Next Target, 400PS!!
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In the living room.
Sayuri Sawamura brought out the videotape from earlier.
"Is this it?"
Is this what Tomoya Aki dropped off? Thinking that her mother wouldn't be in this state if it weren't for him, Eriri couldn't help but clench her fists, her eyes swelled with hatred.
Sayuri didn't say a word.
She simply patted her daughter's head reassuringly and turned on the television. Since they needed to deal with Sadako, they had to let Sadako show up first.
"If you're scared, you can go back to your room!"
As the television's glow illuminated the room, Sayuri spoke softly, knowing how timid Eriri actually was.
"No, I'm staying with you, Mom!" Eriri just shook her head, looking at her mother with steady determination.
"…" Sayuri felt a bit helpless. She chose to be stubborn at a time like this.
Shaking her head, Sayuri's eyes darted to Kai, who was already sitting on the sofa. She suddenly smiled and said: "However, since Kai-kun is here, you can sit closer to him if you're scared, Eriri. Don't worry about Mom."
"W-WHO'S SCARED??" Hearing this, the flustered Eriri immediately shot back:
"I'm not scared at all."
'Why are you acting like a tsundere at a time like this? Sigh!' Sometimes she really doubted if this useless daughter was actually hers. She was so courageous herself, yet her daughter ended up like this.
There was no helping it, if her daughter couldn't step up, then as a mother, she would have to take the lead. At the very least, she couldn't let this precious son-in-law slip away.
"Please don't mind her, Kai-kun. Eriri has been like this since she was a child. Although she denies it verbally, she truly cares a lot underneath."
"OH MY GOSH, MOM! I AM NOT LIKE THAT!"
Eriri knew her tsundere personality was a bad habit, but she still couldn't resist the urge to argue back.
Shooting Eriri an exasperated look, Sayuri smoothly sat down right next to Kai. That mature, alluring charm, unique to a young wife, made Kai's breathing quicken involuntarily.
"Hmm?" Noticing Kai's reaction, Sayuri paused for a moment, then felt a bit shy and prepared to scoot over slightly.
"I—"
"It's fine." But just as she moved, Kai raised his arm and pulled her close. "If you're scared, Sayuri-san, you can lean closer to me. Trust me, it's just an urban legend. It won't be a problem."
He turned his head, looking at Sayuri with a smile.
If it weren't for the arm wrapped tightly around her waist, Sayuri might have believed he was an honest, upstanding guy.
"Yeah! Mom!"
Eriri also sat down on the sofa, though she was too embarrassed to sit too close.
From her angle, she could only see Kai's profile and had absolutely no view of what was happening on Sayuri's side. Unaware of the situation, Eriri chimed in:
"It's totally fine if you're scared."
'You don't know a damn thing.'
"A-Alright then!"
Shooting Kai a warning glance—telling him not to go overboard while Eriri was right there—Sayuri ultimately yielded.
However, deep down, Sayuri couldn't help feeling a flutter of pride. Regardless of the circumstances, this was a validation of her charm.
As Eriri grew older, Sayuri's husband rarely came home. In fact, Eriri's father had a childhood sweetheart living overseas.
Back in the day, Sayuri was the one who aggressively pursued Spencer, swooping in out of nowhere and successfully stealing him away.
But as Eriri reached adulthood, their marriage had gradually plateaued. During his years as a diplomat, Spencer had actually been visiting his childhood friend. Sayuri knew about it all along.
She just never exposed him. After all, what was the point? Was she supposed to escalate things to a divorce?
Sayuri had even begun to doubt her own attractiveness.
However, Kai's interest in her bolstered her confidence in her own attractiveness.
"Mmph." Suddenly sensing a movement, Sayuri let out an involuntary gasp before immediately stifling it.
"What's wrong?"
However, Eriri still caught the sound and looked at Sayuri in confusion.
"N-Nothing. It's just that this movie is quite immersive."
On the TV, the first half of the film was still playing.
"I didn't expect you to be such a scaredy-cat, Mom!"
Perhaps Kai's presence had dispelled much of her anxiety—Eriri was now relaxed enough to tease her mother.
"…" This silly girl. She truly didn't understand anything, just sitting there grinning foolishly.
During that brief moment of distraction, Kai's hand had become increasingly bold.
Sensing where this was going, she quickly reached down to stop his hand, shooting him a pointed look.
'Don't go too far.'
It was meant to be a warning glare. But Kai noticed the weak resistance in her eyes. It seemed she had been lonely for a long time, and part of her wanted this.
Kai didn't say a word. He just smiled, completely ignoring Sayuri's attempt to stop him.
If she truly wanted to refuse, she would have sat further away by now, rather than staying pressed up against him.
Seeing Kai continue to do as he pleased, Sayuri instinctively glanced at Eriri before lowering her head.
She was clearly aware of how strange she was acting.
It felt wrong, yet she didn't want to pull away. At the same time, there was a twisted feeling of excitement blooming in her chest. There was no way Eriri could have become a doujin artist without Sayuri's influence.
Even now, Sayuri loved reading doujinshi, always buying the newest releases the moment they dropped.
This situation felt very familiar to Sayuri. It was just like the stories in many doujinshi she had read.
Her daughter brought her boyfriend home, but the mother was…
"It's here! It's here!"
Finally, Eriri's voice rang out, allowing Sayuri to let out a breath of relief.
"Mom, look!"
