Next Bonus, 400PS!!
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"What is this?"
Aside from having four eyes, the bird looked just like any ordinary avian.
"Don't worry. It'll help us track down Tomoya Aki's exact location!"
The Four-Eyed Bird was a Cursed Spirit Kai had absorbed not long ago. Even though its combat strength was only at the Grade 4 level, it was exceptionally skilled at tracking targets. That was exactly why he had absorbed it in the first place.
"That's great!"
Although she didn't know the bird's specific abilities, since Kai said so, Eriri instinctively chose to believe him.
"Squawk!"
Suddenly, the Four-Eyed Bird cried out, looking intently in a specific direction.
"Found him!"
"I'll go get the car!"
By now, Sayuri had calmed down. She called out and hurried to the garage.
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While Kai could have easily used Kamui to teleport them there instantly, there was no real need for it.
Letting Eriri and Sayuri experience this dangerous process firsthand would only make them rely on him more—a minor, calculated tactic on his part.
Eriri led Kai to the backseat, and they sat down together.
"Why is your hand so wet?"
Right after sitting down, Eriri noticed that the hand she had just grabbed was slick with moisture.
"Is it? I must have brushed against something."
Kai's expression remained perfectly neutral. He glanced at his hand, looking entirely unfazed.
"Then let me wipe it off for you!"
Saying that, Eriri pulled out her handkerchief. She was completely oblivious to the fact that as she spoke, Sayuri—who was just about to start the car—visibly stiffened.
Clearly, Sayuri knew exactly what that moisture on Kai's hand was.
Through the rearview mirror, Sayuri could see Kai looking right back at her with a meaningful smirk. He certainly hadn't expected someone of Sayuri's age to still blush so easily and produce so much… water.
Through the mirror, Sayuri shot him a flirtatious, reproachful glare before finally starting the engine.
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"Squawk!"
Following the Four-Eyed Bird's guidance, Sayuri drove the car straight into a desolate, overgrown wilderness.
There were no streetlights, just thick trees everywhere. The place felt really eerie.
"It looks so creepy out here!"
Forgetting her tsundere act, the terrifying atmosphere made Eriri subconsciously lean closer to Kai.
"I couldn't tell, but your childhood friend is actually quite smart!" A little spooky atmosphere obviously couldn't scare Kai. He even offered an intrigued evaluation.
"Because there's no one around here?" Sayuri supplied at the perfect moment from the driver's seat.
"Exactly!" Kai agreed with a smile.
"According to the urban legend, Sadako almost always emerges from electronic devices. He first transferred the curse to someone else via the videotape, and then hid himself in the middle of nowhere."
"A place completely devoid of electronics. If this were a movie, he might have actually survived!"
Unfortunately for him, reality wasn't a movie. And this wasn't an ordinary urban legend.
"That jerk!"
And to think she used to believe that despite his otaku tendencies, Tomoya was still a decent, honest guy. She never imagined he was capable of such venomous scheming. So, his previous persona had all been an act put on for her.
That despicable jerk.
"Alright, Eriri, don't waste your breath sighing over someone like him. You can't truly know what's in someone's heart. There are plenty of people with bad intentions out there—you just have to be careful going forward."
Sayuri hoped this incident would help Eriri mature.
"Hmph! I don't even want to make friends anymore!"
Hearing her mother's lecture, Eriri retorted without thinking, her eyes subconsciously darting toward Kai.
"…"
Why does it feel like this girl is still just as naive?
Whatever. Perhaps it was just sheer luck that Eriri had met Kai. Sayuri believed that with him around, Eriri wouldn't be taken advantage of.
However.
This man was far less honest than Eriri imagined. Eriri alone definitely couldn't tie a man like him down.
There was no other way. In the end, she would have to step up herself. Everything she did was for Eriri's sake.
As long as a woman truly wanted something, she could always find a justification for it. As if fantasizing about a very specific scenario, a look of reminiscent longing washed over Sayuri's face.
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"We're close enough!"
They reached a point where the car couldn't go any further due to the dense trees. They had to get out and walk.
Soon, Kai spotted a small camping tent in the distance. Sitting beside it was a disheveled, unkempt boy trying to start a fire.
"Tomoya Aki!"
Once they got closer and confirmed his identity, Eriri couldn't control her emotions and shouted furiously.
"E-Eriri??"
The sudden noise clearly startled him, making him stumble backward. He looked completely unhinged, likely from severe sleep deprivation.
But seeing Eriri, he froze completely.
"H-How are you fine??"
Why did Eriri look completely unharmed? During the first two days, he hadn't even had the nerve to close his eyes.
"It really was you!"
His reaction only solidified Eriri's conviction that he was the one who doomed her mother. And his original target had been her!
"Why??"
At this moment, Sayuri also stepped forward.
"Eriri always treated you as a friend. Why did you try to kill her?"
"Friend? Bullshit!"
