Under the bright moonlight, a massive figure leaped agilely across the city rooftops. Each jump spanned at least a hundred meters, leaving deep footprints in the hard reinforced concrete.
"Whoa! So fast!"
Feeling the high-altitude air rushing past his face, Kenmei Isayama smiled like a child—a rare expression for him. Clearly, this was a special experience.
He spread his arms and leaned back, exposing himself to the turbulent air currents to better feel the cool summer breeze.
"Idiot, hold on tight! Careful you don't fall!"
"It's hundreds of meters down. If you fall, you're dead meat."
Hearing Yomi Isayama's voice from in front of him, Kenmei obediently sat up straight and stopped "whooping and hollering," placing his hands on her shoulders instead.
He said sheepishly, "Sorry, I got a little carried away."
After all, riding a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit as a mount? Who else in the world got this kind of treatment? Kenmei had gotten a little too excited.
Right now, Kenmei was sitting atop a genuine Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, feeling the massive Cursed Energy beneath him churning like a giant furnace. Yet, it didn't harm him in the slightest. The thrill and absurdity of the situation were addictive.
It wasn't that Kenmei's psychic power was strong enough to suppress a Grade 1 Curse; it was all thanks to his "sister," Yomi Isayama.
This authentic Grade 1 Curse belonged to her.
Unlike the student from Tokyo Jujutsu High who was born with the Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique, Yomi relied on the Special Grade Cursed Tool [Nue], an heirloom passed down through the Isayama family. Legend had it that it was a cursed blade, housing the spirit of a monster from Japanese folklore—the Nue.
The Nue was first recorded in the Tale of the Heike, described as having the face of a monkey, the body of a tanuki, the limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a snake. It had no wings but could fly, and was considered an omen of misfortune.
These features perfectly matched the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit Kenmei was riding, though the Curse's appearance was far more terrifying. Its twelve green eyes could paralyze someone with fear just by looking at them. Its tiger-like limbs were massive and muscular, with sharp claws that could tear through steel plates like paper.
So the legendary monster was real. The ancestors of the Isayama family hadn't exorcised the Nue but had used special means to seal it in a blade as a trophy.
With the decline of the Isayama family, the value of this item grew even more significant. Now, it symbolized the authority of the family head.
This was Kenmei's first time seeing the blade, let alone the Cursed Spirit residing within it.
Its body was massive; sitting on its broad back felt as stable as riding an elephant.
It was a pity the Flesh Hounds consumed too much mana to summon casually. Otherwise, riding those things around would be pretty cool too.
"Kenmei, is this the right way?"
Yomi asked.
Guided by Kenmei, [Nue] had left the bustling city lights behind, running into the darkness of the mountains.
The exhibition visited by the three hundred missing people was located at the Ueno Royal Museum in Taito Ward, Tokyo.
Taito Ward is one of Tokyo's 23 special wards, known for leather goods, dolls, toys, and traditional crafts, so a horror exhibition featuring "Teru Teru Bozu" wasn't out of place there.
Yomi had focused her investigation on Taito Ward, searching every location capable of hiding over three hundred people, but found nothing. Still, her intuition told her the Butcher was hiding somewhere in the area.
Because three hundred people are hard to move. And since the killer held a personal art exhibition, he clearly had a flamboyant personality and craved recognition for his art.
The location they arrived at was the old site of a Tokyo grain corporation. Several massive, abandoned grain silos still stood there, looking desolate and devoid of any artistic flair—quite different from what Yomi had expected.
But this was where the Flesh Hound's cooldown timer had hit zero, and its presence vanished.
Kenmei nodded and replied, "Yomi-nee, this should be it."
"Maybe if we open one of those grain silos, we'll find our answer."
In Kenmei's vision, one of the tall grain silos contained an astonishing amount of Cursed Energy, so much that it was practically overflowing.
Cursed Energy comes from negative emotions. Such intense hatred moved even Kenmei.
Yomi hadn't noticed the anomaly because the top of the silo was covered with a barrier technique similar to a "Curtain," blocking external Cursed Energy detection.
But it blocked Cursed Energy. What did that have to do with his Psychic Power?
Upon arrival, Kenmei released his psychic power like radar waves, centered on himself and spreading out in all directions.
Like a circle, the surrounding terrain and everything inside the silos were mapped out in his brain.
Silo #1 was a fermentation tower. A shocking number of severed limbs were mixed inside, slowly fermenting like fish sauce. It was a gruesome sight.
Inside Silo #2 was a tall altar. Above it hung a massive number of "Teru Teru Bozu" tied together with ropes.
Silo #3 seemed to have life signs. It was likely where the unlucky captives were being held.
Lying in the center of the altar in Silo #2 was a mangled figure. The coordinates Kenmei sensed from the Flesh Hound's brand pointed to this Butcher—their target.
Suddenly, on the altar, the Butcher, whose upper body was covered in bite marks and lying in a pool of blood, snapped his eyes open. He gritted his teeth and hissed:
"The damn rats are finally here."
That monster from earlier—what was it? Not only was it immune to Cursed Energy attacks, but it had bitten off his left arm and half his torso in one go.
"To reduce me to this state..."
The blood loss was severe; even plugging the wounds with Cursed Energy was futile. He was on death's door.
But then, for some unknown reason, the monster dissipated into thin air, leaving the "survivor" Butcher a little time to leave a parting message.
Nothing was off-limits for a sacrifice, even his own body.
"Death withers, darkness lives forever."
After consuming flesh and blood, the terrifying Teru Teru Bozu began to metamorphose.
Kenmei's expression turned grim. Disgusting, densely packed things were swarming out of Silo #2 like army ants.