Chapter 109
There are many theories about the origin of the legend of the modern monster, the "Slit-Mouthed Woman".
Some say it's based on a movie released that year, featuring a stalker who resents the protagonist's beauty and eventually picks up scissors.
Some say that a beautiful woman who went for cosmetic surgery twisted around because she smelled the doctor's hair smelling of wax, which resulted in the doctor accidentally cutting open both sides of her mouth.
Some even say that their ancestors used ghosts and gods to do bad things and make dirty money, which backfired, causing the mouths of their descendants to split open due to the curse and turn them into monsters.
"In short, the origin of the legend is difficult to verify, and the accounts vary greatly from region to region. But they all have some commonalities, such as the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] covering her face, wearing a coat, holding a pair of scissors, and asking passersby, 'Am I beautiful?'"
Xia Youjie stepped into the semi-abandoned underground passage, using a specially prepared flashlight for illumination.
"The [Slit-Mouthed Woman Attack Incident] that has been circulating recently has actually helped us a little, as it is clearly stated that it occurred in this underground passage in Saitama."
The assistant supervisor who was in charge of driving was left in the car to wait for the backup, and was deliberately parked at a slightly distant location to prevent being attacked.
Generally speaking, cursed spirits do not easily leave their birthplace. As long as people stay far away from this area, they are basically safe.
This short underground passage shows very obvious signs of weathering, and the handrails at the bottom of the stairs are covered with dust and patches of rust.
Looking back and forth across the passage, the overhead lighting was already broken, and the emergency lights were no exception, making this approximately 300-meter stretch pitch black, with only Xia Youjie's flashlight providing illumination.
Infrastructure projects like these, which have been abandoned for a long time and are now in a state of disrepair, are everywhere. They are all nationwide problems left over from the government's reckless infrastructure construction during the period from the 1950s to the 1970s.
It is also the key observation area for their patrols—such abandoned or semi-abandoned places are too easy to fabricate ghost stories, gather negative emotions, and thus give birth to highly harmful cursed spirits.
Xia Youjie had previously carried out missions in many similar places, and had accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with such situations.
Since the area illuminated by a flashlight is limited, he had already placed several low-level cursed spirits not far from the two of them, serving as both the first line of defense and a means of early warning.
Halfway there, Xia Youjie waved to signal Yuqu Kazuma to stop.
"It contains remnants of cursed power...and more than one kind."
Knowing that Kazuma Hatori couldn't sense cursed power, he lowered his voice and explained, deliberately switching the flashlight to his left hand and holding it tightly, while keeping his right hand ready to use a spell at any moment, allowing the beam of light to slowly sweep towards the source of the filth—
There was nothing there.
Xia Youjie carefully scanned the area several more times, expanding the scope of his search.
He only approached for a closer look after confirming that there was no ambush on the bare wall.
Kazuma Hatori stood behind Natsuyuki, his right hand always gripping the [Kyousou] tucked behind his waist, ready to strike the enemy target with a [Kuroshou] at any moment.
Souls-like games love to use these kinds of jump-in kills from blind spots, so he has to be careful.
"We're probably too late."
Xia Youjie's fingers touched the cold wall—in his vision, two wisps of drifting cursed power intertwined and slowly dissipated outwards.
Within this, he could perceive not only the intensity of the residual curse power, but also the subtle differences within it.
"There are two kinds of curse power... Did a curse master arrive beforehand and take the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] as a shikigami...?"
Xia Youjie pondered, "It really is a deliberately created urban legend. I guess they only kept its spread within Saitama Prefecture to lower the level of the [Slit-Mouthed Woman]. If it really spread nationwide and caused the [Slit-Mouthed Woman] to reach the Special level, then she wouldn't be someone that ordinary curse masters could subdue."
Kazuma Hatake: "They can't beat a Special Grade Cursed Spirit?"
"So far, there are only 16 cursed spirits that have been rated as special grade by the sorcery community."
Xia Youjie sighed, "I really want one!"—if only he could have one, the time it would take for him to be rated as a top-level sorcerer would definitely be brought forward significantly.
