Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 92 You cursed me? It was I who cursed you! (Previous chapter has been revised)

"Watch out, there's a vengeful spirit!"

Luze spoke up to remind them. He could see spirits, but the captain and Leonard couldn't until they activated their spiritual vision.

A cold sensation traveled up Leonard's ankles, instantly chilling his lower body as if it were immersed in ice water, leaving it stiff and cold. On the other side, the curtains by the window seemed to come alive, wrapping around Dunn and tightly binding his mouth and nose, as if trying to suffocate him.

"boom!"

Luze fired at the charging vengeful spirit, the demon-hunting bullet striking the transparent figure and instantly destroying it. Just as he was about to help his struggling teammates, he suddenly heard a murmur coming from his left, the sound gradually growing louder.

The sound was coming from the witch, which means she was coming towards me!
In the nick of time, Lu Ze pounded his chest, activating the Wind-Up Joker. His movements suddenly accelerated, his joints and muscles working in unison, his body seemingly pulled by invisible ropes, jerking him sharply to the right.

"brush!"

A blade shot out sharply from the void, striking the spot where he had just been standing.

"Ok?"

A woman's questioning voice echoed in the air, then the blade retracted and vanished. The murmuring also subsided, as if the attacker, having missed its target, had no lingering regrets and immediately headed towards the door.

She's running away!

My heart is about to escape!
"Bang bang bang!"

Lu Ze raised his gun and fired, repeatedly pulling the trigger towards the door, gambling on whether he could hit the other side even once.

Suddenly, a ripple spread through the void in front of the door, and Triss appeared, clutching her scraped arm. She glared at Luze resentfully, then without pausing, accelerated and rushed out.

Luze looked back at his teammates and saw that Dunn had already broken free of the curtains and rushed to rescue Leonard. Relieved, he took advantage of the Joker's time and followed Triss out.

If we can stall Triss for a while and wait for the captain and Leonard to catch up, we can keep her here!

Thinking this, Lu Ze strode forward, crossed the front hall in a few steps, and rushed out of the room. Just as he was about to cross the dilapidated garden, he saw Triss suddenly make a gesture ahead.

"brush!"

The withered vines that had been clinging to the wall immediately came back to life, forming a large net that rushed towards Lu Ze.

As Lu Ze charged forward, he abruptly twisted his body, his joints and muscles displaying astonishing coordination, managing to dodge the large net woven from vines. But just as he was desperately trying to escape and his body had no time to adjust, something suddenly shot towards him from the vines!

In the critical moment, he could only raise his hand to protect his face.

"puff!"

A stinging sensation came from the back of his hand. Lu Ze looked closely and saw that it was a beautiful rose with thorns deeply embedded in the skin of his hand, and a few drops of blood were seeping from the wound.

What the hell!

Lu Ze cursed under his breath and picked the rose.

When I looked up again, the other person had already taken the opportunity to run to the edge of the field of vision, circled around a building, and disappeared.

Damn!

Lu Ze cursed under his breath, and when he looked down again, he found that the rose was gone.

Wait, something's not right. That flower is stained with my blood.
Luze stared at the wound, a sense of crisis rising within him. He quickly drew his ceremonial dagger and rushed into the first-floor lobby, where he collided with Leonard and Dunn, who had come out in pursuit.

"What about people?"

"They ran that way!" Leonard asked.

Lu Ze pointed, then let his two teammates chase after him, while he sat down on the floor, dagger in hand. He opened his injured left hand, pressed it against the floor, and used the dagger to cut open the wound. With his fingers stained with blood, he drew a simple magic circle on the floor. The circular outline of the magic circle enveloped his left hand and part of his wrist.
Meanwhile, on the banks of the Tasok River.

Triss ran quickly with a gloomy expression, holding the flower that had drunk Luze's blood, and murmured softly.

"boom!"

Dark, ethereal flames surged from her palm, instantly engulfing the flowers and burning them to ashes.

On Lu Ze's side, he had just finished drawing the magic circle when flames suddenly surged from the wound and quickly spread along his body. However, because of the magic circle, the flames were blocked at his wrist, only burning the limbs within the circular area.

"grass!"

Lu Ze's left hand was badly burned, the skin sizzling. A strange smell, a mixture of burnt and meaty odors, filled the air. The burning pain tormented Lu Ze, who cursed loudly in agony.

How dare you curse me?

I'll curse them back!

Luze, enraged, raised his silver dagger high in his right hand and, taking advantage of the lingering resentment in the hall, loudly chanted the name of the true creator in Hermes:

"The Creator of Everything".

Fortunately, Leonard and Dunn chased after him, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to openly borrow the power of the true creator.

The curse's resentment gathered on Luze's dagger, turning its original silver color into an ominous, pitch-black hue. Then, he plunged it viciously into his still-burning left hand!
On the banks of the Tasok River, Triss stared at the flowers that burned continuously yet never turned to ash, a look of puzzlement on her face. Just as she was about to approach for a closer look, an invisible force suddenly shot out from the flames, aiming straight for her head!
Triss felt a chill run down her spine; the assassin's exceptional agility saved her life. She barely managed to turn her head as the cursed piercing blade swept across her collarbone and shoulder, shooting into the void.

"Chichi!"

A horrifying deep gash appeared on her delicate skin, clearly revealing her pale collarbone. A strong corrosive effect was evident at the wound, which was slowly spreading downwards!
"what!"

Triss couldn't help but scream, her voice filled with both pain and terror.

Before she could do anything to remedy the situation, she heard footsteps approaching from afar. It was Dunn and Leonard chasing after her!
Seeing this, Triss could only cover her festering wound and turn to jump into the Tasok River. By the time Dunn and Leonard arrived, she was no longer visible on the river.

"Captain, we didn't catch up."

Leonard stood by the river and searched the back path.

"Well, let's go back first."

Dunn shook his head, his eyes deep, as if he were thinking about something.

The sleepless ones had excellent night vision; they all saw that the woman seemed to have been attacked for no apparent reason before jumping into the Tasok River. They just didn't know where the attack came from.

"What a pity, I didn't kill her."

Lu Ze felt the feedback from the curse and knew that he had not hit it completely.

Seeing the flames on his hand disappear and the connection between them severed, he could no longer continue his curse and began to clean up the scene. During this time, his charred left hand rapidly healed, and by the time Dunn returned, it was completely healed, with no visible signs of damage.

　Some readers have pointed out issues with the previous chapter, specifically that the side effects of the sealed artifact were too strong, turning the protagonist into a liability. After reflection, I agree with your assessment and have therefore revised part of the previous chapter's plot.

　　The original intention of obtaining this sealed artifact was to give the protagonist an extra advantage when facing Ms. M. However, it might be a bit inappropriate in some parts of the plot. I will try my best to control it in the future. Thank you everyone.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)