No matter who was behind the scenes, whatever he intended was carried out through the Crimson Being. So instead of aimlessly searching, it was best to deal with this Cursed Spirit first.
Perhaps by exorcising the Crimson Being, they could even force the person behind the scenes to show themselves.
The group quickly arrived at the gymnasium.
"Leave it to me."
Suguru stepped forward, one Cursed Spirit after another emerging behind him.
Eichi did not object. On one hand, he trusted Suguru's strength. On the other, the two Divine Dogs were protecting several ordinary people, which limited his combat power.
"Oni Samurai, Old Hag Fire."
The Oni Samurai, over two meters tall, and a ball of fire that continuously emitted eerie laughter appeared to Suguru's left and right.
The Oni Samurai was a Cursed Spirit born from people's fear of the vengeful spirits of defeated samurai, a very common traditional Cursed Spirit.
Old Hag Fire, as its name suggested, came from folklore where a pair of unfilial children, instead of caring for their elderly parent, drove them into the mountains. Eventually, the elder transformed into a ghost fire to seek revenge.
"Hands, faces, all stained crimson…"
Sensing movement at the entrance, the Crimson Being stopped its chilling song, turned its head to look at everyone, and smiled, its mouth almost reaching its ears.
"Go."
At the command, the Oni Samurai launched the first attack. The Crimson Being ducked, dodging the slash, then charged toward Suguru.
"Much faster than before."
Suguru was somewhat surprised but did not stop moving.
An old woman's face faintly appeared in Old Hag Fire. Balls of fire flew toward the Crimson Being, completely blocking its path.
Boom.
The sound of explosions rang out. The Crimson Being was hit by over a dozen fireballs.
Previously, at Eichi's house, Suguru had been constrained, wary of demolishing the place.
Now it was different. The gymnasium was spacious, and Eichi was protecting the ordinary people, so he could unleash his full power.
A charred figure rushed out of the smoke. The Crimson Being used its legs to leap toward Suguru's head.
Suguru did not flinch, meeting the attack with a clenched fist.
Fists and feet met, and the Crimson Being found no advantage in close combat.
Whoosh.
As the two exchanged blows, the Oni Samurai had already returned, striking at the Crimson Being's waist with its sword.
The Crimson Being immediately pulled away, escaping the encirclement.
But no sooner had it retreated than it was surrounded by dozens of fireballs.
Boom.
A massive explosion sounded, the intense impact shattering the gymnasium windows.
"Continue."
Realizing it was not dead, Suguru ordered Old Hag Fire to keep attacking.
The burned Crimson Being desperately dodged around.
"So that's it. Within this barrier, the Crimson Being is enhanced across the board."
Its speed and strength were greater than in Eichi's house. Before, it was heavily wounded by a few slashes from a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit like the Oni Samurai. Now it could still move after taking dozens of fireballs from Old Hag Fire, and its injuries were recovering quickly.
"Hair Demon."
A female figure whose face was completely covered by black hair appeared in front of Suguru. Her waterfall-like hair spread across the floor the instant it touched down.
Soon, the entire ground was covered by black hair.
Sensing something was wrong, the Crimson Being jumped onto a basketball hoop. The Oni Samurai immediately followed and chopped the hoop down.
The moment it landed, countless black hairs crawled up its body from its ankles.
"Ah ah ah ah."
The Crimson Being let out a piercing scream, constantly tearing at the hair. Each time it broke a strand, more hair entangled its body.
"Eye Competition."
A giant skull appeared and bit half of the Crimson Being's body. It struggled desperately.
At this moment, the Oni Samurai stepped forward and delivered a full-power slash.
Heavily injured, the Crimson Being lost the ability to resist and was swallowed whole by Eye Competition.
The parts that fell to the ground were taken by the Oni Samurai, Hair Demon, and Old Hag Fire.
"It worked."
"We really dealt with the Crimson Being. That's amazing."
"It's finally over."
After the Crimson Being was swallowed by Eye Competition, the people behind Eichi cried with relief.
However, neither Eichi nor Suguru relaxed, because the barrier had not lifted, and the person behind the scenes had not appeared.
Suddenly, Suguru spotted a figure in a corner.
