Thank you all so much for your support!!
--------------------------------------------------
I'm thinking of making LONGER Chapters, what do you guys think?
Bonus Chapter Soon!
--------------------------------------------------
"Did it level up?"
Watching the newly spawned anomaly battle his two summoned Cursed Spirits, he could distinctly feel its power surging. It had gone from being on the losing end to fighting with ease, and now it was actually starting to gain the upper hand.
A breakthrough in power.
It seemed the sheer terror of the moviegoers had fed this Cursed Spirit enough negative energy to push it straight to a Grade 2 level.
"A Grade 2 Cursed Spirit? Perfect timing!"
Even though the sudden evolution caught him slightly off guard, it still wasn't anywhere near enough to pose an actual threat to Kai.
If anything, it was exactly what he had been hoping for.
It was the perfect opportunity to finally test out the new power he had just acquired.
"Hado #4!"
He aimed his open palm squarely at the massive centipede thrashing in mid-air.
Crackling sparks of blinding energy rapidly condensed at the center of his palm.
"Byakurai!" (Pale Lightning!)
The absolute second those two sharp words left his lips...
Fzzzt—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
A devastating bolt of pale lightning violently erupted from his hand, blasting straight toward the centipede.
"ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
Grade 2 Cursed Spirits still lacked the ability to speak, all it could do was let out an agonizing, ear-piercing shriek. Because Kai had deliberately held back his output, the Byakurai hadn't completely blown a hole through the creature, but it had instantly charred more than half of its massive body into a smoking, blackened husk.
"Restrain it!"
Following Kai's absolute command, his two summoned Cursed Spirits instantly pinned the severely weakened centipede down, dragging its thrashing body right to his feet.
"Eek!"
Being forced to confront such a grotesque, horrifying abomination at point-blank range made both girls instinctively flinch and shrink back in terror.
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation——!"
Kai didn't waste a single breath on small talk.
As his power violently flared, the five-to-six-meter-long centipede's entire body began to grotesquely twist and compress.
It violently folded in on itself until it was completely condensed into a dense, palm-sized orb resting perfectly in his hand.
"Whew..."
He swallowed it. This time, the surge in his maximum Cursed Energy reserves was noticeably larger, and he had permanently added a highly capable Grade 2 Cursed Spirit to his arsenal.
The sheer, intoxicating rush of his own power rapidly expanding... it was genuinely addictive.
Exhaling a slow, steady breath, he casually waved his hand, dismissing his two summoned Cursed Spirits back into the void. The horror movie was still playing on the big screen without skipping a beat. By the time Kai sat back down in his seat, it was almost as if absolutely nothing had happened.
The two girls were left so stunned they genuinely began to wonder if the entire sequence had just been some shared, hyper-realistic hallucination.
"What on earth... was that?" It took a long, suffocating moment before Utaha finally managed to subconsciously voice the question.
"It was a Cursed Spirit." Kai replied calmly. "You can basically think of them as living urban legends, that's probably the easiest way to wrap your head around it."
Urban legends were deeply rooted in Japanese culture, making it the perfect, easily digestible comparison for them to understand.
"However, normally speaking, ordinary humans are completely incapable of perceiving Cursed Spirits."
Even Kai was currently stumped. He couldn't definitively say whether these specific anime heroines possessed special constitutions, or if the Cursed Spirits in this crossover world operated under slightly altered rules. But he figured he would find out soon enough after a few more encounters.
"So... you're an Onmyoji?" Utaha stared at him, her eyes wide with sheer disbelief.
She had assumed they were all just perfectly ordinary high school students. Who could have possibly predicted that fantasy would literally bleed into reality? An actual Onmyoji was casually sitting right next to her in a movie theater?
"Not exactly. Technically, my classification is a Jujutsu Sorcerer. But if calling me an Onmyoji makes it easier for you to process, feel free to use that."
"..." Is the specific terminology really the main issue here??
Still reeling, Utaha couldn't stop herself from firing off several more questions about Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcerers. Beside her, Yui remained completely silent, but her wide, curious eyes were glued to Kai, absorbing every word.
Kai answered them effortlessly. It wasn't exactly highly classified taboo knowledge, anyway.
