Time quickly advanced to late night, and Suguru and Eichi had already prepared to exorcise the Cursed Spirits.
"It's almost time, isn't it?"
Watching the hour hand on the alarm clock spin, Suguru stood and walked over to Eichi.
Knowing he would be exorcising Cursed Spirits late at night, Suguru had told his parents in advance that he would be staying at Eichi's house. His parents, already used to this, readily agreed.
"Yes."
Eichi placed the cursed tool that resembled a katana into his shadow and began to stay alert.
"What method do you think that Cursed Spirit will use to take us to the school?"
"Probably just come and grab us directly."
Suguru stroked his chin and answered.
"But if that is the case, the timing does not match. Every night at 12, the Crimson Being appears in the rooms of Ise and the others, then drags them to the school."
"But there is one strange thing. They are captured at the same time and wake up at the same time."
Eichi voiced his confusion.
"So, the Crimson Being has means similar to Clones or instantaneous movement?"
"Hmm, that girl named Asuka mentioned the Crimson Being seems to have a Technique that allows it to teleport under certain conditions."
Suddenly, the bright indoor lights dimmed to a faint yellow.
"Is it here?"
Both of them stood and looked toward the door.
"Eichi, have you ever bought a doll?"
"No, why?"
"Look at this."
Following Suguru's gaze, an ugly but cute rabbit doll appeared on the table.
"It seems the Cursed Spirit has already entered the room."
At first glance, Eichi recognized its true form. It was the doll held by the Crimson Being, as described by Ise and the others.
Click.
The sound of a turning doorknob echoed.
Both looked toward the door while also watching the doll on the table.
Through the crack in the door, a girl appeared, covered in blood red, with pitch-black eyes and a bizarre smile on her face.
This eerie scene sent a chill down Eichi's spine.
"Divine Dogs."
One of the two Divine Dogs stared at the rabbit doll, while the other lunged at the Crimson Being.
Suguru did not waste any time either. A dark rift opened behind him, and a small squid-like Cursed Spirit shot out like a bullet.
Thwack.
The Crimson Being, who had dodged the Divine Dog's pounce, was hit in the head.
The impact snapped its forehead back. Then it confusedly plucked the squid Cursed Spirit from its head. After staring at it curiously for a moment, the Crimson Being suddenly threw the squid Cursed Spirit into its mouth.
Just as it was savoring the taste, a tall figure appeared behind it.
It was an Oni Samurai, a Cursed Spirit over two meters tall, clad in armor.
Upon appearing, the Oni Samurai immediately unleashed a sword strike, and a huge wound appeared on the slow-reacting Crimson Being.
The Crimson Being had no choice but to retreat further into the room to avoid the katana's slashes.
The Divine Dogs also seized the opportunity and bit down hard.
"Ah."
Trapped by the Divine Dogs and unable to break free, the Crimson Being was struck several times.
Just as it prepared to retaliate, a huge suction force came from behind.
Suguru aimed his right hand at the Crimson Being, activating his Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
The Crimson Being ran forward, from pushing off with its feet to finally going on all fours, trying to break free from Suguru's Technique.
In just a few seconds, it was captured by Suguru, but an unexpected event occurred.
Just as the Crimson Being was sucked into Suguru's hand, his hand was repelled by a powerful force.
"Hmm?"
Rubbing his right hand, Suguru looked at the Crimson Being with curiosity.
Just now, he had confirmed one thing. The Crimson Being was a mastered Cursed Spirit.
Eichi, standing nearby, also understood.
The repelled Crimson Being's eyes lost their playful glint, and its red peeled away, instantly covering the entire room like fresh blood.
"Round Deer. Toad."
Although he did not know what was happening, it certainly was not good.
Eichi immediately summoned Round Deer, and Suguru, who already had a tacit understanding with him, also summoned two shell-like Cursed Spirits to protect them both.
The Toad shot its tongue at the Crimson Being, and Suguru prepared to attack.
As the Toad's tongue wrapped around the Crimson Being, the room was completely filled with blood red.
Both of them felt a momentary mental disorientation, and then they appeared at the school gate.
"Is this a Domain? Is the Crimson Being's Domain a school?"
Suguru looked around in confusion.
"No, something is not right."
This feeling was very strange, different from the Domain of the Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit, the half-bodied vengeful spirit, that he had encountered a few years ago.
Eichi clenched his fists, ready to summon Mahoraga if the situation became critical.
"If it were a Domain, Ise and the others could not have been safe for several consecutive days, unless this Domain has special conditions."
After speaking, Eichi looked back. The road was still there, brightly lit.
After a moment of thought, Eichi acted.
"Divine Dogs."
The Divine Dogs emerged from his shadow and ran toward the outside of the school.
Soon, they seemed to hit an invisible wall.
"Sure enough, we are at the school again."
"Asuka, are you alright?"
"Yes, I am fine, Ise-kun."
While Eichi was thinking, the people lying on the ground also woke up.
"Who is he?"
Eichi looked over them, noticing that in addition to the four from the infirmary during the day, there was an extra person with a gloomy expression.
If this were a horror movie, this extra person would definitely be a problem.
"Ah, his name is Kenji. He is usually very introverted. I invited him to join before, but he refused."
"Are you sure he is not a problem?"
Eichi was still uneasy.
"Well, I guess he should be fine."
Ise also became unsure, since he was not really familiar with Kenji.
Seeing this, Eichi kept a hint of wariness toward the boy named Kenji.
"Suguru, could you have your Cursed Spirits scout ahead?"
After saying that, Eichi continued examining the transparent wall in front of him.
"Understood."
As his voice faded, hundreds of various Cursed Spirits walked toward different parts of the school.
"I have been wanting to ask, what are these?"
Asuka pointed to Round Deer and the Divine Dogs, then to the dense crowd of Cursed Spirits entering the campus.
"As you can think of it, these are our Shikigami. Both I and Suguru are Jujutsu Sorcerers skilled at using Shikigami."
"Is that so?"
Although they did not know the specifics, the scene reassured Asuka, Ise, and the others considerably.
After all, these two had real abilities.
"The range is very large. The entire school is sealed off."
"The entire school? What about above?"
"That is also sealed off. The height is about thirty meters. We are essentially in a box."
"I see, it is a Barrier."
"A Barrier?"
Suguru was thoughtful. Not yet having entered High School, he was not familiar with Barriers.
"Yes. After entering the High School Division during the day, I always had a sense of unease, but I could not find the source. Now I can finally confirm that someone set up a Barrier around the school."
"So the Crimson Being's actions are being manipulated by someone behind the scenes. No wonder my Cursed Spirit Manipulation could not capture it. What is this person's motive? It cannot be just to scare them, can it?"
Suguru turned to look at Ise and the others.
"Motive, huh? We will just grab the person and ask."
After confirming that they were trapped in a Barrier and not a Domain, Eichi also breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Crimson Being has appeared in the gymnasium."
A sudden broadcast interrupted their thoughts.
"Since that is the case, let us go deal with that Cursed Spirit first."
"Okay, you all stay close behind us."
Suguru finished speaking and turned to look at Eichi.
Compared to his own frightening Cursed Spirits, Eichi's Shikigami were more suitable for protection.
Eichi nodded in understanding, and then two Divine Dogs came behind the group to protect the ordinary people.
Seeing the two fluffy big dogs wag their tails and follow them, the group's nervousness eased considerably.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇◇◇
◇ I'll be dropping two bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review, it helps a lot!
◇ Don't forget to add the book to your library.