6 The Cursed Spirit Manipulator (Part Three)

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Suguru Geto arrived at the last mission site of the missing curse user and followed the clues all the way to the edge of the forest.

It was strange; cursed spirits usually remained near their birthplace—this was their nature. Rarely did cursed spirits roam like this.

Standing at the forest’s edge, Geto gazed distantly toward the direction of the special grade cursed spirit’s presence, filled with anticipation.

In the sorcery world, there was a system called the “Window” dedicated to detecting cursed spirits. Based on their power level, extermination tasks were assigned to sorcerers of equivalent rank.

The “Window” sometimes made mistakes, occasionally deliberately, sometimes unintentionally, merely because its staff failed to discern the true strength of a cursed spirit.

Sorcerers at Geto’s level rarely made such errors, as their power and experience helped them avoid these mistakes.

Once fluctuations of a special grade cursed womb were detected, they could not be ignored. A pleased smile appeared on Geto’s face.

To achieve his goals, he had long been collecting powerful cursed spirits, with special grade ones being paramount. Yet the strength and rarity of special grade cursed spirits were proportional, especially since they had to evade the sorcery world’s gaze, making this process all the more difficult.

Having defected ten years ago, Geto, relying on his position as the leader of the Star Aligned Sect, had gathered nearly ten thousand cursed spirits, but the count of special grade ones could be tallied on one hand.

Now, discovering a special grade cursed spirit unregistered by the sorcery world, he was naturally delighted. How strong would this cursed spirit be?

With steady, brisk steps, Geto entered the forest, his smile more genuine than when facing ordinary people.

Sensing the flow of cursed energy, he arrived at the forest’s center. He looked up at the black sphere hovering midair. The power fluctuations were undoubtedly special grade, but a cursed womb?

Although some cursed wombs were also destructive, especially special grade ones, could a cursed womb really have fled from the city to the forest?

“You’ve come.”

Just as Geto frowned, Osamu Dazai stepped out from behind a tree. He assessed the special grade curse user casually and said, “You arrived earlier than I expected, Geto-kun.”

Geto stared in surprise at the cursed spirit before him—a special grade cursed spirit that could speak and reason clearly!

His smile faded slightly. Glancing at the special grade cursed womb floating above and the special grade cursed spirit before him, his mood shifted from pleasure to caution, though still bearing the composure granted by his strength. “So, you’re the one who killed Fujiwara-kun.”

Geto had no intention of conversing with the cursed spirit. He loathed ordinary humans because their excessive emotions gave birth to cursed spirits, so naturally, he also despised cursed spirits themselves.

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Since this was his first encounter with such a special grade cursed spirit, Geto summoned a first grade cursed spirit and launched a tentative attack.

Suddenly, a slender black tentacle extended from the cursed womb midair, effortlessly deflecting the cursed spirit’s attack.

Dazai didn’t even make a move to dodge, seemingly placing full trust in the cursed womb’s protection. He leisurely asked, “Are you here to avenge him, Geto-kun?”

Geto watched the cursed womb warily. He had never seen such a thing—a not yet hatched cursed womb instinctively protecting another cursed spirit, as if they truly had emotions.

But since the cursed womb had not yet hatched, the conscious special grade cursed spirit was still the one standing before him.

“You know me?” Geto stared at Dazai, guessing this might be his technique.

“Of course!” Dazai replied with a deliberately provocative tone, “Leader of the Star Aligned Sect, special grade curse user, cursed spirit manipulator... Fujiwara-kun certainly had great faith in you!”

Geto’s face darkened; he could not tolerate a cursed spirit speaking of his family in such a tone.

His attacks could not bypass the cursed womb’s midair shield, but Geto was not alone—he summoned a second cursed spirit.

The cursed womb extended a second tentacle, moving with ease. Both cursed spirits were unable to withstand a single strike from the tentacles—this was the gap in power.

Dazai stood behind the cursed womb, watching Geto with a smile that seemed full of provocation to any onlooker.

Geto looked at the cursed womb; the counterattacks by the womb that destroyed his controlled cursed spirits only made him more eager.

Even with just instinct, this unhatched special grade cursed womb was already so powerful. Once it hatched, its abilities would compensate for the loss of any cursed spirits it needed to control.

Geto released a large number of cursed spirits, causing them to disrupt the cursed womb’s vision, buying him time to capture the other special grade cursed spirit first.

Cursed spirits and the black tentacles of the cursed womb tangled violently, and the forest was soon shrouded in smoke. Dazai moved between the clashes of cursed spirit attacks and the womb’s tentacles, perfectly dodging all strikes, unwilling to reveal his full abilities yet.

His steps were agile, as if weaving through a curtain of black tentacles. The cursed spirit attacks were merely insignificant embellishments.

“I didn’t expect Geto-kun to be more interested in me,” Dazai said regretfully. It seemed Geto was unsure how to hatch the cursed womb and did not hold much hope.

Still, the opponent’s technique had indeed given him some inspiration.

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Amid the swirling cursed spirit attacks and the cursed womb’s tentacles, Geto tracked Dazai’s movements and activated his own technique.

Dazai quietly observed his actions, his jet-black pupils reflecting Geto’s figure, then took a step.

A slender, powerful black tentacle stretched between them, followed by a second and a third.

Geto felt a twinge of regret—once he captured a cursed spirit, its abilities would freeze at that moment, unable to grow further.

But since that was the case, he would just capture this cursed womb first.

The immense cursed energy collided; the sorcerer’s energy spread like an overwhelming net, enveloping the cursed womb.

The black sphere began to tremble violently as if provoked. Dazai tilted his head back, eyes fixed on Geto.

The sphere started to split, then exploded. Black flames erupted, accompanied by a fierce blast of wind. Trees around were felled by the gale, and the flames ignited the surroundings, consuming everything within range.

Geto’s eyes widened in shock, pupils constricted. His expression changed drastically as he instinctively summoned cursed spirits to shield himself. The newly born special grade cursed spirit’s energy radiated aimlessly, shattering the protective cursed spirits before him like a hammer.

Layer upon layer of cursed spirits were obliterated by the energy, replaced by newly summoned ones. The fastest cursed spirits fled outward. Geto gripped “It,” spitting a mouthful of blood.

Dazai approached the heart of the flames with focused eyes and steady steps. The black energy touching him vanished instantly, parting like the Red Sea.

Sand and stones whipped across his face in the gale, causing negligible pain. Dazai reached out and seized the monstrous human figure at the center of the fire.

The rampaging energy dissipated, and Nakahara Chūya collapsed into Dazai’s arms along the force’s pull.

The orange-haired man was exhausted and, before losing consciousness, grumbled, “You really know how to cause trouble, don’t you?”