Chapter 26 You're Just Pain

Otsutsuki Yuta is locked in the closet.

A pale-faced young man was squatting coldly in the cabinet that was supposed to be used to store items. His face was as pale as a knife, and he was huddled in the deepest part of the cabinet. He looked at the woman who fell from the sky in front of him with eyes full of fear and uneasiness, and kicked away the bad boys who surrounded him without mercy.

Those guys originally wanted to confront her head-on, but she kicked them out of the classroom one by one. They lay on the ground for a long time and it seemed that they would not be able to speak for a while.

who is she?

Are you here to rescue him?

If she leaves, will he be bullied again?

Yuta Otsutsuki thought instinctively.

After his childhood sweetheart Rika Kimoto passed away, his frail face was filled with an expression of emotion for the first time.

He looked at the woman in front of him carefully, afraid of accidentally making her unhappy, but he didn't dare to speak to her - he just wanted to open his mouth to speak, as if he remembered something, and his inner uneasiness overwhelmed his emotions again.

Yuta Okkotsu took a deep breath, hugged his knees and tightened his hands on his school uniform pants, not knowing whether he should speak.

"Tsk, I was working part-time when I was your age, and you still have the energy to bully others." Kagura Mio clapped her hands and looked down at the several bad boys on the ground with a condescending attitude.

"Okay, okay, don't bully others anymore in the future, do you hear me?" She raised her foot slightly, and stepped on the leader of the bad guys with the sole of her specially made military boots. "Say 'yes' if you heard me."

The leader, who was beaten so hard that he could hardly speak, shrank his body and said incoherently: "Yes, yes... queen."

"Who wants to be the queen? I'm not interested in this." Kagura Mio retracted her foot, turned her head slightly and glanced at the group of guys, "Okay, you can get out of here."

The bad guys lying on the ground whispered: "I can't move..."

Kagura Mio raised her eyebrows, with a strange gentleness in her tone: "I remember, it seems that I can't move like this, so I'll give you a ride." As soon as

she finished speaking, the bad guys on the ground were instantly kicked away by her again, and then flew out from the second floor.

For some reason, even when Kagura Mio was kicking people, her movements were smooth and graceful, and very beautiful. If he hadn't heard the cries of pain from those bad guys, Otsutsukoshi Yuta would have really thought that she was just kicking Kaneko lightly.

He was a little stunned and thought: This, this is not good, right?

He looked at the woman in front of him carefully:

she was wearing a modified black kimono, and the ink-colored slanted-collar long trench coat made her look dignified and elegant, but the belt and modified combat boots made her look imposing.

She spoke calmly and slowly, and every sentence sounded like a well-thought-out poem, but her attitude was quite condescending, and her temperament contained an extremely restrained elegance, and she looked like a superior who was high above everyone else.

The aura is so strong that it is terrifying.

Okkotsu Yuta shrank back and didn't dare to talk to this strange woman. But after she dealt with the guys on the ground, she looked at him hiding in the closet.

There was a slight smile on her lips and she said in a light tone: "Do you want to be a snail, Otsutsuki?" Otsutsuki Yuta

was stunned and realized that she was asking him if he was still going to come out - being locked in the cabinet was like a snail shrinking in its own shell.

The aggressiveness hidden in the gentle tone made Yuta Okkotsu feel a little uncomfortable. He was about to say something when he saw the woman in front of him slowly squatting down.

She looked straight at Yuta Otsutsuki who was curled up in the closet, and said calmly: "Yuta Otsutsuki, 17 years old this year. He is from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. His childhood sweetheart, Rika Inori, died. He couldn't accept this fact, so his cursed power went wild and he cursed his lover unconsciously. Since then, Rika Inori's soul has become a special-grade cursed spirit and has been by his side. It will appear when Yuta Otsutsuki is attacked and hurt--"

The air stagnated for a moment.

The riot of cursed power came like huge waves of sound. The strange shadow twisted its body and growled hoarsely. A huge white cursed spirit with a ferocious mouth appeared from behind Kagura Mio. She roared and screamed loudly, and stretched out her sharp claws towards Kagura Mio!

The claws that are sharp enough to tear everything apart have long nails, but Rika Kimoto has the voice of a little girl. She said in an innocent and cruel voice: "Anyone who hurts Yuta! Anyone who hurts Yuta shall die!"

The tough claws were about to tear the woman in front of him. Yuta Otsutsuki stretched out his hand, and couldn't help but move forward a little, and climbed out of the locker - "Rika! No!"

Kagura Mio curled the corners of her lips.

