Bang!
Hayashi was sent flying, crashing into the ice wall. Although his cursed energy armor absorbed part of the curse's energy, a fiery pain still flared in his stomach.
In addition to the pain, there was a chilling cold that tried to infiltrate his cursed energy armor, but most of the cold was blocked.
"Attack!"
At this moment, Zhang Yiyi shouted, forming hand seals rapidly. "Cursed Technique: Binding Lock!"
"Domain Suspension—Activate!"
Kong Yue's simple domain expanded, locking the curse womb, Ice Bearer, in place, rendering it immobile.
The next moment, purple chains appeared beneath Ice Bearer, wrapping around its legs, then quickly climbing upwards to bind its hands.
Hayashi didn't waste the opportunity. In an instant, he flashed in front of Ice Bearer, infusing his fists with cursed energy, unleashing a barrage of attacks.
"Bam bam bam bam bam bam!"
Six consecutive Azure Black Flashes hit the curse womb's chest, with the final punch piercing through its torso. Blue blood gushed out.
"Get out of the way!" Kong Yue shouted as Hayashi disappeared from the spot in a blink. Kong Yue's cursed tool, a claw, slashed toward Ice Bearer's position.
"Cursed Technique: Triple Claw!"
Splat!
After taking Hayashi's six Azure Black Flashes, the Triple Claw strike ripped Ice Bearer into three pieces, from head to toe.
"Great job!" Zhang Yiyi cheered excitedly. Their teamwork had been flawless, with each step perfectly coordinated.
But as Kong Yue exhaled in relief, Hayashi knew it wasn't over. A curse of this level couldn't be taken down so easily.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Ice Bearer's body parts were drawn back together, fusing seamlessly. The injuries that had seemed devastating were gone as if the previous attacks hadn't even happened.
However, Hayashi knew his attacks had done damage. Even a regular Black Flash could hurt a special-grade curse spirit, let alone his special Azure Black Flash. So, while Ice Bearer had regenerated, it was still wounded.
"It can use Reverse Cursed Technique?!" Kong Yue's face turned grim. Although he knew most special-grade curses could use reverse cursed techniques, seeing one repair its body so effortlessly was beyond his imagination.
Zhang Yiyi's expression also darkened. She had thought that even if they couldn't kill the curse, it would at least suffer severe damage. Yet, here they were, seemingly back at square one.
"Hayashi, was this part of your plan?" Kong Yue's breathing grew rapid again as the curse's energy began to intensify.
"Plan or not, this thing has to be exorcised!" Hayashi's cursed energy flared up once more.
As Hayashi activated his Flash Step, Ice Bearer raised its hand and swung forward, unleashing a pale ice shockwave.
Hayashi raised his sword to shield the others, but the force of the impact made his arms ache, and his legs skidded backward. The freezing chill surged toward them.
Despite the time Hayashi had spent honing his cursed energy armor, its defense wasn't enough to fully absorb the attack from this special-grade curse spirit.
Ice Bearer moved. It was fast—far faster than Hayashi had expected. In an instant, it bypassed him and rushed toward Kong Yue, its sharp, white claws aiming for his heart.
Kong Yue's reaction was as if time had slowed down, like watching a car speeding past in slow motion. By the time he turned, the claw was already upon him.
Splat!
Hayashi used his Flash Step to pull Kong Yue away, but not fast enough. Ice Bearer's claw still managed to stab into Kong Yue.
"Ahh!" Kong Yue screamed in agony as Hayashi tossed him toward the ice wall. A large, gaping wound appeared in Kong Yue's side, blood quickly soaking his clothes and staining the ice beneath him.
Hayashi frowned. This curse spirit wasn't just powerful—it was smart. It had intentionally withheld its freezing ability when attacking Kong Yue, ensuring the wound wouldn't freeze over and the blood would keep flowing.
"Kong Yue!" Zhang Yiyi shouted in panic, but before she could react, Ice Bearer's fist was already flying toward her.
"Die!" Zhang Yiyi, enraged, swung her sword, Red Sakura, which gleamed with a crimson light. She slashed at the curse's incoming fist.
The fist was split in two, but Ice Bearer didn't stop. Its other hand quickly grabbed Zhang Yiyi's hair, lifting her into the air.
The fist that had been cut rapidly regenerated, and with a second punch, it slammed into Zhang Yiyi's stomach.
Bang!
Even though she had shielded herself with cursed energy, Zhang Yiyi spat out blood, crashing to the ground, leaving a long trail on the ice as she skidded.
Hayashi hadn't expected Ice Bearer to be this fast. It was quicker than the domain-wielding curse spirit he had faced before, and its intent was clear—it wanted to kill Kong Yue and Zhang Yiyi first.
Seeing his companions lying on the ice, Hayashi was reminded of the helplessness he had felt when he first encountered that purple curse spirit. But this time, something different stirred within him. His blood boiled, and with a fierce glare at Ice Bearer, he declared, "I won't let the same scene happen again!"
Initially, Hayashi had planned to use the points he'd accumulated to learn new cursed techniques, but he couldn't afford that now.
His points could be saved, but this situation was critical. He hadn't intended to cash in his rewards here, but Ice Bearer's speed had exceeded his expectations. If it weren't for that, he could've protected both Kong Yue and Zhang Yiyi.
Now that both were injured, Hayashi had no choice but to use his most powerful abilities to defeat Ice Bearer.
With all the points he had accumulated, Hayashi had a total of 689 points.
That was enough to activate his domain expansion.
He saved 89 points for later use, then immediately cashed in 450 points to unlock Power Multiplier and Domain Expansion: Amaterasu Tsukikage.
Kong Yue, pale-faced, leaned against the wall, clutching the gaping wound in his side. His heart was filled with fear. He knew they weren't going to survive.
No wonder no one had taken on this mission. No wonder no authorities had dared intervene. Against a curse of this level, without a special-grade sorcerer, everything was doomed to fail.
But the injustice gnawed at him—why had this happened to them? Why?
Zhang Yiyi lay motionless on the ground. The punch to her stomach had left her skin bruised black and purple, a sign of severe internal damage.
Ice Bearer finally turned its attention to Hayashi. It had dealt with the two weaker fighters. Now it could take its time toying with Hayashi.
As Ice Bearer licked its lips with its long tongue, Hayashi's eyes turned cold, as if he were staring at a dead man.
"Your time is up." Hayashi flashed forward, his right fist cloaked in Azure-Black cursed energy, and struck out.
Ice Bearer, still in a playful mood, reached out to catch the punch.
"Power Multiplier!"
[Power Multiplier Randomly Multiplied]
[Power x5]
Bang!
Splat!
With that single punch, Ice Bearer's right arm was obliterated—nothing but shattered pieces remained.
The damage of a Azure Black Flash multiplied by five was no joke.
The immense energy consumption didn't bother Hayashi in the slightest.