"There are actually Cursed Spirits like this?"
"Or is it someone's Cursed Technique? How strange."
Kenmyo found the events unfolding in the next carriage quite interesting as he watched through the glass.
These passengers, even if you beat them to death, would never imagine they were currently sharing a space with a humanoid Cursed Spirit that looked like a medieval grim reaper, clad in tattered robes.
The Cursed Spirit, eyes gleaming menacingly and mouth stretched into a grin, walked down the center aisle, wrapped in filthy bandages, a truly eerie sight. In its hand, a large axe, glinting with a cold light, dragged on the ground, making a grating 'zzzzz' sound.
Such a side show wasn't bad to relieve boredom during the commute to school.
The Cursed Spirit stopped in front of a 'lucky' passenger, gripped the long handle of its axe tightly, and then brought it down with a heavy chop!
Unfortunately, the scene Kenmei had anticipated—the passenger's head being lopped off by the cold, gleaming axe, with blood and gore flying—did not occur.
The axe passed directly through half of the passenger's head, sinking deep into it, yet when it was pulled out, there wasn't a trace of blood or discomfort.
Kenmyo estimated the reason for this was that the Cursed Spirit was only a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit, and its targets were ordinary people.
Rookies fighting rookies, pecking at each other without either being able to truly harm the other—that was perfectly normal.
If it were just such a low-level Cursed Spirit in strange attire, only capable of chopping at people, it wouldn't be enough to pique Kenmyo's interest. After all, he could now easily destroy even Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
What truly caught Kenmyo's attention was that the Cursed Spirit, as if following a programmed sequence, methodically chopped at each passenger's head, pulled out the axe, and then moved on to the next passenger's head, repeating the cycle.
It seemed to be searching for something, and its mouth appeared to be muttering something, but being in a different carriage, Kenmyo couldn't hear it clearly.
"Hmm?"
Kenmyo noticed an older corporate worker, who looked like he hadn't slept for days from overwork, shiver all over as soon as the Cursed Spirit's axe merely touched him.
This anomaly energized the Cursed Spirit. If it had only chopped at the noses of the previous passengers, this time it directly chopped at the heart, nearly cleaving the man in half.
Kenmyo frowned, because he saw fresh black blood continuously gushing from the "wound" made by the Cursed Spirit's axe.
Yet, despite this, there were no abnormalities on the human's body, and black blood splattered everywhere.
When the Cursed Spirit slowly lifted the axe from the corporate worker's body, Kenmyo's pupils contracted slightly.
A human head was coiled on the blade of the axe—it was clearly another Cursed Spirit that had been residing within that person, forced out by the bandage Cursed Spirit's axe.
"Ah?"
But Kenmyo couldn't understand the subsequent scene. Cursed Spirits capturing Cursed Spirits usually implied they were of the same kind, but this Cursed Spirit held the struggling Cursed Spirit in its hand, then pulled out a burlap sack from its pocket.
Ignoring the struggling Cursed Spirit, it stuffed it inside, tied the sack tightly, placed one hand behind its back, and continued to chop with its axe, searching for more Cursed Spirits.
It didn't even bother with the original host.
"What is this, a Cursed Spirit doing good deeds?"
Kenmyo thought he had woken up too fast and wasn't fully awake yet.
Some low-level Cursed Spirits with special abilities would lurk within the bodies of the physically weak, much like parasites, siphoning off human life force. That's why the middle-aged corporate worker, who was probably around 40, looked like he was in his sixties.
And the actions of this axe Cursed Spirit were like expelling the Cursed Spirits from these parasitized individuals.
Seeing the slight smile on the axe Cursed Spirit's face, it seemed its objective truly was as Kenmyo had imagined.
However, its luck was a bit poor.
Under Kenmyo's gaze, the axe Cursed Spirit found two "lucky ones" in the opposite carriage who were parasitized by Cursed Spirits, and all the Cursed Spirits residing within them were bagged.
It looked left and right, and its gaze seemed to sweep towards the carriage where Kenmyo was.
"Nerima-Kita Station, doors opening on the left side."
As they arrived near a large CBD combined office building and commercial area, many of the corporate workers next to Kenmyo quickly exited, including the two rescued by the axe Cursed Spirit.
"My back, how did it suddenly stop hurting?"
As the middle-aged corporate worker passed through the connecting door, Kenmyo heard him say, "Ah, I wonder what Nogisaka-san wants from me."
