Chapter 110

"Ichima!"

Xia Youjie immediately shouted a warning to Yuqu Kazuma to be careful—but the latter was even faster, taking a step and rushing towards the direction from which the fist was coming, drawing his stick to meet it!

The staff, enveloped in countless streams of dark light, collided with the powerful fist, producing a muffled sound like the clash of metal. The opponent sneered and threw another punch, which was also blocked by Kazuma Hatori's staff. He threw another punch, blocked another, and instantly launched a counterattack, which was also blocked by his forearm. The several exchanges seemed to happen in the blink of an eye, immediately making Kazuma Hatori realize that his opponent's level was definitely not low.

Fortunately, his [Black Flash] skill has no cooldown!

But what made Kazuma Hatori frown even more was that the enemy seemed to be almost completely unharmed.

Judging from his muscular physique and the fingerless boxing gloves and arm guards on his hands, he is clearly a fighter who pays great attention to physical skills.

How was that done? What was the technique?

Kazuma Hatori was quite certain that even if it were [Natsuyuki] from the previous playthrough, he wouldn't be able to take damage from the player without losing any health.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have used Kaori Itadori's technique to defend against his blood bullets, thus revealing another trump card.

Kazuma Hatori's brain was working at lightning speed.

Last week, Satoru told him that there is no absolutely unsolvable spell. Even the most powerful sorcerer can always find an effective way to attack.

Meanwhile, the burly curse master opposite him, after yet another exchange of blows, remained in a stance with his fists spread wide, staring wide-eyed in astonishment.

"So many hits, all of them triggered [Black Flash]?"

What kind of monster is this?

Hmph, but...

"You don't know any spells yet, do you?"

The curse master accurately guessed Kazuma Hatake's current state and immediately began to use trash talk to try and disrupt his mindset.

"So what if you can keep casting [Black Flash]? Your spell isn't designed to guarantee a 100% trigger rate for [Black Flash], is it? That's ridiculous. Everyone knows [Black Flash] is hard to trigger, but a battle can't be decided by just a few [Black Flash]s. How long can you keep going like that?"

After exchanging a few words, the curse master noticed that Yuqu Kazuma's expression remained completely unchanged, and the [Black Flash] he was supposed to trigger was still being used every time. The curse master immediately changed the subject.

"Judging from your uniform, you must be a college student, right? Those people are really willing to go to such lengths, sending their kids on such suicidal missions—why don't you stop and beg me, and I'll let you go?"

"Uncle, I have no choice. I've been forced into this situation by the rules of the sorcery world. Some ordinary people are much more ruthless than us. Do you know what kind of things they're capable of?"

Towards the end, he even flashed a straightforward and kind smile, as if he were truly a kind-hearted uncle advising a wayward youth.

This curse master may seem savage and rude, but the fact that he managed to evade capture for so many years means that his true nature cannot be summarized by positive terms such as "straightforward" or "honest."

As for what he said, Kazuma Hatake treated it as background noise while grinding monsters, and didn't take a single word to heart.

Isn't that how it is when playing games? If any monster that can speak human language doesn't utter a few words to make its presence known when it's being attacked or attacking, Kazuma Hatake feels like something's missing.

But he did run into some trouble.

[Black Flash] consumes spell power, and even though spell power will naturally recover, he cannot use it indefinitely!

The curse master's physical skills and strange spells were indeed troublesome for Hagoromo Kazuma, who only knew the [Black Flash] skill, and he couldn't help but glance in Natsuyuki's direction—

Waaah—!

As the sound, which sounded like a mournful cry or a howl, was uttered, the kappa-like cursed spirit that Pretty Little Wu had called a garlic turtle suddenly collapsed. Its foul-smelling flesh and twisted pieces of meat seemed to explode and splattered all over the ground, before slowly dissipating as well.

Saying it "exploded" isn't quite accurate; Xia Youjie knew it was more like "cut open."

At this moment, he had no time to control the cursed spirits to support Kazuma Hatake's battle, because the cursed master who truly controlled the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] was attacking him.

And the opponent possesses more than just the level one [Slit-Mouthed Woman].

"Without a medium, the reaction of the cursed power is inconsistent. It seems you are that brat from the high school who can use [Curse Spirit Manipulation Technique]."

The curse master, who looked even older than the uncle, laughed, holding a bell covered in curse runes in his hand.

