Curse Reply: After choosing Nawa, the cursed spirit cursed me for being cruel.

"You, you two...!" The songstress trembled with rage. These two scumbags! They were singing in unison!

Duanmu Yan didn't participate in the banter; instead, he checked his internal condition.

He carried the two of them at supersonic speed, which consumed the elemental spirit power of the Tuonao armor. It didn't have much impact on his own magical power reserves, but it still depleted nearly half of them.

Faced with this dark mass of cursed spirits, one must maintain peak condition.

With a thought, the red energy key popped out automatically; then, he inserted the key again.

"Flame Nava, absorb the power of the raging flames, combine!"

A red light appeared, and to Gojo Satoru's astonishment, he instantly switched from Tanata to Nawa!

Moreover, his magical power had also recovered to its peak level.

"Switching armor is equivalent to switching the elemental spirit that supplies power, and my condition will also be restored."

Duanmu Yan gave a brief explanation, then summoned the Melting Scale Blade, its blade pointing at several restless Level 1 cursed spirits nearby.

"Then... let's get started and go all out!"

The moment he finished speaking, he transformed into a crimson blur and charged out first!

The Molten Scale Blade drew a blazing arc of light, slashing straight at the level one cursed spirit that resembled a rotting moth!

The battle erupted instantly!

Is Chapter 40 really that reckless?

The songstress was still reeling from the shock of the three muscular men's appearance and the double barbs of Gojo Satoru and Natsuyu Suke.

She watched the battle raging outside, shrank back, and whispered in Shoko Ieiri's ear, "Shoko... who is that guy who just flashed green light and brought them here, and now turns all red, wielding a big sword and cutting down cursed spirits like chopping vegetables...? A new face? I've never seen him before."

Shoko pulled a crumpled cigarette case from her white coat pocket, put one in her mouth, glanced out the window, and said in a relaxed tone, "Him? Duanmu Yan, a new student here, a first-year student, just promoted to the next grade."

"First year? First grade?!" The songstress gasped, her eyes widening even further.

First-year students Gojo Satoru and Natsuyu Suguru are already monsters enough, and now there's another first-year student at the first level? Has Tokyo Vocational High School stumbled upon a den of monsters?

But then, an even more terrifying question arose.

She grabbed Shoko's arm, asking nervously, "Then, what about his personality? He won't... he won't be like those two outside..."

She pointed to Gojo Satoru, who was kicking a level-one cursed spirit like a ball while laughing and mocking its ugliness, and to Xia Youjie, who was smiling and directing the cursed spirits to tie another level-one cursed spirit into a dumpling and slowly preparing to cut it.

"...Could he end up like those two scumbags?!"

God help her! One Gojo Satoru and one Natsume Yuuki were already enough to shorten her lifespan! And now another one like him?! How is she supposed to live like this?!

As Xiaozi looked out the window, Duanmu Yan cleaved the rotting moth spirit in two with a single stroke, the flames sizzling as they burned its remains.

She reflected on their interactions over the past few months: they trained diligently, were not talkative but reliable, dependable in crucial moments, and usually stopped Gojo Satoru and Natsumi Yuuki's daily tantrums with silence and violence. Occasionally, they were led astray but still maintained their bottom line...

Shoko exhaled a non-existent smoke ring and concluded, "Him... compared to those two scumbags outside, Duanmu is probably on an angelic level."

"An angel?" The songstress blinked, looked at Shoko, then at the "angel" outside the window wielding a flaming greatsword and chasing after the cursed spirit, feeling her understanding being challenged once again.

This angel... isn't she a bit too hardcore?

However, he is at least not like Gojo Satoru and Natsume Suke!

The songstress breathed a slight sigh of relief, and her gaze toward Duanmu Yan became more curious.

To be able to maintain an angelic aura around these two scumbags, this Duanmu guy... is pretty impressive in some ways!

In the short time they were talking in hushed tones, the battle situation outside the window had undergone a dramatic change.

Thanks to the three of them's efficient cleanup, the cursed spirits were almost completely eliminated, at an astonishing speed.

After eliminating the immediate threat, the three retreated to the broken window. Gojo Satoru even had the leisure to tidy up his white hair that had been ruffled by the wind.

Moth stepped forward. "This building is just the outer perimeter of the area where cursed spirits gather. Based on the information left behind by the 'window' and the feedback from Kamiki River's previous adventure, the core of this abandoned industrial park is the source of the strongest cursed power reaction. In the deeper old factory area, the number and strength of cursed spirits are even higher. That near-Special Grade one is very likely there, but the road leading to the core area..."

He pointed to three forked roads faintly visible in the ruins below, each leading to a different cluster of factory buildings, and along the way, he could feel a strong magical energy emanating from them.

“There are three main paths, all of which have been blocked by the cursed spirits. What attacked us just now was only a portion that had spilled out from one of the paths.”

After listening, Gojo Satoru glanced at the three forks in the road with his blue eyes behind his sunglasses, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Three paths... That's perfect! The three of us, each choose one, and we'll fight our way through. How about it? Let's see who gets there first, or who takes down the most weaklings. The loser treats us to a month's worth of deluxe desserts!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Youjie's eyes curved slightly, revealing an expression of interest: "Interesting, I agree."

Duanmu Yan scanned the three paths in turn, his fighting spirit still burning in his eyes. "I have no objection."

Cleaning them separately is indeed the fastest way to solve the problem.

"Wait! Are you all crazy?!" Kamiki Kawaiichi couldn't help but shout.

He was quite shocked by the three men's fighting prowess, but hearing this suggestion still made his scalp tingle.

