The town looked wrong the moment they arrived.
Not destroyed—worse.
Like it had been rearranged while nobody was looking.
Street corners didn't connect properly. Buildings leaned into directions that made no physical sense. Even sound arrived late, like reality was slightly behind itself.
Yuji frowned. "…This place feels like it's arguing with itself."
Megumi didn't answer immediately.
His eyes were already tracking the distortion patterns in the air.
"…It's spatial displacement layered over perception," he said. "We're not walking straight even when it feels like we are."
Nobara kicked a loose piece of asphalt. It rolled uphill.
"…Yeah, I hate this."
Takeru had already moved ahead.
"…Cursed presence confirmed."
The air twisted.
And then—
it bit back.
A Special Grade curse manifested without a proper shape at first.
Just a pressure.
A wrongness.
Then it condensed into something resembling a spirit built out of folded space and broken direction.
It didn't stand.
It existed unevenly.
Yuji raised his fists. "…Okay, yeah, that's definitely a problem."
Megumi stepped forward slightly."…Don't let it control distance."
Nobara snapped her hammer into place."Got it. Hit it before it lies to us."
Takeru exhaled once.
"…Understood."
His cursed energy shifted.
Then—
shadow expanded beneath him.
Megumi's eyes narrowed. "…Ten Shadows?"
Takeru nodded slightly. "…Testing compatibility."
From the darkness—
two forms emerged.
Divine Dogs.
Sharp. Fast. Controlled.
Yuji blinked. "…Since when can he do that?"
Nobara: "SINCE WHEN DOES HE GET NEW FEATURES?!"
Megumi muttered. "…He's learning it too fast."
The Divine Dogs launched forward.
Perfect coordination.
They struck the curse—
and for a moment, it staggered.
Takeru moved immediately after.
Shadow expanded again.
Another shikigami began forming.
Then another.
And another.
Yuji watched. "…He's just… deploying everything."
Megumi's voice dropped slightly.
"…He's not sequencing it properly."
Nobara frowned. "…Is that bad?"
Megumi answered immediately.
"…Very."
The Divine Dogs struck again.
Then another shikigami formed and attacked.
Then another.
Takeru's expression stayed calm.
Focused.
But something subtle was happening.
He wasn't taming them.
He was just beating them.
One after another.
Reducing them to usable output states.
Yuji tilted his head. "…Wait… isn't he supposed to capture them or something?"
Megumi's eyes widened slightly.
"…He doesn't know how to tame them."
Silence.
Nobara slowly turned. "…What do you mean he doesn't know how—"
BOOM.
Another shikigami collapsed under Takeru's attack.
Megumi's voice tightened.
"…He thinks defeating them is the same as controlling them."
Yuji blinked. "…Isn't it?"
Megumi stared at him.
"…No."
A pause.
Then the air changed.
The shadows stopped forming new constructs.
Not because they were gone—
but because something deeper had noticed the situation.
Takeru stepped forward.
"…Final shadow."
The ground went silent.
Even the cursed spirit paused.
Like reality itself hesitated.
Then—
from the deepest point of the shadow realm—
it rose.
Not aggressive.
Not fast.
Not loud.
Just inevitable.
Eight massive arms of cursed energy presence unfolded like law being rewritten.
A divine wheel turned behind it.
The atmosphere itself felt like it stopped resisting existence.
Yuji went silent.
"…That one feels different."
Nobara swallowed. "…Yeah. I don't like that one."
Megumi's voice dropped.
"…That's not a shikigami you just 'test.'"
Takeru tilted his head slightly.
"…Designation?"
Megumi answered slowly.
"…Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General."
A pause.
"…Mahoraga."
Silence.
The curse shifted slightly.
Like it had heard its own name.
Yuji whispered. "…Oh no."
Nobara stepped back. "…Oh absolutely not."
Megumi exhaled sharply.
"…Takeru."
Takeru didn't look away.
"…Yes."
Megumi's tone hardened.
"…You don't control that one."
Takeru paused.
Just for a moment.
Then—
"…Noted."
The wheel behind Mahoraga turned.
And adaptation began.