"However, those cursed spirits were too dangerous and have all been exorcised at any cost. But cursed spirits are born from human negative emotions, so given enough time, they will probably generate another one that is roughly the same but slightly different in details."
He really wanted to catch one for himself if he had the chance.
But one shouldn't be too ambitious. Right now, he should think about how to get Kazuma Hatori to give him the [Slit-Mouthed Woman].
"Some cursed spirits can only be rated as [comparable to the top-tier in terms of cursed power output] or [comparable to the top-tier in terms of harmfulness]. Cursed spirits that can be truly rated as top-tier, apart from the cursed spells that can be used by those at the near-top-tier level, basically all possess their own [born domain]."
Xia Youjie's mind worked quickly, and he took the opportunity to explain to Yuqu Yizhen the criteria for distinguishing between high-level cursed spirits.
Professor Moth's course hasn't covered this part yet; he borrowed the textbook from a second-year student in advance to get a feel for it.
After all, his techniques are related to cursed spirits, so it's better to have a more comprehensive and detailed theoretical understanding of cursed spirits.
Unlike Ichijin, who only needs to focus on how to accurately and ruthlessly exorcise cursed spirits—he has to control cursed spirits to fight.
"Similar to a sorcerer's [Domain Expansion]."
Kazuma Hatori, who understood, nodded.
He had already experienced it in his first playthrough, and he used it when he was about to die together with the guy in front of him.
Hmm... He still cares a lot about the "(deceased)" followed by a question mark after his name.
What exactly does that question mark mean?
For example, in the second playthrough, Xia Youjie's "Social" list only shows "Xia Youjie" with nothing else following it.
After staring at his classmate, who was also wearing a high school uniform, for a moment, Kazuma Hatake asked Natsuyuki, who was still carefully identifying the remnants of cursed power.
"Does your [Spirit Manipulation Technique] have any way to bring you back to life after you die?"
This sentence made Xia Youjie choke and cough.
Why would you think that??
Xia Youjie took the flashlight that was originally illuminating the wall and shone it back and forth on Yuzuru Kazuma, strongly expressing his disbelief that the latter could ask such a question.
Worried that the beam of light might blind the other person, he deliberately controlled it to sweep back and forth across Kazuma Hatori's legs.
"Even when I absorb cursed spirits, I can only absorb living ones—how could you think I could be resurrected from the dead?"
But the tone of his voice still conveyed shock.
"I can't say,"
Kazuma Hatori thought about the classic plot tropes of certain games.
"If you were cursed when you were about to die, turning into a half-cursed spirit and half-human state, you could absorb it using [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] while you were dying. In that case, you could become alive... how should I describe it, a half-spirit?"
A bug-exploiting gameplay style where I control myself.
This also explains why his [Obsession of the Forbidden View] technique had no effect on that Xia Youjie in the first playthrough—its target must be a human with normal senses and perception.
Xia Youjie: "…………"
What on earth is going on in this guy's head? And what does "half-spirit" mean, something like a half-demon?
That's way too far-fetched!
"Leaving aside the consensus in the sorcery world that only sorcerers who are not killed by sorcery will transform into sorcerous spirits after death,"
Xia Youjie was speechless for a while after being stumped by Yuqu Kazuma's guess, before finally speaking up with a somewhat speechless explanation.
"I have never heard of any sorcerer who could become half-human and half-spirit, apart from a cursed object taking flesh."
"Besides, the condition you just mentioned was [being able to be resurrected after death]... Unless I can absorb a kind-hearted curse spirit with the ability to [resurrect] humans someday, I can't do that, right?"
Help! Why are they discussing whether he can be brought back to life?
"A cursed object suffers flesh... Yes."
Kazuma Hatori's dark eyes lit up slightly.
It's possible that the [Xia Youjie] in the first playthrough is actually some kind of cursed object possessing Xia Youjie's body?
If that cursed object had once been inhabited by Kaori Itadori, and after obtaining her spell formula, it transferred to the body of Natsuyuki, who had already died, and manipulated his corpse, wouldn't it be able to possess the spell formulas of two people?
