Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

"Kid, I should go."

The man from Yue suddenly looked up.

In the void, the old man's voice could be heard faintly, but it was slowly fading away.

"you......"

"Don't say anything about being reluctant to part." Muramasa's tone was very relaxed, but he could sense the boy's reluctance to leave.

That's for sure. As far as the Yue people were concerned, this old man was no different from their master. They never expected that such a day would come.

"I am the knife, and you are the one who wields it. The knife's task is to be held and used to cut through the path ahead. So use this power as you see fit. This old man should be enjoying his retirement. Remember, you are the future."

The Yue man opened his mouth, but ultimately only managed to utter, "...Thank you."

Muramasa smiled.

That smile was different from the previous two; it wasn't scrutinizing or gratified, but rather something very light and almost benevolent.

"Never forget!" he said. "Don't forget why you're holding a knife, don't forget what you want to become."

The sound grew fainter and fainter.

"The next time we meet, it will be your turn to wield the knife."

The last wisp of flame dissipated in the air.

The room fell silent.

The Yue man stood still, looking down at his hands. His hands were still covered in calluses, just like before. They were the marks left by day after day of forging and wielding the sword. Along the way, it seemed that something had changed, yet nothing had changed at all.

But he knew that something was different.

Outside the window, the setting sun was sinking below the horizon.

He picked up the dagger on the table, and his eyes were reflected in the blade. There was a flame burning in those eyes, but it wasn't scorching; it was just warm.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

December--

The sky over Shinjuku was so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water.

For the residents here, what should have been a day of rest was instead filled with frustration. Official news indicated that a major earthquake might occur in the city in the next day or two, and everyone would have to temporarily evacuate to a neighboring city. This disrupted most people's winter plans, so even though they followed the advice to evacuate, everyone was quite resentful.

What ordinary people don't know is that in the homes they left behind, a special group of people are gathering and preparing for battle.

On December 24th, the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons officially begins.

At the city's assembly point, nearly a hundred sorcerers were ready to go.

Those with combat power of level one or above stood in the front row. Gojo Satoru was still wearing his signature eye patch, his hands in his pockets, showing no signs of tension.

The young sorcerers in the back row gripped their weapons tightly, and more than 70% of them carried sorcery tools made by the Yue people on their waists or backs.

Mingming stood on the other side with Youyou, her gaze sweeping across the crowd before finally settling on a certain direction—Yueren was talking to Xiaozi.

"That little guy has done something incredible this past month," she said softly.

Youyou followed her gaze and asked, "Big sister thinks highly of him?"

"You think he'll win?" Mingming's lips curled up slightly. "Not just think he'll win, I really like him. He has more cards in his hand than many people realize. Believe me, this time he'll shine with a brilliance that will amaze everyone."

Youyou was a little envious. That guy was so lucky to be liked by her sister. But seeing how arrogant he was and didn't care at all, she should find an opportunity to make him understand what her sister's "like" meant.

However, Mingming wasn't jealous, because his older sister only said "like," not "love." So, to his older sister, that guy was just "nourishment" rather than "necessity," and that was enough. His sister was still his sister, and that guy would never take her away.

On Yueren's side, he handed Shoko something that looked like a toy shield; it was no bigger than the palm of his hand.

"This is?"

"Infuse your body with magical power to protect your safety."

Looking at the student she hadn't seen for several days, Shoko felt for some reason that he had changed. He was less sharp and more gentle and refined, and his demeanor and movements gave people a "refreshing" feeling.

She then looked at the thing he handed her, pausing for a few seconds.

"You're overthinking it. This isn't my battlefield. I'm heading to the rear soon, so I probably won't need this. Let's give it to someone who needs it more."

She had also heard the rumors about Yue Ren recently. The spell tools he made had received high praise from the lower-level spellcasters, but it seemed that the higher-ups were quite dissatisfied.

Knowing the nature of those in power, she sensed that something from the Yue people must have truly posed a threat to them. Considering the praise from the sorcerers, she guessed that this thing must be quite useful.

