I Can't Even Tell Whether You're Lying to Me Anymore

After a moment of reflection, Kana Shizumi turned the page.

"I began my attempts, but this was an entirely new concept, different from the Death Paintings...

I decided to take a bolder approach. I wanted to create it from nothing.

Unlike the process of pregnancy and gestation, it would break free from the constraints of humanity, be born from cursed energy, and then be filled with the parts belonging to humans...

Yes, if I had to put it that way, this should be a control experiment. I look forward to its results. If it succeeds, I can also test some arrangements that were previously unusable on it."

GOOGLE Search TWKAN

Since this concerned him personally, Kana Shizumi read it especially carefully.

"The experiment failed. There must have been a flaw in my line of thinking.

The process of creating something from nothing wasn't so simple after all... Was fertilization itself truly the source of life's birth?

Though somewhat discouraged, I still have time. I can make other attempts."

He turned the page. Decades had passed.

Failure...

Failure...

Failure...

Records like these piled up one after another, making Kana Shizumi break out in a sweat.

Then, amid the records marked "Showa Era Year 20," Kana Shizumi saw an entirely different answer.

Success.

"I extracted an enormous amount of negative energy. This is an unprecedentedly abundant resource. I must seize this opportunity and see whether I can shape it in one go."

Showa Era Year 20—an enormous burst of negative energy?

Kana Shizumi scratched his head and checked the historical background on his phone.

1945. Superbombing, also known as LeMay's Barbecue...

Holy shit, that's a pretty dark joke.

Kana Shizumi rubbed his sweat-covered head. After pondering for a moment, he decided to skip over this sensitive period.

"I successfully gathered a completely pure mass of cursed-energy negativity. This proves my line of thinking wasn't wrong... But if I want it to be born in full, I'll need further arrangements.

What exactly should I do? I thought for a long time before deciding to implant it.

I selected an entirely ordinary woman and planted this negative cursed energy within her. Through a process similar to pregnancy, I had it alternately absorb nutrients, thereby simulating the human aspect."

Oh?

At this point, Kana Shizumi couldn't help raising an eyebrow.

After all that, it still had to be born from a human... Jail Mom, so even you couldn't do it!

"But I quickly discovered that its growth rate was far too fast.

Form of Purity burst out of the body after just three months, and it lacked any emotional perception of humans... I found that it was merely a Cursed Spirit in the purest sense.

This wasn't the result I wanted, so I recovered it and implanted it into another host once more."

He'd only been joking before.

He hadn't expected there to really be an energy recycling stage.

So a long, long time ago, Kenjaku had already repeatedly nommed him like a dog...

"This time, I deliberately imposed restrictions, placing binding vows on it for strict monitoring and management.

By deliberately extending its time within the host, I wanted it to absorb more human qualities. This method appeared feasible...

Because the Form of Purity born this time possessed a human appearance.

But the result was still disappointing... It possessed no intelligence and behaved with extreme violence.

I believed this wasn't the correct approach, so I made another decision.

I extracted the negative energy from Form of Purity. Like creating a Cursed Object, I extracted this individual that had already been tainted with traces of humanity...

Through this method, I could reconcile and purify the cursed energy within the Unblemished one with its human components."

By then, Kana Shizumi wore an expression of sudden realization.

He understood at once.

No wonder Kenjaku had specifically emphasized "Secondary Incarnation" when he'd first awakened.

"By repeatedly purifying it, the result of continuous fusion... Then, once this thing is consumed, the energy belonging to the Cursed Spirit side would surely become much thinner as well..."

Fuck, you're a genius.

But it felt like decorating a pile of shit.

After all, the goal was always a half-human, half-Cursed Spirit. The Death Paintings were the straightforward result. Kenjaku had taken a huge detour only to arrive at the exact same answer.

Yet from the experimenter's perspective, Kenjaku seemed quite excited.

This was the most recent handwritten entry, from two days ago.

"Though Unblemished's essence remains half-human and half-Cursed Spirit, it differs from the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings.

Its birth is the result of countless rounds of purification and refinement, which grants it an unprecedented trait... limitless tolerance for negative energy, as well as the potential for assimilation.

On him, I can design and adjust things freely.

Implanting Six Paths Tsuji's Cursed Object into his body is itself a groundbreaking attempt.

If it succeeds, it will prove my line of thinking is correct. If Unblemished can accommodate a Cursed Object, then perhaps it can also accommodate multiple cursed techniques?

Six Paths Tsuji's Cursed Object possesses a special cycling ability. If I can successfully activate and use it, that will mean I can conduct many further experiments..."

It wasn't written explicitly.

But Kana Shizumi had already frowned and pressed his lips together.

It was only speculation, but considering that energy recycling had indeed been used before...

We had reason to suspect that as long as Kenjaku wasn't satisfied with this version of Form of Purity, he could unhesitatingly choose to start over once again.

Now that would really be a loving mother and dutiful son.

So was Kenjaku showing him this book to warn him, too?

I can't even tell whether you're lying to me anymore...

As he reflected, Kana Shizumi also noticed a note left in the corner.

It read:

Six Paths Tsuji... possibility of Domain Embedding...

Was he still conducting research?

Judging from this section alone, it probably belonged to another handwritten manuscript.

Considering Kenjaku's age and the scope of his research, we had reason to believe that bastard had countless similar volumes hidden away.

He was done reading. Now, time to distill the information.

Kana Shizumi gently rubbed his forehead and summarized.

First.

There was nothing wrong with keeping his head down. Judging by Kenjaku's behavioral logic, he definitely wouldn't feel any mental burden about killing him.

Second.

The collection progress of Six Paths Tsuji's Cursed Objects directly affected how much power he could display. Once they were all gathered, he would most likely gain a second cursed technique.

And third...

Of course, this part was only speculation.

"Six Paths Tsuji's Cursed Objects are connected to Domains too?"

Tch.

Suddenly, I really want to follow the serialization... Professor Kenjaku, when are you publishing your new paper?

Don't make me look forward to it this much!