Chapter 121: The Avengers

......

While Yue Ren was busy, the Maki sisters on the other side were also working hard to exorcise the cursed spirit.

Along with the two of them were Panda and Dog Roll, as well as Noriyuki Kamo and his companions.

This time, the entire team was mobilized and dispatched to the surrounding areas. Maki, as the second generation of Ten and Tyrant, led the team to clear out the cursed spirits in a certain area.

They hadn't encountered anything unusual along the way, and just when they thought things would end peacefully, malice struck them, or more precisely, it was her.

When Maki pulled the knife out of the head of a level one cursed spirit, the purple liquid on the blade splashed all over her face.

He didn't wipe it; he just flicked the knife, throwing the sticky, asphalt-like substance onto the ground, then turned to look at the next target.

The blood of a cursed spirit will quickly dissipate into the air after the main body is killed. It is inevitable to get this blood on your body during battle, but generally, sorcerers will not care. Once all the cursed spirits are exorcised, the bloodstains on your body will quickly disappear.

Standing in the middle of this street stained black with the blood of cursed spirits, the surroundings were eerily quiet.

Maki frowned slightly.

She switched the knife to her left hand and drew another short knife from her waist with her right hand—a spare knife made for her by the Yue people. The two knives crossed in her hands to form an X shape, their blades gleaming coldly in the light after the rain.

It wasn't the sticky feeling on her body, but rather her heightened senses warning her that there seemed to be danger.

"Panda." Her voice was flat.

"Hmm." The panda stood behind her, its two huge steel claws hanging at its sides, fingers slightly spread.

It discerned the meaning behind the girl's tone.

After several battles, the panda was covered in the remnants of the cursed spirits, and some of its fur was scorched, but it didn't have time to care about that now.

"Can you feel it?"

"Hmm." The panda's voice was lower than usual, as it amplified its senses.

Although the panda is quite strong, its most important role in the team is "sensing". Principal Moth had specially designed it so that the panda is extremely sensitive to aura and spell power, and is often the one with the strongest sensing ability in a team of the same level. So Maki called out to the panda first, hoping that the other party could detect and verify it, and the panda's reaction confirmed that her premonition was correct.

"Something's wrong! Everyone be careful, something's coming!"

Dog Curly stood behind the panda, its collar pulled up above its nose, revealing only its eyes.

Kamo Noriyuki stood next to Inu-maki, holding a bow with an arrow nocked, ready to unleash his Crimson Blood Technique.

Zhenyi crouched behind an overturned bus, gripping a pistol in both hands. She had previously been very comfortable in this area as a cover support, but now, seeing everyone's serious expressions, she couldn't help but swallow hard.

"They're here." Maki's voice suddenly tightened.

A strong sense of crisis invaded her nerves, and almost subconsciously, she raised her hands to block with her weapons.

An indistinct black shadow attacked, sending all obstructions flying in a straight line, and the next moment, Maki's body flew out.

As if struck by some unseen behemoth, Maki vanished before anyone could react.

The subsequent crash drew everyone's attention. A large crater appeared on a building in the distance, as if it had been pierced by something resembling a cannonball.

And from the vaguely visible limbs, one can tell that it is Maki.

What knocked her away?

Danger!

The next moment, it was the panda that disappeared.

Dog Roll pulled down his collar, revealing his mouth covered by a mask.

"Stop!"

Seizing the opportunity, a single incantation brought the blurry figure to a stop, making it visible to everyone.

It was a huge, caterpillar-shaped cursed spirit with a human face. Below its face were three human-like forearms on each side, along with sharp fingernails. It was these features that allowed it to move faster and more nimbly.

"Ah, we've been discovered. Dog-Turtle Thorn, as expected of a spellcaster, very powerful, but still too inexperienced!"

The moment the words were spoken, the cursed spirit vanished from everyone's sight once again.

Dog Roll, whose curse was forcibly broken, staggered but managed to hold on.

It was only then that everyone snapped out of their shock at the fact that this cursed spirit could actually speak.

During this time, they had learned that there were cursed spirits that could be communicated with had appeared in the world, but there was another piece of information related to this: the power of the cursed spirits that could be communicated with was most likely at the special level, which was what surprised and terrified them.

