The moment the iron door shut, only the sound of wind remained inside the factory.
Megumi Fushiguro stood by the entrance without immediately stepping farther inside.
First, he glanced at the dust by his feet. A series of small drag marks ran through it, fresh and still damp.
It must have been here just a little while ago. And... I don't know why, but something about it feels disgusting.
He raised his hand, and two shadows, one black and one white, slid out from beneath his feet.
The two Divine Dogs landed without a sound, their paws pressing against the concrete, their noses both pointing toward the second floor.
Low growls rumbled in their throats. Their fur bristled, and they were already poised to attack.
A sticky scraping sound came from the shadows on the second floor.
The next second, that thing emerged.
Four legs, six hands, and a mouth growing from its forehead.
Its muscles lay exposed, twitching slightly with every step. It did not rush down, merely standing behind the railing and looking down at Megumi Fushiguro without a trace of fear.
It's a genuine Grade 2 Cursed Spirit!
Damn it... was that man its handiwork too?
We can spread out...
"Divine Dogs!!"
Black Dog and White Dog charged out to either side, springing off the rubble and onto the stairs so fast they left only afterimages.
The cursed spirit did not retreat. Instead, it leaped straight down from the second floor. Its four legs bent in midair, keeping its center of gravity perfectly steady as it slammed into the ground!
Black Dog lunged for its calf, while White Dog came in from the side, aiming to bite straight through its throat!
But the cursed spirit merely lifted a foot. Its centipede-like body moved as though it had already calculated the angle, kicking Black Dog straight into a machine tool nearby.
Before White Dog could reposition, another leg swept into the dog, sending its entire body tumbling sideways, its claws gouging deep marks into the floor.
Megumi Fushiguro had already darted forward as well!
He had just pulled his usual blade from his shadow. Though it was only an ordinary cursed tool, it was enough to deal with a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit!
In an instant, he reached his opponent. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung the blade in his hand!
The edge went straight for the nearest arm.
Normally, an attack this decisive, fast, and precise would have been difficult for even some Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerers to dodge.
Yet that cursed spirit had dodged it!
More precisely, he had never even managed to hit it!
Just before the blade touched the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit's arm, the limb bizarrely burrowed back into its body.
It went straight inside!
The whole arm sank directly into its flesh, like a train entering a tunnel! Like a toothpick stirring a huge vat!
"What?!"
Megumi Fushiguro's blade cut through empty air, but its momentum did not stop. He stepped in, turned the edge, and redirected the slash toward the side of the cursed spirit's shoulder.
But another arm suddenly sprouted from the right side of its chest. Its five fingers spread, reaching straight for his wrist.
Megumi Fushiguro tried to pull back his blade and dodge, but his wrist was a fraction too slow.
The cursed spirit's knuckles grazed his skin, leaving a dull, numbing ache.
Megumi Fushiguro did not retreat far. He drove his left knee toward the cursed spirit's abdomen, forcing it to lean back, then pulled his blade free with his right hand and slashed across its neck.
The cursed spirit tilted its head, and the blade only sliced through a layer of flesh.
As soon as the wound opened, fresh tissue pulled inward. Its muscles writhed like living creatures, stitching the gash back together.
Megumi Fushiguro's gaze darkened.
Its arms and legs can do that, and it can move them around too?
As long as it wanted, its limbs, chest, back, and even the sides of its waist could all become points of attack.
If he focused on one arm, it would hide that arm inside its body, then extend it from the last place he wanted to see it.
Is this really a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit?
Rather than follow up with his blade, Megumi Fushiguro took two steps back.
The cursed spirit seized the opportunity. All six hands spread out like an unfurled net and bore down on him!
A punch from the left, a claw from the right, two hands in the middle blocking his path, and the remaining two devoted to cutting off his retreat!
Yet even with two arms held back, the other four struck with a speed that seemed possible only in anime!
They gave him no opening to find his footing.
Even as Megumi Fushiguro scrambled to dodge with all his strength, one blow still grazed his shoulder, shoving him half a meter backward!
The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit did not even bother pursuing him. It simply watched.
Compared to those two, you really are far too weak, human...
It stood where it was, the mouth on its forehead stretching wide, its gaze full of utter indifference and undisguised mockery!
"You're a real pain..."
Megumi Fushiguro looked up at its mocking face and swallowed.
At a time like this, even one extra word would waste energy.
Should I use that move?
But if I summon it without Gojo here, there'll be no way to stop it...
The cursed spirit suddenly drove off all four legs, charging toward him with its body low to the ground!
Megumi Fushiguro had no time to react. He merely twisted aside, barely avoiding the attack!
But the thing accelerated too quickly. The instant he dodged one strike, the next came rushing in!
Its six hands even took turns attacking with every exchange!
Though his weapon could block some of its attacks, his opponent could still keep hammering him with punch after punch!
That was what made it so troublesome!
This thing is controlling my tempo...
Megumi Fushiguro moved in rapid steps, retreating, sliding sideways, then darting back in!
His blade flashed repeatedly in the dim light, each glimmer lasting only an instant. Every strike targeted joints, wrist bones, or shoulder seams, the places where damage would most easily disable its movements.
But the cursed spirit's body was too strange.
Just when he thought he had struck a joint, it withdrew that arm, and another emerged from its back to take over.
Just when he thought he had pinned down its legs, it planted an arm against the floor, folded its body into a grotesque angle, and slipped through his blind spot.
Close combat was not its weakness at all.
Was it where it excelled most?!
Megumi Fushiguro closed in again, pressing his blade against the cursed spirit's wrist, hoping to sever the point driving its movement in the instant it withdrew its arm.
The cursed spirit suddenly sank down on all four legs, sliding away almost flush with the floor. The arm on its right that had been hanging free thrust straight out from the side of its abdomen, its fist whipping through the air toward his face!
Too close.
Megumi Fushiguro only had time to turn his head.
The punch grazed the side of his face hard enough to leave his ears ringing dully. He crashed backward into an iron pillar, making the metal clang as dust showered his face.
The cursed spirit did not stop. All six hands bore down together.
Megumi Fushiguro clenched his back teeth, used the rebound from the iron pillar to flip himself onto the ground, and touched his blade's tip to the floor to steady himself.
He raised a hand and wiped away the trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. His gaze held no panic; instead, it grew colder.
Another exchange would end the same way.
Its hands could pass through its body, change positions, and grow out from anywhere.
Continuing to fight at close range would only pull him into its tempo, leaving him less and less room to maneuver.
He took three steps back, opening up some distance.
The cursed spirit advanced after him, slowly lowering its four legs as though preparing to pin him into a corner.
Megumi Fushiguro raised his left hand, changing the seal he formed.
It was no longer the brief gesture he used while grappling at close range, but a more complete summoning sign.
His fingers overlapped, forming two wings pressed together.
The black and white dogs stopped at the same time, guarding his flanks.
The cursed spirit sensed that something was wrong too. It halted, spread its six hands slightly, then instantly charged right up to him again!
The Divine Dogs tried to block it, but lacked the strength to stop it.
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