A large group of people left, and the axe Cursed Spirit grew anxious, chopping continuously with its axe. However, even so, it didn't get off the train, as if the Cursed Spirit knew the train was where the largest flow of people was.
Then, new people boarded.
As the train's urgent alarm sounded, a hurried figure rushed in at the last second before the doors closed.
"Beep beep beep, train doors are closing soon."
"Made it."
Kenmyo glanced over. It was a golden-eyed JK wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, not very tall, with a delicate cascade of long black hair casually draped over her shoulders. She was still slightly panting from running.
She must be a student going to school, but he didn't know which school.
After all, not everyone's school uniform had such high recognition as Kenmyo's. Aoyama Academy has a long history, a prestigious private academy with both high tuition (financial resources) and high deviation values (academics), for intelligent children of wealthy families.
Kenmyo's appearance was quite striking, especially after Ryu became attached to his body, which added a touch of aloofness, a peak of unattainable nobility.
So Kenmyo wasn't surprised that the girl, like the other newly boarded passengers in the nearby carriages, involuntarily fixed her gaze on him first.
After boarding, it seemed there were no other seats besides the one next to Kenmyo, so the girl walked over.
When she saw Kenmyo, with gentlemanly courtesy, lean slightly to the side, the girl with long black hair sat down reservedly and quietly said, "Thank you."
Kenmyo just shook his head and said nothing.
At the same time, Kenmyo also noticed that the Grim Reaper-like bandage Cursed Spirit, originally in another carriage, now carrying a burlap sack in one hand and an axe in the other, had appeared in his carriage.
The sound of the axe dragging on the floor was so distinct that Kenmyo found it hard not to notice.
"Hmm?"
Kenmyo suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that the girl sitting next to him had a sudden trace of unease on her face, and her breathing, which had just calmed down, quickened again.
Kenmyo thought she was reacting this way because she had seen the Cursed Spirit.
He was mistaken.
But then again, the Cursed Energy on this girl was pitifully scarce, so she shouldn't be able to see Cursed Spirits.
"Pfft!"
A violent 'clack' of a blade chopping bone echoed in Kenmyo's ears—it was the axe-wielding bandage Cursed Spirit brutally chopping people online.
The blade plunged directly into a skull, then was immediately pulled out.
Kenmyo was fine; he had already witnessed this guy's methods.
Besides, Kenmei was a ruthless person; he had experienced both cracking open others' heads and having his own head cracked open.
Heh, no matter how sharp a blade, if it can't go in white and come out red, it's useless. There's nothing special about this.
But for those who hadn't experienced it, this horrifying scene would still turn their faces pale with fright.
"You—"
Just like the person next to Kenmyo, all the color had drained from her face.
When she noticed Kenmyo's strange expression, the girl merely managed a strained smile at him.
"Not here, not here."
Kenmyo also clearly heard what the Cursed Spirit had been muttering earlier.
After chopping one person, if it didn't find the Cursed Spirit it was looking for, this ghastly thing would immediately move on to chop another person, continuing until it found the desired Cursed Spirit.
"Wait, at this rate..."
Kenmyo suddenly realized that if this Cursed Spirit continued chopping, he himself seemed to be within the range of being chopped. After all, this Cursed Spirit seemed unwilling to spare anyone on the train.
The Cursed Spirit's target for attack was truly a good fit for Kenmyo.
Don't forget that Ryu was inside Kenmyo's body. Although their relationship wasn't parasitic, Shinno Ai could even provide Cursed Energy to Kenmyo and activate Cursed Techniques.
"Indeed, I should just destroy it."
Although this ghastly thing seemed to be helping ordinary people by solving their problems and doing good deeds, who told it to want to chop Kenmyo?
A mere Grade 4 Cursed Spirit wanting to chop him? What is it? Does it deserve to?
If this toy axe, which wouldn't harm the physical body, angered Ryu, then at least ten kilometers around, besides Kenmyo, would become a forbidden zone of life. A Cursed Spirit wielding one of the four seasons, Rin winter, was not to be trifled with.
"However, the next stop is the school."
Kenmyo was about to get off the train. If the axe-wielding bandage Cursed Spirit didn't get to him before he got off, then he would let it go.
After all, it was doing good deeds.
If it did get to Kenmyo, then it could only be considered unlucky.
In the former case, Kenmyo might even get to see the terrified expression of the little girl next to him.
