Domain... Expansion! (Continued)

"The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

"Dragon Fire Technique!"

"Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

Considering the possibility of elemental cancellation, Takanashi Rikka controlled her clones to unleash the same fire-type ninjutsu, which then created a vast torrent of ninjutsu!

She achieved a level that she couldn't normally reach in a short time, but she did so through this method.

The girl could only sigh inwardly, "The Sage is terrifying indeed!"

Under everyone's astonished gaze...

The flames merged and converged, their power continuously increasing, covering all directions like a vast sea of fire.

The Bandage Monster appeared extremely small amidst the sea of fire.

"Damn it...! Block them!"

It roared and stretched out its hands with all its might to block, activating all the Curse Power hidden within its body and absorbing the curse power from the fallen Cursed Human, which in turn formed a gray mist that clashed with the sea of fire.

However, the stalemate only lasted a moment before the winner was decided.

The flames gradually engulfed the cursed mist ahead, showing a trend of retreat.

Beneath the Bandage Monster's feet, the bricks and stones were scorched and cracked, then shattered and flew away.

"It's so hot."

Its Curse Power was instantly suppressed by the fire to the vicinity of its body, leaving only a thick layer of protection, fiercely protecting itself.

Then came the outstretched hands, then the legs, then the torso, as the fiery tornado enveloped it tightly, ready to devour its last remaining life force.

"We won!"

Gokou Ruri cheered and was happy for her awesome teammates.

"Looks like there are no surprises."

Yukinoshita Yukino spoke slowly.

No, something unexpected has happened.

At this point, Hasegawa Izumi offered a different perspective.

"I never expected it to have such luck."

His tone was strange.

"What's wrong, senior?"

"Can't this kill it?"

Gokou Ruri and Yukinoshita Yukino were surprised.

"You should know, right? Fire destroys many things, but when the temperature of a flame reaches a certain level, it can refine and purify certain things."

He explained simply.

"Such a thing is true!?"

Yukinoshita and Kuroneko were greatly shocked, but then they noticed something strange on the other side and turned around to look.

"It's resolved. As expected of Master, you truly are the one who has gone the furthest among us. Death, it seems the plan to challenge you will have to be postponed."

Dekomori Sanae clapped her hands.

"Hmph."

Takanashi Rikka remained silent, her back to them, secretly pleased with herself.

At the same time, all her shadow clones turned into mist and dissipated, her power returned to its original state, and she felt a sense of loss.

"I can tell that wasn't Takanashi's own power, it was the Club President's doing! Damn it, that's so biased."

Natsukawa Masuzu stomped her foot, her expression full of resentment.

"Oh, it was during summer vacation..."

Nibuya Morika seemed to remember something.

"Wait, everyone, something's not right..."

Yotsuya Miko was initially celebrating with everyone, but as Spirit Channeling, she saw something different in the world.

Within the raging flames, a ball of light, initially enormous, gradually shrank to the size of a ping-pong ball...

However, this state gradually stabilized and did not become smaller.

This clearly indicates that some unknown change has occurred.

"Um?"

The girls turned around when they heard the warning.

Amidst the raging flames, the Bandage Monster was forced to continuously shrink and gather the Curse Power, continuing its desperate resistance.

In the scorching heat, its body melted, and the ghostly figure melted as well, entering a state of near death.

But perhaps because it burned itself to death, its resilience was stronger than it had anticipated. It gradually adapted to the raging fire and continued to eke out a living.

It was in this state that it suddenly realized the possibility of going further.

Originally, its power was mixed, having absorbed the Curse Power of many people. There was a clear separation between its body and soul, which prevented it from breaking through to the next level despite accumulating enough power.

Now, having been forged in flames and condensed into one, the opportunity has finally arrived.

"So it was about merging with the curse, I understand now!"

The fiery tornado suddenly dissipated at that moment, leaving only a pile of burnt black charcoal on the ground.

But in the next second, an even more intense and profound Curse Power surged out from the slag, and the charcoal coalesced together, restoring itself to a humanoid form.