Can this team defeat a top-tier cursed spirit?

However, for some reason, her younger sister, Mayi, felt that the voice of this cursed spirit was somewhat familiar.

Is it honest?

Emerging from the building's opening, Maki brushed the dust off her clothes and finally identified the source of the strangely familiar voice.

As someone who had been in contact with that guy for quite some time, how could Maki possibly forget his voice? She recognized it the moment he spoke.

Upon hearing that Maki recognized it, the cursed spirit finally stopped and revealed its true form.

A huge, distorted face with a disgusting grin stared straight at Maki, who remained expressionless.

"Yes, Maki, I came here specifically to see you, in this completely new way."

His voice was different from when he was alive; it was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against a stone, much more unpleasant and noisy than before.

Maki didn't reply immediately, and her expression didn't change much.

He tucked the short sword in his left hand back into his waistband, stretched his limbs, gripped the main sword with both hands, and aimed the tip at Zhizai's throat.

"You're really diligent, aren't you? It's only been a few days since we last met."

"Then answer me, why did you become a cursed spirit? Didn't you run away before?"

Before the war, Rōsō triggered the betrayal of the Zenin and Kamo families among the three founding families. The high-ranking members of the Zenin family were purged, and the only one who escaped was Naoya. Maki thought that he would live a life of hiding his identity and didn't plan to look for him.

I never expected that we would meet again in this way a few days later. This guy is just so annoying no matter what.

Has his mind become so twisted that he has become a cursed spirit seeking revenge?

"How can you say that about me? I'm just going to find new power, the same power as Shen'er, the power to overcome everything."

"For this, I endured unimaginable pain."

Yes, after escaping, Naoya fell into a coma due to his injuries and was taken back by Rōsō.

When he woke up, he was like a cripple, but how could he not vent his anger for revenge? So Lu Suo gave him a "method".

Entering the pool of cursed spirits, being devoured by the cursed spirits, and merging with them, as long as one's will is strong enough and one's desire for revenge and despair is intense enough, one can gain a more powerful body and strength.

In retrospect, he succeeded.

The pain of being devoured by the cursed spirit, and the resentment in his heart, caused the cursed power to merge into one, and the cursed spirit Zhizai was born!

An even more powerful cursed spirit, emanating a mixture of foul stench.

The next moment, the body of the cursed spirit Naoya disappeared again.

Maki instinctively defended herself, even thinking of attacking, but it didn't work. After transforming into a cursed spirit, the opponent's power and speed were on a completely different level than before.

Before she could even process what was happening, she was knocked away again.

Even before Maki was blocked by the building, Naoya caught up with her once again.

Her knife slashed upwards at a tricky angle, the blade striking Zhizai's claws with a crisp metallic clang, like two knives clashing.

Naoya's fingernail was cut in half, and black liquid seeped out from the cut, dripping onto the ground and corroding a charred patch.

"You've gotten stronger again."

"But compared to who I am now, it's not enough."

Another claw came from the side, so fast that Maki only had time to tilt her head.

The claws grazed her ears, severing a few strands of hair and leaving three shallow bloody marks on her cheeks, from which drops of blood seeped and dripped down her chin.

Before he could wipe it off, Maki's knife had already shifted angle, sliding down from Naoya's claws and slicing towards his wrist.

The latter twisted its wrist, and its claw slid out from under the blade; the massive figure had vanished once more.

On the battlefield, where everyone else was too busy to pay attention, the two men stared at each other.

"You became like this just to find me? Do you want revenge?"

Naoya tilted his head.

"Yes, that's why I rushed here. Do you know how hard I've been looking for you?"

"Hmph, who cares about you!"

Dodging Kamo Kenki's crimson arrows, Naoya charged forward once more.

This time it wasn't a test. As he moved, he left ninety-six afterimages, each one a different posture, grabbing at Maki from an impossible angle.

Maki didn't back down. She twirled the knife in her hand, the blade slicing through the afterimage.

But it failed, and a large gash was cut open in the waist and abdomen.

"Maki!"

The panda's voice came from behind, and its gauntlets were already coming at you.

Like a cannonball, it struck Naoya's afterimage.

