Jasmine's cursed energy and stamina were running low.
After taking out so many monsters, she was immediately confronted with a Special Grade curse without a chance to recover.
Unlike her, the bizarrely moving curse had yet to use any techniques of its own, yet it wielded a massive amount of cursed energy. Simply by gathering and hurling cursed energy blasts, it created destructive power that Jasmine, in her current state, struggled to deflect.
She'd never seen such a wasteful use of cursed energy before!
And, to make matters worse, the curse emitted a constant, nerve-grating laughter.
A momentary lapse in focus allowed an orange-yellow cursed energy blast to graze her sleeve, a sharp sting flaring in her shoulder as she winced.
Though she could theoretically defend herself by covering her body with cursed energy, her reserves couldn't match her opponent's, and its cursed energy blasts came one after another. There was no way she could block them all.
So, she had no choice but to evade.
Jasmine's technique couldn't effectively attack; her only offensive option was to enhance her body with cursed energy and engage in close combat.
Yet her opponent, as a curse, possessed a physique that wasn't much weaker than her enhanced state. Though she could compensate with the sheer force of her Bajiquan strikes, there was nothing she could do about the curse's superior speed.
Most of her remaining cursed energy went to reinforcing her legs, allowing her to dodge its energy blasts.
But if she kept running, she would lose. She had to get close and strike.
A determined glint sparked in Jasmine's golden eyes.
I have to win!
Sister said that sometimes, victory in battle comes down to seizing that single chance!
The white curse clasped its hands in front of it, continuously gathering cursed energy between its palms and firing it as blast after blast. It was crude and straightforward, but with enough output, even such an attack could have devastating power.
Yet, the curse was growing bored.
Imagine swatting at a fly over and over but never managing to hit it—you'd lose patience too.
Sure, it enjoyed destroying the ground, walls, and trees around it, but what it really wanted was to hear the anguished screams of humans. Human suffering was its food, its reason for being.
It was newly born and eager to savor a fresh, tasty morsel standing before it, yet it could only take small bites. Although it couldn't express itself, a deep frustration was gnawing away at it.
Lacking intelligence, the curse didn't know patience. Its attacks grew more frantic, its precision slipping in its haste.
Jasmine found it increasingly difficult to evade, as the reduced distance left her less time to react, and the curse's sloppy aim made its moves harder to predict.
But the more impatient it grew, the more mistakes it made.
Their fight gradually shifted from the road into the small forest nearby.
The trees provided cover, helping Jasmine avoid the curse's attacks and whittle away at its patience.
Another massive, orange-yellow blast shattered a tree thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, sending splinters flying, which Jasmine shielded her face from instinctively.
It seemed the curse's patience was finally at its limit, and its attacks grew wild, tinged with hysteria.
"Just as well… I'm about at my limit, too…"
"GrrrrrAAAAAAGHH!"
The white curse let out a piercing shriek, gathering an unprecedented amount of cursed energy into its palms. Meanwhile, Jasmine darted behind an exceptionally thick tree.
A cursed energy blast nearly two meters wide shot forth, tearing a deep trench into the ground and obliterating the tree trunk in an instant.
But behind the shattered tree, the curse saw no sign of Jasmine.
It looked up just in time to see the massive tree trunk it had felled hurtling down toward it.
Jasmine had leapt onto the tree just before the blast struck, using its momentum to redirect the tree precisely above her opponent.
The white curse cackled, gathering another cursed energy blast in its hand to obliterate both the tree and Jasmine together.
But did it really think Jasmine wouldn't anticipate that?
The air whistled as several "black serpents" shot out from the shadows, coiling tightly around the curse's body and arms, freezing its twisted grin.
A closer look revealed they weren't "serpents" at all, but strands of black rope.
And each one was infused with cursed energy.
A cursed tool!
Jasmine hadn't been evading aimlessly this whole time.
She had led the curse into the woods to wrap this cursed rope around its surroundings, intending to bind it at the crucial moment.
While this tool wasn't strong enough to hold down a Special Grade curse for long, it would buy her just enough time.
Jasmine braced herself atop the trunk, gripping both ends of the black rope wrapped around her hands.
With a determined pull, she increased the tree's speed as it plummeted toward the immobilized curse.
Just as the tree was about to crash down with a resounding blow, the white curse raised its head, mouth wide open.
Instead of gathering cursed energy in its hands, it condensed it in its mouth.
Orange-yellow light illuminated the surrounding darkness, shining on Jasmine's stunned expression.
"Oh no—!"
BOOM!
The cursed energy blast erupted in a blinding white flash, lighting up the entire area as if it were midday.
The massive tree splintered into fragments, leaves and wood chips scattering into the air.
The white curse laughed triumphantly, having caught a glimpse of her stunned expression before she was engulfed in light. It believed she'd been obliterated by its attack.
Until it sensed a dense concentration of cursed energy from behind.
"Heh! Fooled ya."
The curse twisted its neck around, just in time to see Jasmine, grinning playfully with her tongue out, her fist cloaked in dark, crackling cursed energy, about to make contact.
A punch prepared with such patience was bound to be earth-shattering.
Black lightning surged skyward, serpentine bolts writhing in the air with raw power.
The roar of thunder followed, a beat behind the dark flash.
BAM!
"Black Flash!"
Taking a direct hit from this full-force Black Flash, the curse's head almost flattened into a pancake.
As it dropped to its knees, seemingly unconscious, Jasmine wobbled unsteadily, nearly collapsing. But she managed a small, triumphant smile despite her exhaustion.
"Sister… I did it."
I actually defeated a Special Grade curse.
They say a reversal can happen in an instant.
Especially in that single moment when you let your guard down.
Suddenly, two massive hands grabbed Jasmine, lifting her into the air.
The giant arms were still attached to the shoulders of the white curse.
The crushing grip made her dizzy, her face turning pale from the pain.
But what terrified her even more was the sight of a mouth on the curse's stomach, silently gathering cursed energy.
How? Wasn't it supposed to be unconscious?
But no one could answer her question.
The massive energy gathering within the curse solidified. Jasmine was powerless to break free or even gather cursed energy to defend herself.
"Is this… how I die?"
Sister…