Reverse Cursed Technique

Nue's Thunder arrived first.

Purple lightning struck the Demon Cursed Spirit, and its body dissolved into Black Mist.

Tiger Funeral's Wind-Pressure Bullet arrived next.

The Wind-Pressure Bullet exploded the moment it reached the area shrouded in Black Mist, instantly dispersing most of it and forcing the Demon Cursed Spirit's true body into the open.

Eiji followed close behind, swinging his blade at the Demon Cursed Spirit's legs.

Their figures crossed, and what awaited the Demon Cursed Spirit were dozens of bolts of lightning Nue had prepared once more. Its injured legs slowed it down by a beat, leaving it unable to evade the bombardment.

"We can win!"

Eiji turned around, while Tiger Funeral unleashed a gale from its mouth to support his attack.

Lightning, slashes, wind bullets.

Countless attacks rained down on the Demon Cursed Spirit, and its presence steadily weakened.

Naturally, the Demon Cursed Spirit would not sit still and await death.

This time, faced with Eiji's Tang Dao, it did not assume a defensive stance. Instead, it reached out and grabbed Eiji's blade.

Eiji's heart jolted, and he immediately abandoned the Tang Dao and retreated.

The Demon Cursed Spirit's gaping maw snapped shut viciously where Eiji had been standing a second earlier.

Just as Eiji was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the Demon Cursed Spirit kicked him in the head.

To Eiji's astonishment, its head, driven by its long neck, swung like a flail and sent him flying.

"Pfft."

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Eiji's mouth, while intense pain surged from his chest.

"Damn it, at least three ribs are broken."

Feeling the tremendous pain in his chest, Eiji knew things were bad.

The attack had come too suddenly for him to gather enough Cursed Energy to defend himself.

Should I dismiss Nue and summon Round Deer to heal myself?

No, that would not work. Tiger Funeral would not last long in a one-on-one fight.

Once it was dragged into close combat by the Demon Cursed Spirit, Tiger Funeral would no longer be able to maintain the gale that dispersed the Black Mist. It would not last long then.

If he dismissed Ferocious Dog, the people in the Great Hall would be in danger. And if the Crimson Figure rushed at him, that would be troublesome too.

"Damn it."

If that was the case, then he would heal himself!

Remember it. The feeling when Round Deer healed me—the flow of that Cursed Energy.

Eiji's mind raced as he continuously recalled the Cursed Energy fluctuations emitted by Round Deer whenever he summoned it, as well as the sensation of Reverse Cursed Technique flowing through his body when it healed him.

Faster. Even faster.

As Eiji attempted to use Reverse Cursed Technique, the situation on the battlefield changed again.

With Eiji no longer holding it back, the Demon Cursed Spirit began advancing toward Tiger Funeral.

Dragged into close-range combat, Tiger Funeral could no longer sustain the gale that blew away the Black Mist.

The Black Mist began spreading across a wide area.

Fortunately, Tiger Funeral was powerful in its own right, and Nue provided support from the air.

Tiger Funeral gathered cyclones around itself, making it difficult for the Black Mist to approach.

Whenever the Demon Cursed Spirit appeared beside Tiger Funeral, Nue would immediately strike it with lightning.

If the Demon Cursed Spirit vanished, it was an illusion formed from the Black Mist. If it did not vanish, it was the real body.

Even though a bolt of lightning would not seriously injure the real body, it would certainly hinder its movements, giving Tiger Funeral a chance to counterattack.

The battle fell into a stalemate again, but if they could not break the deadlock, Eiji's side would definitely be the first to run out of Cursed Energy.

Ferocious Dog had also failed to swiftly defeat the Crimson Figure and come to support them, as Eiji had expected.

An enormous sense of crisis enveloped Eiji, constantly drawing out his potential.

Cursed Energy flowed ceaselessly through his body. Suddenly, one stream of Cursed Energy paused, then shot in the opposite direction and collided with another stream.

