The Curse Where No One Died?

"Why is she still alive? Didn't she fall from the Rooftop? I pushed her down myself!"

Behind Eiji and Suguru Geto, Urushi Shota, dressed like an honor student, curled up in the corner and hugged his knees tightly.

"Why didn't she die? Doesn't that mean the Crimson Figure will still kill us tonight? Damn it."

Of the four people in the room, some looked despairing, some had given up entirely, and some clung to each other with worried expressions.

Eiji and Suguru Geto exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with gravity.

"Tell us what happened to you. Maybe we can solve this."

Suguru Geto stepped forward and spoke softly.

"Haha, you can solve it? Do you even know what that thing is? It's an evil spirit! I know you two—the strongest delinquents in the Middle School Division. What, are you planning to punch an evil spirit?"

"Shota, stop it."

Ise Takahiro, the calmest and strongest fighter among them, restrained the already distraught Urushi Shota.

"You should come in and sit down too. We may end up becoming teammates."

After saying that, Ise Takahiro made an inviting gesture. Behind him, Asuka immediately helped up the fallen chairs and arranged them around a bed.

Eiji and Suguru Geto did not refuse. They stepped forward and sat down.

"My name is Ise Takahiro, a second-year in the High School Division. These are Urushi Shota, Morisaki Asuka, and Rie. And you are?"

As the leader of the small group, Ise Takahiro introduced the other three to Eiji and Suguru Geto.

"Dongfang Eiji, second-year in the Middle School Division."

"Suguru Geto, second-year in the Middle School Division."

Ise Takahiro nodded politely before continuing.

"It started three days ago. We were on our lunch break when the girl you just saw suddenly walked up behind me and asked me to help her find her body."

"At first, I thought I had misheard. Just as I was about to ask what she meant, she suddenly disappeared, much like before."

Eiji and Suguru Geto understood. Earlier, just as Eiji had been hesitating over whether to pursue her, the girl's body had dissipated into the air like mist.

"That night, we suddenly appeared in the school, and then a blood-soaked Crimson Figure started hunting us."

As he spoke, Ise Takahiro raised a hand to cover one eye.

That sounded like a very unpleasant memory, Eiji thought.

"At first, I thought I had been killed. But when I woke up the next day, I was at home, and there wasn't a single wound on my body."

"The same happened to them?"

Eiji swept his gaze across the others.

"That's right. When we exchanged information yesterday, we discovered that all of us had been asked by that girl to find her body."

"We also compared what we knew. Rie found a Coffin in the Great Hall. There was a human-shaped hollow inside, meant to hold body parts. Asuka found an arm in one of the classrooms. I think those are the body parts we need to find."

After saying that, Ise Takahiro looked up at Eiji and Suguru Geto.

"Now that you've been asked too, you may be dragged into this body-searching... curse tonight as well."

After a pause, Ise Takahiro felt that "curse" described their situation better than "game."

"Of course, this curse may only affect the High School Division. You two from the Middle School Division might be fine."

As if afraid Eiji and Suguru Geto would be frightened, Ise Takahiro tried to reassure them.

At first, Ise Takahiro had been very dissatisfied with the two of them for suddenly rushing in and attacking. But after learning that they had come running from the Middle School Division because they had mistaken the group for bullying the girl, that dissatisfaction vanished.

"What do you think?"

Eiji looked at Suguru Geto.

"It's a type I've never seen before. What about you?"

"My first time seeing one too. Normally, Cursed Spirits have rather simple behavior patterns. It's rare for one to act in such a complex manner. More importantly, this Cursed Spirit didn't kill them."

Most Cursed Spirits possessed low intelligence. They acted like beasts, following their instincts to seek out and kill humans.

But according to Ise Takahiro, they had been killed more than once, yet each time they came back to life in the morning.

Could the experience of being killed have been a dream?

"Why do you call that Cursed Spirit the Crimson Figure?"

"That? Because that's what the broadcast calls it."

"The broadcast?"

Eiji looked up at Ise Takahiro.

"That's right. The school's Broadcast Room periodically announces the Crimson Figure's location."

That made things even stranger. Continuously broadcasting the Cursed Spirit's location only made it easier for everyone to avoid it.

"Um, I've been hearing you talk about Cursed Spirits. What exactly is a Cursed Spirit?"

Beside them, Asuka seized on the important point.

"Cursed Spirits are monsters formed from humanity's Negative Emotions. They curse and kill humans."

Suguru Geto gave Asuka a simple, understandable explanation.

"Then what are you? Onmyoji?"

At that, Asuka became a little excited. Urushi Shota, who had looked completely broken just moments before, also lifted his head and looked at the two of them hopefully.

"We're Jujutsu Sorcerers. We can use Cursed Energy to Exorcise Cursed Spirits, so we're somewhat different from Onmyoji."

Jujutsu Sorcerers. Cursed Spirits.

A new concept appeared in everyone's minds.

"Can you lift the curse on us?"

Ise Takahiro asked nervously.

"Yes, no problem. Based on what you said, we'll also be pulled into the curse tonight. When that happens, we'll be responsible for exorcising the Cursed Spirit."

Eiji nodded with certainty.

"Really? Thank you so very much."

Hearing that, Ise Takahiro immediately stood and gave them a standard ninety-degree bow.

Eiji and Suguru Geto were already used to this.

They often encountered similar situations while exorcising Cursed Spirits.

"No need to thank us. It's our duty."

Suguru Geto smiled as he helped Ise Takahiro up.

"Tell us everything you know. That way, we can protect you better tonight."

"Okay, I understand."

Seeing hope that the curse could be lifted, they immediately began talking over one another, telling them everything they knew.

Eiji took out the notebook he carried for recording novel ideas and wrote down and summarized all the information they described. In the end, he formed a picture of the Cursed Spirit.

The Cursed Spirit was small in stature and appeared to be a Middle School-aged girl. She wore a dress stained crimson with blood and carried a filthy doll in her hands.

She was incredibly strong and could easily tear a person in half. She was not particularly fast, moving at about the speed of an ordinary high school student running. Using corners could create a good deal of distance from her.

She seemingly possessed a teleportation ability that could only activate after certain conditions were met.

According to Asuka, once when she turned around, the Crimson Figure, who had been far away from her, suddenly appeared directly in front of her.

Furthermore, after being caught by the Crimson Figure, people usually were not killed immediately. The Crimson Figure would hold them tightly and only kill them after finishing a song.

Eiji curiously asked what song the Crimson Figure sang, thinking that its lyrics might contain information about the Cursed Spirit's identity or Technique.

Ise Takahiro and the others began to think. In the end, together they pieced the lyrics back together.

Please give me red clothes

Dye all the white clothes red

Dye them blood-red, red

Hands and faces, dye them all red