Time quickly advanced to late night, and Geto and Eichi had already prepared for exorcising the Cursed Spirits.
"It's almost time, isn't it?"
Watching the hour hand on the alarm clock spin in circles, Geto rose and walked over to Eichi.
Knowing he would be exorcising Cursed Spirits late at night, Geto had informed his parents in advance that he would be staying at Eichi's house tonight. Geto's parents, who were already used to this, readily agreed to his request.
"Yes."
Eichi placed the cursed tool, which resembled a katana, into his shadow and began to be vigilant of his surroundings.
"What method do you think that Cursed Spirit will use to take us to the school?"
"Probably just come and grab us directly."
Geto stroked his chin and gave his answer.
"But if that's the case, the timing doesn't match. Every midnight at 12 o'clock, the Crimson Being appears in the rooms of Ise and others, then drags them to the school."
"But there's one strange thing: they are captured at the same time and wake up at the same time."
Eichi voiced his confusion.
"So, the Crimson Being has means similar to Clones or instantaneous movement?"
"Hmm, that girl named Asuka mentioned that the Crimson Being seems to have a Technique that allows it to teleport under certain conditions."
Suddenly, the bright indoor lights dimmed to a faint yellow.
"Is it here?"
Both of them rose and looked towards the door.
"Eichi, have you ever bought a doll?"
"No, why?"
"Look at this."
Following Geto's gaze, an ugly but cute rabbit doll appeared on the table.
"It seems the Cursed Spirit has already entered the room."
At first sight of the rabbit doll, Eichi recognized its true form: it was the doll held by the Crimson Being, as described by Ise and the others.
Click.
The sound of a doorknob turning echoed.
Both looked towards the door while also being wary of the doll on the table.
Through the crack in the door, a girl appeared, covered in blood-red, with pitch-black eyes and a bizarre smile on her face.
This eerie scene sent shivers down Eichi's spine.
"Jade Hounds."
One of the two Jade Hounds stared at the rabbit doll, while the other lunged directly at the Crimson Being.
Geto didn't waste any time either; a dark rift appeared behind him, and then a small, squid-like Cursed Spirit was shot out like a bullet.
Thwack.
The Crimson Being, who had dodged the Jade Hounds' pounce, was hit in the head.
The impact of the Cursed Spirit bullet caused the Crimson Being's forehead to snap back, then it confusedly took the squid Cursed Spirit from its forehead. After staring at the squid Cursed Spirit curiously for a moment, the Crimson Being suddenly threw the squid Cursed Spirit into its mouth.
Just as the Crimson Being was savoring the taste of the squid Cursed Spirit, a tall figure appeared behind it.
It was an Oni Samurai, a Cursed Spirit over two meters tall, clad in armor.
Upon its appearance, the Oni Samurai immediately unleashed a sword strike, and a huge wound appeared on the Crimson Being, who was slow to react.
The Crimson Being had no choice but to retreat further into the room to avoid the katana's slashes.
The Jade Hounds also seized the opportunity and bit down hard on the Crimson Being.
"Ah!"
Trapped by the Jade Hounds and unable to break free, the Crimson Being was struck several times.
Just as the Crimson Being prepared to retaliate, a huge suction force came from behind it.
Geto aimed his right hand at the Crimson Being, activating his Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
The Crimson Being ran forward, from pushing off with its feet to eventually going on all fours, trying to break free from Geto's Technique.
In just a few seconds, the Crimson Being was captured by Geto, but an unexpected event occurred.
Just as the Crimson Being was sucked into Geto's hand, Geto's hand was repelled by a powerful force.
"Hmm?"
Rubbing his right hand, Geto looked at the Crimson Being with curiosity.
Just now, Geto had confirmed one thing: the Crimson Being was a "mastered" Cursed Spirit.
Eichi, standing nearby, also understood this point.
The repelled Crimson Being's eyes lost their playful glint, and its red color peeled away, instantly covering the entire room like fresh blood.
"Enka, Toad."
