Chapter 58 — A Masterful Touch
The voice belonged to the inn's landlady, Satomi.
But the fear and trembling that had filled her voice moments earlier were completely gone. In their place was a cold, meticulous calm.
Then the tone shifted again.
It became soft, sweet, and dripping with trembling excitement.
"So… how will you reward me?"
In the instant Satomi spoke again, Maki had already broken free from her grip—
But it was too late.
She suddenly felt something like a palm lightly brush against her abdomen.
At first, nothing seemed strange.
She continued running forward several steps.
Then—
A burning sensation suddenly ignited deep within her body, rapidly spreading through her limbs and organs.
The heat engulfed her entire body in an instant.
It felt as if she had been locked in a sauna for seventeen or eighteen straight hours—every ounce of strength in her body evaporated at once, her limbs turning soft and powerless.
She collapsed to the floor with a thud.
She didn't even have time to feel pain.
It felt as if every drop of moisture inside her body had evaporated as well.
Now, the only thing she felt was—
Overwhelming thirst.
Struggling, she dragged herself toward a wall and forced herself into a sitting position.
Turning her head, she glanced first at Satomi, whose expression had turned strangely seductive, then toward the direction where the cursed spirit should be.
The inn's landlady swayed her hips as she walked toward the center of the room.
A cursed spirit?
No… that wasn't right. Without her glasses, she shouldn't be able to see cursed spirits.
A curse user?
But the strength Satomi had displayed just now showed no sign of cursed energy at all—it felt no different from an ordinary human.
Satomi stopped in the middle of the room.
Then she leaned slightly to one side, as if pressing against something invisible, gently rubbing against it.
Her face was filled with intoxicated delight.
"You did very well," the cursed spirit's voice sounded.
"This is your reward."
The rustling of clothes echoed softly.
Something unseen moved close to Satomi.
"You—!" Maki glared at the empty space beside the woman, goosebumps crawling across her skin.
"What the hell are you?!"
"I am Bath—the cursed spirit of baths, the spirit of the bathing house."
The sticky, wet voice crept closer, filled with grotesque excitement.
"You came here to enjoy bathing, didn't you?"
"The Cursed Spirit Bath will bring you the ultimate pleasure!"
It let out a vulgar giggle.
Maki forced herself to stand.
"I suggest you don't waste your strength, beautiful lady. You've already fallen under my technique."
"Technique?" Maki's heart sank.
As she struggled to rise, the burning sensation inside her body didn't fade.
Instead—
It grew stronger.
Stronger and stronger.
When she looked at Satomi lying on the floor in a disgraceful state, the feeling rising in her chest was no longer just disgust.
There was also—
A faint, creeping desire.
"That's right," the cursed spirit said enthusiastically.
"My massage technique—Spring-Reviving Hands."
"Massage pairs perfectly with hot springs."
"After soaking comfortably in a hot spring, isn't a full-body massage the ultimate experience?"
"But my Spring-Reviving Hands doesn't even require a full massage."
"With just a light touch…"
"I can awaken every pleasure receptor in your body—allowing you to experience bliss beyond imagination!"
"Disgusting!" Maki gritted her teeth.
This was bad.
When she chose the path of a jujutsu sorcerer, she had long accepted the possibility of defeat.
Even death.
But she had never imagined she might lose like this.
To fall in such a humiliating way…
Just imagining it sent wave after wave of revulsion through her entire body.
No!
She couldn't fall here. Absolutely could not fall here.
The panic and revulsion actually helped clear a little of the scorching heat that threatened to burn away her consciousness.
Maki forced a sliver of strength out of her weakened body. Trembling, she pushed herself to her feet and leaned against the wall, trying to move toward the balcony.
But the very next moment, her legs gave way.
She collapsed again.
The tiny bit of strength she had gathered drained away like water.
Behind her came the sound of a chair scraping across the floor.
"Don't come any closer!"
The scraping sound stopped.
But then the cursed spirit's playful voice rang out again.
"It's fine, beautiful lady. Struggle all you like. Struggling has its own charm. A proud flower blooming in despair—every tremor of resistance, every futile attempt to fight back… I will savor your struggle slowly."
"Until you can't hold on any longer… and bow down to beg for my affection."
"Not in your dreams," Maki growled through clenched teeth.
"Don't worry," the cursed spirit replied lazily. "You'll soon end up just like her."
"Her?" Maki glanced toward Satomi lying on the floor and suddenly felt a chill run through her.
In that instant, she finally understood why this ordinary woman had attacked her.
"That's right. Everyone who falls under my technique eventually becomes a slave to their desires… and a slave to me."
"But don't worry," the spirit added casually. "This woman is already satisfied. She won't interrupt us."
The cursed spirit's voice trembled with uncontrollable excitement, punctuated by the sound of swallowing saliva.
It made Maki feel genuine fear.
No…
She couldn't fall here.
Even if she died, she couldn't fall like this.
Summoning the last scrap of strength in her body, she grabbed the bronze ruler from the floor and hurled it forward with a desperate swing.
Whoosh—
The ruler sliced through the air toward the cursed spirit.
But her body was too weak. The strike missed its target and instead plunged into Satomi's body where she lay on the floor.
The innkeeper's rolled-back eyes snapped open.
She released an ear-piercing scream—so shrill and violent it felt as though it could shatter metal and tear through the clouds.
"What are you doing?" the cursed spirit said, startled for a moment before breaking into laughter.
"Trying to compete for my favor before even joining me?"
At first it had assumed the woman was aiming at it.
It hadn't expected her to be so feeble—losing the strength to fight back so quickly.
"I thought you'd last a little longer."
"After all," it said in a drooling tone, "you have such a perfect body."
"Ah—"
Suddenly realization dawned on it.
"I see now. It's because of your body."
"That tough physique of yours must make your senses far more sensitive than ordinary humans!"
Its voice grew increasingly excited.
"That means the pleasure you receive from my technique will far surpass that of normal humans!"
"I originally thought it would take at least three touches to immediately turn someone as resilient as you into my slave."
"But I didn't expect it would only take one."
The cursed spirit Bath spoke in a trembling, ecstatic tone.
"Your body and my technique—our compatibility is perfect."
"You are practically my born slave!"
"…What the hell are you talking about?"
A clear, cold voice suddenly came from behind the door.