Next Target, 400PS!
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"Don't worry. It's just a simple Cursed Spirit. It's not that dangerous. I'll be home early!"
Kai was honest with Sakiko Togawa and told her directly that he was hunting the Slit-Mouthed Woman. He wasn't really worried about the monster causing trouble for others. What mattered was that Cursed Spirits from urban legends could evolve. Now that he had found one, he wasn't about to let it get away.
On the other end of the line, Sakiko relaxed. "Okay, I'll wait for you!"
'Kai is so kind...' Sakiko thought. 'He must be worried that leaving a Cursed Spirit out there will hurt people. That's why he's going out of his way to exorcise it.'
If that was the case, she couldn't hold him back. She just needed to wait patiently for his return.
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After he hung up, Mai Sakurajima scoffed, her tone dripping with sourness. "You and your girlfriend sure are close."
Even though Mai had never met Sakiko, just hearing her gentle voice on the phone was enough to guess what she was like. It was clear now—he really did have a girlfriend.
"I wonder if she'd have a problem knowing how you treated me earlier?" Thinking she had caught him by the throat, Mai flashed a smug smile.
"Oh?" Kai raised an eyebrow, mirroring her smile.
She expected him to panic. Instead, he stepped right toward her.
"Wait, what are you doing??" Catching the dark shift in his gaze, Mai's smugness shattered into panic.
"You seem to be forgetting who holds the cards here, Mai-senpai."
Before she realized it, her back was pressed against the brick wall. She looked away, unable to meet his eyes. Kai leaned in, whispering quietly in her ear. Being so close to him, she felt completely overwhelmed.
"A-Aren't you afraid I'll tell her?" she stammered.
"That implies my girlfriend can actually see you..."
"..."
There was a moment of silence. If he hadn't mentioned it, she might have forgotten about her own curse. Right now, nobody else in the world could see her.
"Wait, I was just joking. I know I was wrong." Recognizing a losing battle, Mai immediately backpedaled, hoping to smooth things over.
"Apologies don't work on me. Make a mistake, and you accept the punishment."
"You— Mmph!"
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Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps echoed down the dead-end alley in a steady rhythm. With each step... a wave of Cursed Energy filled the air.
Catching the shift, Kai smoothly pulled away and released her.
"You... you..."
Once Kai let go, Mai's legs gave out and she slid down the wall, ending up on the ground. With tears in her eyes, she tried to glare at him, but it didn't look threatening at all.
"How could you..."
"Alright, save the reminiscing for later. We've got business to handle," Kai interrupted.
"Pfft! Who's reminiscing—"
She didn't get to finish her sentence before the eerie footsteps registered in her mind too. She couldn't pinpoint the foul stench of a Cursed Spirit like Kai could, but an oppressive dread settled over her chest instinctively.
"Is... is someone there?"
Mai managed to pull herself up using the wall and looked down the alley. The footsteps sounded normal, but they sent a sharp chill down her spine.
"So even a jerk like you gets scared of being caught in the act!" Completely ignorant about the existence of Cursed Spirits, Mai shot him a mocking look.
"I had no idea Mai-senpai was into public broadcasting. Noted. I'll cater to your specific tastes next time."
"Scum!" She immediately realized she could never win a verbal sparring match against him.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The footsteps came closer. The anxious feeling in Mai's stomach grew until it felt like she could hardly breathe.
"What is that?"
A slender woman soon stepped out from the shadows. She wore a long white trench coat and a surgical mask that covered her mouth. Even though her face was hidden, she still looked strikingly beautiful.
"She's here," Kai noted. His target had finally arrived.
"Wait! You aren't planning to do something horrible, are you??"
Standing in a dark, empty alley with a beautiful woman in the middle of the night was the perfect setup for a big misunderstanding.
"Listen, you're still young. Don't throw your life away and become a criminal!" Mai urged. "If you have to... You can just do what you did earlier to me instead!"
Even though Mai acted distant, she was kind at heart. Kai had already gone too far with her. If letting him do the same to her would stop him from hurting someone else, she was willing to make that sacrifice.
"I have to admit, Mai-senpai, your imagination is wild." Kai glanced at her, not even sure where to begin dismantling that logic.
"Excuse me?"
Seriously? She had just wrestled with herself to make that offer, and this was how he responded?
Before Mai could complain, the Slit-Mouthed Woman closed the distance.
"I-It's so cold! Why did the temperature suddenly drop?" The closer the woman got, the more an unnatural chill seeped into Mai's bones. It felt like an icy draft was blowing directly down the back of her neck.
"Am I beautiful?"
The woman stopped a few steps away and finally spoke. Her voice wasn't unpleasant—it sounded haunting and almost otherworldly, with a hint of mockery. Her eyes were fixed on them like a predator watching its prey.
"?" Mai opened her mouth to speak, only to realize her vocal cords were paralyzed.
Her mind would only let her think of two words: "Yes" or "No." Even worse, she couldn't move at all.
Panic flooded her veins. Mai frantically shifted her eyes toward Kai.
'I see. An incomplete Domain...' Kai murmured internally.
He felt the same restriction that was holding Mai. But the Slit-Mouthed Woman's curse wasn't strong enough to fully control his body. This let him figure out her technique: she created a Domain by asking a question.
Once she asked the question, the target had to answer either "beautiful" or "not beautiful." Until they answered, both the target and the caster were frozen in place. As soon as the answer was given, the target would be hit by an unavoidable attack. This was the basic form of a Domain Expansion. If she kept evolving, she would eventually master a full Domain and become a true Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
"Am I beautiful?" Met with silence, the Slit-Mouthed Woman repeated the question.
"Objectively speaking, yes, you are." Kai scanned her up and down before giving an honest answer. Ignoring the surgical mask, the rest of her features were those of a stunning woman.
"Hehehehe!" Hearing his answer, the Slit-Mouthed Woman broke into a guttural laugh.
"W-What is happening??"
Since Kai had answered, the paralysis faded and Mai could move and talk again. But seeing the masked woman laugh made her even more terrified.
Without thinking, she moved closer to Kai. Even though he had just pinned her against a wall and kissed her, he was the only person who made her feel safe right now.
"What the hell is going on?" Even an idiot could tell something was catastrophically wrong.
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