"Oh… shit."
The hulking metal cursed spirit stood at the center of the wreckage, its body grafted with scraps of the factory floor — iron bars jutting from its back, twisted chains coiled like serpents around its arms. Its glowing crimson eyes narrowed, intelligent and calculating. It didn't waste movements. It studied.
"That's it," my brows knit together. Something felt off. This factory was on the outskirts of the city, so no laws had been violated by its operation. Yet the place looked like it had been abandoned in a rush — tools scattered, machines left mid-process, as if the workers had either fled in panic or vanished altogether. As if they had been running from something.
And now that something was staring at me, eyes fixed like I was prey that had wandered straight into its den.
"Well… I can clear up that misunderstanding."
The spirit lunged.
BOOOOM!
The floor caved beneath its weight. Its claw swiped wide, the steel frame of a conveyor belt now fused to its arm. I ducked, cursed energy bursting under my feet as I slid low and drove an uppercut into its jaw.
CRACK!
The impact rang through the factory, cursed energy exploding with heat. The spirit's head snapped back, sparks bursting off its steel-plated skull. It staggered but retaliated instantly, swinging its other arm — this one laced with hanging chains.
CLAAAANG!
The chain lashed across the floor, shattering concrete. I vaulted back just in time, the links whistling past my face.
"Steel type attacks, huh?" I laughed in my head. "Fine."
The spirit dragged its chains back, then swung again, this time wrapping a steel beam around its arm like a whip. The bar whirled with terrifying speed.
I braced, cursed energy flooding into my arms. The beam lashed out — WHIP-CRACK! — and I caught it mid-strike, my forearms glowing bright with heat. Sparks showered from the clash. The floor caving beneath me forming a crater.
"Not bad," I hissed, forcing its weapon back, molten sparks dripping from my grip. With a grunt, I twisted and hurled the steel beam aside, the cursed energy augmenting my throw so violently that the metal bent in mid-air before crashing into the wall.
The spirit roared in frustration and lunged again.
This time, we collided in pure hand-to-hand combat.
BAM!THUD!CRASH!
My fist buried itself into its torso, steam hissing off its body where heat met steel. It countered with a claw swipe that scraped across my chest, sparks exploding. I pivoted, drove my knee into its stomach, then spun into a cursed energy–infused roundhouse.
The blow blasted it across the room, through a stack of machinery that collapsed with a deafening crash. Dust filled the air.
Before I could catch my breath, its chains lashed out from the rubble.
SHHHRAAANG!
I rolled sideways as the whip slammed down, carving another crater in the floor. Another chain snaked toward me. I caught it mid-air, cursed energy flaring around my grip, and yanked — pulling the spirit toward me.
It skidded across the floor, dragged by its own weapon. I surged forward, slamming my fist into its chest as it arrived.
BOOOOM!
The explosion sent both of us flying. I landed hard, coughing, but forced myself back up. My cursed energy was still stable — but this thing wasn't slowing down.
Its wounds sealed quickly, metal re-forming over molten cracks. Complete regeneration in seconds. Beings of pure cursed energy.
"Tch… special grade, alright."
I extended my palm.
FWOOM!
The Cursed Energy Beam tore through the dust cloud, hammering into its shoulder. The explosion took half the wall behind it.
The spirit stumbled — then charged through the flames.
"Another!" FWOOM! A second beam hit, searing a hole in its side. The spirit reeled, but pressed on.
"Keep coming then!" FWOOM! A third beam smashed into its torso, steel warping and melting.
But still, it advanced, step by step. Its intelligence showed — it raised its arm at the last second to tank a shot, let another graze its shoulder, its eyes never leaving me. It knew which beams would only sting.
"…You're not stupid, huh?" I muttered, sweat dripping down my face from my own heat.
The spirit roared and launched its whip again, chains scattering like shrapnel. I ducked and countered, grabbing a loose length of steel and channeling cursed energy through it until it glowed molten red.
WHOOSH!
I swung it like a flaming blade, clashing against its chain-whip. The air exploded with sparks, the heat scorching my arms.
We went at it in equal measure now — my fists and kicks colliding with its claws, my cursed energy–infused strikes smashing against its weapons. Each clash destroyed more of the factory. Beams collapsed, machinery turned to rubble, fire spread across the walls.
The ground shook with every exchange. BAM!CRASH!SHHRRANG!
If anyone below grade 1 will see our fight, they would only see two blurs clashing against each other, producing shockwaves strong enough to collide with the barrier, producing cracks upon it.
At intervals, I fired cursed energy beams, each one punctuating the close-range battle. They carved chunks out of its body, but never enough to finish it.
Finally, I staggered back, chest heaving, and raised my hands again.
The spirit tilted its head, crimson eyes narrowing. It had seen this before. To it, this was just another cursed energy blast — something it could tank, like it had the last three.
"Go ahead," its stance seemed to say. "I'll take it."
A huge mistake.
Cursed energy spiked around me, heat screaming into the air until the steel beneath my feet turned molten. My palms turned a mix of yellow and orange , too bright to look at directly.
"Pure Plasma Beam!"
The factory lit up like a second sun.
SHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAANGGGGGGG!
The beam fired — a blinding plasma. It tore a perfect line through the spirit's chest, vaporizing everything in its path.
For a second, the curse stood there, stunned — it had thought this was another beam it could shrug off. But realization came too late. Its torso disintegrated in a spray of molten steel, its chains falling limp to the ground.
It collapsed with an earth-shaking crash fading into particles.
The plasma kept going, tearing through the far wall and collapsing the entire support structure of the factory. In seconds —
CRAAAAAAAASHHHH!
The whole building came down. Flames roared, machines melted, concrete shattered. The curtain outside shimmered violently as it contained the destruction within.
When the dust settled, I stood amidst the rubble, breathing hard, skin blistered from the heat of my own attack. The metallic husk of the curse was already crumbling into ash.
"…Fight and victory - First of many to come" I muttered, brushing sparks off my arm.
The factory was gone. Only fire and silence remained.