50 kilometers southwest of Tokyo, in the large area that is Kanagawa Prefecture.
In the outskirts, the boy, expressionless, finished handling the last corpse and took off his slightly blackened gloves, tossing them aside.
"Hayashi-chan, don't look so dead inside. Even though we're dealing with corpses for work, work is work, and life is life. You need to smile—come on, give me a smile."
Hijikata Shichirou put down the shovel in his hand, speaking in the tone of an elder teaching a junior, smiling at Hayashi with endless chatter.
Of course, given Hijikata Shichirou's age, he was indeed an elder to Hayashi.
"If you had to handle these corpses every day, could you still smile?" Hayashi glanced speechlessly at Hijikata Shichirou.
All the hard work of lifting and cremating the bodies was done by Hayashi, while Hijikata Shichirou just used the shovel to add fuel to the furnace, making the fire burn more fiercely.
In truth, Hijikata Shichirou had a strong aversion to corpses, but there was nothing he could do—his grandfather was the person in charge of this crematorium. Even though Shichirou hated working here, in the end, he had to bow to money.
That's right, his grandfather Hijikata Izumi had told Shichirou that when he passed away, Shichirou would become the owner of this small, private crematorium. By then, all he'd have to do is sit in the office, sign documents, and he'd get paid—someone else would take over the hard labor.
However, years had passed, and his grandfather was still alive, while Hijikata Shichirou could no longer bear it.
"Ugh!" Hijikata Shichirou covered his mouth, gagging repeatedly, "Don't say anymore, I already feel like puking."
Tch. Just a moment ago, who was telling me to smile?
Hayashi shook his head and started walking out. The shift was over; the last body of the day had been handled. The rest wasn't his concern anymore.
"Clang, clang, clang~"
After leaving Hijikata Crematorium, Hayashi suddenly stopped in his tracks, his gaze turning toward the hillside to the left. With the sun setting, this path appeared somewhat dim and eerie, and people normally didn't walk this way.
But as Hayashi stared at the small path on the hillside, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "After half a month, another Cursed Spirit has appeared?"
Sure enough, in the dim light of the slope, a pitch-black figure revealed its shape. When Hayashi saw this Cursed Spirit clearly, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit?"
Its pitch-black, slender body looked as if it had been drenched in tar. Its shoulders were broad, but its arms were thin. It had three eyes, the one in the middle glowing a dark red, looking extremely sinister.
"Leave my grandson, leave my grandson."
Hayashi paused for a moment. Cursed Spirits are classified into different ranks. There are five grades. If converted to regular weapons, a wooden stick can defeat a Grade 4 Curse, a handgun can defeat a Grade 3 Curse, a shotgun can defeat a Grade 2 Curse, a tank might win against a Grade 1 Curse, and even a carpet-bombing with cluster bombs might not take down a Special Grade.
The rank of a Cursed Spirit is linked to its intelligence as well. Generally, Grade 4 Cursed Spirits don't have much independent thought—they only have basic instincts like hunting and devouring.
As the Cursed Spirit's rank increases, so does its intelligence. Some are born with intelligence, while others develop it over time.
The Grade 1 Cursed Spirit in front of him clearly had intelligence, but the words it just spoke didn't seem to come from its own will. They felt more like…
"That's right. The reason Hijikata Izumi is still alive must be because of you," Hayashi realized. Three months ago, Hijikata Izumi had been gravely ill, yet at some point, he miraculously recovered. Although his behavior had been strange since, no one suspected him.
Now, it made sense. With the appearance of this Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, everything could be explained.
Behind the Cursed Spirit was a faintly visible black ribbon, and the direction it connected to was Hijikata Izumi's residence.
"Even though Hijikata Shichirou is lazy, loves anime, and never brushes his teeth, at least he's straightforward and honest. I don't dislike him." Hayashi crooked a finger at the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, a greedy expression flashing across his face. "Come on, if I deal with you, Hijikata Shichirou can finally get what he wants."
"You're not afraid?" The Grade 1 Cursed Spirit seemed surprised. The words it had spoken earlier weren't from its own will, but from Hijikata Izumi's lingering attachment to life. Now, it realized that this black-haired boy in front of it was too calm.
But three months ago, it had observed Hayashi. There was nothing unusual about him. If anything stood out, it was that he was incredibly composed when handling corpses.
So composed it was almost heartbreaking.
"Afraid?" Hayashi looked at the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit in front of him and then remembered—when he dealt with other Cursed Spirits before, he did it so quickly that they probably didn't even notice him.
Seeing Hayashi remain silent, the Cursed Spirit seemed to let go of its concerns. A boy without any Cursed Energy—what was there to be afraid of? It dashed forward, intending to finish Hayashi in one strike.
This was exactly what Hayashi was waiting for. In the moment the Cursed Spirit charged, he lifted his leg and kicked out. It seemed like a simple kick, but within 0.000001 seconds of making contact with the spirit, a flash of black light burst out, with a hint of azure in it.
Boom!
The left arm of the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit shattered from the blow, its entire body slamming into the ground like a cannonball, kicking up dust.
Hayashi retracted his right leg, stomping lightly on the ground as he looked toward the dust cloud. "In normal circumstances, a regular Cursed Spirit would be completely destroyed by that. You're a bit special."
Is it because it absorbed too much Cursed Energy?
"Well, no matter. I'll exorcise you today." Hayashi stretched his leg and stepped toward the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
Before the dust had settled, the black figure had already vanished. Hayashi's eyes quickly darted around as he spun and raised his arms to block an attack. A numbing pain shot through him as he was sent flying.
"This body really can't take much." Hayashi had been training to strengthen himself to better handle large amounts of Cursed Energy, but it still wasn't enough to fully withstand the attacks of a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit. His arms were now numb.
Things were getting dangerous. It was exciting to encounter a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit for the first time, but his strength wasn't enough to overpower it. The best he could hope for was a mutual defeat.
But Hayashi didn't flinch. Instead, he grew even more excited, shaking his hands before moving swiftly from his previous position.
The next second, the spot where Hayashi had been standing was blasted into a large crater by the Cursed Spirit's black aura—its unique energy.
"Take another hit!" Hayashi appeared in midair, stomping down hard. As his foot approached the Cursed Spirit's head, black-and-blue light appeared again.
Boom!
"Again!"
After landing, Hayashi immediately swept out with another kick, black-and-azure light flashing once more.
One kick.
Two kicks.
Three kicks.
Four kicks.
Five kicks.
Six kicks.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom-
"Only… six times? Is that my limit?" After landing, Hayashi shook his legs. With his current strength, unleashing six consecutive Black Flashes was his temporary limit.
Or rather, he could release more Black Flashes, but under these conditions, six kicks was his limit before needing a cooldown period.
A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit was, after all, not a Special Grade. After taking six Black Flashes to the head and body, its form was disintegrating. The black ribbon connecting it to Hijikata Izumi was severed in that moment.
"After all, this isn't just any regular Black Flash."
Hayashi shook his numb hands as a look of excitement lit up his eyes. "A Grade 1 Cursed Spirit… how many points will that be?"