Chapter 82: Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Imaginary Spirit — Hagoromo Gitsune
"Fuxian Garden has arrived."
When Yukino Yukinoshita finally reached the location indicated on the envelope after a heart-pounding journey on the ghost bus, she glanced at the countdown. If she did not place the bone ash jar in Grave No. 3 of [Fuxian Garden] and light the candle and envelope within twenty minutes, her sister would be involved in a car accident.
For safety, Yukinoshita held the eerie jar high as she cautiously stepped off the bus. She pointed the jar at the surrounding Cursed Spirits; they didn't even dare to approach, only staring at her with venomous eyes as she slowly disembarked. Because these spirits were bound to the ghost bus, they could only attack those who boarded.
As she watched the bus drive away, standing alone in the wilderness, Yukinoshita let out a heavy sigh of relief. Although she still had to enter [Fuxian Garden] to complete the mission, being in a room with thirty-five dead people was a first for her.
"Whatever the case, I survived."
Yukinoshita scanned her surroundings. The place where she got off was completely in the middle of nowhere; she had no idea where she was, only that the area was named after a cemetery. She was currently at the foot of a mountain, facing a range enclosed by intact iron fences.
Inside the mountains of [Fuxian Garden], it was pitch black. Only the faint stars in the sky provided illumination, making it look quite terrifying. There were no roadside signs, only "Keep Out" warning symbols. Fortunately, Yukinoshita's phone had plenty of battery, allowing her to use the flashlight to light the path ahead.
Walking through the mountains near midnight with only a tiny light, she couldn't help but feel a sliver of fear. But time waited for no one; if this continued, her sister would die.
Yukinoshita forcefully tore through the talismans on the fence. Fortunately, they were old and the gate beneath was rusted, allowing her to quickly create an opening large enough to pass through.
What Yukinoshita didn't know was that the "ghostly scrawls" she had just casually destroyed were actually high-level sealing runes placed by the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association three hundred years ago. This alone showed that the entity buried in this great tomb was exceptionally fierce. Hundreds of years ago, the Association had strictly forbidden any sorcerer or ordinary person from entering this forbidden land.
After centuries of change, things were different now. Records of [Fuxian Garden] certainly still existed in the archives of the Jujutsu Headquarters, but few likely remembered them. Only the ghost bus Yukinoshita took could reach this place, as normal paths were completely impassable due to the layers of massive barriers sealing the interior.
Because Yukinoshita had never been to this area, she assumed [Fuxian Garden] was just a cemetery, but it was far more ancient than she imagined. The inscriptions on the tombstones were so weathered they were invisible. Furthermore, the terrain inside the cemetery was much more complex than expected. There were no markers or signs, which increased the difficulty.
The entire place resembled a mass grave; some tombs were even shattered. What horrified Yukinoshita more was that behind many tombstones, there were large holes dug out, containing coffin fragments but no bodies. The marks suggested the holes were dug from the inside out. Fortunately, judging by the dampness of the soil, this had happened a long time ago.
Having seen a death bus full of dead people still running on the road, the idea of dead people crawling out of graves by the roadside wasn't that hard for Yukinoshita to accept.
Frequent landslides made the path treacherous and difficult to walk. Collapses from years ago had buried staircases and numerous tombstones. Strange stone statues with pained expressions lined the road; they would be creepy during the day, let alone at night with Yukinoshita walking alone. When her flashlight hit those statues, it felt as if they were about to come to life.
This was psychological torture for Yukinoshita. The sensation of being watched from the darkness intensified her fear. She could only clutch the eerie jar tighter. She had already verified on the bus that no matter how terrifying the monster, it couldn't harm her while she held the urn.
To that end, she became even more cautious. Although she practiced Aikido and had some basic combat ability, she wasn't very confident in her physical stamina. This cemetery seemed quite large; it would be safest to reach the target area within ten minutes.
She took a shortcut toward the mountainside to place the items in the designated area and perform the ritual. Following the guidance on the blood-red envelope, the grave she needed to reach was located in the valley with the best positioning—the area closest to the center. Surrounded by mountains, the path was particularly difficult, but the slip of paper kept her from going astray. After running for nearly fifteen minutes, she finally saw her destination. Ignoring her disheveled state, she performed a quick slide to land.
The third grave was styled like a shrine. Despite the ruins, one could glimpse the prosperity of its past. It was designed in a formal shrine style, with massive redwood Torii gates standing one after another. Along the way, Yukinoshita saw many shattered, hideous fox statues and various broken divine idols covered in terrifying cracks.
In this state, the shrine hadn't seen visitors for at least centuries; weeds grew from the cracks. Many of the shrine buildings had been crushed by falling rocks from the mountain, and the stone floor tiles beneath her feet had turned into a lush meadow.
"Such a massive Sacred Tree... and it's dead."
The enormous Sacred Tree in the courtyard, about fifty meters high, had long since withered. Its branches were bare and scorched. Yukinoshita's flashlight could reach the top of the tree; it looked like a distorted demon vanishing into the darkness.
