Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

His voice was steady, as if he were stating the opening of an audit report, while he took out a sorcerer's identification document with one hand.

"This mission will be handled jointly by us. It's a pleasure to meet you. Do you have any questions?"

Wearing a crisp beige suit, his blond hair was meticulously combed back to the side, and the square-framed glasses on his nose reflected the cool light from the overhead lamp.

The first impression it gives is of a cold machine, a ruthless killer in a suit?

But upon hearing that familiar name, Yue Ren paused for a moment, then smiled and extended his hand.

"Hello, Nanami-senpai, I am Kawasaki Koshito. It is my honor to assist you in completing this mission."

Nanami was taken aback by the boy's enthusiasm, but out of courtesy, she still reached out to shake his hand.

"Hmm, you flatter me, Kawasaki-kun. May I call you that?"

"certainly."

His somewhat formulaic, steady tone, coupled with his suit, should have given off a serious and unpleasant impression, but this man exuded the complete opposite: composure and reliability.

"First of all, I acknowledge that you didn't rush in immediately. Now, let's exchange some information. This should be beneficial for our upcoming mission. What do you think?"

He had a very decisive and efficient attitude, but the Yue people felt very comfortable talking to him.

"no problem."

"Very well, so if Mr. Gojo's information is correct, this is your second time participating in a mission, right?"

"Yes."

"What was the level of the spirit that participated in the last mission, and when?"

"Level 2, about a week ago."

"I see, I understand now."

Nanami Kento now understood why Gojo Satoru had asked him to mentor the new recruit. He guessed that the guy in front of him was probably a potential "Special Grade" candidate; otherwise, given Gojo Satoru's personality, he wouldn't have assigned him a burden during a Level 1 mission. Was he trying to get him to mature as quickly as possible...?

Having figured this out, his worries lessened somewhat. Although he wasn't against newcomers, he could sense from the available intelligence that the enemy they would be facing on this mission might be very dangerous, and bringing a newcomer along might risk a disaster.

"Well then, Kawasaki-kun, please follow my instructions for the next mission, okay?"

The Yue man nodded.

"Of course, I understand why Teacher Gojo arranged for me to come here, to learn from you, so I'll do whatever you say during the mission."

Another reason is that Yue Ren roughly understands the personality of the person in front of him based on his memory. From the perspective of the senior sorcerer, he is undoubtedly a very trustworthy person. Every decision he makes is based on ensuring safety and completing the mission, and the former is even more important.

I remember him as someone I really liked, and the fact that he didn't show any unusual joy after meeting him in person shows his good self-control.

"Thank you for your understanding. I will explain the reasons for doing this later, but for now, please follow me as we enter the scene."

"it is good."

After confirming the information with the assistant supervisor in charge of security here, Nanami led Yue Ren toward the somewhat gloomy-looking building.

"You know how to use an 'account,' right? If not, I'll do it."

Of course.

Seeing that Qi Hai nodded in acknowledgment, Yue Ren began chanting an incantation. A few seconds later, a dark dome covered the area, making the already gloomy place even more eerie.

Since the effect of the "tent" can be enhanced by specifying a certain kind of restraint, the Yue people chose to increase its strength by restricting ordinary people from entering while allowing sorcerers to enter and exit freely. Of course, this is also a commonly used restraint when dealing with most curse events.

After observing for a moment and confirming that everything was alright, Nanami nodded and then gestured for Echito to follow.

On the way, Nanami observed the filth and debris around him while explaining.

"More than a month ago, a batch of artifacts were stolen from the Tokyo National Museum. Among them was a Sengoku period sword, numbered 897, named 'Seiran'. After sensing something unusual about the surroundings, it was confirmed to have been cursed."

"And just one month later, yesterday, a murder occurred here, which is known to have caused two ordinary people to become mentally unstable, three people to die, and eight people to go missing."

"From the mouths of those mentally deranged people, we learned a few unconscious words: 'sword,' 'samurai,' 'monster'..."

"And their identities include ex-convicts, gang members, and thief gangs."

