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

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, the cursed spirit flew horizontally for more than ten meters, crashing into a pile of abandoned corrugated boards before rolling to the ground.

The area on its body that was hit showed a large, horribly charred and collapsed scar, sizzling with black smoke and emitting a pungent, burnt smell.

It struggled, trying to get up, but its body was already badly damaged and its magical power was dissipated.

Duanmu Yan walked up to it unhurriedly, the tip of the Melting Scale Blade hanging casually in front of it.

"Stop, stop! I surrender!" The cursed spirit completely collapsed. Its ferocity vanished under the crushing force of absolute power, leaving only the most primal will to survive.

"No, don't kill me! I know, I know everything! I'll tell you everything!"

Duanmu Yan did not sheathe his sword, but his gaze behind the goggles fell coldly on it.

What time is it now?

"Time?" The cursed spirit paused, seemingly not expecting this question. It tried to recall the fragmented information it occasionally received from humans in its hazy consciousness.

"I...I saw it...it seems to be...2006? Yes, it was 2006!"

In 2006, Duanmu Yan noted down this number.

He paused, pressing the tip of the knife slightly down, close to the charred wound of the cursed spirit, bringing even more intense pain and fear. "Are there any gathering places of cursed spirits nearby? Or places where more powerful cursed spirits roam?"

The cursed spirit trembled violently; the question seemed to touch upon its deeper fears.

“Yes, there are… to the west, deep inside the abandoned… water treatment plant… it’s dangerous there… there are… there’s something even more terrifying… it’s very strong, extremely strong…”

"But, but recently..." The curse spirit's voice was low, carrying a strange emotion mixed with fear and schadenfreude.

"It seems to have been seriously injured by a guy with... exceptionally beautiful eyes and white hair. He's been recovering and hardly ever comes out... That's why we dare to move around a little in the vicinity..."

Duanmu Yan's eyes flickered slightly. A white-haired guy with very beautiful eyes? This description...

"I...I've told you everything I know! Please let me go!" the cursed spirit pleaded.

"Thanks," Duanmu Yan said calmly, flicking his wrist.

The Molten Scale Blade drew a blazing arc—Flame Slash!

The blade grazed the broken body of the cursed spirit, whose expression froze in shock and bewilderment at the last moment. Then, a thin red line emerged from the center of its body.

The next moment, intense flames erupted from within, instantly engulfing it and turning it into a fireball that burned fiercely before quickly annihilating into ashes.

"You...don't...keep your word..." Before the ashes scattered, a faint, resentful mental fluctuation entered Duanmu Yan's mind.

[Host has successfully killed a Level 1 Cursed Spirit for the first time. Congratulations! You have gained 1000 points and an Elite Treasure Chest.]

A system notification sounded in my mind.

"Credit?"

Duanmu Yan flicked the Melting Scale Blade, shaking off non-existent ash from its surface. The flames subsided, and the longsword vanished as specks of red light.

He deactivated his transformation, the red light faded, revealing the young man's calm face.

"I have never promised you anything."

"and……"

He turned away, no longer looking at the scorched ground, and walked back the way he came, his voice carried away by the damp, cold night wind.

"There is no need to keep your word with cursed spirits."

Chapter 6 The Severely Wounded Quasi-Special Grade Cursed Spirit

Duanmu Yan quickly reviewed the known information in his mind.

2006 years.

Gojo Satoru was born in 1989, so he should be 17 years old now.

At this point in time... he tried hard to recall his vague anime memories from his past life.

The "Huaiyu Chapter" and the "Star Essence Incident" seem to have occurred during this period, but I can't remember the exact time.

However, these things probably haven't happened yet.

“Aside from a real natural disaster, it’s impossible for any cursed spirit to escape from Gojo Satoru in that state.”

However, even for Gojo Satoru during this period, escaping from his clutches was a remarkable feat.

“Now that the time is set, things are much easier.” Duanmu Yan wiped his face, his eyes turning cold. “There’s still some time before the plot officially begins, so we must improve our strength as soon as possible.”

In this world, weakness itself can be a disaster.

He remembered the elite treasure chest he had just acquired, and on a whim, the system prompted him to open it.

[Open Elite Chest x1.]

[Obtained: Lucky Coin (Rare Item)]

A very antique-looking brass coin fell into his palm. The obverse side had a blurry auspicious cloud pattern, while the reverse side had a pattern of some kind of ferocious beast that was difficult to identify. It was slightly cool to the touch.

[Lucky Coin: The holder can perform a simple divination by silently thinking about the question and then tossing it. Heads is an auspicious sign, indicating success or benefit; tails is an inauspicious sign, indicating obstacles or danger.]

Note: Each use will consume item durability; current durability is 10/10. When durability reaches zero, the item is destroyed.

"A divination tool?" Duanmu Yan weighed the coin in his hand. "Perfect."