"There are quite a few cursed spirits wandering along those three paths, and there are definitely still level one ones, not to mention that we might encounter that near-special level one at the end of each path! Spreading out is too dangerous! We should concentrate our forces and advance one path at a time!"

He had originally thought that his reminder would make these three ridiculously strong but also incredibly reckless Tokyo high school students a little more cautious.

However, he was wrong.

Upon hearing the words "quasi-special grade" and "dangerous," Gojo Satoru, Natsumi Yuki, and Duanmu Yan showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, they became even more excited.

Then, under the complex gazes of Kamiki Kawaiichi, the songstress, Shoko, and even Yagami Masamichi, the three of them spoke almost in unison, in a matter-of-fact tone: "It's okay, because we are the strongest."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gojo Satoru transformed into a white blur and rushed towards the leftmost path, leaving only a string of arrogant laughter in the wind.

Xia Youjie nodded to the Night Moth Path, surrounded by cursed spirits, and slowly drifted towards the middle path.

Duanmu Yan nodded in the direction of Xiaozi and the others, then the armored figure headed towards the path on the right.

In the blink of an eye, the three disappeared into the ruins and the pervasive mist of cursed energy.

Night Moth Masamichi rubbed his throbbing temples and sighed deeply. He knew this would happen.

Shoko said to the songstress in a calm tone, "Let me add something... Anyone who can hang out with those two scumbags... even if they're an angel, they're a battle-crazed angel."

The songstress stared blankly, murmuring, "Are they... really okay?"

Kamiki Kawaya opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

The strongest?

Well, judging from their performance just now, they might actually have the confidence to say that.

But is being this reckless really a good idea?!

Chapter 41 Don't look for me, because I'm here.

Deep inside an abandoned industrial park, inside a large factory building.

The light was extremely dim, with only a few slivers of pale light seeping in from the broken roof and high windows, outlining the silhouette of a dark shadow that slowly crawled like a small mountain in the center of the factory.

That was the core of the cursed spirit group, a near-special-grade cursed spirit.

Its main body resembles a giant ant magnified hundreds of times, with a dark metallic sheen on its carapace, but its abdomen is abnormally swollen and almost transparent, with countless unformed shadows wriggling inside.

Its mouthparts open and close constantly, and each time a dark red cocoon about half a person's height is squeezed out from the ovipositor at the end of its abdomen.

As soon as these cocoons landed, they were quickly dragged away by the waiting spirits and piled up in a corner of the factory, where a small mountain of cocoons and unidentified slime had formed.

Beside the queen ant stood four guardian ants whose auras were clearly those of ordinary level one cursed spirits.

One of them was particularly large, and it was slightly lowering its body, its antennae trembling rapidly, as if it were receiving and transmitting information.

A moment later, the cursed spirit raised its head and spoke in broken human language: "Queen Ant... humans who have intruded into the outer territory... have been located, three in total, are slaughtering their people, and are approaching the nest..."

Its compound eyes turned to the queen ant's slowly wriggling, enormous head, and it made a request: "I request to lead a team of engineer ants out to exterminate them... and bring them back to you."

The queen ant's bloated body undulated slightly.

"But human flesh and blood are delicious, and the energy of sorcerers is even more nourishing. Go, bring them here, alive and the freshest."

With permission granted, the red light in the soldier ant's eyes intensified. Just as it was about to turn around and summon the restless worker ants in the nest, a calm young male voice rang out at the entrance.

"No need for that."

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom

Several blazing fireballs exploded instantly, and in the sudden burst of light, a figure in deep red and silver-gray could be seen standing at the factory entrance.

It was Duanmu Yan.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the enormous queen ant in the center of the factory. "I've already come to your door, saving you the trouble of making a trip."

"How dare you!" The first of the guardian ants to speak charged forward, its jaws wide open.

"Tsk," Duanmu Yan glanced at the cursed spirit that pounced in front of him. He twisted his wrist, and the Melting Scale Blade slashed diagonally from bottom to top, the blade's crimson light surging.

"Fierce Flame Slash!"

The ear-piercing sound of metal tearing and shell shattering rang out almost simultaneously as the pair of scythe-like pincers, which looked capable of cutting through steel beams, were severed by the Molten Scale Blade.

Before the blade's momentum ended, following the trajectory of the strike, Duanmu Yan twisted his waist and stepped forward, his left fist slamming into the breastplate of the Soldier Ant Cursed Spirit.

"Molten Spiral Fist!"

boom!

The cursed power on the fist exploded, and the massive body of the soldier ant cursed spirit froze. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its chest shell, and dark, foul blood and broken internal organs gushed out from the cracks.

Its fierce compound eyes dimmed instantly, and it collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitching twice before becoming still.

"I thought they were something special." Duanmu Yan flicked his sword, looking at the remaining three guardian ants that were clearly intimidated, and the huge shadow behind them. "That's all?"

"hiss--!!!"

The remaining three guard ants let out sharp hisses, their compound eyes fixed on Duanmu Yan, and their forelegs pawing the ground, but they did not pounce immediately, instead waiting for the queen's command.

The queen ant's bloated body heaved violently, and a roar of fury and greed swept through the entire nest.

"Kill...eat him...tear him to pieces..."

Upon receiving clear instructions, the three guard ants did not hesitate any longer. From three different directions, they, along with dozens of smaller but faster worker ants emerging from the shadows, rushed towards the isolated red figure at the door!

Duanmu Yan showed no fear. He stepped forward, and the Melting Scale Blade transformed into a crimson light curtain.

Clang! Sizzle! Boom!