Mosquitoes

We were running towards the left ring but kept our steps as quiet as possible to avoid waking the patients and attracting the attention of the doctors and nurses. My Divine Dog Totality was also running with us for extra manpower. 

We soon got to the left wing of the hospital. 

It was deathly quiet here. No patients, doctors, or nurses roamed the halls. We looked around and found that no lights were on either. 

Our nostrils flared, and we smelled something strange coming from the room on the right. My Dog had already smelled it and was near the room's closed door.

Kusakabe and I got closer and started smelling it better. A distinctive 'metallic' smell lingered from whatever was behind the door. 

There was no denying it; it was the heavy smell of blood.

Kusakabe put his hand on the katana on his side and gave me a nod, signalling that he was ready. My Dog didn't woof or bark, knowing that we were in a situation that called for stealth, but instead bore his canines without making a sound. I carefully walked over to the door and opened it slowly. I got lucky with it not creaking, but my eyes widened at what I saw in the room.

A bunch of women huddled around someone on the floor in the room. The skin around their eyes was dark, and their eyes shone with hunger. Marks covered their face, which seemed to be mosquito bites. Their mouth was dripping with blood while they sucked out the life from the person on the floor with a metal straw.

They were not Cursed Spirits but people infected by the Mosquito Cursed Spirit. Calling them people would be a disservice because there was no soul behind those eyes except for hunger.

I looked closer while pulling out my katana to be safe. I noticed that there was a bump around the bellies of all the women in the room. They were pregnant.

I suddenly remember a private lesson I got from the Zenin Tutor.

'Female mosquitoes are the only ones who suck blood. They suck the blood of animals to feed the young inside their bodies.'

I looked at the women and just knew they were drinking blood to feed whatever abomination was growing inside them.

Kusakabe didn't say anything, but when he crouched down into a stance, I knew he was getting ready to attack. I hesitated a bit before doing the same while my Divine Dog got ready.

We attacked.

***

Their bodies littered the floor. I stood over them with a gloomy expression, and my hands clapped in a prayer position. 

'I hope that in their next lives, they can live peacefully and happily far from this Cursed World.'

Finishing my prayer, I saw Kusakabe neutrality making a call.

"Yeah… we need a clean up crew … mhm… okay, thanks."

Kusakabe ended the call and said, "Let's put a barrier around this room and then make some rounds in the hospital."

I concurred and wanted to get away from here as fast as possible.

Before we left, I looked at the people on the floor one last time.

'I promise I will rid this town of this Curse.'

***

We walked around the hospital to make sure we got everything. We specifically looked for mosquito bites, but the only infected ones were the women.

There was one weird doctor with a Cursed Spirit Mosquito circling his head that we exorcised. His eyes seemed to clear up, and he felt less strange.

We also visited Kirie, but she still seemed tired. She kept a can of bug spray on her bedframe, which appeared to be half full. I wasn't really in the mood to wake her up, so we left her room and left the hospital.

Kusakabe must have noticed my sad expression and started speaking.

"Kid, I don't know how you're feeling now, but let me tell you something. In our line of work, not every job has a good ending. We aren't superheroes who come in and save the day, but pest control who keep the rising population of Cursed Spirits under control. I'm not going to say that every mission will be like this, where we have to … put Cursed People to rest, but it isn't uncommon. I don't like it, and you don't have to either, but we must ensure that the Non-Sorcerers are kept safe."

"I get that, Sensei, but I'm still wondering if we made the right choice. Like, could we have saved them?"

"No, and I say that with certainty. They couldn't have been saved as they were too far gone. You know, many sorcerers have been killed by the ones they were trying to save. They thought that anyone could be saved if they tried hard enough, but that wasn't the case. The Body and Soul are equal and connected at the same time. If you corrupt the body, the soul will follow and vice versa. As soon as your soul is Cursed, there is nothing we can do as Sorcerers to help unless you have a Cursed Technique that lets you deal with that."

I sighed because I knew Kusakabe was right. I can't save everyone; the sooner I realize that, the better. The only thing I can do is find the Special Grade Cursed Spirit and exorcise it before more people get hurt.

I looked up and saw a dark spiral in the sky.

"They must have done another cremation," I remarked dryly.

Kusakabe didn't respond and looked at it, too.

'Wait, it's getting suctioned towards the pond outside the town.'

I had a gut feeling that the Cursed Spirit were looking for was hiding in the pond.

"Seems we've found our last location, Sensei."