With just a gentle shake, the cursed spirits he had subdued as shikigami emerged one after another, tearing into each other with the cursed spirits under Xia Youjie's control.

"Yes, it's really kind of you to remember me so clearly."

Even though the situation was quite unfavorable, Xia Youjie's voice still showed no sign of tension, and he answered in a very polite tone.

"After all, I've never heard of you before. I'm so sorry."

It was polite, but not entirely polite.

The curse master who controlled the shikigami felt a throbbing vein on his forehead, and the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] holding the scissors took a half step forward—but in an instant, she appeared behind Xia Youjie.

He was wearing a double-breasted coat, and bandages were wrapped from his face to his fingers, covering countless livid patches.

Between those rough, messy black hairs, more eyes kept opening, some resentful, some sad, some hateful, all turning until they locked onto Xia Youjie.

Xia Youjie looked serious, his mind racing as he racked his brains for a solution.

The curse master was misled by him, mistaking the cursed spirit's power for his own, which is why the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] targeted the cursed spirit instead of him in the previous wave of attacks.

However, he was unable to gain the upper hand in the brief moment he had gained, as the enemy also had a large number of shikigami!

Even though Xia Youjie knew that attacking the main body directly was the best way to deal with this kind of shikigami, the enemy was equally cunning and cautious. He was unable to break through the shikigami's defense just now—and at this moment, the second wave of attacks from [Kuchi-onna] had already arrived!

"Am I...I...am I pretty?"

Each hoarse voice made the mouth, filled with sharp teeth, open wide amidst the bandages, as if dragging the entire area where Xia Youjie was located into the gap between another world and this world.

Beyond him and the [Slit-Mouthed Woman], all light and sound vanished, leaving only that repeated, echoing question in his ears.

It's actually a simplified domain... [Slit-Mouthed Woman]'s level is even slightly higher than a normal level one!

Xia Youjie instantly understood why the cursed spirit had exploded so suddenly.

This is a simple area where neither side can invade the other's territory until he answers the question—but the answer will directly affect the power of [Slit-Mouthed Woman]'s subsequent attacks.

He must answer within a specified time, which is also a kind of constraint set within this simplified domain.

Once the countdown reaches zero, not answering is also an answer.

According to the legend of the Slit-Mouthed Woman, he absolutely cannot answer "yes" or "no" in such a situation.

"I……"

Xia Youjie was about to take a gamble when, the moment he uttered those words, he saw a black staff about the length of a forearm hurtling towards him with a dark hiss, tearing through the deathly silence and cursed space like the sun breaking through the clouds—it was [Karma Double] with [Black Flash]!

With a single, swift and powerful strike, the combined force of [Black Flash] and the short stick pierced through the [Slit-Mouthed Woman's] head, splattering dark red liquid onto the soil. The invisible barrier was shattered, and the air could flow normally again.

After piercing the head of the [Slit-Mouthed Woman], the black stick fell to the ground a little further away, rolled a few times, and picked up some weeds and fallen leaves.

It's always easier to break through a domain from the outside—Kazuma Hatake actually noticed that he had been dragged into a simplified domain and helped him escape in such a brutal way!

In the blink of an eye, Xia Youjie looked in shock toward Yuqu Kazuma's location.

Now that the black-haired boy had lost his more advantageous weapon, he could only fight the burly man with his bare hands, and signs of defeat began to emerge as their fists clashed.

Xia Youjie only needed a glance to keenly realize that the one fighting against Yu Tori Kazuma clearly possessed physical techniques, which was why he was able to counter Yu Tori Kazuma, who could only use physical techniques!

He also lacked a powerful cursed spirit capable of delivering a decisive blow. If he continued to fight the cursed master with cursed spirits, even if he eventually won, the losses would be enormous.

If he doesn't make a decision soon, he'll have to figure out how to deal with the [Slit-Mouthed Woman]'s troublesome curse again!

At this moment, the shikigami user also seemed to have not expected that during the battle, Kazuma Hatake would throw his weapon without hesitation to help Natsuyu Jie escape, which made his next move a moment slower.

The black-haired boy's attack, [Black Flash], was indeed troublesome, slowing down [Slit-Mouthed Woman's] recovery speed.

But it doesn't matter, once it's fully restored, those two will still die!

"Ichima!"

