is almost... no, it is generally accepted that it is irreversible. Cursed power erodes the soul and body, and at this point, there is almost no precedent for recovery..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

These hundreds of puppets may no longer be considered human; from the perspective of sorcery, they are already cursed spirits that need to be "exorcised."

But... those are hundreds of lives! Just a short while ago, they were ordinary students and teachers!

A heavy sense of powerlessness and complex emotions weighed on the hearts of the three.

Exorcising cursed spirits is their duty, but can they bring themselves to harm these enemies transformed from innocent people?

But if we don't deal with it, are we just going to let them remain in this inhuman state, or even become accomplices of the mastermind behind it all?

Duanmu Yan's heart was in turmoil.

He traveled through time and gained power in order to survive.

But the despair and pain of these hundreds of equally innocent victims could almost be transmitted through the deathly silence.

If he just stands by and does nothing, what difference is there between him and those indifferent bystanders? What difference is there between him and that monkey he saw before he traveled through time? What difference is there between him and those cursed spirits who treat life like dirt?

Did he acquire this power simply to kill more efficiently? No, absolutely not!

"There must be a way... there has to be a way..." Duanmu Yan roared in his heart.

Just because it's not in conventional knowledge of sorcery doesn't mean there aren't other possibilities!

He thought of his greatest asset.

He frantically chanted in his mind, "System! System! Can you hear me? Is there any hope for this situation, for someone transformed into this puppet-like cursed spirit? Is there any way to reverse it?"

After a brief silence, the system's voice sounded in my mind:

【Have. 】

That single word, though simple, struck like a thunderbolt, igniting a spark of hope in Duanmu Yan's heart.

"Tell me! What's the way? What do you need me to do? Points? Treasure chests? Or some other price? As long as I can afford it, I'll give it all to you!" He almost shouted in his heart impatiently.

This system requires no additional payment from the host. The necessary conditions for the solution are already included within the host's own capabilities.

[Hint: The Nava Armor is essentially a manifestation and contract of the elemental power of "Flame," and its power characteristics are not limited to burning and destruction.]

"Purification," being an essential aspect of "flame," corresponds to the concept of "burning away filth and restoring clarity." The curse power contained within the host's armor has a natural effect of restraining and purifying "curses."

[Please note: This process consumes a large amount of magical energy and requires an extremely high level of mental concentration from the caster. Its effectiveness must be verified by the user.]

Purify!

The system's words were like a wake-up call, instantly clearing up Duanmu Yan's thoughts.

During his training with Gojo Satoru, Gojo analyzed that his curse power had the characteristics of "burning" and "purifying"!

In "Armor Hero Nawa", every time the Ouke is defeated, the line is indeed "purify"!

He had only focused on the armor's offensive power, but had overlooked this crucial aspect!

“The Nava Armor… has the ability to purify… can purify this curse transformation…” Duanmu Yan murmured to himself, the confusion and heaviness in his eyes quickly replaced by a firm light.

Just then, Gojo Satoru, standing nearby, scratched his head in frustration: "Damn it, is there really no way at all? I don't want to fight a bunch of ordinary people who have been turned into monsters..."

Xia Youjie remained silent, clearly considering other possibilities at a rapid pace, but his expression was not good.

Duanmu Yan raised his head and looked at them. "No, there is a way."

Gojo Satoru and Natsume Yuuki both turned to look at him, their eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

"I have a way, maybe... to save them."

Chapter 23 Special Grade Fantasy Spirit - Bai'er

Duanmu Yan: "Perhaps I have a way."

Gojo Satoru suddenly turned his head, his azure eyes wide, "Hey, Duanmu, this is something that hasn't been done in hundreds of years, are you sure you can do it?"

Faced with something that no one had ever succeeded at before, he was instinctively skeptical, but he was also very excited.

After all, the current situation was both troublesome and frustrating. He would rather face ten top-tier curse spirits head-on than confront hundreds of dilemmas about whether or not to kill them.

Xia Youjie's reaction was more reserved. He frowned and said, "Duanmu Jun, I understand your desire to save people, but the current situation is very complicated. Are you... confident?"

Duanmu Yan met their gazes without backing down.

"I can't say I'm 100% sure, but it's worth a try. Wu, do you remember when you analyzed my spell power attributes during our previous training?"

Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow, his six eyes shining slightly, and recalled, "Ah, you mean that, your curse power, high temperature, violent, and with a very special sense of purification, like... it's like burning the filth from the root and restoring it to its original form."

“That’s right,” Duanmu Yan nodded, pointing to the puppet on the ground that was still muttering to itself, “My armor’s essence is not only destruction, but also the property of restoring clarity. I think my power might be able to work against this kind of curse imposed by external force.”

He looked at Xia Youjie: "Jie, I know this is risky. But if we do nothing or just exterminate them, these hundreds of people... will really be gone. At least let me try. If it fails or causes bad consequences, stop immediately and take... the necessary measures."

Xia Youjie stared at him silently for a few seconds, then at the puppet on the ground representing Kenji Ito, and finally exhaled slowly, his eyes sharpening as he pointed at the level-two cursed spirit puppet on the ground.

“Alright. Since it’s possible, we can’t give up. But we must be careful. Start with him, control your power, and observe his reactions at all times. If things don’t go well, Wu, you stop him immediately.”

"Understood~" Gojo Satoru grinned, already taking two steps back with his hands in his pockets, but with all six eyes open, he kept a close eye on Duanmu Yan and the cursed spirit on the ground, ready to intervene at any time.

Duanmu Yan said no more. He walked up to the cursed spirit that was glaring at him and repeating "bad boy," and focused his mind.

"Flame Nava, absorb the power of the raging flames, combine!"

A sudden burst of red light enveloped his entire body in crimson and silver-gray armor. He extended his right arm, and a soft, warm, pale golden flame gradually took shape.

This flame was unlike the usual violent flame; instead, it gave people a sense of peace and purity.

He crouched down and pressed the ball of purifying flame in his palm onto the center of the cursed spirit puppet's forehead.

hum.

The golden-red flames seeped into the cursed spirit's body like flowing water, or rather, spread rapidly like a gentle warm current.

The cursed spirit initially struggled stiffly for a moment, its meaningless repetition abruptly ceasing, and its dull red eyes began to flash violently, as if something within it had been awakened.

The process was not intense. The color of the cursed spirit's body began to change. The waxy white faded, revealing the skin underneath. Its blank face twitched, gradually replaced by pain, confusion, and finally, deep exhaustion.

In just over ten seconds, the hideous cursed spirit vanished, replaced by a young man lying on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, his face ashen white.

It's Kenji Ito in the ID photo!

Purification successful!

Almost at the same instant that the last trace of the cursed spirit on Kenji Ito dissipated, deep within the school building, in the center of a classroom.

A petite figure dressed in fluffy white kimonos, cradling a tattered rag doll, was gently swaying her body and humming an eerie lullaby into the air when she suddenly stopped moving.

The eyes of the doll in his arms, made of buttons, seemed to flash with an extremely faint dark light.

She slowly turned around, her face, with an innocent smile but eyes that were deathly dark, facing the direction where Duanmu Yan and the others were. Despite the layers of walls and the great distance between them, she seemed to see something.

"...Hmm?"