You Curse Me? No, I Curse You! (Previous Chapter Revised)

"Watch out, there's Wraith!"

Luther spoke up to remind them. He could see Spirit Body, but the captain and Leonard couldn't before they activated their Spirit Vision.

A cold sensation traveled up Leonard's ankles, instantly chilling his lower body as if it were immersed in ice water, leaving him stiff and cold. On the other side, the curtains by the window seemed to come alive, wrapping around Dunn and tightly binding his mouth and nose, as if trying to suffocate him.

"Bang!"

Luther fired at the charging Wraith, the Demon-Hunting Bullets striking the transparent figure and instantly destroying it. Just as he was about to help his teammates in trouble, he suddenly heard a murmur coming from his left, the sound gradually growing louder.

The sound was coming from the Demoness, which means she was coming towards me!

In the nick of time, Luther pounded his chest, activating the Clockwork Clown. His movements suddenly accelerated, his joints and muscles working in unison, his body seemingly pulled by invisible ropes, jerking him sharply to the right.

"Brush!"

A blade flashed out from the void, striking the spot where he had just been standing.

"Um?"

A woman's questioning voice drifted through the air, then the blade retracted and vanished. The murmuring also subsided, as if the attacker, having missed its target, had no lingering regrets and immediately headed towards the door.

She's running away!

My heart is about to escape!

Bang bang bang!

Luther raised his gun and fired, repeatedly pulling the trigger towards the door, gambling on whether he could hit the enemy even once.

Suddenly, a ripple spread through the void in front of the door, and Trissy appeared, clutching her scraped arm. She glared at Luther resentfully, then without pausing, accelerated and rushed out.

Luther looked back at his teammates and saw that Dunn had already broken free of the curtains and rushed to rescue Leonard. Relieved, he took advantage of the Clown's time and followed Trissy out.

If we can stall Trissy for a while and wait for the captain and Leonard to catch up, we can keep her here!

Thinking this, Luther strode forward, crossed the front hall in a few steps, and rushed out of the room. Just as he was about to cross the dilapidated Garden, he saw Trissy suddenly make a gesture ahead.

"Brush!"

The withered Vines that had been clinging to the wall immediately came to life, forming a large net that rushed towards Luther.

As Luther charged forward, he abruptly twisted his body, his joints and muscles displaying astonishing coordination, managing to dodge the large net woven from Vines. But just as he was making his best effort to avoid the attack and his body had no time to adjust, something suddenly shot towards him from the Vines!

In that critical moment, he could only raise his hands to protect his face.

"Puff!"

A stinging sensation came from the back of his hand. Luther looked closely and saw that it was a beautiful rose with thorns deeply embedded in the skin of his hand, and a few drops of blood were seeping from the wound.

What the hell is this?!

Luther cursed under his breath and plucked the rose.

When I looked up again, the other person had already taken the opportunity to run to the edge of the field of vision, circled around a building, and disappeared.

Damn it!

Luther cursed under his breath, and when he looked down again, he found that the rose was gone.

Wait, something's not right... that flower is stained with my blood...

Luther stared at the wound, a sense of crisis rising within him. He quickly drew his Ritual dagger and rushed into the first-floor lobby, where he collided with Leonard and Dunn, who had come out in pursuit.

Where are they?

Leonard asked.

"They ran that way!"

Luther pointed, then let his two teammates chase after them, while he sat down on the floor, dagger in hand. He opened his injured left hand.

He pressed himself to the floor, cut open the wound with a dagger, and, with his fingers stained with blood, drew a simple magic circle on the floor. The circular outline of the magic circle enveloped his left hand and part of his wrist...

Meanwhile, on the Tussock River.

Trissy ran quickly with a gloomy expression, holding the flower that had drunk Luther's blood, and murmured softly.

"Boom!"

Dark, ethereal flames surged from her palm, instantly engulfing the flowers and burning them to ashes.

On Luther's side, he had just finished drawing the magic circle when flames suddenly surged from the wound and quickly spread along his body. However, because of the magic circle, the flames were blocked at his wrist, only burning the limbs within the circular area.

"!"

Luther's left hand was badly burned, and the skin sizzled and crackled. A strange smell, a mixture of burnt and meaty odors, filled the air. The burning pain tormented Luther, and he cursed loudly in agony.

Dare to Curse me?

I'll Curse back!

Luther, enraged, raised his silver dagger high in his right hand and, taking advantage of the lingering resentment in the hall, loudly chanted the Honorific Name of the True Creator in Hermes:

"The Creator of everything..."

Fortunately, Leonard and Dunn chased after him, otherwise he really wouldn't have been able to openly borrow the power of the True Creator.

The Curse's resentment gathered on Luther's dagger, turning its original silver color into an ominous, pitch-black hue. Then, he plunged it viciously into his still-burning left hand!

On the Tussock River, Trissy looked at the flowers that burned continuously but never turned to ashes, a puzzled expression on her face. Just as she was about to get closer to examine them, an invisible force suddenly shot out from the flames, aiming straight for her head!

Trissy felt a chill run down her spine; the Assassin's exceptional agility saved her life. She barely managed to turn her head, and the Curse piercing blade swept across her collarbone and shoulder, shooting into the void.

"!"

A horrifying deep gash appeared on her delicate skin, clearly revealing her pale collarbone. A strong Corrosion was evident at the wound, which was slowly spreading downwards!

"Ah!"

Trissy couldn't help but scream, her voice filled with both pain and terror.

Before she could take any remedial action, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from afar. It was Dunn and Leonard chasing after her!

Seeing this, Trissy could only cover her festering wound and turn to jump into the Tussock River. By the time Dunn and Leonard arrived, she was no longer visible on the river.

"Captain, we didn't catch up."

Leonard stood by the river and searched the path for a while.

"Okay, let's go back first."

Dunn shook his head, his eyes deep, as if he were thinking about something.

The Sleepless had excellent night vision; they all saw that the woman seemed to have been attacked for no apparent reason before jumping into the Tussock River. They just didn't know where the attack came from.

"What a pity, I didn't kill her."

Luther felt the feedback from the Curse and knew that he had not hit it completely.

Seeing the flames on his hand disappear and the connection between them severed, he could no longer continue his Curse and began to clean up the scene. During this time, his charred left hand rapidly recovered, and by the time Dunn returned, it was completely healed, with no visible problem.