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

He is the curse of volcanoes, born from humanity's fear of volcanoes; lava is his bones, and fire is his blood.

How could Duanmu Yan, a human, possibly control lava?

Why should he? He was going to find that human, to show that arrogant sorcerer who truly knew who the lava was.

Hanako stood silently to the side, her eyes behind the bark mask fixed on the water clock.

"A water clock. It's best to be careful. The so-called 'Special Grade' among humans is extremely powerful."

The water clock turned its head to look at the flowers. It wasn't just now... (The rest of the text appears to be nonsensical and unrelated to the previous sentence.)

"Hua Yu, lava is a power I wield. Humans, mere beings, have no way of defeating me. You don't need to worry."

"I will win this battle."

Chapter 94 Because you're really weak

The highway stretched straight to the horizon, and the setting sun dyed the asphalt surface a dark gold.

Duanmu Yan had just removed a level-one cursed spirit from the abandoned hospital. He put his three-wheeled motorcycle in fourth gear, and the wind whistled through the gaps in his helmet.

He planned to get back to Tokyo before dark, get a good night's sleep, and then kill a few more cursed spirits the next day.

Just then, a flame cleaved down from the mountainside on the left, turning the asphalt into orange-red lava that bubbled and gurgled. The heat distorted the entire road surface into a funhouse mirror-like reflection, and thick smoke billowed into the sky. Black plumes of smoke surged in the twilight sky, obscuring half of the setting sun.

The water clock emerged from behind the mountain wall, its short, stout figure silhouetted against the thick smoke, resembling a demon that had just crawled out of a volcano.

His one eye glowed red in the smoke, like a red-hot iron ball. He slammed his cane on the ground. "This is a top-tier weapon? It's utterly pathetic."

He looked into the depths of the thick smoke, a hint of disappointment flashing in his single eye. "If this is all the so-called top-tier sorcerers humans are capable of, then I'll take care of the remaining three as well."

He turned around, took two steps, and flames erupted from both the crater and his ear canals, turning the road within dozens of meters of him into lava. "Human sorcerers... I will crush them!"

A red light flashed through the thick smoke.

With a single slash, the thick smoke split in two, and Duanmu Yan emerged from the crack in the middle.

Nava's armor reflected a dull light in the setting sun, and he flicked off a speck of dust with his fingers as he walked.

"Cough cough cough... Do you know how dangerous it is to set fire to the highway? It's bad for the flowers and plants along the roadside."

He stopped, glanced at the water clock, and frowned. "What is this? It's a volcano! Don't you know arson is a serious crime? You almost destroyed my motorcycle, it's very expensive. It's an imported tricycle, parts are hard to find, are you going to pay for the repairs?"

The water clock's single eye narrowed, but surprisingly, nothing happened.

Was it not a direct hit? Maybe you were lucky and dodged it, or maybe you were fast enough.

But it doesn't matter, since his birth, no human or spirit has ever been able to stand up after being directly exposed to his flames.

Even the legendary cursed king, Two-Faced Su Nuo, is not without the power to fight him.

He raised his right hand, and the two craters beside his ear twitched. Seven or eight enlarged mosquito-like insects flew out of the craters, their wings vibrating and emitting a low-frequency buzzing sound, and they swooped down on Duanmu Yan.

The insects exploded the instant they touched Duanmu Yan's armor.

boom--

Flames burst forth amidst black smoke, causing the railings to vibrate and hum.

The water clock lowered its hand, a smirk playing on its lips. "This time it definitely hit. Die, you human sorcerers."

But when the flames subsided, Duanmu Yan stood there, his armor without even a scorch mark. He waved his hand in front of his faceplate, as if shooing away a few annoying flies.

"Ugh. This little fire won't even light the candles on the cake."

Louhu's pupils contracted slightly as he sensed the properties of Duanmu Yan's curse power, and his lips suddenly parted into a grin.

I see, it's also fire-attribute, so it has some resistance to fire.

"But it's still not worth mentioning."

He slammed his cane into the ground, shattering the stone slab, and vanished instantly. "Next... I'll kill you in a second!"

His figure appeared directly in front of Duanmu Yan, and his right fist, wrapped in fiery red flames, smashed down from above Duanmu Yan's head, instantly engulfing Duanmu Yan's head.

Before the flames could dissipate, he instantly circled behind Duanmu Yan and unleashed a barrage of punches, delivering over a dozen blows to Duanmu Yan's back. Each punch carried the force of a volcanic eruption, and the speed was so fast that the shadows of the punches overlapped.

Then, he clasped his hands together and unleashed a massive pillar of fire from Duanmu Yan's waist.

The pillar of fire was over five meters in diameter and stretched for nearly a hundred meters across the highway. Wherever it passed, the road surface was burned into lava, the guardrails were twisted and deformed, and the trees along the roadside spontaneously combusted into a row of torches. The light of the flames turned the entire highway crimson.

The water clock fell from mid-air, the cane paused gently, and then the person turned around gracefully.

"The so-called human top-level sorcerers are just empty names. They are not worth mentioning at all."

He started walking, preparing to go back to find the loach.

But then... another cough came from behind him.

