After pondering for a moment, Renji and Shoko immediately headed to the houses at the center of the village to search for traces of the Cursed Spirit.
Neither dared to gamble on whether the unknown number of Curse Users outside might grow impatient, break through the barrier they themselves had set up, and come to kill them.
However, it seemed that for now, at least, the Curse Users outside were somewhat wary of the Cursed Energy emanating from Renji. This was a good thing.
"By the way, where did you get that sword? Why does it also have the aura of Cursed Energy? Is it a Cursed Tool?" Shoko asked while pushing open a dilapidated wooden cabinet in front of her.
Snap!
Renji drew Natsume.
The blade was snow-white, exuding waves of chill.
"I found this sword in the forest over there." Renji replied with a smile.
After all, a First-Grade Sorcerer from Jujutsu High had once been in this area. It was possible this was a weapon left behind by someone who fell in battle.
Shoko nodded, then pointed at the ground and spoke, "Give me a hand. There's a very faint Cursed Energy down here."
Renji flicked his wrist.
Hum!
The long blade pierced the stone slab beneath their feet.
Crash!
Broken stones fell.
Inside, wisps of Cursed Energy emanated. That Cursed Energy was very familiar—it was the same Cursed Energy that had been shrouding the village.
Why hadn't Shoko detected this residual Cursed Energy earlier?
It was because there were still many Cursed Undeads bearing curses on the surface at the time. The Cursed Energy emanating from those Cursed Undeads was much more obvious than here.
Furthermore, if the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit here hadn't been injured and lost control of its Cursed Energy, even this trace of residual Cursed Energy might have gone undetected.
"Should we go down?"
Renji looked at the dark, pitch-black cellar beneath his feet. A sense of danger crept from his toes to the crown of his head.
Thump!
Shoko turned and landed steadily on the blue stone slab at the bottom of the cellar.
"The smell down here is awful—an indescribable salty, fishy stench, with a hint of metal... complicated. By the way, would smoking a cigarette here cause an explosion?"
Shoko didn't answer Renji's question. Instead, she walked forward on her own.
Seeing Shoko like this, Renji also jumped down.
[Ding! The Main God Space has issued a special task for the Host.]
[Exterminate the injured Grade 1 Cursed Spirit (current strength is approximately at the peak of Grade 2, will recover to Grade 1 after 15:32:25).]
[Reward: Randomly unlock one template ability, one talent draw chance (limited to talents of the current world), Swordsmanship Mastery.]
A new task had arrived.
If it unlocked a template ability, would it also assign him a Cursed Spirit similar to Rika? Or perhaps awaken something like a Domain Expansion?
However, according to the rules of the Main God Space, it seemed it wouldn't allow him to grow exactly the same as the original template.
"Wait." Shoko suddenly crouched down at the corner.
Renji looked ahead.
Several Cursed Undeads walking in a pattern were uttering murmurs and whispers. The sound was distorted and sharp, causing discomfort.
"Go home... go home..."
"Daddy, it hurts so much..."
"I want to go up the mountain to gather herbs... Mom."
"I want to go see Tokyo..."
Renji quietly walked to Shoko's side.
Shoko maintained her usual calm expression. "They're beyond saving. Their souls are trapped within the bodies that became Cursed Undeads, forever repeating their last words before death. Perhaps they still firmly believe they are human."
"Kill them. Try not to use too much Cursed Energy, or it might cause an explosion."
Hum!
Renji suddenly rushed out from the corner.
The long blade slashed out a crescent-shaped arc.
One of the Cursed Undeads in front had just turned its head when it was separated from its body. Only the rotting head remained, rolling to the wall before turning to ash and vanishing.
[Ding! The Host has killed a Cursed Undead created by a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit for the first time. Gained +2 experience points.]
"Ahhhh!!!!"
A sharp scream erupted from what could no longer be called a mouth on the Cursed Undead in front. Flesh fragments and black blood dripped to the ground along with Cursed Energy.
Swoosh!
"Time to move on."
Renji wasted no words, striking continuously. Cold light flickered wildly under the faint candlelight.
The special ability of this Cursed Tool was its ability to control Cursed Energy output, so killing these few Cursed Undeads didn't cause much noise.
[Ding! The Host has killed a Cursed Undead created by a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. Gained +5 experience points.]
[Ding! The Host has killed a Cursed Undead created by a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. Experience points...]
"Let's go, Shoko-san." Renji glanced back at Shoko.
"Okay." Shoko poked her head out from the corner, then followed Renji.
As a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Shoko's offensive methods were extremely limited. If she had to deal with these Cursed Undeads, she'd probably just blow this place up, get buried alive, and starve or die of thirst.
The two walked deeper, following the flickering candlelight.
The deeper they went, the stronger the salty, fishy stench became. After this cellar was discovered by the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, it had been expanded, seemingly connecting to an underground cave, forming a winding path.
"It's in there." Shoko looked toward the corner not far ahead.
The next second, terrifying Cursed Energy mixed with a shockwave surged out.
Whoosh!
"It's recovering? We have to stop it. Otherwise, once this Cursed Spirit fully recovers, we won't have a chance to exorcise it." Shoko darted forward in a flash.
Normally, exorcising Cursed Spirits was left to Satoru and Suguru. But now, as the senior who was five years older than Renji, she had an obligation to take on the main responsibility of exorcising the Cursed Spirit.
Before Renji could take a step, the next second—
Thump!
Shoko was instantly sent flying, crashing heavily against the wall. A faint green glow, characteristic of Reverse Cursed Technique, emanated from her body.
"Shoko-san!" Renji stepped forward.
"Watch out!" Shoko's pupils contracted.
A huge black shadow gradually grew larger.
Strong Acid Attack!
Boom!
Without looking back, Renji formed his left hand into a pistol shape and pointed it behind him.
As the terrifying attack of Special Grade Cursed Energy flew out, the black shadow was instantly repelled.
Then—
"Wah!!! Wah!!!"
The sharp, infant-like wailing seemed about to shatter eardrums, throwing Renji into mental disarray.
Renji turned his head and saw a huge, blue infant curled up in the spacious cave, its back pressed tightly against the rocky wall, its right hand retracted to its chest. Faint white smoke could still be seen emanating from it—this was the palm that had just attacked the two.