"Boom!!!"
The moment he stepped into the first, lighter-colored curtain, Akira Zenin broke into a run toward the center of the forest. The constant thunderous blasts echoed over and over nearby, unable to travel beyond the barrier.
[The source of the noise is in Mechamaru's direction… An explosion on this scale, is that the official unit?
Looks like his body's been restored. Then that means Mahito is there too…
In that case, I'll save him first…]
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Akira Zenin reached the center of the first curtain, only to hear a slightly hoarse voice.
"Akira Zenin, possessor of Heavenly Restriction, who exchanges drowsiness for Cursed Energy that increases with each passing year…"
Akira Zenin looked toward the voice and saw a woman in a loose cloak, her face hidden from view.
Kenjaku smiled and waved.
"Akira-san, nice to meet you… no, that should be the second time. To think you've grown to this level, you really have exceeded my expectations…"
The moment Akira Zenin saw Kenjaku, he immediately sped up the process of unsealing his Cursed Energy while scanning his surroundings.
[One, two, three, four… I knew this thousand-year-old bastard wouldn't show up in front of me alone…]
"So you're helping me by revealing my circumstances and strengthening my Cursed Energy in the process… You're kind of interesting."
Kenjaku replied with a smile:
"Because that means you won't be able to attack me…
First, no shikigami can withstand your Cursed Energy, so you can't summon any.
Second, you rely on a Binding Vow to keep your mental state stable. If you go all out, you won't be able to last long before losing control… Maybe you can only attack once? After all, tomorrow is your birthday~~
Third, if you unleash a thunderstorm with that amount of Cursed Energy, this whole forest will be destroyed, and your adorable students are still inside~~"
As Kenjaku spoke, Dagon and Kōkyū stepped out from the side. A doll-like Cursed Spirit with pure white wings floated silently behind Kenjaku, while Saishū prowled nearby, searching for a chance to strike…
At that moment, Dagon had already taken the form of a giant octopus, glaring viciously at the murderer who had killed Jogo.
With part of his Cursed Energy unsealed, Akira Zenin could feel it spreading far enough to cover the entire forest. Through his talismans, he could now perceive the other sources of Cursed Energy throughout the woods.
But that also meant he had personally torn down the levee holding back that flood of Cursed Energy, allowing the filthy "liquid" that could only be called "humanity's evil" to spill out from his body…
"Since you want me to undo the restriction, then watch closely."
Akira Zenin closed his eyes. In an instant, the whites were suffused with blood, and vein-like patterns spread out from beneath his heavy dark circles, crawling across his face.
At the same time, shadow talismans appeared beside the ears of every student in the forest.
[Listen up, everyone. Run for the outer edge of the curtain with everything you've got. If something blocks you, don't panic…]
But before Akira Zenin could finish, all the talismans dissipated at once. After unsealing his Cursed Energy, his mental state began deteriorating rapidly, to the point that he could no longer maintain that level of precise control.
Still, the most important part of the message had gotten through…
"You were right. Not a single shikigami can withstand my Cursed Energy… Even if I summoned Mahoraga, it would be forced to keep adapting to my constantly changing Cursed Energy and wouldn't be able to act at all…"
Akira Zenin raised a hand and cast a shadow over his collarbone, then pulled a three-section staff-shaped Cursed Tool from within it.
Akira Zenin lightly swung [Playful Cloud].
"It's been a long time since I've felt this kind of output after unsealing my Cursed Energy. This should be fun."
Kenjaku narrowed her eyes as she looked at the Cursed Energy rising straight into the sky from her opponent. Honestly, even she hadn't expected this much. A volume of Cursed Energy large enough to cover an entire forest was far beyond what she had anticipated.
More accurately, no normal jujutsu sorcerer with any common sense would even think in that direction.
If Akira Zenin were killed without using jujutsu, what grade of Cursed Spirit would be born from that?
Just as Kenjaku was preparing her next move, Akira Zenin attacked without warning, vanishing from where he stood.
[What's going on? Doesn't he realize that the moment he attacks, he'll fall asleep? Good thing we discussed a countermeasure in advance… In his current state, Akira Zenin absolutely can't use a Domain…]
The instant Akira Zenin disappeared, the three Cursed Spirits beside Kenjaku all raised their hands and began forming seals.
