"The Killing Stone?"
Toji Fushiguro's sudden outburst made Kenmei freeze mid-swing.
He had been a split-second away from driving the Inverted Spear of Heaven into the blood-red stone hovering in front of Mei. It looked like a solidified drop of fresh blood, pulsing with a chaotic, wicked beauty.
Kenmei could feel the energy radiating from it—evil, dense, and gritty, like sand made of pure malice.
There was no doubt in his mind: this thing was the culprit. It was the battery source powering this "undead" nightmare, the thing turning his sister into a regenerating monster.
It reeked of being a Special Grade Cursed Object—the kind that gets sealed away in a vault the moment it's discovered because its effects are too dangerous to leave unchecked. Every time he killed Mei, he was draining this stone's charge.
Since he didn't know what it was or how to safely contain it, his original plan was simple: smash it. Destroy the vessel, break the core, and release Mei's soul from this cursed prison.
But Toji's reaction stopped him. The older man clearly recognized it.
Kenmei lowered the blade slightly, his cold blue eyes locking onto the mercenary.
"What is it? Talk fast."
If he could understand the origin of this object, there might be another way. Maybe he could find a loophole, a research angle—anything other than just brute-forcing his sister's destruction.
"Boss, I saw records of this thing back when I was still wasting time in the Zenin clan," Toji said, crossing his arms. "I was just reading old family archives out of boredom, but I never thought the damn thing actually existed."
The power to reverse death. Near-infinite Cursed Energy. A blood-red stone covered in vein-like patterns. It matched the ancient texts perfectly.
Toji's face showed a rare expression of genuine surprise as he explained.
"You ever hear of the 'Four Great Vengeful Spirits' of Japan?"
Kenmei shook his head without hesitation.
Toji had access to the Zenin library, one of the oldest in the sorcery world. Kenmei, on the other hand, had never set foot in the Kamo family archives. His knowledge came from whatever scraps his parents had left behind. He wasn't exactly on the VIP list for secret history lessons.
"No clue."
Toji shrugged. "Figured. I only read it because I treated the archives like a comic book store."
He uncrossed his arms, gesturing vaguely.
"The 'Four Great Spirits' refer to the big leagues. The most famous, most powerful Cursed Spirits in Japanese history."
"Sugawara no Michizane, Taira no Masakado, and Emperor Sutoku."
"The first three correspond to the Three Great Families—the Gojo, Zenin, and Kamo clans. They say the families are descendants of these spirits. Like Satoru Gojo and his Six Eyes—his ancestors supposedly inherited that 'Limitless' power from the endless grudge of Sugawara no Michizane."
Toji paused for effect.
"But there's a fourth one. The legendary Super-Class Cursed Spirit: Tamamo-no-Mae. The Nine-Tailed Fox."
"The first three were humans who turned into spirits after death. The Fox was the only beast. And it was the only one of the 'Super-Class' spirits that was actually killed by ancient Sorcerers."
Toji pointed his chin at the floating red gem.
"That Killing Stone came from the Nine-Tailed Fox. Legend says it's crystallized from her essence and blood, holding all her terrifying power."
"The texts say if you gather all the pieces of the Killing Stone... you can summon the real Nine-Tailed Fox back into this world."
Kenmei stood there, stunned.
Why was Mei mixed up with something this catastrophic? What the hell happened to her before she died?
Since the Killing Stone had revealed itself, Mei had stopped moving. She lay quietly in Kenmei's arms like a broken doll, the rage gone from her face.
Even a Special Grade Cursed Object shouldn't have self-awareness.
Which meant...
Someone else was pulling the strings. Someone had deliberately planted this thing inside her.
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