Chapter 20: The Curse-Reversal Barrier

“If you had been a little later, I’d have had to collect your body…”

He complained irritably.

“Alright, I know I was wrong.”

Saizo couldn’t help but smile wryly, giving his shoulder a firm pat.

“Now, leave the rest to me!”

At that moment, Hyakusuke finally felt at ease. He was well aware of his own weakness and had no illusions about playing the hero.

Having worked with Saizo for many years, they shared a tacit understanding. In fact, compared to himself, the more experienced Saizo must have harbored doubts about the situation inside the mountain goblins’ lair.

As mentioned before, mountain goblins generally do not eat humans; they specialize in robbing travelers. The fact that they were using human flesh as food was itself suspicious.

Moreover, with Inamori Village nearby, why hadn’t the goblins attacked the settlement?

Given Saizo’s shrewd nature, he certainly wouldn’t have overlooked these questions.

Finding an opportunity, Hyakusuke secretly conferred with Saizo, and they resolved to uncover the truth about Inamori Village.

“I’ll act as bait and lure them out.”

This was Hyakusuke’s plan.

“The mountain goblins must have moved the stolen goods elsewhere. If we use tracking talismans to search, we might find their hidden stash, and then find a chance to draw out the culprit.”

“Do you really suspect that servant named Gōzaburō?”

Saizo asked in return.

“Gōzaburō possesses spiritual power and the ability of ‘demon sight.’ I find it strange—if Ye Mei had truly been in contact with the mountain goblins, he should have noticed something… yet he has never shown any sign of it.”

This was Hyakusuke’s speculation.

“But it’s still too dangerous.”

Saizo initially opposed the plan, knowing that exposing Gōzaburō as the mastermind would carry significant risk.

“To those who target ordinary travelers and itinerant merchants, I believe they are just second- or third-tier practitioners.”

Hyakusuke continued, “True formidable sorcerers, those with real strength, have many ways to make money; they wouldn’t bother with petty theft like this. I think my risk is not that high.”

He added, “The key is that you arrive in time.”

To ensure the plan went smoothly, they staged a ruse. Considering that if the enemy could command mountain goblins and mountain men, using summoned spirits to monitor their movements wouldn’t be difficult.

Hyakusuke handed Saizo a phantom talisman, instructing him to ride a horse and create an illusion, while his true form, cloaked in invisibility, would secretly follow behind.

“You…!!!”

An angry voice rang out.

“How dare you mock me!”

Gōzaburō had not been killed by the explosion. The thick smoke and flames seemed to rewind like a video, swirling back together before vanishing in one breath.

Hyakusuke stared in astonishment at that direction, where a glowing orb appeared at the explosion’s center.

The smoke and fire appeared to be pushed aside, as if avoiding this hemispherical barrier, disappearing before he could get a clear view.

The old man stood within the barrier, untouched by the flames.

“…A curse-repelling barrier?”

Even Saizo, a seasoned ninja, was taken aback.

“This is a sacred treasure of celestial Buddhas, rakshasas, evil dragons, rare great fox spirits, and high-ranking ghosts—only such top-tier demons and monsters possess such power.”

Among the ancient and legendary curse techniques, there exists a concept called the "Wind of Return," enabling powerful sorcerers to reflect an enemy’s curse spells back onto them from a distance.

This phenomenon is found in entities like gods, Buddhas, rakshasas, evil dragons, great fox spirits, and ghosts.

High-level beings like gods and Buddhas emit pure, serene energy that prevents any curse or spell damage… rakshasas, evil dragons, great fox spirits, and ghosts can unfold dense spiritual energy to form potent defensive barriers.

These barriers weaken the power of any spells and can even nullify spells cast by weaker opponents. This is a form of supernatural nullification barrier, traditionally known as the “curse-reflecting barrier.”

“The original game never mentioned that the sacred orb could generate a curse-reflecting barrier. That’s something encountered later when fighting bosses like the evil dragon, starving god, eight-faced king, and the eternal night womb. Why is it appearing now?”

This “curse-reflecting barrier” is notoriously frustrating in the game because magic users face severe skill reductions when encountering it. Only exorcists who rely on physical attacks can bypass its effects.

