Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

Chapter 72 An Unexpected Turn of Events (Second Update)

"It should be possible to do that now—in the field..."

Looking at the creature in front of him with its mouth wide open and hand seals forming, the two words it uttered sent Nanami's spirits plummeting.

但—

"Hmph, do you think you'll succeed?"

"Um?"

At the critical moment, everyone was shocked by this sudden turn of events.

The next moment, a silvery streak of light flashed across the dim sky.

Before the three could react, countless streaks of steel descended from the sky and precisely pierced the location where the real person was.

A wave of air and dust instantly erupted.

Just as the attack was about to land, Itachi and Nanami took a few steps back.

As the smoke cleared, a real person covered in quills appeared before the two.

Feet, legs, arms, torso, mouth... all were instantly sliced ​​open and nailed down. Now, the only thing that seemed to be able to move was its eyes.

And in those eyes, one could sense a variety of emotions: confusion, doubt, and... fear.

"This is a trap!!??"

Only now, after suffering a fatal blow, has the real person finally pieced everything together. Shunping's abnormality and the sudden attack only indicate one thing: this is a trap set for him alone!

It wanted to escape, but found itself... unable to use spells?

Nanami suppressed the fear that had just risen in her heart and looked up at the enemy, or more accurately, at the weapons stuck in the enemy's body.

A sense of familiarity filled his heart.

The familiar voice that rang out behind him the next moment confirmed his suspicions.

"Long time no see, Mr. Nanami. I hope you won't blame me for stealing your prey."

Nanami's body gradually relaxed after hearing the sound, and the movement was not even under his conscious control.

After adjusting his glasses, the man in the suit turned to look at the newcomer.

"Of course not, Kawasaki-kun. We should be thanking you for saving our lives."

That's right, the person behind him is Kawasaki Etsuto, who just arrived.

Looking at the adult in front of him who was still serious and unwilling to play along with his jokes, Yue Ren couldn't help but chuckle.

"Wait, something doesn't feel right. Shouldn't someone say something like, 'I can handle this without you'?"

'

Mr. Yue, I am not a child, much less so lacking in self-awareness.

Looking at the boy in front of him who seemed to be getting more and more like Gojo Satoru, Nanami felt a mix of emotions.

His first reaction was gratitude. He was quite certain that what he had just done was "domain expansion." If Yue Ren's attack hadn't interrupted the spellcasting, he would have been dead for sure, given the cursed spirit's shameless technique.

But what's with this increasingly awful personality...? Has he been infected by Gojo Satoru?

Seemingly sensing the other person's thoughts, Yue Ren smiled slightly and gently patted the other person's back as he passed by.

"Haha, just kidding, don't take it seriously. If you ask why, it's because Mr. Nanami's serious expression is really hard to resist. I think that's why Mr. Gojo teases you every time."

"

Nanami fell silent after hearing this. So it was his fault after all? This world was just too cruel.

As Huzhang passed by with a look of surprise, Yue Ren casually patted him on the shoulder and used "Reversal Technique" to help heal his injuries. As for Nanami, who was standing to the side, the spell tool in his hand was already healing him.

He was in a good mood as everything was developing according to plan.

Approaching the still-alive figure, Yue Ren, amidst the figure's puzzled gaze, pulled out a strange card and presented it to it.

A second later, the card shattered, and Yue Ren's lips curled up as he looked at the notification on his retina.

"Copy Card" (Gold) - 1

Acquired the technique: "Transformation of Non-Action"

The conditions have finally been met.

Keeping their excitement inside, Yue Ren continued.

With Yuanhong appearing in his hand, Yue Ren faced the now worthless cursed spirit, Zhenren, and without hesitation, thrust his sword towards the other's forehead.

He knew perfectly well how disgusting the guy was, and to avoid any unforeseen complications, he planned to kill him immediately.

However, when his sword was only one centimeter away from the real man's eyeball, a strange change occurred.

彭—

Was that a gunshot?

A sense of crisis followed; his temples were throbbing. It was a shot aimed at his forehead, and it was very close!

There was absolutely no time to think about why.

He instinctively turned his head, but it was no use. The bullet was already right in front of his forehead. Even though it was at a slight angle, being hit at this distance would definitely pierce half of his brain.

