Damp and cold.
Maki, who had been sound asleep, frowned uncomfortably.
Suddenly, an evil wind enveloped Maki's body.
Maki shivered, fully waking from her half-asleep state.
"Seriously, what is going on with this cursed place? It's so cold even in summer."
Maki rubbed her arms together, preparing to get up and find something to keep warm.
For some reason, the first thing Maki thought of was Panda.
Maki remembered that Panda's soft body was filled with lots and lots of cotton.
It must be very warm to hug while sleeping.
She shook her head, chasing this tempting but somewhat embarrassing thought out of her mind.
Maki subconsciously walked towards where she remembered the wardrobe being.
Although only some old clothes and blankets were left there.
But for just one night, Maki felt it was acceptable.
After all, the conditions were what they were.
However, when Maki looked up at the wardrobe, she realized she wasn't in the room at all.
What met her eyes was an ancient building made of huge stones.
The entire building exuded an incredibly evil aura.
Outside the building were many strangely shaped, irregular rocks.
The surface of these rocks had a lot of green slime.
Looking into the distance, all she could see was thick, grayish-green mist and seawater occasionally gushing out of the mist.
This was a strange island that would make any ordinary person lose their sanity.
Everything here was too evil, too contrary to human physiological and psychological perception.
Ordinary people would eventually go mad from being unable to adapt to everything here.
It was then that Maki finally realized a problem.
Why did she feel cold?
Maki knew how strong her physical abilities were.
After achieving complete Heavenly Restriction, her physical abilities, resistance to curses, and recovery capabilities had all been greatly enhanced.
Currently, in terms of pure physical abilities, only her teacher Toji Fushiguro could surpass her.
Even the other Special Grade sorcerers couldn't beat her in pure physical combat.
Yet, she, of all people, felt cold inside a room?
There was only one answer.
"Was I cursed by a Cursed Spirit?"
Maki vigilantly surveyed the uncomfortable surroundings, starting to ponder how she had fallen victim.
Maki was the most experienced in combat among this generation of students, a person with keen combat instincts.
If there was truly danger, she believed she would definitely sense it immediately.
Yet now, she had been hit without even realizing it?
The unease in her heart made Maki subconsciously reach for the Thousand Machine Umbrella.
However, Maki touched nothing.
"Was I the only one transferred here?"
Maki felt a headache coming on, because without a cursed tool, she couldn't exorcise Cursed Spirits.
This would undoubtedly put her in a very dangerous situation.
While worrying about herself, Maki was also worried about her companions.
How was Panda, who was on alert?
If she was affected, did that mean Panda had already met with trouble?
And Inumaki Toge.
After spending a long time with Inumaki Toge, Maki realized he was actually a very gentle and reliable companion.
She also didn't want Inumaki Toge to get into trouble.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Footsteps came from behind the rocks.
Hesitating for a moment, Maki quickly changed positions, hiding in a secluded corner to observe the situation outside.
Normally, Maki might have already prepared for battle.
But now, without a cursed tool in hand, blindly engaging in battle would only put her in danger.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Soon, a distorted figure oozing with slime appeared in Maki's line of sight.
'Is this the one we encountered yesterday?'
Maki watched in surprise as the distorted humanoid, whose upper body resembled an octopus and lower body retained a human form, slowly walked below.
'Why is this guy appearing here?'
Maki was very confused.
Could this Cursed Spirit be similar to a Fly Head, also a type with a relatively close appearance and widespread numbers?
But she had never seen it before.
Over the years, Maki had taken on many missions to exorcise Cursed Spirits, using them to hone her practical combat skills.
Therefore, her understanding of Cursed Spirits was considerable.
But something like the one before her, which was unforgettable at first glance, Maki had truly never seen before.
As she pondered, the image of the Octopus People below became clearer and clearer in Maki's mind.
Slippery, slimy skin, disgusting tentacles, hands transformed into trailing tentacles dragging on the ground, and dense eyes all over its body and tentacles.
This series of images began to be unconsciously collected and understood by Maki's brain.
"Ugh."
Maki suddenly felt a violent dizziness, accompanied by a strong urge to vomit.
In a place Maki hadn't noticed.
Maki's skin began to turn a sickly grayish-white.
Thud.
'I've been discovered!'
The footsteps suddenly stopped.
Maki found herself firmly locked by a dozen eyes.
'That feeling just now wasn't an accident, it was its attack!'
Maki was startled, then immediately retreated in the direction she had previously scouted.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
The chase began, and the rocks covered in slime and moss severely restricted Maki's movement.
This caused the distance between them to continuously close.
"Damn it!"
Maki cursed under her breath, then turned to prepare for battle.
The ground was too slippery, completely unsuitable for fast movement, so it was better to deal with the enemy in front of her first.
Although she couldn't exorcise it without a cursed tool, knocking it flying was no problem.
After all, this Octopus People didn't feel particularly heavy.
Taking advantage of the remaining distance between them, Maki quickly scanned the ground.
Looking for suitable footholds.
She didn't want to be counter-killed by slipping while charging her attack.
30 meters, 20 meters, 10 meters… When the distance between them was only 5 meters, Maki moved.
First, she jumped high, dodging the Octopus People's sweeping tentacles and landing behind the enemy.
Then, as the opponent turned to attack, she preemptively used a sweeping kick to attack the Octopus People's feet.
As the opponent fell, Maki grabbed the Octopus People's right foot with one hand and the tentacles that were flailing wildly from the fall with the other.
"So slippery, are you really an octopus?"
The hand that grabbed the Octopus People's right foot thought it would be fine through the clothes.
The hand that grabbed the tentacles couldn't get a grip for a moment because the tentacles were too slippery.
"In that case!"
Seeing this, Maki directly gave up the idea of grabbing the opponent with both hands.
Instead, she grabbed the opponent's right leg with one hand, then spun 2 and a half circles in place, and finally threw the Octopus People away with force.
With the crisis averted, Maki began to consider what to do next.
Finally, Maki's gaze fell on the ancient building made of huge stones in the distance.
Although she didn't know where this was or why she appeared here.
But since there was only one conspicuous building nearby, there was no reason not to go and see.
Whether it was an enemy base or a trap.
The only places Maki could currently explore were this rocky island and the building at its center.
As for walking in the opposite direction?
There was only a place covered in mist that vaguely appeared to be the sea.
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter… As Maki pondered, countless footsteps sounded.
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