Curse Returns: Eight Extraordinary Skills? I lack nothing.

erosion.

The spell's characteristic is "erosion." Through contact, the smooth-flowing spell power erodes the target's spell power structure like a strong acid, disintegrating it from the inside.

The lower the level of the cursed spirit, the looser its cursed power structure, and the faster it is eroded.

This level-two cursed spirit lasted less than two seconds under Shunping's attack.

The mantis spirit's body began to shatter from its head, its dark green chitinous shell cracking like porcelain, with a ghostly blue light seeping from the cracks.

Its two compound eyes dimmed one after the other, and its sickle-shaped forelimbs broke off at the joints, falling to the ground with a crisp sound.

The entire process was so quiet that almost no sound was made.

The cursed spirit's body turned into a pool of green residue. Shunping withdrew his hand, took out a handkerchief from his pocket, and slowly wiped his fingertips.

He glanced at the pool of dark green liquid in the center of the room.

After the cursed spirit was exorcised, the pool of liquid evaporated rapidly, and a pungent odor filled the air.

Shunping turned and walked out of the room, heading towards the stairs.

Kugizaki and Fushiguro Megumi were already waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Kugizaki leaned against the wall, looking somewhat tired, but in good spirits. Fushiguro Megumi stood beside her, with two adorable dogs lying quietly at his feet.

"Is it resolved?" Kugizaki asked.

Shunping nodded: "What about yours?"

"That near-level one, done." Kugizaki dusted himself off. "It took a bit of effort, but it's alright."

Chapter 140 Mission 3

"Where's Hisahito?" Fushiguro Megumi asked.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of hurried footsteps came from down the stairs. Itajimaru ran up from the first floor, his face bearing his signature smile.

"First floor done!" he said. "What about you guys? Am I the last one?"

"You're the weakest, how dare you be the last one?" Kugisaki rolled his eyes at him.

"I was just worried about you guys, so I waited downstairs for a while, just in case you needed any help..."

Itadori, halfway through his sentence, obediently changed his tune under Kugizaki's threatening gaze, "Okay, I was indeed a little slow, but it was because that sword wasn't handy!"

"Alright, stop making excuses," Fuhei Hui said calmly, her gaze already fixed on the stairwell on the third floor. "It's time to go up."

The four of them fell silent at the same time.

Third floor.

The strangest cursed spirit, with its unusual cursed power, was waiting for them up there.

Itadori's smile vanished, and he gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Kugizaki double-checked the number of nails in the toolkit.

Shunpei closed his eyes and used his senses to confirm the location of the cursed spirit on the third floor. Fukuro Megumi crouched down and gently patted the heads of the two jade dogs.

“Let’s go,” Fushiguro Megumi said.

The four of them climbed the stairs leading to the third floor.

Their footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell, steady and powerful.

Having gone through countless battles side by side, these four people are no longer the rookies who needed Yuu to guide them step by step.

They are the most well-coordinated team among the first-year students of the Spellcasting Academy.

This time, they will have to face the unknown on the third floor on their own.

The third floor is very dark.

It was so dark that you could barely see anything.

As Huzhang took his first step onto the third-floor platform, his feet no longer touched the concrete floor, but something soft and cushion-like. The sensation sent shivers down his spine.

"Everyone be careful," Shunping's voice came from the darkness. "The ground material here has changed."

"Is there light?" Kugizaki asked.

Fushiguro Megumi raised his hand, and a pale blue light shone from his palm.

This wasn't a spell, but simply the external projection of incantation, a basic means of illumination. The pale blue light dispelled the surrounding darkness, illuminating the scene on the third floor.

All four of them gasped simultaneously.

There are no rooms or corridors on the third floor. The entire third floor space has been opened up into a huge, open hall.

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all covered with a dark red, muscle-fiber-like substance.

The fibers were slowly wriggling, like the digestive system of some giant creature.

In the very center of the hall, a giant heart floats.

The heart was about the height of a person, dark red in color, and covered with thick blood vessels. It beat slowly, each beat producing a deep, drum-like thud, while simultaneously releasing wave after wave of magical energy.

"This is the... cursed spirit on the third floor?" Itachi's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

“No.” Shunping’s tone suddenly became serious. “This is not a cursed spirit. This is a cursed embryo.”

Kugizaki suddenly turned to look at him: "Cursed fetus?"

“The cursed spirit will become stronger after it hatches from the cursed womb.” Shunping’s gaze was fixed on the heart. “But what’s inside hasn’t hatched yet. You should all know what that means.”

Fukuro Megumi's voice turned somber: "It means it's still growing. It's much easier to eliminate it now than to wait until it hatches."

"Then let's do it now." Itachi drew his short sword, the blade reflecting a cold gleam in the pale blue light.

The four exchanged a glance, needing no further words.

They moved at the same time.