"Ninety-nine Parts: Fleeting Shadows."

The moment the ritual was activated, the remnant sound of the ring on her hand instantly turned into a silk thread like a guitar string, flying in the air along with the tremendous magical power she burst out. The sound waves that resonated with the most ancient Japanese music became visualized at this moment, spreading from Kagura Mio like waves of light blue.

This sound wave seemed to have its own consciousness. The moment Yuta Okkotsu felt the unprecedented warmth he had never felt before when the sound wave embraced him - a warmth that was enough to make him sympathize with others and to bring blessing to his soul.

It was an unprecedented experience, like soaking in the gentlest and most beautiful hot spring in the world. He didn't even react to Rika's presence until the ring hanging around his neck felt warm. Only then did Yuta Otsutsukota wake up from his dream and shouted, "Rika! Don't hurt others!"

However, the scene in front of him made Yuta Otsutsukota stunned: the

terrifying and huge white cursed spirit was sitting on the table in front of him like a well-behaved little girl, and the woman who had just stood next to him was half leaning on the locker, supporting her head with one hand, with a bit of fatigue between her brows.

What is going on?

Rika, the cursed spirit who usually hates all humans, rushed over to him and said, "What a comfortable feeling! Yuta! She understands me!"

Yuta Otsutsuki looked at Kagura Mio absent-mindedly, not understanding the current situation at all, and Kagura Mio just curled the corners of her lips lightly: "If you want to know the answer, come with me."

"After all--" Her eyes fell on Rika Kimoto, "your girlfriend seems to need me very much."

An hour and a half later, Yuta Otsutsuki stood in Akita City, 247 kilometers away from Sendai City.

He didn't know how the woman next to him managed to drive a three-hour journey in just an hour and a half. He only knew that when he got out of the car, his legs were so weak that he knelt on the ground and vomited continuously.

The special-grade cursed spirit Rika Kimoto, who was completely conquered by Kagura Mio, didn't notice her childhood sweetheart at all. She floated around Kagura Mio excitedly like a little girl.

"Akita is the place with the most serious aging problem in Japan, and most of the people living here are elderly people."

Kagura Mio looked at the small village in front of her.

As a sorcerer, she could of course see that the village before her was filled with the remnants of the cursed spirits almost everywhere - the village was directly enveloped by the cursed spirits.

It's a collective curse.

After making a mental judgment, she lowered her head slightly and looked at Yuta Okkotsu: "Can you still walk?"

If not, let Rika support him.

However, this physique still needs more exercise. Having powerful cursed powers alone would make him just a fragile special-grade sorcerer.

Not knowing that Kagura Mio was looking at him with an evaluating look, Otsutsuki Yuta struggled to get up from the ground. Not wanting to be a burden to her, even though he still felt dizzy, he nodded shakily: "I'm fine!"

Kagura Mio didn't pay much attention to his specific thoughts, and guided Otsutsuki Yuta to follow her up the long dirt road.

This village is located in the outskirts of Akita. Since it is almost entirely populated by elderly people and the economic conditions are underdeveloped, its infrastructure is no different from that of rural areas. Rice can be seen everywhere after it has been planted.

It is autumn now, the rice harvest season. The golden rice ears are swaying in the fields, and the grains are full and heavy, hanging down. They walked along the dirt road, passing by several traditional Akita village buildings, and headed deeper into the village.

"You can see it, right?" Kagura Mio said softly, "That kind of thing."

Otsutsukoshi Yuta was stunned for a moment and nodded: "Yes."

He could see that strange things existed in this world since he was a child. They have different shapes, but all of them are ugly - except Rika, who is the best in his heart.

"But there are too many here." Otsutsukoshi Yuta said weakly.

He had never seen so many monsters before - they were laughing and playing in this village like a group of humans. Some of them had big mouths, drooled, and had earthy brown skin like mud; some had long white hair, and exuded a horrible aura from their whole bodies...

There were too many of them, really too many.

Kagura Mio stopped in front of a pond.

Okkotsu Yuta followed her gaze and saw a horrible scene that was enough to give him nightmares and keep him awake tonight: many humans were hanging above the pond like bacon. Only the stumps of limbs were left of their bodies, but their expressions were all peaceful and calm, as if they were willing to become food on the plate. They looked different, but from their clothes it was not hard to tell that they were all elderly people in the village - they had suffered such a tragedy at an age when they should have been enjoying their old age.

Okkotsu Yuta took a deep breath and subconsciously took a step back, looking somewhat incredulous.

"The monster you saw is called a curse, or a cursed spirit."