At that moment, the TV screen dissolved into white static. Soon after, the image of the dry well from before materialized.
Sayuri hurriedly patted Kai's hand twice. If he kept pushing it, Eriri was going to notice. Compared to her initial warning, Sayuri's gaze now held a pleading look.
At the very least, she didn't want to lose her dignity in front of her own daughter.
Without a word, he pulled his hand back with a satisfied smirk.
While Sayuri felt relieved, an unexplainable feeling of emptiness flowed over her. She really was becoming strange.
Before anything had happened, she could still control herself.
But now that the fire had been sparked, she found it increasingly difficult to hold back.
"She's here!"
Fun was fun, but Kai never forgot his actual business—
He sat up slightly, staring at the TV as Sadako slowly crawled out of the screen.
"This!!" Even though she already believed it, witnessing this grotesque scene with her own eyes sent a shiver of uncontrollable terror through Eriri.
Forgetting all about her tsundere act, she practically threw herself against Kai.
"C-Can you fix this?" Her voice trembled with fear.
"Of course. But you might want to close your eyes. Otherwise, you might get even more scared in a second."
"What?"
Before she could understand what he meant—
"Spider Woman!"
With Kai's call, the space in the air behind him began to fracture. Several strands of black hair shot out first, moving like agile chains as they coiled tightly around Sadako.
Simultaneously, the figure of the Spider Woman emerged from the spatial rift, hovering right above their heads.
"!!!"
At that moment, Eriri understood exactly what Kai meant.
Terrified by the monstrosity hovering right in front of her eyes, Eriri squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into Kai's chest, refusing to look up.
Sayuri, on the other hand, gasped but kept her composure.
Seeing this unfold, her eyes practically sparkled with fascination.
Unlike Eriri, Sayuri wasn't completely clueless about the world. As a member of a branch family who had the guts to brazenly chase after love, she understood the hidden rules of this world much better.
It seemed that after this, she really needed to make a trip back to the main family estate. At the very least, she needed to learn exactly what Jujutsu Sorcerers were all about.
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"Hmm?"
Meanwhile, Kai looked at Sadako, who was tightly bound by the Spider Woman's hair. As if sensing something, he tilted his head in confusion.
He originally intended to absorb it using Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
But the strength this Sadako displayed was far weaker than he had anticipated.
It felt like a mere Grade 4 Cursed Spirit. There was no way this was Sadako's true power.
"A clone!"
His eyes sharpened. He instantly figured out the reason.
Because it was just a clone, it only possessed this pathetic level of strength?
"Destroy it!"
Since it was a clone, there was no value in using Cursed Spirit Manipulation on it.
Following Kai's command, the hair binding Sadako violently constricted!
The next moment!
Pop!
Like a popped bubble, Sadako's entire body simply exploded into nothingness.
The strands of hair retracted, and the Spider Woman stood quietly behind Kai like the most loyal bodyguard.
"I-Is it over?"
She had expected an epic, life-and-death struggle.
To think it would be resolved this easily. Sayuri looked at Kai in utter disbelief.
She thought she had already set her expectations for him incredibly high, but it turned out she had still underestimated him.
"S-SO STRONG!"
Even Eriri finally peeked her head up and looked over.
However, seeing the Spider Woman standing behind Kai still filled her with lingering dread. It was only after realizing the creature wasn't going to make any dangerous moves that she fully lifted her head.
For some reason, she felt this monster looked awfully similar to some of the characters from the guro doujinshi she used to draw.
"What, did it remind you of your old doujinshi plots?" Noticing Eriri staring blankly at the Spider Woman, Kai suddenly quipped.
"Yeah!" She nodded instinctively. But a second later, realizing what she had just admitted, she frantically shook her head. "W-What are you talking about?? I don't understand what you mean at all!"
Are you joking? If she confessed to that, her reputation would be at stake! Even though she didn't think her image with Kai was strong to begin with, she would never admit to it.
"Is the problem solved?"
Realizing the topic was steering into dangerous territory, Eriri quickly tried to change the subject, hoping her mother was finally safe.
"No, this was just a clone. According to the urban legend, accidents only happen seven days after watching the tape. The Sadakos that appear in between are likely just clones. To truly solve this, we have to find Sadako's main body!"
"Then what do we do??"
Hearing her mother was still in danger, Eriri immediately started to panic again.
She looked up at Kai. "You definitely have a way, right?"
Perhaps due to the calmness and overwhelming power Kai had displayed, Eriri now completely saw him as a pillar of support.
"Finding Sadako's main body actually isn't hard. We just need to find the last person she cursed!"
Kai sounded relaxed. Either way, he wasn't going to let this Imaginary Cursed Spirit slip away. If a mere clone possessed the strength of a Grade 4 Cursed Spirit, the main body would be significantly more powerful.
He just didn't know if it had reached the Special Grade level yet.
"The last person?" Eriri paused for a second before realization hit her.
"TOMOYA AKI!"
It was that jerk.
"I hope Sadako has already cursed him to death!"
Even though they grew up together, the thought that he had targeted her mother made Eriri want to kill him herself.
"But… It's probably going to be hard to find him."
If her mother couldn't track him down, it would be even harder for them.
"Using normal methods can be difficult. However, with Jujutsu techniques, it may not be so!"
As he spoke, Kai raised his hand, dismissing the Spider Woman.
The next moment, a four-eyed, bird-like monster the size of a basketball suddenly materialized in the air.
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