Chapter 241: Curse Exorcism
On the other side of the Burning Wall, north of the Nightmare City, a dilapidated black stone building was destroyed by thunder, and the figure of a knight flashed by in the lightning. Ji Huaisu leaped out with his sword in hand, slashing at the shadow of the Thunder Giant.
Her blows left proportionally larger wounds on the giant, nearly breaking Zhu Lei's arm. But the wound blurred for a moment, returning to its pre-injury state. He swung his silver hammer down, and Ji Huaisu, holding up his shield, resisted. For a moment, unable to withstand the messenger's immense force, he retreated and retreated.
Zhu Lei raised his silver hammer high, drawing strands of lightning towards his weapon. He gathered his strength, swung his hammer, and thousands of lightning bolts radiated in a ring, sweeping across the battlefield with swift speed. However, the remaining structures had already been completely destroyed, and he intended to use a wide-area attack to force out the hidden knights.
High in the sky, Ji Huaisu quietly created a floating frozen platform. Hiding behind the thick clouds, she pondered how to deal with this person.
The Curse Thunder was a typical natural disaster. Its attack mode was simple: a relentless bombardment with the power of thunder. Its accuracy was poor, but it had a wide range, a high attack frequency, and a tremendous output.
If that were all, this guy would be easy to deal with. All we need to do is find an opportunity and kill him with one strike. But...
Ji Huaisu unleashed a flare of light from afar, piercing Zhu Lei's skull. The Dreadbringer had virtually no defense, and even such a simple attack shattered his skull. Then, a blur arose from the empty neck, and a brand new head "regenerated." Zhu Lei, sensing the attack, hurled a bolt of lightning. Ji Huaisu evacuated the floating platform prematurely, somersaulting back to the ground.
It happened again. The attack, once effective, was instantly erased, and the resurrected curse thunder became even stronger. The healing process was incredibly rapid; it wasn't elemental reshaping, but some deeper mechanism, similar to the speed of Vaklo. This man couldn't die, couldn't fall. Every wound only strengthened his power. Within a few rounds of combat, the curse thunder had already doubled in strength.
(It’s a bit troublesome. The seniors have never seen this before...)
Ji Huaisu searched for the knowledge given by his predecessors, but found nothing. Perhaps Fan De would have some ideas after seeing this thing, but it was gone with A Kong. Now I can't figure it out for the time being, so what should I do...
"You are so brave, why are you afraid of fighting?" Curse Thunder roared, "Come quickly and fight me!"
Very good, it’s decided.
Since we can't break the mechanism, just beat him until he can't be resurrected!
Purple swirled through the dense clouds, and thousands of bolts of lightning struck simultaneously. Ji Huaisu, clad in steel armor, dodged the attacks with immense speed. She darted freely through the sea of thunder like a charging shark. In an instant, she reached the feet of the cursed thunder, her armor simultaneously switching to a blazing armor that emphasized strength.
Shadow blade and light shield merged into a searing flaming sword. Ji Huaisu raised her sword and roared, its radiance soaring to a height of ten thousand feet. With her mere human form, she wielded the weapon of a giant god. Flames consumed the dense clouds as she slashed directly towards Ju Lei's head. With a silver hammer in his left hand and a lightning spear in his right, Ju Lei clashed with the knight, their weapons intertwined. The two clashed with purest strength, and the exploding elements split the air, creating a chasm!
"You want to compete with me in strength, right? If you can beat me, keep going!!" Ji Huaisu roared.
"Not enough! Not enough!!" Curse Thunder also shouted, "Your bravery is not enough to defeat evil. I will surely bring down thunder punishment and trigger a new trial!"
A flash of lightning shot from behind him, reaching up into the sky, forming a purple chain. The chain soared, unleashing a hurricane. All the dense clouds in the sky gathered there, wrapping around the chain to form a giant hammer of dark clouds. Cursed Thunder swung the chain, bringing the hammer down, and thunder roared from within the thick clouds.
"Thunder Punishment Gathering - Thundercloud of Resentment!"
The hammer of dense clouds arrived with a thunderous roar. Ji Huaisu, preoccupied with wrestling with Curse Thunder, was momentarily unable to free herself to counter the attack. Fickle radiances emanated from her side, the three elements of light, shadow, and dust mingling to form stardust-like fragments. Meteor dust burst from the earth, detonating within the clouds. The swarm of stardust light successfully pierced the dense clouds, and the explosion severed the chains on Curse Thunder's back. Curse Thunder's defense was shaken by this blow, and the flaming sword slashed through his defenses. Ji Huaisu seized the opportunity to gather her strength, and her flaming sword sublimated, transforming into a blazing light.
