These eerie black hairs seem extremely afraid of fire, as if they are highly flammable by nature.
Despite the frenzied struggle to extinguish the flames, the more they writhe, the faster they burn in the intense fire!
"Cough, cough... Did we get rid of that monster?"
Having survived the fire, Hidan is now in a sorry state, with his entire body scorched and all his hair and eyebrows burned away.
The good news is that he wasn't eaten.
As for whether Shinsuke might have burned him along with the enemy, Hidan doesn't mind too much. After all, the greatest benefit of his "Immortality" is not having to worry about collateral damage, even killing both the enemy and himself if necessary!
If it had been Hidan, he too would have unhesitatingly taken down both Shinsuke and the enemy.
"Not sure yet, but with this big fire, the monster is either dead or severely damaged. Wait for me up here while I check down below. If anything goes wrong, just do what I did—burn it without worrying about me."
Shinsuke prepares to go down and check the situation, to finish off the monster if needed, and to see if there are any spoils.
Hidan is left outside as backup, ensuring everything is secure.
"Do as you like; I won't hold back." Hidan lies on the ground, panting heavily.
Shinsuke trusts that Hidan will seek revenge if given the chance, so he isn't worried.
Moreover, after Shinsuke's dramatic rescue and subsequent actions, his bond with Hidan has increased by 50 points, reaching 251 points. He is now halfway to the next stage's 500 points.
This is undoubtedly good news!
Lighting a torch, Shinsuke jumps back into the well without a second thought. The well is blackened with scorch marks everywhere.
Upon reaching the bottom of the well, no counterattack or black hairs appear.
There is only a small glass bottle, unscathed and lying quietly on the ground.
Shinsuke immediately senses that this bottle is likely from the treasure chest or was dropped after killing the monster.
No matter which, it means the item is definitely special.
He carefully picks up the bottle, and as he touches it, his troublesome system activates again.
[Obtained Cursed Item - Perfect Perfume]
"It's actually a cursed item?!"
Shinsuke is surprised and begins to examine it.
Cursed Item: Perfect Perfume
Source: Refined from the body scent of ninety-nine young girls.
Ability 1: Emits a fragrance that most flesh-and-blood creatures cannot refuse.
Ability 2: Catalyzes the growth of black hair, which can digest and absorb the flesh and blood of creatures for enhancement.
Ability 3: Regeneration
Weakness: Fire
PS: Guess how the body scent was preserved?
Shinsuke's eyes widen in surprise, realizing that the monster he and Hidan fought earlier was actually the bottle of Perfect Perfume.
If he had chosen to leave earlier, he would have missed out on this cursed item.
He hopes the description of this cursed item isn't as bad as it sounds. Even so, he will use it when necessary, regardless of his feelings.
After putting it away, Shinsuke checks once more and finds nothing else, so he leaves.
"Looks like good news?"
Hidan seems relieved and asks when Shinsuke returns.
He is unwilling to face such a never-ending monster again.
Shinsuke shows a relaxed expression and nods, "It's completely dealt with; not a trace remains."
"That's good... But what exactly was it? I've never seen or heard of such a thing before."
Perhaps due to being recently saved, Hidan's tone isn't as aggressive as before, or maybe he's just exhausted...
After all, it was Hidan who fought the monster, was captured, nearly eaten, and burned by the fire!
Given all this, he's likely too drained to maintain his usual aggression.
Shinsuke actually has an answer to Hidan's question, but he can't explain it, so he just shakes his head, indicating he doesn't know.
Hidan rolls his eyes but doesn't pursue the matter.
"Can we leave now?"
"Do you think so?"
"Then I'll stay here and rest. I'm heading back to sleep."
"Damn it! Shinsuke, you heartless bastard!"
"Good, keep that spirit up!"
Shinsuke yawns and leaves.
The recent fire burned all the poultry corpses around the well, and it spread quickly before extinguishing right after burning the black hair.
Thus, it didn't affect the surrounding villagers or houses, saving a lot of trouble.
"Hey! Are you really leaving like this? #%￥@…"
After cursing for a while, possibly exhausted from swearing, Hidan eventually stops, panting.
Suddenly, a red light flashes in front of him, quickly binding him, and before he can react, he is dragged away!
Looking up, Hidan sees it's Shinsuke, the same person who had abandoned him.
"Hey, couldn't you be a bit gentler? And do you have to use such rough methods... Mmm mmm!"
Shinsuke uses blood manipulation to form a 'rope' that tightly seals Hidan's mouth.
"Finally quiet, phew~"
Shinsuke smiles in satisfaction and pulls Hidan along.
Hidan, bound and dragged, tries to curse in muffled sounds, but it's clear that few can understand this special language...
Upon returning, Shinsuke finds that the elderly man is missing.
He doesn't care whether the man fled because he didn't believe him or for another reason; it's irrelevant to him.
After a while, the village is filled with screams!
It seems the unlucky villagers lured by the fragrance and knocked unconscious by Shinsuke have awakened.
They were sound asleep only to find themselves outside with severe headaches, surrounded by scorched remains. It's a miracle they aren't driven to madness.
As for the missing livestock, they are nowhere to be found and likely considered lost.
Thus, the village becomes bustling in the middle of the night due to this collective sleepwalking incident.