Just then, a cursed spirit covered in long hair suddenly descended from the sky over the shopping street.
The cursed spirit hovered in midair, looking like a cross between an elephant and an ape. Its blood-red eyes kept swiveling, their gaze looking highly intelligent.
"This thing looks a lot stronger than those small fry from earlier. It's at least Semi-Grade 1." Akutagawa Shang could feel the dense cursed energy emanating from the ugly creature, far stronger than that of the black fish.
"Semi-Grade 1? Didn't Mr. Ijichi say there were only low-grade cursed spirits?" Yuta Okkotsu's voice trembled slightly.
"ZOMBA." A strange syllable suddenly emerged from the cursed spirit's mouth, and one of its hands formed a seal.
All three sensed danger at once, feeling an intense threat bearing down on them.
An enormous pillar of light descended from the sky, slamming toward where they stood.
Toge Inumaki shoved Yuta Okkotsu beside him, sending him stumbling clear of the pillar's attack, but failed to escape its range himself.
Fortunately, the instant the pillar fell, Akutagawa Shang reached out and blocked it. All the cursed energy within the pillar was absorbed by his cursed tool gloves.
At the same time, Toge Inumaki pulled down his collar. Before Akutagawa Shang could stop him, his cursed speech rang out.
"Twist." As the cursed speech rang out, one of the long-nosed cursed spirit's arms began twisting. But the cursed spirit seemed to have an exceptionally tough body, and the damage from the cursed speech seemed to have little effect on it. The ensuing backlash, however, made Inumaki cough up blood, his body going limp as he dropped helplessly to his knees.
"Inumaki, are you all right?!" After getting up, Yuta Okkotsu looked at Toge Inumaki worriedly.
Toge Inumaki wanted to answer, but unfortunately, he seemed unable to make a sound now.
Akutagawa Shang surged forward, driving his cursed-energy-infused fist hard into the cursed spirit's face.
It felt like punching a concrete wall. The cursed spirit's face merely tilted slightly, while his arm went somewhat numb from the impact.
"ZOMBA."
As its voice fell, the long-nosed cursed spirit formed another hand seal, and a golden pillar of light shot toward him.
But Akutagawa Shang was already prepared this time. With a sweep of his arm, he absorbed the incoming beam in its entirety again.
"Having fun hitting me? Here, have it back."
Sensing that the cursed energy within his body had reached the required amount, Akutagawa Shang raised his hand and formed the same gesture as the long-nosed cursed spirit.
The golden pillar of light struck the long-nosed cursed spirit squarely, blasting it away.
By the time the cursed spirit recovered, the three before it had long since vanished.
While the cursed spirit was being blasted away, Akutagawa Shang had grabbed the other two and hidden in a stairwell far from it.
Akutagawa Shang dumped them both on the floor, breathing heavily.
"Whew, you two weigh a ton."
"Akutagawa, how are you feeling?" Yuta Okkotsu asked anxiously about his condition.
"I'm fine. Toge seems more badly hurt." Akutagawa Shang's gaze fell on Toge Inumaki, who was leaning in a corner.
Unable to speak, Toge Inumaki could only point at his throat, then at the cursed spirit, his face full of helplessness.
Yuta Okkotsu seemed to understand.
"I get it. Inumaki's saying he dropped his throat medicine near the cursed spirit, and now he can't speak. What should we do? Maybe I could retrieve it when the cursed spirit isn't looking," Yuta Okkotsu said worriedly.
Akutagawa Shang gave Yuta Okkotsu a hard knock on the head.
"What are you thinking? I have a better way." As he spoke, he pressed his hand against Toge Inumaki's Adam's apple. The white light of Reverse Cursed Technique began shining, strands of healing energy seeping from his palm into the damaged parts of his throat.
After several breaths, he slowly withdrew his hand.
"How does it feel? Can you talk?"
"Salmon." Inumaki's voice emerged. Although still somewhat hoarse, he could speak normally again.
Akutagawa Shang also slowly slid down against the wall into a seated position, repeatedly poking Toge Inumaki's head with his finger.
"Good, as long as you're okay. Why were you so quick to speak? You were already at your limit. The two of us aren't just here for decoration."
"Salmon." Inumaki could only bob his head, repeatedly admitting his mistake.
"So what should we do now?" Yuta Okkotsu seemed somewhat worried.
"Looks like we'll have to exorcise that ugly thing that came out of nowhere if we want to leave."
"Then what do we do? Akutagawa, can you beat it?" Yuta Okkotsu asked worriedly.
"Heh, a mere Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit. Nothing but a speed bump."
"But it looks like certain people don't want to let me leave so easily, sending out a Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit. Hmph, it's just offering its head up on a platter."
Akutagawa Shang said with a smile, abruptly turning his head to stare straight at the patch of sky visible beside the stairwell.
Outside the Curtain, Suguru Geto stood quietly atop a tall building, watching their every move.
He was the one who had released that Grade 1 cursed spirit, intending to force Yuta Okkotsu to bring Rika out again.
After all, in his eyes, Yuta Okkotsu had only been rated Special Grade because of Rika. Without her, his strength was entirely negligible.
As for Akutagawa Shang and Toge Inumaki,
Ha, just two Grade 2 jujutsu sorcerers. Although Grade 2 cursed spirits couldn't exorcise them, he had sent out a Grade 1 cursed spirit. Dealing with them would be child's play.
Yet while he was still spying from afar, his eyes met Akutagawa Shang's unwavering stare.
