~ Thank you, We've hit 100 Powerstones. This is the Bonus Chapter
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Kai's words plunged the Service Club into a long, heavy silence.
Finally, Shizuka Hiratsuka let out a dry, forced laugh.
"I didn't expect you to be suffering from chuunibyou, Kai."
"Sensei, you shouldn't assume everyone else is a chuunibyou just because you used to be one."
"You brat."
His retort made Shizuka's fists clench tight. If the situation weren't so incredibly bizarre, she would have gladly taken a moment to teach Kai a harsh, physical lesson in respecting his elders.
"But..."
Yukino wanted to argue—after all, how could such strange, supernatural movements happen in the modern era? Yet, Kai's absolute calm gave her the subconscious, sinking feeling that he wasn't lying.
"So, I'm really going to die?"
At this point, even Marin Kitagawa couldn't laugh anymore. Very few people could remain nonchalant when staring death right in the face.
"Well, if you hadn't run into me, there's a very high probability you would have actually died."
"??"
Marin lifted her head, her face lighting up with pleasant surprise.
"No way! Kai-kun, is your true identity actually a secret Onmyoji who silently protects humanity from the shadows??"
"..." Youthful imaginations really do run wild.
"Actually, I prefer being called a Jujutsu Sorcerer." Onmyoji just didn't have the same cool, modern ring to it.
"Let's focus on the clothes first."
If they kept wasting time talking, the lunch break would be over. Kai walked directly up to Marin and looked her up and down. Under his intense, calculating gaze, Marin, who had been laughing so carelessly just moments ago, felt an uncharacteristic flush of shyness.
"Assuming there's nothing wrong with Marin herself, the issue must lie strictly within the fabric. It was tainted by the residual energy of a Cursed Spirit, which caused the finished outfit to undergo a bizarre mutation."
Of course, this was just Kai's educated guess.
However, hearing this hypothesis, the girls subconsciously nodded, choosing to believe him without question.
"Will you be in any danger?"
Rather than worrying about Marin's outfit, Yukino and the others were suddenly much more concerned that Kai might put himself in harm's way to fix it.
"It's just a minor issue."
Facing their worried gazes, Kai simply smiled and waved his hand dismissively.
"This might sting a little."
As he spoke, he placed his hand firmly on Marin's shoulder.
"What?"
Before Marin could even react, pale white electricity began to crackle and violently surge around Kai's hand.
"Hado #4: Byakurai!"
Under Kai's deliberate control, the lightning wouldn't actually harm Marin—at most, it would just induce a slight, tingly numbing sensation.
"Eep!"
But the moment the lightning flashed, Marin let out an involuntary yelp, a strange, excited glint flashing in her eyes.
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In the very next second...
The clothes on Marin's body seemed to come alive, twisting and writhing as if terrified by the sudden surge of overwhelming power.
"Now!"
His eyes sharpening, Kai grabbed the fabric and violently ripped it off, throwing it across the room.
At the exact same time...
"Crush it!"
Accompanied by his cold command, several dark rifts instantly shattered the surrounding space. A swarm of Cursed Spirits flew rapidly from the cracks, lunging viciously toward the discarded clothing.
It was merely a piece of fabric tainted by cursed energy—it wasn't even a true Cursed Spirit. Such a pathetic existence wasn't even worth absorbing with his Cursed Spirit Manipulation. The best solution was simply to obliterate it.
"Problem solved."
Having done all that, Kai casually dusted off his hands. He then turned his head to look back at Marin.
"TH-THAT'S AMAZING!"
If she had harbored any doubts before, witnessing it with her own eyes completely shattered them. Let alone Marin, even Yukino Yukinoshita felt like her entire worldview was collapsing.
So, it was actually real. These kinds of supernatural things truly existed. Was this really the same ordinary, scientific world she had been living in?
"..."
However, this time, Kai fell completely silent.
After all, even he hadn't expected that Marin hadn't worn a single layer of clothing underneath the cosplay outfit. From this close distance, he got an absolutely unobstructed, crystal-clear view.
"Holy crap!"
Shizuka Hiratsuka had the fastest reflexes. She immediately lunged forward and threw her signature white lab coat over Marin to cover her up.
"Are you still staring??"
Seeing Kai's eyes practically glued to the spot, Shizuka completely ignored the terrifying supernatural power he had just displayed and shot him a lethal glare.
"Ahem, I was just caught off guard by the sheer shock of it all!"
Kai cleared his throat, defending himself with a perfectly straight face.
"..."
As if anyone would believe that.
"A-Actually, I don't really mind."
However, Marin, the person actually involved, didn't show a single ounce of displeasure or disgust.
She quietly slipped her arms into the lab coat. When she looked up at Kai again, her eyes clearly carried an inexplicable, profoundly interested meaning.
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"Kai-kun, Kai-kun! Were those things you just summoned Cursed Spirits??"
"Are they your Shikigami??"
"Are there a lot of things like that out there??"
"..."
Once Marin finally recovered from the shock...
She practically glued herself to Kai's side, bombarding him with a relentless barrage of questions from every direction.
Even Yukino didn't have the energy to care that Marin was getting way too close to Kai. After all, Yukino was intensely curious about the supernatural revelations herself.
"There aren't exactly a ton of them, but we still need to be careful from now on. Under normal circumstances, running into a Cursed Spirit is actually quite rare."
Of course.
That was under normal circumstances.
Kai couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but ever since he awakened the System and acquired Cursed Spirit Manipulation—the number of Cursed Spirits in the area seemed to be skyrocketing.
"This... I need a minute to process all this."
Listening to Kai describe the details regarding Cursed Spirits, Shizuka, who had collapsed into a nearby chair, couldn't help but groan. Her mind was still reeling in an absolute daze.
"..."
Yukino and the others didn't say anything, but they were clearly in a similar state of shock.
"Um..."
Taking advantage of the lull, Marin suddenly leaned even closer to Kai.
"That electricity power you just used... can you do it again? Does it cost you a lot of energy?"
"You mean this?"
Saying that, Kai raised a hand, pale lightning once again crackling around his fingertips.
The faint, dangerous sound of the electric current made Marin subconsciously blush, her heart skipping an excited beat.
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