After a while, he finally asked: "Do you guys want to leave now?"
The movie hadn't actually finished playing yet. But after experiencing a literal brush with the supernatural, it was pretty safe to assume that absolutely zero of their attention was still on the screen.
"Let's wait just a little bit longer. My legs... I don't think I can actually stand up right now." Utaha shifted slightly in her seat, her tone incredibly stiff and unnatural. The sheer terror from just a few moments ago had completely drained her adrenaline, leaving her legs like jelly.
"M-Me too." Yui nodded in fervent agreement. She had been terrified entirely out of her wits as well.
————————————————————
"Are there... a lot of those Cursed Spirits out there?"
Kai had been there to save them this time, but if they had run into that monstrosity while completely alone? Neither of them even dared to imagine how horrifying their final moments would have been.
"At the moment, there probably aren't too many." That was purely Kai's own educated guess.
"However, if you're ever walking around by yourselves from now on, absolutely avoid completely dark alleys and try not to walk alone late at night. If you ever do happen to see one, whatever you do—pretend you absolutely cannot see it."
For an ordinary human facing a Cursed Spirit, playing completely blind was literally their only viable survival tactic.
Noticing that Yui was still visibly shaking with residual fear, Kai offered a warm, comforting smile and gently pulled her into his embrace.
"Don't worry. I'll always protect you."
"Mhm!" Yui gave a soft, tiny nod. Burying her face deep against his shoulder, the lingering dread and icy terror gripping her heart finally began to slowly melt away.
"..."
She had originally only tagged along to this theater entirely out of pure, competitive spite.
But right now, watching the incredibly gentle, intimate dynamic between Kai and Yui, Utaha Kasumigaoka found herself feeling a sudden, inexplicable stab of genuine envy toward her underclassman.
Just minutes ago, when Kai had stepped in front of her to shield her from the monster, Utaha had experienced a level of absolute, unshakeable security she had never felt in her entire life.
"Hmm?"
Right in the middle of her distracted daze, Utaha suddenly sensed something slightly off. She instinctively lowered her gaze.
At some completely imperceptible point in time, Kai's other hand had seamlessly dropped down and was now resting lightly against her black-tights-clad thigh.
Her head immediately snapped up, instantly locking onto Kai's face, only to be met with his completely unapologetic, knowing smile.
"If you're still feeling scared, Senpai, we should definitely exchange LINE contacts later. That way, if you ever run into another Cursed Spirit, you can reach out to me immediately. We go to the same school, after all. If you're ever in genuine danger, I'll definitely make sure to protect you properly, too."
Kai's tone was smooth and completely natural. He didn't sound the slightest bit guilty or out of place.
Thanks to the pitch-black lighting in the theater, Yui obviously completely failed to notice what Kai's other hand was currently doing. Hearing his words, she actually nodded in genuine agreement.
Yui was an inherently kind-hearted girl. She absolutely didn't want Utaha to end up getting killed by one of those horrifying monsters just because she couldn't reach out for help.
"..."
Utaha didn't answer immediately.
She first glanced down at the hand resting on her leg, and then looked back up at the incredibly natural, shameless smile plastered across Kai's face.
A sudden realization clicked in Utaha's mind. Strangely enough, instead of feeling furious or violated, a highly amused, thoroughly entertained smile slowly bloomed across her own face.
"Alright then. It looks like your Senpai will just have to rely entirely on her sweet Kouhai-kun for protection from now on."
'Hmph... Just an hour ago, he was acting like I was completely invisible compared to that little girl. So what exactly is this hand doing right now?'
It felt like her charm had finally been thoroughly validated. Utaha's smile grew incredibly smug.
She shot a quick glance at Yui, who was completely oblivious to the silent transaction happening right next to her.
Instead of pulling away or slapping his hand, Utaha actually deliberately shifted her weight, leaning just a fraction closer to Kai, granting his resting hand an even better, softer angle...
"?"
Even Kai was genuinely caught off guard by her bold reaction.
Now that is incredibly bold. But then again, I'd expect nothing less from Senpai.
[Quest Completed]
--------------------------------------------------
Drop Some Powerstones~~