But she's just a doctor, and it feels like a waste to use something like that.

The Yue people did not put it away.

"This was specially made for you. No one else can use it. Besides, it's not just for this war. I hope you can carry it with you from now on, just as an accessory, or as a form of insurance."

"......"

"Alright, thank you then, dear student."

Seeing that Yue Ren was determined, Shoko hesitated for a moment but decided to accept it anyway. Since he insisted, she would accept it. After all, he was her student, and as he said, it was something that could save her life, especially for someone like her who didn't have much fighting ability.

As for the value of this thing... you can tell from his eyes that he doesn't care about those things. It's all for his own safety... It's such a heartwarming thing to be able to resist.

"here we go."

Gojo Satoru's voice rang out, not loud, but clearly reaching everyone's ears.

In the distance, a black tide surged up on the horizon.

More than two thousand cursed spirits, each with a different form, swarmed in from all parts of the city like locusts.

The air was filled with the putrid stench unique to curses, and even sorcerers who were used to seeing cursed spirits turned pale.

Not far from the students, several figures were standing in conspicuous positions.

The two sides were more than 100 meters apart, but they were still able to clearly see each other's faces through their respective means.

There were some new faces, but most were the guys who came to declare war with Xia Youjie that day, the curse masters whom that guy called "family".

What puzzled everyone was that Xia Youjie, the mastermind, did not appear.

"Everyone disperse and try to avoid damaging the building..."

Principal Moth was still giving instructions before the battle.

Yue Ren, standing to the side, thought to himself, "Just as I thought," and looked at Gojo Satoru. Gojo's gaze also turned towards him, and the two nodded in unison when their eyes met.

Just then, Ijichi rushed over, calling Gojo's name, and whispered something in his ear.

After listening, Gojo nodded. The Yue people's "precognition" seemed to be correct. Xia Youjie's goal was likely Yigu, and these guys here were just a cover for his bluff.

He was preparing to leave. Although he had left his other students, Gou Juan and the others, at the college, they could only delay him at best. They were no match for Xia Youjie, a master sorcerer.

This was his two-pronged approach, and for him, the time he had to delay was more than enough.

Just as he was about to use a spell to leave, he suddenly sensed someone emanating an aura that seemed somewhat troublesome to him.

Turning his head, he saw a guy who looked like an African man watching him from a building across the street, and from his expression, it was clear that he wasn't afraid of him.

Upon seeing this, Gojo Satoru frowned.

What should we do? Let it go? That guy's aura is strong, and that thing in his hand poses a significant threat to him, potentially changing the course of the game... The students should be able to hold him off for a while, so let's deal with this first...

"Don't worry, teacher. Leave him to me. I happen to be quite interested in what he has."

While he was deep in thought, Yueren had appeared beside Gojo without him noticing, and offered him a new option.

"..."

"His strength..."

"Mr. Gojo, today this is my home turf!"

Looking at Yue Ren's piercing gaze, which was as sharp as a sword, Gojo smiled. This guy has become stronger again... Has the like-minded person he longed for finally appeared?

"Then it's up to you, Yue Ren."

Without further hesitation, the moment he finished speaking, he made a hand gesture, and the next moment, Gojo Satoru disappeared from the spot.

His disappearance immediately attracted the attention of the other side.

"We've been discovered?"

"I told you we should find a stand-in."

"This would expose us even faster, but how dare he just leave like that? Does he really believe these people can stop us?"

"Hahaha, Miguel, you're completely underestimated. Nobody even pays attention to you."

No, Blackie could sense that the strongest guy had hesitated because of him, but only made up his mind to leave after the boy next to him said something.

What did that boy say to him?

"We can't worry about that now. Since he dared to walk away so directly, we should teach him a lesson. Using the blood of these sorcerers to shake his spirit will also help Lord Xia You..."

"Mimiko, Nanako, let's get started."

Manami Suda, a beautiful woman in a mink coat, spoke. She was both Xia Youjie's secretary and his financial advisor, and in this situation, she could also be the one to issue the orders.