“——Soul-Purifying Divine Fire!”
The holy sword slashed down, carrying with it the same immense force that had once incinerated the demon's spirit. The lightning giant was instantly engulfed in the intense light, and the flaming wall left behind by the burning embers dissolved under the blow. The silver hammer dissolved, the lightning extinguished, and the Dreadbringer's curse was completely obliterated by the blow.
The thunder died down, the thick clouds vanished, and Ji Huaisu held her sword to support herself. The Soul-Purifying Divine Fire had consumed so much of her energy that it had nearly been drained by the sword. Fortunately, the Despair Wilderness was not short of magic power, and she still had the strength to fight again.
Ji Huaisu picked up the giant sword and wiped the sweat from his head fiercely: "See? I am still more powerful in terms of power!"
She heard thunder.
It was like the ominous thunder that comes faintly before the storm arrives.
A deep, intense purple flashed through the empty void. Lightning slashed down amidst the thunder, and the massive Bringer of Fear reappeared. He had returned to his original height, yet his aura was many times greater than when he had grown to giant proportions. Lightning swirled in his eyes, and thunder danced wildly with his movements.
Ji Huaisu's mouth twitched: "No, you, you...you...what the hell are you..."
"You are strong-willed, courageous, and fearless," Curse Thunder whispered. "Yet you boast of your great strength, forcing your voice into a rage, using brutal force to solve unsolved mysteries. You are a warrior who can defeat thousands with one horse, but you are not a brave savior!"
"I cannot accept this, and I cannot give up. Therefore, I will fight to the bitter end, until the brave man appears and the curse is lifted!!!"
He ran, his massive frame transformed into lightning. Ji Huaisu raised her shield, but before she could, the attack had already arrived. The lightning pierced through her armor, leaving a charred, bloody hole in her upper arm. It was a speed that even she could hardly react to, the speed of lightning!
The Steel Armor Army's speed wasn't enough to withstand it; the cursed thunder at that moment rivaled Wen Yao's extreme speed. Ji Huaisu switched to icy Jade Armor, using ice to reinforce his defenses. As the next cursed thunder struck, the Holy Trinity Formation unleashed prematurely, forcibly dispelling his elemental transformation.
But then Ji Huaisu leaped to avoid the attack, and a lightning spear pierced the air, striking squarely where she had been. Another cursed thunderbolt rained down from the sky, wielding the lightning wildly as if to vent his anger. Behind him were dozens of identical humanoid figures, with the same appearance, the same strength... and the same speed!
Thunder Punishment: Sin Binds Monsters. This rainbow magic, developed by Curse Thunder, maximizes the all-encompassing nature of the natural disaster species.
Over seventy cursed thunder hammers attacked, each one carrying the same strength as the original. Ji Huaisu simply gave up on defense. No matter how strong her seal was, it couldn't withstand an attack of this magnitude. She didn't attack either, simply standing within the Holy Trinity Formation. This formation could help her buy some time, seizing this fleeting moment to force herself to think.
Think about it, what's the principle? A head-on confrontation is definitely not going to work. In terms of sheer physical strength, this messenger is probably the strongest enemy yet. But the impression he gives... his status... is no higher than that of Waklo. Even the former Void Angel couldn't use this level of differentiation magic, because excessive self-replication would disrupt the definition of self, causing existence to collapse from within.
So how did Curse Thunder do this? Why could he continue to fight despite having multiple copies? His self...
Ji Huaisu thought of the other party's strange way of speaking and his extremely persistent but incomprehensible thinking.
——His ego has collapsed?
What is the "thread" that maintains this existence?
A second of perceived time was fading, and the brilliance of the sealing formation was about to fade. At this moment, Ji Huaisu took the initiative to step out of the formation. She grasped the lightning with her bare hands, pouring her innate instinct into the elements.
The foundation of the path to supremacy lies in emotion. Even the self-destructed cursed thunder can only rely on emotion to function.
She immersed herself in the process, unravelling the elements. Light gave form, shadows lent colour, fire brought heat. Continuing to dismantle, she approached the innermost layer, where she saw wind, a currently unresolved element. The combination of these four elements formed thunder, and the thread that held the elements together was...!
She felt pride, the pride of being able to protect everyone, the pride of being chosen. Then came the joy of growth, the satisfaction of learning. The thread of emotion within Zhu Lei was astonishingly pure, almost devoid of impurities. He seemed to have never understood negative emotions like jealousy or annoyance, simply finding satisfaction in his actions.
