All those damn curses… I need a smoke break.
Covered in curse residue and sweat, Kazu sits on a school windowsill.
"Pretty impressive. No wonder you're considered the best of the best…" Shaba said with a hint of acknowledgement.
Kazu takes out a pack of cigarettes and takes one out, lighting it and taking a puff.
"You got any leads on that Summon?" Kazu asked while blowing out smoke.
Shaba hums.
"I can feel a very deep aura resonating from under the school… It's strange because this school does not even have a basement." Shaba muttered.
Kazu leans his head back and sighs, taking one more puff of his cigarette before putting it out.
"Lead the way. I'm ready to roll." Kazu said while reloading his guns.
Kazu walks downstairs to the ground floor of the school and waits for Shaba's signal.
"Stop right here… I can feel it in this area underground…" Shaba murmured.
Kazu nods and crouches down, touching the ground.
"Something is moving at a pretty quick speed down there, like they're floating…"
Kazu paused before continuing,
"How am I supposed to get down there?"
Shaba hums in thought before letting out a mischievous chuckle.
"We can shoot through the floor to see how deep the underground goes."
Kazu nods as he stands up and aims at the ground.
"If I fall and break my neck, it'll be on you."
BANG! BANG!
After shooting the ground, Shaba notices the deep aura escaping from under the floor.
"I think it's pretty easy to cut through the floor with your greatsword, but you don't have it with you, do you?" Shaba asks.
Kazu scratches his head as he looks down at the ground, "Not at the moment. I only use it for large threats."
"Uhh, I hate to break it to ya, but we are about to fight a large threat…? Shaba buds in.
Suddenly, there's a deep roar under the floor.
"I think we've been spotted, don't let your guard-"
CRAAAAAASH!!!
A large, sharp claw pierces the floor from under, grabbing Kazu's leg and pulling him under.
"Damn it! We're getting pulled under!" Shaba exclaimed.
Even in this predicament, Kazu keeps his composure. He pulls out his blade and slashes the hand, setting it ablaze with holy energy.
"This might be the Summon people were talking about…" Kazu thought in his head.
Shaba suddenly lets out a shuddering breath.
"That's… [The Curse Architect – Eiba.] This Summon is known for creating multiple varieties of curses at once and making them do what they want on command."
Kazu hums in acknowledgement, readying his sword.
(Eiba is a large, gray-skinned, ghostly-looking creature with a huge red monoeye. They are incredibly muscular, with no mouth or legs, just a wisp-like tail.)
"We'll send their ass to the other side, let's do this!" Shaba declared.
Eiba regenerates their lost hand and narrows their eye at Kazu.
"That was fast healing… My next attacks have to be quick and precise." Kazu mutters.
He suddenly dashes at Eiba and slashes at his arm, but it regenerates yet again.
Eiba charges up, getting larger and stronger. That's when it sends a punch at Kazu, containing a bunch of execrational power.
"DEFLECT IT QUICK, KAZU!" Shaba shouted.
When Kazu deflects the attack, the power behind the blow is so strong that the holy energy stored in Kazu's blade detonates on impact, creating a massive invisible splash attack and burning Eiba with holy energy.
"Tastes strong, huh? You want some more~?" Kazu teased.
He pulled out his guns and shot Eiba continuously until the clips were empty.
After the assault, Eiba gets angrier and grows larger again, using all of the stored-up energy from the bullets and using it to attack the underground.
"Shit, they're about to use the ground to their advantage, take cover!" Shaba alerts.
Kazu leaped on top of what seemed to be a distorted array of lockers right on time, since Eiba turned the ground into a pit full of curses, trying to grab him.
"Tch, I should have grabbed my greatsword…"
Kazu uses his high ground to propel himself towards Eiba as he jumps onto them and pulls out a talisman, slapping it onto Eiba's big monoeye and igniting it into holy flames.
Eiba lets out a loud, pained shriek as his eye is being set on fire, and they grab Kazu, chucking him straight into the wall and making a large hole in it.
"Good job, Kazu, now all we need to do is use your bible and send it right back where it belongs!"
Kazu nods as he takes out his bible, dashing at Eiba.
Eiba spawns in a large number of curses, and they lunge at Kazu. Kazu gets even more excited.
"I think it's time, Shaba. Should I take it off?" Kazu asked while gripping the blindfold.
Shaba hums in excitement, "Hell yeah! Let's show them what a true curse hunter can do!!!"
Kazu smirks for the first time since the commission, and he finally takes off the blindfold, taking away the barrier that sealed away Shaba's true power…
[BURN IN AGONY.]
Every single curse in sight ignited in execrational flames and let out pained screeches.
Eiba suddenly launched another punch at Kazu, but he suddenly caught its fist with ease and squeezed. Eiba's fist gets crushed instantly in Kazu's grip.
[KNEEL.]
At the command, Eiba was forcefully put to their knees and pinned down by an overwhelming force.
"I only got 15 seconds left… I gotta wrap this up…" Kazu thought in his mind.
He walks up to Eiba, places the bible where Eiba's core would be, and lets out a sigh.
"By the hands of the Elite Safety Committee, I hereby banish you from our world and strip you of evil permanently!" Kazu chanted.
Eiba's eye widened and rolled back as the entirety of their body was engulfed in flames, and an illuminating light started glowing from their body…
KABOOOOOM!!!
The private school's underground collapses in on itself and shoots Kazu straight back upward, making him hit the ceiling of the first floor and fall back to the now restored ground.
At the same time, his blindfold seal returned to his face on command.
"Damn… the things I do for a pack of cigarettes…" Kazu chuckled while catching his breath.