The Selfless Dream

"What am I supposed to use if you give this thing to me?"

"Me? I don't need cursed tools anymore. I only kept this thing around for fun."

"Is that so?"

Maki twisted the golden handle in her hand, somewhat puzzled.

"How do I use this?"

"Oh, press that spot first."

Xuan pointed to the front end of the handle, where a small needle protruded.

"Whether it's cursed energy or something else, anything related to you will do."

"Ah, that hurts..."

Maki pressed her finger against it, and a sudden pain struck her as though it had pierced straight into her soul, accompanied by a burning sensation.

"Then you can turn the shadows into whatever weapon you want."

Maki swung the handle. With the motion, the image of Playful Cloud's three-section staff appeared in her hands.

"Of course, something like this can't reproduce the cursed tool's original properties. At most, it can somewhat approach the cursed tool you imagined."

"...As long as I can imagine it?"

The three-section staff in Maki's hands contracted, while the handle remained clenched in her grip—the shadow seemed to adapt on its own, pushing the entire staff upward. The handle that had originally been on the second section had retreated to the third.

The shadow twisted, and Playful Cloud in Maki's hands became that naginata. After she swung it a few times, it turned into a tachi.

"Right. Since it's a special-grade cursed tool, it has some special functions—I'll explain them to you."

Clang!

Maki swung the manifested Playful Cloud, and the shadow formed from cursed energy knocked aside Zenin Ogi's extended blade. She planted her feet and charged forward again.

Falling Blossom Emotion—

The moment Maki drew close, Zenin Ogi immediately withdrew his cursed energy. The longsword in his hand swung out once more, but as Playful Cloud came crashing down, the "longsword" in his hand snapped into two. Yet Ogi did not stop attacking. He stomped the ground, and the remaining half of his blade slashed out in an instant. A blade formed from cursed energy cut toward Maki's chest and abdomen—then Playful Cloud in Maki's hands suddenly changed, its shape twisting into the form of Dragon Bone.

Hiss—Bang—

Dragon Bone's blade accelerated with the burst of cursed energy, slicing toward Zenin Ogi's elbow. Even though the strike was somewhat weak due to her failure to adjust her posture, it still left a bloody mark on Zenin Ogi.

"You little brat!!!"

As the bloody mark appeared, Maki was also growing accustomed to this strange cursed tool.

"One."

As the word left her mouth, Maki felt her body becoming lighter.

"When using my cursed tool, you need to call out the number of successful hits from one to nine—the final three need to be shouted, and then you shout the remaining numbers."

"So cringe... Can I not say them?"

"You probably can, but I still recommend saying them. It's been a long, long time since I used my own cursed tool. I want to see it too."

Maki tightened her grip around the handle—it had originally been icy cold, without the slightest warmth, but after it pierced her finger, Maki had continuously felt that it was becoming a little hot to hold.

"What happens after I say them?"

"Ah, it's a binding vow. Like unwrapping paper, you peel away the cursed tool's power layer by layer, until the cursed energy I infused into it is released."

"The cursed energy infused into it?"

Maki asked Xuan at her side as she walked.

"If I need to fill the cursed tool with cursed energy, then I can't use it."

"Don't worry, don't worry—the cursed energy inside is infinite."

"Infinite?!"

"Just as I said, it's a binding vow—you must hit the enemy using nine different weapon forms before the cursed tool's power can be released. Of course, although the cursed energy stored inside the tool is infinite, it can't be extracted or released by any method other than through the cursed tool itself—the output depends on the person using it, though there is a minimum limit."

"...What exactly did you bind?"

"You'll understand once you use it."

Maki slid beneath Ogi's furious attack. His longsword scraped across the stone pillars of the Cursed Repository, producing bursts of cracking sounds—Zenin Ogi's cursed energy reinforcement was extremely high. Even Dragon Bone's Explosive Shatter Slash, charged to nearly full power just now, had failed to sever his elbow outright.

If cutting didn't work, then she would try smashing.

With a shift in her thoughts, Dragon Bone in her hands transformed into a warhammer—though it should have been an incredibly heavy weapon, it felt completely weightless in her grip.

Boom! Bang!

With a sonic boom, the warhammer in her hand shattered Zenin Ogi's cursed energy. Looking at her father's face twisted by rage, Maki suddenly felt that the man before her was rather...

Ugly.

BOOM!!

The massive hammer swung viciously from the side and struck Zenin Ogi. Even though he had already gathered cursed energy, activated Falling Blossom Emotion, and raised his arms to block Maki's attack with all his strength, the crushing force still sent his entire body flying.

BAM!

Zenin Ogi was practically smashed into a stone pillar. He suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood, while the cursed energy around his body burned along with the violent fluctuations of his emotions.

"Two."

This time, it was a change in her mental strength.

Maki suddenly found her vision becoming clear—the dim Cursed Repository seemed to be illuminated by a sun that did not exist. She could even see Zenin Ogi's expression from dozens of meters away, where he had been smashed against the wall.

"Burning Brow Entanglement!!!"

Zenin Ogi hurled the broken blade in his hand with all his might. As Maki charged forward, the massive hammer in her hands transformed into a broad, heavy-bladed sword.

Clang—

Maki casually knocked the flying broken blade away with a slash—then Zenin Ogi's figure suddenly appeared in her sight, gripping a sword hilt.

Another sword?

"Die!! You stain on my life!!!"

Maki twisted aside, but the extended blade still sliced a chunk of flesh from her left shoulder—she only felt an agonizing pain searing through her body. The wound on her right shoulder did not even spurt blood before it was cauterized shut.

"The one who should die is you!!! You piece of dog shit who could even lay hands on his own daughter!!"

In almost an instant, Maki lunged toward Ogi—her heavy blade came crashing down. Even with Falling Blossom Emotion's automatic counterattack, Zenin Ogi still staggered from the blow—then Maki's broad blade swept in once more, cutting open his chest. Though the strike landed—

Under Falling Blossom Emotion's protection, only a manageable wound appeared on Zenin Ogi's chest.

"Three."

Maki let out a long breath. Along with the third descending attack, the cursed energy contained within the cursed tool surged into her barren body, devoid of cursed energy.

"How did it go again...?"

The wound on Maki's left shoulder rapidly regenerated—pink flesh spread outward, followed by skin covering it.

"Dreaming of No Self."