[42]: Unconscious

Fushiguro Megumi had some battle experience under his belt, having already tamed several shikigami. The sword in his hand, Onikiri, while not as effective against cursed energy defenses as Dojigiri, was still a cursed tool, and dealing with curses wasn't a problem. With the assistance of the two Divine Dogs, Megumi had the upper hand, but… this curse seemed a little different.

Each time Megumi tore the serpent's body apart, it reformed like a mass of mist, although its size diminished slightly with each reformation. The creature took the form of a snake, but Shin had never seen a snake that could stretch its mouth wide enough to resemble a bottomless pit.

Moreover, it generated a powerful suction, pulling everything around it toward its black hole-like maw. Megumi held his ground, avoiding the pull, but the stones and foliage around them were sucked in and disappeared without any visible effect on the snake's form.

Megumi remained calm, dodging and attacking in turn, continuously dismembering the black snake. Over time, its misty form grew smaller and smaller. Surrounded by Megumi and his two Divine Dogs, the curse had no chance of escape and could only struggle futilely.

As the balance of the battle tipped in their favor, the black snake suddenly spat out a mass of stones and debris. Megumi dodged the flying objects, only to see a human figure tumble out of the curse's maw and land on the ground.

Shin, too, was startled and immediately used his technique to pull the unconscious figure toward them. The person was a man, dressed in outdoor gear, clearly unconscious but still breathing faintly.

Recognizing the man from the mission details, Shin realized this was the individual who had gone missing nearly four days earlier, as reported by the police. Had the curse swallowed him?

"Megumi, don't exorcise it just yet. This curse seems capable of swallowing both inanimate objects and living beings. There might be others still inside," Shin advised.

Megumi silently thanked his own restraint for not having summoned Great Serpent earlier. Though this curse reassembled itself like mist, it was still just a curse. A sufficiently powerful, wide-ranging attack could easily obliterate it. Megumi had been using the opportunity to gain some combat experience, which had fortunately led to the snake spitting out the missing man.

Upon hearing Shin's suggestion, Megumi formed a circle with his hands and summoned his toad shikigami, Toad, from his shadow. The large, bull-sized toad crouched on the ground and, under Megumi's command, joined the Demon Dogs in attacking the snake from different angles.

Before long, as the curse continued to shrink, more objects were expelled, along with three more bodies that fell to the ground. However, upon inspection, Shin found that these individuals were already dead, their cause of death being hanging.

It seemed that these people had committed suicide before being consumed by the curse. In addition to people, the curse had swallowed various objects as well. How it managed to store all these things within its misty body was a mystery, further demonstrating the strange nature of curses.

Shin mused, 'If this curse can swallow cursed tools, could it act as the storage tool I've been looking for?'

Meanwhile, Megumi had nearly subdued the curse. His combat experience was decent, but he still seemed unfamiliar with dealing with non-human enemies. His weapon techniques were also somewhat rough, prompting Shin to think that once they were back at Jujutsu High, Maki could give him some proper training.

"Megumi, wait a moment. This curse might be useful. Don't exorcise it just yet. I want to see if I can tame it and form a contract."

In the world of jujutsu sorcery, certain jujutsu sorcerers, known as shikigami users, could form contracts with curses or other entities to command them in battle. Some sorcerers captured wild curses and used them as shikigami, but that method was highly unreliable. Aside from a few special techniques, most sorcerers had to carefully consider the nature of the curse they wanted to tame.

Curses were born from negative emotions, and the stronger the curse, the more dangerous and aggressive it tended to be. Most curses were impossible to communicate with, and even if a sorcerer forced a contract, the curse could later rebel if it were strong or violent enough. The balance between strength and control was delicate: curses strong enough to be useful were often too difficult to tame, and weaker curses weren't worth the effort.

Thus, only curses with unique abilities were considered for taming. However, a shikigami user couldn't control an unlimited number of shikigami, so they carefully selected the ones that fit within their power range. Functional curses with non-combat abilities, like the one they were dealing with now, rarely interested most sorcerers.

However, Shin didn't lack combat strength. What intrigued him was the curse's ability to store objects within its body, and perhaps even living beings—although not for long.

