"Furube, Yurayura, Yatsuka no Tsurugi, Ikaishinshō Makora!"
As Eichi's voice faded, a tall figure emerged from the shadows stretched by the streetlights.
The figure had a floating halo above its head, no eyes, four small wings on either side, and a tail like an insect's abdomen at the back of its head.
Its physique was very tall and robust. Comparing himself to it, Eichi realized Mahoraga might be four or five meters tall.
On its right arm was a simple arm blade, yet the aura it exuded gave an indescribable sense of holiness.
It was the Sword of Exorcism, specifically designed for Cursed Spirits.
Eichi leaped back several steps and hid behind Mahoraga. At that moment, after Yota Zen'in's death, the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit's gaze fixed on Mahoraga.
From his observations just now, Eichi realized the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit selected its attack targets based on their distance from the center of the overpass to the sides. Therefore, standing behind Mahoraga, he was no longer the target. Mahoraga, closer to the center, was.
A somewhat crazed smile appeared on Eichi's lips.
He noticed the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit was trembling.
"Hahaha, so Cursed Spirits can be afraid too. Get rid of her, Mahoraga."
The second Command Seal on the back of his hand vanished.
Under the effect of the Command Seal, Mahoraga first locked its target onto the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit prostrate on the ground.
Mahoraga pushed off with its feet, shattering the ground. Its massive body shot toward the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit like a cannonball.
The next moment, ropes appeared out of thin air, snaring Mahoraga's neck and hanging it from the overpass.
"Woo—"
A familiar sound rang out as the train sped toward Mahoraga, which was hanging from the overpass.
Boom. Sizzle.
The train crashed into Mahoraga's colossal body, and the Domain turned into a car accident scene.
Mahoraga's powerful defense meant that while the train injured it, it did not completely break its body like it had broken Yota Zen'in's.
Instead, the train twisted and deformed from the impact, eventually derailing.
The halo on Mahoraga's head rotated, and its injuries rapidly healed.
At the same time, two pieces of information appeared in Eichi's mind.
One was that Mahoraga had adapted to and broken free from the ropes around its neck, and the other was its prioritizing adaptation to and breaking free from the train's impact when it was hit.
While Eichi was happy, a hint of worry appeared in his heart.
He was happy because he knew this was stable now. The Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit was no match for Mahoraga.
The worry was that Mahoraga had also listed the Command Seals as something it needed to adapt to, but because it was currently in battle, the priority was not high.
The Command Seal's command effect was judged by Mahoraga as an attack from Eichi, its tamer, on Mahoraga.
Damn it, if I had gotten the System earlier, I could have used three Command Seals to order Mahoraga to commit suicide.
If he directly ordered Mahoraga to commit suicide now, during the short period of time it took to re-summon it after disappearing, the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit would target him.
He could not withstand the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit's attacks.
Similar to Yuta Okkotsu, the external Technique Eichi obtained was a summoning and shikigami-controlling Technique activated through the Holy Grail placed within his body.
However, the original Heroic Spirit summoning, after being assimilated by this world, transformed into summoning imaginary Heroic Spirits.
Imaginary Cursed Spirits required a sufficient degree of recognition to be generated, which meant Eichi needed to ensure that the Heroic Spirits he wished to summon had enough recognition before he could summon them as imaginary Cursed Spirits.
This greatly frustrated him, since he had originally intended to directly summon Heroic Spirits to protect and care for himself.
After localization, the Holy Grail's operation was tied to the Cursed Energy system, and the Cursed Energy system was only active in Japan. Coupled with the fact that the legends of Heroic Spirits in the Type-Moon world differed from this world, Eichi had to find a way to collect imaginary concepts related to the Heroic Spirits from the Type-Moon world.
Fortunately, after the System's modification, the Command Seals could affect not only Heroic Spirits but also the shikigami he summoned through the Ten Shadows Technique.
After all, Command Seals originally evolved from magic used to control familiars, and the shikigami summoned by the Ten Shadows Technique were also familiars.
Bang.
With its body restored, Mahoraga grabbed the edge of the overpass, used it to propel itself in a large jump, and landed heavily in front of the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit. Amid her terrifying screams, ropes once again flung it from the overpass.
