Abandoned container warehouse.
Throughout this investigation, they had been moving all over the city, finally reaching the suburbs, exactly where the last battle took place.
"We're close to the same location as last time, but now it seems things are very different," said Hisagi, closing his eyes to sense the surroundings more precisely.
"Let's split up here. You take the right side, and I'll handle the other area." Hisagi looked at the site, an area filled with abandoned containers, and couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Strawberry candy," Toge nodded, unafraid of being separated since he wasn't weak at all.
"Take care as well." Hisagi followed the movements of the cursed spirits to this zone, but as soon as he entered the open container, he was attacked by no less than six cursed spirits at once.
Hisagi, who had stormed in alone without expecting to be attacked by spirits so weak in his eyes, suddenly felt something threatening his safety.
When he realized that the source of the cursed spirits was in this place, a specific enemy began consciously blocking Hisagi's escape route.
Each cursed spirit stared at Hisagi shamelessly, as if the human before them was no different from any they had killed before.
Under their greedy eyes, Hisagi's limbs and chest seemed to have been divided for their pleasure.
Hisagi stared intently around him. He could feel the malicious gazes of these foolish cursed spirits, but he didn't care much.
These foolish spirits couldn't comprehend his true power because he was far beyond them.
Their level of intellect was too low to even warrant Hisagi bothering to use his sword in the first place, but since he wanted to familiarize himself with his combat style, he had no choice but to use it.
Hisagi looked up at the deepest darkness of the container. His right hand firmly grasped the hilt of his sword, and with his right thumb, he pushed the blade out of its sheath.
As if the moment the blade emerged was the signal for a fight, dozens of cursed spirits charged at Hisagi from all directions at once!
In the next second, the temperature in the surroundings rose rapidly, reaching unbearable levels for a human.
Clang! Clang!
The first two cursed spirits that crossed his path were the first to witness Hisagi's power, and the sharp sound of the long sword being sheathed echoed.
The bodies of the cursed spirits split as soon as they hit the ground, while their heads darted around, trying to understand why they had lost control of their bodies. But in the next moment, their bodies burst into flames, and in just a few moments, they turned to ashes.
Hisagi exhaled a puff of white steam without even looking back.
From the end of dinner until now, while hunting cursed spirits wherever he dared and sending souls to the world of the dead, he knew this would be his future.
But as soon as they arrived at this place, the situation seemed to worsen.
That's why, in just a few seconds, the battle grew more chaotic.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The place where Hisagi had been was engulfed in massive flames, extinguishing all the cursed spirits, and only then did Hisagi's figure appear in the sky, his hands forming a strange shape.
"That which terrifies more than darkness itself, that which is darker than black... purify the impurities!" Hisagi murmured these words, and in the next moment, the entire district, as far as human reach extended, was covered by a dark barrier.
Once the barrier was created, Hisagi appeared on the open ground.
A curtain allows the user to construct a barrier that separates a specific surrounding area from another.
"Who are you?"
Hisagi furrowed his brow as he sealed the flames of his sword, then carefully observed all the phenomena before him. "It's rude to ask questions before introducing yourself, and besides, I want an explanation of what creatures like you are doing here."
"We are... We are known as Serpo, a race superior to humans, here on this desolate planet to bring you salvation." As these words left the mouth of a humanoid figure with strange proportions, dozens of identical figures emerged from the surroundings and stood before him.
The Serpo wore strangely humanoid male disguises, along with human clothing: collared shirts with buttons and a left breast pocket tucked into their pants, a belt, and shoes.
The true bodies of the Serpo were alien-like, with slug-like heads, large, prominent lips, and a line-patterned body with a bloated stomach. They had two fingers and two thumbs on each hand, while their feet had no toes but were split to resemble them. This race also possessed a set of crystalline, headlight-shaped eyes, and the color of their eyes varied among individual Serpo, from pink to yellow to cyan.
"A race not cursed, but alien, more commonly known as extraterrestrials." Hisagi was surprised, but there was no time to investigate further. When he sensed someone approaching, he said, "Toge, can you feel that aura of resentment behind us?"
Toge, who had gotten closer, looked in horror at these beings that were slowly deforming, revealing their true forms. What shocked him was that they weren't cursed spirits but actual physical monsters.
"I already sent a message to our field agent nearby. He'll call for reinforcements to handle the enchantments in the area. I need you to save any women you find here and leave as soon as possible."
This time, Toge didn't hesitate. He quickly turned around, fearing his cursed energy wouldn't be enough to withstand the path filled with cursed spirits, and pulled out his phone to send a distress message to his Sensei.
But at that moment, a terrifying aura exploded, and Hisagi, who had just broken a silver coin, smiled maniacally and shouted, "Whether cursed spirits or aliens, humans or monsters, I, Shuhei Hisagi, by the order of the Tokyo School of Sorcery, will exterminate you no matter what."
"Cursed, insolent human, you still don't understand how great and powerful we can become." The Serpo, who seemed to be the leader, began transforming into a monstrously large creature.
Hisagi's grin grew even wider, and when he saw massive containers flying toward him, he extended his hand and murmured, "Bakudo 81... Danku!"
Void Severing!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In front of Hisagi, an enormous barrier extended, covering everything within dozens of meters, allowing him to emerge unscathed from the attacks.