Regardless of who was behind this, their actions were being carried out through the Crimson Figure. Therefore, instead of searching aimlessly, dealing with this Cursed Spirit first was the best course of action.
Perhaps, by exorcising the Crimson Figure, they could even force the mastermind out into the open.
The group quickly arrived at the gymnasium.
"Leave this to me."
Suguru Geto strode forward, Cursed Spirits appearing one after another behind him.
Eiji didn't object. On one hand, he trusted Suguru Geto's strength. On the other hand, his combat effectiveness was significantly limited with the two Divine Dogs protecting the civilians.
"Oni Warrior, Granny Fire."
An Oni Warrior, standing over two meters tall, and a fireball emitting a chilling laughter appeared to Suguru Geto's left and right.
The Oni Warrior was a Cursed Spirit born from the fear of defeated samurai souls, a very common traditional Cursed Spirit.
Granny Fire, as its name suggested, was based on a folk tale where a pair of unfilial children neglected their elderly parents, driving them into the mountains. The elderly person eventually transformed into a ghost fire to exact revenge.
"My hands and face are all red..."
Sensing the commotion at the entrance, the Crimson Figure stopped its eerie singing, turned its head, and looked at the group, its smile stretching almost to its ears.
"Go."
With a command, the Oni Warrior initiated the attack first. The Crimson Figure ducked low to evade the Oni Warrior's slash and then charged towards Suguru Geto.
Much faster than before.
Suguru Geto was surprised but didn't hesitate.
Within Granny Fire, the face of an old woman faintly appeared, and then clusters of fireballs shot towards the Crimson Figure, completely blocking its path.
Boom.
The sound of exploding fireballs echoed as the Crimson Figure was hit by over a dozen.
Previously, because they were at Eiji's house, Suguru Geto had been holding back, afraid of demolishing Eiji's home.
Now, it was different. The gymnasium was spacious, and Eiji was protecting the civilians, so he didn't need to worry and could unleash his full power.
A scorched figure burst out from the smoke created by the explosion. The Crimson Figure leaped forcefully towards Suguru Geto's head.
Suguru Geto didn't dodge, meeting the attack head-on with a punch.
As their fists and feet met, the Crimson Figure realized it had no advantage in close combat.
Whoosh.
While their fists and feet were locked, the Oni Warrior had returned and slashed at the Crimson Figure's waist.
The Crimson Figure immediately disengaged from their grapple.
Then, as soon as the Crimson Figure moved away from them, it was surrounded by dozens of fireballs.
Boom!
A massive explosion sounded, and the gymnasium's glass shattered from the intense shockwave.
"Continue."
Sensing that the Crimson Figure was not dead, Suguru Geto ordered Granny Fire to keep attacking.
The burned Crimson Figure desperately dodged the onslaught.
So that's how it is. Within this Barrier, the Crimson Figure receives a comprehensive enhancement.
Its speed and strength were greater than before at Eiji's house. Previously, it was heavily injured by a few slashes from the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, the Oni Warrior, but now it could move freely after taking dozens of Granny Fire's fireballs and its injuries were healing rapidly.
"Hair Spirit."
A woman whose face was completely obscured by black hair appeared before Suguru Geto. The waterfall-like black hair surged outwards as soon as it touched the ground.
Soon, the entire ground was covered in black hair.
Sensing that something was wrong, the Crimson Figure leaped onto the basketball hoop. The Oni Warrior immediately followed, chopping down the hoop.
The moment the Crimson Figure landed, countless black hairs climbed up its body from its ankles.
"Aaaahhh!"
The Crimson Figure let out a piercing scream, desperately tearing at the hair on its body. But every time it ripped off a strand, more hair would entangle its body.
"Eye Crow."
A giant skull appeared and bit into half of the Crimson Figure's body. The Crimson Figure, caught in its jaws, struggled fiercely.
At this moment, the Oni Warrior stepped forward and delivered a full-powered slash to the Crimson Figure.
Severely wounded, the Crimson Figure lost its ability to resist and was swallowed by the Eye Crow.
The parts of its body that fell to the ground were then claimed by the Oni Warrior, Hair Spirit, and Granny Fire.
"We did it."
"You really got rid of the Crimson Figure. Amazing."
"It's finally over."
After the Crimson Figure was swallowed by the Eye Crow, the people behind Eiji wept with joy.
However, neither Eiji nor Suguru Geto let down their guard, as the barrier had not yet been lifted and the person behind the scenes had not appeared.
Suddenly, Suguru Geto spotted a figure in a corner nearby.
