Dangerous Encounter

3rd person pov

Ryoma Kurogane, in his old-looking black robes, stood in front of an abandoned japanese temple.

The temple was located inside a forest, and there were many rumors about it that signified the presence of a cursed spirit. It was very likely that the said cursed spirit was a Special Grade.

"Even though two months have passed since I obtained Cursed Spirit Manipulation, I haven't managed to encounter a single Special Grade cursed spirit. I hope that this ends today." thought Ryoma as he stood, observing the entrance.

The large doors leading to the temple were wide open, and there weren't any signs of human life nearby. There was an eerie silence in the air.

Ryoma went through the doors and entered the temple.

The temple was large and had many traditional japanese houses. After exploring all of them, Ryoma didn't find anything abnormal.

Leaving the last house, although he was a little disappointed, Ryoma had an expressionless face. He was the type of person that didn't let something as insignificant as that get to him.

"I haven't explored the back of territory yet." thought Ryoma as he made his way towards the area behind the houses.

As he made his way closer and closer, the ground beneath him exploded.

Sensing the explosion before it happened, Ryoma jumped very high towards the air before the impact of the explosion reached him. While in the air, he summoned a white pelican-like cursed spirit with four feathery wings and stood on it, flying higher into the air to see what happened.

"I didn't even feel any cursed energy. I wonder what it could be." thought Ryoma, observing the ground from the sky

After the dust in the air dissipiated, he saw the remains of the houses he had just explored. And slightly above them, there was a large cursed spirit. It had the appearance of a dark, serpentine dragon. Its scales were the color of bronze and had an aged and worn appearance. The dragon's mindless and unthinking eyes glowed with a bright yellow color and its long body was adorned with jagged, bell-like structures. It also had a beard that was made of the same bell-like structures. It emitted large amounts of cursed energy and had a dreadful aura.

It's eyes were locked in on Ryoma. The dragon roared and flew straight towards him. It's bells were emitted an unsettling and dissonant chime as it moved.

"The sounds that it emits are it's technique of sorts. I already feel disoriented and nauseous." thought Ryoma as he activated Falling Blossom Emotion, effectively blocking the sound waves imbued with cursed energy and the technique of the bronze dragon.

Ryoma, readying himself, jumped off the pelican towards the dragon that flew towards him.

He simply dodged the outstretched claws of the mindless beast and landed a powerful strike imbued with cursed energy onto it's head, sending it flying towards the ground.

Not letting the dragon get away from him, he landed onto it's large body and started his assault that consisted of punches imbued cursed energy.

Although the dragon withstood the strikes of Ryoma, it couldn't react at all, and after about a few minutes of a continuous barrage of fast punches, it was weakened to the point where it could be exorcised.

Ryoma, with a slight smile on his face, extended his left arm towards the beaten dragon and turned it into a small black sphere. He then consumed the sphere, effectively taming the dragon-like cursed spirit.

Ryoma stood there for a few seconds, analyzing the battle.

"This was no ordinary cursed spirit. It had incredible durability, far surpassing anything I have encountered. It withstood my assault for three and a half minutes. Grade 1 curses that I come across usually get exorcised from a single punch imbued with cursed energy. This is definetly a Special Grade cursed spirit. It also had a cursed technique, but it didn't even use it properly because of it's limited thinking capabilities. I would guess that the disorienting effect of the sounds that it's bells emitted were only a passive effect of it's cursed technique." thought Ryoma as he prepared to leave the temple.

"I should explore it's capabilities in another place. There were many rumors about the sounds coming from this place, and it isn't guaranteed that jujutsu sorcerers won't come here to investigate."

Ryoma left the temple and made his way through a wide path inside the forest. Tall dark trees surrounded the man-made path. With the cloudy and foggy weather that blocked the sun, the whole place just felt creepy.

As he walked on the dirt path, rain started falling from the sky. It didn't bother Ryoma at the slightest.

As the rain fell, Ryoma suddenly felt the cursed energy of someone or something emitting from behind him. Turning around, he saw a figure standing 10 meters from him.

The figure had the appearance of a slender and tall young man. Very tall. Around 240-250 cm. He had golden yellow hair that shone brightly. He wore a white haori with a simple red pattern over a white kimono. The person also wore a red traditional japanese oni mask that had white horns and glowing yellow eyes. The expression of the oni mask had a mad and demonic aura.

Analyzing the cursed energy of the person, Ryoma concluded that before him stood a cursed spirit. It didn't even try hiding it's cursed energy, making it leak and enabling Ryoma to study it.

"Human. I have been looking for you. I, Kuroshin, will end the life of you, who has sullied this world and defied it's laws by disregarding the principles of life and death! You have broken sacred laws, be grateful to receive the gift of death as a punishment." said the cursed spirit named Kuroshin

"..."

Ryoma stood there and processed the information. This was the first time he was seeing this cursed spirit, and from the looks of it the thing possesed intelligence similar the rest of the Unregistered Special Grade cursed spirits like Mahito and Jogo.

"Kuroshin, may I ask something? I am not aware of my wrongdoings, could you kindly explain them to me? I would like to know the reason for you to kill me before my death." said Ryoma in a polite voice, attempting to stall in order to analyze the opponent and prepare for battle.

"You are guilty of extending your own lifespan by stealing it from other humans. For that you shall receive the sweet gift of eternal slumber." replied Kuroshin with a voice that had traces of conviction within itself.

"..."

"Why is stealing lifespan considered a divine crime when killing someone isn't? Both are actions that prematurely end the life of a person, but only one of them is considered to be a violation of the "sacred laws"." asked Ryoma, stalling even further.

Kuroshin didn't hesitate and answered directly:

"When someone steals another person's lifespan, they are directly manipulating the natural flow of life energy. By forcibly taking someone else's lifespan, a person disrupts the natural order and accelerates the victim's death. This act is seen as a violation because it robs the individual of their rightful span of life and disrupts the balance between life and death. I, a cursed spirit born from the fear and hatred of death, can sense individuals who have violated the sacred laws of life and death. It is my duty and greatest honor to be the one to reinact judgement upon these people by giving them the gift of death!" 

"..."

Ryoma stood there, listening to the words of the cursed spirit and analyzing it at the same time. He had a vague idea about the way it came to existance, but put those thoughts aside. For now, he had to concentrate on making it out from this forest alive.

Kuroshin took up his battle stance

"If that is all you have to ask, are you ready to die, human?" he said with a commanding voice.

...

ch11 end.