He worshipped his teachers. He studied magic. He smiled at his fellow students who mocked him. He teamed up with his classmates to dress up as ghosts to scare the new students. He took up arms and fought demons. He wasn't smart, but he was strong. He wasn't afraid of demons. He was full of courage.
——He stood on the battlefield strewn with corpses, watching the charred bodies fall.
These warriors failed the test, so they died. This was the task assigned by the Grand Master, and it was correct, because those who failed the test could not survive in this cruel world.
——He stood in the ruined village, watching the charred bodies fall.
These people also failed the test. They could not survive.
But they want to survive.
Why can't they survive?
He was the one who had robbed him of that hope. He was the one who had killed someone with his own hands. But this was the Archmage's mission. The Archmage's philosophy was right. The Archmage had given him everything he had. How could he disobey the Archmage's orders?
But why do people still die? Why do we see more and more deaths?
It was my fault.
He was wrong.
It's his fault, it's his fault, it's his fault...
During the long battle, the foolish young man finally understood negative emotions: anger, hatred, resentment, and sorrow, but he could not blame his commander, and he could not vent his anger on innocent people.
Therefore, I can only continue to accumulate this curse on myself.
Having committed so many mistakes, we must cultivate brave men to make amends.
Cultivate a brave man who can save everyone.
Cultivate a brave man who can kill himself.
The killing cannot be allowed to continue.
So the brave man will appear soon.
The brave one will appear soon.
The brave one will appear soon!
"—I understand. Leave it to me!"
The shouts in reality drowned out the despair in his memories. Ji Huaisu thrust his hand directly into the lightning, heedless of harm, grasping the messenger's flesh. The Holy Trinity Formation swirled and magnified due to the surge of emotions, and the elemental invincibility of his body was temporarily lifted at this moment.
Ji Huaisu sheathed her weapons and struck the messenger with only her icy gauntlets. Her fist sunk deep into the cursed thunder, its transparent water-colored form surging with the wind. Wherever it passed, dozens of lightning clones collapsed.
She silently unleashed her punches, each one faster than the last, her swiftness creating hundreds of phantoms. Her ice armor melted and regenerated in the process, and the melted water droplets were smashed into Ju Lei's body by her punches, unexpectedly drawing out wisps of purified black energy. Ju Lei tried to strike back, but for a moment he had no strength. He had never felt so weak, as if he had returned to a time when he was once a normal person.
My strength is being constantly stripped away, my emotions are being dissolved by opposing emotions. I have never learned such magic before. This method is...
The Sealing Technique of the Discipline Knight!
"You are an unforgivable monster, an accomplice of the Nightmare King. You have killed too many innocent lives, and no one can forgive you for what you have done!"
Light, dust, and water—the three elements merged within Ji Huaisu's gauntlet, transforming into a miniature formation that penetrated the messenger's body. Curse Thunder retreated repeatedly, the wind from his fists spreading outward in a ring through his body. Vicious blood, spurted out by the repeated blows, was spit out. Ji Huaisu showed no mercy, gathering all his strength. The immense elemental force formed a fist three times the size of his arm, and it struck directly through Curse Thunder's chest!
"However, you have sincerely repented. You are powerless to escape the darkness, but you regret your actions from the bottom of your heart. You long for the arrival of the Punisher, for you are fully aware of your sins."
The curse thunder completely lost its magic power, and his knees gave way, and he fell to the ground. Ji Huaisu looked down at the bewildered man, and she loosened her grip above the curse thunder's head, scattering transparent, crystal clear water droplets.
The Commandment Seal: Baptism and Absolution. This pure, harmless sealing technique can only be performed with pure, positive emotion. It's used for the baptism of newborns, the healing of the cursed, and the final confession of sinners before execution.
“O one who repents, I baptize you with water.
You will pay for your sins with death,
May the curse be far from your soul."
The baptismal water flowed over Curse Thunder's face, and the silver hammer in his hand fell, shattering into dust on the ground. He clasped his hands together as if in prayer, and before his death, he shed tears that had once belonged to humans.
"The thunder punishment has dissipated, and the curse has been lifted."
Rainbow Wizard smiled while crying.
"You are the light that purifies evil and illuminates everything."
His body collapsed and dissipated, leaving no trace. Ji Huaisu sat on the ground, looking at his palm covered with ice armor.
There are also problems that cannot be solved by force alone... This may be a truth that the natural disasters have long understood.
Perhaps this is why the knights studied seals in addition to the Holy Inquisition.
The second battle of the Dawn Operation, Ji Huaisu versus Curse Thunder.
The winner is Ji Huaisu.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
