A high ground outside the cave.
Kenjaku, who had just been smiling happily, was now staring grimly at the three people below, who were laughing and chatting.
It was as if his smile had been stolen by the three of them.
Kenjaku, the great collector, had gathered many treasures from ancient times to the present.
Among them were many Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
This was also the reason Kenjaku was able to quickly form combat power after occupying Suguru Geto's body.
Later, after the Culling Game began, Kenjaku even released control over some Special Grade Cursed Spirits, throwing them into the Culling Game.
For example, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Kuroi Bokusatsu.
Therefore, under normal circumstances, losing a Special Grade Cursed Spirit would not make Kenjaku angry.
Provided that he had already lost interest in that Cursed Spirit.
It's like a child who wants every toy he sees.
Many toys are thrown aside after playing, and he might not even remember if you threw them away or did anything else.
But if it's a new toy you just bought, and you accidentally step on it and break it.
You will suffer a terrifying sonic attack.
It might also come with your wife's merciless iron hand and a wallet-slimming attack.
This is the current situation.
This Cthulhu-esque Special Grade imaginary Cursed Spirit, like the woman who gave birth to the Cursed Womb: Death Painting, brought Kenjaku a lot of freshness, and Kenjaku hadn't grown tired of it yet.
So, Kenjaku's mood after discovering his "toy" was gone was imaginable.
"What a coincidence."
Kenjaku realized that the three Jujutsu Sorcerers below were acquaintances.
In the intelligence before returning to the country, Kenjaku had seen the data on the three of them.
First-year High School students, Maki Zen'in, Inumaki Toge, and Panda.
Their strength was good, and if you really thought about it, they were also enemies.
Because apart from Inumaki Toge, who had not yet clearly stated his position, Maki and Panda were both from the Eichi faction.
"Since that's the case, you all stay here."
Kenjaku took out a wooden handle wrapped in talismans from his in arms.
After the talismans were undone, a strong Cursed Energy emanated from the broken wooden handle.
Soon, a Cursed Spirit over 3 meters tall, robust in build, with four eyes and two horns, appeared.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit Akuroo Ootake.
Akuroo Ootake is a legendary demon from the island nation.
Along with Akagashira and Takamaru, he is known as one of the Three Demons of Oshu.
In some legends, he is also known as one of the Three Great Demon Kings or Three Great Yokai, alongside Shuten Doji and Tamamo-no-Mae.
He was originally Ayumi-ruwai, a leader of the Emishi region.
Because he often caused trouble in the area, frequently engaging in acts like "This mountain is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll," he was also known as Akuro-Ō.
Legend has it that Akuro-Ō was defeated by Tamuramaro, who came to subjugate him, after Suzuka Gozen tricked him into giving up his treasured sword.
(Note: Versions vary, here we adopt the version where Akuro-Ō fell in love with Suzuka Gozen and willingly fell into her trap, following her wishes.
However, he didn't expect Suzuka Gozen and Tamuramaro, who came to subjugate him, to be in cahoots.
Akuro-Ō, feeling betrayed, became a Special Grade Cursed Vengeful Spirit after his death.)
"Kill them."
Upon hearing this, Akuroo Ootake glanced at Kenjaku, then charged at the three people ahead with displeasure.
Because he encountered Kenjaku shortly after becoming a Cursed Spirit, he was forced to make a binding vow with Kenjaku.
Therefore, Akuroo Ootake could only obey Kenjaku's orders.
However, what Akuroo Ootake didn't know was that due to the change of bodies, the binding vow Kenjaku had made with Akuroo Ootake had already become ineffective.
Boom.
Akuroo Ootake leaped high, then crashed to the ground like a meteor.
Violent tremors spread in all directions.
A powerful impact began to sweep through everything around.
Maki, who was the first to sense the danger, immediately took action, opening her Thousand Machine Umbrella like a shield and holding it in front of them.
Violent impacts and countless gravel clattered against the Thousand Machine Umbrella.
Maki's body bent, her feet firmly planted on the ground.
Her right hand gripped the Thousand Machine Umbrella, pushing forward to resist the impact.
Her left hand immediately pressed Inumaki Toge's head, shielding him between the Thousand Machine Umbrella and herself.
Panda's reaction was also very quick.
After Maki began to move, Panda immediately squatted down, minimizing the surface area of his body exposed to attack.
Then, his right hand pressed against Maki's shoulder, and his left hand grabbed the handle of the Thousand Machine Umbrella, helping Maki stabilize the Thousand Machine Umbrella's defense.
"Hahaha."
Akuroo Ootake nodded in satisfaction, looking at the destruction he had caused.
Then, he looked at the three with a cruel expression.
The next second, Akuroo Ootake raised his large axe and brought it down on the three.
Maki immediately used the Thousand Machine Umbrella to parry.
Panda and Inumaki Toge dodged to the left and right.
The two exchanged glances, then immediately took action.
"Stop."
"Ora!"
Akuroo Ootake, who was furiously attacking Maki as she struggled to parry, paused.
Panda immediately seized the opportunity and delivered a full-force punch at Akuroo Ootake.
"Cough, cough."
Inumaki Toge clutched his throat uncomfortably, swallowing his last throat lozenge.
Then, with a pained expression, he looked at Akuroo Ootake, who was getting up in the distance.
Maki also escaped the situation of being suddenly attacked and only able to hastily parry.
The Thousand Machine Umbrella changed form, and Maki prepared for a head-on confrontation.
The three felt very heavy-hearted at this moment.
Because they could feel that the Cursed Spirit in front of them was stronger than the Special Grade Cursed Spirit they had just defeated.
This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the three, who were already exhausted.
"Maki, you take Inumaki Toge and go first, I'll hold it back."
Panda made a decision in his heart.
"Huh? What are you saying? If anyone's covering the rear, it should be me."
If she were in good condition, an Awakened Maki would naturally not fear the enemy in front of her.
But now Maki's stamina was severely depleted, and her injuries had not recovered.
If they were to fight, the chances of winning were very low.
"Don't worry, I still have a trump card. I'll meet up with you guys later."
To increase the credibility of his words, Panda used the Triceratops Mode, which none of them had ever seen.
He didn't know if he could escape, but Panda knew.
If the three of them, in their current terrible state, were to truly fight the Special Grade Cursed Spirit in front of them.
They would very likely be wiped out.
So Panda wanted to take a gamble, betting on his uniqueness as a Cursed Corpse.
As long as not all three cores were destroyed, he would survive.
Even many Jujutsu Sorcerers he had encountered before had made mistakes in judging Panda's cores.
If he won the gamble, all three would live.
If he lost the gamble, the other two would still live.
"I understand."
Maki hesitated for a moment, then pulled Inumaki Toge, who was trembling all over from the backlash after using Cursed Speech on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and dashed away.
However, what Panda didn't know was that Maki didn't intend to just run away.
She planned to return immediately after taking Inumaki Toge to a safe place.
"Is that the suddenly mutated Cursed Corpse created by Yaga Masamichi?"
Kenjaku in the distance looked at Panda with interest.
Unfortunately, a being like Panda, like his previous works, couldn't bloom with the brilliance he desired.
Thinking this, Kenjaku took out an elephant-headed statue wrapped in talismans.
The next second, another Special Grade Cursed Spirit appeared.
However, high in the sky, unnoticed by Kenjaku.
A large black bird was silently circling in the sky.
Eichi frowned after seeing the situation on the ground.
"Where is my beloved Immortal Master? How did he turn into Kenjaku? Did they meet so early?"
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