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  Step by step, the dark hobgoblin flinched—just slightly—before tightening its grip on the weapon in its hand.

  A manic laugh burst from its throat as it lunged forward to meet him head-on.

  It hated this.

  Hated the way he stood there without fear.

  Hated the absence of trembling.

  The thrust came straight for his heart.

  Haruto slipped past it with effortless precision, the blade missing him by a breath.

  In the same motion, his fist clenched and drove upward—

  CRACK.

  His punch smashed into the hobgoblin’s jaw.

  Before the creature could recover, Haruto’s hand shot forward, seizing the sword’s hilt. He twisted sharply, wrenched control away, then stepped behind the monster in one seamless movement, dragging the blade across until its edge rested against the creature’s neck.

  The hobgoblin’s frame was strangely narrow compared to its overall size—

  a body built for speed rather than strength.

  But speed meant nothing when you couldn’t move.

  Terror flickered through its crimson eyes as it struggled against the steel pressed to its throat.

  A deadlock.

  While the two stood frozen in lethal tension, Hana and Haruki finally reached the fallen goblin girl.

  She was fading.

  Her eyes were barely open, fixed weakly on the cavern ceiling above.

  Strength had long since abandoned her body.

  She felt… useless.

  Worthless.

  Regretful.

  That pain cut deeper than the wound in her chest.

  Then—

  A mask settled gently over her face.

  Haruki reattached herself, and a soft golden aura bloomed outward, wrapping the girl’s body in warm light.

  Wounds began to close.

  Flesh slowly restored itself.

  Hana stared in stunned awe.

  The regeneration was even stronger than described.

  Yet her attention drifted—

  to the side.

  A two-dimensional holographic panel hovered beside the girl’s trembling body, cold and precise.

  Lines of information scrolled across it, displaying her condition… her heart rate…

  Nearly flat.

  She was alive only by the faintest trace of remaining energy.

  The system presented it without emotion, without hesitation—

  a silent, mechanical observer following protocol.

  What should I do…?

  Hana panicked inwardly.

  Another message flickered into existence as her focus snapped toward the panel.

  Analysis complete.

  Detailed text followed.

  The female goblin’s heart had suffered irreversible damage.

  Her active regeneration was failing due to extreme shock.

  A curse had been triggered upon injury—disabling passive abilities such as magic resistance and self-healing, then amplifying them to spread the curse instead.

  High-grade healing magic or potions were required.

  But before any treatment…

  The curse must be lifted.

  Otherwise, stronger regeneration would only accelerate its spread.

  “Lift the curse…? How can I do that?” Hana demanded silently, panic tightening around her thoughts.

  “Who are you talking to?” Haruki asked.

  “This isn’t the time, Haru…” Hana replied sharply.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “…Sorry.”

  Haruki blinked, startled. It wasn’t like her to snap.

  This was affecting her more than anything else.

  All Haruki could do was watch as the mask sustained the girl at death’s threshold, while everyone else struggled in their own way.

  But something else drew her attention.

  Something subtle.

  Something wrong.

  Haruto.

  The way he fought…

  even after being injured…

  this wasn’t just self-defense.

  Haruki knew her brother.

  There was satisfaction in his movements.

  A quiet cruelty.

  Like he was savoring the suffering he inflicted.

  The hobgoblin’s manic grin had vanished completely.

  Only terror remained.

  The predator… had become prey.

  Haruto looked cold.

  Unbothered.

  And that devilish smile on his lips—

  It wasn’t normal.

  It was as if he were—

  BOOM.

  A thunderous impact shattered the moment as the hobgoblin’s body slammed into a massive stone pillar.

  The cavern trembled with the echo.

  Then—

  silence.

  Hana froze, stunned.

  Slowly, she turned.

  There he was.

  One hand gripping the monster’s head, crushing it into the fractured stone.

  Only faint groans escaped the creature’s ruined throat.

  A dull thud followed as its body collapsed to the ground—

  Haruto’s fingers releasing the shattered skull without a word.

  He released the shattered skull without a word.

  Looking down at the creature he once believed to be far beyond his abilities, he let out a slow, cold breath.

  Then he turned—

  toward the one thing that truly mattered.

  He rushed to the injured girl and dropped to his knees beside her, hands trembling slightly as he searched for any sign of recovery.

  “Did she… heal already?” he asked.

  Hana answered immediately, voice tight with panic.

  “No—I mean… yes. But Haru’s help won’t be enough. We need a healer.

  Someone who can lift curses.”