Kenmyo had already determined that the unfamiliar girl next to him, although she didn't possess much Cursed Energy, could see the existence of Cursed Spirits.
Her acting was truly not bad; at first, even Kenmyo was only suspicious and didn't think too much of it, but he eventually confirmed it.
Now that he thought about it, such people were the most tragic, because being able to see meant they were within the range of Cursed Spirit attacks.
However, the Cursed Energy on their bodies was insufficient to protect them, making them easy victims in various Cursed Spirit attack cases.
If their acting was poor and a Cursed Spirit noticed them, death was simply such a simple and desperate fact.
Fortunately, this time the girl was lucky. She encountered the axe-wielding bandage Cursed Spirit, a weakling that couldn't even chop people with force, so even if she was chopped, there would be no wounds.
These were all pieces of information Kenmyo knew more than the girl—an information asymmetry.
Kenmyo glanced at the frightened little girl next to him, shook his head helplessly, and showed a mischievous smile.
"Sorry, you look like this, it's hard not to want to tease you."
"The train is about to arrive at Aoyama-Higashi Road Station. Passengers preparing to alight, please get ready in advance. The right-side door will open this time."
Kenmyo chuckled softly. It seemed he wouldn't have to kill that axe-wielding bandage Cursed Spirit after all; there were still four or five people in line.
Ignoring the teary-eyed little girl next to him, Kenmyo stood up directly and quickly walked to the train door.
"It's nothing big, isn't it just getting chopped by a Cursed Spirit? It doesn't even hurt."
But unexpectedly, the moment Kenmyo stood up, he instantly drew all the attention of that axe-wielding bandage Cursed Spirit.
Suddenly, those people in line no longer seemed appealing. It directly abandoned its current target and charged straight towards Kenmyo.
At the same time, it raised the axe in its hand, seemingly preparing to deliver a fierce blow to Kenmyo.
"Look out!"
Seeing this scene, the girl who had been sitting next to Kenmyo, who had been trembling even when speaking earlier, let out a startled cry.
Just as Kenmyo had imagined, the girl could indeed see Cursed Spirits. One morning, she had woken up and suddenly found herself able to see things differently.
These dark, seemingly brutal, and inexplicably ghostly things.
They would always appear from different places, scaring her. The girl had a premonition that if these ghastly things knew she could see them, she would definitely encounter misfortune.
Today, she was supposed to go to school, but last night, because there was something dirty in her bed, she didn't sleep well and almost missed the train.
However, waking up late also had its advantages; at the very least, she met a very handsome and elegant boy who felt like a prince.
Lucky~
But good times didn't last. Dirty things also appeared on the train, and the kind that chopped people with an axe was truly terrifying.
Chopping one by one.
The girl truly didn't know what to do. Actually, she wanted to get off at this station with him. After all, if you can't provoke them, can't you at least avoid them?
But unexpectedly, after the boy next to her stood up, that terrifying dirty thing directly pounced on him.
That's why the girl let out a startled cry.
Hearing her warning, Kenmyo slowly turned to look at the girl and said,
"What's wrong? Did I forget something?"
The girl shook her head mechanically, her body extremely stiff.
"Oh, then it's fine. I'm leaving."
It wasn't until Kenmyo got off the train that the girl recovered.
What was that!!!
The scene before her eyes had her brain completely frozen.
How could it be!!!
Because now, standing before the girl's eyes, was a solidly frozen ice sculpture, and inside it was that Grim Reaper-like bandage Cursed Spirit.
At that moment, it hadn't even had time to touch the boy's body; almost instantly, this dirty thing was frozen solid.
"Sizzle~"
It shattered directly into a sky full of ice crystals.
Kenmyo walked out of the train. Unseen by anyone, an axe had appeared in his hand.
There was a symbol on the handle of the axe. After Kenmyo looked it up in the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's internal database, he immediately knew.
To boldly display such an emblem, and without any Jujutsu Sorcerer coming to exorcise it, indicated it was indeed a legitimate organization.
It turned out to be an organization called the Star Plasma Cult, with its branch, the Vessel and Soul Society.
That Cursed Spirit was deployed by this organization on various trains to exorcise misfortunes from ordinary people.
It seemed to be doing good deeds.
However, Kenmyo always felt that behind this, it wasn't as simple as just having Cursed Spirits do charity work.
Not all Cursed Spirits could enter human bodies, and how this organization dealt with the Cursed Spirits brought back by the axe Cursed Spirit was not written there.