"clear!"

The two girls hidden inside the cursed spirit were excited; they had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.

But to the woman's surprise, a sudden gust of wind blew her eyes shut. A few seconds later, when she opened her eyes again, she found that her foreign companion had disappeared, and there were obvious marks on the ground next to her, as if something like a cannonball had hit her.

Following the trail, he turned to look and saw that his companion had been knocked away by some uncontrollable force and was embedded in the wall. Not far from him, a familiar boy was standing on the roof with a knife.

He just knocked Miguel away? Are you kidding me?

Are the strongest sorcerers abroad so shameless? They were knocked away in a single exchange?

Miguel slowly rose from the rubble, staring at the black rope in his hand that had been cut in half. His mind went blank for a moment. Had he just been knocked away?

Looking up, he saw a boy standing not far away, and in his hand was something familiar, a special cursed tool from his hometown—a black rope.

"..."

"Young man, who are you?"

He spoke Japanese in a somewhat broken voice, with a distinctly foreign accent.

"Kawasaki Koshito, the special-class student you were just paying attention to."

"I see, that special-grade..."

"It's not time for Gojo-sensei to deal with you. He went to find your leader, and you..."

The blade blank in his hand was slowly raised.

"She's my prey!"

In stark contrast to the gentle warmth he had shown towards his allies, this was a chilling killing intent, a massive killing intent that made even the strongest foreign opponent break out in a cold sweat.

How could a teenager possess such immense killing intent?

"Young man, according to your logic, boasting can backfire."

The Yue man did not respond, but simply raised his knife once more.

Although the black rope in his hand was only a part, it was enough as a reference. So these guys in front of him were of little value. Although the other party seemed to have been recruited later, he was now the enemy. Let's see if he can escape from my hands.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're kidding, right...?"

Laru's voice came from behind. The blond, cross-dressing man had somehow gotten close and was staring at the boy on the rooftop with an incredulous expression on his face.

"That guy, he sent Miguel flying? He's still a student, right...?"

"With one cut?"

"I saw it."

Laru was silent for two seconds, then muttered something under his breath.

Manami Suda stood a short distance away, her brow furrowed. She had seen it clearly—it wasn't that Miguel was careless, but that the boy was too fast, so fast that her eyes only caught a fleeting afterimage before Miguel was sent flying.

Moreover, he is currently holding a portion of the black rope in his hand.

"Was it stolen?" she asked.

No one answered, because the answer was obvious.

On the other side, Mingming narrowed his eyes and slightly raised the corners of his lips.

"interesting."

Youyou stood beside her and whispered, "Big sister, that guy's speed..."

"It's not about speed," Mingming interrupted him. "It's about rhythm."

"Rhythm?"

"He saw through that guy's movements," Mingming said. "Compared to a little over a month ago, his strength has improved again. That eerie ability to see through everything has become even stronger. Hahaha, could it be that he's already reached that level...?"

"Top Grade!"

On the rooftop, the Yue man held his knife horizontally to his side.

He glanced at the group of students from the high school in the distance, then at the curse masters in front of him, and finally fixed his gaze on Miguel.

"How much of that thing you have left?"

Miguel paused for a moment, then laughed.

"I'm sorry, could you please return it to me? It's an object that represents the will of my hometown."

The Yue man didn't make a move, which didn't surprise Blackie. He wrapped the remaining black rope around his hand twice and gripped it tightly again. Although the rope was shorter, it was still usable. As long as he could disrupt the opponent's curse power for a moment, he would have a chance.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stomped his foot on the ground.

The figure instantly closed in, the black rope drawing an arc in the air, heading straight for Yue Ren's face.

He used all his strength in that attack.

Then his vision blurred.

The Yue man shifted his body a few inches to the side, the black rope grazing his nose. At the same time, a flash of light appeared from the blade.

Miguel's pupils suddenly contracted.

He had no time to stop, so he could only forcefully twist his body and use the black rope to wrap around the blade—

"clang."

A crisp sound.

Miguel was sent flying backwards again.