A sorcerer? I am a Warhammer psyker.

A researcher at the command center saw the instrument displaying red data indicating the reading was nearing the critical value and instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

He shouted

"Target 300 meters, high-energy reaction detected!!!"

"That's too late..."

Deep within the pitch-black viaduct, a terrifying behemoth emerged from the darkness, black magical mist swirling around it.

Such a massive magical energy reaction erupted suddenly, and even Mr. Akutabe and the others only sensed it the instant it launched its attack.

Their expressions, including Kenmei Isayama's, turned grim, because even the two Black Hawk helicopters hovering at a height of 300 meters were within the attack range of that unknown and terrifying cursed spirit.

"Xiao Ming, we're jumping out of the plane."

Mr. Akutabe and the other members exchanged glances. He first kicked open the helicopter door, then grabbed Kenmei Isayama and jumped out. The others followed suit, each grabbing a pilot and an accompanying person, and jumped out without hesitation.

Professionals are professionals. When an "emergency" occurred, they responded in less than two seconds. Their execution was truly terrifying. The helicopter had already been locked on, and staying there would only lead to certain death.

As Mr. Akutabe grabbed his arm, Kenmei Isayama suddenly heard the whistling wind and felt a strange sense of weightlessness.

Moreover, at that instant, two extremely dazzling black and white beams of light, containing an astonishing concentration of magical power, accurately struck the Black Hawk helicopter hovering in the air. The black metal was melted by the high temperature in less than 0.01 seconds, and in the end, the entire fuselage was blown to pieces.

The straight-line distance to Kenmei Isayama is less than fifty meters.

The Black Hawk helicopters, each costing $4900 million, were transformed into two intensely burning fireballs in the air by the magical cannons.

The members of the Special Operations First Division, on whom the Ministry of Defense had placed high hopes, were given special treatment, so it's easy to imagine that they had no chance of survival.

Forty crew members, along with two Chinook transport planes and their precious weapons, were vaporized in the terrifying heat.

The command center, which was erupting in applause just a second ago, fell into a deathly silence the next, and the smiles on everyone's faces froze.

The live broadcast in front of them was lost as the signal was lost, turning into a static screen with crackling noises.

Kazuo Mafune staggered back a few steps, completely disoriented, before crashing into the wall and collapsing to the ground, muttering something under his breath.

"Is that really something that we humans can defeat using technology?"

Chapter 17 Can you still eat?

"Boom."

Just as everyone was about to plummet to the ground from the sky with their remaining speed, a large hole was blown open in the hard road surface.

Several thick green vines rose straight up from the ground, nimbly grabbing all the "cleaners" and gently placing them on the ground.

"Brothers, we've landed safely."

After Kiyono Shin, whose laughter was the most terrifying, made a gesture to "release" the spell, the vines binding everyone's waists loosened and quickly retracted back into the ground, leaving only a bottomless pit in front of them.

"Xiao Ming, you still need to work on your courage."

Kiyono noticed that Kenmei Isayama's expression wasn't too good, and assumed that his fragile heart couldn't handle the thrill of weightlessness from jumping out of the plane without a parachute, so he mocked him.

"No, I've just been having a bit of PTSD lately."

Kenmei Isayama uttered a statement that was ambiguous, but only he himself understood that the psychological trauma he had suffered from being suddenly pulled off his seat by Mr. Akutabe and then jumping off without any safety measures was not as great as the psychological trauma he had suffered from being intercepted by Mr. Kiyono's vines in mid-air.

The twisted vines looked no different from tentacles in the night, so Kenmei Isayama almost used his psychic energy to blow up the vine that had come to his rescue. Fortunately, he realized that this was Kiyono-sensei's technique - "Growth", which uses magical power to make plant seeds expand and grow rapidly into enormous sizes.

As comrades-in-arms fighting side by side, they were naturally aware of each other's abilities. At that time, Mr. Akutabe's decision to jump out of the plane within the extremely limited time was also based on his trust in his comrades' abilities.

"Now is not the time to chat."

Mr. Akutabe just threw Kenmei Isayama into the air and onto the nearest vine. He then used another vine as a cushion and foothold, and after a few nimble rolls, he reached the ground by brushing against the roots of the vines.

"The enemy is still here."

"Thump..."

"Yes, they dared to make me look so pathetic."

The most radical of them all, Ishihara, slammed the giant hammer he was carrying on his shoulder into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and causing a dent in the ground.

"I really can't swallow this anger until I kill this bastard."

"Special grade?"

Kenmei Isayama watched as the figure gradually emerged from the darkness and appeared and disappeared in the firelight. The raging flames around it were twisted and turned into blood-red fire snakes that accompanied it.

The asphalt road, unable to withstand the high temperature, emitted a pungent stench.

Unlike the cherry blossom tree that was just an illusion last time, this time he was so close to the terrifying cursed spirit that they could see each other.

The flesh-and-blood hound in Kenmei Isayama's shadow was no bigger than the giant cursed spirit that looked like a lizard, only reaching its knees.

It has six legs, its entire body is covered in black scales, and its back seems to carry eight huge human-shaped heads with open mouths that are emitting hot air, suggesting that the terrifying attack was launched from its back.

When Kenmei Isayama met those eyes that were filled with nothing but scarlet and tyrannical power, an overwhelming wave of malice washed over him, causing a sharp, needle-like pain in his head and making his hair stand on end.

He felt as if a knife was gently caressing his heart, the stinging pain combined with the feeling of being stabbed deadly at any moment, making it difficult for him to breathe.

