Chapter 102: The Evolved Divine Dog: Totality
Could it be a curse that specialized in concealment?
Ren formed a one-handed seal and activated the Ten Shadows Technique, summoning Divine Dog: Totality.
A massive black-and-white wolf materialized in the corridor.
Standing upright on its hind legs, its towering frame nearly filled the entire hallway from wall to wall.
Compared to when it had merely completed its fusion, the Divine Dog had grown dramatically after fully adapting to Sukuna's finger.
Its size had doubled once again.
Previously, when standing upright, Divine Dog: Totality had been roughly the same height as Ren.
Now, with its thick fur bristling around its body, its broad back nearly brushed the ceiling overhead.
Yet its increased size was far from the most remarkable change it had undergone.
Atop its black forehead, beneath the symmetrical crimson Michikaeshi-no-Tama and Ashidama markings that formed a T-shaped pattern, were not one-but two pairs of eyes.
Four eyes in total.
Their sclera gleamed a radiant gold, while their pupils were pitch black.
Yes. Perhaps due to the influence of Sukuna's power-the same power possessed by the four-eyed, two-mouthed King of Curses-the Divine Dog had undergone a mutation similar to the curse at Yasohachi Bridge after it consumed Sukuna's finger.
It had grown four eyes.
And beyond that, subtler yet far more profound changes had quietly taken place.
Like the Yasohachi Bridge curse, Divine Dog: Totality had acquired the ability to manipulate a blazing golden energy.
At a thought from Ren, the giant wolf opened its blood-red maw.
A sphere of golden energy rapidly condensed between its fangs.
Then, accompanied by an earth-shaking roar, the orb abruptly elongated, transforming into a brilliant lance of sunlight and shooting forward.
Boom!
The golden beam tore through the corridor, blasting through wall after wall, door after door, vanishing into the distance.
Ren waved a hand again.
Divine Dog: Totality casually raised one forepaw and swiped sideways.
Crash!
An entire section of wall collapsed instantly.
The once-cramped corridor widened considerably.
Its claws had always been extraordinarily sharp-comparable to a special-grade cursed tool.
Now, however, an invisible edge coated each of its four snow-white claws.
It was much like the Sword Saint Technique Ren had learned from the curse Owlcutter, amplifying the destructive power of those monstrous talons to an entirely new level.
...
But overwhelming combat power was not what he needed at the moment.
Ren shifted his thoughts.
The Divine Dog immediately understood.
Its massive wet nose twitched as it began sniffing intensely, searching for traces of cursed energy.
A few moments later, Its fur bristled and a low growl rumbled from its throat.
Ren's eyes lit up.
That reaction meant it had indeed found the scent of the hidden curse.
Yet what happened next left him utterly baffled.
The giant wolf swung its head left and right, nostrils flaring continuously.
Just as Ren expected it to lock onto the trail and sprint after the curse-he was already preparing to follow-it suddenly sat down on its haunches and froze in place.
The bizarre behavior drew a puzzled expression even from Mei Mei.
Though her family lacked the prestige of the Three Great Clans, it still possessed considerable history and influence. As such, she was familiar with the famed Ten Shadows Technique and knew that Divine Dogs excelled at tracking cursed energy.
But this Divine Dog's reaction...
Ren turned toward her.
Having already understood the situation through his shikigami, he rubbed the corner of his mouth helplessly.
"Divine Dog: Totality did find a cursed presence," he explained.
"The scent is extremely faint."
Then what are we waiting for?
No matter how faint the trail, shouldn't they simply follow it to the source?
That was exactly what Mei Mei was about to say.
But Ren continued before she could speak.
"That faint aura is spread throughout the entire space."
"It's everywhere."
"And the concentration is exactly the same no matter where you check."
"It's as though..."
He paused.
"...that curse once existed in every corner of this place simultaneously."
"What?"
Mei Mei stared at him in astonishment.
After exchanging bewildered looks, Ren crouched down and gently stroked Divine Dog: Totality's forehead, reassuring the frustrated shikigami.
Jumping to conclusions based on a single location would be rash.
If the cursed energy here provided no clues, they could simply investigate another area.
Perhaps elsewhere the traces would reveal something useful.
With that thought, Ren continued deeper into the manor alongside Divine Dog: Totality.
Yet after traversing seven or eight more hallways-and climbing several flights of stairs-the feedback remained unchanged.
Every part of the estate was permeated by a faint cursed aura.
But the density was perfectly uniform everywhere.
There was no way to distinguish the curse's location.
Then, roughly ten minutes later, after ascending another staircase and passing through a long shadowy corridor, Ren abruptly stopped.
Ahead of him stood a wall bearing an irregular hole roughly the size of a bowl.
To his right, the narrow passage suddenly opened into a room filled with broken stone and rubble.
Even more striking were the enormous claw marks carved into the debris.
"This..."
His body stiffened.
Turning to Mei Mei, he sought confirmation.
"Miss Mei Mei..."
"We've been going upstairs this entire time, haven't we?"
Then why-
Why had they somehow returned to the very place Divine Dog: Totality had destroyed earlier?
A cold unease gripped Ren's heart, sending a chill crawling down his spine.
To his surprise, however, a delighted smile curved Mei Mei's lips.
Tilting her head back, she brushed aside the silver braid concealing half her face and inhaled lightly through her elegant nose.
"I smell something familiar," she said.
"What?"
"Let's keep moving."
Still holding his hand, she continued forward with light, confident steps.
"For now it's only a hypothesis. I need more evidence."
"If my guess is correct," she continued as they walked, "we're dealing with a curse that possesses spatial abilities."
"The reason your Divine Dog senses its presence everywhere with no variation in concentration..."
"...is because we're already inside its technique."
"What?"
Ren's alarm deepened.
Unlike Mei Mei, he found nothing reassuring about the situation.
Without realizing it, they had already fallen under a curse's technique.
No matter how he looked at it, that was bad news.
And spatial abilities were among the most troublesome powers imaginable.
Lost in thought, he allowed Mei Mei to lead him onward.
She climbed another staircase, her high-heeled boots producing crisp tap, tap, tap sounds against the wooden steps, each footfall radiating confidence and composure.
Ren could not understand her reasoning at all.
If they already knew that continuing upward would only bring them back to the same place, why waste energy repeating the process?
"Relax, relax," Mei Mei said lightly.
"It's not a big deal."
"Actually, I think this calls for a toast."
"A toast?"
"Yes."
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"To a rather unique connection."
"A connection?"
"Mm."
Her smile deepened.
"A connection that began sixteen years ago."