"Why is she still alive? Didn't she fall from the rooftop? I pushed her myself!"
Behind Eichi and Geto, Uranishi Shota, dressed like an honor student, was curled up in a corner, hugging his knees tightly.
"Why isn't she dead? If she's not dead, then won't we still be killed by the Crimson Being tonight? Damn it."
Of the four people in the room, some looked desperate, some were resigned, and others hugged each other, their faces filled with worry.
Eichi and Geto exchanged glances, their eyes filled with solemnity.
"Tell us your situation. Maybe we can help solve it."
Geto stepped forward and said softly.
"Haha, you can solve it? Do you know what that is? That's an evil spirit! I know you two, the strongest delinquents in the Junior High Division. Do you plan to punch an evil spirit?"
"Shota, stop talking."
Among the group, Ise , the calmest and most capable fighter, restrained the already distraught Uranishi Shota.
"You two come in and sit down too. We might have to be teammates now."
After speaking, Ise made a 'please' gesture. Asuka, seeing this, immediately helped set up the fallen chairs around a bed.
Eichi and Geto didn't refuse and walked over to sit down.
"I'm Ise , second-year in the High School Division. These are Uranishi Shota, Morisaki Asuka, and Rie. What about you two?"
Ise , the leader of the small group, introduced the other three to Eichi and Geto.
" Eichi, second-year in the Junior High Division."
" Geto, second-year in the Junior High Division."
Ise nodded politely, then continued his story.
"The whole thing started three days ago. We were still on our lunch break when the girl you just saw suddenly walked up behind me and asked me to help her find her body."
"At first, I thought I misheard her. Just as I was about to ask for clarification, the girl suddenly disappeared, much like just now."
Eichi and Geto understood. Just as Eichi was hesitating whether to pursue her, the girl's body dissipated into the air like mist.
"That night, a few of us suddenly appeared in the school, and then a Crimson Being covered in blood chased us."
As he spoke, Ise raised a hand to cover one of his eyes.
It seemed like a very unpleasant memory, Eichi thought to himself.
"Originally, I thought I had been killed, but when I woke up the next day, I was at home, and there wasn't a single scratch on my body."
"Was it the same for them?"
Eichi's gaze swept over the others.
"That's right. When we exchanged information yesterday, we found that everyone had been asked by that girl to find a corpse."
"Also, we exchanged some information. Rie found a coffin in the auditorium with a human-shaped void inside, meant to hold body parts. Asuka found an arm in a classroom. I think the body we need to find might be those parts."
After speaking, Ise looked up at Eichi and Geto.
"Now you two have also been asked, so you might also be drawn into this search for a body... curse tonight."
After a pause, Ise felt that 'curse' was a more fitting description of their experience than 'game'.
"Of course, it's also possible that the scope of this curse only exists in the High School Division, so you Junior High Division students might be fine."
Perhaps fearing that Eichi and Geto would be scared, Ise tried to comfort them.
Ise was initially very displeased with the two who suddenly rushed in and attacked, but after understanding that they had misunderstood them bullying the girl and had rushed over from the Junior High Division, his displeasure vanished.
"What do you think?"
Eichi looked at Geto.
"It's a type I haven't seen before. What about you?"
"It's my first time seeing it too. Normally, the behavior patterns of Cursed Spirits are relatively simple. It's rare to see a Cursed Spirit with such complex actions, and most importantly, this Cursed Spirit didn't kill them."
Most Cursed Spirits have low intelligence; they act with beast-like behavior patterns, instinctively seeking out and killing humans.
But according to Ise 's account, they had been killed more than once but always came back to life in the morning.
Could the experience of being killed have been a dream?
"Why do you call that Cursed Spirit the Crimson Being?"
"Oh, because that's what the broadcast called it."
"Broadcast?"
Eichi looked up at Ise .
"That's right. The school's broadcast room irregularly broadcasts the location of the Crimson Being."
This made it even stranger. Constantly broadcasting the location of a Cursed Spirit, wouldn't that make it easier for everyone to avoid it?
"Um, I've been hearing you talk about Cursed Spirits. What exactly are Cursed Spirits?"
Asuka, standing nearby, caught the key point.
"Cursed Spirits are monsters formed from the accumulation of human negative emotions. They curse and kill humans."
Geto gave Asuka a simple and easy-to-understand explanation.
"Then what are you two? Are you Onmyoji?"
Upon hearing this, Asuka was somewhat excited. Uranishi Shota, who had been on the verge of a breakdown, also looked up, his face full of hope as he gazed at the two.
"We are Jujutsu Sorcerers. We can use Cursed Energy to exorcise Cursed Spirits. There are some differences from Onmyoji."
Jujutsu Sorcerers, Cursed Spirits.
A new concept appeared in their minds.
"Excuse me, can you remove the curse from us?"
Ise asked nervously.
"Yes, no problem. According to your account, we will also be drawn into the curse tonight. At that time, we will be responsible for exorcising the Cursed Spirit."
Eichi nodded in affirmation.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
Upon hearing this, Ise immediately stood up and performed a perfect 90-degree bow.
Eichi and Geto, however, were accustomed to it.
They often encountered similar situations when exorcising Cursed Spirits.
"No need to thank us. It's what we should do."
Geto, with a slight smile, helped Ise up.
"Tell us all the information you know, so we can protect you better tonight."
"Understood."
Seeing hope for the removal of the curse, the group immediately spoke up, one after another, sharing everything they knew.
Eichi took out his notepad, which he carried to record novel inspirations, and summarized all the information described by the group, finally forming an image of the Cursed Spirit.
The Cursed Spirit appeared to be a small girl, likely of junior high age, wearing a blood-stained dress and holding a dirty doll.
She was very strong, capable of easily tearing a person in half. Her movement speed was not fast, similar to that of a normal high school student running. If one utilized corners, it would be easy to create distance.
She seemingly possessed a teleportation Technique that required certain conditions to activate.
According to Asuka, once when she turned around, the Crimson Being, who had been far away, suddenly appeared in front of her.
Additionally, after being caught by the Crimson Being, they were usually not killed immediately. The Crimson Being would tightly hug them and only kill them after singing a song.
Eichi curiously asked what song the Crimson Being sang, thinking that the song might contain information about the Cursed Spirit's identity or Technique.
Ise and the others began to ponder, and finally, together, they completed the lyrics:
Please give me red clothes,
Dye all the white clothes red,
Dye them blood red, blood red,
Dye hands and faces all red...
...