"How is this possible? My cursed spirit definitely ate the Crimson Figure just now."
The figure in the corner, covered in blood with a chilling smile on its face, was none other than the Crimson Figure.
While Suguru Geto was contemplating, the Crimson Figure suddenly lunged towards the people behind him.
"This is bad."
Sensing the Crimson Figure's intention, Suguru Geto immediately turned around, trying to return to Eiji's side.
But in the next moment, the blood-red figure abruptly appeared in front of Suguru Geto.
Squelch.
To Suguru Geto's surprise, the Crimson Figure's right hand pierced his abdomen.
Sensing that something was wrong, Eiji immediately took out his Tang Dao from the shadows and forced the Crimson Figure back.
After dodging Eiji's attack, the Crimson Figure sniffed its blood-covered right hand with its small nose and then put its finger in its mouth.
"Nue."
After forcing the Crimson Figure back, Eiji didn't pursue. Instead, he immediately formed hand seals and summoned Nue to heal Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto wasn't idle either. His black hair and fireballs immediately attacked the Crimson Figure.
"Are you alright?"
Eiji breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the wound slowly heal. Fortunately, there was enough height difference between them; it would have been troublesome if its heart had been ripped out.
"I'm fine. It's that cursed spirit, though."
Suguru Geto slowly stood up.
"She can probably teleport directly in front of whoever turns their back."
"Yes, it seems so."
Earlier, in the infirmary, Asuka had mentioned that the distant Crimson Figure had suddenly appeared in front of her. Coupled with Suguru Geto's recent experience, the two of them deduced the condition for the Crimson Figure's teleportation.
The problem now was how to exorcise this cursed spirit.
Suguru Geto was certain that the cursed spirit he controlled earlier had indeed killed the Crimson Figure. So what was this second Crimson Figure?
"What do you think?"
Suguru Geto stepped forward and asked.
"There are three possibilities we can think of: a clone, regeneration, or... it can only be exorcised after a certain condition is met."
Eiji shared his thoughts.
The first possibility was easy to understand: destroying clones without eliminating the main body would be useless. The second was that this cursed spirit had some kind of core, and as long as the core wasn't destroyed, even a piece of flesh could regenerate.
The third was the most troublesome: it could only be exorcised after a certain condition was met.
While thinking, Eiji recalled the comedian Takaba. Even Kenjaku couldn't forcefully defeat that guy's cursed technique. In the end, Kenjaku relied on his experience to perform a comedy show that satisfied Takaba, thus "defeating" him.
If it was the third case, what condition would need to be met?
Must it be exorcised outside the barrier?
Probably not.
At this moment, Eiji remembered the scene when they were cursed.
"Please help me find my body."
The prerequisite for being drawn into this barrier was to be asked by that strange girl to find her body. Rie had mentioned that there was a coffin containing the body in the auditorium.
Asuka had found a hand.
A guess appeared in Eiji's mind.
The Crimson Figure's main body was in that coffin, and the cursed spirit in front of them was a clone of the Crimson Figure.
Only after all the body parts were found would the Crimson Figure's main body appear. Until then, no matter how many clones there were, it would be useless.
With this thought, Eiji immediately made a decision.
"Jie, let's capture the Crimson Figure together. Then I'll stay to guard it, and you take the others to find the remaining body parts. We'll meet at the auditorium."
"No problem."
Understanding Eiji's plan, Suguru Geto summoned several more cursed spirits.
Unlike the previous ones that had their own strengths, these cursed spirits all possessed binding abilities.
Black hair, spider webs, nooses...
The spider webs and black hair attacked in a wide range, constantly compressing the Crimson Figure's space to move. Every time the Crimson Figure tried to escape this area, a noose would appear and wrap around its neck.
The Crimson Figure was soon cornered.
"Full Elephant."
A pink elephant appeared behind the Crimson Figure. Its legs, like stone pillars, lifted and then stomped down hard on the Crimson Figure.
The Crimson Figure's cry mingled with the sound of breaking bones.
Seeing that the Crimson Figure had lost the ability to resist, the Full Elephant coiled its trunk around it, controlled it, and then headed towards the auditorium.
"I'll wait for you at the auditorium."
"No problem, leave it to me."
As the words fell, hundreds of Cursed Spirits, previously recalled, once again surged from the black rift behind Suguru Geto, their numbers noticeably greater than before.
The larger Cursed Spirits searched outdoor areas like the sports field, while the smaller ones went inside the school buildings, meticulously searching every room.
For a time, the entire campus became a scene of a hundred demons parading at night, as if hell had descended.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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