On a high ground outside the cave.
Kenjaku, who had just been smiling happily, was now staring grimly at the three people below, who were laughing and chatting.
It was as if his smile had been stolen by the three of them.
Kenjaku, the great collector, had gathered many treasures from ancient times to the present.
Among them were many Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
This was also why Kenjaku was able to quickly build up combat power after taking over Suguru's body.
Later, after the Culling Game began, Kenjaku even released control over some Special Grade Cursed Spirits and threw them into the Culling Game.
For example, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Kurourushi.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, losing a Special Grade Cursed Spirit would not make Kenjaku angry.
That was only if he had already lost interest in that Cursed Spirit.
It was like a child who wants every toy he sees.
Many toys are thrown aside after being played with, and he might not even remember if you threw them away or did something else with them.
But if it is a new toy you just bought, and you accidentally step on it and break it, you will suffer a terrifying sonic attack.
It might also come with your wife's merciless iron hand and an attack on your wallet.
This was the current situation.
This Cthulhu-esque Special Grade imaginary Cursed Spirit, like the woman who gave birth to the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, had brought Kenjaku a lot of novelty, and he had not yet grown tired of it.
So, Kenjaku's mood after discovering that his "toy" was gone was easy to imagine.
"What a coincidence."
Kenjaku realized that the three Jujutsu Sorcerers below were acquaintances.
In the intelligence he had seen before returning to Japan, there had been data on the three of them.
First-year Tokyo Jujutsu High students, Maki, Toge, and Panda.
Their strength was good, and if you thought about it carefully, they were also enemies.
Because aside from Toge, who had not yet clearly stated his position, both Maki and Panda belonged to Eichi's faction.
"Since that's the case, then all of you can stay here."
Kenjaku took out a wooden handle wrapped in talismans from his arms.
After the talismans were removed, powerful Cursed Energy emanated from the broken wooden handle.
Soon, a Cursed Spirit over three meters tall, robustly built, with four eyes and two horns, appeared.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit Akuroo Ootake.
Akuroo Ootake is a legendary demon of Japan.
Along with Akagashira and Takamaru, he is known as one of the Three Demons of Oshu.
In some legends, he is also regarded as one of the Three Great Demon Kings or Three Great Yokai, alongside Shuten Doji and Tamamo-no-Mae.
He was originally Ayumi-ruwai, a leader of the Emishi region.
Because he often caused trouble in the area, frequently doing things like, "This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll," he was also known as Akuro-Ō.
Legend has it that Akuro-Ō was defeated by Tamuramaro, who came to subjugate him, after Suzuka Gozen tricked him into giving up his treasured sword.
[Note: There are different versions of the legend. Here, the version being used is the one where Akuro-Ō fell in love with Suzuka Gozen and willingly fell into her trap, following her wishes.
However, he did not expect Suzuka Gozen and Tamuramaro, who came to subjugate him, to be working together.
Akuro-Ō, feeling betrayed, became a Special Grade Cursed Vengeful Spirit after his death.]
"Kill them."
Hearing this, Akuroo Ootake glanced at Kenjaku, then charged at the three people ahead with displeasure.
Because he had encountered Kenjaku shortly after becoming a Cursed Spirit, he had been forced to make a Binding Vow with Kenjaku.
Therefore, Akuroo Ootake could only obey Kenjaku's orders.
However, what Akuroo Ootake did not know was that because of the change of bodies, the Binding Vow Kenjaku had made with him had already become ineffective.
Boom.
Akuroo Ootake leaped high into the air, then crashed to the ground like a meteor.
Violent tremors spread in all directions.
A powerful shock wave began sweeping through everything around them.
Maki, who sensed the danger first, moved immediately, opening the Thousand Machine Umbrella like a shield and holding it in front of them.
Violent impacts and countless bits of gravel slammed against the Thousand Machine Umbrella.
Maki bent her body, her feet firmly planted on the ground.
Her right hand gripped the Thousand Machine Umbrella and pushed forward to resist the impact.
Her left hand immediately pressed down on Toge's head, protecting him between herself and the Thousand Machine Umbrella.
Panda's reaction was also very fast.
After Maki started moving, Panda immediately crouched down, minimizing the area of his body exposed to the attack.
Then his right hand pressed against Maki's shoulder, and his left hand grabbed the handle of the Thousand Machine Umbrella, helping Maki stabilize its defense.
"Hahaha."
Akuroo Ootake nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the destruction he had caused.
Then he looked at the three of them with a cruel expression.
The next second, Akuroo Ootake raised his large axe and brought it down on the three of them.
Maki immediately used the Thousand Machine Umbrella to block it.
Panda and Toge dodged to the left and right.
The two exchanged a glance, then immediately made their move.
"Stop."
"Ora!"
Akuroo Ootake, who had been furiously attacking Maki while she struggled to parry, froze for a moment.
Panda immediately seized the opportunity and threw a full-force punch at Akuroo Ootake.
"Cough, cough."
Toge clutched his throat in discomfort and swallowed his last throat lozenge.
Then, with a pained expression, he looked at Akuroo Ootake, who was getting back up in the distance.
Maki had also escaped the situation of being suddenly attacked and only being able to hastily defend herself.
The Thousand Machine Umbrella changed form, and Maki prepared for a head-on fight.
The three of them felt very heavy-hearted at this moment.
Because they could tell that the Cursed Spirit in front of them was stronger than the Special Grade Cursed Spirit they had just defeated.
This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the already exhausted three of them.
"Maki, take Inumaki and go first. I'll hold it back."
Panda made his decision.
"Huh? What are you saying? If anyone's going to cover the rear, it should be me."
If she were in good condition, an awakened Maki naturally would not fear the enemy in front of her.
But now Maki's stamina was severely depleted, and her injuries had not recovered.
If they fought, their chances of winning were very low.
"Don't worry, I still have a trump card. I'll catch up with you later."
To make his words more convincing, Panda used Triceratops Mode, which neither of them had ever seen before.
He did not know whether he would be able to escape, but Panda knew one thing.
If the three of them, in their current terrible state, really fought the Special Grade Cursed Spirit in front of them,
they would most likely all be wiped out.
So Panda wanted to gamble, betting on his uniqueness as a Cursed Corpse.
As long as not all three cores were destroyed, he would survive.
Even many Jujutsu Sorcerers he had encountered before had made mistakes when judging Panda's cores.
If he won the gamble, all three of them would live.
If he lost the gamble, the other two would still live.
"I understand."
Maki hesitated for a moment, then pulled Toge, who was trembling all over from the backlash of using Cursed Speech on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and dashed away.
However, what Panda did not know was that Maki did not intend to simply run away.
She planned to return immediately after taking Toge to a safe place.
"Is that the suddenly mutated Cursed Corpse created by Masamichi?"
Kenjaku, in the distance, looked at Panda with interest.
Unfortunately, a being like Panda, just like his previous works, could not bloom with the brilliance Kenjaku desired.
Thinking this, Kenjaku took out an elephant-headed statue wrapped in talismans.
The next second, another Special Grade Cursed Spirit appeared.
However, high in the sky, unnoticed by Kenjaku, a large black bird was silently circling overhead.
Eichi frowned after seeing the situation on the ground.
"Where is my beloved Mahito? How did it turn into Kenjaku? Did they run into each other this early?"
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)