In early gameplay, magic attacks are extremely powerful, and everyone rushes to develop onmyoji and sorcerers.

Physical attackers like demon-slaying swordsmen and archers are seldom used.

Later, this flaw becomes apparent, enraging players who swarm the official forums to vent their frustrations.

Based on the intensity of the backlash in the official comment sections, the game director supposedly rocketed off at near-light speed from low Earth orbit straight into the galactic core that very day.

“Don’t think you’ll get away that easily.”

Gōzaburō was in poor condition, forcibly using his life force. The strain on his brain and nervous system caused fresh blood to spurt from his eye sockets, nostrils, and lips.

“I’m not so easily fooled!!!”

In an instant, a fierce torrent of spiritual power erupted from the old man’s body.

The ground rumbled loudly, as if something was burrowing into the earth. The footing became unstable. It felt like an earthquake—but the tremors weren’t transmitted like normal earthquakes—

“No!”

Both Saizo and Hyakusuke sensed danger simultaneously. Their spiritual power surged, strengthening their bodies as they leapt backward swiftly.

“Come out!”

Blood tears streamed from Gōzaburō’s eyes. The ground beneath him cracked open, spewing a surge of foul spiritual energy as if the earth itself had split apart.

From the fissure emerged a huge monster, its color a muddy yellow, covered thickly in sludge, resembling a gigantic earthworm.

“A ‘demon-level’ great earth hammer?”

Saizo stared intently at the massive earth hammer—a monster born from the essence of earth. Lesser yokai were troublesome enough, but demon-level ones were even more formidable than mountain men.

His special ability, “Blazing Body,” could generate high-temperature “curse flames” capable of burning through ordinary barriers. It was aligned with the fire element among the five elements. However, facing a monster born of earth energy, he would be somewhat restrained.

“Mountain goblins, obey my command! Kill them all!!!”

Gōzaburō shouted loudly, raising the sacred orb and unleashing a mental domination spell. The fleeing mountain goblins succumbed to his control and charged back toward them.

“Get lost!”

Saizo unleashed flames from his palms, incinerating the approaching mountain goblins into charcoal, but this did nothing to halt their advance.

Gōzaburō had sacrificed his own lifespan to empower the sacred orb. The overwhelming mental control forced the mountain goblins forward relentlessly. Even as they burned, they pressed on.

Their eyeballs were scorched dry by the fierce flames, and their bodies struggled to breathe, but the goblins clutched their swords and axes with fingers nearly carbonized, staggering forward like drunken fiends.

“Good. Kill them, stop them…”

Gōzaburō’s sinister laughter bubbled like boiling sludge.

“Get lost.”

Hyakusuke swept his spear horizontally with a sharp whoosh, sending several mountain goblins flying.

Just then, the great earth hammer spewed a torrent of corrosive liquid like a rushing stream of acid.

“Move!”

Saizo grabbed Hyakusuke’s collar with his right hand and leapt several meters away. The monster’s acidic torrent boiled the ground beneath them.

Hyakusuke barely escaped disaster but suffered acid splashes on his hands and feet, burning through his clothes and searing his skin with agonizing pain.

“Split up.”

Saizo issued the command in a cold voice.

“I’ll take on this great earth hammer; you chase that old man.”

“Chase?”

Hyakusuke looked up and saw Gōzaburō fleeing in panic.

“The curse-reflecting barrier is just a trick created by that curse artifact… The old man’s strength isn’t that high.”

Saizo said grimly, “We must capture him—or at least seize that orb. It’s crucial.”

“I understand.”

Hyakusuke shared the same thought, though his mind also weighed the threat of the Eight Blessings Society, the villainous organization.

“Then we’ll split up.”

He pulled a smoke bomb from his belt and tossed it at the ground. Thick smoke and a blinding flash erupted as two figures sprang into action.

Saizo formed concentrated spheres of blazing flame in his hands, launching searing fireballs.

Boom!

Amid the explosions, Saizo shouted to draw the demon’s attention.

Seizing this opportunity, Hyakusuke activated a stealth talisman and slipped through the smoke, moving swiftly in a flanking maneuver.

He avoided the great earth hammer lurking in the cracked chasm and pursued the fleeing figure of Gōzaburō.