The Fifth Disaster That Should Never Have Existed (Part One)

"A cursed spirit?" Slit-Mouthed Woman gazed toward the pillar of light, her eyes grave. "Such a powerful presence while still a cursed womb... If we let it develop, who knows what kind of monster it'll become..."

"What do you two think? Should we go?" Shoichi Kano scratched his cheek, looking at the pair from Jujutsu High across from him.

Suguru Geto surveyed their surroundings and muttered, "There's no reason not to... It's just that there are too many ordinary people here. If we want to get there quickly, we'll have to use a cursed spirit from my collection..."

"Why not go behind the restrooms and find an empty corner?" Slit-Mouthed Woman suggested.

"Are you coming with us too, Ieiri?" Shoichi Kano asked again when Shoko still hadn't given an answer.

Shoko smiled a little sheepishly. "Um... This is my first time taking part in a fight like this, so I'll be counting on you three to keep me safe!"

She pressed her palms together, her expression earnest.

"Of course." Surprisingly, Geto was the first to answer her.

The four of them soon found a deserted corner. Suguru Geto formed a hand seal and summoned Rainbow Dragon from his collection. The long dragon, with its white scales and green eyes, spotted Slit-Mouthed Woman and Kano the instant it appeared and instinctively began trembling. Geto had to command it to calm down; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to use it at all.

The four rode majestically toward the black pillar of light on the dragon. With Rainbow Dragon's cursed spirit aura enveloping them, they were now invisible to ordinary people.

Once the black pillar of light had fully descended, shadows as thick as ink emerged in one corner of the grassland.

Then the shadows churned and took shape, tracing the slender silhouette of a being half human, half wolf.

Chúgǒu.

The moment she was born, her name surfaced in her mind, along with her innate cursed technique.

At the same time, she understood that she was a cursed spirit born from ancient humanity's fear of unknown beasts.

Once she understood who she was, the cursed spirit Chúgǒu truly came into this world-shaped like a female werewolf, her entire body radiated an intense, ominous aura, yet she possessed an uncanny, magnificent majesty.

Her head took the form of a gray wolf's, her upright ears keenly catching every sound. Her eyes were a deep red, like narrow rubies, gleaming with wildness.

Her muzzle was slightly elongated, revealing sharp fangs when it parted, and thick gray fur covered her face. Dark gray wolf fur fell over her shoulders like long hair. A pair of small silver wolf-fang studs adorned her ears, adding a touch of refinement to her rugged appearance.

Her upper body was wrapped only in a chest cloth styled after those worn by ancient Mongolians, while a grass skirt covered her lower half, its woven stalks hanging to her knees. Colorful jewels and feathers adorned her body. Strands of turquoise and agate hung around her neck, and vivid feather ornaments wrapped her arms, splashing bright spots of color across her dusky fur.

Colorful patterns painted with mineral pigments wound across her abdomen like ancient totems.

Her legs were long and powerful, her clawed feet planted firmly on the ground. A gleaming gold anklet encircled each ankle.

Her hands retained their wolfish traits, with broad palms and sharp claws at the fingertips. Even a slight curl conveyed tremendous strength. Primitive, wild, yet breathtakingly splendid.

Lord Tengen's narration be like:

The special grade cursed spirit Chúgǒu, the "Shadow Wolf," was born from humanity's fear of wild beasts. Her innate cursed technique was "Shadow Wolf Technique." She had the same potential for growth as the four disaster cursed spirits representing earth, forests, oceans, and humanity, making her unquestionably the Fifth Calamity. Yet under normal circumstances, she was a cursed spirit who should never have been born.

Perhaps the chain reaction caused by the collapse of the Tengen Barrier had accidentally ignited the... shadows lurking over this ancient land.

For now, she had arrived in her cursed womb state at the Morigler River grassland scenic area in Chen Barag Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

When Kano and the others jumped down from Geto's Rainbow Dragon, the special grade cursed spirit, still in her cursed womb state, was narrowing her ruby-like wolf eyes as she surveyed the lush green scenery around her.

"So you've come, humans..." She could speak the human tongue from birth, though her tone carried the majesty of a wolf king. "And... one of my own kind?"

Her gaze lingered on Slit-Mouthed Woman for a moment before swiftly taking on the ferocity of a hunting wolf. "Perhaps devouring the 'curse' within you will help me reach my fully developed form!"

Those words forced Slit-Mouthed Woman, who had only intended to serve as Kano's backup, to prepare for battle too. After all, her opponent was planning to devour her; she couldn't keep hanging back.

Kano, Geto, and Ieiri all did the same thing almost simultaneously-

They formed whichever hand seals came most naturally to them and chanted in unison, "Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify all that is impure!"

Three overlapping black curtains descended, turning one corner of the grassland into an arena for a death match against a cursed spirit.

Yet as Suguru Geto looked the cursed spirit before him up and down, he found her increasingly appealing.

Wanting her more and more.JPG

His Cursed Spirit Manipulation needed powerful cursed spirits like this to fill out his collection, so he was determined to make her his!

