The cursed spirit disaster incident in Tokyo City was both simple and complex in nature.
It was simple because this incident was purely a riot—cursed spirits gathered around Tokyo City simultaneously attacked humans without any apparent reason or warning.
Of course, cursed spirits had always been in conflict with humans, so this wasn't particularly unusual. What was truly baffling was that the number of riotous, cursed spirits this time exceeded ten times the usual amount!
It was as if cursed spirits had suddenly become worthless commodities, as common as cabbages found everywhere. These spirits launched attacks both inside and outside the city. The attacks outside were somewhat manageable since the population was sparse, but once they struck within the city, heavy casualties were inevitable—even if mages arrived promptly, they couldn't prevent the losses.
If this continued, Tokyo City's population would sharply decline. The population was already small; further reduction might one day lead to the city being overrun by cursed spirits, resulting in complete annihilation.
"I have a question," Waver suddenly spoke up after listening intently.
"Do cursed spirits have cyclical activity patterns? For example, which season sees the most frequent activity, and which sees the least?"
"That's precisely what makes this incident complicated," Tohno Akiha sighed softly, a hint of frustration in her expression.
"Cursed spirits' activities are utterly unpredictable. The key issue is that these monsters have existed in this world for less than a year—there are no established patterns to reference."
Indeed, that was the troublesome part.
If cursed spirits had cyclical riot patterns, resolving the issue would be straightforward. By continuously hunting them during the riot period, they would eventually retreat into dormancy, allowing time for recovery.
But if cursed spirits weren't cyclical creatures, and this riot was caused by an underlying reason that remained unresolved, then the riots wouldn't stop—and that would spell disaster.
Under endless cursed energy attacks, Tokyo City's destruction at the hands of cursed spirits would only be a matter of time.
Yet, cursed spirits were monsters that had only recently appeared.
The current magical community generally believed these cursed spirits might be new creatures spawned by the curses of the "Evil of Humanity" over a decade, or perhaps they had crossed over from a parallel world like the refugees... In any case, modern magi' understanding of cursed spirits remained shallow. They didn't even know whether cyclical riot patterns existed.
"Cursed spirits do have cyclical activity patterns—they're more active in summer, while winter is their dormant period," Roy, who had been silently listening nearby, suddenly chuckled and straightforwardly provided the answer.
"Oh? May I ask why that is?" Waver turned to him with a curious gaze.
Tohno Akiha also showed slight surprise.
Was this pattern real? How did he know? If the magi of Fuyuki City had already figured this out, why hadn't they informed her?
"This involves some psychological issues. In short, curses are born from the negative emotions in human hearts. Therefore, the season when human negative emotions are strongest is when curses are most active..."
Roy shrugged.
"But aren't human negative emotions intense all year round?"
Waver quickly countered.
The world today is completely different from before. While it might have been true that people's negative emotions peaked in summer in the past, now they're undoubtedly intense throughout the entire year.
"That makes sense."
Roy nodded, showing an expression of agreement.
"But this leads us to the same conclusion."
"Whether it's summer outbreaks or year-round outbreaks, winter outbreaks shouldn't be happening. That means this curse disaster is a sudden event, and there must be someone pulling the strings behind it!"
"Good point!"
Waver's face lit up with realization as he acknowledged Roy's reasoning.
He fell into thought, seeming to have gained some insight, but still looked at Roy uncertainly.
"So in your opinion, what do you think is the hand behind all this?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Roy laughed, not looking like he'd put much thought into it, yet appearing completely confident.
"Even the dumbest curses have survival and killing instincts similar to magical beasts. If magical beasts were rampaging in a certain area, what would you think is the reason?"
"A powerful magical beast is controlling them?"
"There's your answer."
Roy pointed downward at the city beneath them.
"There's a boss-level curse in this city. That thing is the root cause of Tokyo's frequent curse disasters!"
"I see. That's highly plausible!"
Waver's lips curled into a faint smile.
It matched what he'd been thinking.
"Lord Roy seems quite knowledgeable about curses?"
Waver looked at Roy with meaningful curiosity.
"Just average."
Roy waved his hand dismissively, not wanting to elaborate.
In the end, he was just working backward from the effect to the cause.
He'd already identified the true form of the curse operating in the shadows, making it much easier to deduce its motives and logic.
Though he'd confirmed the boss curse's identity, tracking it down remained troublesome. Even with divination techniques, he could only confirm it was somewhere in Tokyo, unable to pinpoint an exact location.
"Leave finding that boss curse to us!"
Waver stood up from his chair, exhaled deeply, and nodded at Roy.
"We'll investigate the sites of recent curse attacks in the city. That should help us trace it back to the hidden curse. With luck, we'll have leads within two or three days!"
"That would be perfect."
Tohno Akiha let out a relieved sigh.
The real trouble wasn't failing to find it, but having no leads at all.
Now that they had a direction, uncovering that curse was just a matter of time.
"Head of the Tohno family, I'd like to borrow a few of your people—apprentices magi will suffice."
"No problem. I'll arrange it immediately."
Waver seemed to have rested enough and suddenly regained his energy. With the transfer order given by Tohno Akiha, he and Iskandar left the Tohno residence in a whirlwind.
In the drawing room.
"Is that boss curse lurking in Tokyo the one who can turn humans into curses?"
Tohno Shiki had been silently listening to the discussion among the group.
Only after Akiha saw Waver and the other off, leaving just Roy and himself in the drawing room, did he finally raise his head. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Roy, radiating unmistakable malice—as if the moment Roy confirmed it, he would charge out and tear that boss curse to pieces.
"And if I said yes, what would you do?"
Roy studied Shiki for a moment, lingering on his pale complexion, before suddenly breaking into a pleased smile.
"Kill it!"
Shiki's expression was unusually cold.
This unhesitating response was quite different from the Shiki Roy remembered.
But it made sense. Having grown up in this world, Shiki must have been dealing with curses from a very young age. Even his surface personality would have no shortage of resolve for killing.
"Whether you can actually pull that off right now... is hard to say."
Roy narrowed his eyes.
If it were a surprise attack, Shiki might achieve the impossible with his skills.
But in a direct confrontation, his chances of victory were slim at best.
The key was that he couldn't afford the slightest mistake in battle. One slip-up, one opening for the enemy to land a hit, and it would be game over.
The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception required stabbing the death point or tracing the death line, but against that boss curse, a single touch meant instant annihilation—more intense than even the Eyes of Death!