"How is this possible? My Cursed Spirit definitely ate the Crimson Being just now."
The figure in the corner, covered in blood with an eerie smile, was the Crimson Being.
As Suguru pondered, the Crimson Being suddenly charged toward the people behind him.
"Oh no."
Realizing its objective, Suguru turned, wanting to return to Eichi's side.
But a blood-red figure abruptly appeared in front of him.
Puncture.
To Suguru's surprise, the Crimson Being's right hand pierced into his abdomen.
Noticing something was wrong, Eichi immediately pulled his katana from his shadow, forcing the Crimson Being back.
After dodging Eichi's attack, the Crimson Being sniffed its blood-stained right hand, then put its fingers into its mouth.
"Round Deer."
After forcing it back, Eichi did not pursue. He immediately formed a hand seal to summon Round Deer to heal Suguru.
Suguru was not idle either. Black hair and fireballs attacked the Crimson Being at once.
"Are you alright?"
Looking at the slowly healing wound, Eichi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there was enough height difference between them. It would have been troublesome if his heart had been gouged out.
"I'm fine. It's that Cursed Spirit."
Suguru slowly stood.
"She should be able to teleport in front of anyone who turns their head."
"Hmm, it seems so."
Earlier in the infirmary, Asuka had mentioned that the distant Crimson Being suddenly appeared in front of her. Combined with what Suguru just experienced, they deduced the conditions for its teleportation.
The problem now was how to exorcise this Cursed Spirit.
Suguru was certain the Cursed Spirit he controlled had indeed killed the Crimson Being. So what was the deal with this second one?
"What do you think?"
Suguru stepped forward and asked.
"There are three possibilities I can think of right now, clones, regeneration, and it must meet certain conditions to be exorcised."
Eichi shared his thoughts.
The first is easy to understand. If you do not eliminate the main body but only clones, it is useless. The second is that this Cursed Spirit has some kind of core. As long as the core is not destroyed, it can recover even from a piece of flesh.
The third is the most troublesome, it must meet certain conditions to be exorcised.
While thinking, Eichi remembered the comedian Takaba. Even Kenjaku could not forcibly defeat that guy's Technique. In the end, Kenjaku relied on experience to put on a satisfactory comedy show with Takaba, and only then did it defeat him.
If it was the third situation, what conditions would need to be met?
Must it be exorcised outside the barrier?
Probably not.
At this moment, Eichi recalled the scene when they were cursed.
"Please help me find my body."
The prerequisite for being pulled into this barrier was being asked by that strange girl to find her body. Rie had said there was a coffin in the auditorium holding a body.
Asuka, on the other hand, found a hand.
A hypothesis emerged in Eichi's mind.
The coffin held the Crimson Being's main body, and the Cursed Spirit in front of them was a clone.
Only when the body parts were all found would the main body appear. Before that, killing any number of clones would be useless.
Thinking this, Eichi immediately made a decision.
"Suguru, let's catch the Crimson Being together. Then I will stay and guard it, and you take the others to gather the body parts. We will meet at the auditorium."
"No problem."
Understanding Eichi's plan, Suguru summoned several more Cursed Spirits.
Unlike the previous ones, which each had their own strengths, these Cursed Spirits all had restraint abilities.
Black hair, spiderwebs, hanging ropes. The wide-ranging spiderwebs and black hair continuously compressed the Crimson Being's movement space. Whenever it tried to leave, a hanging rope appeared and looped around its neck.
Soon, the Crimson Being was cornered.
"Max Elephant."
A pink elephant appeared behind it. Its two pillar-like legs lifted and then stomped heavily.
The Crimson Being's screams mingled with the sound of breaking bones.
Seeing it had lost the ability to resist, Max Elephant curled its trunk around the Crimson Being, restraining it, then set off toward the auditorium.
"I will go to the auditorium and wait for you first."
"No problem, leave it to me."
As his voice fell, hundreds of Cursed Spirits that had been recalled earlier once again surged from the dark crack behind Suguru, their number noticeably greater than last time.
Large Cursed Spirits searched outdoor areas like the playground, while smaller ones entered the teaching building, meticulously searching every room.
For a time, the entire campus became a night parade of a hundred demons, like falling into Hell.
(To be continued.)