He immediately resorted to his usual trio of tactics-first releasing Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnate to buff himself, then summoning a huge swarm of Centipede Cursed Spirits to overwhelm his opponent, and finally ordering Rainbow Dragon to circle overhead, waiting for the right chance to attack.

Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman wanted someone to make the first move and test their opponent's strength anyway, so neither said anything.

After assessing the situation, Shoko decided to hide behind Shoichi Kano and Slit-Mouthed Woman like a frightened little rabbit.

"A Cursed Spirit Manipulation user?" Chúgǒu looked toward the tide of insects surging at her, and some unpleasant memories seemed to surface in her mind. It was as though, in some era before Tengen had descended into the world, a Mongolian warrior had also cried out the name of the Eternal Heaven and commanded an army of cursed spirits in an attempt to exorcise her.

She bared her teeth fiercely and stamped her clawed foot, cracking the grassland beneath her. Her entire body became a dark gray afterimage as she plunged headfirst into a tide of insects vast enough to drown her countless times over.

The swarm did nothing to hinder her. The others saw countless bursts of black energy erupt amid the wave of centipedes. At times, that energy condensed into pitch-black wolf heads, each capable of biting through a thousand Centipede Cursed Spirits at once and opening gaps in the swarm.

"This one's a bit troublesome." Shoichi Kano felt around his body for a while, only to find he didn't have a single suitable cursed tool. He could only settle into a fighting stance. "Mom, let's get in there too!"

Slit-Mouthed Woman drew the Wrongful Death Blade from her body. With a slight surge of cursed energy, she transformed it into a sinister long-handled scythe, a skull ornament adorning the junction between shaft and blade. "All right."

Shoko grew a little anxious. "Then what am I supposed to do?"

"What abilities are you good at?" Slit-Mouthed Woman asked.

"Reverse Cursed Technique."

"And?"

"I can output my Reverse Cursed Technique."

Slit-Mouthed Woman's eyes lit up as an idea immediately struck her. For cursed spirits composed of negative energy, externally released Reverse Cursed Technique was a deadly poison that perfectly countered them. "That's great! We might need you to land the decisive blow!"

"Keep yourself safe first." Shoichi Kano activated his Thread Manipulation, weaving numerous spider puppets of varying sizes on the spot. He transferred control of some of them to Shoko. "Used properly, these spiders should be able to pack as much power as a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. Then we'll create an opening for you to get close and finish her off!"

Shoko blankly accepted the strands of spider silk Shoichi Kano handed her, and the method for controlling the spider puppets immediately appeared in her mind.

She arranged the spiders around herself, forming a ring that looked barely passable.

By now, Chúgǒu had slaughtered all of Suguru Geto's insect swarm. Rainbow Dragon had failed to get close during several aerial ambushes, leaving it to act as a strategic bomber, occasionally firing cursed energy blasts from the sky to harass her.

The main fighting still came down to Suguru Geto's hand-to-hand skills. Somewhere, he had acquired a Frog Cursed Spirit with a spatial cursed technique, so he had stored some cursed tools taken from Jujutsu High's armory in its belly. Now he was wielding a pair of nunchaku, enthusiastically trading blows with Chúgǒu and completely forgetting that he was actually a summoner.

"State your name, cursed spirit!" Suguru Geto seized his chance. His nunchaku struck with the ferocity of a dragon surging from the sea and the cunning angle of a snake, landing squarely on her fur-covered wrist and interrupting her hand seal.

Then he twisted at the waist and applied a low-output Maximum: Uzumaki to his leg, forcibly kicking out a black wave of cursed energy. It struck the painted patterns on her abdomen, making Chúgǒu spew a large mouthful of dark purple cursed spirit blood!

"My name is... Chúgǒu." Chúgǒu retreated several steps, instinctively wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with her claws. Her broken hands swiftly healed amid surging cursed energy.

Then she crossed her hands, forming a wolf-shaped gesture. "Shadow Wolf Technique: Shadow Strike-Devour!"

Suguru Geto was still wondering what the hell she was doing when he suddenly sensed a warning of danger beneath him. Instinctively, he swung his nunchaku and smashed them into the shadow at his feet!

Thud! Crack! As the nunchaku smashed a depression into the grass, a wolf head formed from shadows emerged and effortlessly chewed the Jujutsu High cursed tool to pieces. It looked scarcely harder than chewing a piece of crunchy cartilage.

Noticing that Suguru Geto's offensive had been disrupted, Chúgǒu swiftly changed her hand seal. "Shadow Wolf Technique: Pack of Wolves-Hunt!"

This time, the churning shadows spread from beneath her feet-the others could even hear countless bloodcurdling wolf howls.

Pitch-black shadow wolves appeared beside her one after another, their wolf eyes the only places that gleamed with a ruby-like light.

The shadow wolves did not communicate with one another. They simply followed their instincts, projecting ancient humanity's fear of wild beasts into reality.

They charged silently, becoming a nightmare spreading across the grassland, intent on hunting down the four people present.

Everywhere the others looked, there were black wolves.