Nanami Kento adjusted his glasses, surveying the desolate space before him, which contained nothing but load-bearing concrete pillars. His voice was slow and deliberate as he asked, "What have you come to mind regarding this information, Kawasaki-kun?"

While observing the surroundings for potential dangers, the Yue man thought for a moment and replied:

"The gang that stole the artifacts wanted to sell them to a related underground gang, but during the transaction, they awakened the cursed sword?"

"That's right, this is the most likely truth we're speculating about right now."

Nanami suddenly squatted down at a certain spot and began to carefully examine the ground, looking left and touching right.

"We also know about the history of that sword. Several hundred years ago, the country where the wielder lived was besieged by an enemy. The enemy was very powerful, and the leader wanted this famous sword. So he ordered an attack on the city. At that time, the samurai Nakajo Munenobu, who was the wielder of the sword, decided to go to negotiate in order to use the sword as a hostage to exchange for the surrender of the city and save the lives of the people."

I tapped the ground with my fingers in different areas, and suddenly heard a distinct hollowing sound in one area.

"The enemy leader agreed, but after the city was opened, he broke his promise and ordered a massacre. Zong Xin was tied to the city gate and watched helplessly as his own treasured sword, Qinglan, was used by the enemy general to kill women and children. Every drop of innocent blood splattered on the sword that had sworn to protect the weak. In the end, he was pierced through the heart by his own sword."

"And so, that knife became a cursed object..."

Having identified a location, Nanami pressed the button without hesitation, and the next moment, a secret passage leading underground appeared beside her.

He turned to look at the Yue people.

"The century-old curse has been awakened, and its strength will be no less than the second level, most likely the first level, or even the quasi-special level. So please be prepared."

Yue Ren nodded. He was already mentally prepared, after all, it was an event that required the intervention of a mature first-level sorcerer like Qi Hai.

However, he wasn't too worried. The reason was that the cursed vision he used in conjunction with "Karma Eye" had already revealed the enemy to him without reservation. The strength and quantity of that cursed power were at the first level overall, but it seemed to be showing signs of growth.

"Fortunately, the curse was awakened in a hidden trading location, and the time was short, so it hasn't caused widespread damage while trapped underground. However, it's not good for our current situation. The area below has probably been completely occupied by the enemy, and we have no way of knowing what special abilities they have, so we need to be careful of traps..."

"It's a half-ghost cursed spirit in samurai form. Its size seems to have increased due to eating people, and it's already about eight or nine meters tall. As for the quality of its cursed power, it's a little stronger than a normal level one, but still limited. It's showing a growth trend, and if left unchecked, it has a chance to become a special-grade cursed embryo. Its attack method seems to be that 'Azure Mist' sword, but it's no longer an ordinary katana. It's been enlarged several times to match its current body size. There are no traces of cursed power around it, so it should be a direct combat type. It's currently moving around in the underground area, seemingly looking for an exit."

Just as Nanami finished giving his advice, a whole string of information suddenly came out of Yue's mouth, leaving Nanami stunned for a second.

Turning his head, he saw the boy's confident and calm eyes, and a possibility came to mind.

"This is... the effect of your spell? A scouting type?"

"No, it's just my special ability. Compared to other sorcerers, my eyes can see much more. For example, right now, a member of 'Window' 127 meters away is browsing for suitable restaurants on his phone. He's probably hungry. Or perhaps I can see the flow of magical energy within you. Hmm, your magical energy utilization efficiency is higher, clearly you've already 'awakened,' and the magical energy flow is subconsciously more on your right hand. It seems your dominant hand is your right hand."

"..."

The man stared at the boy, and after a second he nodded slightly.

"That's right. It seems you do indeed possess remarkable talent. In that case, the timing of the attack is up to you. Is that alright?"

After a brief moment of thought, the man directly transferred command, a decision based on intelligence and rational judgment.

The Yue people were surprised by his decisiveness, but they were not intimidated and gave him a standard thumbs-up with five tiles.

