In the dim corridor outside the music classroom, the air seemed to grow thick with the killing intent that had suddenly descended.
The middle-aged man and the masked Curse User wearing a paper bag over his head naturally both noticed the black-and-white stuffed toy that abruptly jumped down from Riko Amanai's arms.
After a fleeting moment of surprise and confusion, their experience as Curse Users soon allowed them to discern a fact from the faint yet unusually steady flow of cursed energy: this seemingly harmless panda was actually an exquisitely crafted cursed corpse.
Yet this discovery did not make them the least bit wary. Instead, both sneered inwardly in disdain.
To them, it was probably nothing more than a low-level defensive measure casually left behind by the Jujutsu Sorcerers trying to protect the Star Plasma Vessel when they could not guard her in person. It was hardly worth making a fuss over.
After all, not a single one of the opposing professional Jujutsu Sorcerers was anywhere to be seen. As outlaws who had spent years living on the edge in the black market, neither considered himself some third-rate nobody who could not even handle a toy cursed corpse meant to scare people.
If anything, they felt positively elated. Compared with the astronomical bounty of tens of millions, or even over a hundred million, for killing Riko Amanai, the final hurdle in this job was merely disposing of a cursed corpse whose teeth were made of cotton? This was practically money falling from the sky. They had hit the jackpot!
Driven by extreme greed and arrogance, they had even begun leisurely considering the tedious steps that would follow: after killing this little girl, how would they take her corpse away to prove their kill and claim the bounty?
After all, this