However, having experienced so much tonight, she had adapted to most horrors. But when Yukinoshita saw the shattered idol of an unknown god in the half-ruined main hall, fear finally welled up in her heart.
Heavy chains bound the statue tightly, as if fearing it would cause trouble even after death. Many coffin nails were driven into the ground. The lacquer on the statue had peeled off, revealing the base layer beneath, looking like shed skin. The body and neck of the statue had clearly been violently smashed; the fragments were unrecognizable, and the plaque above the hall had been destroyed.
The eight pillars were wrapped in chains and covered in talismans, as if the god originally enshrined here was some great evil that must never be touched.
Standing within the grand yet broken hall, Yukinoshita felt the skin-crawling sensation of being watched finally vanish. It was as if the center of this shrine was a forbidden zone that even those eerie monsters could not approach.
What puzzled Yukinoshita was the abundance of solidified lava-like rock filling the hall. When she shone her light on them, she saw many crimson crystals within the "lava" that reflected the light with a bewitching glow.
The moment she entered the main hall, the unknown entity sealed in the jar went into a total frenzy. She could clearly hear the thing inside banging against the clay, making crisp "thump-thump" sounds. Although subtle, cracks appeared on the surface of the jar. It was about to break free; she had to begin the ritual immediately.
Yukinoshita lacked a lighter, but she found that the fire in the incense burner had not gone out. The crimson, seductive flames were one of the few lights in the darkness. They had not extinguished for centuries and emitted high heat; when Yukinoshita threw a handful of grass in, it ignited instantly.
With only three minutes until midnight, she had no time to wonder why. she placed the jar in the center of the hall and took out the candle and the blood-soaked letter. According to the task, she had to light the candle first, then use its flame to burn the letter.
Yukinoshita carefully took out the blood-dripping candle; the delicate texture in her hand felt like touching human skin. She held the tip of the candle to the burner. When the crimson fire ignited the wick, the flame was nothing like the yellow one she expected. Instead, it was a bluish-white, ghostly spirit fire.
As soon as it was lit, the crackling of the candle sounded like a shrill, agonizing scream. Within the spirit fire, she could see a clear human figure with blurred features, appearing to be
tortured by the flames. As the candle burned, a corner of the ash jar in the distance shattered. Yukinoshita could clearly see a venomous eye staring at her from the surface of the jar.
Gritting her teeth, she used the blue spirit fire to light the blood-red letter. When the fire touched the paper, it burned one corner before rapidly consuming the entire envelope. It flared up so violently she had to let go immediately to avoid being burned.
The envelope didn't fall to the ground; it burned completely in mid-air, turning into thick red smoke. The smoke coalesced into the form of a fox with nine tails. Even as a mere phantom, its ferocious aura felt capable of overturning mountains and seas.
When the red smoke covered the shattered idol, the silent fragments absorbed the mist and began to vibrate. Soon, a bizarre change occurred. The shattered torso of the statue, flickering in the crimson smoke, briefly turned into steaming, bloody chunks of meat.
It wasn't a hallucination!
In the blink of an eye, the shattered head of the idol before her transformed from a stone sculpture into a pulsing, bloody mass of flesh. A thick scent of blood hit her; the transition from stone to living meat was physiologically revolting. Seeing the brain writhing inside the split skull and the disgusting veins, Yukinoshita wanted to retch.
Yukinoshita happened to be standing right at the eye level of the unknown monster. The monster's eyes were blood-red animal slits, filled with countless blood vessels and bottomless resentment.
At that moment, the thing in the jar finally shattered its shackles. With a "crack," the jar broke apart. Yukinoshita saw a segment of a slender, unknown biological tentacle; its black, thorny surface was covered in countless eyes. Although it was just a small piece, its vitality was staggering. Even in its mangled state, the giant monster secreted a massive amount of saliva from its split mouth, clearly craving the piece.
With a "swish" of air, a tattered, bloody tongue swept out, devouring the tentacle in an instant. After eating it, a seductive, fire-like Cursed Energy soared into the night sky, illuminating the darkness. The shrine began to collapse under the weight of this massive power. Unfortunately, within the Great Barrier, all Cursed Energy fluctuations were concealed.
The skinless giant beast, its powerful muscles exposed to the air, was easily over a hundred meters long. Yukinoshita was right in front of its mouth. This fierce, oversized fox beast bared its teeth; each tooth was as tall as she was. As time passed, its body became more complete, and its pressure became more terrifying.
"Did I release such a monster just for my sister's life?" Yukinoshita thought. She couldn't imagine the destruction this beast would cause if it appeared in the world. That post office was truly not a good thing.
But just as the beast tried to stand, the measures placed by powerful sorcerers a thousand years ago took effect. The moment the seal broke, hundreds of thick chains emerged from the void, binding the terrifying beast so tightly it couldn't move.