Xia Youjie no longer hesitated and rushed to the spot where the short stick landed at almost the fastest speed. He then waved his hand and threw [Ye Shuang] back to Yuqu Kazuma.

"We'll make a trade. You deal with the shikigami user, and you don't need to worry about anything else. Your goal is to kill him!"

"learn."

Yuqu Yizhen, who also wanted to switch targets with Xia Youjie, understood perfectly. He turned around and escaped the burly man's attack range. On the way, he reached out and caught [Yosou], and continued rushing towards the shikigami without stopping!

This is why he helped Xia Youjie break the deadlock—if Xia Youjie were allowed to be attacked by the [Slit-Mouthed Woman], he would soon be in a completely unfavorable situation against many opponents!

"etc!"

The curse master, who was using physical techniques, sensed something was wrong and was about to stop Kazuma Hatake when a cursed spirit resembling a bull suddenly appeared in front of him, its hooves slamming into the ground and blocking his way.

Don't even think about it.

Xia Youjie raised his palm, making the gesture of using [Spirit Manipulation Technique].

The cursed spirit from before has been sent to intercept another cursed spirit shikigami controlled by a cursed mage, but that's alright, more cursed spirits are crawling out from the surging undercurrents and surrounding this fist-wielding sorcerer.

"Hmph, with this rabble?"

The burly man sneered, clashed his fists together, and struck an even more agile and ferocious stance, showing no fear whatsoever.

His spell, [Saving Anchor], reduces the physical damage dealt by a spellcaster whose spell power he has marked, depending on the amount of spell power the caster has.

In a pure physical combat contest that doesn't rely on spell power, his body, honed through countless trials and further enhanced by spell power, gives him a clear advantage!

Although it can only mark one curse at a time, and the reduced damage will still affect him, it is more than enough to deal with these two brats.

"It doesn't matter to me who I kill first, I'll just take care of you first."

The uncle chuckled, and the cursed spirit suddenly dissipated under his heavy punch.

"I didn't expect to be able to stop you with these cursed spirits,"

Xia Youjie said calmly.

"All I need to do is delay you."

Delay until—Hatori Kazuma kills that shikigami user!

Sizzle.

The same mournful cry of the cursed spirit rang out beneath Kazuma Hatori's [Karma Twin - Black Flash].

In those fleeting moments of crisscrossing paths, Kazuma Hatori faced the surrounding cursed spirits, his steps never slowing down even by the slightest.

Those dark eyes were cold and indifferent, devoid of any emotion, and remained fixed on their target—the shikigami surrounded by cursed spirits.

He had dealt with this type of enemy in his first playthrough as well.

As if belated anger was driving his body, the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] was still recovering, and the curse master could only command other cursed spirits to rush forward. Hagoromo Kazuma waved his hand and swung his black staff. With the surging of the [Black Flash], the twisted black shadow full of eyes and sharp teeth was no match for it and burst apart in an instant.

Just because his [Black Flash] didn't work on that curse master doesn't mean it won't work on these cursed spirits either!

No cursed spirit could withstand Yuqu Kazuma's [Karma Double]. The distance of tens of meters was covered in an instant—some of the cursed spirits were blocked by Xia Youjie's cursed spirits, while others were ruthlessly and neatly shattered by Yuqu Kazuma, until a bloody path composed of the corpses of cursed spirits was opened without any obstacles.

At this moment, standing in front of Kazuma Hatake was only the shikigami user whose eyes were wide with fear.

He kept retreating, using his cursed spirits to block, trying to create distance between himself and Kazuma Hatake, but he was caught up so easily!

The cursed spirits that had fallen to the ground only began to turn into ashes at this moment, which were rising slowly behind Kazuma Hatori and drifting towards the sky.

Such terrifying attack power left the opponent stunned into near-frozen state.

Without the spell damage reduction of [Saving Anchor Point], this shikigami user, who can only manipulate cursed spirits as a means of attack, is so vulnerable in the face of [Karma Twins].

"You...please spare me, I'll give you anything you want..."

Under the threat of death, the curse master who used the shikigami began to beg for mercy, crying out his loneliness and pitifulness with tears streaming down his face.

Before [Slit-Mouthed Woman] could even fully recover, his other powerful cursed spirit was destroyed by a kid who knew [Cursed Spirit Manipulation Technique]. How hateful!

