Momo landed lightly between them, boots touching the scarred ground with quiet precision. She brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, posture composed as ever.
Miwa stepped closer, her eyes still bright from the fight.
Mai adjusted the strap on her rifle, nodding once. "Whoa. You wiped out half the area clean in one full sweep."
For a second
Momo let herself feel it, allowing the wholesome feeling settle in. The praise, the relief of seeing them unharmed by the curse spirits. The fact that she had made it back just in the nick of time to rescue her comrades.
Warmth bloomed briefly in her chest. She crossed her arms, chin lifting just slightly.
"You two held your ground very well."
Miwa blinked at the rare compliment. Mai raised an eyebrow, surprised.
But the softness faded quickly.
Momo's expression sharpened again.
"Focus," she said. "This isn't over yet."
The clearing was quieter, yes—but not empty. Scattered cursed spirits still crawled among the debris, weakened but persistent.
Enough to become a problem if ignored.
"I have a plan," Momo continued. "We gather, and compress all the cursed spirits in the area into a single point. Then you two finish it all in one clean sweep."
Mai smirked faintly. "Excellent plan as always, Momo."
Miwa nodded without hesitation. "Understood."
They shifted into position.
Miwa took point, steady and grounded.
Mai angled to the rear flank, rifle ready.
Momo rose into the air once more.
The remaining cursed spirits dispersed around the area began to stir, shrieking as they dragged themselves together, sensing the pressure building.
Momo inhaled slowly.
Calm. Measured.
She assumes her position, and activates her cursed technique: [Wind Scythe]
[Description: By swinging her broom as she rides it, Momo can launch a strong gust of cursed energy wind towards her opponents. This long-range attack is absurdly quite powerful]
She suddenly moved around the area, with a terrifying speed, orbiting around the cursed spirits dispersed everywhere
The air around her responded instantly.
A deep rotational current spiraled outward from her position, pulling leaves, dust, and splintered debris into motion. The wind intensified, rising into a howling force that tore across the clearing.
The cursed spirits were caught up in the attack
Dragged sideways—
Then, they lifted off the ground entirely.
Their distorted limbs flailed uselessly as the current sharpened into a controlled vortex.
Not wild. Not chaotic but Precise.
A contained storm created by Momo's activation of her cursed technique
The cursed spirits were forced into their center, crushed inward by mounting pressure, their forms warping as they were compressed into a single writhing mass within the eye of the wind.
Miwa's hands rested firmly on her katana.
Not too strong.
Not too weak.
Just enough to launch an attack soon
"Get ready!" Momo called out.
Below, Miwa lowered her stance, hand resting against the hilt of her sheathed blade. Cursed energy spiraled tightly around it once more.
Beside her, Mai slid her final magazine into place with deliberate calm.
She glanced sideways at Miwa.
"Hey, Miwa are you up for a quick contest of who can get the most kills and exorcise as many cursed spirits"
Miwa's lips curved faintly, in all seriousness "You're on."
"Now!" Momo calls out, alerting both Miwa and Mai below
The vortex collapsed.
The compressed cluster of cursed spirits dropped from the sky in a chaotic rain of twisted bodies
With some of the cursed spirits directly headed and crashing down towards Miwa
Her eyes sharpened.
Miwa activates the base form of her cursed technique: [New Shadow Style — Batto Sword Drawing]
The cursed spirits' bodies fell within reach.
She moved swiftly.
A clean, lightning-quick horizontal arc was made, slicing through the cursed spirits bodies
It dissolved before touching ground.
Then other cursed spirits followed.
Her blade became a streak of silver, cutting precise lines through falling cursed spirits with flawless timing and a beautiful display of swordsmanship.
Gunfire cracked behind her.
Mai fired in controlled bursts, blasting off the incoming cursed spirits crashing down towards her as well.
One shot exorcising three cursed spirits at once.
She pivoted smoothly, tracking and shooting targets mid-descent.
"Nine," Mai muttered under her breath.
"Twelve," Miwa replied evenly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself." Miwa added "Try to keep up."
Steel flashed.
Bullets tore through the air.
Curses dissolved before the earth could claim them.
Within moments
The last one split cleanly in half, fading into mist before it even struck the ground.
Silence followed.
No movement of cursed spirits crashing down or left in the area
No lingering presence.
Just wind brushing lightly over broken ground.
Miwa exhaled. "…All clear."
Mai lowered her rifle. "Thirteen."
Miwa tilted her head. "Fifteen."
Mai narrowed her eyes. "You're counting assists."
"Efficiency matters." Miwa chuckled
"Hun?" Mai said in confusion, with a bit of an angered tone
Momo descended between them. "Enough," she said, though amusement flickered faintly in her voice.
"Let's hurry back to Shinji's location, we're almost halfway done with the mission". Momo said
*****
Inside the building where Shinji hid
Shinji stood facing the malformed cursed spirit in view
Its painted face twitched as it shuffled forward, elongated limbs scraping across broken furniture.
He swallowed, but he didn't step back.
"Hey!?" he yells out, his tone mixed with a bit of trepidation
The cursed spirits head snapped sideways with a sickening pop.
It giggled.
High. Hollow.
Shinji took one careful step forward.
"Do you perhaps know a human-like cursed spirit?" Shinji asked boldly of the cursed spirit
But the cursed spirit was devoid of logical reasoning or understanding of human words
"…Perhaps, do you know anything about it? Can you please show me to the direction where this human-like, cursed spirit is?" He asked softly.
For the briefest second—
The cursed spirits stretched grin faltered.
Then it shrieked.
Its body convulsed violently.
Reason meant nothing to it.
It wasn't built for understanding. It was instinct.
Suddenly, It lunged in towards Shinji without warning.
The cursed spirit descended on him, with claws wide ready to strike at any given moment.