"So... in other words, there's no reinforcements or anything like that, right?"
Renji gently stroked the hilt of Murasamemaru. Within the sword's space, Murasame's face was slightly flushed. She and Murasamemaru were still sharing senses as one.
"Exactly, I still hold you in high regard, hahahaha!" Naobito patted Renji's shoulder.
Jotaro, standing to the side, clicked his tongue. "Kid, you go on ahead slowly. This old man and I will head north to deal with the gathered Cursed Undeads. You go look around nearby for an entrance to the underground sewage treatment facility."
He then grabbed Naobito and pulled him inside the curtain barrier, grumbling as he walked, "Don't make me miss my favorite Vtuber's live stream at 8 PM sharp."
Only Renji was left standing alone on the spot.
"Shiromuku."
Renji gently touched the red cord on his wrist. Then, a familiar, chilling aura slowly manifested behind Renji. He could still feel that gaze—full of resentment yet deeply loving him.
"Please clear out the Cursed Undeads inside." Renji spoke softly.
As he said this, he also stepped inside the curtain.
Shiromuku's body trembled slightly.
"Darling!!!"
The white figure instantly shot out.
Only then did Renji have time to survey his surroundings. He saw that the once bustling small village was now in ruins. The walls were full of holes, large and small, as if they had been gnawed out or forcibly smashed through.
Renji's Cursed Energy slowly spread around him. Within thirteen meters, there were no Cursed Spirits present.
Inside the curtain, all Jujutsu Sorcerers' perception of Cursed Energy weakens. Even Renji, with his vast Cursed Energy, couldn't cover the entire village with it.
"Have the souls all disappeared? This reminds me of Mahito. That guy also toys with souls." Renji muttered to himself as he walked deeper in.
What are Cursed Spirits?
A large portion of them are born from urban legends, myths, ghost stories, and human negative emotions. Another portion are humans with Cursed Energy who, upon death, were not killed by a Cursed Tool or a Jujutsu Sorcerer, and thus transformed into Cursed Spirits.
In the original story, Naoya became a Cursed Spirit after being stabbed through the chest by Maki's ordinary human mother with a fruit knife.
"If it's a method of toying with souls, then this isn't fun anymore." Renji looked towards the distance at his side.
Two pairs of large, rolling eyes glowed with a sinister green light from within the darkness.
Renji didn't even look, drawing Murasamemaru.
Hum!
As the blade cut through the air, a mist of blood appeared and the wall behind it was sliced in half.
[Ding! Host has slain a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, experience points +5]
[Ding! Host has slain a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, experience points +5]
[Ding! Host has slain a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit...]
It seems that guy really hasn't left the village.
"Shiromuku... found something?"
Just as he was about to advance, Renji suddenly sensed that Shiromuku seemed to be under attack.
This village, which had become a nest for Cursed Spirits, was full of Grade 2 Cursed Spirits and Cursed Undeads infected by a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. As a top-tier Grade 1 level, Shiromuku shouldn't be getting hurt.
Thinking this, Renji pushed off with his feet and the concrete ground shattered into pieces.
Boom!
Following Shiromuku's aura, he arrived at a two-story building.
He saw Shiromuku facing off against a large, grey Cursed Spirit Rat with rotting skin. The Cursed Spirit Rat frantically spat acid, trying to defeat Shiromuku with this method. But Shiromuku's status as a top-tier Grade 1 Cursed Spirit wasn't without reason.
Renji saw Shiromuku gradually adapting to the rat's attack frequency and slowly finding openings in the gaps between its attacks.
The next second.
"Die!"
Shiromuku's terrifyingly large claws, hidden beneath the white wedding dress, flashed with a cold light.
Hum!
The sharp claws pierced into the Cursed Spirit Rat's abdomen. Instantly, a sizzling corrosion sound rang out, and countless white fumes surged into the sky from Shiromuku's palm.
This Cursed Spirit Rat's body was full of acid. For an ordinary sorcerer, this was a walking bomb, but it was different for Shiromuku, who was also a Cursed Spirit.
The sharp claws were accompanied by an eerie laugh from beneath the white cotton hat.
Riiiiip!
The Cursed Spirit Rat's tough fur was torn open. The pain made the Cursed Spirit Rat forget to resist for a moment, opening its rotten maw to let out a human-like scream.
Then, Shiromuku's palm suddenly exerted force. The entire pelt of the Cursed Spirit Rat was quickly peeled off. The acid formed a puddle beneath the rat, continuously corroding the bluestone pavement.
[Ding! Host has slain a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit - Hibiscus Rat King, experience points: 20]
'A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit staying here all this time without leaving means there must be something nearby.' Renji didn't speak, only looked around, thinking to himself.
Then, he began searching around the house.
About five minutes later, he found a hidden entrance to a sewer pipe near the two-story building, covered by grass. It was a shortcut left by repair workers for quickly fixing damaged parts of the sewage pipes and also for escaping in case of a possible emergency.
Immediately, Renji pried open the manhole cover and jumped in.
The moment he landed, countless pairs of emerald green eyes in the surroundings were already fixed on him.
"There are so many of them. If someone afraid of rats came here, they'd probably break down on the spot."
Besides the crystal barrier, a layer of Cursed Energy also covered the surface of Renji's body.
Renji moved, swinging his blade.
Sitting idle and waiting for death wasn't his style.
Seeing this, the rat swarm surged up like a raging tidal wave, trying to completely overwhelm Renji. The corrosive toxin on the surface of their bodies could kill an elephant within fifteen seconds, not to mention the corrosive acid filling their bodies that could splash out and cause secondary damage.
[Ding! Special mission issued: Slay either member of the Twin Cursed Spirits. Reward: Domain Expansion – ?????]
What are the Twin Cursed Spirits?
Just in that one second Renji paused—
"Squeak! Squeak!"
Endless palm-sized Cursed Spirit Rats piled layer upon layer on the surface of Renji's body. In an instant, the spot where Renji stood turned into a 'rat mountain'.
Drip!
Foul-smelling, dark green acid dripped onto the ground, making crisp sounds.
Hum!
The surrounding Cursed Energy trembled.
The penguin Cursed Corpse on Renji's chest instantly awakened. It had absorbed Renji's immense Cursed Energy and was now comparable to a Second-Grade Sorcerer.
The penguin suddenly jump out of his pocket just before Renji was about to launch an attack.
A burst of light erupted from the penguin Cursed Corpse's body.
Boom!
Countless severed limbs and Cursed Spirit blood rained down on the surrounding walls, sizzling.
The world instantly became much more peaceful.