"I'm just an old man who wanted some self-defense tools. I did take the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] with me, but I didn't let it do anything bad. In fact, it even saved an ordinary person... right? Young man, please have pity on this old man..."

But on the surface, he still put on the most pitiful expression, trying to gamble that the black-haired boy wouldn't have the heart to kill an old man.

The college did teach them how to exorcise cursed spirits, but many sorcerers dared not kill people. Killing people and killing cursed spirits were two different concepts in their eyes.

Just as the curse master using the shikigami was about to cry even more miserably, he saw the black staff, no longer than a forearm, raised without the slightest hesitation and wrapped in black light.

"you……!"

In his eyes, the black-haired boy at this moment was as cold and ruthless as any emotionless fiend.

Bang!

The corpse lying on the ground stared wide-eyed, the expression of disbelief forever etched on that aged face.

The old man from last playthrough has already killed countless people, and he's still here whining and begging for mercy.

Kazuma Hatake opened the [Affection] panel and, after confirming that the old man's name was followed by (deceased), immediately turned around, intending to deal with the burly man with the strange technique together with Natsuyuki.

When a shikigami dies, the spirits of those shikigami will completely dissipate because they have lost the medium of their magical power, and there is no need for the shikigami to be exorcised again.

The shikigami spirits that were just exorcised will not drop [Curse Power Crystals], which is very distressing for Kazuma Hatake.

But when Kazuma Hatori's attention returned to the other battlefield, he saw Natsuyuki reach out and aim at the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] that was beginning to dissipate—and the latter seemed to be absorbed by the vortex, its body melting, twisting, and compressing into a cursed spirit ball in Natsuyuki's palm.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Youjie swallowed the pitch-black sphere, and the absorption process was completed in the blink of an eye.

Then, the woman with long, black hair like withered grass, wearing a long trench coat, with bandages wrapped around her face all the way to her fingertips, and holding scissors, reappeared.

Hagoromo was slightly startled, but he didn't stop his charge. His stance as he swung his stick became even more ferocious.

Didn't he say that he couldn't absorb these cursed spirits that had master-slave relationships?

...So the information provided by the NPCs themselves might be lying?

The thought flashed through Kazuma Hatake's mind, and he decided to focus on dealing with the burly-looking curse master alongside the other party.

The opponent clearly started to panic, parrying left and right a few times before showing a clear intention to escape.

Xia Youjie, who was able to sense the power of the curse, immediately noticed the opponent's weakness.

His spells most likely only work on a single target, so he keeps activating them repeatedly.

Since that's the case, let's count the attack frequencies of him and Kazuma Hatake until we're certain that the attack is currently targeting Kazuma Hatake—

"Am I...am I...pretty?"

[Slit-Mouthed Woman] cast a spell, pulling the cursed mage into a simple zone where they could not attack each other until the cursed mage answered!

The curse caster's clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

He could only switch the target of the spell the instant he answered the question, but he couldn't take care of the blind spots outside the simple field of vision, and was preparing the final blow [Black Flash].

—The dust has settled.

As the second corpse fell, Kazuma Hatori glanced at his nearly depleted curse power and his stamina, which had dropped by more than half, and slowly exhaled.

He had no intention of testing whether the game had a death penalty.

He would really be angry if the same bad ending as the first playthrough happened again.

Looking at Xia Youjie, who was panting and wiping away sweat beside him, Yuqu Kazuma spoke softly.

"Is it impossible to absorb cursed spirits with master-slave relationships?"

Xia Youjie's action of wiping his sweat froze instantly.

“…cough, this…”

His expression gradually became embarrassed, revealing a hint of guilt after his lie was exposed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just taking precautions. I'm worried that those shikigami who control cursed spirits might be naturally hostile to me... You know, there are a lot of sorcerers who control shikigami."

To cover up his unusual guilt and embarrassment, Xia Youjie even subconsciously pulled out his phone in a panic and started calling the assistant supervisor to come and pick him up, pretending that he was suddenly very busy.

"If that's the case, why did you use it again just now?"

After the call ended, Kazuma Hatake continued to ask Natsuyuki questions.

No wonder he was told to only kill the curse master and ignore the rest; it turns out he was planning to absorb the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] for his own use as soon as she died.

But if I absorb it right in front of him, am I not worried that he will tell anyone?

