I'll remember this lesson

In the end, Aikawa Kaze and Megumi Fushiguro adjusted their plan.

Instead of playing weak to catch their enemies off guard and feigning unconsciousness to infiltrate the tiger's den, they switched to something more reckless and direct-tailing, gathering evidence, and intervening.

"Maybe we should have done this from the start."

Neither Aikawa Kaze nor Megumi Fushiguro was an expert at tailing people, but they had both been trained.

With the two of them following carefully, the village chief and his group never noticed a thing.

It had to be said that this made them look rather foolish for having complicated something so simple earlier.

I'll remember this lesson.

Aikawa Kaze vowed never to repeat this embarrassing mistake. The next time he dealt with ordinary people, he could definitely afford to be bolder.

"Wait, Megumi. Doesn't that look like the way to Sentaro's house?"

They had already sent shikigami invisible to ordinary people to scout their target's house. That was indeed where Sentaro lived.

Hadn't they said they would act at midnight? Why were they heading there now?

"Maybe catching us as their two sacrificial 'backups' made them bolder?"

Puzzled, the two followed without dwelling on it, only to discover that their actual target, Sentaro, was absent. The village chief and the others also didn't seem to be there to do anything sinister; they had come to call Sentaro's parents out to work.

Aikawa Kaze, who had already raised his phone to record a video, silently lowered his hand. He stole a glance at Megumi Fushiguro and only relaxed when he saw that his younger brother hadn't paid him any attention.

Had I been an idiot again?

The sun hadn't even set yet. Surely they wouldn't do anything now.

The two followed them through the forest, using the complicated terrain as cover to avoid exposing themselves.

Their final destination turned out to be the dilapidated shrine where they had first arrived.

Once they reached it, the group picked up shovels and began digging a pit.

"Something's wrong. If they're farming, why come to the shrine on the mountain behind the village?"

Even if Megumi Fushiguro knew little about farming, he still had common sense.

"And that spot right in the middle doesn't look like somewhere they'd plant flowers."

Who landscaped the very center of a shrine?

"Even if they really were planting something, they wouldn't need a hole that big or deep... And if it's a trap for wild animals, the location doesn't make sense either."

Aikawa Kaze had been watching the group in boredom. At Megumi Fushiguro's words, he took a closer look and realized something was wrong as well.

"Wait. Surely not..."

Something suddenly occurred to Aikawa Kaze, and his expression darkened. He was about to step out and stop them, but forced himself to halt.

Ultimately, all these people were doing right now was digging a hole. Nothing they had said mentioned what he suspected. Revealing himself now might only alert them.

After all, it was still nothing more than his own guess.

"Kaze? Do you know what they're doing?"

Megumi Fushiguro led a very simple life, consisting mostly of schoolwork, training, and petting small animals. He wasn't nearly as worldly as Aikawa Kaze.

While Aikawa Kaze already had his suspicions, Megumi Fushiguro remained confused.

"Nothing good... I hope I'm overthinking it."

Aikawa Kaze stared grimly at the village chief and his group, suppressing his agitation.

He was already fairly certain what they intended to do. But justice required procedure and evidence, so he had to endure it. He couldn't act yet.

At last, the final rays of sunlight faded, and night fell.

Candles were lit around the shrine, their flames flickering. The pit the village chief wanted was nearly finished.

"V-village chief... Is this... enough?"

"Hmph. Do you think the wrong your Sentaro committed can be atoned for with a mere afternoon of digging?"

"B-but you said..."

"That depends on whether your son knows what's good for him. Don't say I never gave you a chance! I specifically had someone tell that brat he had to bring the monster here!"

In the candlelight, the village chief's deeply wrinkled face looked especially vicious.

"Dazhuang and the others were going to follow him tonight and catch her themselves. But if they did that, your family would remain 'sinners' forever. Now, as long as he brings the monster here, he'll have made amends!"

"..."

"Heh. Don't think we don't know. That brat Sentaro has been acting suspiciously. As his parents, are you telling me you never noticed?"

