“Cross Flame Hurricane!”
At this point, Ryuichi no longer held anything back; the bird-headed, human-bodied Magicians Red fully manifested behind him.
Boom!
A flame hurricane shaped like the character “morning” (early) formed and swept toward the Butcher.
“Tokiwa-kun!” Nanami whispered sharply.
“You go deal with the small ones!”
“Understood!”
Ryuichi naturally didn’t expect to deal a heavy blow to the Butcher; after all, he hadn’t used the compressed detonation of Lord Flame, and this move wasn’t his full strength.
The Butcher sneered and swung his blade.
The flames were sliced open, drifting down in two halves.
But at the same time, behind the flames, a dull blade gradually enlarged before his eyes.
Seven to three along the length of his face!
Ratio Technique, Weak Point Strike!
Sshh—
The dull sound of the blade cutting into flesh rang out, and a spray of blood erupted from the Butcher’s menacing eyes, leaving them a bloody mess!
The Butcher grunted in pain and stumbled backward.
But Nanami raised his dull blade, his left fist wrapped in his necktie, and slammed it into the Butcher’s chest.
Crackle!
At that moment, black sparks of lightning jumped up, spreading between Nanami’s left fist and the Butcher’s chest.
The air was compressed to the extreme, emitting a teeth-gritting sound, and visible ripples distorted the surrounding space!
[Black Flash]!
Within an extremely short timeframe, both Cursed Energy and the physical blow arrive simultaneously.
Not only does it bring a massive damage multiplier, but it also restores the user’s state and increases their potential for a short time.
However, this skill cannot be actively triggered by a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
It places extremely high demands on the user’s control of Cursed Energy, and it also involves a significant element of luck.
Correspondingly, the rewards of Black Flash are extremely high.
Whether one has landed a Black Flash is a watershed moment between ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerers and elite ones.
Boom!
The Butcher was struck as if by lightning, a massive bloody hole blown directly into his chest.
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his tall body was sent flying backward.
Black sparks still danced unwillingly on his chest before slowly fading away.
The Butcher crawled to his feet, using his remaining vision to look ahead.
But a second later, his underdeveloped brain realized something was wrong.
The shigurekiri, imbued with the high temperature of Lord Flame, swept past, slicing the remaining three small fry in two.
Ryuichi and Nanami flanked the Butcher, blocking him in from left and right.
Just moments ago, the Cross Flame Hurricane that the Butcher had split didn’t fully vanish; instead, it was controlled by Ryuichi’s Magicians Red to scatter and burn the surrounding small fry.
Once these Grade 3 Cursed Spirits, which only possessed low-level intelligence, felt pain, they could only roll around and scream.
Ryuichi didn’t expend much effort to exorcise all the remaining small fry.
It was a pity that after the system update, the difficulty of obtaining points had greatly increased.
Each small fry stingily provided only one point as a reward.
“Fireball Jutsu!”
Ryuichi used a hand gesture to stop Nanami from advancing, then spat out a fireball, engulfing the Butcher in flames.
The Crimson Flame Binding Rope, composed of flames, coiled upward and bound the Butcher’s limbs.
Swish—
The shigurekiri hummed as it passed by, and the Butcher’s head, still bearing remnants of pain and ferocity, flew high into the air.
[Jointly exorcised Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, points +35]
“Haa…”
Ryuichi took a deep breath.
After three small battles, his Cursed Energy was already trending toward depletion.
Although he had strengthened his total Cursed Energy to Grade 2, he personally felt that his total Cursed Energy had not reached the level of Fushiguro Megumi.
This was normal; after all, the total amount of Cursed Energy was just one factor in determining a Jujutsu Sorcerer’s grade, determining the sorcerer’s upper limit rather than their current strength.
It wouldn’t matter if his total Cursed Energy was low, but Ryuichi’s Cursed Techniques were all high-consumption trump card types.
Magicians Red had upgraded from C-rank to B-rank; while its effects were enhanced, its consumption also increased accordingly.
Plus, Ryuichi’s precision in controlling Cursed Energy was quite average, causing a large amount of Cursed Energy to dissipate and go to waste during battle.
With these factors combined, Ryuichi’s stamina once again became an issue.
“Are you okay?” Nanami stepped forward.
Ryuichi stood up: “I’m fine, just a bit drained.”
The two of them looked at the sky simultaneously.
The Cursed Spirits below were all wiped out, but that pterosaur-shaped Special Grade Cursed Spirit showed no intention of leaving or flying down to fight, continuing to circle and soar in the sky.
“Tokiwa-kun, let’s get in the car first.”
Nanami adjusted his glasses and calmly issued instructions.
But just as the two turned around, they saw a man dressed as a villager, his eyes dull and lifeless, climbing up from the dirt slope by the mountain road.
“Smile, you two.”
Upon seeing the two, the villager split his mouth open, revealing a rather terrifying smile.
“Get in the car!”
Nanami whispered sharply, taking two or three steps to run toward the car, with Ryuichi following closely behind.
But whether at both ends of the road, or up and down the mountain, smiling villagers, men and women, old and young, appeared from all directions. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
They used both hands and feet, swarming over like locusts.
A rough estimate put their numbers in the dozens or hundreds.
Before Nanami could start the engine, this group of people with eerie smiles swarmed forward, surrounding the car completely.
“Smile… smile…”
“Give us a smile…”
“Why don’t you smile?”
“Haha, hahaha!”
Face after face, some sallow, some pale, pressed against the car windows, making it almost impossible for the two inside to see the light outside.
Faced with this scene, even with Nanami’s wealth of experience and Ryuichi having lived two lifetimes, they couldn’t help but turn pale.
Hum—
A barely perceptible ripple spread out, and the surrounding freaks ceased their chatter, all simultaneously retreating a certain distance.
They were still smiling, their bodies swaying slightly, like foxtail grass blown by the wind.
Knock, knock.
At Nanami’s window, the only old man who hadn’t retreated knocked on the glass.
He had an ordinary face, and the smile on it wasn’t eerie in the slightest; instead, it felt like a spring breeze brushing against one’s face.
“Good afternoon, you two… Jujutsu Sorcerers.”
Nanami hesitated for a moment; although he had already landed a “Black Flash,” entering a state where he could unleash 120% of his potential.
But Ryuichi in the passenger seat was already out of Cursed Energy, and there was still a pterosaur circling in the sky.
Plus…
Nanami scanned the surroundings; these freaks with eerie smiles were likely all ordinary humans under control.
The opponent held the advantage in both combat power and hostages.
“What are you? What do you want?”
Nanami rolled down the car window and said in a cold tone.
The old man bowed and said with a faint smile:
“You two can call me ‘Laughing Specter’.”
“Since you have entered the barrier, you should also know that to leave this place, you must enter Inunaki Tunnel and head to the deepest part of the barrier.”
“And the people here…” The old man glanced behind him.
“As you can see, they are all ordinary people.”
“As righteous Jujutsu Sorcerers, you surely wouldn’t go on a killing spree to break through the siege.”
“And the one in the sky is indeed on our side.”
As soon as the old man said this, it shattered the last glimmer of hope in Nanami’s heart.
Regardless of whether the thing before them was a Cursed Spirit or a Curse User, its eeriness and terror were already equivalent to a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Coupled with the pterosaur in the sky, the combat power was two Special Grade Cursed Spirits against one Grade 1 Sorcerer and one newcomer.
Nanami and Ryuichi had already become prey trapped in a cage.