Sōjun Minamoto wasn't in a rush.
That mutt had been with him for ages—ever since the day he first awakened his technique. Sure, it had been a bit forced at the start, but still, something that persistent wouldn't go down so easily.
He sat cross-legged on the sofa, slowly closed his eyes, and settled his mind. He extended his perception outward, using the Fly Head as an anchor.
He could sense it—but not clearly enough. The Fly Head wasn't giving him enough feedback.
Without hesitation, three spikes extended from his shoulder blades beneath his clothing.
This piece of flesh-armor boosted his sensory capacity, though more wasn't always better. Through experience, he had found three to be the optimal balance.
But right now, balance wasn't the priority—he needed to max out perception. Two more spikes emerged, bringing the total to five.
Immediately, his senses expanded, no longer feeling like they were pressing against some unseen barrier.
In the next moment, he connected smoothly with the Fly Head.
Still, something was off. What was missing now was a strong emotional surge from the mutt.
After all this time, had it gotten any smarter? Had it actually devoured any of its own kind seriously?
Judging by this, it was still too lazy. After everything, it still hadn't put in enough effort.
He'd have to tighten control going forward, personally push its progress in preying on others of its kind.
Random thoughts drifted through Sōjun Minamoto's mind, but they didn't interfere with the task at hand. He focused his attention on the mutt.
Far away...
The Fly Head suddenly turned to Riko Amanai and spoke with a broken, halting voice: "Think...of…my...name..."
The mutt had Grade 2 strength. For a team of first-year rookies like hers, their missions shouldn't be overly dangerous—they should be able to handle it.
But the message he was getting now was a cry for help. It was in serious danger and calling for his intervention.
Even its symbol within his mental image Domain was beginning to show signs of instability.
Sōjun Minamoto couldn't just act casually anymore. If he wanted to intervene, he'd need to descend flawlessly.
Which brought up another problem.
The mutt's emotional output wasn't strong enough. It wasn't enough to trigger a perfect connection—that was a flaw born from its lack of intellect.
He needed someone nearby to amplify its emotional resonance. The more desperate, the more intense the desire, the easier it would be for him to bypass the limits of distance, cursed energy, thought, time...
And achieve a perfect consciousness descent.
...
The time was a few hours ago...
Riko Amanai rushed excitedly to the white bone tree—but the person wasn't there.
She ran to their dorm, but the door was tightly shut. Still no sign of him.
She was sure she'd reminded him: she'd be out on a mission today.
A little disappointed, she quickly pulled herself together. The thrill of the mission was more than enough to sweep away any negative emotions.
Clutching her Fly Head, Riko sprinted all the way to the school gate.
"Sorry I'm late," she apologized to the small group waiting there.
Kento Nanami, Yu Haibara, and an auxiliary supervisor had already been waiting a few minutes. With Riko now present, their three-person team was complete.
Once the supervisor finished explaining the mission—
"Let's go." Riko waved grandly, unexpectedly taking the lead.
And surprisingly, the others followed her without question.
The destination was far, requiring several transfers along the way. It was late afternoon by the time they arrived.
Standing in a row, the group looked up at the tall building surrounded by police tape.
A hospital.
Cursed Spirit incidents tended to happen in places like this.
Riko stepped forward and volunteered to cast the Barrier.
She raised her sword-fingers to her lips, channeling a faint stream of Cursed Energy. A black ink-like mass appeared overhead and slowly—but steadily—dripped downward, forming the barrier.
She nodded in satisfaction.
Her control over Cursed Energy was right on point. Any more and it would overflow; any less and it wouldn't be enough. This was just right.
If Sōjun Minamoto were here to see this, he'd probably smile in relief—but say nothing more.
Hahaha.
She laughed freely to herself, then quickly composed her thoughts and entered the barrier first. Nanami and Haibara followed close behind, while the supervisor stayed outside to support.
Now this was what a proper team setup looked like.
Not like that backwards duo of Sōjun Minamoto and Shiko Mishima.
