Their plan went smoothly.
With the efforts of hundreds of Cursed Spirits, the search progressed very quickly.
Arms, legs, waist... As the body in the coffin in the Auditorium gradually came together, Eichi's expression grew more solemn.
The body in the coffin was similar in build to Asuka and other humans; it was the body of a High School Division girl, not the Crimson Being's body that Eichi and Geto had speculated.
Moreover, the body was wearing a High School Division uniform.
"So that's it, it's that girl from earlier."
Another body fragment was placed into the coffin, and Eichi was finally able to confirm the identity of the person lying within.
It was indeed the girl who had fallen from a building earlier in the day and asked them for help finding her body.
"Only the head is left, then."
Looking at the body in the coffin, which only needed a head to be complete, Eichi began to consider what might happen next.
Since the body in the coffin was not the Crimson Being's, then their previous conclusion that finding all the body parts would solve the Crimson Being problem could not be true.
Now he needed to consider other possibilities and prepare countermeasures.
Clap, clap, clap.
Strange footsteps sounded, and Eichi turned his head towards the sound. A figure, entirely blood-red and carrying a rabbit doll, appeared in Eichi's sight.
"It seems we won't need to go through all that trouble."
The aura emanating from the figure in front of him was even more terrifying than it had been in the Gymnasium, and it was holding the doll that Asuka and the others had mentioned earlier. It was clearly the true form of the Crimson Being.
The Crimson Being stopped at the entrance, its mouth stretching into a wide, eerie smile that appeared on its equally blood-stained face.
The Crimson Being's Clone, wrapped around Max Elephant's trunk, slowly dissipated, and the aura of the Crimson Being's true form at the entrance intensified once again.
"Well then, I'll exorcise you first."
He dispelled the Max Elephant summon, formed a hand seal, and the roaring Tiger Burial appeared behind Eichi.
After retracting its Clone, the Crimson Being charged at Eichi without hesitation.
After summoning Tiger Burial, Eichi crouched down, drew his Tang Dao from his shadow, and met the charge.
The first to arrive was the wind blade swung by Tiger Burial.
The Crimson Being twisted its steps, dodging all the wind blades with a zig-zagging movement, then curled its five fingers like five small knives and lunged at Eichi.
Eichi swung his blade from bottom-left to top-right, blocking the Crimson Being's sharp claws. Taking advantage of the Crimson Being's arm being knocked aside and its guard wide open, he raised his Tang Dao high and brought it down.
Pfft, clink.
The sharp blade cut into flesh, then got stuck on hard bone.
The Crimson Being, in pain, raised its leg and kicked Eichi.
"So hard," Eichi frowned, pulling out his Tang Dao and holding it horizontally in front of him to block the kick.
Screech~
Eichi slid several meters, his feet pressed firmly against the ground.
In that instant, Eichi felt that the Cursed Spirit opposite him was not a girl but a muscular strongman over 2 meters tall.
No, a muscular strongman wouldn't have this much strength; this power was like being hit by a small car.
"So that's it. Although its appearance is different from those big, ugly guys, its essence is still a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit that at least requires a tank to deal with."
Looking at the Crimson Being, who was currently fighting Tiger Burial, the smile on Eichi's face grew more expansive.
Behind him, two Jade Hounds were protecting a few ordinary people, one in front and one behind, while Tiger Burial was in front. The three Shikigami had already reached the maximum number Eichi could currently summon, so he didn't need to consider summoning other Shikigami for now; he could just go in with his sword.
Tiger Burial was a Shikigami capable of exorcising a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit alone, so it naturally wasn't afraid of the Crimson Being, which was only Grade 1.
"And I'm not weak either."
After speaking, he again raised his sword and advanced.
Eichi's physical combat skills were very strong. There was no way around it; with two physical combat Geniuses by his side, it was hard for Eichi's physical combat skills not to be strong.
Gojo had his Family's inherited physical combat skills, while Geto was a true all-around Genius.
When Geto first underwent his Awakening to Jujutsu, he didn't have many Cursed Spirits he could manipulate. He relied entirely on his fists and wisdom to subdue Cursed Spirits.
This guy, through several months of boxing, Sanda, karate, and other classes, actually developed a very practical set of physical combat skills, which Eichi often asked Geto to teach him.
Moreover, Eichi was also full of motivation for Cultivating physical combat skills.
You ask where the motivation came from?
Look at that mischievous Gojo Cat next to him. Aren't your fists hard?
If your fists are hard but you still can't beat him, and he mocks you to your face, can you stand it?
Then the motivation is overflowing.
Returning to the battlefield.
Because it was two against one, Tiger Burial attacked while the Crimson Being hadn't yet regained its footing after Eichi kicked it away, currently holding a firm advantage. With Eichi joining, the Crimson Being was even more in retreat.
Eichi noticed something strange.
The Crimson Being kept fighting Eichi while holding that ugly-cute doll.
At first, Eichi thought the doll had some special purpose, but now the doll not only didn't help in the fight but actually affected the Crimson Being's combat power.
The Crimson Being constantly had to divert its attention to protect the doll.
This strange scene piqued Eichi's curiosity.
Under Eichi's command, the Black Jade Hound silently concealed itself near the battlefield.
Seizing an opportunity, Eichi stepped forward and threw a punch, which the Crimson Being dodged by tilting its head.
The next moment, Eichi pulled his arm back with force, his elbow striking the Crimson Being's head hard.
This was a Move Eichi and Geto learned from a boxing coach. It was said that this Move was banned from competitions because it was too underhanded and too likely to cause fatalities. That time, the boxing coach, drunk, used this Move to show off, and Eichi and Geto naturally accepted it.
However, because Cursed Spirits are mostly large and distorted, there aren't many opportunities to use it.
The most recent use was during a friendly match with Gojo , the kind without Jujutsu.
When this Move hit Gojo 's head, it highlighted a perfect amount of force: dazed but no brain damage.
The Crimson Being's head was attacked, and its body swayed. The Jade Hound, which had been waiting for a long time, rushed forward, opened its large mouth, bit the doll, and pulled, trying to snatch the doll away.
The Crimson Being immediately grabbed the doll with both hands, even disregarding Eichi beside it.
Eichi naturally wouldn't be polite, and he chopped off the Crimson Being's arm with a single strike.
"Ah ah ah ah!"
Like a flashbang exploding in his face, a huge roar, like both a bellow and a wail, shook Eichi, making him cover his ears and retreat repeatedly.
Fortunately, Tiger Burial, as a Shikigami, didn't react much to it.
Tiger Burial stepped forward and slammed the Crimson Being into the ground with a palm, interrupting the deafening roar.
"Then, next is this doll."
Under Eichi's gaze, the Jade Hound sniffed the doll, then pressed one paw on the doll's body, bit the doll's head with its large mouth, and began to tear.
Rip, roll.
The sound of tearing fabric was heard, and then a spherical object rolled onto the ground.
"Is this a head?"
Looking at the body in the coffin, which only lacked a head, and then at the head that rolled out of the doll, Eichi finally understood why Geto hadn't found the last body part for so long.
Just as Eichi was about to place the head into the coffin, a cloud of black mist erupted from the doll and the Crimson Being's body.
The terrifying Cursed Energy made a drop of cold sweat run down Eichi's temple.
Eichi remembered this feeling; a few years ago, on a pedestrian bridge, Eichi had directly faced such terrifying Cursed Energy.
"Woah, woah, really? A Special Grade Cursed Spirit!"
Within the black mist, a Cursed Spirit with a fat body and a neck three or four meters long slowly emerged.
Black mist was continuously spewing from its long neck and gaping mouth.