Glass shards littered the abandoned shopping street. Wind swept dust past the broken display windows, making a sound like sobbing.
More than twenty cursed spirits roared, blocking the intersection completely, while the two Grade 1 Cursed Spirits at their head took turns charging.
Maki Zenin swung her cursed tool to block them. Her arms were already aching, and every collision sent a numbing jolt through the webbing of her hands.
Panda bore the frontal assault, his heavy body taking several hits, his breathing as labored as a bellows.
Toge Inumaki stood in the middle, repeatedly using Cursed Speech to support them, his voice already hoarse.
The three fought as they retreated, their backs gradually pressing into a corner as the encirclement tightened.
Just then, unhurried footsteps sounded from the alley entrance.
Yagami Kisei walked out with one hand in his pocket. He glanced over the situation, his fingertips twitching slightly.
Tiny, ink-black fish shadows slipped from his sleeve, silently darting along the ground into the crowd of cursed spirits like trails of ink swimming into water.
Within a few breaths, the attacking cursed spirits began making bizarre mistakes one after another.
The once-tight encirclement dissolved into utter chaos.
Yagami leaned against a nearby pillar the entire time, one hand in his pocket and the other hanging loosely at his side, as though he had merely brushed a few specks of dust off his shoulder.
The three quickly cleared out the few remaining cursed spirits.
Maki Zenin immediately turned toward him, frowning. Holding her cursed tool horizontally, she stepped half a pace forward, her tone full of suspicion:
"Who are you? Were you hiding nearby, waiting to reap the spoils?"
Yagami raised his eyes, not particularly concerned by Maki's reaction. "Time Vessel Association. Just passing through."
"The Time Vessel Association?"
Maki