So that question mark... could very well be the real name that wasn't shown?
Because it was always communicating with him through Xia Youjie's body, rather than talking to him in its physical form.
Now that you mention it, that "Cult Master" is quite suspicious; he might just be the mastermind behind the manipulation of the cursed artifacts.
After all, in the last [doll attack incident], he used a cursed object to forcibly create a crisis for Xia Youjie, and he was able to leave a backdoor that he could use to defeat Xia Youjie.
Even after death, the cursed objects absorbed by the container can fall out again—even Xia Youjie said it was the first time he had ever seen such a thing.
This may mean that the patriarch had a high level of understanding and utilization of cursed objects.
Hmm, the more I think about it, the more likely it seems. Otherwise, why would this cult leader have given him another commission to "get close to Xia Youjie" while he was infiltrating the college?
Previously, Kazuma Hatori had speculated that he wanted to recruit Yuuki Shaku to the villainous camp.
Looking back now, it's also possible that he was attracted by his technique...
"What do you mean 'right'?"
Seeing that Yuqu Kazuma's expressionless face was blank and he started to drift off into thought, Xia Youjie, who couldn't guess what the other was thinking, waited for a long time without any response, and finally couldn't help but ask him.
"I was thinking that if you died, and someone used a cursed object to possess your body, would they be able to manipulate your body and use your spells?"
Kazuma Hatori briefly described the parts he could say to Natsuyuki.
Xia Youjie was silent for a moment: "...Cursed objects should only be able to receive flesh from living people, right? But why do you insist on assuming I'm dead?"
Couldn't he just be alive and suffer the effects of the cursed creature...? No, why is he so conflicted about whether he should eat the cursed creature before or after death? Isn't eating the cursed spirit orb enough of a headache for him?
Just because Kazuma Hatake can eat a lot doesn't mean he can eat a lot.
Faced with the protest, Kazuma Hatori stared back with his exceptionally innocent black eyes.
"I'm just a little too eager to learn."
Xia Youjie: "..."
Xia Youjie took a deep breath: "If the body is placed in the body of a sorcerer, and if the sorcerer cannot suppress the other party, the curse will indeed suppress the body, making the body a vessel for the latter, and the body will be able to use the original sorcerer's spells."
"But this situation is quite rare. There are no low-level cursed objects that have survived from ancient times. What sorcerer would eat such a potent poison that exudes a malicious curse aura?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xia Youjie remembered that there was a mage with nothing to do in front of him.
“…”
The atmosphere in the underground passage was quiet for a moment.
"Don't keep trying to take advantage of me," Xia Youjie finally said irritably. "I only eat cursed spirit balls made using [Curse Spirit Manipulation Technique]. I won't eat anything else that involves curses!"
Even if you die, it won't happen?
"How would I know if I'd die... Stop wishing for my death! I only officially started working as a sorcerer this year!"
"I see."
Kazuma Hatori slowly blinked his black eyes.
It's because he saw Xia Youjie with the suffix "(deceased)" in his first playthrough.
But Kazuma Hatake's voice remained calm and serious, and he didn't seem to be saying it on purpose at all, which made Natsumi Yuuki's frustration dissipate quite a bit.
"Besides, even if I die someday,"
Xia Youjie muttered to himself, his voice echoing clearly in the quiet underground passage.
"That was me, who was endowed with the talent of sorcery by the heavens, and who died in battle to protect non-sorcerers."
Before coming to the college, he always worked secretly on his own, and he was extremely cautious in his exorcising of cursed spirits, never revealing his unique side to the ordinary people around him.
This also made Xia Youjie very good at reading people's expressions and understanding their psychology during his growth, so that he could keep pace with ordinary people.
On the other hand, the fact that he grew up in an environment full of ordinary people also gave him a natural sense of alienation, making him feel that he was "special".
No matter how well Xia Youjie pretends to be an ordinary person, deep down he will never truly accept that he is an ordinary person.
