Pfft...
Seeing that the sprayed Blood Arrow had only blasted another pit, Kana Shizumi fell silent for a moment before finally laughing.
He was so annoyed he laughed.
Miwa had traded the rest of her life as a mascot for one Spiral from Kenjaku.
Jail Mom had probably found it so amusing that he decided to reward her with a big one.
Maggots were still maggots no matter how much they wriggled.
What a damned Jujutsu World. You needed to be a major jujutsu player just to make loans work...
He should wait until the overall technique had matured and his strength had risen to the level of a Grade 1 Sorcerer before trying tricks like this.
Setting those thoughts aside for now, Kana Shizumi rubbed his temples and roughly sorted through his current condition.
"As long as I have cursed energy and blood, I can extract and convert it, firing Blood Arrows at roughly the level of ordinary firearms."
That was more or less the offensive side. What about defense?
Fortunately, Crimson Blood Manipulation might not have much else going for it, but its ability to integrate offense and defense was practically in its bones.
After all, looking at the bigger picture, the only things that really got the spotlight on the defensive end were Crimson Blood Manipulation's Blood Armor and all kinds of Binding Vow abilities.
My shield is even stronger than my spear!
All things considered, for a Crimson Blood Manipulation beginner like Kana Shizumi, carrying a small knife was still the most practical way to get stronger right now.
When in doubt, cut yourself first!
After figuring out that whole chain of logic, Kana Shizumi sat in his chair and unconsciously frowned.
He had more or less figured out his current level of strength, but what exactly were his limits?
As his thoughts shifted, Kana Shizumi silently directed his mind and squeezed another ball of blood from the wound, letting it float beside him.
—Though it might have been a preconceived notion, he really did prefer controlling blood this way now.
After all, the shape of a blood orb could be changed at will. While keeping it a slight distance from his body consumed cursed energy, the overall cost was practically negligible.
He could also take the opportunity to practice his proficiency with "remote control."
Choso's Supernova looked incredibly useful, after all. There was no way he wouldn't covet a trap-setting method like that.
Time to steal a move!
After extracting three blood orbs in succession, Kana Shizumi raised a hand and touched his chest.
His breathing was a little hurried.
Could it be from blood loss?
Kana Shizumi glanced at the slowly healing wound on his fingertip, his brows rising slightly.
He had to admit, Jail Mom had laid down a pretty solid foundation.
His half-human, half-cursed-spirit constitution meant Kana Shizumi did not need to worry about going into shock from blood loss. Though he had yet to learn Reverse Cursed Technique, his hematopoietic ability itself was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Right now, his physical discomfort was mainly concentrated in cursed energy consumption.
"About one-fifth used up..."
By that calculation, Kana Shizumi was currently about equivalent to fifteen loaded rounds from an automatic rifle.
After firing them all, he would be dry.
Of course, that was a rather rough way of calculating things.
The reason was simple.
When using cursed techniques, the total amount of cursed energy provided the foundation from the moment it was drawn upon. Then "cursed energy efficiency" could reduce consumption, while "cursed energy output" increased damage, ultimately creating something like a multiplicative effect.
Kana Shizumi started scratching his head.
What even was this... No wonder everyone eventually just started throwing elbows.
No matter how much you swapped things around, it was still more satisfying to just use Cursed Energy Reinforcement and punch someone...
As his thoughts rose and fell, Kana Shizumi watched the time on his phone approach 12:00 just as the bus slowly came to a stop.
Through the window, he saw the outline of a convenience store outside.
Night buses on Japanese highways occasionally stopped at rest areas. Vehicles like this would generally take a break for around twenty minutes.
"Please make good use of your time to use the restroom and replenish your water."
Kana Shizumi had no particular needs and was about to rest for a while when he saw that familiar pale figure crawl out with a rustle.
They looked around, moved to the roadside, and raised a hand to gently stroke the pink blossoms on the branches.
Their appearance was strange, but Kana Shizumi could roughly understand the logic behind their actions.
The Four Calamities were themselves embodiments of nature. By the setting, Hanami was born from humanity's fear of nature, so they would naturally feel closer to such things.
He had thought they would shrink back into the luggage compartment after a while.
Instead, Kana Shizumi watched them get on the bus.
They even sat down beside him.
"..." x2
They weren't saying anything!
Watching this two-meter-tall humanoid monster curl up in the seat, Kana Shizumi ultimately could not hold back and tried asking.
"Why... did you get on the bus?"
"It was unexpectedly uncomfortable down there."
Hanami's tone was calm, a stark contrast to their rough appearance.
"Then why didn't you get on from the beginning...?"
"I rarely ride them. I have no experience."
After casually trading a few remarks, Kana Shizumi could tell that Hanami was not like Mahito—compared to that wicked little brat vibe, this fearsome-looking one was actually more like the honest sort.
"What were you doing just now?"
Kana Shizumi raised his right hand before his face and mimed a gentle stroking gesture.
That was what Hanami had done earlier.
"I was eating."
They paused for a moment, then repeated themselves.
"We do not need to eat human food. Correspondingly, I can replenish my energy by absorbing the vitality of natural things."
There seemed to have been something like that in the original work too. Kana Shizumi scratched his head and glanced out the window.
"But that flower didn't die, did it?"
"...Do you know what season it is now?"
Don't answer a question with another question!
However, Hanami apparently had not intended to hear an answer in the first place. They simply continued on their own.
"It is late February, the season when Kawazu Cherry blossoms bloom. These flowers only appear during this period, so... I do not wish to eat them. I only want to look at them."
They were surprisingly particular about it.
"Then you're just going to stay hungry?"
"Once daylight comes, a little photosynthesis will do."
Whoa! You really are a weed?!
Still, this person was unexpectedly easy to talk to, which put him much more at ease.
Considering they would more or less be colleagues from now on, continuing to be so distant was not a solution—at worst, when he turned against them and fled to Jujutsu High later, he could apologize a few extra times.
You can't possibly stop me from running toward a better future, can you?
After silently making that jab to himself, Kana Shizumi looked at the cherry blossoms blooming in the distance. After thinking for a moment, he casually raised his right hand.
"Hey, want to see a magic trick?"
"...?"
Kana Shizumi snapped his fingers.
Under his control of cursed energy, the extracted blood gathered in the air. After twisting for a moment, it compressed into the shape of a Kawazu Cherry blossom.
"What do you think? Pretty similar, right?"
Hanami had no expression. They merely "looked" stiffly at Kana Shizumi.
"Heh... it seems rather interesting."
What was with that flat delivery...?
Before he could complain, however, light and shadow appeared before his eyes and faintly warped.
[You have distorted the plot of "Everything Except Cursed Spirits Is an Enemy"] [Reward: 1 free attribute point]
...Huh?
After a brief moment of confusion, Kana Shizumi understood.
So Hanami was some kind of Super Species Rider, the Paul of the cursed spirit world?!
They were clearly a plant spirit, yet their killing intent was even stronger than Jogo's... If not for his half-cursed-spirit, half-human constitution, they probably would not even have bothered speaking to him.
But regardless, he would take that one free attribute point first!
Before you continue