"Wow. That was truly amazing, lady Yurishia."

"Stay back! This isn't over yet."

"Huh? But you split him in half."

True. But not even a drop of blood was spilled. This may be an illusion. Or some sort of magic. But… he isn't dead yet. I used my eyes to analyze and try to track down his aura. And at his feet I could feel energy. Like an underground pipe, I felt his flowing aura. And it went all the way behind my girls.

In the next moment, the full intact body of the Curse King emerged from the ground. As expected, what I cut before was just a copy. And all of a sudden, his tree trunk arm reached out to the closest person. And that person was…

"Shizu, look out!"

But my warning came too late. Even with her extreme hearing, she didn't manage to move in time. The Curse King violently grabbed Shizu's wrist.

"I curse you. The curse will continue until your soul will vanish into oblivion. [Brutal Grudge]!"

"Get your hands off her!"

I imediately closed the distance and separated him from from Shizu. This time I raised his body in the air so he couldn't leave another clone. 

"This time I'm shredding you to pieces. [Twilight Destruction]!"

Whirlwind cuts and lighting assaulted the Curse King from all direction. Even though he screamed in pain, his mouth twisted into a smile. 

"Even with my death… you shall suffer… see your loved ones… die before your eyes. That's your curse… Guaaahaa!!!"

The blast was way stronger than when I used it in the parasite plant cave. Only his ashes remained. This time, I confirmed it with my eyes. He was dead. I quickly turned around only to see Shizu laying on the ground and breathing heavily.

"Shizu!"

"Sorry… Yurishia… even with my hearing… I let my guard down."

Black veins like a tattoo appeared all over her body. Not good. Definitely not good.

"Yuri-nee… this curse… will kill her."

"Don't you think I know that? Rather… Lumi-chan, please take care of this fire. It's hard to concentrate."

Lumi imediately raised her tiny hand in the air and drew a magic formation. Clouds soon gathered and rain drops started pouring. Control Weather. An advanced spell, but I knew Lumi-chan could pull it off. Now at least I don't have to worry about the fire.

"A strong evil aura is overflowing from your body, Shizu."

"Are all curses like this?"

"Such an ominous aura…"

"Yuri-nee… that curse, once it activates it will also destroy her soul. It's been ages since I saw something like this."

"Lumi-chan, do you know a way to stop this?"

"Umm… there should be 2 options. One way would be to release an overwhelming power of holy light that surpasses this terrible curse. The second option is to convince the curse that the soul itself was destroyed."

Well the first solution is pretty much impossible for me. Although I can use holy magic, I can't use it at that level. And Cure All also doesn't seem to work. 

"Lumi-chan, can you use holy magic?"

"Although I can use light magic, my skills are limited to attack spells and healing. Purification type… I don't know."

Darn it. We're running out of options. What can I do? This thing… I won't even be able to use resurrection [Reverie] if this is going to destroy the soul. There's only one thing I can do. I didn't expect to stretch my powers to the limits already… but there's no way I am losing Shizu.

"Yurishia… it's okay… I'm happy that I met you. I have one last request… will you, kiss me please?"

"Will you shut up? I'm going to save you! But I have to kill you for that."

"Eeh!?"

"The only option is to trick the curse into believing that you are really dead."

I placed my hand on her face.

"This will hurt a bit, but trust me. Hakai Mode… [Astral Wave]!"

The hakai series. Originally believed to be a technique of the gods. This one spell is the only one in recorded mortal history. But nobody was able to learn it…. Except me. Astral Wave stops the heart and forcefully pushes the soul outside the body. It's designed to kill. And now comes the hard part.

"Not done… [Spirit Cage]+[Dimensional Shift]!!"

I imediately wrapped Shizu's soul, which looked like a blue candle flame in a spiritual bird cage and in the same moment I put her into my infinite storage. Dimensional Shift allowed me to erase the presence of my storage in this world. This combo, even at full strength is hard to pull off. But I did it.

I waited precisely 10 seconds after that. 

"Oh my. The black veins are disappearing. And so is the aura."

Shizu's body returned to normal and we heard a ghostly voice saying "the curse was fulfilled". Good. I need to act now! I forced my hand inside Shizu's chest and starting massaging her heart. She needs to have a pulse for this to work. When I felt confident…

"Release…"

I made my storage available again and channeled the trapped soul back inside through my hand. Please work… please stick…

I kept massaging until… eventually Shizu's eyes opened. I could feel her heart was ready to work by itself. So I pulled my hand and imediately cast my Cure All on her.

"Eh? Yurishia? I'm still… alive? I remember… wait, you actually Killed me!!"

"I saved you, idiot! But it took all the knowledge I have. Never scare me like that again."

I gave Shizu a big hug. Her bunny ears were twitching with joy.

"So that's what happened. I see. Thank you… thanks so much."

"It was partially my fault too. Getting back my power made me drop my guard."

Nonetheless, I was determined not to lose these girls. They are important to me.

"Girls… I am a little tired, after using so many consecutive spells. Let me rest for 10 minutes. After that it's full throttle to the finish. Also I will say this… you girls stay vigilant. Never let your guard down. You never know when an enemy might come. And remember, you mustn't die, no matter what. 

That's an order!"