"Cough cough... Your punches are quite powerful. This combo is barely passable for a massage, but it's far from enough to kill. You think you can take on the remaining three with this level of skill? You can't even beat me, do you think you can beat Wu?"

Duanmu Yan stood on the road surface that had been scorched into lava. The flame patterns on his armor were even brighter than before, like muscles relaxing after being tickled.

"By the way, what I just experienced didn't even qualify as a massage. At most, it was just... getting a bit of smoke while grilling meat."

Louhu stopped walking, the smile on his lips froze on his face, his eyes widened, and the pupil in his single eye shrank to a pinpoint: "How is it possible... to be alive after falling for my trick?"

Duanmu Yan looked at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "Because you... are really weak."

The water clock froze, its single eye wide open, and the thick smoke from the crater stopped for a moment.

Nearly twenty years after its birth, this is the first time a human has dared to say it is weak.

This human... this brat, actually said he was weak.

boom--

His ear canals and the crater on his head erupted simultaneously, with crimson lava gushing out from the cracks, flowing down his scalp, and dripping onto the road, burning out smoking holes.

"Don't underestimate me, you little rascal!"

Louhu stomped his foot on the ground, shattering the stone slab, and launched himself towards Duanmu Yan, his fist, wreathed in flames, aimed straight for his face.

Duanmu Yan stepped aside and grabbed his wrist with his other hand.

I tried to pull my hand away from the water clock, but I couldn't budge it at all.

Duanmu Yan used his free hand to slap the back of his head.

"Do you know how difficult it is for the trees by the roadside to grow so big?"

The water clock's single eye was engorged with blood, and it tried to pull itself back by pushing off the ground with its legs.

Duanmu Yan released his wrist, and Louhu bounced back half a step. Before he could regain his footing, Duanmu Yan had already closed in.

With one hand, he grabbed the water clock by the collar and pulled him back, while with the other hand, he slowly dusted off the dust that had fallen on his shoulder armor.

"You can burn it all, but the ashes are scattered everywhere, and they've even dirtied the armor."

After dusting off the ash, he tossed the water clock into the air, then leaped into the air and slapped it dozens of times across the chest with his backhand before pressing it down heavily.

The entire spirit of the water clock flew out and rolled dozens of times on the road before coming to a stop.

Chapter 95 A Weak Flame

When the water clock stood up again, its face was red.

His mighty volcanic curse actually caused a human to grab him by the collar and slap him, while he chatted about roadside flowers and plants in the meantime of fixing his armor.

Humiliation, like lava overflowing from a volcano, burned away all his reason.

We can't just burn him to death; we have to burn this bastard to ashes.

Louhu formed hand seals, and magical power surged from his crater. The surrounding scenery began to melt, all of it being eroded from the inside out by a layer of dark red lava.

The world has been repainted, and the space beneath our feet is like a faded old painting, with each layer of appearance being peeled away to reveal the scorching base coat underneath.

"Since you're so eager to die, I'll show you what true power is."

He clasped his hands together abruptly, "Domain expansion: Coffin Enclosure Mountain."

Duanmu Yan's vision went dark, and when he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the interior of a huge volcano.

The surrounding rock walls extend upwards to an unfathomable height, and the fissures in the rocks are filled with flowing dark red lava.

Within this realm, every inch of space is equivalent to an attack from a leaky jar; any ordinary sorcerer who steps inside will be instantly burned to ashes, leaving no trace of their bones.

and……

Louhu stood in the very center of the crater, looking at Duanmu Yan who was surrounded by lava, his single eye reflecting the firelight.

His domain also has a guaranteed hit effect; the volcanoes will automatically chase enemies within the domain, leaving them with no way to dodge or escape, only to be hit head-on.

"Victory... is just around the corner."

He spread his arms wide. "Human sorcerers, you should just obediently turn to ashes... In my domain, you can't even move an inch."

Duanmu Yan smiled, looking down at the lava flowing over his breastplate, as if watching a less-than-satisfactory performance.

"I still had a sliver of hope for you."

He reached out and grabbed a pillar of lava rushing towards him. He closed his fingers, and the scalding lava was compressed into a crimson fireball in his palm.

"The cursed spirit representing humanity's fear of volcanoes, the water clock... now it seems you're nothing special."

He looked at the fireball in his hand and shook his head. "Such a low-level flame is utterly useless."

He channeled his magical power into the fireball, and the crimson flames leaped in his palm before changing color.

The crimson fireball in his palm turned completely into a brilliant gold, its light dazzling.

He tossed the golden fireball into the sky, then clasped his hands together in a mudra.

"Domain Expansion: Infernal Prison - Binding All Evils"

Centered on Duanmu Yan, unimaginable high temperatures and a purifying will instantly swept through the entire cave.

The volcanic rock walls of the water clock were replaced from the inside by a pure golden-red color, and the cracks in the ground were smoothed out one by one, with smooth amber-colored stone slabs growing back from the cracks.

The world transformed into a vast, burning space, boundless, with only endless amber-colored, transparent flames burning quietly, gentle and not dazzling, like a sea spread out after the sunset melts away.

The area of ​​the water clock has been covered.

The water clock opened its mouth as if to say "impossible," but what came out was not words, but a mouthful of purple blood.