The Worst Possible Matchup

Listening to those unsettling words, all four of them felt goosebumps crawl over their bodies. But instead of attacking immediately, they first surveyed their surroundings.

Because the area had been shrouded in darkness just moments ago, even with Geto Suguru's glowing cursed spirits guiding them, they could only see a few meters ahead.

It was not until that red light appeared that they were finally able to see farther.

The space was indeed quite large, but it was not the warehouse or storage facility they had imagined. Instead, it resembled an air-raid shelter or some related installation.

But that was not the important part. The important part was the several human bodies lying on the ground and in the corners.

"There are thirteen people in total. Four are dead, three are seriously injured, and the rest are merely unconscious."

As Gojo Satoru used the Six Eyes to observe the underground hollow, he kept his gaze fixed on the Flying Succubus in the air.

For some reason, it did not attack at once. Instead, it watched them with great interest, its eyes full of scrutiny and contemplation, as though deciding which prey was most worth going after.

Although that attitude irritated him, he did not rashly launch an attack.

Seeing this, Geto Suguru paused.

At first, he had thought this guy would charge in directly and tear this place apart along the way. But unexpectedly... he had chosen to check on the ordinary people first.

"The injured are scattered around, and since some of them are already severely wounded, we'll need Shoko to treat them."

Toho Tetsu spoke as he organized their plan.

"You two follow the original plan: attack and keep it occupied. Shoko and I will gather the hostages as much as possible, treat them, and make sure they survive."

The two exchanged a glance and nodded.

"Understood. Let's go!"

Once the plan was confirmed, Gojo Satoru impatiently rushed forward. After giving the other two a look telling them to be careful, Geto Suguru followed after him.

Meanwhile, Toho Tetsu and Shoko Ieiri ran toward the hostages.

Watching the prey before it split into two groups, the Flying Succubus laughed.

"Hehe, how interesting. Did you come here to save the rations I caught? Fine by me. With delicacies like you here, those rations can wait until later."

Hearing it speak such infuriating words in that seductive voice, Gojo Satoru merely sneered.

"Don't dream, you ugly freak. There's only one ending for you: the two of us will exorcise you."

For some reason, those words enraged the Flying Succubus. Its gaze immediately turned cold, and its tone became hostile.

"You little brat, you've got quite a mouth on you. Then let me see what you're capable of!"

As soon as it finished speaking, it prepared to dive down. But at that moment, a streak of azure light shot up from below at tremendous speed, making its expression change slightly.

"What...?"

Though surprised, the Flying Succubus merely shifted slightly and evaded the attack.

Only when that Blue created a distorted, spiraling crater in the ceiling did it realize that these enemies were not as easy to deal with as it had imagined.

Seeing the other side effortlessly dodge his standard-output Blue, Gojo Satoru clicked his tongue, his expression turning somewhat grave.

"It dodged? It's fast..."

"It's fine. I'll keep it occupied and create an opening for you."

Seeing that he was having trouble, Geto Suguru stepped beside him and waved both hands. Several cursed spirits capable of flight slowly emerged.

Gojo Satoru froze for a moment before warning him.

"This time, I won't hold back. Your cursed spirits might disappear, you know?"

But Geto Suguru answered calmly.

"It's fine. Compared to cursed spirits, you all are more important."

Hearing such a straightforward statement, even the usually forthright Gojo Satoru was momentarily stunned. His expression turned strange for an instant before he once again shifted his gaze toward the Flying Succubus, his voice full of confidence.

"Fine. Let's make this big."

As he spoke, azure radiance gathered in his hand once more, while several flying cursed spirits appeared beside Geto Suguru.

Elsewhere.

"These people aren't losing blood... It's more like... their life force is draining away?"

Shoko Ieiri frowned as she looked at the injured people placed before her.

She immediately judged the condition of the severely injured victims before her, but that was precisely why she was confused.

They had no obvious external wounds, not even much bleeding or bruising, yet they were incredibly weak. Other than their life force draining away, she could not think of any other possibility.

But what was going on?