They seemed to anticipate the bloodshed to come, but in that moment when time seemed to stand still, Yue Ren's face showed surprise, but no fear.

The cursed power protects the area about to be hit.

The next moment, a spray of blood appeared, and Yue Ren, like an ordinary person struck on the head, was sent flying.

The other three people who were focused on the battlefield were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

However, just as they realized what was happening and were about to do something, another twist occurred.

The Yue man, who appeared to have been knocked away by an unknown attack, actually managed to regain his balance with a backflip in mid-air. Before landing, he adjusted his body and gathered his strength to throw his longsword.

The target was actually a real person on the ground who had transferred their consciousness onto a piece of flesh and was preparing to escape.

The bullet knocked away the weapon embedded in the real man, breaking the spell's seal.

Yue Ren clearly realized that it was the other party's partner who came to the rescue, and it was someone who was not within the scope of their intelligence.

This sudden attack was indeed beyond his expectations, but how could he let the opponent succeed so easily? He decided to take a gamble and kill the real guy.

However, what happened next dashed those hopes.

The weapon, launched like a meteor and capable of instantly destroying a real person, was stopped by several bullets that followed.

Only now did the Yue people realize exactly what kind of attack the other side was launching.

Bang bang bang bang—

Gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, followed by bullets that appeared out of thin air at different angles at extremely close range, attacking weak points with a speed that gave the opponent only milliseconds of reaction time, deflecting Yuan Hong's force and sending him flying.

Just before he landed, gunshots rang out again, but this time it wasn't the sound of a pistol, but—a machine gun?

The Yue people secretly thought things were not good.

Sure enough, the next moment a dense hail of bullets enveloped the four people present: Yue Ren, Nanami, Itadori, and Junpei.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden and swift offensive.

From the moment the Yue people heard the first gunshot to when everyone was surrounded by bullets, the whole process took less than a second; it was as fast as lightning.

From the shot just now, Yue Ren could tell that even if he were hit in a vital spot, a bullet of that level would seriously injure him, let alone the others present.

If we don't find a way to deal with this barrage of bullets, everyone except Yue Ren and Hu Zhang will die.

Tch, that guy is smart; he seems to know that the best defense is offense.

On one side are the fleeing enemy, and on the other are their comrades in danger.

With a thought, the ground beneath the Yue people's feet was torn apart in the next moment.

"Domain Expansion - Sword Formation Without Elements"

Almost the instant the Yue people expanded their territory, the playground was riddled with holes.

The adjacent college buildings were not spared either; their walls resembled sandcastles wiped away by an invisible giant hand, with concrete fragments shattering into millions of high-speed flying debris.

The steel bar was pulled out spasmodically from the fracture, swaying in the air in a bright silver arc.

The swarm of bullets, like a hungry bee colony, burrowed into the building and burst out from the other side of the wall, carrying with them the scene inside. Fragments of half an account book and curtain strips flew into the sky, intertwined. The hydraulic rod of the office chair was broken, and the spring, like a writhing earthworm, poked half of its body out of the hole.

The moment the load-bearing column was severed in half, the entire building, like a giant beast with its spine removed, slowly shrank.

The floorboards collapsed layer by layer, each falling floor raising even thicker clouds of gray.

Half of the school was reduced to ruins in an instant.

As the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, nothing remained of the site except for the ruins of buildings, as if everything had been wiped out by the war.

As the scene gradually calmed down, a figure hurried over and finally arrived at the scene.

"Oh dear, this looks really bad... Did they escape?"

Dressed in a monk's robe, Xia Youjie stood on high ground, looking down at the school, which was half reduced to ruins. He was amazed by the devastation of the scene, while his eyes were constantly searching for any trace that could be called a clue... and he actually found one.

Moonlight filtered through gaps in the broken clouds, falling on the devastated ruins.

The former school building is like a set of building blocks smashed by a giant's fist, with concrete fragments, twisted steel bars, and broken desks and chairs scattered all over the place.

The next moment, a figure appeared out of thin air; it was a Yue person.

After checking that no one was around, Yue Ren immediately spotted Xia Youjie, who had already arrived.

"The cursed spirit has appeared. Its name is Zhenren. Be careful not to get touched by its hand, or your soul will be directly damaged."

"Oh? It caused this scene?"

"No, there are helpers. It should be that guy who amplified those cursed spirits. As you can see, he is very destructive. You go first, be careful when tracking him. I will send you detailed information later. I also need to release Nanami and the others."

"

The meaning is clear: he should hurry up, as his continued presence here is only getting in the way.

"6

,

Looking at the Yue people who were gesturing for him to leave with a look of disgust, Xia Youjie really didn't know what to say.

You were the one who called me to come over, right? Why are you in such a hurry to kick me out as soon as I arrived?

It feels like I've been working for a heartless boss.

However, his interest in that special cursed spirit overcame his speechlessness, and following the traces of the filth, Xia Youjie left to give chase.

After glancing in the direction the other party had gone, Yue Ren wasn't too worried. After all, Zhenren was in an extremely weak state, and if he were caught, he might actually be able to solve the problem.

A few seconds later, several people suddenly appeared in the scene that should have been calm.

"Cough cough one"

Shunping's cough came from the side.

He had no injuries, but the dust in the air was affecting his respiratory tract. However, he didn't bother to cover his mouth and nose and just stared wide-eyed at his surroundings.

"This...this is..."

'

Nanami glanced around a few times, then dusted off his suit. At the same time, he adjusted his glasses with slightly trembling fingers.

Clearly, he was also shocked by the desolate scene before him.

"Was the damage really that great?"

His voice was a little hoarse, as if he was squeezing out complex emotions from his throat.

If Yue Ren hadn't pulled them into his magical realm, their fate wouldn't have been much better than what they're seeing now.

Yue Ren glanced around to make sure the other three were alright before turning his gaze away.

He turned around and walked to a spot a dozen meters away, where a sword was stuck in the ground, its blade mostly embedded, with only the hilt showing. It was Yuanhong.

The Yue people pulled it out of the ruins.

There were several obvious bullet marks on the sword, but it was not broken.

"The attack intensity is a bit high," he muttered.

This cursed spirit attacks with guns, but they are by no means ordinary guns. After being amplified by curse power and spells, even some low-level cursed tools may not be able to withstand them.

"Senior Yue Ren!"

Tiger Rod rushed over, grabbed his shoulder, and looked him up and down.

"Are you alright?! That shot just now—I saw you get hit—in the head—blood—"

He talked too much and incoherently, but the anxiety and concern in his eyes were genuine.

After putting away Yuanhong, Yue Ren patted Huzhang on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down.

"I'm fine."

Huzhang was stunned.

"But one"

Huzhang opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Nanami walked over, his gaze landing on Yue Ren's head.

There was a trace of blood, flowing down from his forehead and drying on his face as a dark red mark. But the wound was gone.

"Reversal technique?" Nanami asked.

The Yue man nodded.

"Not only that," he said, "the bullet did hit me."

He raised his hand and pointed to the side of his forehead.

"At that moment, the bullet passed right through here."

Huzhang's eyes widened even more.

They went through it?!

"My technique, 'Floating Light,' can prevent certain aspects of reality from being interfered with." Yue Ren's voice was casual, as if he were talking about something insignificant.

"It was activated the moment it sensed that the spell defense could not stop the bullet. The instant the bullet hit the bone, that part of the brain was made to become ethereal."

He paused.

"The bullet passed right through the blurred area. All that was left was a graze to the scalp, which can be treated with a reversal spell. That's about all we can manage at this stage."

Although he didn't quite understand, it seemed that everything was really alright, and Itachi breathed a sigh of relief.

He recalled the scene just now: the instant the gun fired, the Yue man's head snapped back, blood splattered out, and his body flew out.

At that moment, he was almost overwhelmed by fear; he thought he was going to lose this senior.

However, what surprised him most was that his senior had just said the most outrageous thing in the calmest tone.

To make the brain invisible while allowing the bullet to pass through?

Is this some kind of outrageous technique? Does such an outrageous effect really exist in the world?

"Reverse spell, reverse spell, spell reversal, it's so convoluted, what is he talking about..."

Upon hearing the term "spell reversal," Nanami finally believed that the boy was indeed alright. After all, as far as he knew, among the current sorcerers, apart from Gojo Satoru, no one could perform this technique.