"You are the descendant of Sugawara Michizane. Because of the problem of inter-generational inheritance, you have gained powerful cursed power, so you are now a special-grade sorcerer - one of the top in the world of curses." "

And the scene you saw was the cursed spirits wreaking havoc. This town has frequently experienced mass suicides, and the source is the 'pessimistic cursed spirit group'. These cursed spirits are good at verbal attacks, which make people feel disgusted with the world."

"I am also a special-grade sorcerer, and the core of my technique is resonance. The 'Fleeting Glimpses' I just used is a kind of resonance of mine. In this way, I achieved a brief resonance with your special-grade cursed spirit Rika, and that's why she stopped."

Kagura Mio turned her head slightly.

She looked at Yuta Otsutsukota and said in a steady tone, "Come to the Jujutsu High School to attend classes. There are children like you there, and you can achieve a relatively suitable life there and live your ideals."

Yuta Otsutsukota was stunned.

He never thought that he was not a monster and there were other people in the world like him.

He hesitated and said, "But, Rika--"

He had no way to stop Rika from hurting others.

But before he could finish his words, a cursed force so strong that he could not help but tremble swept in from the ground and enveloped Yuta Okkotsu like a dream.

"You are a waste."

"You are a waste who couldn't save Rika."

"You are a waste whose parents and sister all left you. No one will like a waste like you..."

Fear, sadness and uneasiness emanated from him inside out. Otsutsukoshi Yuta widened his eyes innocently, despair pouring out of his pupils. Behind him, the huge special-grade cursed spirit gradually fell into frenzy.

Under the cover of night, the power of the curse surged like a tide.

Kagura Mio stood between the ruins and the blood mist, a musical formation emerged under her feet, the remnant sound flew, the strings wrapped around her fingertips, stretching out rays of light in the air.

The frantic curses screamed loudly and seemed out of control.

It really is troublesome.

Realizing the uneasiness rising in her heart because of the curse, Kagura Mio gently closed her eyes.

If we want to quickly resolve this farce, that's the only way.

She made the decision and lowered her eyes slightly to look at Yuta Otsutsuki beside her: "Otsutsuki, do me a favor."

Yuta Otsutsuki, who was struggling against despair, came back to his senses: "What?"

"Believe in me from the bottom of your heart."

Kagura Mio glanced at Yuta Otsutsuki: "Try your best."

"Okay... okay!"

The next second, Kagura Mio's vast cursed power was no longer suppressed, and it instantly overflowed like a tilting tide. She recited her blessing in a calm tone: "Ninety-nine Quartets·Synchronize."

The ritual that requires the sorcerer to cooperate and resonate has extremely powerful lethality. Resonant sounds that vibrate the space rang out in the ritual formation. With this powerful force, the frenzied Rika froze for an instant. She let out a tearing roar, like a painful beast with its throat locked, but in the roar, waves of cursed power burst out and hit the technique fiercely.

Kagura Mio's expression did not change at all until the cursed power turned into a strong musical wave, penetrating the space with an extremely high frequency resonance, forming an invisible barrier composed of spirit and soul between her and Rika.

The ritual burns Mio's life in units of notes, consuming her existence every second.

Her eyes were cold, her shoulders trembled slightly, and blood slowly flowed from the corner of her lips.

"Listen carefully, Rika."

"You are not a monster. You are just pain."

She stretched out her hand, and the technique wrapped around Rika's crazy cursed core like the strings of a guitar singing a goodnight song. A soft light seeped out from her fingertips, as if playing a child's dream.

Okkotsu Yuta looked at the little Qingmei who had obediently returned to the ring in front of him in a dreamlike manner, and then saw the woman who had always appeared strong and cold spit out two mouthfuls of blood in pain, so he hurried forward to support her.

The moment he touched her arms, Yuta Otsutsukoshi remembered what happened in the classroom just now.

After she initiated the ritual, she seemed a little pale and still had to stand against the locker.

Does it cost one's life to perform the ritual?

He was frowning in confusion when a stronger curse seemed to bounce him away a little. Just as Yuta Okkotsu was on guard, he heard a lazy voice sounding behind him.

"Okay, Mio Mio, so you were hiding here, and even brought the kids to play with you?"

The white-haired man had a bandage on his eyes and looked nonchalant. He appeared next to Kagura Mio at some point and put his arms around her waist in a familiar manner.

"After running away for so long, Teacher Gojo must be very sad~"

He gently pulled off his bandage, his pale blue eyes staring at Kagura Mio's weak body without blinking.

"Then let Gojo-sensei punish you, Mio Mio~"