Instead of exploding, the two streams of Cursed Energy produced an entirely new kind of Cursed Energy.

"So that's it. This is what Reverse Cursed Technique feels like. It really goes swoosh, then whoosh—haha!"

Feeling his injuries heal, Eiji charged into the battlefield with his blade in hand, laughing wildly.

Inside the Great Hall, Ise Takahiro, Asuka, and the others watched the battle inside and outside the hall. Gathering their courage, they placed the severed head on the ground into the Coffin.

Soon, the figure in the Coffin opened her eyes.

"We've helped you find all of your body. You should let us leave now, right?"

Ise Takahiro shielded Asuka behind him as he spoke to the girl rising from the Coffin.

"It's your turn."

"What?"

The girl's words immediately gave Ise Takahiro and the others a bad feeling.

"It's time for you to lie down inside and begin the next round of the game."

"What do you mean?"

Asuka trembled all over, disbelief filling her voice.

"Decide quickly. Who will be the next to lie down inside?"

The pale-faced girl looked at everyone in the hall.

"Don't panic, Asuka. We still have a chance."

After saying that, he looked at the Crimson Figure, who was being relentlessly beaten down by Ferocious Dog.

"As long as they deal with the Cursed Spirits, we'll all be able to go back."

Ise Takahiro's reassurance worked well.

The panic on the others' faces eased considerably.

At that moment, Kenji, who had remained silent beside them, suddenly stood up and grabbed Urushi Shota, who was hiding at the very back, with both hands.

"What are you doing?! Let go of me!"

Urushi Shota frantically struck Kenji, but the skinny Kenji burst forth with strength he could not break free from.

A faint, illusory figure appeared behind Kenji.

If Eiji had been there, he definitely would have said, "I knew it. Anyone who gets separated in a horror movie and is still fine has to be suspicious."

Seeing this, Ise Takahiro and the others immediately rushed over to help.

Ise Takahiro quickly reached Urushi Shota and tried to pry Kenji's hands apart.

Asuka and Rie had barely started moving when the girl behind them grabbed them. The immense force made it impossible for either of them to break free.

The chaos beside the Coffin caught Ferocious Dog's attention.

Its order to protect ordinary people had not been lifted, but the current situation was beyond its brain's ability to understand.

In Ferocious Dog's perception, everyone present was an ordinary person—everyone was someone it was supposed to protect.

Yet the people it needed to protect were attacking other people it needed to protect.

That was right. After her body had been pieced back together, the girl in the Coffin had also become a living person.

Ferocious Dog had never been particularly intelligent, and after going berserk with the Berserker piece, its brain worked even less well.

Dog brain overloaded.

This also gave the Crimson Figure a chance to catch its breath.

"Stop."

A woman's voice rang out in the Great Hall, drawing everyone's attention.

The girl in the Coffin, Kenji, who seemed to be possessed, and the Crimson Figure all stopped moving.

Seeing that the ordinary people were no longer in danger, Ferocious Dog intended to continue exorcising the Crimson Figure. However, the Crimson Figure vanished and reappeared at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Two people were walking into the Great Hall.

"You can control the Crimson Figure?"

"Within this Barrier, I can influence the Crimson Figure's actions, but I cannot influence 'it.'"

"So as long as we get rid of it, everything will end?"

Under the lights of the Great Hall, Ise Takahiro and the others finally saw the newcomers clearly.

One was Suguru Geto, in whom they had placed their hopes. The other was a ghostly, translucent girl who looked very much like the Crimson Figure.

"That's right. As long as it is eliminated, my Younger Sister and I can be freed."

"You're the Crimson Figure's older sister?"

Suguru Geto was not particularly surprised. From the first moment he saw her, he had felt that she resembled the Crimson Figure.

If they were sisters, that was hardly surprising.

"Yes."

The ghostly girl nodded, then stroked the Crimson Figure's head before turning and walking toward the athletic field.

"Finally... can we be freed?"

The ghostly girl murmured softly.