The education he received from childhood, coupled with his sensitive and anxious nature, led Xia Youjie to constantly ponder why he possessed magical powers.
—To protect non-magicians who are too weak to even see the cursed spirits that wantonly harm them.
This is the answer Xia Youjie has now received.
"oh."
After listening to all this, Kazuma Hatori nodded calmly.
Xia Youjie: "..."
Xia Youjie: "After all that I just said, your only reaction was an 'Oh'?"
“Ah, isn’t this a common reason for the protagonists in works to fight?” Kazuma Hato said, “Friendship, justice, bonds, responsibility, and things like that.”
In the real world, he occasionally reads Jump manga.
Moreover, there are quite a few in the game, especially tragic characters who are destined to die later.
In contrast, players' behavior is quite chaotic. Unless it's to unlock the good ending or achievement, killing NPCs is basically like cutting melons and vegetables, and they can't help but touch anything they can.
It's best not to kill chickens.
After hearing Yutori Kazuma's explanation, Natsumi Yuuki was speechless and found that he couldn't refute it.
"Ah... um... that's true, indeed,"
When he spoke again, he even stammered, "In short, it's enough that you agree with my ideas."
“It’s not a matter of whether you agree or disagree,” Kazuma Hatake said, “it’s just that you could be in some danger.”
He even mimicked Xiao Wu's movements, giving Xia Youjie a slight shrug.
"You know, this kind of flag is super common in works, such as [as long as I do this or that, I will do this or that]."
Actually, this is also a subtle reminder to him to be more careful about his safety in the future, so that he won't be labeled as "(deceased)" by the game too early, like in the first playthrough.
Since Xia Youjie is so convinced that he should protect ordinary people and emphasizes that he cannot be brought back to life, Yuqu Kazuma's speculation about Xia Youjie's state in the first timeline focuses more on the possibility of "being manipulated after death" rather than "Xia Youjie turning evil and joining the villain's camp later on".
“…”
But Yuichi's words left Natsumi speechless.
He suddenly realized that as long as Satoru was not by the other person's side, Kazuma Hatori's thinking not only became quick and unique, but he also became exceptionally eloquent.
Just like last time, he even tried to get his spirit to help carry the shopping bags full of souvenirs.
"...Thank you for reminding me, I will pay attention."
Xia Youjie took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled with a sense of helplessness.
"Let's stop talking about weird topics like [how I died]... Let's leave the underpass and go outside, then call the assistant supervisor to come pick us up."
The signal in the underground passage was very poor; his phone displayed "[outside the circle]" and he couldn't make calls.
"good."
Having already obtained the most pressing clues from Xia Youjie, Yuqu Kazuma had no objections.
Instead of turning back to the entrance, they continued walking along the lingering, foul aura of the cursed power until they left the underground passage. Xia Youjie immediately called the assistant supervisor.
"[The Slit-Mouthed Woman] has probably been taken away by the curse master, but the residual curse power has not completely dissipated, which means that not much time has passed."
He briefly explained his discovery.
“I’ve memorized these two auras. I’m walking straight along this road with Kazuma. Could you please drive over and pick us up? That would be more efficient.”
This is also why Xia Youjie stopped in the underground passage and talked with Yu Qu Kazuma for so long.
Unlike Wu, who possesses [six eyes], he needs time to remember the subtle differences in this curse power—and he needs to perceive it repeatedly to make sure he hasn't misremembered it.
In this way, even if there are other remnants of cursed power along the way that interfere with his judgment, Xia Youjie is confident that he will not be confused.
On the way to track down the remnants of the cursed power, Kazuma Hatake also asked Natsuyuki about it.
“I remember you said before that [Spirit Manipulation] cannot absorb spirits with master-slave relationships,” he said. “In that case… can I exorcise this [Slit-Mouthed Woman]?”
This is a level one [Spell Crystal]!
Last time, he was taken around by the beautiful Daigo to grind monsters, all of them level one or two. In just a few days, his level was raised to level one, which was incredibly easy.