  Haruto’s expression darkened.

  “Curses…? You don’t mean—”

  “Yes.”

  Her voice fell quieter.

  “That sword… it carried a curse. It’s blocking her regeneration… and the regeneration itself is spreading it through her body.”

  Silence pressed down between them.

  “What should we do?” he asked, gently placing a hand on the girl’s head.

  “Should I take her and just run?”

  “Do you even know which path leads out?” Hana shot back.

  “We can find it on the way.

  Unless you have a better idea—”

  “Just… give me a second,” she whispered, turning away, worry spilling through every movement.

  Her thoughts called out desperately:

  Hey… system. Did you figure it out yet?

  “Who are you talking to—” Haruto began.

  “Just let me do this!” she snapped.

  They had heard her mention the system before, but never truly believed it.

  Explaining could come later.

  Right now, only one thing mattered.

  A translucent window appeared before Hana’s vision alone.

  Analysis complete.

  To save the female goblin, in the absence of a priest or curse-master, an alternative method was possible:

  Cell implantation.

  Cells containing sufficient Astrons could allow the host body to instinctively resist the curse and purge it from within.

  A method known across majin cultures.

  Painful.

  Dangerous.

  But effective.

  “How do we find those cells…? And how do we do it?” Hana asked, determination forcing down her fear.

  The system paused briefly.

  Then another message appeared.

  All necessary conditions have already been met.

  Proceed with cell implantation?

  Her thoughts froze.

  “What…?”

  No time to think.

  “Y-yes. Do it!”

  The moment the command formed—

  A violent surge of energy tore through her slime body.

  Power rushed in a single direction as a portion of her very being was ripped away.

  “Hey! What’s happening?!” Haruto shouted, horror flashing across his face.

  Hana’s vision spun.

  Dizziness swallowed her whole, as if that single action had drained everything she had.

  Haruto caught her instinctively, pulling her into his arms as her remaining body began slowly regenerating.

  Relief flickered through him… fragile and uncertain.

  He didn’t understand.

  But it looked like this was part of her plan.

  Then—

  The girl’s body stiffened.

  Her muscles locked.

  An ominous aura seeped from her skin as a broken groan escaped her throat.

  Despair returned like a blade to the chest.

  Helpless.

  Useless.

  Powerless.

  It hurt.

  Just like before.

  He wanted to save her.

  But he didn’t know how.

  And then—

  His eyes flashed blue.

  The world slowed.

  “…Is this… you again?” he murmured.

  Lub-dub.

  His heartbeat thundered in his ears.

  His gaze fixed on the girl—

  frozen in suffering before him.

  Darkness swallowed everything.

  An endless abyss devoured the world.

  Before he could react—

  A clawed, yet strangely gentle hand traced along his neck.

  Two arms wrapped around him from behind.

  Loving.

  Familiar.

  Wrong.

  A playful feminine whisper brushed his ear.

  “I’ve waited for this moment… for an eternity…”

  The voice—

  Hana.

  Or something wearing her voice.

  “Shh… don’t ruin the fun now~”

  Cold fingers lifted toward his face.

  “Those worthless fragments thought they could keep me away from you…

  But I knew you would come.

  You would never abandon me here forever…”

  A soft pause.

  “…Though it seems they stole your true power.”

  Her hand forced his eyes open, igniting his ability.

  “…Don’t worry. I’ll help you reclaim your lost glory.

  Starting from—”

  Light exploded in his vision.

  The abyss vanished.

  Reality returned.

  The suffocating pressure disappeared…

  yet dread lingered like smoke.

  Time began moving again.

  But his mind—

  was drowning in information.

  So vast it hurt to think.

  Then—

  sudden calm.

  Something had changed.

  His instincts… rewritten.

  His thoughts… reorganized.

  Knowledge flooded in and arranged itself with impossible precision:

  Astrons.

  Attributes.

  Affinities.

  Biology.

  Blood.

  Books.

  Mathematics.

  Mind.

  Magic.

  Skills.

  An ordinary human mind would have shattered.

  His didn’t.

  Because something… was guiding it.

  Quietly.

  Perfectly.

  As if this knowledge had always belonged to him.

  Without hesitation, his body moved.

  His hand rose slowly—

  hovering above the girl writhing in agony from the implantation.

  Time returned fully to normal.

  Symbols no language could describe spiraled around his fingers.

  His eyes shone with calm authority.

  And from somewhere deeper than thought—

  he spoke a name.

  “Haruna…”

  ...