In the Arakami family's forbidden ground, the skeletal figure of Arakami Douman raised his head with a knowing look.
"So… my end is finally near, is it?"
When one lives long enough, they develop an uncanny awareness of their own impending death. No logic to it, just a sudden flash of insight.
"Oh… so, I'm about to die."
It was that kind of feeling.
Lowering his gaze, Arakami Douman looked into the stillness of the blood pool before him.
The thing within it was his life's work.
When he was young, his father had raised the Arakami family to its peak, only for them to face an onslaught from the three great families of the jujutsu world.
In that decisive battle, his father faced none other than the head of the Zen'in family, who wielded the clan's ancestral technique—the Ten Shadows Technique.
Ten shadows to summon ten shikigami.
Yet Douman's father had been a prodigy, so formidable that even the Zen'in clan's leader couldn't stand against him.
On that day, Douman had glimpsed the ultimate shikigami, the true secret of the Ten Shadows—one that was forbidden and unmatched.
The duel between the Arakami and Zen'in leaders ended in mutual destruction.
And Arakami Douman? He had been left mesmerized by that singular, powerful shikigami.
"I will summon a shikigami just as strong."
But it was almost impossible.
The Arakami family's technique, "Blood Contracting," was based on offering one's blood to a curse spirit from another realm. If the spirit was attracted to their blood, it would submit to them.
In other words, the higher the quality of one's blood, the greater the chance of binding a powerful shikigami.
Arakami Douman had indeed found a being as mighty as a demon god, yet even after offering it most of his blood, it had still not been enough to satisfy it.
Not only had he failed, but he had almost lost his life, nearly devoured by that spirit. This was why the Arakami family avoided binding powerful shikigami—one misstep could be fatal.
An ordinary person, after barely surviving such an ordeal, would have given up. But Arakami Douman was no ordinary person. He offered his blood again and again, using special methods to offer the blood of others as well.
The greater the jujutsu talent, the higher the quality of their blood.
But those with high jujutsu potential were usually strong fighters and hard to capture, with most belonging to the jujutsu world.
So, the Arakami family began seeking out children with jujutsu talent among the common people.
For one, the great jujutsu clans had always centered around bloodlines and held civilians in disdain.
And second, even if a child had a jujutsu gift, they couldn't wield its power without training.
Their plan had worked. Over the years, they had captured countless children with jujutsu talent, their blood forming the endless depths of this blood pool.
The demon god they sought to summon had been greatly pleased with the sacrifices, and their contract was nearly complete.
Binding this demon god was Arakami Douman's life's ambition. He would not let decades of effort fail at the last moment.
He closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, they were filled with fierce determination and cruelty.
"If I can't live to see the day when the three great families are trampled, then I'll take everyone with me to the grave!"
For this final step, he would pay with his life.
"Oh demon god! Consume me—let me become part of you!"
Even if he himself wouldn't be the one standing atop the mountain at the end, it didn't matter. He would imprint his ambition and will onto the demon's soul.
Take my place, unleash ruin on the jujutsu world, and bring eternal despair and terror to those sorcerers!
Both curse users and jujutsu sorcerers alike drew power from curses.
And the essence of curses was malice, negative emotions.
In the instant before death, a curse user's hatred would reach its zenith, releasing a torrent of cursed energy.
At the moment of his death, Arakami Douman used his blood contract to pass his obsession to the demon god he had summoned, successfully making it a core part of the demon's being.
Dark, putrid curse energy surged up from the depths, forming tornadoes of black mist that ground the surrounding rock walls to dust.
The once-still blood pool began to churn, a massive whirlpool forming in its center as the pool drained rapidly before his eyes.
Elsewhere, Baobhan Sith, who had been hurrying along with her nose pinched from the stench, was nearly knocked off her feet by the sudden tremor.
"Seriously? I know Japan has its fair share of earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and monsters, but did I really have to stumble into one right now?"
"Fenhua Yu! Fenhua Yu!"
Da Vinci had to call her name four or five times before Baobhan Sith remembered that the name she'd set for herself in FGO was "Feather of the Phoenix."
That was still mild compared to a certain other novel she'd read, where the protagonist had brought Chaldea along on his travels, only to be greeted by his Servants calling him "Spicy Chicken at Dawn." The poor guy was practically ready to time-travel just to knock some sense into his past self for picking that name.
"Oh! Right! I'm here, Da Vinci. What's up?"
Baobhan Sith stopped and looked at the holographic blue screen that Da Vinci had projected.
"You're probably feeling those tremors, right? Just to let you know, they're coming from about five hundred meters ahead of you. A powerful energy source just emerged there, one that has enough magical energy to rival a top-tier Servant. This one is on a completely different level than the enemies you've fought so far!"
The ground shuddered even more violently, and loose stones began to rain down from above.
"Senpai! The cave entrance is collapsing!"
"Roger that!"
Baobhan Sith's eyes lit up with excitement.
I've wanted out of this stinky, filthy place for ages!
With a speed even the wind couldn't match, she crossed the hundreds of meters in a single breath.
Just as she burst from the tunnel's entrance, the cave collapsed behind her, sealing the exit with a massive heap of rubble.
Baobhan Sith tapped the ground with her heel, mildly impressed that she'd managed to run so fast and steady on her first try wearing heels.
"Fenhua Yu…"
"Oh, no need for the warning, Da Vinci."
She lifted her head, her gaze sharp.
"This kind of spine-tingling aura… even if it's not the final boss, it's got to be an elite at least."
Drawing on her experience playing FGO, Baobhan Sith reflexively looked around for a place to duck and cover. Too bad, this time it was all on her.