"Domain Expansion: [Coffin of the Iron Mountain]"
Before Kōkyū, the closest one to Akira Zenin, could even finish speaking, a three-section staff suddenly appeared above its head and smashed down, bursting it apart like a bubble…
"Domain Expansion: [Horizon of the Captivating Skandha]"
The next instant, Dagon, the second closest, was struck by Akira Zenin in a spinning side blow. It happened too fast for Dagon to shift his position at all. His body shot clear through the forest and slammed into the mountainside on the far end, with even his limbs left behind where he had stood…
Only after the two high-level Cursed Spirits were killed did Kenjaku fully realize what had just happened…
It was only when she focused with everything she had and barely managed to catch sight of Akira Zenin's next attack coming straight at her that she understood the mistake she had made.
Everything she had estimated before had only been a guess. She had never actually had complete information on him.
"Domain Expansion: [Whispering Dreamland]"
...
Kenjaku lay there stunned for quite a while after being sent flying. Then she finally came back to herself and touched her caved-in chest.
"I'm actually still alive…"
She looked at Akira Zenin, who now stood there motionless.
"So that's how it is…"
The three-section staff in Akira Zenin's hand had exploded.
Even [Playful Cloud] couldn't withstand his Cursed Energy…
"Less than a second…"
Kenjaku recalled what had just happened. After using Reverse Cursed Technique to heal herself, she grabbed her own hair, laughed as she steadied her breathing, and said,
"Hah… hah… that was close… Now that was exciting…"
Kenjaku walked over and grabbed the doll-like Cursed Spirit in one hand.
"I cultivated this one specially. A Cursed Spirit born from humanity's resentment toward not wanting to get out of bed, [Chōkon]… I didn't expect I'd still come that close to failing. I'll remember this lesson…"
As she muttered to herself, the Cursed Energy spilling from Akira Zenin had already become fully solid, flowing outward like liquid. Kenjaku raised a hand to block the "wind" that came with that abnormal Cursed Energy. Then her arm began to itch. Even after using Reverse Cursed Technique on it, the sensation didn't improve. If anything, it started to sting…
Kenjaku looked at her right arm.
It was covered in all kinds of eyes, opening and closing constantly, along with writhing lumps of flesh.
It was breaking free of her control.
But she didn't panic in the slightest. She simply cut the arm off. The severed limb immediately grew two "legs" and awkwardly ran off into the distance.
"Wonderful…
That burst of Cursed Energy just turned it into something like a tsukumogami-type Cursed Spirit?
No, it has a physical body… a Cursed Object? Incarnation?
…
A Cursed Spirit incarnated into a human body? How is that possible?
…
No, it already happened…
If Cursed Energy is condensed enough, can it do something like this? Then how has he managed to maintain a human form this whole time?
…
Then I can't kill him… I can't kill him…"
Kenjaku completely forgot to heal her severed arm with Reverse Cursed Technique. Her eyes grew hotter and hotter as she stared at where Akira Zenin had fallen asleep.
"I've never seen material like this before!!
Can this directly turn an ordinary human into a Cursed Spirit? Would any consciousness remain?"
Kenjaku looked toward Saishū, who was about to move in for the finishing blow.
"Plan changed! We prioritize this research first. Everything else gets pushed back!"
Chōkon said nothing, still floating silently behind Kenjaku. Saishū, meanwhile, ground his bone blade and spoke with that ridiculous smile still on his face.
"I don't really care. All the other Cursed Spirits are dead, but I'm still enjoying this tragedy quite a bit. Hanami-chan definitely won't let this go so easily, though…"
"Hah. They're just a bunch of Cursed Spirits… I… no, wait!"
Maybe because Kenjaku was so fascinated by what had just happened, she kept all her attention fixed on Akira Zenin.
And that was exactly why she noticed it.
His shadow didn't line up with his body.
The shadow's hand signs were wrong.
"One two three~~"
A childish voice suddenly came from beneath Akira Zenin's feet, carrying a strange tone, like a small child chanting an eerie nursery rhyme.
"With this treasure…"
Three Divine Dogs hidden in his shadow slowly poked their heads out one after another.
"With this treasure, I summon…"
The faces of those half-formed shadow beasts suddenly became disturbingly human, and the corners of their mouths split all the way upward to the tops of their heads…
"Cycle, link, synchronize…"
"Full Release: Otherworldly Divine General: Mahoraga!"
Three different Mahoragas rose up from Akira Zenin's shadow.
One had a broad, powerful body, muscles packed so tightly it almost looked square. It held a massive shield and stood completely still, while the wheel above its head slowly rotated.
One was tall and gaunt, with long, powerful arms, holding a great bow.
One carried a long blade, and the wing-like organs beside its eyes trembled faintly with each breath…
But their bodies were no longer pure white.
They were covered in black sludge, and that sludge kept dripping down from them without end.
...
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