Despite the beast's tremors and massive struggling, the entire mountain shook. Yukinoshita felt her own insignificance more acutely than ever. Massive golden runes appeared in the dark sky, shimmering with holy light. Golden chains with bladed tips pierced into the body of the rampaging beast. The chains bound the bloody torso tightly, and the scalding blood leaking out was eventually suppressed.
The lowest level of the seal binding this beast came from the peak of the Jujutsu era a thousand years ago; the techniques used by modern sorcerers couldn't even compare. Even though the beast let out a heaven-shaking roar, it was useless; it remained bound and immobile.
Seeing this celestial phenomenon, Yukinoshita's face finally looked a bit better.
'As long as it can be suppressed.'
The monster, unable to break free, finally fixed its gaze on her. Yukinoshita felt a sense of dread and tried to flee the area, but suddenly found she couldn't move, as if a paralysis spell had been cast on her.
Before her eyes, the mouth of the hideous giant fox opened, and from within, a white-haired beauty in a grand red kimono with a slender waist and seductive makeup slowly coalesced.
Her ornate headgear and clothing were like those of a classical royal princess, extremely luxurious. Beneath the red kimono, her long, delicate white legs were crossed. Most surprisingly, the beauty had nine fluffy, slender tails behind her. She sat upon these fluffy tails, looking exceptionally elegant and indescribably charming.
Legend has it that for every tail a fox has, it needs a hundred years of cultivation; this woman with nine tails must have lived for nearly a thousand years.
"This damn seal... it's going to press down on me for another three hundred years."
A look of humiliation and rage appeared on the seductive woman's face, but it turned into a smile of relief when she saw Yukinoshita nearby.
"But it doesn't matter. There is a ready-made vessel here. I will directly perform Incarnation to revive."
Clearly, she intended to use Yukinoshita as the material for her resurrection. Yukinoshita found she couldn't move; she could only watch as the woman—the avatar of the mountain-sized beast—slowly approached her.
"Feel honored, human."
The arrogant woman's words were matter-of-fact as she tilted Yukinoshita's chin with her finger.
"You shall become me.
Remember my name, Hagoromo Gitsune. Now, die."
It was as if the weak should naturally be the stepping stones for the strong; she was so high and mighty. Even though Yukinoshita knew "Incarnation" was a bad term, how could she, an ordinary person, resist power that transcended cognition? She could only stare wide-eyed in defiance, unable to speak or move.
A terrible premonition flooded Yukinoshita's heart. As the woman gently cupped her chin and their foreheads touched, Yukinoshita's vision blurred.
But before the woman could enter Yukinoshita's sea of consciousness, a sudden, intense pain struck. Looking down, a rusted, bandage-wrapped cleaver had pierced through the woman's heart. Blood sprayed instantly, and the smile on the nine-tailed woman's face froze.
She saw the eerie cleaver was held by a thick, pale arm—this was a projection, not a physical entity. It was an attack sent directly from the top floor of the post office across the distance of time and space.
"Damn you..."
Sensing the massive curses attached to the cleaver entering her body, the white-haired woman recognized the rusted blade. Recalling a certain existence from a thousand years ago, she vomited a large amount of blood.
"I was wondering why someone would send the [Cursed Object] that could heal my wounds here...
So it was you lot..."
Before she could finish, the terrifying curse on the cleaver erupted. Unable to resist, she was dismembered into fragments of flesh; even her bones were sliced into pieces. This was only the beginning; the woman tried to recover, but under the extremely violent dismemberment curse, she was turned into mince again. She couldn't even regenerate an eye.
These chunks of meat finally condensed into a "Sessho-seki" (Killing Stone) the size of a pigeon egg. This stone, as seductive as fresh blood, concentrated over 99% of the Cursed Spirit's essence. Driven by some force, it merged directly into Yukinoshita's forehead.
A bright red mark appeared on the chest of the unconscious Yukinoshita, and a lifelike tattoo of a nine-tailed white fox appeared on her back. Such a drastic change was equivalent to merging the entire beast into Yukinoshita's body, along with its Cursed Energy, making it one with her.
Yukinoshita was unaware of these changes in her unconscious state, though she frowned from the intense pain. After a bizarre spatial fluctuation, the sleeping Yukinoshita returned to the post office. Her violent Cursed Energy fluctuations dropped from Special Grade back to the level of an ordinary person.
An emotionless voice whispered in Yukinoshita's ear: Mission Complete.
[Task Reward Issued: Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Imaginary Spirit — Hagoromo Gitsune Template]
"Congratulations on becoming Messenger No. —— and obtaining Basic Post Office Privileges."
[Note: Do not mention or hint at the existence of this post office to anyone. Consequences will be at your own risk.]
[Next Task: In 72 hours.]
In the lowest level of Jujutsu High in Tokyo, a wooden-looking entity sat cross-legged—the most special existence in the Jujutsu world, the "Sage," Master Tengen.
Sensing this strange fluctuation of Cursed Energy, Tengen shook their head and sighed.
"Chaos is coming.
Tell the Jujutsu Association: The Post Office has awakened."
Read ahead (40 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting