Curse Returns: What did the human-shaped wishing machine do wrong this time?

The blinding sunlight shone on my face, and the dust particles emitted a hazy glow.

The college has many trees, as if trying to capture the sky. Sunlight filters through the lush foliage, and dappled light, like scattered feathers, spills across the edge of the training field, leaving a cool shady area.

Three people (?) sat there side by side. Alluka was wearing a shrine maiden outfit and eating a tuna rice ball. Next to him sat a furry panda, and a silver-haired boy who was wrapped up in a uniform even in summer, with half of his face hidden under his collar.

In the center of the training field, a girl with a high black ponytail swept her leg horizontally. As the person beneath her changed position, the bamboo sword in her hand slashed down from the air. In a gust of wind, Kugizaki Nobara was unable to dodge in time and almost fell to the ground.

You lost.

Zenji Maki pointed her bamboo sword at Wild Rose's nose, a confident smile playing on her lips.

Since being invited by the second-year students to participate in the upcoming sister school exchange meeting with Kyoto School, everyone has been training non-stop every day, as if they've been injected with adrenaline.

The college currently has three grades. Third-year students Kinji and Kirara Hoshi are problem students. The two were suspended from school last year for assaulting a senior member of the administration.

Zenin Maki, Inu-maki Toshi, and Panda are the second-year seniors who will be participating in the exchange meeting together this time.

Another second-year student is Yuta Otsukoku. Shortly after Rika's death, he was taken to the Gojo family by Satoru Gojo. For many years, Satoru Gojo has been trying to find a way to break the curse on him, but he has never been able to find a solution.

Having no other choice, Gojo Satoru allowed Etotsu Yuta to enroll in a vocational high school. Xia Youjie, who had been working as a curse master, had arrested many high-ranking individuals with curse power over the years to conduct human research. Last year, it is unclear whether his actions were exposed or whether the curse community had reached its limit of tolerance.

The two sides clashed, and the General Director ordered Gojo Satoru to kill Natsumi Yujie. Gojo Satoru simply read the message but didn't reply, pretending he couldn't see it.

However, the other sorcerers had to obey the Directorate General, so the new Special Grade, Yi Gu You Tai, was sent to attack Xia You Jie.

Yi Gu You Tai knew that this was Go Tiao's close friend, so he went all out, as did Xia You Jie.

The two of them didn't know what they said in private, but they knew that after that, Xia Youjie left with Jiujiu Yuki from abroad, and Yigu Youtai also went abroad for a long-term business trip.

Now, only Maki and two others remain as the second-year seniors.

Because Alluka's body lacked magical power, his training was useless, so he just watched the excitement from under the shade of the tree.

Seeing that he was well-behaved, Dog Curly shared his favorite rice ball with him.

Alluka really liked Inu-chan's rice balls and also liked the fluffy panda. Just as the three of them were sitting together watching Zenin Maki and Kugizaki Nobara spar, a rather cold female voice came over.

"Alluka, come here for a second~"

A tall, brown-haired woman waved to him from a distance.

"Doctor? What's the matter?"

Alluka blinked, raised her hand and stuffed the remaining rice ball into her mouth. She said something to Inujima and the others, then jogged a few steps to Shoko Ieri's side.

Something happened, and I might need your help.

Shoko Ieiri had heavy dark circles under her eyes, and she looked very tired.

She was the only doctor in the college who could use the reverse technique to treat others. Over the years, she had a constant stream of patients, and staying up all night was a regular occurrence for her. Shoko hadn't had a proper night's sleep in a long time.

She was busy until 3 a.m. yesterday, and only managed to get two hours of sleep before being woken up again. She wouldn't have called Alluka if this incident hadn't been so troublesome.

Curious, the black-haired boy followed her to a rather secluded laboratory.

The room was very dark, and on the cold metal table, Alluka saw several strange-looking things.

The monsters lay motionless on it, looking dead.

Their bodies swelled up like tumors about to burst, their limbs twisted together like dough, their muscles rotting and foul-smelling, their faces twisted so distorted that their features were indistinguishable, and their filthy curse power—from their appearance, these things were cursed spirits.

Alluka looked around, her round cat eyes widening in confusion: "Doctor Ieiri wants me to save these people?"

What appears to be a cursed spirit is actually a human being in disguise.

Humans and cursed spirits are fundamentally different in their composition. The people in front of us look the same as cursed spirits, but they have physical bodies, can be photographed, and their blood is red.

If it weren't for the testing, Ieiri Glass wouldn't have dared to confirm that these were actually human beings.

"These people are beyond saving. There are many others in the same situation at the Tiger Rod quest. Could you ask if Nanika's condition can be treated?"

These are human corpses that no longer resemble humans, their brains altered by unknown sorcery. Ieyasu Shoko's Reversal Technique is insufficient to heal them.

After dissecting a corpse, Shoko Ieiri thought of Nanika, who was not from her own system. She wondered if Nanika's abilities could cure humans whose brainstems had been altered, so she wanted to bring her to see.

These things looked rather ugly and disgusting. Ieiri Shoko had met Alluka many times, so she knew that the other party would not be frightened by these things. Therefore, she asked directly without any hesitation.

"It's possible, but the cost of living and the cost of dying are quite different for these people."

Alluka smiled brightly, his eyes pure and clear, focused intently on Ieiri Shoko.

Nanica always had her own set of rules for the price she charged for the wishes of everyone except her brother.

However, the standard here does not include healing; for all wishes related to healing, Nanika charges very little.

Nanika is good at destruction but not at repair, but she enjoys using this ability to help others.

She can heal the living by touching their bodies, but she believes that if the dead want to live, they will suffer the same fate as Fuheshel's wife, becoming an unknown curse.

"Oh, I see. Please wait a moment."

To Alluka's answer, Ieiri Shoko felt no surprise at all.

She made a phone call to Nanami Kento, who was still at the cinema.

"Nanami, if you and Itajima see any more of these modified humans, you might consider keeping them alive. Alluka and I need to conduct an experiment first."

Shoko Ieiri's voice remained calm. She did not intend to have Nanika treat all the cyborgs that Nanami mentioned.

Shoko Ieiri had discussed healing with Alluka several times and had also seen Alluka use her healing abilities to treat mice. However, Alluka would faint when treating slightly larger wounds.

Shoko guessed that the cursed spirit Nanika was not good at healing, and she would not force the other party to do anything that would harm her.