Kugizaki made the first move. Three iron nails flew from her hand, shooting towards the heart in a triangular formation, each nail wrapped with intense magical power.

The nail was driven precisely into the surface of the heart, and the jagged hammer followed closely behind, slamming heavily onto one of the nails.

resonance.

His heart shuddered violently, and several blood vessels on the surface burst, spurting out dark red liquid.

But the heart's defenses were far stronger than expected.

Kugizaki's resonance attack caused far less damage to the cursed embryo than it would to a regular cursed spirit. The outer wall of the cursed embryo seemed to possess a special cursed energy structure, capable of absorbing and dispersing external impacts.

"Hui!" Huzhang called out.

Fushiguro Megumi understood his meaning. He formed a hand seal, and the two jade dogs rushed out simultaneously, but this time their target was not the heart itself, but the vascular-like fibers surrounding the heart.

The large white dog bit into a thick blood vessel, while the black jade dog tore at another. The blood vessel was severed, and dark red liquid gushed out from the break.

Shunping approached the heart from another direction. A ghostly blue light shone from the tip of his right finger.

The Sea of ​​Destruction.

If his corrosive abilities could penetrate the outer wall of the cursed embryo and disintegrate it directly from the inside, that would be the fastest way.

But the cursed fetus seemed to sense Shunping's threat.

His heart suddenly pounded several times faster, and wave after wave of magical energy surged outward from his heart. Shunping was pushed back two steps by the shockwave, and the eerie blue light at his fingertips flickered, almost dissipating.

“Its instinctive reaction is very strong.” Shunping frowned. “It’s protecting itself.”

With gritted teeth, Itachi gripped the Slaughtering Demon tightly in both hands and charged straight at the heart. He couldn't use cursed attacks, but the Slaughtering Demon was a level one cursed artifact, inherently possessing cursed attributes. If he could use this blade to create an opening in the heart, Shunping could seize the opportunity to enter.

He leaped high into the air, wielding his sword with both hands, the blades whistling as they slashed towards the top of his heart.

The blade cut into the surface of the heart about ten centimeters deep.

Hadana pulled the knife down forcefully, trying to widen the wound. But the muscle fibers inside the heart were exceptionally tough, and the blade made a screeching sound as it was squeezed against the fibers, making progress suffocatingly slow.

"Yujin, get out of the way!" Kugizaki's voice came from behind.

Tiger Staff immediately let go and jumped away.

Kugisaki's iron hammer, imbued with cursed power, slammed heavily onto the edge of the wound that Tuzuma had slashed out.

The effect of resonance was amplified at this moment.

Because the wound had damaged the integrity of the cursed fetus's outer wall, Kugizaki's cursed power was directly injected into the heart.

My heart made its first sound of the day.

The sound wasn't a hiss or a roar, but a deep, low vibration, like the groan of some enormous creature in pain. The entire third floor trembled, and the muscle fibers on the walls contracted and relaxed violently, as if the whole building had come alive.

"It worked!" Kugizaki's eyes lit up. "Let's do it again!"

Fukuro Megumi adjusted his strategy. He dispersed the white jade dog and poured all his magical power into the black jade dog. The black jade dog's body swelled up, its fur became thicker, and its eyes shone with a scarlet light.

"Jade Dog · Hun".

This is a new form that Fushiguro Megumi discovered during training—concentrating the cursed power of the two Jade Dogs into one body, greatly increasing its attack power. The black Jade Dog roared and pounced on the heart, its sharp teeth biting deeply into the side of the heart, then suddenly swung its head and tore off a large chunk of dark red flesh.

My heartbeat became more erratic.

Shunping seized the opportunity. Instead of approaching from the front, he circled around to the other side of the wound on his heart caused by the jade dog's bite. The eerie blue light shone again, this time brighter and more intense than before. Shunping's right hand was completely enveloped in blue light, like a glove burning with blue flames.

He pressed his hand on the wound.

"Sea of ​​Annihilation - Fully Open".

The erosion spread from the wound into the heart. A ghostly blue light, like a living thing, spread in all directions along the heart's vascular network, and wherever it touched, the dark red muscle tissue quickly turned gray and crumbled.

My heart began to pound violently.

It plummeted from its suspended state to the ground, where it tumbled and convulsed.

The muscle fibers covering the walls and floor were like a swarm of snakes that had lost control, thrashing and whipping wildly.

A thick fiber lashed out at Kugizaki's shoulder, sending her flying and crashing into the wall behind her. Fushiguro Megumi's dog got its hind legs entangled by another fiber, struggling to free itself.

"Kuzaki!" Itadori rushed over and helped her up.

"I'm fine!" Kugisaki gritted his teeth and stood up, his right arm hanging at his side, as if a nerve had been pulled and he couldn't use his strength for the time being.

The heart's final struggle lasted about ten seconds.