Mc's POV

I appeared back on Street 51, the same place where I had been patrolling with Lars before being pulled into the Cursed Spirit's domain.

The air was silent as before.

The lights flickered faintly, and cars stood along the road.

Everything looked normal.

Blue screens flashed in front of me.

You have exorcised the Rank 3 Cursed Spirit, Area 51.

Your World has granted you rewards.

Reward: +50,000 Soul Shards; Recollection Ring.

Your Inherited Class Exorcist has ranked up. Rank 0 → Rank 1.

+4 Spirit

You have resisted a powerful mind corruption for long duration. +Spirit 20

Telekinesis: 4-star → 5-star

Magic Bullet: 4-star → 5-star

I blinked a few times, trying to take it all in.

The rewards were good. Very good.

Fifty thousand Soul Shards.

It was a lot, but still only one-tenth of what I got last time.

Then again, this time we were a ten-person team.

Everyone had done something.

So the reward was split among us all.

A small ring appeared in my hand.

It was silver, faintly glowing with blue lines.

I turned it over once, then placed it into my Inventory Rune to check later.

Getting a relic like that was rare.

Exorcists didn't always get relics, even after exorcising Cursed Spirits.

Getting one meant the World had recognized your feat as impressive.

The Class rank-up was also helpful.

I could now form a Binding Vow with another Cursed Item.

That opened up more options.

Whenever a Cursed Spirit was exorcised, its domain and everything tied to it vanished.

Only the Cursed Items stayed behind.

Those items could be used for crafting relics, alchemy, or forming Binding Vows.

I focused on my Inventory Rune and felt the faint pulse inside it.

The Security Guard Cursed Spirit — no, the Security Guard Cursed Item was still trapped within.

Now, it was no longer a spirit. It had become a Cursed Item.

I would still need to make it submit before making a Binding Vow with it.

For now, I turned to the side and saw Lars standing a few feet away.

His breathing was heavy, and his eyes were half open.

He groaned, grabbing his head.

"My head hurts."

He rested his arm on his knee, and that's when I saw the fur.

His legs were still covered in it.

The contamination hadn't faded.

Contamination was one of the worst things that could happen to an Exorcist.

Sometimes it changed your looks. Sometimes your mind. Sometimes your powers.

But if it kept spreading, there was only one ending.

You turned into a Cursed Spirit.

And when a human turned into one, they were far more dangerous than ordinary ones.

They understood how people thought and acted, and used that against them.

"Come on," I said, walking over and putting his arm over my shoulder. "Let's get back to the motel. There's no need to patrol anymore. We've done our job."

"…what? uhh… I feel like I got hit by a truck."

He wasn't in danger anymore, but he was still in bad shape.

And he was missing his memories.

Honestly, I wasn't much better.

My body felt heavy, especially my chest.

My heart was barely keeping up.

The effect of Heart-Burst Poison was fading, and the after effects were kicking in.

Slow, weak beats that echoed in my ears.

I knew what it meant.

I wouldn't be able to do any hard physical work for at least a year.

That was fine.

It was a fair price for surviving. Cutting down an impervious enemy came with consequences.

And a year of weakness didn't bother me much.

I already planned to use that time differently.

I would focus on my Runesmith Class, create useful relics, and maybe get Mechanic or other crafting-related Classes ones.

These Classes didn't rely too much on strength or speed.

If I could combine them later, I could evolve into a much more powerful Class. Likely a Rare Evolved Class, or hopefully a Hidden Evolved Class.

After a slow walk through the quiet street, we reached the motel.

I knocked on the door.

It opened almost immediately.

Mira stood there, eyes wide, her hands shooting forward to grab Lars.

"You're both back!" she said, pulling him in.

She helped him to the bed.

I stayed silent and walked to the corner, sitting down without showing how exhausted I really was.

My heart was still heavy, but there was need to show it.

"So, it's over?" Denny Flutz, our team's shielder, asked.

He was sitting near the window.

"Yes," Selene said quietly.

She was sitting beside Calliope, who was treating her arm with modern medicines.

The air around them smelled faintly of herbs and antiseptics.

Denny scratched his head.

"I didn't really do much, and I still got Soul Shards. It feels wrong," he said, sounding embarrassed.

"You got caught by the Cursed Spirit and brought us time by doing that. That's good enough," Ellyn said from the side, waving her hand.

It was not like he could return the Soul Shards.

They were untransferable.

He looked down, mumbling something like "If you say so."

I exhaled deeply.

Right now, only Mira, Selene, and I remembered what really happened inside the Cursed Spirit's domain.

The others didn't.

Their memories had been wiped out by Zephan due to his wrong deduction.

But they knew something had happened, because they'd lost memories of two hours between midnight and right now.

When they realized it, they came straight back to the motel.

Mira had told them everything that happened.

Zephan, being a Mentalist, managed to restore his own memory not long after.

Then he went out to fix the civilians' memories and bring back the dog we found inside the domain.

Once he returned, he said he'd help the others regain theirs too.

"I'm s-sorry. I must have caused everyone trouble inside the domain," Calliope said softly.

Mira turned to her, eyes wide.

"You?" she said.

Then she laughed, walking over and slapping Calliope's back.

"You did the opposite! Half of us are alive because of you."

"Huh?" Calliope blinked, confused.

"The other half, is because of this arrogant prick," Mira said, pointing at me.

I frowned. "A what?"

She smirked. "You heard me."

I didn't argue, but I showed my displeasure with my body language.

What did she mean by arrogant?

I had done everything I could to help.

I didn't even act rude, at least not that I remembered.

Selene gave a weak laugh. "I don't really remember him being arrogant."

"Stop lying," Mira said, snorting and smiling.

Calliope seemed to be having a hard time believing Mira's words of her accomplishment.

Mira replied by saying she should wait for Zephan to come and recover her memories.

I noticed Calliope's hands trembling slightly.

She must have realized what was wrong with her.

Her mana was missing.

Losing a mana core wasn't something easy to accept, even if it could be recovered.

The room stayed quiet for a few moments.

Only the faint hum of the heater filled the silence.

Zephan returned a while later, holding a creature in his arms: the dog we had saved.

It wagged its tail happily when it saw us.

He put it down and looked at everyone.

"Civilians' memories are fixed. The area's been marked for inspection. Once the Exorcists from underworld confirms the Cursed Spirit here has been exorcised, all of you will be rewarded."

"How much money will we get?" I asked immediately.

Everyone turned to look at me with strange expressions.

Zephan laughed though.

"Focusing on the important details. I knew you were a kindred spirit when we first met."

"So? How much?" I asked again.

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