The old orphanage before them could truly be called a den of evil.
The weathered stone walls were topped with rusty barbed wire, and the iron gate at the entrance was stained with red rust, looking like dried and darkened blood.
A few crows landed on the telephone pole down the street, cawing harshly. The deserted street felt bleak.
More importantly, the negative cursed energy seeping out from the abandoned orphanage was something even Hikigaya Hachiman, who hadn't yet mastered his sensing skills, could notice.
"It's not looking good in there, is it?"
He was already starting to have second thoughts.
"With your current strength, it really is not looking good."
Gojo Satoru said casually, "There are various cursed spirits here, from level four to level two. I estimate there must be at least thirty cursed spirits altogether."
"Can you two really handle this?"
Gojo Satoru expressed his doubts.
"Definitely not."
Hikigaya Hachiman replied without thinking.
"How would you know if you haven't tried?"
Yukinoshita Yukino said firmly.
The two voices almost sounded at the same time, but their meanings were worlds apart.
"Your student is quite interesting," Gojo Satoru chuckled.
"You've got it wrong, this guy isn't my student."
Hayashizaki in the same field felt a wave of annoyance; that damn dead fish eye was really embarrassing him today.
"Stop stalling, let's go in."
Yukinoshita Yukino said calmly, then stepped forward first.
Hikigaya Hachiman scratched his head and followed. When did Yukinoshita become so brave?
"Nice! Attitude is really important!"
Gojo Satoru praised, then followed the two.
"Just so you know, I won't be your commander this time."
Hayashizaki warned Yukinoshita Yukino beforehand.
"You don't need to say that."
Even if Hayashizaki didn't say it, she would insist on it. She couldn't keep relying on Hayashizaki's commands in battle; people can't always stay in one place.
She placed her hand on the iron gate of the orphanage and pushed it open easily.
As soon as her right foot stepped into the orphanage, Yukinoshita Yukino's pupils suddenly constricted, and an unexpected chilling sensation shot up her spine.
The cold cursed energy seemed to take the form of shadowy hands reaching up from the ground, trying to drag her into hell.
"This feeling... is really unbearable."
Hikigaya Hachiman stepped into the orphanage as well, instinctively shivering as he too felt the effects of the gathered negative cursed energy in the area.
After getting used to the discomfort, Yukinoshita Yukino took a deep breath and said,
"Let's go."
The atmosphere here is too thick for Yukinoshita Yukino to find the hidden curse spirit in the orphanage through sensing its spell power. The two can only explore step by step, trying to avoid being attacked by the curse spirits.
This orphanage is quite large, with various facilities covering education, sports, medical care, and entertainment. It must have been a place that provided a sense of happiness for abandoned children before it closed down.
Unfortunately, it was poorly located, and after several supernatural incidents, it had no choice but to shut its doors.
In the empty square, many hollowed-out tree stumps remain, and a lonely flagpole stands at the flag-raising platform, looking lifeless under the gloomy sky.
"Not here either."
Yukinoshita Yukino looked around and finally focused on the connected buildings. "It seems they're hiding inside."
"It looks like a scene from a horror movie… It's so creepy, I really don't want to go in."
Hikigaya Hachiman rubbed his arms, feeling goosebumps all over as a chilly wind blew by.
Yukinoshita Yukino ignored his complaints and walked straight toward the building with firm steps.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Hikigaya Hachiman carefully scanned the surroundings, afraid a curse spirit would suddenly appear and ambush them. When he turned around, he saw Yukinoshita Yukino had already walked quite a distance ahead, so he hurriedly run to catch up.
Before Hikigaya Hachiman could catch up, Yukinoshita reached the glass front door of the building, where the lock had already been removed, and she pushed the door open and walked in.
Inside was a large hall. Directly opposite the entrance was a staircase leading to the second floor, while corridors lined both sides leading to the dormitories and dining hall, according to the map on the wall.
This place serves as a central point to access different areas. In the corners of the hall, a few round tables and stools are set up, and toys are scattered on the floor, showing that children would play in this spacious hall.
Right in front of them was a "child" crouched down awkwardly stacking blocks.
"Calling it a child seems a bit of a stretch."
As Hikigaya Hachiman stepped into the hall, he saw the curse spirit. Although it was small, its appearance was very generic: a small ball for a head, a large cylinder for a body, and four small cylinders for limbs.
It looked quite similar to the mechanical beings from *NieR*.
"Use your technique, dead fish-eyed kid."
Hayashizaki suddenly appeared. Previously, Hikigaya Hachiman couldn't see the effect of the technique he used on Gojo Satoru, but this time, it shouldn't fail against such a weak fourth-level curse spirit.
Hikigaya Hachiman nodded and reached out toward the curse spirit. The spirit noticed them and grinned widely, showing a strange and terrifying smile.
"Want to… play… together…"
Before the broken and stuttered words were finished, as he suddenly clenched his fist, the curse spirit was sealed within a mirror that appeared out of nowhere, as if it were crushed by an invisible hydraulic press.
"How interesting."
Hayashizaki had a thought and raised his hand in the area of existence. At the same time, Yukinoshita Yukino in reality also lifted her hand and tapped on the mirror. The cursed spirit inside was still staring back at her with wide eyes, filled with innocent foolishness.
Could this count as the cursed spirit being lowered in dimension?
"Can you use this technique on yourself?" Hayashizaki asked curiously.
"I haven't tried it. How could I use an offensive technique on myself?" Hikigaya Hachiman said, a bead of cold sweat forming on his forehead. He hoped Hayashizaki wasn't going to force him to trap himself in the mirror.
"Then forget it, let's keep going," Hayashizaki said, thankfully not so crazy after all, quickly returning to his spying position.
Hikigaya Hachiman sighed in relief. He then activated the technique to shatter the mirror, and the cursed spirit trapped inside also shattered, turning into light particles that disappeared into the air along with the broken mirror.
"Where should we go?"
After dealing with the level four cursed spirit in the lobby, Hikigaya asked.
"Let's go to the dormitory," Yukinoshita Yukino replied, looking at the layout on the wall. After thinking for a moment, she continued, "The dormitory is on the far left of the building. It's more efficient to check the dormitory first before going back to clear other areas."
…
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