As a result, in this timeline, because he came to the college to study, he was classified as a level four sorcerer, which meant that the highest level of sorcerer he could come into contact with during missions was only level three—meaning that he only had a chance to get a level two [Spell Power Crystal] when he was patrolling with Satoru.
The highest-level experience pack he has ever received was actually the cursed item that the patriarch had sent him last time.
Although it's unclear whether cursed spirits with master-servant relationships will drop [Curse Power Crystals], since they're going to be exorcised anyway, it's not a bad idea to let them finish off the enemy.
“…”
Xia Youjie, who was actually able to absorb cursed spirits with master-slave constraints but had been deliberately concealing this fact, fell silent.
He wants that [Slit-Mouthed Woman] too...
This is a level one cursed spirit.
But Xia Youjie was somewhat resistant to admitting that he had lied to them before.
If Kazuma Hagoromo were to reveal this, his credibility in the world of sorcery would be severely questioned.
In any case, sorcerers are his kind.
Even though he trusted Yukichi Kazuma to a great extent, Xia Youjie still didn't want to easily reveal such a private card, the impact of which would be quite negative if exposed.
If all else fails, we'll really have no choice but to hand over [Slit-Mouthed Woman].
...Just thinking about it is heartbreaking.
While still feeling the pinch, Xia Youjie continued to track down the remnants of the cursed power with Yuqu Kazuma—and their speed increased dramatically after the assistant supervisor picked them up in his car.
The stench of decay traveled along the winding road, from the deserted suburban underground passage to the city, then through residential areas, and back to the suburbs on the other side.
This distance almost spans the entire Saitama Prefecture.
“Strange,” Xia Youjie frowned. “Logically speaking, if the other party has already run here, the remnants of cursed power shouldn’t have been left to wait for us.”
Not to mention that curse masters will deliberately control themselves to avoid leaving too much residual curse power, lest they be hunted down by people from the world of curse magic.
But how were they able to track them for so long?
Xia Youjie muttered something strange over there, but Yuqu Kazuma had no doubts.
No need to ask, it must be that cult leader's doing again.
He simply opened the [Commission] interface and confirmed that Xia Youjie's trust level with him was still at 76%, and he could not unlock the technique.
It seems that the value of 80 is a very important threshold, whether in terms of favorability or trust.
There's no other way, let's just keep using [Black Flash] for now.
The pursuing car eventually stopped in front of an ordinary bungalow.
A low-rise house with red bricks, a rusty external staircase, and a corrugated iron roof—this is a rather old-fashioned bungalow, which landlords usually divide into several rooms for rent.
It's far inferior to those skyscrapers, but it's cheap.
It's not surprising that a curse master would be hiding here.
"The fact that the other party was able to take away [Slit-Mouthed Woman] means that he is at least an experienced Level 1 sorcerer, and he may have already sensed our arrival."
Xia Youjie said softly to Yuqu Kazuma.
Not to mention that he will unleash a cursed spirit attack later, and the surging cursed power will become even stronger at that moment.
"Moreover, a curse master who can escape the pursuit of the sorcery world must be quite cunning as well. It's hard to say whether there are any traps set around the room."
"Um."
Kazuma Hatori gripped [Kyousou] in his hand, ready for battle.
"It's the second one on the left. I'll send the spirit to scout ahead first."
Xia Youjie made a gesture, his expression solemn.
Dark ripples spread through the space, and several cursed spirits surged out from the depths of that abyss-like sea of tides, surrounding the remnant end of the cursed spirit and gradually approaching.
Such a strong aura of curse was enough to make the curse master in the room feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.
"Once it forces the curse master out, we'll attack."
"good."
Hato Kazuma lowered his body, his black eyes fixed on the group of cursed spirits, ready to charge forward with Natsumi Yuuki at any moment.
—At the instant that hiss and explosion rang out simultaneously, the dark stream of light from [Black Flash] lit up.
"You two little brats?"
Amidst the unrestrained laughter, Xia Youjie's expression grew increasingly solemn and calm.
There are... two enemies!
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