Their plan went smoothly.
With the efforts of hundreds of Cursed Spirits, the search progressed very quickly.
Arms, legs, waist... As the body in the coffin in the Auditorium gradually came together, Eichi's expression grew more solemn.
The body in the coffin was similar in build to Asuka and other humans. It was the body of a High School Division girl, not the Crimson Being's body that Eichi and Suguru had speculated.
Moreover, the body was wearing a High School Division uniform.
"So that's it, it is that girl from earlier."
Another body fragment was placed into the coffin, and Eichi finally confirmed the identity of the person lying within.
It was indeed the girl who had fallen from the building earlier in the day and asked them to help find her body.
"Only the head is left, then."
Looking at the body in the coffin, which only needed a head to be complete, Eichi began to consider what might happen next.
Since the body in the coffin was not the Crimson Being's, their earlier conclusion that finding all the body parts would solve the Crimson Being problem could not be true.
Now he needed to consider other possibilities and prepare countermeasures.
Clap, clap, clap.
Strange footsteps sounded, and Eichi turned toward the sound. A figure, entirely blood red and carrying a rabbit doll, appeared in his sight.
"It seems we will not need to go through all that trouble."
The aura emanating from the figure in front of him was even more terrifying than it had been in the Gymnasium, and it was holding the doll that Asuka and the others had mentioned earlier. It was clearly the true form of the Crimson Being.
The Crimson Being stopped at the entrance, its mouth stretching into a wide, eerie smile that appeared on its equally blood-stained face.
The Crimson Being's clone, wrapped around Max Elephant's trunk, slowly dissipated, and the aura of the true form at the entrance intensified again.
"Well then, I will exorcise you first."
He dispelled the Max Elephant summon, formed a hand seal, and the roaring Tiger Funeral appeared behind Eichi.
After retracting its clone, the Crimson Being charged at Eichi without hesitation.
After summoning Tiger Funeral, Eichi crouched down, drew his Katana from his shadow, and met the charge.
The first to arrive was the wind blade swung by Tiger Funeral.
The Crimson Being twisted its steps, dodging all the wind blades with a zig-zagging movement, then curled its five fingers like five small knives and lunged at Eichi.
Eichi swung his blade from bottom left to top right, blocking the sharp claws. Taking advantage of its arm being knocked aside and its guard wide open, he raised his Katana high and brought it down.
Pfft, clink.
The sharp blade cut into flesh, then got stuck on hard bone.
In pain, the Crimson Being raised its leg and kicked Eichi.
"So hard," Eichi frowned, pulling out his Katana and holding it horizontally in front of him to block the kick.
Screech.
Eichi slid several meters, his feet pressed firmly against the ground.
In that instant, Eichi felt that the Cursed Spirit opposite him was not a girl but a muscular strongman over two meters tall.
No, a muscular strongman would not have this much strength. This power was like being hit by a small car.
"So that's it. Although its appearance is different from those big, ugly ones, its essence is still a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit that at least requires a tank to deal with."
Looking at the Crimson Being currently fighting Tiger Funeral, the smile on Eichi's face grew more expansive.
Behind him, two Divine Dogs were protecting the ordinary people, one in front and one behind, while Tiger Funeral was in front. The three Shikigami had already reached the maximum number Eichi could currently summon, so he did not need to consider summoning others for now. He could just go in with his Katana.
Tiger Funeral was a Shikigami capable of exorcising a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit alone, so it naturally was not afraid of the Crimson Being, which was only Grade 1.
"And I am not weak either."
After speaking, he raised his Katana again and advanced.
Eichi's physical combat skills were very strong. With two physical combat geniuses by his side, it was hard for his hand-to-hand skills not to be strong.
Satoru had his family's inherited physical combat skills, while Suguru was a true all-around genius.
When Suguru first awakened to Jujutsu, he did not have many Cursed Spirits he could manipulate. He relied entirely on his fists and wits to subdue Cursed Spirits.
After several months of boxing, sanda, karate, and other classes, he developed a very practical set of close-quarters skills, which Eichi often asked him to teach.
Moreover, Eichi was full of motivation to cultivate physical combat skills.
Back to the battlefield.
Because it was two against one, Tiger Funeral attacked while the Crimson Being had not yet regained its footing after Eichi kicked it away, holding a firm advantage. With Eichi joining in, the Crimson Being retreated even more.
Eichi noticed something strange.
The Crimson Being kept fighting while holding that ugly-cute doll.
At first, Eichi thought the doll had some special purpose, but now the doll not only did not help, it actually affected the Crimson Being's combat power.
It constantly had to divert attention to protect the doll.
This strange scene piqued Eichi's curiosity.
Under Eichi's command, the Black Divine Dog silently concealed itself near the battlefield.
Seizing an opportunity, Eichi stepped forward and threw a punch, which the Crimson Being dodged by tilting its head.
The next moment, Eichi pulled his arm back with force, his elbow striking its head hard.
This was a move Eichi and Suguru learned from a boxing coach. It was said this move was banned from competitions because it was too underhanded and too likely to cause fatalities. That time, the boxing coach, drunk, used the move to show off, and Eichi and Suguru naturally took it in.
However, because Cursed Spirits are mostly large and distorted, there are not many opportunities to use it.
The most recent use was in a friendly match with Satoru, the kind without Jujutsu.
When this move hit Satoru's head, it had just the right force. Dazed, but no brain damage.
The Crimson Being's head was struck, and its body swayed. The Divine Dog, which had been waiting, rushed forward, opened its large mouth, bit the doll, and pulled, trying to snatch it away.
The Crimson Being immediately grabbed the doll with both hands, even disregarding Eichi beside it.
Eichi, of course, did not hold back. He chopped off its arm with a single strike.
"Ah ah ah ah."
Like a flashbang exploding in front of his face, a huge roar, like both a bellow and a wail, shook Eichi, making him cover his ears and retreat repeatedly.
Fortunately, Tiger Funeral, as a Shikigami, did not react much to it.
Tiger Funeral stepped forward and slammed the Crimson Being into the ground with a palm, interrupting the deafening roar.
"Then, next is this doll."
Under Eichi's gaze, the Divine Dog sniffed the doll, then pressed one paw on its body, bit the head with its large mouth, and began to tear.
Rip, roll.
The sound of tearing fabric was heard, and then a spherical object rolled onto the ground.
"Is this a head?"
Looking at the body in the coffin, which only lacked a head, and then at the head that rolled out of the doll, Eichi finally understood why Suguru had not found the last body part for so long.
Just as Eichi was about to place the head into the coffin, a cloud of black mist erupted from the doll and the Crimson Being's body.
The terrifying Cursed Energy made a drop of cold sweat run down Eichi's temple.
Eichi remembered this feeling. A few years ago, on a pedestrian bridge, he had directly faced such terrifying Cursed Energy.
"Woah, woah, really? A Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Within the black mist, a Cursed Spirit with a fat body and a neck three or four meters long slowly emerged.
Black mist continuously spewed from its long neck and gaping mouth.
(To be continued.)