"No, that's level one."

Mr. Akutabe spoke calmly beside Kenmei Isayama, without offering further explanation.

As the leader of the "Scavengers," he had to make immediate arrangements for the personnel present, given the current situation.

This is a high-level attack by a cursed spirit, which is quite troublesome.

"Takahashi, Kinoshita, Hongo, and Mei, you guys are responsible for contacting the Spellcaster Association and calling for backup from the Tokyo Spellcaster Academy. Move these people to a safe place and search for any wounded who might still be alive."

"Ishihara, Kiyono, Iwata, and I are responsible for engaging the level one cursed spirits, mainly to buy time and wait for reinforcements."

"Most importantly, don't be reckless!"

Those who were not fit for combat had been called on for rescue missions, so Akutabe was speaking to the few who were acting as the combat team.

[The Cleaner] is a Level 1 Spellcaster

However, their bodies had suffered irreversible damage from countless battles in the first half of their lives, and they could no longer withstand high-intensity combat.

"Big brother is talking about you, Ishihara."

With a grin, Kiyono reminded Ishihara, who had just scoffed in displeasure.

"Be careful, you just got your left prosthetic leg replaced two days ago, don't break it in the fight again."

"You bastard with the cleavage, who needed you to remind them?"

How could Ishihara tolerate this? He was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, so angry he was about to explode.

Because Kiyono's face, near the corner of her mouth, was once torn off by a cursed spirit, the wound, after healing, resembled the "Slit-Mouthed Woman" from Japanese ghost stories.

That's why Ishihara mocked him, and of course, Kiyono himself really hated that nickname.

"You want to fight, you cripple?"

Just as the two were about to exchange another few insults, a terrifyingly high concentration of curse energy suddenly appeared 100 meters away, forcing them to swallow the words that were almost out of their mouths.

This distance was almost instantaneous, and a black and white beam of destructive light was aimed directly at Mr. Jiebian and his companions.

A loud explosion was heard, and sparks formed by the high concentration of magical energy splashed onto the cars parked nearby, instantly melting them into molten iron, demonstrating just how high the temperature was at the center of the object.

After the unknown cursed spirit sensed the disappearance of the cursed power reaction from the four "two-legged beasts," a hint of smugness appeared in its brutal blood-red eyes.

But the next second, twelve thicker blue vines, even stronger than before, sprouted from the ground beneath the cursed spirit, tightly binding it and binding the spirit firmly.

Judging from the color, hardness, and toughness, it was clear that the spell Kiyono used this time was incomparable to the vines that had saved people earlier. The eight heads began to frantically tear at the vines, but as soon as the vines were bitten off, they would grow back and new vines would grow from the wounds.

This places a huge burden on the practitioner.

"Iwata!"

Upon hearing Kiyono's voice, the bald, muscular giant, Ishida Akio, could still determine the location of the cursed spirit by ear, even though he was blind.

The bald, muscular man's gaze sharpened. His suit jacket ripped open, revealing a body riddled with wounds and stitches. His clenched fists crackled with a dazzling, lightning-like, earthy-yellow magical power.

"Although I am very clumsy."

With his eyes rolled back, Iwata Akio clenched his fists and slammed them into the ground. The immense force tore through the ground for hundreds of meters, reaching the cursed spirit beneath his feet.

"But I will try my best!"

"Boom!"

A surge of cursed power, far more terrifying than Kiyono's spell, churned the ground beside the cursed spirit bound by green vines. Suddenly, two enormous, earthen-yellow rock hands, each about 30 meters tall and made of mud and reinforced concrete, appeared, one on the left and one on the right, as if to crush the cursed spirit flat in their palms.

Under the violent pressure of Iwata's technique, the black scales shattered, and the pitch-black filth within the cursed spirit seemed to burst forth, continuously spewing out all around.

"Next up is my turn!"

A powerful voice rang out in the night sky, and then a huge fireball appeared out of nowhere, seemingly illuminating the sky. The intense heat made the air instantly dry.

In mid-air, Ishihara leaped high into the air, his face filled with excitement. He raised his giant hammer, which was engulfed in flames, and smashed it down hard on the head of the level one cursed spirit.

The explosive crimson-gold flames devoured everything.

"Flaming explosion!"

The four of them joined forces; this was a meticulously planned ambush.

Chapter 18 I'm embarrassed for you all

Why are there four people?

On the battlefield where the level-one cursed spirit fought just now, only three spells were clearly visible to the naked eye. They were Nobuno's "Growth", Iwata's "Earth", and Ishihara's "Heavenly Burning".

The fourth technique is Mr. Akutabe's "borrowing," which is quite interesting.

What appeared to be a seamless three-man attack was actually the result of four people working together.

Mr. Akutabe can lend his cursed power to Kiyono, Iwata, and Ishihara through a "loan" system.

Sitting on Mr. Akutabe's shoulder is a cute, chubby little angel that doesn't match his fierce appearance. It's calling out "Pochi, Pochi" and is the materialization of his spell, used for billing.

There are three types of loans: "usurious loans," "IOUs," and "secured loans." The borrowing method is chosen by the individual initiator of the scheme.

What you lend to your own people is naturally called a "IOU" (or "blank note").

Furthermore, thanks to Mr. Akutabe's curse power, the spells cast by the user will be more accurate and powerful than before.

The three of them borrowed a total of 17670 points of magical energy from Mr. Akutabe, which is 5890 points of magical energy per person.