At a construction site on the outskirts of the city, a slender young woman stood holding a sword.
Her long black hair, styled in a graceful hime cut, was tied into a ponytail for convenience during combat.
She wore a black sailor uniform and held a pitch-black treasured sword.
Even while standing still, she exuded an aura that clearly marked her as someone of noble lineage.
Her name was Isayama Yomi, a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer from the prestigious Isayama Family, and the adopted daughter of the current Head of the Family.
"Five Grade 3 Cursed Spirits, one Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. Strange. Why would Cursed Spirits start moving in groups?"
Cursed Spirits that wander are rare. When they do move in groups, it is usually within the territory of a powerful Advanced Cursed Spirit.
For so many to appear together in the open like this was highly unusual.
Typically, Cursed Spirits only moved collectively if they were being manipulated or guided by someone.
Yomi was still pondering the reason for their appearance when the Cursed Spirits decided they had waited long enough.
A wolf-shaped Cursed Spirit, over four meters long, lunged at her.
"Ranguren."
A massive shikigami, resembling a cross between a lion and a tiger, appeared in front of her.
This was shishiou, a cursed tool passed down for generations within the Isayama Family.
It had been crafted a thousand years ago by the then Heads of the Tsuchimiya and Isayama Families, using a cursed object formed from the remains of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Nue after its defeat.
By infusing it with Cursed Energy, it could summon the Grade 1 shikigami Ran Guren for battle.
Ran Guren's head resembled a lion's, complete with a majestic mane, but its muscular body was like a tiger's, covered in tiger-like stripes. Its tail was composed of several snake tails.
"Roaring Wave."
A massive amount of Cursed Energy gathered in Ran Guren's mouth, then fired out as a yellow Cursed Energy cannon, blazing like fire.
The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit sensed danger and tried to flee, but the attack was faster.
The Roaring Wave tore a massive hole through the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit's body.
The energy blast continued past it and struck the ground, causing a powerful explosion.
The resulting shockwave blasted several Grade 3 Cursed Spirits away.
shishiou instantly lunged forward, biting down on the mangled body of the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, utterly crushing it.
Yomi bypassed it and charged toward the scattered Grade 3 Cursed Spirits.
"Haa!"
With a sharp cry.
She leaped high into the air, rapidly closing the distance between herself and three airborne Cursed Spirits.
With both hands gripping her blade, she slashed horizontally. shishiou instantly cleaved through one of them.
Yomi spun in mid-air, and with two more swift slashes, she cut down the other two behind it.
"Ranguren."
Just as her voice fell, the massive Ranguren ran to her side.
Opening its mouth wide, it swallowed one of the attacking Cursed Spirits in a single bite. Its right paw then crushed the final one.
With just a few strikes, all six Cursed Spirits were completely exorcised.
Yomi sheathed her sword with composed elegance as Ran Guren's form dissipated.
Beep beep.
A horn sounded from the distance as an SUV sped toward her, quickly stopping in front of her.
Click.
As soon as Yomi sat down in the passenger seat, a small figure dove into her arms.
"Kagura."
Yomi affectionately patted the girl's head.
This young girl was Tsuchimiya Kagura, heir to the Tsuchimiya Family.
Unlike Yomi, who was an adopted daughter granted the use of the Family's greatest treasure, Kagura was the legitimate daughter and rightful successor of the Tsuchimiya Family.
However, three years ago, a catastrophe caused by Curse Users had devastated the Tsuchimiya Family.
Now, only Kagura and her father, the current Head, remained.
Their once-glorious Family now stood on the verge of collapse.
"Hold on tight. The road's rough around here."
The one speaking was Izuna Noriyuki, Yomi's fiancé.
He was the legitimate son of the Izuna Family.
After the Tsuchimiya Family suffered devastating losses, the Isayama Family rose to become the strongest in the region.
The Izuna Family, known for their auxiliary support like intelligence work, quickly formed an engagement with the Isayama Family.
By marrying their heir to the Isayama Family's adopted daughter, they pledged allegiance and aimed to rise even further.
The fates of these three Families reflected the current landscape of the northern Jujutsu world in Japan.
The once-mighty Tsuchimiya Family had lost much in the Curse User disaster.
The Isayama Family, close allies, took the lead.
The Izuna Family formed a political alliance through marriage and improved their status.
Together, the three Families now made up the Big Three Families of the northern Jujutsu world in Japan.
"I feel like the number of Cursed Spirits has gone up lately. Wasn't the outbreak period supposed to be over?"
As Kagura spoke, she and Yomi took out two Pocky sticks from a box.
Pocky was a thin biscuit stick coated with chocolate, a popular snack in Japan since the 1960s. It quickly gained favor among young people.
"Hmm. Both in number and strength, the Cursed Spirits have definitely increased."
Yomi also found it strange.
"The last time Cursed Spirits acted like this was three years ago."
Noriyuki, who was driving, added.
"Three years ago..."
Kagura fell silent. Back then, the Tsuchimiya Family had been at the forefront of the battle and suffered the heaviest casualties.
She also lost her mother in that incident.
Her father, determined to chase down the Curse Users behind it all, entrusted the young Kagura to the Isayama Family.
That was also a silent acknowledgment of the Isayama Family succeeding the Tsuchimiya Family as the new leader of the north.
Yomi glanced at the downcast Kagura with concern.
She noticed the box of snacks in Kagura's hands, and a playful idea suddenly came to mind.
"The last Pocky stick is mine."
Yomi exaggerated her motion and snatched the last stick from Kagura.
"Ah? You're so mean."
Kagura pouted in protest.
"First come, first served."
Yomi smiled and waved the Pocky stick in front of her.
"Awoo!"
To Yomi's surprise, Kagura bit one end of the Pocky stick.
Taking advantage of her brief distraction, Kagura used her mouth to steal the Pocky back.
"Quickest mouth wins."
The sadness on her face vanished, replaced by a triumphant grin.
But her victory was short-lived.
Yomi immediately bit the other end of the Pocky.
"Huh?"
Kagura looked at her in shock.
Then, she met Yomi's gaze with an equally determined expression.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)