Once inside, the three immediately tightened formation and advanced slowly.
The barrier, modeled after Sōjun Minamoto's teachings, differed from what they'd learned at school. Riko could now clearly sense the positions of the curses. But—
Something felt off about the strength.
The number too—it didn't feel right.
Riko sharpened her focus.
Sōjun had taught her that this type of barrier enhanced perception, marking curses inside as black energy clouds. The bigger the cloud, the more Cursed Energy.
While more energy didn't necessarily mean more power, it was a reliable indicator of strength.
The Cursed Energy around the three of them only measured about the size of a fist. But the other presences—each was almost basketball-sized. And there were two of them.
That can't be right.
A nervous tension began creeping in.
She forced herself to stay calm, glanced sideways at the other two, and said seriously, "Be careful. Something's off."
The others nodded, quietly raising their guard.
Nanami held his blade upright at his chest, while Haibara stayed alert to their surroundings.
Riko kept moving, slowly leading the way toward the curses.
They were all textbook students—solid on theory. This kind of situation was covered in their materials, and being from the same school, they quickly came to the same conclusion.
They had the numbers advantage.
Sorcerers were inherently stronger than curses. Defeating a higher-grade opponent wasn't uncommon.
Besides—Riko glanced up at the Fly Head floating above her.
They had that guy too.
Though its strength was unclear and the barrier didn't reveal its Cursed Energy, it was still something.
Their eyes met. After evaluating the situation, they agreed—no need to back off. As long as they stayed sharp, they had a good shot at completing the mission.
Typical rookies—fired up and easy to sway. Nanami still hesitated slightly, but was soon swept up in the group's momentum.
The hospital wasn't large. They reached the Cursed Spirits quickly.
A glance passed between them.
Riko clapped her hands, then suddenly charged forward with a crazed grin.
Nanami was right behind her.
Haibara veered off to intercept the other one.
Riko moved at blistering speed. In a flash, she was right in front of the Cursed Spirit. Just as they were about to collide, she came to a sudden stop, twisted mid-movement, and skidded sideways—kicking up dust as her shoes scraped the ground.
She was already behind it.
Nanami arrived a beat later, leaping high and swinging his weapon down hard—aiming just left of the curse's head, full force.
The curse blinked in confusion, muttering something. Then, it quickly raised a fist to block the blade.
Its massive body blocked the light, casting a long shadow behind it.
Riko bent her knees, stepped forward, and lightly pressed down on that shadow.
The curse froze instantly.
Nanami lowered his stance to gain speed on the descent, slashing toward the head—but ended up striking the arm instead.
A miss?!
His pupils contracted.
The curse had broken free of Riko's control and blocked the killing blow with its arm.
Their coordinated attack fell apart.
One misstep ruined everything.
At the same time, Haibara was badly injured by the second curse.
Their original plan had been simple:
Riko would use her technique to immobilize the curse.
Nanami would strike during that window—his technique-enhanced attack would finish it off.
Then, the two would regroup with Haibara and the three of them would take down the remaining curse together.
Easy, right?
It was a fiery combo they'd practiced again and again at school.
The plan was sound, with a high success rate.
But in a fight like this, timing was everything.
Their rookie nerves had already given them a self-inflicted debuff—putting pressure on themselves before the battle even started, making mistakes more likely.
Riko and Nanami dodged the rampaging curse and moved to the side. Haibara, flung backward, was caught by the other two.
Now both curses had converged and were charging at them. The situation had gone from bad to worse.
"Ha... hahaha... just missed it..." Haibara panted and closed his eyes.
"Hey! Don't close your eyes and act like you're ready to die!" Riko shouted urgently, glancing at the curses, then back at her teammates.
"Then what are we supposed to do?!" Haibara's heart was pounding as the curses drew closer. He gulped and raised his voice in panic.
There was no other way.
If he gave it his all, maybe he could buy the others enough time to escape.
Just as he braced himself to charge forward—
"Obviously... we call for backup!" Riko shouted.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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