"Of course, I won't let you down."

"...Then let's continue!"

Looking at this familiar movement, Nanami felt a headache coming on.

Only the sound of their footsteps could be heard in the dark passage.

After what seemed like a few minutes, the man in front spoke again, his voice still calm, as if stating a fact.

"Kawasaki-kun, I don't know how you interpret this. As your partner on this mission, I'm grateful that you used your abilities to provide us with information. However, please don't trust others so easily. It's true that revealing your techniques is an advantageous tactic against the enemy, but it also depends on the specific circumstances of the ability. The ability you just revealed is clearly one where the benefits of 'revealing techniques' are disproportionately small. Please use it cautiously in the future."

The Yue man smiled and nodded.

"You're right, but I wasn't that careless. I wouldn't talk nonsense about other people, but you're different. Gojo-sensei said you're completely trustworthy."

"...Mr. Gojo, you flatter me too much. I'm just an ordinary sorcerer..."

"There's no need to be modest. Mr. Nanami is a truly good person, I'm absolutely certain of that, and I believe you're not just based on what Mr. Gojo said."

"Um?"

The man turned his head again and saw the cunning smile on the Yue man's face.

"How do you know that the information I just revealed is all there is to my ability?"

"!!?"

Nanami seemed to have thought of something, but Yueren spoke first.

"I can see far more than I just mentioned, so you don't need to worry. If he is truly the enemy and limits my vision to this, believe me, he will die a horrible death."

Nanami remained silent, but for some reason, seeing the boy's eyes, which seemed to burn with flames, gave him a chilling sense of unease, a feeling he seemed to have sensed somewhere before... That's right, it was from Mr. Gojo's eyes...

Although the boy's eyes seemed quite ordinary at first glance, they were essentially the same as those famous six-eyed eyes.

At this moment, Nanami seemed to understand that the young man in front of him was probably another "Special Grade" in the world of sorcery.

"I understand. You're aware of this and have even learned to use it in reverse. I've been showing off my limited skills before you."

Nanami may not know about other things, but there is one thing he is clear about: people like Mr. Gojo cannot be measured by the same standards as ordinary sorcerers. Many things that sorcerers need to pay attention to are nothing to them. Anyone who tries to take advantage of this is just asking for trouble.

The boy in front of me has already shown these qualities. Since that's the case, my role is simple: stay by his side, observe him carefully, and tell him anything that might be unexpected but could pose a threat. That's probably what Mr. Gojo intends to do.

Having understood this, he spoke again before the Yue people could speak.

"Kawasaki-kun, are you confident you can exorcise this cursed spirit below?"

The man from Yue nodded.

"OK."

"Alright, then you'll be the lead attacker for this extermination mission, and I'll support you. How does that sound?"

The Yue people were somewhat strange, and were surprised by the man's sudden change of heart.

"It's possible, but are you sure it's not a problem, Mr. Nanami? I mean, for example... if I steal your monsters or something."

Nanami silently adjusted her glasses.

"Kawasaki-kun, I'm an adult, and I don't have any obsession with personally removing the curse, so you can rest assured."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you."

The two continued forward, and the initiative unconsciously shifted to the Yue people.

He was much bolder; based on the intelligence he had observed, the two quickly arrived at what appeared to be a very ordinary iron gate.

Along the way, they saw several doors of similar style, which seemed to serve some purpose, or perhaps were specially designed to confuse intruders and buy them time, since this was a secret stronghold of the underground forces.

Instead of opening the door immediately, Yue Ren stood waiting at the entrance, as did Qi Hai behind him. He understood that the boy was probably looking for an opportunity, and sure enough...

"It's right behind the door, but it's still lingering. It must have been attracted by our footsteps. But it's not very smart, so it probably hasn't noticed us. I'm thinking of sneaking around with my back to it."

Nanami offered no objection; he didn't find the suggestion inappropriate, so he simply took out his weapons and prepared for battle in response to Yue Ren's words.

A few minutes later, the boy's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly pushed open the door and rushed out.