Chapter 60 — Miss Maki, I'll Help You
Ren's thoughts raced. As the endless tentacles lashed toward him again, he suddenly leapt upward.
Just as he expected—
The tentacles struck nothing but empty air, smashing only the spot where he had been standing moments before.
Ren understood instantly.
This cursed spirit hadn't reached the level required to use a complete Domain Expansion.
This "domain" lacked the guaranteed hit effect.
It wasn't a true Domain Expansion. At most, it was merely the manifestation of an innate domain—a half-formed territory without a technique embedded into it. It granted the cursed spirit a boost in power, but it hadn't achieved the state of "certain hit, certain kill."
That makes things much simpler.
Ren spread his fingers wide.
Countless invisible blades shot forward, piercing through the mass of incoming tentacles and instantly shredding the cursed spirit's body into pieces.
He leapt again, grabbing the half-shattered wooden head that remained of the creature, and carried it outside.
"Your technique is pretty interesting," he said casually.
"Show it to me a few more times."
---
A short while later, Ren returned to the room.
He even had the courtesy to bring back the door panel he had punched out earlier.
"Maki, feeling any better?" he asked with concern, looking toward the corner of the room.
Before he finished speaking—
A figure suddenly pounced on him.
Like an octopus, Maki wrapped herself tightly around his body, her scorching skin pressed against him.
"Ren…"
Her bath towel slipped to the floor as she clung to him, her lips brushing near his ear, her breath burning hot.
"Are you alright…? Are you… hurt anywhere?"
Ren was about to say no.
But Maki continued speaking on her own.
"Let me… let me check for you… heehee…"
Her slender hands began wandering across his body.
Ren hurriedly grabbed her wrists to stop her.
But Maki leaned closer, her upper body rubbing insistently against his chest.
With a sudden burst of strength, he shoved her away and tossed her back onto the bed.
"Don't worry, Maki."
He immediately jumped onto the bed after her, his expression serious.
"I'll treat you."
"Reverse Cursed Technique!"
Placing his palm against the girl's lower abdomen, Ren activated the technique at full power.
"How is it?" he asked a moment later. "Do you feel any better?"
"Mm…"
The girl nodded, her face flushed.
"It feels… good. Your hand… is very warm…"
"But—"
Suddenly she sprang up again, pinning him beneath her. Her sweat-damp skin shimmered in front of his eyes.
"What I want… isn't just your hand, Ren…"
What's going on?
Ren was alarmed.
He had already used Reverse Cursed Technique on her. Why hadn't it worked?
Not only that—he could even feel that Maki's strength had increased compared to earlier.
Her body, which had been weak and limp before, now seemed full of vitality.
Wait…
His pupils shrank as realization struck him.
Reverse Cursed Technique's effect was healing.
But the cursed spirit Bath's technique—Spring-Reviving Hands—stimulated a creature's desires.
Desire was a natural instinct of living beings.
It wasn't considered an injury.
Which meant—
It couldn't be healed.
Worse still, his Reverse Cursed Technique had removed the fatigue Maki had accumulated from fighting and resisting the technique earlier.
Now her body was even more energized than before.
"S-sorry!" Ren apologized quickly.
He hadn't expected this outcome at all. Instead of helping Maki regain her senses, he had made things worse.
Maki leaned over him, her lips brushing along his neck.
"What are you apologizing for?" she said with a soft laugh.
"I don't understand what you mean."
"But if you really want to apologize…"
Her hot, damp kisses trailed upward from his neck toward his lips.
"Then pay me back with your body… heehee…"
"No!"
At that moment, Ren suddenly jolted, snapping fully awake.
Ren suddenly exerted force, prying apart Maki's arms that were tightly wrapped around him. The strength of the movement made Maki frown slightly as a small groan escaped her lips.
He pressed her down onto the bed and quickly stood up.
Looking at the flushed girl who was clearly losing control of herself, Ren declared with righteous resolve:
"Don't worry, Maki."
"I absolutely won't take advantage of someone in this situation!"
With that, he grabbed the door panel, dashed through the doorway in a flash, and just as Maki was about to leap after him—
BANG!
He slammed the door panel back into the doorway like a barricade.
Thud!
A muffled crash sounded from behind the door, followed by a soft groan. It seemed Maki had slammed straight into it.
"Ren!"
She clawed at the wooden door, the scratching sounds echoing loudly.
"Come back here—! Come back here—! Ah—! Hah—!"
"No, Maki," Ren said from outside, sweating slightly. "Just hold on a little longer. It'll be over soon."
BOOM!
Suddenly a heavy crash erupted from behind the door, accompanied by the sound of wood cracking.
"Wait—"
Ren's eyebrows shot up instantly.
Standing behind that door was someone with Heavenly Restriction. Her physical strength surpassed that of ordinary sorcerers even when they reinforced themselves with cursed energy.
A simple wooden door—
Realizing this, Ren didn't dare slack off for even a second.
He pressed both palms firmly against the door, gathering cursed energy throughout his body and pouring it into the wood to reinforce it.
---
Several hours later…
The noises behind the door finally stopped.
Ren cautiously pushed the door open.
Inside, a naked girl lay unconscious on the floor.
Seeing her like that, Ren couldn't help but smile wryly.
"Heavenly Restriction really does make for a ridiculous body… she actually kept that up for hours…"
He wrapped Maki in a bedsheet and placed her back on the bed.
Then he walked over to check on the other woman in the room—the inn's landlady, Satomi.
Fortunately, Maki hadn't misjudged her throw. The bronze ruler hadn't struck any vital organs, so the injury wasn't life-threatening.
Ren activated Reverse Cursed Technique.
Within moments, the wound healed completely.
Satomi slowly opened her eyes. She first glanced at Maki on the bed, then at Ren. Her eyes widened in shock and fear.
Ren immediately raised a hand to cover her mouth before she could scream.
"Quiet."
He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Tokyo Jujutsu High.
This cursed spirit exorcism had been completely unexpected. Because of that, no veil had been set up beforehand, which meant ordinary civilians like Satomi had become involved.
That created a risk: the existence of cursed spirits might spread among the public.
Ren didn't have experience handling situations like this.
Fortunately, Jujutsu High had a specialized department for exactly these incidents.
After all, not every cursed spirit exorcism was carefully planned in advance. Situations like this—sudden encounters—were actually far more common.
Over time, Jujutsu High had developed a complete system for dealing with them.
---
The next morning.
After everything had been handled, the assistant supervisor Akari Nitta stood in front of the two of them, holding a notebook.
"Do you want to come back with us?" she asked.
"No."
Ren turned his head immediately, his tone firm and almost stubborn.
"My travel pass isn't used up yet."
He crossed his arms with a frustrated expression.
"I've only been out for two days, and I've already run into two cursed spirit attacks."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I want to see just how long this terrible luck can keep going."