Although he didn't know what was happening, it certainly wasn't good.
Eichi immediately summoned Enka, and Geto, who already had a tacit understanding with Eichi, also immediately summoned two shell-like Cursed Spirits to protect them both.
Upon appearing, the Toad immediately shot its tongue at the Crimson Being, and Geto also prepared to attack.
As the Toad's tongue wrapped around the Crimson Being, the room was completely filled with blood-red.
Both of them felt a momentary mental disorientation, and then they appeared at the school gate.
"Is this a Domain? Is the Crimson Being's Domain a school?"
Geto looked around in confusion.
"No, something's not right."
This feeling was very strange, different from the Domain of the Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirit, the Half-Body Cursed Spirit, that he had encountered a few years ago.
Eichi clenched his fists, ready to immediately summon Mahoraga if the situation became critical.
"If it were a Domain, Ise and the others couldn't have been safe for several consecutive days, unless this Domain has some special conditions."
After speaking, Eichi looked back; the road was still there, brightly lit.
After a moment of contemplation, Eichi took action.
"Jade Hounds."
The Jade Hounds emerged from Eichi's shadow and ran towards outside the school.
Soon, the Jade Hounds seemed to hit an invisible wall.
"Sure enough, we're at the school again."
"Asuka, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Ise-kun."
While Eichi was pondering, the several people lying on the ground also woke up.
"Who is he?"
Eichi's gaze swept over them, noticing that in addition to the four people from the infirmary during the day, there was now an additional person with a gloomy expression.
If this were a horror movie scene, this extra person would definitely be a major problem.
"Ah, his name is Kenji. He's usually very introverted. I invited him to join the operation before, but he refused."
"Are you sure he's not a problem?"
Eichi was still a little uneasy.
"Well, I guess he should be fine."
Ise also became a bit unsure, as he wasn't really familiar with Kenji.
Seeing this, Eichi maintained a hint of wariness towards the boy named Kenji.
"Geto, could you trouble your Cursed Spirits to scout ahead?"
After saying that, Eichi continued to examine the transparent wall in front of him.
"Understood."
As his voice faded, hundreds of various Cursed Spirits walked towards different parts of the school.
"I've been wanting to ask, what are these?"
Asuka pointed to Enka and the Jade Hounds, then to the dense crowd of Cursed Spirits entering the campus.
"As you understand it, these are our Shikigami. Both I and Geto are Jujutsu Sorcerers skilled in wielding Shikigami."
"Is that so?"
Although they didn't know the specifics of the two, the current scene reassured Asuka, Ise , and the others considerably.
After all, these two had real abilities.
"The range is very large; the entire school is sealed off."
"The entire school? What about above?"
"That's also sealed off. The height is about thirty meters. We're essentially in a box right now."
"I see, it's a Barrier."
"A Barrier?"
Geto was thoughtful; not yet having entered the High School, he wasn't familiar with Barriers.
"Yes, after entering the High School Division during the day, I've always had a sense of unease, but I couldn't find the source of it. Now I can finally confirm that someone has set up a Barrier around the school."
"So, the Crimson Being's actions are being manipulated by someone behind the scenes? No wonder my Cursed Spirit Manipulation couldn't capture it. What is the motive of this person behind the scenes? It can't be simply to scare them, can it?"
Geto turned his head to look at Ise and the others.
"Motive, huh? We'll just grab the person and ask."
After confirming that the group was trapped in a Barrier and not a Domain, Eichi also breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Crimson Being has appeared in the Gymnasium."
A sudden broadcast interrupted their thoughts.
"Since that's the case, let's go deal with that Cursed Spirit first."
"Okay, you all stay close behind us."
Geto finished speaking and turned to look at Eichi.
Compared to his own frightening Cursed Spirits, Eichi's Shikigami were more suitable for protective work.
Eichi nodded in understanding, and then two Jade Hounds came behind the group to protect the ordinary people.
Indeed, seeing the two fluffy big dogs wagging their tails and following them, the group's nervous anxiety eased considerably.