After laying another injured person on the ground, Toho Tetsu also frowned and glanced toward the battle.

Azure light flickered incessantly, while twisted winged cursed spirits chased and surrounded their target.

But no matter how hard they tried, the Flying Succubus seemed to be playing with them. Not a single attack could hit it, and not one cursed spirit could get close. It was simply dodging and flying, yet it already seemed almost invincible.

It even let out a mocking laugh.

"Oh? Are you setting off fireworks for me? The scene certainly is beautiful, but these extra spectators... are rather unnecessary."

Looking at the cursed spirit charging toward it, the Flying Succubus did not dodge this time. A remarkably human expression of disgust appeared on its face.

It reached out with its claws and grabbed the cursed spirit's body. Then several streams of dark crimson mist suddenly spread from its palm and burrowed into the cursed spirit's body.

In just a few seconds, the cursed spirit's body rapidly shrank before vanishing entirely, while the dark crimson mist returned to the Flying Succubus's body.

It spat, looking dissatisfied.

"It tastes terrible."

But Geto Suguru's expression changed drastically.

"It can absorb my cursed spirits!?"

Seeing that, Toho Tetsu suddenly had an idea.

"Could it be... that cursed spirit's cursed technique? Can it directly drain life force, or cursed energy?"

After hearing that speculation, Shoko Ieiri looked at the hostages before her again. After thinking it over, she nodded.

"That's possible. If its cursed technique extracts something like a target's life or essence, then it appearing as life force and vitality in humans, while appearing as cursed energy in cursed spirits, would make sense."

As the two analyzed the situation, Gojo Satoru sharply noticed through the Six Eyes that the air, which had been relatively fresh moments ago, had grown murky. A faint dark crimson mist also seemed to be spreading through it.

Since someone had used the same method to trick him before, he hurriedly warned the others.

"Something's wrong. That dark crimson mist seems to be in the air too."

Toho Tetsu immediately told them what the two had concluded.

"You two, be careful. That cursed spirit's technique probably uses this mist to drain other people's life force!"

The two fighting below changed expression and cast grave looks toward the Flying Succubus. Seemingly displeased that its ability had been exposed, it frowned.

"How boring. I was planning to play with you a little longer, but since you won't cooperate, I'll end this battle quickly."

As soon as it finished speaking, its wings beat once, and it turned into an afterimage that swept toward the two of them. Its speed was several times faster than before.

It had been holding back all along?!

The vanguard and main damage dealer became its first target. As it flashed before Gojo Satoru, its sharp claws slashed down with a piercing howl, seemingly about to rip open his body the next instant.

But in its eyes, that irritating brat merely revealed a mocking smile.

"Idiot."

At the same time, the same azure radiance as before shone in his hand.

"Your attacks have no effect on me at all!"

Amid his taunt, Gojo Satoru thrust out the Blue in his hand, and its tearing, twisting force swept directly toward the Flying Succubus's body.

The cursed spirit, which had seemed somewhat alarmed, unexpectedly revealed a cold smile. Then it vanished once more and flew back into the air.

"You think I didn't anticipate that? The first one I attacked was you, you foul-mouthed brat!"

Hearing that, Gojo Satoru instinctively sensed that something was wrong. Then he discovered that a wisp of dark crimson mist had already entered his body.

The next second, a feeling of weakness surged through him.

Under the Six Eyes' observation, his cursed energy had actually begun to spill out uncontrollably, flowing toward the Flying Succubus hovering in the air.

"It's absorbing my cursed energy. It must have released that mist when it got close to me. It uses that mist to establish a connection, then directly drains cursed energy from its target."

Geto Suguru's expression also darkened, because the flying cursed spirits he had released were being absorbed by the Flying Succubus one after another in midair.

After absorbing them, the Flying Succubus licked its lips and gave them a provocative look.

Its cursed technique was truly troublesome. It could fly, and it was incredibly fast, making it difficult for the two of them to attack it. It almost perfectly countered them.

It was simply the worst possible matchup.

The same thought surfaced in both their minds.