NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 38
Chapter 35 – Beyond Anger!
The moment she saw the corpse, Yukinoshita Yukino’s brain went blank.
Originally, her battle experience and encounter with the cursed spirit had made her feel like she had grown; capable of facing their grotesque appearance head-on in battle.
But upon witnessing the bloody aftermath of a human being killed by a cursed spirit for the first time, the courage she had built up fell apart like an elaborate house of cards.
Her entire body felt frozen, her brain could no longer function, and she could not move — it was as if she would be the next one sliced open and left to die on the ground.
Such fear gnawed away at her heart and sapped her will to fight.
“Watch closely.”
Lin Qi’s voice reverberated next to her and, before she knew it, her head moved involuntarily toward the cursed spirit’s large yellow eyes, forcing her gaze onto the gruesome scene that she did not want to see.
“This is what happens to humans when they’re attacked by cursed spirits,” he spoke in a stern tone. “Yukino, do not avoid; ponder what it is you’re fighting for.”
“No… I don’t…”
She was trying to shake her head, but found herself unable to, as her beautiful eyes blurred with tears.
This extreme scene seemed deliberately crafted to push the limits of human acceptance, pushing against her senses with such force she retched violently, spittle spilling down her chin.
Now, there was nothing remotely elegant about her; tears wetting her cheeks, saliva and acid leaking uncontrollably from her mouth, as she looked utterly despondent.
Worse still, her body was controlled by Lin Qi, leaving her unable to escape.
The cursed spirit, with its fly-like head, watched her instead, observing almost leisurely, as if enjoying her pitiful state.
When Yukinoshita continued to appear weak, Lin Qi sighed helplessly inside.
He stopped pressing her further and decided perhaps a gentler approach might work better.
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll help you fight. Listen to my commands.” He handed over control.
Yukinoshita’s body suddenly relaxed, and the rigid stance previously held by Lin Qi’s support crumbled, making her lose balance and fall to the ground.
“Stand up.”
She quickly got up at his words.
“Get ready, aim at your foe.”
His firm yet short orders had more power, making her feel slightly steadier as his voice grounded her.
Fighting this gruesome reality alone might be too much, but with Lin Qi’s help, Yukinoshita thought she could try harder.
Wiping her face roughly with her sleeve, she positioned herself to face the cursed spirit directly.
“The cursed spirit is coming your way, dodge carefully.”
Seeming to tire of waiting, the curse spirit finally acted.
Its mouth opened wide to reveal a sharp, extendable appendage. Like an arrow released from a bowstring, it shot straight towards Yukinoshita.
Following Lin Qi’s warning, she swiftly shifted sideways and narrowly avoided the attack; the sharp appendage embedding itself deeply into the rear wall.
“Bust its weapon off,” Rui commanded just as she acted, slicing through the weapon firmly embedded in the wall.
Purple blood sprayed out of the broken end as the cursed spirit screeched in pain.
Its frail form arched, its thin limbs hitting the floor, running around in frenzied animalistic jumps that her eye could scarcely follow.
In the living room’s confines, where was it going to strike next?
“Calm down, no matter where it positions itself, eventually, it will launch its attack at you. Aim at that moment.”
Her mind stung with anxiety, yet Lin Qi’s commanding voice calmed her down again, nodding to take a deep breath.
She continued tracking its movement, already beginning to anticipate its actions.
“It’s behind you!” Without needing a prompt, Yukinoshita understood.
The cursed spirit had leaped over from the ceiling to the hallway door, circling behind her, aiming for another attack.
But this time, she anticipated his moves and retaliated.
Quickly turning around, Yukinoshita used her knee to slam against the cursed spirit’s abdomen, throwing it into a violent halt in the air and spewing purple blood all over.
With a powerful spinning kick imbued with curse energy, the heel of her round-toed shoe whipped violently into the cursed spirit’s fly-head, sending it spinning to crash hard against the living room wall.
“Not bad at all,” Lin Qi commented on her last strike.
Although she didn’t respond, a faint smirk appeared.
Seeing the decapitated corpse again, she simply pursed her lips in determination before focusing back on the cursed spirit.
Despite the strong stench of blood in the room and an urge to retch at seeing corpses, these discomforts began to abate.
“It’s not over yet.”
The cursed spirit suddenly flattened down, and four semitransparent insect wings sprouted from its back.
The wings flapped rapidly, bringing it airborne despite its awkward shape. The abdomen swelled, releasing a row of dark darts that shot like bullets towards her, and she hastily dodged them.
While the cursed spirit was distracted, it managed to break through the wall and escape through the hallway.
Just when it felt like things were heating up, it escaped!
Rising immediately, Yukinoshita followed its trail, chasing after the breach.
Tracing it, she noticed the cursed spirit heading toward the window at the other end of the corridor.
It planned to break out and…
Yukinoshita charged after it, but she couldn’t run as fast as it could fly. The cursed spirit crashed through the window, leaving her behind.
Sure it had evaded her for good, it turned back momentarily to mock her powerless condition.
But an explosive vase propelled by curse energy awaited it instead, breaking the cursed spirit’s head with such force it fell dizzy.
Yukinoshita lunged forward from the edge of the window, her thigh muscles erupting with energy as she flew towards her target.
Her brow furrowed, teeth clenched.
Clenched fists, where curse energy burned like fire upon them.
Already, she had enough!
Striking down, the curse energy pierced through the cursed spirit from front to back, shattering its chest, creating a hollow gap.
…
After school, and becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.