At the same time, there was also artillery fire from Mayi. Under the siege, the afterimage shattered, but Naoya's main body slid out from the gap in the slice and retreated ten steps away. He was unharmed, and his breathing was a little heavier than before.

It's just a pity that it wasn't from being tired, but from being excited.

"panda."

Maki's voice was a little hoarse, but it was still full of confidence.

"Don't get too close. Just provide cover from a distance. You protect Zhenyi. I'll handle the direct confrontation."

The panda's fist froze in mid-air. "But..."

"Hurry, or we'll be picked off one by one."

The panda looked at her. Blood was flowing from her body, but her eyes were bright.

"I understand, then be careful." With that, he scurried over to Zhenyi's side.

Maki's lips twitched slightly. It wasn't a smile, but the usually pursed line relaxed.

Naoya looked at her, a mocking expression on his exaggerated face.

"Is this really a good idea? You could die doing this!"

Maki turned her head and looked at him with her face still expressionless.

The knife was still in his hand, its tip hanging on the ground, leaving a shallow white mark on the asphalt.

His injuries slowly healed thanks to his strong body.

"Enough with the nonsense. You're just another piece of trash who willingly fell into depravity. Your fate won't be much better than theirs."

She finally decided to kill her cousin; once he became a cursed spirit, the nature of the matter changed.

She took a step forward.

"I let you off the hook last time, but you dare to come back and keep barking. Well then, stay here and don't leave."

Naoya's pupils, if those two black dots could be called pupils, contracted slightly.

Its body was trembling, not from fear, but from anger.

The uncontrollable rage that surged from its bones, from its soul, from every nerve ending burned away its reason.

"Maki!!!"

They've charged up.

This time it was even faster than before, and its body turned into a streak of black light.

His claws reached for Maki's throat, cutting through the air with a sharp, baby-like cry.

Maki didn't dodge, knowing that dodging was useless.

She stuck the knife into the ground, her hands free, fingers spread wide.

She waited until he was only an arm's length away from her, then her body moved—not to the side, but to meet him.

Blood splattered—

Her forehead struck his massive nose; the sound of flesh colliding was crisp, like a dry twig breaking.

Naoya's head snapped back, his body falling backward. His claws flailing wildly in the air, but she didn't stop; her fist had already slammed into his face.

One punch, two punches, each punch landing with full force on the same spot. His nose shattered, his eye sockets split open, and black liquid gushed from the cracks like juice squeezed from a crushed tomato.

"you--!"

Naoya roared, his claws reaching up from below, grabbing Maki's waist, intending to tear her apart.

Maki didn't look down.

Despite enduring the pain of her body being slashed open by a sharp blade, she continued to pound her fists.

But in the end, Maki couldn't hold back any longer.

He staggered and failed to dodge the blow that struck his kidney, which damaged part of his kidney, leaving him powerless.

A cruel smile spread across Naoya's face as he prepared to take the girl's head.

Dog Roll's voice came from behind; his collar was pulled down, and the curse mark on his throat was glowing.

"Crush it!"

Like a heavy hammer pressing down on Naoya's claws, the cursed spirit Naoya was instantly smashed into a large pit.

Dog-roll knelt down and coughed loudly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kamo Noriyuki rushed over and took Maki, who was covered in blood, away.

"Did you get it?"

"Maki!"

Seeing her sister being slowly lowered, Zhenyi rushed over and placed the "Tenseiga" used for treatment into her hand, while simultaneously channeling her own magical power into it.

Maki's injuries began to heal visibly, and her chest heaved violently.

Seeing this, Zhenyi smiled with relief, relieved that everything was alright.

Then we should give the dog a ticket too...

Be careful!

Before Zhenyi could finish thinking, she heard the panda's cry. Before she could react, a violent gust of wind and the sound of an impact filled her brain, and then she was thrown away.

When Zhenyi shook her dizzy head and opened her eyes again, the scene that greeted her left her stunned.

The panda lay in the ruins, part of its body missing, revealing the cotton inside. Kamo Kenki leaned against a piece of rubble, motionless, with a pool of unsettling blood flowing beneath it.

Directly in front of her, her older sister, Maki, was holding a knife and protecting her behind her. Above her, something resembling a silkworm cocoon, but with a terrifyingly ugly face, was floating in the air.