Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 213: A Duel of Curses
Tauro gripped the cursed stone directly and invoked dark magic. A clearly visible black mist burst from it and coiled around his body.
The opposing sorcerer was evidently a true professional. Even after Tauro tried to send the curse back once, the caster forced it toward him again.
“This isn’t going to be easy…”
Tauro cast another spell.
The black mist wrapped around him was drawn into the cursed stone. It remained trapped there for a moment, then erupted all at once and streamed through a gap in the ceiling.
The curse still clung to Tauro, but he ignored it and ran outside.
The black haze crossed the darkening sky, almost blending into the night, and vanished in the direction of the mansion belonging to the local man behind the scheme.
Then the Voice of the World resounded in Tauro’s mind.
“Condition for activating special skill [&%$#] confirmed: <One Who Returned a Vast Amount of Magical Power>. [Magic Manipulation] (Extreme) acquired.”
“That seems to have worked. Now, before I forget—[Purification].”
Tauro removed the remaining curse from himself, drank a magic-restoration potion, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Tauro! Are you all right?!” Aeris shouted.
She, Ragune, and Ankh had just returned after escorting Riryo and his mother to Dansas.
“Something ominous seemed to move away from here,” Ankh said as he approached with one hand on his greatsword. “It looked serious.”
Ragune had already drawn her sword.
“Didn’t any of you see it?” Tauro asked.
“See what?”
“A black haze.”
“I only caught the faintest trace of something,” Aeris replied, tilting her head.
“I see. I returned the curse to whoever sent it.”
“You returned it?” all three repeated.
They didn’t immediately understand what he meant.
Once they entered the shop, Tauro asked the others to tell him everything they had learned from Riryo’s mother.
“According to her,” Aeris explained, “Riryo’s father once saw the influential local man arguing with an unfamiliar person on the outskirts of town. When they noticed him, they hurried away and dropped a processed magic stone. Because the influential man was someone he already disliked and frequently quarreled with, Riryo’s father kept the stone instead of returning it. That may have been what started all this.”
“And he told other people what he had seen,” Tauro said.
“Yes. Apparently he mentioned it to one of the shop’s regular customers. How did you know?”
Tauro told them what he had overheard at the mansion.
“Then that influential man is almost certainly involved. I also found this among the shop’s goods.”
Tauro removed the processed magic stone from [Magic Storage] and handed it to Aeris.
“It appears to contain locked information. Can you open it with magic?”
“I’ll try.”
Aeris accepted the stone and began working on its seal.
“What exactly happens when you return a curse?” Ankh asked.
He and Ragune were still troubled by the ominous phenomenon they had sensed.
Tauro explained the exchange of curses.
“Leader, you really need to stop doing reckless things when no one is there to protect you,” Ankh said with a weary sigh.
Ragune firmly agreed.
“If you must attempt something like that again, do it while we’re present. We can’t protect you when you send us away.”
Her serious tone made Tauro reflect on his actions.
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful.”
“Does that mean the opposing sorcerer is suffering from the returned curse right now?” Ankh asked.
“Yes. Others nearby may have been affected as well.”
“You sent something that dangerous back at them?” Ragune exclaimed.
“The original curse was extremely powerful, and a returned curse strikes with more than twice the force. Without protection, the caster may fall into a coma—or die instantly. Anyone nearby could also be subjected to a severe curse.”
“A sorcerer capable of this may be connected to the Assassins’ Guild,” Ankh said.
“What if the caster prepared countermeasures?” Ragune asked.
“They might survive, but they’d still be struck by a curse severe enough to leave them writhing in agony or unconscious.”
“So either way, they won’t escape unharmed.”
Ragune shuddered.
“I’ve opened it,” Aeris announced. “I’ll display the information now.”
She raised the processed magic stone toward the wall. Letters of light appeared across its surface.
“This is bad…” Ankh murmured after reading them.
Tauro and the others stared at the message in stunned silence.