Shin knew the method for forming a contract. He had studied it along with barrier techniques and other jujutsu skills but had never had the chance to use it—until now. He figured this was a good time to try. Speaking of which, he remembered that typically, curses needed to be "subdued" first, but since Megumi had been the one fighting, this curse now seemed too weakened to withstand Shin's attacks.

However, Shin didn't need to exert any effort. As soon as he approached the curse, intending to seal the contract, the black snake tried to flee, but every time, it was instantly pulled back to its original position. After a few repetitions, faced with Shin wielding Dojigiri, the black snake gave up and cowered on the ground, trembling in fear.

Shin then proceeded to form a contract with the curse. Since neither side resisted, the contract was easily completed, and Shin felt an intangible bond forming between him and the curse. It drew upon a small portion of his cursed energy and mental capacity, but the drain was minimal.

The black snake dissolved into a nearly solid black mist, which floated up from the ground. Its true form was this black mist, capable of taking various shapes. Under Shin's control, the mist gathered at his left ear and condensed into a small, black magatama earring.

He had considered placing it near his hand, where it would be more accessible for retrieving items, but he realized it could easily be damaged in combat. So, he opted to have it as an earring instead.

Now, it was time to test the curse's abilities. On his first attempt, black mist began to flow out from the magatama earring, wrapping itself around Dojigiri and Kumokiri in Shin's hands. Both swords seemed to dissolve into mist, as if being pulled into a mysterious, invisible space.

Looking at his now empty hands, Shin smiled. With a quick surge of cursed energy, the tip of Dojigiri emerged from a thin layer of black mist, followed by the hilt, which he grasped.

"This is pretty handy. Finally, I don't have to carry around a big box everywhere."

Megumi, who had just retracted his shadow shikigami, looked at Shin's actions and asked, "Did it work? So, what's the plan now?"

Shin caught Onikiri as Megumi tossed it to him, storing it as well. "We're basically done here. Once you've packed up and said goodbye to Tsukimi, we'll head to Jujutsu High."

After summoning Toad to carry the rescued man in its belly, they notified the support team to pick him up. On their way back to the Yamagata Shrine, Shin continued to delve into the thoughts of the curse through their newly formed bond. From the simple, almost non-existent consciousness of the curse, he learned that it hadn't been born purely from the negative emotions of those who had committed suicide. It was actually related to an ancient, local wild deity.

The deity's legend contained some elements of fear and intimidation, unlike the more well-known benevolent deities. Though this fear wasn't strong enough on its own to manifest as a curse, the fact that the surrounding forest had become a suicide site changed things. As people began associating these deaths with the legend, more eerie occurrences followed. The overwhelming accumulation of negative emotions eventually gave birth to the curse.

Interestingly, because the curse wasn't solely born from fear, hatred, or other typical negative emotions, it wasn't particularly aggressive. It had rarely attacked anyone, mostly consuming objects or living beings out of instinct. Its ability to store whatever it swallowed intact meant that the missing explorer had likely just been unlucky when he encountered it and was swallowed, leading to his classification as a missing person.

Shin and Megumi waited for the support team to arrive and take the barely alive man to the hospital, hoping he could provide more details once he woke up. The two then returned to the Yamagata Shrine, thanked Akishino Hiko, and informed him of their departure. Before leaving, they prayed for Tsukimi's health and bought her a protective charm from the shrine.

Though their stay had been brief, Shin and Megumi made a positive impression on the shrine staff with their polite demeanor, despite seeming a bit unusual. Upon hearing they were buying the charm for their sick sister, Akishino Emi insisted on giving it to them for free.

Afterward, Megumi and Shin left the shrine.

When they returned home, Tsukimi, looking much better, was overjoyed to receive the protective charm and incense meant to calm the mind and promote health. Her face lit up with a smile, and she insisted on cooking a big meal to thank them.

In the end, Shin convinced her to let him cook instead, with Megumi helping out. While Shin's cooking might not have been exceptional, the warmth of a meal prepared by family was always irreplaceable. Since they were finally home, Shin decided not to rush back to Jujutsu High, planning to rest for two or three days before returning.

However, something unexpected happened.

Fushiguro Tsukimi fell unconscious once again.

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel