Chapter 42: Coma
Megumi Fushiguro still had some combat experience; after all, he had tamed several types of Shikigami. Although the Onikiri in his hand wasn't as effective in Cursed Energy defense as Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, it was still a cursed tool, perfectly capable of harming Cursed Spirits.
With the assistance of two Jade Hounds, there was no problem for a while, but... this Cursed Spirit seemed a little different.
Its body was torn apart by Megumi Fushiguro several times, only to reform like a cloud of mist, albeit slightly smaller. While its outer form resembled a snake, it was merely an appearance; Kamihara Hajime had never seen a snake capable of stretching its mouth like a bottomless pit.
Moreover, it simultaneously exerted a powerful suction, pulling everything around it into its black hole-like maw. Megumi Fushiguro, who had stabilized his stance, didn't fall for this trick, but the surrounding stones and vegetation, pulled in, strangely disappeared into it without any change to its form.
Megumi Fushiguro calmly dodged and attacked, dismembering the black snake repeatedly, and the black mist-formed snake's body gradually shrank. Under the siege of one person and two dogs, it couldn't escape and could only resist futilely.
As the scales of victory gradually tipped, the black snake suddenly spat out many wooden and stone objects from its mouth. After dodging the flying debris, Megumi Fushiguro was surprised to see a human figure fall to the ground from within.
Kamihara Hajime's gaze was also drawn, and he then used his Technique to pull the figure back. It was a male, wearing a thick outdoor sports jacket, completely unconscious but still with a faint breath.
Having read the mission brief, Kamihara Hajime recognized this person; it was the missing individual reported by the police nearly four days ago. Had he been swallowed by this Cursed Spirit?
"Megumi, don't exorcise it all at once. This Cursed Spirit seems capable of swallowing both inanimate and living objects. There might be other people swallowed inside its body."
Upon hearing this, Megumi Fushiguro thought, 'Good thing I didn't use the Great Serpent.' Although this Cursed Spirit kept reforming its body like mist, it was still just a Curse. Under an overly strong and widespread attack, it probably wouldn't last long. He was also using it to practice his combat experience, which is why he waited until the black snake spat out this man.
After hearing Kamihara Hajime's words, Megumi Fushiguro cupped his hands and bent his pinky finger, summoning the Shikigami "Toad" from his shadow. A toad as large as a calf squatted on the ground, then, under Megumi Fushiguro's command, it attacked the black snake Cursed Spirit, alongside and separate from the Jade Hounds.
Soon, as the Cursed Spirit's body further shrank, more miscellaneous objects were spat out, and three bodies also fell to the ground. However, upon inspection, Kamihara Hajime found that these people had already died, and their cause of death was all hanging.
This meant these individuals had committed suicide before being swallowed by the Cursed Spirit. Moreover, this Cursed Spirit didn't just swallow people; it also readily took in various objects. It was unclear how this black mist-formed body could accommodate all of this, truly showing how mysterious Curses are.
"In that case, can this Cursed Spirit swallow cursed tools? Wouldn't this be the 'storage item' I've been looking for?"
Megumi Fushiguro over there was almost done beating the Cursed Spirit to a pulp. His combat experience was decent, but he seemed a bit unfamiliar with such non-human entities, and his weapon skills were quite rudimentary. Perhaps Maki could teach him after he enrolls in Jujutsu High.
"Megumi, wait a moment. This Cursed Spirit might be useful. Don't exorcise it yet. I'll try to subdue it and form a contract."
So-called Shikigami users in the Jujutsu World form contracts with Curses, or coalesced Curse aggregates, created through Jujutsu or other means, to command them in battle. Some also capture wild Cursed Spirits to use as their Shikigami, but the latter is too uncertain. Aside from some special Techniques, if ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerers do this, they must also consider the specific circumstances of the target Cursed Spirit.
Cursed Spirits are born from certain triggers. Powerful Cursed Spirits are often accompanied by extreme negative emotions and aggression, and most Cursed Spirits are incommunicable. Even if you forcefully form a contract with a Cursed Spirit, if there's a power disparity or the Cursed Spirit's "personality" is very aggressive, you might even have to guard against it causing trouble later. Thus, it becomes a closed loop: Cursed Spirits strong enough to be useful cannot be subdued, and weak ones are not worth subduing.
Therefore, only Cursed Spirits with special abilities might be chosen. However, Shikigami users cannot indefinitely command Shikigami, so they mostly subdue Shikigami within their capabilities after careful consideration. Functional Cursed Spirits that are not particularly good at combat are even less likely to attract interest.
Of course, such examples still exist, and Kamihara Hajime doesn't lack this bit of combat power. What he wants is this Cursed Spirit's ability to store objects within its "body." It seems it can even store living things, though not for long.
Kamihara Hajime knew the method of forming a contract, having learned it along with Barrier Techniques, but he had never had the opportunity to use it. Now was a good time to try. By the way, he seemed to have to "subdue" the Cursed Spirit first, but Megumi Fushiguro had been fighting just now, and this Cursed Spirit didn't seem to be able to withstand his attacks much.
But Kamihara Hajime had overthought it. When he approached the Cursed Spirit, the latter, trying to escape, returned to its original spot in an instant. After several repetitions, facing Kamihara Hajime, who held Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, the black snake Cursed Spirit decisively cowered, prostrating itself on the ground, trembling.
Kamihara Hajime then tried to form a contract with the Cursed Spirit on the ground. With no resistance from either side, the contract was successfully completed. Kamihara Hajime felt an inexplicable connection linking him and this Cursed Spirit, and it also took up some of his Cursed Energy and mental burden, though comparatively, it was negligible.
Then the black snake on the ground rose and transformed into a nearly solid black mist that floated up. Its essence was this black mist, which could only take on a certain form. Under Kamihara Hajime's control, this black mist gathered at his left ear, forming a small, black magatama earring.
Originally, he wanted to keep it near his hand for easy access, but considering that it could be easily damaged by enemies during combat if it was near his hand, he changed it to an earring.
Next, it was time to test this Cursed Spirit's ability. In Kamihara Hajime's initial use, black mist suddenly flowed down from the magatama pendant on his ear, then somewhat clumsily but not slowly enveloped Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and Spider Cutter in Kamihara Hajime's hand.
The two curse swords melted into black mist as if in sync, yet it was also as if they had sunk into a mire or been pulled into an unknown space by an invisible hand. Looking at his empty hands, Kamihara Hajime smiled, then urged Cursed Energy, and the tip of Totsuka-no-Tsurugi's blade emerged from a thin layer of black mist on his hand, until the hilt was grasped by him.
"It's quite useful. Finally, I don't have to carry a big box everywhere."
Megumi Fushiguro, who had retrieved his shadow Shikigami, looked at Kamihara Hajime's actions and asked, "It worked? What do we do next?"
Taking the Onikiri Megumi Fushiguro threw him and storing it, Kamihara Hajime replied, "It's basically over. When we get back, you pack up and say goodbye to Tsumiki, then we'll prepare to go to Jujutsu High."
After Megumi Fushiguro used the Toad to put the surviving man into its stomach, preparing to hand him over to the already notified logistics personnel, on the way back to Yaga Shrine, Kamihara Hajime was still learning through the contract he had formed with this Cursed Spirit, from its simple, almost indescribable thought activity, that it was not entirely born from the negative emotions brought by these suicidal individuals. In fact, it was related to a wild god from the local legends.
The legends associated with it contained elements of horror or intimidation. Unlike the most well-known righteous gods, its legends brought negative emotions like fear. Originally, this alone would not have been enough to give birth to a Curse, and it might even be less likely than some special places to spawn Cursed Spirits.
However, the problem was that this nearby forest became a suicide spot. More, tangible negative emotions arose when people linked a series of events to myths and legends, followed by some strange occurrences. Amidst the surging negative emotions, the Curse was born.
However, perhaps it wasn't born purely from emotions like fear or resentment. Although this Cursed Spirit had no clear consciousness, it generally didn't attack people much, only occasionally swallowing things out of instinct. But it wasn't a living creature, and due to its ability, the things it swallowed were mostly preserved intact. The adventurous man was probably unlucky to encounter it, which led to him being swallowed and then being classified as missing.
Kamihara Hajime and Megumi Fushiguro first waited for the arranged people to take the faintly breathing man for medical treatment, hoping to learn what happened from him once he woke up. The two then returned to Yaga Shrine. After thanking Akashi Nohiko and bidding farewell, they also prayed for Tsumiki at the shrine and bought omamori charms to bring to her.
Then, they politely said goodbye to everyone. Although their time together was short, and the two seemed a bit peculiar, their polite demeanor and appearance left an impression. Upon learning that they wanted to pray for an omamori for their sick sister, Akashi Emi immediately insisted on giving them the omamori for free.
"See, both our names have 'Megumi' in them, so there's a bit of fate, isn't there? My mother used to tell me that it's because I'm a blessing to them. I'm sure your parents love you very much too, and you two siblings are quite like our two, haha."
Megumi Fushiguro opened his mouth but said nothing. After accepting her kindness, he politely thanked her, then left the shrine with Kamihara Hajime.
When they returned home, Tsumiki, whose complexion had improved significantly, saw the omamori they brought back for her, symbolizing the warding off of disasters and misfortunes, and two boxes of incense sticks, said to calm the mind, refresh the spirit, and promote health and ward off illness. Her eyes curved into a joyful smile, and she insisted on cooking them a grand meal to reward them.
In the end, Kamihara Hajime persuaded her otherwise, had Megumi Fushiguro assist, and cooked a meal himself. Perhaps it wasn't the most delicious, but meals made by family always have an irreplaceable taste. Having finally returned, Kamihara Hajime was not in a hurry to go back to Jujutsu High immediately, but planned to rest for two or three days before returning.
However, at this very moment, an accident occurred.
Fushiguro Tsumiki fell unconscious again.
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