Chapter 4: The Curse Spirit Manipulator (Part One)

These special-grade cursed spirits seemed useless now.

So, what next...?

Dazai Osamu looked at Nakahara Chūya, who stubbornly refused to ‘be born.’ Since the cursed spirits didn’t know the current situation, the only option was to turn to the sorcerers.

Though among sorcerers there was a presence warned not to be provoked, humans never all stand on the same side.

Naturally, within the sorcerers existed those who had been exiled—the curse sorcerers.

But to kill an ordinary person and be branded a curse sorcerer—that was a harsh moral code in the jujutsu world!

Dazai sighed as he looked at Nakahara Chūya, hovering silently in midair. “Chūya’s always such a trouble. Did he turn into a withdrawn child just by changing worlds?”

Under the cover of night and wind, Dazai left the forest and entered an internet café.

Suddenly, the surveillance footage showed a haunting scene: a computer in the corner powering on by itself, emitting a faint glow in the darkness.

Dazai sat before the computer, typing away. Luckily, cursed spirits were invisible only to ordinary humans, not intangible. If they were like ghosts, that would be even more troublesome.

Then again, evil spirits could also manipulate objects.

Dazai thoughtfully considered this.

He deftly accessed the jujutsu world’s dark web and posted a bounty: the extermination of a grade-one cursed spirit.

Since special-grade cursed spirits were too conspicuous, and lower-level ones might attract inexperienced sorcerers, grade one was just right.

As for the reward...

Dazai skillfully transferred money through an account he had previously targeted—a money laundering company’s account. Such black money would never be reported lost.

Moreover, Dazai never intended to let the poor soul who accepted the task actually receive the payment.

Once one became a curse sorcerer, they had to be ready to get eaten alive in the underworld.

After someone accepted the bounty, Dazai shut down the computer and went to the appointed location to lie in wait.

Though a phone would be more convenient, smartphones were tricky for cursed spirits to use; regularly topping up credit risked being tracked. Constantly using new accounts for payments was too troublesome, so this method was better.

Accurate time, precise location, and preparation always made victory easier.

---

Dazai looked at the curse sorcerer unconscious before him and put away his tools, complaining, “Tasks like this should be left to Chūya!”

...

The curse sorcerer, waking from darkness, opened his eyes cautiously and was shocked to find himself in a forest.

He looked down at his tightly bound limbs and began to recall what had happened.

He had accepted a mission via the intranet, arrived at the site, sensed the cursed spirit’s presence, and then... his face blanked. He was knocked out with an anesthetic?!

Impossible—how could a cursed spirit use anesthetics?!

It had to be a human. The sorcerer capable of coordinating with a cursed spirit... his expression darkened.

He looked up at the special-grade cursed fetus floating in midair. Was the leader using him as bait?!

No, that couldn’t be right. Even if the leader wanted to do something like this, they wouldn’t use an anesthetic, something so ordinary. Was there an impostor involved?!

The curse sorcerer struggled, fury burning in his eyes, demanding, “Who are you?!”

“You really can’t tell the difference between humans and cursed spirits, even though you look fully awake,” Dazai leisurely emerged from behind him, as if having observed for some time.

His gaze fixed on the curse sorcerer, revealing pure curiosity. “Is this really all a grade-one sorcerer can do?”

The curse sorcerer stared at Dazai, who looked entirely human but exuded the aura of a cursed spirit.

He asked, nearly confused, “...Who are you? A new type of cursed spirit?”

“No need for you to know,” Dazai raised an eyebrow, casually remarking, “Your vigilance is too low, curse sorcerer.”

The curse sorcerer had never expected a cursed spirit to use anesthetics! Were cursed spirits becoming so modern now?!

He eyed the cursed spirit warily; this aura was definitely special-grade, and it could speak and reason—nothing like any known special-grade cursed spirit!

To be caught alive by a special-grade cursed spirit, tied up in what looked like its lair...

A chill rose within him, spreading rapidly through his body, hairs standing on end. Facing a special-grade cursed spirit indistinguishable from a human, he prepared for a desperate fight.

Dazai narrowed his eyes and placed a hand on the sorcerer’s shoulder. “I like people who know the times.”

The curse sorcerer was stunned to realize his cursed energy no longer flowed, horror etched on his face. For sorcerers, losing their cursed energy was like losing their supernatural ability—Dazai understood completely.

---

Smiling, Dazai gripped the sorcerer’s shoulder tightly, leaving no chance of escape. “Don’t be nervous! Look, you’re still alive. Isn’t that something to celebrate? Who knows, maybe you’ll survive till the end!”

Cold sweat trickled down the sorcerer’s face as he swallowed nervously.

He had never encountered a cursed spirit that spoke, reasoned clearly, and knew how to coerce before. Among the sixteen documented special-grade cursed spirits in the jujutsu world, none were like this!

Dazai sighed faintly, “Am I really that terrifying?”

It seemed the threat level of special-grade cursed spirits could be raised a bit more. Still, such a power gap shouldn’t scare a grade-one sorcerer this much. More intelligence gathering was necessary.

Unable to escape, the sorcerer gritted his teeth and asked, “What is your goal?”

For now, he could only stall, hoping to find a chance to flee.

Dazai tugged the sorcerer’s hair, forcing his eyes to face the black orb hovering above, and casually asked, “Just want to know when he’ll ‘be born,’ that’s a simple question, right?”

The sorcerer: ...

He felt this cursed spirit was deliberately toying with him.

Near breaking, he shouted, “The incubation of special-grade cursed fetuses is inherently irregular! No one can control it!”

“Eh—” Dazai looked into the sorcerer’s eyes with regret. “So it’s true!” The smile on his lips never faded as he said blankly, “Then you’re useless.”

The sorcerer shuddered and cried out before dying, “The leader might know!”

Dazai asked, “But you just said the incubation can’t be controlled?”

The sorcerer answered fearfully, “But the leader is a cursed spirit manipulator. He understands cursed spirits far better than us. It’s possible, possible he knows.”

After years as a sorcerer, death should have been familiar, but facing this cursed spirit, the fear of death weighed heavily on his soul. The premonition of death hammered his mind, robbing him of calm.

“Cursed spirit manipulator...” Dazai pondered the term literally and remarked, “What an unpleasant title.”

After all, he was a cursed spirit now!