Suguru Geto, Suspected of Fighting Dogs for Food

After confirming the cursed spirits' location, the two split up. Eiji headed for the office building, while Suguru Geto went to the dining area.

After arriving at the office building, the newspapers and documents scattered everywhere caught Eiji's attention.

"Shocking: Murderous Dolls at the Amusement Park."

"Cursed dolls bite visitors."

After briefly reviewing the news, Eiji understood the cursed spirits' background.

Several years ago, this amusement park had an incident involving dolls attacking people. A mechanical doll at the pizza restaurant in the dining area suddenly bit a visitor. After the police intervened, they found the bodies of a security guard and five children nearby. After that, the amusement park saw fewer and fewer visitors and was forced to close.

Eiji remembered seeing this news a few years ago. It had spread widely at the time, but celebrity gossip soon buried it.

An Imaginary Cursed Spirit?

Eiji quickly ruled out that possibility.

Although the news had been extremely popular for a time, the hype had faded too quickly. It simply could not have sustained enough Negative Emotions to manifest five cursed spirits above Grade 2.

"An Over-Cursed Spirit."

Eiji quickly reached the answer.

Imaginary Cursed Spirits were cursed spirits formed from imagination infused with Negative Emotions such as fear and resentment. They could be called monsters of imagination.

Over-Cursed Spirits, on the other hand, were cursed spirits created when real people who had been cursed, or who possessed high Cursed Energy, died with immense resentment.

Like Rika Orimoto and Naoya Zenin.

Rika Orimoto had possessed extraordinary talent to begin with. When she died, Yuta Okkotsu cursed her, turning her into a Special Grade Over-Cursed Spirit.

Naoya Zenin was a different case.

Cursed spirits were formed from Cursed Energy precipitated by humanity's Negative Emotions.

Because Jujutsu Sorcerers used Cursed Energy, if their bodies were not properly handled after death, they had a chance of becoming cursed spirits.

The Cursed Energy used by Jujutsu Sorcerers was extracted and accumulated from Negative Emotions, so it was easy to understand why they could become cursed spirits after death.

Naoya Zenin had already been a fairly capable Jujutsu Sorcerer. He had also been killed by an ordinary person, and the Cursed Energy in his body had not been dispersed by another Jujutsu Sorcerer. Under the influence of that Cursed Energy, Naoya Zenin ultimately became a cursed spirit.

However, becoming a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was an exception among exceptions.

Rabbit Escape had spotted five cursed spirits during its reconnaissance. The news reported that the security guard had killed five children, so the answer became obvious.

Those five cursed spirits were Over-Cursed Spirits born from the five children being cursed at the time of their deaths.

Still, whoever had cursed them could not compare to Gege Akutami's favorite child, Yuta Okkotsu.

Probably just an ordinary person with decent Cursed Energy talent.

"Awooo!"

"Here they come!"

Hearing the Jade Dog's warning, Eiji immediately turned to face the enemy.

Three tall mechanical dolls came into view.

"A bear, a fox... and is that a chicken?"

"Wouldn't dolls like these scare children at an amusement park?"

After seeing what the cursed spirits looked like, Eiji could not help but complain.

Boom!

The reddish-brown mechanical bear threw a punch at Eiji.

Eiji sidestepped it and kicked the bear's leg, catching sight of the name printed on its body.

Freddy.

Bang!

"Damn! It really is a machine."

Feeling the pain in his foot, Eiji immediately hopped backward on one leg twice, retreating to the entrance of the office building.

Just as Eiji regained his balance, the fox Foxy raised the hook in its hand and charged at him.

"An eyepatch and a hook? Were you a pirate before changing careers, Foxy?"

Perhaps he had spent too much time around Satoru Gojo, but Eiji felt that he was getting increasingly fond of making snide remarks.

He felt that anyone who could resist mocking Satoru Gojo was the abnormal one.

Leaning forward, Eiji's left hand, covered in Cursed Energy, slipped past the hook and grabbed Foxy's forearm. He then used the momentum to adjust his stance and kicked Foxy away.

"Great Serpent!"

Eiji was standing at the office entrance with his back to the main doors, and the moonlight pouring in from outside stretched his shadow long.

As Eiji intended, the Great Serpent emerged from his shadow. Its bloody maw clamped down on Foxy, and it drove the fox's body through the building in a frenzy, smashing through wall after wall.