He gripped the coin tightly and said, "With my current strength, I have a good chance of defeating that heavily injured cursed spirit if I head to the abandoned water treatment plant in the west."

With a forceful push of his thumb, the coin bounced up and was caught and held in place by the back of his other hand.

Remove your palm.

The auspicious cloud pattern faces upwards.

The front is auspicious.

Almost the instant the result appeared, he felt that the coin in his palm seemed slightly old.

Checking the status, the durability has changed to 9/10.

"Ten chances." Duanmu Yan put away the coins, having made up his mind.

Since the system provides these consumables with a "durability" setting, there is likely something in this world that can repair or replenish the durability of such items; it's just that we don't know where to find them yet.

However, the auspicious outcome has given him a much-needed boost.

A high-level cursed spirit that is severely injured—this opportunity is rare and hard to come by.

Without further hesitation, he determined the direction and sped off toward the abandoned water treatment plant on the western outskirts of the city.

……

Meanwhile, in the western suburbs of the city, an abandoned sewage treatment plant.

Far from the lights of downtown Tokyo, the air was thick with the dull smell of water and rust, now mixed with an even more nauseating odor.

The rustling sounds came from all directions.

In the shadows, twisted, deformed, and malevolent figures, drawn by some invisible yet powerful force, surged from the sewers, the wasteland, and the corners of nearby dilapidated buildings, converging on the deepest reservoir of the treatment plant.

Most of them are low-level cursed spirits, with all sorts of strange shapes. They push and shove each other, instinctively fearing the aura emanating from the depths, yet driven forward by an even stronger instinct, like pilgrims or like a flock of sheep being herded.

Above this slowly creeping "tide," a figure stands silently.

It resembles a giant bat in appearance, with a wingspan of over five meters, but it is severely damaged, with its periosteum covered in tears and holes.

But his aura was terrifying; he was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

Its dark red, compound-eye-like pupils coldly surveyed the ever-growing number of low-level cursed spirits below, its gaze devoid of any pity for its kin, only displaying naked exploitation and cruelty.

"Damn Gojo Satoru... He's just a mere human... How dare he injure me to this extent..."

Just the day before yesterday, it was resurrected and gained unprecedented power, possessing the strength of a quasi-special-grade.

Just as it was feeling triumphant and ready to feast and announce its existence to the world, it encountered that white-haired boy.

That boy who called himself "the strongest".

That battle... no, it couldn't even be called a battle.

It was a one-sided toying and ravaging. His proud defenses were useless before those azure eyes. Attacks strong enough to tear through steel couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes.

Finally, it had to use its primordial spell power to forcibly split itself into hundreds of parts, like exploding flesh and blood bats, fleeing desperately in all directions. Only a small part of its remains managed to survive and reassemble, barely clinging to life.

What a shame!

The deep-seated hatred nearly consumed it.

"Just wait..."

The bat-like cursed spirit gazed in the general direction of downtown Tokyo, its eyes filled with resentment and madness. "Once I gather all the cursed spirits within a hundred miles and transform them into my power... I'll go and uproot your entire family! Leave no one alive!"

It couldn't defeat that monstrous Gojo Satoru, but it didn't believe that everyone in that so-called family of sorcerers was as strong as him!

It will use an endless tide of cursed spirits to bring fear and death to everything associated with it in the most cruel way!

"Humans... sorcerers... must all die!"

It spread its tattered wings and emitted a sharp wave that only cursed spirits could receive.

The lower-level cursed spirits below became even more agitated, but their gathering speed also increased.

It needs more fuel to heal its wounds, to grow stronger, and to exact its revenge.

Unbeknownst to it, in the shadows at the edge of the factory, an aura not belonging to the cursed spirit had quietly arrived, calmly observing the gradually boiling cursed spirit's lair, as well as the creature hovering in the air, exuding an aura of danger and resentment.

……

Duanmu Yan lurked behind a dilapidated concrete bunker on the outskirts of the sewage treatment plant, holding his breath and minimizing his presence.

Thanks to the fact that when he doesn't transform, the curse power of this body is so weak that it's almost non-existent. In this area where cursed spirits are mixed and pervasive, he's like a drop of water flowing into a dirty river, extremely difficult to detect.

He scanned the inside with the curse spirit detector, and the scene on the screen made him frown slightly.

In the central area, a bright crimson dot, significantly brighter than its surroundings, remained almost motionless. Within a radius of several hundred meters centered on it, hundreds of much dimmer red dots were densely distributed, slowly and continuously gathering towards the center like iron filings attracted by a magnet.

Most of the light spots were so faint that they could go out at any moment; they were level four cursed spirits whose forms were not even necessarily stable.

Interspersed among them are dozens of slightly brighter third-level light spots, and a few scattered second-level light spots with acceptable brightness.

Strangely, there wasn't a single medium-brightness red dot representing a level one cursed spirit.