"Mahito, Jogo, Geto Suguru, tsk tsk tsk, everyone really came out to play, huh."
Shun rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Aside from the memories in his head, he had done a fair bit of homework on these three.
He had not fought them face to face before, but he had a decent grasp of what their techniques did.
Of course, that understanding was still limited to surface effects.
"So they are here to recruit Nightmare into their little club, is that it?"
He touched his chin again, gaze sliding over to Kurumi, then let out a quiet laugh.
"Looks like the negotiation fell through."
He was in no rush to jump down.
If these cursed spirits started a brawl among themselves, that would be ideal.
Let them beat each other into a half dead mess. He could then show up at the end and take them all in one sweep. Now that would be fun.
Three special grade curses and one special grade curse user.
If he captured them, he was confident he could reverse engineer something on the level of Limitless out of their techniques.
And even if he could not, just studying their techniques would be enough to get him excited.
"Hurry up and fight, hurry up and fight."
Shun cheerfully chanted in his heart like some petty villain.
As for whether they would notice him, he was very confident about that.
He had designed this concealment technique specifically to hide from Gojo Satoru.
Even Satoru often could not find him, so the people down there stood no chance.
"Then, pardon us."
With that, Geto turned away with an easy, graceful motion and began to leave.
"Oi, we are just leaving like this?!"
Jogo's whole mood collapsed at the sight.
He had been ready to regroup and go another round with Kurumi.
"Come on, Jogo, we are not enemies here," Mahito said. He glanced once more at Kurumi. "Miss Nightmare, our door will always be open to you."
Then he dragged Jogo along with him.
Out of all of them, Mahito was the most heavily injured.
He was also the one who feared Kurumi the most now.
He had realized that her power could directly injure his soul.
The damage from that short exchange had not been large, but he could clearly feel it, a continual gnawing at the core of him.
Against an opponent like this, Mahito was disgusted, but he knew this was not the time to fight.
...
"Huh, they are really just leaving."
Up above, Shun's face was full of regret.
Even so, he still did not reveal himself.
He could handle one special grade curse well enough.
But this many at once, things got tricky.
He might be reckless, but he was not crazy.
Besides, he was afraid of pain.
Better to wait for another opportunity and let Uncle take point.
Shun shifted his gaze back to Kurumi.
His main target right now was still Nightmare.
"...!"
The moment he looked, his pupils shrank.
Where did she go?
"Shun, if you wanted to look at me, you did not have to sneak around."
A sultry voice sounded behind him.
At the same time, he felt a soft, marshmallow-like sensation against his back.
A pair of slender hands slipped around his waist and chest.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been a very nice development.
Right now, he had zero mood for flirting.
Shun's whole body went rigid.
Gulp.
To be honest, this was the first time he had ever truly felt nervous.
He had gotten careless.
Too confident in his concealment technique, he had let his guard slip and allowed this curse to get right up behind him.
"G... good evening, Nightmare"
Forcing a smile, he greeted the girl behind him.
He could not figure it out.
Even Gojo Satoru had trouble finding him, it usually came down to luck.
How had this curse found him?
Was she stronger than his uncle?
Yeah right.
Kurumi nuzzled against his back, breathing in his scent.
"I told you, I am not called Nightmare."
Who cares what your name is.
Shun swore silently in his heart.
And get your hands off me, you cursed pervert.
Kurumi chuckled softly. She leaned close to his ear and murmured, "I have the same name as that girl. I am Tokisaki Kurumi too."
Then she gave his earlobe a light bite.
"..."
Shun felt his heart sink.
Nightmare was also called Tokisaki Kurumi.
Was she lying?
Or... was it the truth?
"What is your relationship with that girl?" he asked, forcing himself to calm down.
"Eh, that is so mean. I met you first, so why are you asking about her?"
Kurumi put on a wounded little pout.
Her hand left his chest and slid up to his cheek.
"If you talk about another woman in front of me, I will get angry, you know."
Her voice turned dangerous.
"Unfaithful men need to be punished," she whispered.
Then Kurumi lowered her head.
"...!"
Shun's eyes flew wide, full of disbelief.
Kurumi sank her teeth into his shoulder.
This shameless cursed pervert was taking advantage of him again.
-------------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters: patreon .com / ElvenKing20