Perhaps it was the lack of rest, but his mind seemed completely shattered. Hearing her words, he screamed back maniacally: "You're a rich heiress, the ace of the Art Club! And what am I? If you really saw me as a friend, why did you never say hi to me at school? You looked down on me! Deep down, you were disgusted by me!"
"You're insane!"
Eriri never imagined that he would think that way. If he had acted even remotely normal at school, she wouldn't have avoided him. In Japan, otaku culture had a low social standing, and people looked down on it. But Tomoya never hid his otaku nature at school. He openly discussed anime with anyone and practically had no friends because of it.
"Then why choose me? I can't believe there was no one else to pass the tape to."
That was what she couldn't figure out. If he wanted revenge, there were plenty of people who disliked him at school. There was no reason it had to be her.
"I…" He hesitated for a second before saying, "Because you're the one I'm closest to."
"What?"
What kind of twisted answer was that?
"I read up on the urban legend! You can only successfully transfer the curse if you give the tape to the person you have the strongest relationship with!" He squeezed his eyes shut and blurted it out.
"…"
'So you knew we were close. And yet, you still chose to kill me.' Eriri didn't say another word. Getting angry over someone like him was entirely pointless.
"I did nothing wrong! What did I do wrong??"
Her silence only made Tomoya more frantic. "I just wanted to live! What's wrong with that?? You're a rich girl anyway, you've lived a good enough life! If you die, you die, but I still have to live!
"Today is the seventh day! Once today passes, I'll be safe!
"Hahahaha! I'll be completely fine!"
As if imagining a future free from danger, he burst into maniacal laughter. The sound echoed hauntingly through the lonely forest.
"Kai-kun!"
Eriri didn't look at Tomoya anymore. Her eyes filled with a deep sorrow as she leaned gently against Kai. She suddenly felt incredibly exhausted.
"Who are you?"
Before Kai could speak, Tomoya glared at him with cannibalistic eyes, as if someone had just stolen his most prized possession.
"You don't need to know who I am."
Kai had no intention of wasting time on scum like this.
"Because it doesn't matter. You're going to die soon anyway. Did you really think reading a few books and searching up some trivia would actually let you transfer the curse?"
Those words made Tomoya forget all about Kai and Eriri's relationship. Panic instantly seized his face.
"What do you mean?? No! Impossible! The curse has already been transferred! Once tonight passes, I'll be fine. You're lying to me! You're just lying to me!"
Even though he didn't know why Eriri looked fine, their conversation earlier proved the black tape had been watched. Therefore, the curse should have been lifted from him.
They were definitely just trying to scare him! That had to be it!
"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Kai didn't bother speaking anymore. A person in this state wouldn't listen to reason—they only believed what they wanted to believe. Since that was the case, there was no point in arguing.
"She's here!"
Suddenly feeling something, Kai looked around. Sadako's sinister aura had descended.
"Get behind me!"
He didn't even need to say it—Eriri and Sayuri immediately ducked behind him. His seemingly slender figure provided them with an infinite sense of security, as if as long as he was there, no harm could ever reach them.
"No! You're lying! You must be lying!"
Tomoya was still fully absorbed in his delusion, shaking his head in desperate denial.
Suddenly, the surrounding space abruptly distorted. The dense forest seemed to instantly expand, becoming vast and unnervingly empty.
Not far away, a dry stone well materialized out of nowhere.
"Look!"
Spotting it, Eriri quickly pointed at the well.
A pale, ghastly hand reached out from within. Slowly, Sadako's figure crawled out of the dry well. The scene was identical to the movie.
"A Domain?"
In an instant, Kai understood what was happening, an excited gleam lighting up his eyes.
Domain Expansion was an incredibly rare and special ability, whether among Jujutsu Sorcerers or Cursed Spirits. It was a pinnacle technique realized only when one's Innate Technique reached its absolute limit.
He hadn't expected Sadako to possess a Domain.
What was previously just a guess was now confirmed: Sadako's strength had undeniably reached the Special Grade. His very first Special Grade Cursed Spirit was right in front of him. How could he not be thrilled?
"How is this happening?? How is this happening??"
Seeing the nightmare manifest, Tomoya completely lost his mind, falling backward in horror.
However, no matter how frantically he pedaled his legs backward, it was as if he were walking on a treadmill. He didn't move a single inch from his spot.
"What's going on??"
The bizarre phenomenon filled Eriri and Sayuri with dread. This was a terror beyond their wildest imaginations.
"Is this the Domain's guaranteed-hit effect?"
Kai naturally wasn't going to waste time saving a dead man walking. Instead of doing something so thankless, he might as well use this opportunity to closely observe the specific mechanics of Sadako's Domain.
The so-called 'guaranteed-hit' or 'sure-hit' effect was the signature trait of a Domain. The reason Domains were considered absolute and overwhelmingly powerful was largely due to this very effect.
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