The situation just now may have been very dangerous, but as long as he can kill the curse master who uses the shikigami, the two of them will always find a way to deal with the remaining curse master—not to mention that the other party was already trying to escape at that time.

Xia Youjie paused for a moment before hesitatingly speaking.

“This is the fastest way to end the battle,” he said. “I can only take this gamble.”

More precisely, it was the moment Xia Youjie saw that black staff hurtling through the air, willing to sacrifice itself to shatter the simple domain that trapped him, that made him decide to take this gamble.

Facing those slightly questioning yet seemingly insightful black eyes, Xia Youjie put his hands in his pockets, trying his best to keep his tone nonchalant.

“Anyway,” he said, “I’ve kept your knowledge of your ability to swallow cursed objects safe.”

"In exchange, you'll keep my ability to absorb cursed spirits with master-slave relationships... isn't that too much to ask?"

Xia Youjie would never have done this kind of transaction before.

He is cautious and prone to overthinking. He will weigh the consequences of any situation carefully and will never allow himself to lose his rationality or act impulsively based on emotions.

Even if he can abide by the terms of the deal, what then? If the other party breaks the agreement even once, he will have to bear the serious consequences of the secret being leaked.

Having chosen to conceal it, he must keep it hidden to the end—he would never easily expose it unless he was certain he could eliminate the consequences.

But at this moment, Xia Youjie deliberately used a relaxed tone to propose a "deal" to Yuqu Kazuma.

This means that he not only placed Kazuma Hatake in the same position as him, but also, to some extent, made him an "accomplice" in the world of jutsu.

Xia Youjie trusted Yuqu Kazuma and believed he wouldn't reveal this information.

And Kazuma Hagoromo did indeed nod.

"good."

As soon as the word was uttered, a system pop-up window appeared in front of him.

[Current Request: Ayako Sakami's Instructions, Completed.]

[Reward: Gain the skill .]

This means that Xia Youjie's trust level has indeed risen to over 80% at this moment.

Kazuma Hatake also received a spell reward, and he will no longer be a dummy who only knows how to use [Black Flash] spells.

Speaking of the person who calls him a magic idiot...

Hearing that Kazuma Hato had agreed, Natsuyuki felt very relaxed. While waiting for the assistant director to drive over, he heard the other party add something.

"Ah, but I won't hide it from Satoru."

Xia Youjie: "..."

Xia Youjie raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling a wave of weakness.

“While I believe that Wu will not tell anyone,” he said, “don’t you feel that your relationship is really unusual?”

What kind of relationship is this where there are no secrets between you, so intimate and inseparable, where you think of each other over the smallest things?

What he said before was absolutely right; these two were bound to be together sooner or later.

Therefore, this time the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] should naturally belong to him, without any doubt.

When the matter was brought up again, Kazuma Hatori was momentarily speechless: "..."

Just then, his phone rang.

When Kazuma Hatake opened the caller ID, he saw it was from Satoru.

Looking up at Xia Youjie, he saw the other man raise an eyebrow, indicating that he should take the call, promising not to say a word.

"Enlightenment?"

Kazuma Hatake would never refuse to answer Satoru Gojo's call unless it was an emergency.

"The assistant supervisor said you completed the mission successfully, and even killed two curse masters—wow, that's really great! Becoming a level one curse master like Hagoromo Kazuma is just around the corner!"

Gojo Satoru's voice was light and airy; you could tell he was very happy.

He had specifically instructed the assistant supervisor to call him immediately if he received any requests for help from Ichijin and Jie.

He himself—naturally, came to Saitama as soon as he finished his mission and was waiting nearby.

"yes."

As if infected, Kazuma Hatori's words also revealed a relaxed smile, which made Natsumi, who was watching from the side, put on a disgusted expression of "[Hey, these two say they don't have any]".

"I'll bring you back a souvenir."

As Kazuma Hatori said this, he heard a cheerful "No need!" coming from the other end of the phone.

Pretty Xiao Wu actually refused his gift!

Kazuma Hatori instinctively uttered "Huh?" before his dejected mood could even rise, when he saw the assistant supervisor's car drive up from around the corner—

Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru was laughing heartily, holding a phone in one hand and sticking his other hand and head out of the open car window, waving vigorously at him.

Kazuma Hatori's black eyes lit up instantly.