The Bandage Monster had lost its bandages, its facial features were faintly visible, and its skin surface resembled flowing dark matter with wisps of golden patterns. It exuded a sense of oppression completely different from before.

"This is... Rank Three?"

"No way, you unleashed your full power during battle? Do you think you're the main character?!"

"Can villains pull this kind of stunt too?"

"Hey, there's a settings error, Death!"

The girls all complained, thinking to themselves, "Holy crap!"

"Thank you for allowing me to reach a higher level. In return, I will make you suffer as much as I did just now."

"Accept the curse of the 'King of Curses'!"

The Bandage Monster was invigorated, and his speech and actions became more human-like. He was like his former self, reborn from the ashes.

Therefore, his pre-existing health conditions became increasingly severe.

"Domain Expansion..."

"Blazing Curse Prison!"

It clasped its hands together and slapped them hard, and the sky suddenly darkened, as if it were in hell. Eerie green flames blazed up from all directions, forming a wall of fire around the street.

The space was filled with cursed fire, eerie and terrifying. Just being in such an environment was enough to instill fear and make it difficult to exert any power.

"This is my new power—the domain!"

"Inside here, my power will have a 'guaranteed hit' effect. You will have to directly bear the curse I unleash; there is no way to avoid it. Therefore, given the current power disparity, you are doomed to die!"

The Bandage Monster was overjoyed, showing off his power to everyone, just to see these people plead desperately and then look at them waiting to die in despair.

However, most of the girls looked surprised, but not afraid, and were even expressionless.

This made it suddenly feel somewhat awkward.

"Damn it, I finally got to perform in front of everyone, and you made me lose so completely..."

Takanashi Rikka clenched her fists in strong resentment.

According to their understanding, the gap between each level of Ability User increases as you go further. To challenge someone of a higher level, it's very difficult to win unless the two people's abilities are extremely incompatible.

Unless she maintains her previous state of unlimited firepower, she sees no possibility of victory.

So she simply gave up.

"..."

The girls almost burst out laughing at the contrast in Takanashi's behavior before and after the swim.

"So it was a mess."

Natsukawa Masuzu even scoffed.

"Sage, I beg you!"

"It's time for us to rest."

"My Lord Sage, Dekumori has done his best. Death."

"I've reached my limit too."

"Club President, good luck! I'll support you!"

The five combatants, oblivious to their surroundings, moved to the rear from the other side.

The Bandage Monster was dumbfounded.

Do you look down on me that much?

So, who is this Sage?

There's no one else here!

But the girls' confident demeanor intimidated it.

Just then, the toy that had been sitting still on the bench suddenly stood up.

"Looks like I'll be in charge of cleaning up this time."

Hasegawa Izumi logged into her account and focused her attention here.

After all, it's based on my Little Sister's beloved toy, so the power is limited. If it gets damaged accidentally, it will make her sad.

"Are you a human, or what?"

The Bandage Monster couldn't sense any human presence from the toy, which aroused its suspicion.

Don't you recognize me?

He began to speak.

"We've met before? Wait... who are you?!"

The Bandage Monster recalled the past and suddenly remembered the shock he had felt.

"It seems you've remembered."

"Hmph, so you're an enemy. Perfect, I'll settle the score with you today!"

Wasn't its escape from Tokyo to Chiba precisely because of the other side's intimidation?

Otherwise, it would grow even faster.

The old and new grudges fueled the Bandage Monster's emotions, causing the fluctuations of the Curse Power to intensify.

"Grab him!"

It roared, and the cursed flames that fell to the ground transformed into Cursed Human resembling itself, unleashing a surging human onslaught.

"Um?"

Hasegawa Izumi glanced down at her feet and saw Cursed Human emerging from the ground like ghosts, making it impossible to guard against them.

More than a dozen hands reached out and grabbed his legs—or more accurately, the legs of the Demon Rabbit.

A strange, malevolent force seemed poised to surge through the toy's body and reach its crown.