Somewhat surprised, he initially thought it was merely his imagination, but Akutagawa Shang pointed a finger straight at him.
Suguru Geto froze at being pointed at.
"Hmph, throwing your weight around? You're asking for death!"
Akutagawa Shang scoffed, then withdrew his gaze.
"Yuta, still have any strength left? Interested in another practical combat drill? Your opponent will be that long-nosed monster." Akutagawa Shang turned his gaze back to Yuta Okkotsu beside him.
"Huh? I... understood." Yuta Okkotsu was initially taken aback, but his expression soon turned resolute. He didn't want to be the one holding everyone back again.
"I tested it just now. This thing isn't like those lousy fish. Its body is ridiculously tough, so killing it with a single slash in a direct confrontation is almost impossible."
"Mm-hmm." Yuta Okkotsu nodded, clearly listening intently.
"So you need to use hit-and-run tactics. Use everything you learned at Jujutsu High to keep hurting it and wearing it down until it exposes an opening, then break through in one go. Your greatest advantage over it is your practically inexhaustible cursed energy. So go all out, young man. Don't worry-as long as you're not dead, I can save you no matter how badly you're hurt."
At those words, Yuta Okkotsu abruptly stood straight and bowed deeply to the two before him, his eyes filled with fierce fighting spirit and determination.
"Don't worry, Akutagawa. I'll kill that cursed spirit."
Yuta Okkotsu walked to the railing and looked down at the cursed spirit, then vaulted over from the second floor, landing steadily before it.
The moment the cursed spirit saw Yuta Okkotsu, it seemed to have found its target, its eyes beginning to swivel wildly.
"ZOMBA."
A dazzling pillar of light shot toward Yuta Okkotsu, but he was already on guard and dodged it outright.
He charged at the long-nosed cursed spirit, slashing hard at it with his cursed-energy-infused tachi.
Clang!!
A dull, grating metallic collision suddenly rang out.
The blade struck hard against the cursed spirit's body, covered in long, coarse hair, but only left a shallow wound. Instead, the impact numbed the web of Okkotsu's hand, making his arm tremble slightly.
It really is tough. Yuta Okkotsu's heart tightened.
When his strike failed, Okkotsu remembered Akutagawa Shang's instructions and didn't push for another hit, immediately pulling back his strength and retreating.
He lightly pushed off the ground, leaping backward to open up some distance.
Almost the instant he retreated, the long-haired cursed spirit released another destructive beam, blasting the spot where he had just stood.
The old concrete ground shattered instantly, rubble and dust scattering as spiderweb cracks rapidly spread.
Another strange, low cry emerged from its mouth. "ZOMBA!"
Another golden pillar of light blasted out, and Yuta Okkotsu rolled aside, dodging the strike again.
The golden pillar skimmed past his back and slammed into the wall of an abandoned shop behind him.
With a thunderous crash, the entire wall was blasted through, fragments of brick and stone flying everywhere as thick dust billowed.
He tried advancing from the side, concentrating cursed energy at his sword's tip. Rather than slashing or chopping, he thrust the sharp point precisely toward the cursed spirit's face.
The tip pierced straight into the less-protected flesh around the cursed spirit's eye.
The long-nosed cursed spirit recoiled in pain, its scarlet eyes abruptly contracting as it swung its enormous arm straight at Yuta Okkotsu.
Yuta Okkotsu was forced to abandon his attack and keep retreating to maintain distance, but this also revealed the cursed spirit's weakness to him: its less-protected eyes.
The repeated harassment seemed to enrage the cursed spirit. The long-nosed cursed spirit roared, its hands continuously forming seals as golden pillars of light erupted one after another, densely filling the air and cutting off every escape route. The beams rained down, bombarding the entire battlefield.
But this time, Yuta Okkotsu didn't dodge. He used cursed energy to reinforce his body to its utmost limit and charged forward through the rain of light.
"Right here."
The beams kept bombarding Yuta Okkotsu, but failed to slow him in the slightest. The blade in his hand stabbed hard into the cursed spirit's eye, bypassing its defenses and plunging straight into its brain.
Gripping the hilt, he kept churning the blade inside the cursed spirit's brain, continuously releasing cursed energy to destroy it.
Finally, with a crash, the massive body convulsed and slammed heavily into the ground.
The entire shopping street fell completely silent.
Yuta Okkotsu slowly landed and pulled the tachi from the cursed spirit's head, his eyes still holding a trace of disbelief.
This was the first time he had exorcised a Grade 1 cursed spirit entirely through his own strength.
"Perfect."
Akutagawa Shang followed Toge Inumaki slowly down the stairs, both clapping.
"Akutagawa, I did it." Yuta Okkotsu walked over with his sword in hand, smiling.
"Beautifully done." As Akutagawa Shang offered his congratulations, he casually obliterated the cursed spirit's fallen body completely.
On the nearby high-rise, Suguru Geto had watched the entire battle. Looking at the fallen cursed spirit and the cleared battlefield, he clicked his tongue, his gaze dark.
Truthfully, he had somewhat underestimated Yuta Okkotsu.
"What a shame. I wanted to see Rika Orimoto fully manifested with my own eyes and return his student ID while I was at it. But never mind. There'll be a chance sooner or later."
Suguru Geto scratched his head and turned to leave, lifting the Curtain as he went.
Seeing the Curtain lift, the three supported one another and walked out.
Before you continue