The backyard of the church.
"Rat-tat-tat!"
Gunfire erupted in waves.
Dozens of grotesquely modified humans leaped out from the sewer entrance. Each had been transformed into something as abstract as a curse—some wriggled like caterpillars, others flew like geese, and some slithered forward with elongated eel-like bodies... Their irregular facial features and twisted forms seemed designed to challenge the limits of human aesthetics.
"Keep firing! Don't stop! Don't give them an opening!"
Takina barked orders at the surrounding security team members while pulling the trigger.
The security team was already short-handed and could only rely on a barrage of bullets to protect themselves and exorcise the modified human curses. Unlike actual curses, these modified humans weren't immune to physical attacks—they were originally human, after all. Ordinary bullets could still kill them.
Under the relentless gunfire, most of the modified humans fell like wheat before a scythe. Only a handful, stronger than average curses, managed to hold their ground.
Suddenly, a nearly twenty-meter-tall purple giant appeared in the church's front courtyard.
The security team froze in terror.
Just as abruptly, someone wielding a ten-meter-long blade severed the giant's arm with a single slash.
Then, a chariot pulled by oxen descended from the sky, flipping the giant onto its back.
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, the church was reduced to rubble.
Not long after, a monster covered in purple tumors came running from the front courtyard.
It grabbed one of the surviving modified humans, twisting it into a slender javelin. Then, with its spine as the pivot, it rotated its body a full 1080 degrees—a motion far beyond human capability—before hurling the javelin toward the distant chariot.
The projectile broke the sound barrier the moment it left its hand, streaking through the air with concentric shockwaves.
Iskandar's expression finally changed. He immediately yanked the oxen aside, narrowly avoiding the javelin as it grazed past him, shattering the chariot's right-side panel before vanishing into the horizon.
"This bastard isn't trying to escape—he's looking for weapons!"
Iskandar instantly saw through Mahito's intent, his gaze sharpening further.
In truth, Mahito—having absorbed an overwhelming amount of the world's curses—was now ensnared and tormented by the ink-black malice of those curses. His mind was consumed by nothing but slaughter, slaughter, and more slaughter. The thought of escape didn't even cross his mind.
Seeing the effectiveness of his attack, Mahito seized another modified human, twisted it into a javelin, and contorted his body into an impossible 3600-degree spiral. Like a coiled spring, he unleashed the javelin with maximum force.
This strike was even deadlier than the last.
But this time, Iskandar was prepared. He swiftly ascended into the sky with his chariot, putting distance between himself and Mahito.
The javelin shrieked through the air like a piercing whistle, nearly rupturing eardrums as it shot past the chariot and disappeared into the clouds.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Mahito, delighted by the scene, clapped his hands and burst into joyous laughter.
He glanced around, searching for another weapon.
But under the suppressive fire, there were hardly any modified humans left. The last two had already been thrown, and now there wasn't a single living modified human in sight.
Dissatisfied, he raised his head.
His gaze fell on the surrounding members of the guard team.
"Heh!"
He chuckled darkly.
With a powerful stomp, the ground shattered beneath him as his massive figure left a trail of afterimages in the air.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
Short screams erupted one after another from all directions.
Immediately after, a barrage of javelins shot up from the ground, hurtling toward the oxcart in the sky.
"Everyone, scatter in different directions!"
Takina instantly understood what was happening. A chill ran down her spine as she urgently issued the order to the guards at top speed.
Damn it!
They were supposed to just set up the barrier and deal with the modified humans, while the big boss—the cursed spirit—was left to those elite fighters to handle!
So why hadn't even one of those so-called elites managed to stop this cursed spirit boss yet?!
"Takina!"
At that moment, Chisato's tense scream suddenly rang out.
Takina's vision blurred.
The monster covered in purple tumors appeared right in front of her.
Ah.
It had been drawn by the sound of her order to flee.
Takina didn't even have a chance to react.
The naked eye couldn't possibly track such extreme speed. The only reason she could see it now was because the monster had stopped moving right in front of her.
Once it stopped, the monster reached out toward her.
If that hand touched her, she'd be turned into one of those monsters—into a weapon, losing all sense of self, all ability to think, dying in the most grotesque way possible—
Thud!
Just as that massive hand loomed over her like a crushing sky, Takina suddenly felt a force slam into her from the side, knocking her to the ground.
"Chisato!"
In her place stood Chisato, whose reflexes were far quicker than hers.
Though the situation was unexpected, the monster didn't care who it touched.
Its hand landed squarely on Chisato's forehead.
"Let her go!!"
Takina's mind went blank. Her eyes instantly reddened as she instinctively aimed her rifle at the monster.
Bang!
The monster threw a punch.
The rifle shattered into pieces in an instant.
Takina was sent flying like a missile, crashing into a distant wall.
The monster retracted its fist, tilting its head slightly as if puzzled.
"Takina!"
Chisato's heart leaped into her throat. Instinctively, she turned to look in Takina's direction.
"She should be fine… Takina has Lord Roy's talisman paper on her. It's supposed to block all attacks, whether physical or magical…"
Chisato remembered clearly—Roy had said it would work against any "attack," forming a barrier to protect her.
But the monster hadn't attacked them. It had merely touched them.
That didn't count as an attack. The talisman wouldn't react to that.
"Takina, just stay where you are…"
Coming out would only mean death at the monster's hands.
Takina still had a long life ahead of her—she shouldn't die here.
Compared to that, I was already living on borrowed time. Dying like this at least held more meaning than fading away when my heart ran out of power—
Swish!
In an instant.
Roy's figure appeared right there, his blade slashing toward Mahito's hand as it gripped Chisato's head!
Mahito instinctively released his grip and leaped back.
"Lord Roy?"
Chisato stared at him in shock.
Her mind was a whirl of exasperation.
Couldn't you have come a little sooner?!
Whatever.
It didn't matter—she was going to die soon anyway.
As long as Takina was safe, that was enough.
"Ha!"
Mahito let out a mocking laugh, raising his hand toward Chisato.
Idle Transfiguration was about to activate.
"Hmph!"
But Roy suddenly smirked.
He grabbed Chisato's hand—and at the same time, his Body Modification ability activated!
"Eh?! W-what are you doing?!"
Chisato looked between the man and the monster in utter bewilderment.