Chapter 22: Tonight is the Time of the Hunt
Hikigaya Hachiman took out a massive backpack from the trunk of the black Range Rover.
An outsider, seeing him carrying this cello-like backpack with one hand, paired with his school uniform, would only think Hikigaya Hachiman was a cellist returning from a concert performance.
Unfortunately, he was not. Inside was his most intimate combat partner.
With his other hand, Hikigaya Hachiman took out his phone and dialed a number.
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Togawa Sakiko, who was hunched over writing scores, suddenly felt something vibrating inside her backpack. Realizing what it was, she quickly pulled it out. Sure enough, her work-dedicated phone was lit up.
Togawa Sakiko swiftly put on a portable set of over-ear headphones and pressed the answer button.
The girl's demeanor immediately shifted, transforming directly from a regular high school girl into a professional customer service representative.
"Dear Mr. 001, this is Customer Service Sakiko from the Sorcerer Association at your service.
How may I help you?"
Togawa Sakiko was originally the young lady of the prestigious Toyokawa family, but after her father was expelled from the family, her family fell into decline. Fortunately, Togawa Sakiko used her former Toyokawa connections to secure an outside customer service job at the Sorcerer Association.
Although it was unofficial and the pay wasn't much, Togawa Sakiko, struggling in her current predicament, could only cherish every hard-earned paycheck.
However, Togawa Sakiko was an ordinary person. She knew about Cursed Spirits while in the Toyokawa family, but she couldn't see them.
Togawa Sakiko was quite serious about her job because she understood that every Sorcerer she spoke to was doing work to save the world. Sorcerer No. 001 represented the most important Sorcerer the Association had assigned to Sayoko.
"Hello, is this the Sorcerer Association?"
Hikigaya Hachiman was registered with the Sorcerer Association, so he had his own operator, Customer Service Sayoko.
"A Cursed Spirit attack has occurred at XX Villa complex on such-and-such road in Minato Ward.
The grade is at least Grade 1 or higher."
Hikigaya Hachiman was making the call because he needed the Sorcerer Association to evacuate the surrounding civilians.
If it were a low-grade Cursed Spirit, it would have already spontaneously died upon getting close to Hikigaya Hachiman. Such trash didn't even require absorption. The Cursed Spirit entrenched in Ishigami Yu 's home seemed to be quite high-grade and had a considerable number of subordinates.
Upon hearing about an attack by a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, Togawa Sakiko's expression immediately became particularly serious. "I will notify the Association immediately."
The customer service equipment for the transfer operator was highly confidential; they didn't know each other's identities, but Togawa Sakiko vaguely felt she had heard that voice somewhere before.
When Customer Service Sayoko transferred the instructions from No. 001 to the Sorcerer Association, she felt that the address sounded somewhat familiar.
Thinking carefully: "Isn't that Mutsumi's neighborhood?" Mutsumi Wakaba was Togawa Sakiko's childhood friend.
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As Hikigaya Hachiman perceived, the villa belonging to Ishigami Yu's family was practically a haunted house. The rooms were practically covered in dense, hideous Cursed Spirits of various shapes, all attracted and settling here.
And at this moment, inside Ishigami Yu's room, the door was heavily wrapped and entangled with thick spider silk. The interior of the villa was completely covered by thick green spider webs invisible to ordinary people. In the faint moonlight, subtle human figures could be seen through the cocoons.
The culprit was a spider-like Cursed Spirit, with a dark green body nearly a dozen meters long. Each hand in its spider form closely resembled a human hand, allowing only its head to barely squeeze into Ishigami Yu's room.
Ishigami Yu was entirely immersed in a green glowing cocoon, and the massive maw of the spider was directly connected to his brain, looking as if it were sucking something out.
The Cursed Spirit even showed a humanized expression of enjoyment; all the negative emotions generated by Ishigami Yu were being absorbed by this spider.
Its Cursed Technique was to make others dream. The victim would continuously experience memories that would break him down or ones he least wanted to recall, lingering until his spirit completely collapsed. Whenever the spider felt dissatisfied with its meal, it would release a toxin to force Ishigami Yu to endlessly recall unpleasant things and continuously produce negative energy.
"Why does everyone only believe that guy and refuse to believe me?"
"Did you hear? Ishigami Yu stalked the girl he liked and even hit the girl's boyfriend, and he wasn't even willing to write an apology letter. He's really terrible."
"Why hasn't the school expelled that guy yet?"
Ishigami Yu was once again curled up like an autistic child under this strange light, sinking into his pitiable past.
When his negative energy became tiresome to the Cursed Spirit or when he was completely eaten by the spider, his family members would also be directly eaten by the other Cursed Spirits. This massive spider loved to feed on negative emotions of this flavor, so it specifically kept Ishigami Yu here to cultivate him.
But eating is supposed to be a happy occasion. The Cursed Spirit felt inexplicably anxious and looked unusually violent. Its enormous body climbed up and down the ceiling upside down, and its dozen eyes vigilantly scanned the surroundings, appearing strangely irritable.
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Hikigaya Hachiman skillfully deployed a Curtain, covering the entire surrounding area.
He crouched down and opened the cello backpack, but inside was not a cello.
It was a gothic heavy metal style, single-edged, giant blade resembling a chainsaw, looking particularly thick overall. The Chainsword, with its sharp barbs flashing a cold light, always made people feel uneasy just by looking at it. The broad blade was covered with prayers to the Emperor and phrases of ruthless conquest against xenos.
The Chainsword, a greatsword that every Space Marine under Hikigaya Hachiman's command once wielded. He had recreated it using the hardest materials on Earth. But it was not a purely mechanical product; it was more like a special Cursed Tool.
Hikigaya Hachiman even cautiously performed a ritual using an incense burner to activate the Machine Spirit.
When Hikigaya Hachiman held the sword in his hand, his entire demeanor changed. Only with the Chainsword in hand did he feel truly alive, feeling the powerful pulse of his heart.
He was the battle-hardened veteran of the Hundred-Battle Legion who fought alongside the Emperor across the galaxy on the Great Crusade, enjoying supreme glory.
In a trance, Hikigaya Hachiman, holding the Chainsword, even saw the three captains of the Sons of Horus, who had become unrecognizable and monstrous after mastering the powers of the Chaos Gods.
Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes turned into blood-red bestial pupils. He violently destroyed the villa's entrance hall with his spiritual energy.
"Face the son of Sanguinius!"
Hikigaya Hachiman looked at the ugly Cursed Spirits and roared in fury.
"Xenos!"
Tonight, Hikigaya Hachiman would join the hunt.
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