Eiji's sharp eyes caught sight of quite a few parts bursting out of Foxy's body.

After the Great Serpent rammed Foxy out of the office building, Eiji canceled the summon, and Divine Dog: White took over the attack.

Meanwhile, the mechanical chicken Chica picked up a cake-shaped prop and viciously smashed it at Divine Dog: Black.

Perhaps because it was not a meat bun, Little Black did not fall for it. Relying on agile footwork, he began a fierce battle with Chica.

With its companions all tied down, Freddy could only wave the microphone in its hand and launch an attack on Eiji alone.

Eiji evaded Freddy's attacks while retreating toward the entrance.

"Nue."

The instant Eiji rushed out the doors, Nue soared up from his shadow.

Eiji turned and engaged it, constantly attacking Freddy's joints with nimble footwork.

Having lost its balance, Freddy was met by Nue, who had been waiting all along. With a dive, Nue plunged both claws fiercely into Freddy's body.

As Nue released lightning, its wings beat continuously, carrying Freddy into the air.

Freddy struggled nonstop as Nue carried it skyward, but Nue, with the instincts of a bird of prey, was equally skilled at hunting. Its claws gripped Freddy's back tightly from behind, making it difficult for Freddy's attacks to interfere with Nue.

After flying high into the air, Nue adjusted its posture, rapidly descended toward the ground, and delivered an earth-shattering slam that drove Freddy viciously into the earth.

With a tremendous crash, Freddy's mechanical body instantly broke apart. A black cursed spirit slowly emerged from a compartment inside the doll's body.

"This thing has a cockpit?"

Eiji's first thought was, Do cursed spirits pilot Gundams these days?

But now that the cursed spirit's true body had appeared, the rest would be easy.

"Nue, 100,000 Volts."

Lightning struck down continuously, and the black aura surrounding the cursed spirit grew fainter and fainter. Only when it was on the verge of death did Nue stop electrocuting it.

Then, under Eiji's command, Nue headed for the battlefield where Divine Dog: White was fighting.

Eiji himself entered the building to help Divine Dog: Black, who was still locked in combat with Chica.

Once Eiji joined the battle, Chica could no longer hold out. In the end, the two Jade Dogs tore it into parts.

Not long after, Eiji, accompanied by the two Jade Dogs carrying cursed spirits in their mouths and Nue, found Suguru Geto in the dining area.

The battle there ended quickly as well.

"A total of five Grade 2 Cursed Spirits. Not bad."

Suguru Geto tossed one cursed spirit to the Jade Dogs, then turned around and swallowed the remaining four Cursed Spirit Jades one after another.

"Here. You must be thirsty after being busy for so long."

After Suguru Geto finished consuming the Cursed Spirit Jades, Eiji stepped forward and handed him a bottle of Honey Tea.

Eiji had heard that this kind of tea could remove bad tastes from the mouth quite effectively. The faint sweetness from the added honey could also relieve stress and relax the mind.

"Why don't you want that cursed spirit?"

Pointing at the rabbit cursed spirit currently being shared between the two Jade Dogs, Eiji was somewhat curious.

"Forget that one. It has no respect for music at all."

"Cursed spirits understand music?"

Looking at the rabbit-shaped doll wreckage nearby and the electronic guitar of the same color, Eiji found his answer.

Don't tell me that rabbit hit Suguru Geto with a guitar?

Suguru Geto was currently both a chuunibyou and a rock fan. If that cursed spirit had really treated a musical instrument like a club and used it to hit Suguru Geto, then it was doomed.

Meanwhile, watching the two Jade Dogs eat with gusto, Suguru Geto's mood improved considerably.

The first time Suguru Geto had seen the Jade Dogs eating cursed spirits, a strange thought had surfaced in his mind. Am I fighting dogs for food?

Later, he only recovered after Eiji said that everyone fed their dogs a few leftovers now and then.

Eiji was right. He was feeding the Jade Dogs leftovers, not fighting them for food.

The two left the amusement park chatting and laughing.

They split the commission fee seventy-thirty. Eiji took seventy percent because Suguru Geto felt that Eiji had found someone to take the commission, and Eiji also had to hold back during the mission to help him capture cursed spirits. Suguru Geto firmly refused to split it fifty-fifty, so after discussing it, the two settled on a seventy-thirty division.