"The weaker the Cursed Spirit, the more it likes to gather in groups."
"And near some powerful Cursed Spirits, there won't be any small fry."
"Oni-chan, we haven't seen a single Cursed Spirit since we came in. Does that mean this Rainbow Dragon is extremely strong?"
Shoko frowned and retreated behind the three.
"That's right."
"One mountain cannot hold two tigers, unless it's a male and a female. The same goes for Cursed Spirits."
"Judging by how clean the area is,"
"this First Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit, Rainbow Dragon, is likely one of the top-tier First Grade Cursed Spirits."
They continued to inspect and survey upwards.
The group arrived at the hotel's top floor.
Mirai looked down at the colossal dragon, poised to soar into the sky, and continued to explain to the three 'babies' behind him:
"Dragons, since ancient times, have been a totem of China, regarded as a symbol of spiritual civilization, and are an imaginary existence highly revered and respected by the Chinese people."
"But respect and fear are often separated by only a fine line."
"China has always had the saying, 'serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.'"
"Not to mention mythical creatures that are far more terrifying and bizarre than humans."
"If the Rainbow Dragon were born in its legendary place of origin,"
"with China's vast population, I have no doubt that it would become the King of Curses, ruling over everything in the heavens, the moment it descended!"
"Is it that exaggerated?"
Gojo Satoru looked doubtful.
Suguru Geto chuckled, shaking his head, and looked at Gojo Satoru.
"Don't underestimate the devout faith of the world's most populous nation in its own spiritual totems, Satoru."
"Japan's population is only one-tenth of China's."
"The total population of Yokohama Akihana Street is only one-twentieth of all Japan, yet the curses born here are already at the peak of First Grade."
"If the Rainbow Dragon were born in mainland China, I even wonder if a single breath from it could sink this little island of ours."
Imagining that terrifying scene for a moment, Suguru Geto broke out in a cold sweat.
He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"At that time, why not establish another rank above Special Grade to classify the strength of Cursed Spirits and Sorcerers? I think we should just call it 'Dragon Grade.'"
Shoko's cowlick suddenly stood up.
She squinted her beady eyes and retorted:
"Isn't that just talking about our Oni-chan??"
"Uh..." x2
Shoko's words immediately silenced Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto.
Their expressions were on the verge of breaking.
They exchanged glances simultaneously.
Then, they turned to look at Mirai, who had already become inhumanly strong.
That actually makes sense, huh?
No problem there!
"Alright, alright."
"What 'Dragon Grade' and whatnot."
Mirai was somewhat exasperated by the 'Dragon Grade' the group had inexplicably discussed.
You're mixing up storylines, hey!
"The total number of Special Grades in an era is only a handful."
"Dividing another rank above that is completely meaningless."
"The outcome of a battle is simply win or lose."
Upon hearing this,
Satoru, Geto, and Shoko all nodded in agreement.
Afterward,
the group refocused their attention on the giant dragon statue in the lobby.
They had already searched all the way to the top floor.
No trace of the Rainbow Dragon was found anywhere.
Only it looked the most suspicious.
"Oni-chan, what do we do now?"
Satoru, Geto, and Shoko instinctively looked at Mirai.
In this special situation where they were completely in the dark, it would be foolish not to rely on someone strong.
"Cursed Spirits born from physical entities have rarely appeared in the past."
"If they deliberately hide in their birthplace, even the Six Eyes would find it difficult to detect them."
"However... up until Special Grade, Cursed Spirits are usually strong in power but not in intellect, much like a beast driven by survival instincts."
"According to the report, the Rainbow Dragon is a very large Cursed Spirit."
"As long as it comes out to move, it has nowhere to hide in this hotel!"
"Worst case, we'll just carpet bomb the place and plow the entire hotel, land and all!"
As his voice fell,
he flipped over the railing on the 21st-floor rooftop.
Under the astonished gaze of the others,
Mirai, without using Cursed Energy,
punched the head of the most suspicious giant dragon sculpture!
Crack!
Crack!!
Crack!!!
Like shattering glass,
the giant dragon sculpture immediately emitted a continuous chain of crisp cracking sounds.
Dozens of web-like cracks, starting from the ferocious dragon head, wildly spread and expanded across the dragon's body!
In just three or two breaths,
the giant dragon sculpture had already shattered into a pile of debris!
On the top floor,
Suguru Geto's mouth unconsciously opened into an 'O' shape, having witnessed Mirai's formidable scene of smashing the several-zhang-long giant dragon statue with a single punch.