"Woo—"
The train approached again, but this time, it failed to cause any damage to Mahoraga.
The halo on its head rotated once, and Mahoraga jumped back in front of the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit.
Eichi knew that this time, Mahoraga had adapted to the rope's restraint.
Sure enough, when the ropes reappeared, they failed to constrict Mahoraga, only pulling off one of its wings.
This was not because Mahoraga lacked a better way to harmlessly break the rope attack, but because this was more efficient, deflecting the opponent's attack at minimal cost.
A more sophisticated method would require more time.
Moreover, it was just a head wing. It recovered to its original state in less than a second.
Mahoraga walked up to the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit and raised the Sword of Exorcism in its right hand high.
"Ah ah ah!"
The Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit let out a piercing scream. Cursed Energy, like blood, gushed from the severed part of her right arm, forming a giant blood scythe.
"Ah ah ah!"
She plunged the blood scythe into Mahoraga's waist, intending to cut it in half. But before the scythe struck, the Sword of Exorcism in Mahoraga's right hand had already slashed into her body.
The Sword of Exorcism carried positive energy, similar to Reverse Cursed Technique. Even a Special Grade Four Calamities would die instantly if directly hit.
With a tragic shriek, the body of the Special Grade imaginary Cursed Spirit, the Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit, began to turn to ash.
Clatter. To Eichi's surprise, a dark red, shriveled finger fell to the ground.
"Why is Sukuna's finger here?"
Eichi picked up the finger from the ground, puzzled.
So that is it. That is why this Cursed Spirit, despite being very strong, felt a bit unintelligent.
He had been puzzled before, because this Cursed Spirit was too mindless. Although highly intelligent Cursed Spirits were rare, those that could open a Domain usually had some intelligence, especially since this Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit had not had her intelligence erased by Suguru using Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
In the story, even a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit knew to threaten Nobara with a child, and a few advanced Cursed Spirits, apart from the Four Calamities, could manage simple communication.
The Half-bodied Vengeful Spirit was Special Grade, yet she had been charging blindly all along.
Upon seeing Sukuna's finger, Eichi understood. This was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit catalyzed after consuming Sukuna's finger.
"Hey, tell me your name before you die."
As he pondered, Satoru, who had been standing at the edge of the overpass, walked up behind him.
"Eichi. Also, who said I was going to die?"
Eichi initially thought Satoru was going to eliminate him, his competitor, right here, but then decided Satoru was not that kind of person.
"That thing is still there, you know."
Satoru pointed to Mahoraga, which was watching from the side, then pointed to the two bodyguards behind him.
"I asked them just now, no one here can handle that thing. Or are you saying you can get rid of it?"
Satoru's face was full of curiosity.
As a Six Eyes user who grew up surrounded by countless people, Satoru had always been learning and training his Six Eyes. Naturally, he knew about this Technique that had once killed a Six Eyes user.
The strongest shikigami in the Ten Shadows Technique, Mahoraga, which had never been tamed and was treated by the Zen'in Family as a last resort for mutual destruction.
Eichi's mouth twitched.
"No need to worry."
A Command Seal flashed on his right hand, hidden behind his back, and Mahoraga began to disappear.
Feeling that Mahoraga's adaptation progress to the Command Seals had increased significantly, Eichi also felt a bit helpless.
"Oh."
Satoru's eyes widened, and the two bodyguards behind him looked astonished.
"You have already tamed Mahoraga?"
"Not completely tamed yet."
"How did you do it?"
...It is a secret.
Was Satoru already so lacking in boundaries at such a young age? No, it seemed like he never understood what boundaries were.
Gurgle.
A sound came from Eichi's stomach.
Having not eaten dinner, and after running and fighting, Eichi felt like he could eat three large steamed buns right now.
Oh, it is rice balls here.
"Let's go eat something together."
"Alright, but not in Kyoto."
"Why not?"
"Too many Zen'in Family dogs there."
"No problem, come with me."
Just as the group left, an old man with stitches on his head appeared at the center of the overpass.
"Interesting. Although it was just a hopeless attempt, I unexpectedly saw something interesting."
The old man cleared the residual Cursed Energy from the scene, then turned to leave.
(To be continued.)
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