Akira Zenin sat down cross-legged on the ground.
"Go on. Show me what you've got."
Megumi Fushiguro was stunned.
Wasn't this supposed to be him watching how a high-risk Cursed Spirit gets exorcised?
You're telling me to fight this thing myself?
I'm six!
…
Akira Zenin clearly wanted to slack off (×) and take the opportunity for hands-on teaching (✓). Unfortunately, the Cursed Spirit didn't get the memo. As if instinctively targeting the strongest presence on the field, it lowered its head and charged straight at Akira Zenin, who was still sitting there.
Its fighting style resembled Piercing Ox—just without the support of a technique. Even so, with that sheer mass alone, the impact was terrifying.
The ground cracked. Dust exploded into the air as it barreled forward.
Akira Zenin raised one hand and stopped it cold.
The collision didn't even produce much noise.
He grabbed the Cursed Spirit by the remaining horn and casually flung it back into the abandoned house. Wood and metal screeched as they were torn apart, debris and dust filling the air.
"Didn't use much force. It should still be alive. Your turn."
"Understood."
Megumi Fushiguro's attitude toward Akira Zenin shifted noticeably.
Before, the Divine Dogs showing submission hadn't been enough to give him a concrete sense of this man's strength.
But just now, he'd seen it clearly—no technique, just raw Cursed Energy reinforcing the body, and he'd done that.
"To reach that level, you must've gone through a lot of training, Senpai. I'll work hard."
"Mm… ahem… yes, I've experienced plenty of inhuman training. So you'd better put in the effort too.
And remember—always be ready to reinforce your body with Cursed Energy. In a fight, even a small injury can change everything."
"Got it!"
Megumi Fushiguro steadied his breathing. The two Divine Dogs took positions, one slightly ahead and one behind, offset just enough to protect him without blocking his line of sight.
The ox-shaped Cursed Spirit staggered back into view. One horn had been snapped off, barely hanging by strands of sinew.
It seemed dazed for a moment. Then it smashed through the remains of the wall, forcing its massive body out of the house, shook its head—and charged.
It clearly intended to trample the child beneath its hooves.
It was fast.
Far too fast for the still-inexperienced Megumi Fushiguro to react in time.
The white Divine Dog seized him by the back of his collar and leapt aside just as the charge tore through where he had been standing.
The Cursed Spirit didn't slow down. It wheeled around for another headlong rush. This time, the black Divine Dog threw itself forward, slamming into the creature and knocking its trajectory off just enough.
Megumi Fushiguro landed, feet steadying.
He forced his breathing into rhythm.
[Its straight-line speed is incredible. But that kind of charge means it won't turn well. Use the terrain.]
The thought formed and was executed almost instantly.
He dashed through the hole the Cursed Spirit had just smashed open and ran into the abandoned house.
The Cursed Spirit followed immediately.
Akira Zenin summoned Nue and had it lift him onto the rooftop, where he sat and calmly observed.
The battle unfolded almost exactly as Megumi Fushiguro had predicted.
The already-unstable building was reduced to a near-collapse state under the Cursed Spirit's reckless charges. But now, with Cursed Energy reinforcing his body, Megumi Fushiguro could narrowly evade its attacks on his own.
Once the situation stabilized, Akira Zenin started talking again, his voice echoing through the half-collapsed house.
"Megumi, do you actually know what your technique is?"
"Summoning big dogs."
Megumi Fushiguro had to dodge while answering. There was no room left in his head to think.
"Your technique is the same as mine—the Zenin Clan's hereditary technique, the Ten Shadows Technique. In simple terms, it uses shadows as a medium to summon shikigami."
"Shikigami?"
"Let me give you a quick lesson.
Shikigami are spiritual entities that don't belong to this world but can be commanded by Jujutsu Sorcerers. The concept comes from ancient Onmyodo. Normally they're summoned with talismans, but they can also be subdued and bound through a contract."
"Oh."
Maybe Akira Zenin had talked too much. Megumi Fushiguro slipped for just a second and was sent flying by the Cursed Spirit, crashing straight through a crumbling wall.
Fortunately, he had reinforced his body with Cursed Energy in time. And with one of the Cursed Spirit's horns already broken, the impact didn't cause serious damage.
"Getting distracted in a fight isn't a great habit."
"Who's the one that keeps talking to me in the middle of combat?!"
The two Divine Dogs pinned the Cursed Spirit down for a moment, buying Megumi Fushiguro time to steady himself. Akira Zenin continued, unbothered.
"Even though our technique relies mainly on shikigami in battle, what we actually control directly… is the shadow."
Megumi Fushiguro didn't respond. He focused entirely on the Cursed Spirit's movements.
"Shadows can be used in all sorts of ways. You can store items inside them, sink your body into them to avoid attacks, alter their shape to perform Chimera Summons, and so on…"
He might not have heard everything.
But the words "store items" and "avoid attacks" kept echoing in his mind.
Megumi Fushiguro immediately shifted his focus inward, trying to sense the nature of his shadow.
The two Divine Dogs clawed and lunged, locked in a fierce exchange with the Cursed Spirit. Then suddenly, both of them sank into the shadows beneath them.
Seeing his technique respond, Megumi Fushiguro didn't even have time to feel pleased before his own body suddenly grew heavy.
From the rooftop, Akira Zenin called out:
"Your shadow is like an extension of your body. Anything you sink into it—you carry the weight yourself~"
"—!"
Momentarily confused when its opponents vanished, the Cursed Spirit turned toward Megumi Fushiguro, noticing his slightly labored breathing.
It didn't notice the shadow beneath its own body writhing.
In the next instant, the two Divine Dogs burst out from the shadow under the Cursed Spirit and slammed into its abdomen, knocking it off balance.
What followed was a clean, instinctive hunt.
One Divine Dog pinned it down, restricting its movement.
The other tore into it, dealing lethal damage.
Within moments, the Cursed Spirit began to dissipate.
Akira Zenin jumped down from the rooftop and gave a small nod.
"Not bad. You used the connection between your shadow and your shikigami's shadow to sink them in. Then you extended your own shadow to overlap with the Cursed Spirit's shadow and summoned them from there.
Not nearly as rigid as I remember. That was pretty imaginative."