Beside him,
even though they were already accustomed to Mirai's monstrous strength, comparable to a Heavenly Restriction,
Gojo Satoru and Shoko Ieiri still couldn't help but want to complain and grumble.
Is this even human?!
He's probably a tyrannosaurus in human skin, isn't he?!
"Hmm?"
On the first floor,
Mirai let out a soft sound of doubt.
The giant dragon statue shattered,
but the Rainbow Dragon did not appear as he had expected.
"That shouldn't be..."
Mirai looked puzzled and mumbled.
His pale Six Eyes scanned every piece of debris on the ground,
but found nothing.
Just as he was about to secretly summon Rekseus to cheat,
"Ah!!!"
A cry of alarm came from upstairs!
Mirai looked up,
and saw a dragon-shaped Cursed Spirit, entirely pale, with a horse-like face and round, orange-yellow eyes, suddenly appearing from somewhere.
It was the Rainbow Dragon!
Seeing the target appear,
Boom!!!
Leaving a huge crater in the ground,
Mirai's figure flashed like lightning!
He moved effortlessly between the hotel's supporting pillars.
In an instant,
he had already returned to the top floor,
appearing in front of Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto,
and confronting the Rainbow Dragon with them.
"What happened?"
"Where did this dragon pop out from?"
"It's the Dragon Orb!"
Suguru Geto pointed to the half-human-tall, shattered glass sphere in the room behind the Rainbow Dragon.
"Oni-chan, can you believe it?"
"This guy was smart enough to hide its possession object separately!"
"Where's Shoko?"
Not seeing the girl's figure anywhere,
Mirai had a faint bad premonition.
"Uh..."
Gojo Satoru gave an awkward smile,
not daring to speak, and silently pointed to the Rainbow Dragon, which was struggling and writhing in the air.
Suguru Geto timely explained:
"When the Rainbow Dragon manifested, Satoru and Shoko happened to be passing by the room where the Dragon Orb was hidden."
"Satoru was startled at the time and accidentally threw Shoko into the Rainbow Dragon's mouth as a projectile..."
"Huh?!"
Mirai exclaimed in astonishment,
looking at Gojo Satoru, who had already reverted to his cat form and was squatting on the ground drawing circles, with a look of disappointment.
"Is that how you protect people?!"
Facing Oni-chan's reprimand,
Gojo Satoru did not retort, shrinking his head even lower.
Seeing this,
Mirai sighed softly.
He pinched the back of Cat Satoru's neck with one hand and lifted him up.
Then his figure flashed explosively!
With a powerful kick, swift as an intercontinental missile, he fiercely struck the Rainbow Dragon's midsection!
This kick
almost sent the Rainbow Dragon's eyeballs flying out!
"Roar——!!"
Taking advantage of the Rainbow Dragon's painful roar,
Mirai threw the Cat Satoru in his hand.
"Go on!"
"Make up for your own mistakes!"
"I'll give you half a minute to rescue Shoko!"
"If you're overtime, don't even think about seeing tomorrow's sun!"
"Remember!"
"Only use physical attacks!"
"No way——"
Gojo Satoru's voice abruptly cut off as he shot into the Rainbow Dragon's mouth like a cannonball!
Bang!!!
With an indigestible foreign object entering its body again,
the Rainbow Dragon immediately writhed even more painfully.
It couldn't even maintain flight.
It crashed down to the first floor!
Although its tough body, harder than diamond, showed no signs of shattering or disintegrating,
with two relatively oversized 'tapeworms' inhabiting its body,
the Rainbow Dragon was on the verge of collapsing!
Pain! It was too painful!
...Currently available information:
[Every Cursed Spirit born in the world is a unique individual. Just as there cannot be two completely identical people, there cannot be two completely identical Cursed Spirits.]
[And based on their respective origins, Cursed Spirits are mainly divided into three categories—'Ordinary Cursed Spirits,' 'Imaginary Cursed Spirits,' and 'Vengeful Cursed Spirits.']
[Ordinary Cursed Spirits: Mainly formed by the natural accumulation of various negative emotions unconsciously emitted by humans.]
[Imaginary Cursed Spirits: Mainly formed by the aggregation of human fear towards a certain fixed concept. Some curses of unknown origin are also classified as Imaginary Cursed Spirits.]
[Vengeful Cursed Spirits: Cursed Spirits that usually manifest under the condition of a deep-seated obsession of a specific human with Cursed Energy after their death towards others; however, there are also cases where a Sorcerer with powerful Cursed Energy actively curses a deceased person without Cursed Energy but with a deep-seated obsession, transforming them into a Cursed Spirit.]