The village chief grinned, exposing yellowed teeth with one missing.

"That brat keeps taking her things every few days. You're sheltering a monster! If he can't bring her here, the three of you will be the ones lying in this pit tonight!"

"!!!"

That was an outright threat, wasn't it?!

No wonder they had moved their plans forward. The village chief wanted Sentaro's family to "atone," so he had deliberately made his parents dig the pit and threatened to kill them if Sentaro failed to bring the girl.

Under that kind of pressure, even if Sentaro hadn't wanted to betray the girl, he probably couldn't hold out.

Aikawa Kaze never denied humanity's nobility and brilliance, but he never underestimated how low people could sink, either.

Clearly, Megumi Fushiguro understood as well. He nodded at him.

It was time to act!

They were about to move and put an end to this absurdity when the sound of running suddenly came from nearby, delaying them for a moment.

At the same time, a powerful, surging force rose from within the shrine.

The terrifying pressure made not only Megumi Fushiguro but even Aikawa Kaze, who had encountered special grades before, feel his heart race and his body stiffen.

A special grade cursed spirit?

No. It wasn't as though he had never seen a special grade cursed spirit. This presence wasn't quite the same. If anything, it felt even more terrifying.

Sweat beaded on Aikawa Kaze's forehead. He had a vague sense that this terrifying power was both unfamiliar and familiar.

What was it?

Had I overlooked something?

While the two jujutsu sorcerers were afflicted with the "Intimidated" debuff, the ordinary people nearby remained completely unaffected.

The story at the Mountain God's shrine continued at its unhurried pace.

A boy came running, pulling a girl along by the hand.

"Sentaro... You... slow down... I'm so tired..."

The girl followed behind him, panting and unable to catch her breath.

"Didn't you say... no one would be at the shrine today, and we could... take our time... praying...?"

As she spoke, her words trailed off. She stared blankly at the adults in the shrine.

The village chief's face was twisted and hideous. The villagers stared at her with hatred. Sentaro's parents stood with their heads lowered. And... Sentaro had released her hand and no longer dared to look up.

"I'm sorry, Ai."

"Sen... taro?"

"I'm sorry..."

Sentaro avoided the girl's gaze. She stood helplessly in place, her red eyes filled with bewilderment.

Overjoyed at the sight of his target, the village chief rushed forward, grabbed the girl's hand, dragged her to the edge of the pit, and shoved her straight in. He glanced at Sentaro's parents standing nearby, then glared at Sentaro and thrust a shovel into his hands.

The threat was unmistakable.

"Hurry up! What are you waiting for?!"

"..."

Sentaro silently raised the shovel and, under the incredulous gaze of the girl at the bottom of the pit, threw in the first shovelful of dirt.

"I always trusted you so much... Sentaro... because you said you would protect me."

"!!!"

Sentaro ran away in tears. At the bottom of the pit, the black-haired, red-eyed girl whom Aikawa Kaze had judged to possess only "average talent" suddenly erupted with astonishing resentment and hatred.

That resentment was so immense that it could even contend with the terrifying presence inside the shrine.

It was then, as the standoff between the two gave Aikawa Kaze a moment to breathe, that he suddenly remembered.

Sentaro... Ai. Wasn't this the story of Enma Ai, the Hell Girl?

This world originally had no hell, monsters, or gods, so perhaps these were merely their parallel-world counterparts.

According to the rules of Jujutsu Society, Enma Ai should have been a girl with a talent for jujutsu. Now that her resentment had reached its peak, she would generate an enormous amount of cursed energy. She might even die and become a special grade cursed spirit.

But the fortunate-and unfortunate-part was...

Aikawa Kaze raised his head and looked at the shrine, where a faint glow had begun to flicker.

This world's restriction on [positive energy] spirit power had already been lifted, so beings such as gods could indeed arise.

And right now, they were standing in the very "Mountain God's shrine" that these ignorant villagers had so devotedly worshipped at!