Utata and Medea left the living room. Medea would conduct a thorough examination and in depth treatment for Utata.
Eichi, on the other hand, went to the room where Shishiou was being kept.
There, he saw the same shirtless old man from the morning.
I remember his name was Michael Kohara. Is he a foreigner?
Michael was currently using an oil Eichi did not recognize to maintain Shishiou.
Eichi's attention was quickly drawn to several strange items scattered across the floor and tables nearby.
"Is this an electric iron?"
Eichi picked up the electric iron from the table in confusion, unable to understand why such an object would appear in a research space.
The bottom of the iron was even stamped with the word Exorcism.
"Are you interested in this, young man?"
Michael, having just finished maintaining Shishiou, stood up and walked over.
"With the way you're staring, you might get mistaken for a pervert."
It was fine since Eichi was male, but if it were a girl, a muscular old man suddenly leaning in like this would probably earn a lethal kick.
"This is my newest creation. Its name is Exorcism Iron Fist Dabie Number Twenty Eight."
Number twenty eight, meaning there were twenty seven versions before this.
"Can this really exorcise Cursed Spirits?"
"That's right, young man."
As he spoke, Michael picked up the electric iron and pulled.
"Like this. You pull out the chain disguised as a power cord, then throw it."
Following his movement, the chain with the plug shot out and firmly wrapped around a cardboard box.
Michael pulled hard, dragging the box back toward him.
"Then you infuse Cursed Energy into the Exorcism Iron Fist."
A light blue wave of Cursed Energy visibly spread over the iron.
About Grade 3.
Eichi immediately judged Michael's Cursed Energy level.
Next, Michael pressed the iron firmly against the cardboard box.
"Like this, Cursed Spirits can be exorcised."
Eichi stared silently at the electric iron, or rather, the Exorcism Iron Fist.
From the demonstration, it actually seemed capable of exorcising Cursed Spirits.
The problem was, who was supposed to use it? Were they planning to recruit housewives skilled with irons?
"Michael, do you have any more ordinary cursed tools?"
Eichi asked tactfully.
"Ordinary?"
Michael looked confused.
Was an electric iron not ordinary enough?
"I mean something more like a normal weapon."
"Oh, I see. Come, young man, try this."
Michael brought out two spiral drills, each about one meter long.
Eichi had only ever seen drills this size on underground drilling machines in movies.
"Put your hand here, then press this."
Faced with Michael's enthusiasm, Eichi decided to try it.
The moment he put his hand in, he felt the terrifying weight of the drill.
It must weigh over fifty jin. A non sorcerer could never use this.
Eichi pressed the switch, and the drill began spinning at high speed.
"Now infuse Cursed Energy."
Eichi followed the instruction. Driven by the rotation, the Cursed Energy formed a violent whirlwind.
He carefully observed the drill.
Its tip was extremely sharp. If it struck a Cursed Spirit, it would pierce through most defenses.
If that whirlwind of Cursed Energy raged inside a Cursed Spirit's body, it would be devastating.
Eichi suddenly felt that Michael's creations were actually very practical.
"Do you have anything else?"
"How about Exorcism Iron Fist Dabie Number Twenty Seven?"
"A dumbbell?"
So not all of them were electric irons after all.
"Have you considered adding something like brass knuckles to the front? Just smashing with barbell plates doesn't really count as an iron fist."
"Hm. It would ruin the overall aesthetic, but it is a good suggestion, young man."
Aesthetic? The aesthetic of electric irons and dumbbells?
"…Is your aesthetic household appliances?"
Eichi continued touring the room.
He gained a rough understanding of the cursed tools created by this old man named Michael.
This was a very trendy old man. Sometimes Eichi genuinely felt the world was strange. Young people practiced traditional Jujutsu, while the elderly were each more outrageous than the last.
Yes, I am talking about you, electric guitar old man Gakuganji.
Michael was extremely imaginative, completely unconstrained by era or ideology.
For example, he had prepared an air pressure exorcism sword for Kagura.
The sword had a trigger, and bullets could be loaded from the bottom of the blade.
When the trigger was pulled, the blade would shoot forward using compressed air, allowing the strike to release three times its normal power.
After chatting for a while, Eichi realized that although Michael's behavior was eccentric and his personality unreliable, he was genuinely talented.
This kind of talent belonged in my research institute.
Knock. Knock.
A sudden knock interrupted Eichi's thoughts.
"Come in."
Click.
"Michael, is the maintenance on Shishiou finished? I just received an urgent report. Two Grade 1 Cursed Spirits are heading toward the city. I need to intercept them immediately."
Yomi entered the room.
"Ria and I will go."
"Eh? But you're guests."
"It's fine. We're Special Grade. Grade 1 Cursed Spirits are nothing."
With that, Eichi called Artoria and headed to the mission site.
After arriving by car, Artoria cleanly exorcised the Cursed Spirits with a few swift slashes.
Eichi's side was no different.
"What kind of fish is this? Why does it have legs?"
Eichi found it odd. The ocean had not even discharged wastewater yet.
Before him was a fish covered in spikes, with several legs, constantly spewing gas.
Facing the strange creature's attack, Eichi dodged effortlessly.
Ding.
Mahoraga's Ten Shadows Treasure Wheel rotated, and the inventory increased by one.
"So it's poison."
The Treasure Wheel within the shadows turned again.
Eichi's shadow spread forward, covering the Cursed Spirit's feet.
Then Kuro leapt out, bit the Cursed Spirit, and dragged it into the shadow.
Inside, the other Shikigami were already waiting.
At that moment, atop a tall building not far away, a white haired young man watched Eichi with a grave expression.
"So this is a Special Grade. A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit couldn't even fight back."
"Should we wait? Wait until he leaves."
The young man's name was Sanzu Kawa. He was the one hiding behind the scenes, constantly guiding Cursed Spirits toward the city.
He was also responsible for the Cursed Spirit surge three years ago and for ambushing and killing Kagura's mother.
Unfortunately, Utata arrived too quickly back then, leaving him no chance to seize the Tsuchimiya Family's sesshoseki.
There's no need to wait. Once we gather all the sesshoseki, no one will stand against us.
A seductive female voice whispered into Sanzu Kawa's ear.
"Yes. There's no need to wait. I can't wait to see you all either."
Images of his parents, who died in that incident, flashed through Sanzu Kawa's mind.
(To be continued.)