Paths Converge

City of Kamikoshi, high school.

"Are you sure the problem is getting closer to our location?" A girl with green hair and glasses held a case that concealed a large spear as she complained about the new mission assigned to the three of them.

"Jelly salad."

"Maki, dozens of women have been kidnapped, and the only clue we have must be nearby."

"Panda, we don't even know where we are right now."

"Rotten egg." A boy named Toge Inumaki, with his mouth covered, muttered these words in approval.

Panda, on the other hand, an enormous talking panda accompanying the duo, murmured, "It's true that the missing women are probably dead by now, but we mustn't lose hope that we'll at least find that cursed spirit."

"At this rate, I doubt it."

The three-person team had been sent on this mission alone without the supervision of their teacher, Satoru Gojo, to find the source of the disappearances of women and the brutal murders of men in Kamikoshi City, but so far, they hadn't been able to find the source of the problems.

"Let's wait for it to get dark; we know at least the attacks only happen at night."

"Do we have any other choice?" Maki was growing impatient to find the source of the problem.

Toge shook his head and said, "Banana with garlic salt."

...

The sky gradually darkened, and the remaining people at the high school were finishing their business. Only when the sky was fully dark did the school remain quiet and still.

Hisagi, dressed in dark clothes, holding a sword with a purple hilt in his right hand, arrived at the place after following the trail of whoever had likely caused the recent disappearances of women.

Compared to other locations, there was a strong presence of cursed energy here, something that puzzled Hisagi, who didn't believe it to be a cursed spirit.

"Well, I'll wait until the source of the problem reveals itself," Hisagi murmured as he sat on a wooden bench.

His sword, Ryujin Jakka, might burn tonight; for the first time, it would be bathed in the blood of cursed spirits after having only killed weak enemies that hadn't even served as a warm-up for Hisagi.

His strength had increased, making it hard for him to encounter any real challenges from this point on.

As Hisagi waited, on the other side of the high school, a group of three students from the Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical College, following traces, had found the anomaly at this location.

...

At the same time, in a small, worn-out shack, surprisingly the Occultism Room, a dim light shone through the crystal door, the only light in the dark place.

A boy named Kinta Sakata, along with his friend Aiko, sat facing each other. The candles on the table illuminated the small space around them, creating a dim and mysterious atmosphere.

At this moment, Kinta was holding an oval object wrapped in strange characters. It was clearly visible due to the glow of the only candle on the table. There were hidden eyes in the darkness, though, as expected, the two students couldn't see them.

"It won't come off..." Kinta found that the wrapped thing was not as easy to dismantle as he expected. It seemed sealed tightly to prevent it from opening.

Seeing Kinta's seriousness, Aiko said with a hint of doubt, "Was it necessary to sneak in here?"

Kinta had no special feelings about the club's activities, and what they were doing today was nothing out of the ordinary. But the thing he had found online a while ago seemed well-made, so they'd be disappointed if it wasn't something remarkable, especially considering the price.

"I'm leaving..." Aiko suddenly stood up, ready to turn on the lights, pretending to leave.

At that moment, Kinta interrupted: "No, don't ruin the atmosphere. Feeling the thrill is the essence of the Occultism Club. Anyway, you know nothing will happen, even if we play like this for a while."

"Eh, fine." Aiko simply accepted this and didn't turn on the light.

"Oh, it opened!" Kinta's words made Aiko, who had sat back down, lean closer to her friend, wanting to see what was wrapped in the cloth.

Kinta became cautious. Although he knew nothing would happen, the atmosphere suddenly grew more subtle, and he swallowed nervously.

The oval box he held had a combination of numbers. The only way to open it was by aligning the numbers that had sealed it. After dozens of attempts, Kinta had finally guessed the correct combination.

When the oval box in his hands finally opened, there was a black-purple finger inside, leaving the two of them stunned.

"Is that a human finger?"

"Could it be real?"

At that very moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the shack. Hisagi, who had suddenly appeared, spoke to the two inside with an extremely cold voice: "You two, run from this place!"

"Huh? Who the hell are you?" Both Kinta and Aiko were so startled by the interruption that they looked at Hisagi angrily. After all, they knew no one else was supposed to be at the school, but now that someone had appeared, they didn't know what to say.

But at that moment, the candlelight on the table suddenly went out, and the next second, a chilling gurgling sound was heard.

"What happened?"

"Get out of here as fast as you can!" Hisagi directly grabbed both Kinta and Aiko by their clothes with his hands, and due to his incredible physical strength, the two were thrown out of the shack.

"Ouch..." Aiko grabbed her shoulders. Just as she was about to ask Hisagi why he was doing this, she saw countless hands and tentacles writhing in the dark shack, rushing toward the outside.

At this moment, Kinta had no idea what was happening. It seemed like they were in big trouble, while Aiko leaned against the wall, her legs trembling, unable to move for a long time.

"This is a world you shouldn't be connected to. If you two don't want to get hurt and make me lose the opportunity to eliminate these things, you should leave this place and let me handle it alone." Hisagi was calm, holding his sheathed sword with his right hand.

"Eh… Hmm, what is that?" Kinta and Aiko no longer knew what to say. Their shaky legs seemed to grow stronger due to Hisagi's tall figure protecting them.

At that moment, Kinta felt Hisagi's gaze on him and understood that, as a man, he now had to make sure to protect his friend. Yes, that was his duty. So, after helping Aiko, they both quickly made their way inside the nearby school building.

Seeing this, Hisagi let out a sigh of relief as the two left. At that moment, a cursed spirit had already obtained the dark purple finger that had fallen to the ground.

"Not in front of my eyes!" Hisagi's body flickered, and in an instant, using his Shunpo, he cut the monster in front of him into more than a thousand pieces.

Boom!

But at that moment, a humanoid monster with dark brown eyes all over its body stood atop the ruins of the shack, destroyed by Hisagi's explosive power. From its enormous mouth, it secreted horribly corrosive pus, which dripped onto the ground.

Tsss! Tsss! Tsss!

Large and small holes were corroded into the ground.

The stench constantly emitted bursts of a corrosive substance, like a worm that had just crawled out of the sewer.

The disgusting monster was about three meters tall, like a giant.

In front of it was Hisagi, who had not yet fully drawn his sword. His now longer hair glowed brightly as he casually lifted his head.

Compared to Hisagi's height, the monster was truly gigantic.

"A grade 4 cursed spirit?" Hisagi calmly observed the monster in front of him, with a slight tone of disappointment.

This one should give him more points, far more than he had earned with the other cursed spirit.

"Clean the bathrooms; keep cleaning!"

It seemed that the strange voices of various accusations from the possessed man in front of Hisagi resounded with bursts of oddity.

Boom!

The monster rushed recklessly toward Hisagi. Every step of its enormous body made the ground beneath its feet tremble constantly.

"You're no threat; my physical strength alone will suffice!"

Boom!

The three-meter-tall cursed spirit attacked with terrifying power toward Hisagi.

"Just a tickle!" In front of the terrifying monster that could easily turn ordinary people into ground meat with one blow, the corners of Hisagi's mouth curled into a disdainful smile.

"Die!"