"Chasing thrills is the whole point of a club that investigates the supernatural and youkai, you know. We can use this chance to write up an activity report, too. It's not like anything actually scary is going to happen. The mood is perfect right now!"
Sasaki, president of the Occult Research Club, spoke with burning enthusiasm, and club member Iguchi immediately nodded along.
Kana watched them, then silently nodded as well. Both of their school clubs actually had the same problem: they had to submit activity reports on a regular basis to prove they were doing anything at all—otherwise, the club would get shut down.
If the Paranormal Investigation Squad didn't file a report, they'd also be at risk of getting disbanded.
That was exactly why these two like-minded clubs had secretly gotten in touch and arranged to do activities together.
The pretty girl with long yellow hair, Maki, urged them on. "Then let's hurry up and get it over with so we can go home already."
This place felt way too creepy. The only reason she'd even come was because there were so many people around; if she'd had to come alone at night, there was no way she'd be here for fun.
"OK, OK, I'll speed it up. Why is this seal stuck on so tight… There, got it!" Sasaki clawed at it for a while before finally managing to tear the seal loose.
Everyone's eyes focused on his hands, holding their breath as they watched him peel the strip away bit by bit.
Before long, all the seals wrapped around it had been stripped off. A short, ugly purple-black severed finger appeared before their eyes.
"A human… finger?" Iguchi let out a startled cry, voice full of uncertainty.
"No way! Seriously!?" Sasaki, who was holding Sukuna's finger, nearly jumped out of his skin.
Sure, he might be president of a paranormal research club, but he was still scared of ghosts!
He'd founded this club to enjoy the thrill of being spooked—not because he actually wanted to stumble onto something gross and horrifying in real life!
"These… aren't normal strips of cloth. They're talismans!?"
In the flickering candlelight, the cute, doll-like Kana finally saw what those papers really were.
In an instant, everyone's faces went pale, and their hearts clenched tight.
"L-looks like we really found something authentic… I-it's fine, let's just end tonight's activity right here and go home!"
Sasaki swallowed hard and flung Sukuna's finger away in disgust. But before any of them could stand up.
Pop.
The candle on the table went out. A bone-deep chill spread through the air, blowing their fear wide open.
"W-what's going on!?"
As their trembling voices overlapped, pitch-black cursed energy oozed across the ceiling.
Grotesque, twisted faces and hideous bodies began to crawl out of that darkness one after another.
They stared hungrily and hatefully at Sukuna's finger—and at the living humans present.
"Hand it over~~~ Hand it over~~~"
Heavy, muffled growls poured out of the curses' mouths without end.
Normally invisible to ordinary people, the curses were now fully revealed to everyone by the thick cursed energy filling the room.
"G-ghosts!!!"
"Monsters!!!"
The Paranormal Society and the Paranormal Investigation Squad both exploded into screams of terror.
The group scattered in an instant, bolting madly for the exits. As she ran, Sasaki shoved Sukuna's finger into her pocket on reflex.
Meanwhile, Fushiguro Megumi—who was in charge of retrieving Sukuna's finger—had arrived at the school with Itadori Yuji.
The moment they ran into the curses chasing the group, Fushiguro rushed in and engaged them.
Right then, a mushroom cloud suddenly rose up in the distance, and an entire mountain was leveled in an instant.
"W-what the hell was that?!"
Everyone was startled out of their minds—everyone except the curses, who kept attacking relentlessly.
Catching Fushiguro off guard, one of them slammed into him with a heavy blow, blasting him through a wall and sending him crashing onto the athletic field.
Seeing the curses turning on Sasaki, Itadori shouted. "Senpai! Throw away the thing I gave you!!!"
"Ah? Eh!?" Sasaki suddenly realized that this was what was drawing all the monsters.
Without a second thought, she yanked Sukuna's finger out of her pocket and hurled it toward the window.
The curses in hot pursuit immediately turned, opening their jaws wide as they lunged for the finger.
"Ahhh!!! I won't let you have it!" Itadori dove in and wrested Sukuna's finger from the curse's mouth by sheer force.
While they were fighting over it, Takumi had already arrived in silence.
Watching the curse and Itadori's clash, Takumi felt like he was watching two kids squabbling.
"Somehow both interesting and boring at the same time… What a weird feeling."
After a brief scan, Takumi immediately locked onto another group of girls elsewhere in the school who were also in the middle of running for their lives.
In their blind panic, they'd bolted in the opposite direction from the Paranormal Society.
Most of the curses had been drawn away by Sukuna's finger, but a small number still craved the humans' life force and had chosen to hunt down Kana and her friends.
"H-help!!!" The three girls running side by side screamed at the top of their lungs.
The loudest of them was the previously impatient Saori. She regretted it so much she could die. She never should have left her warm, comfy home to come tempt fate like this!
Now that they'd proven monsters were real, they were about to die here as "proof"!!!
After who knew how long they'd been running, the three of them were completely exhausted and collapsed in a corner by the wall.
Watching the curses draw closer and closer, their hearts sank into the abyss.
As president, Kana stared at her two friends, guilt eating her alive. She'd always been afraid of scary things, but she vaguely remembered seeing a youkai when she was little. After starting middle school, she'd formed this club with her two best friends.
She had never imagined that what was supposed to be a simple little gathering would end up like this.
"I'm so sorry… Saori, Natsumi… This is all my fault. All because of me…" Facing the end, Kana apologized desperately.
Natsumi and Saori didn't blame her. They shook their heads, just about to say something to comfort her when they suddenly noticed something.
"Kana, something's off. These things… it's like they can't get close to us!?" At Saori's startled cry, the three of them turned their eyes forward together.
The curses' twisted faces and flailing claws were lunging at them but the closer they got, the slower they moved.
It made for an incredibly bizarre scene. No matter how the curses tried to rush them, they simply couldn't reach Kana and the others.
As the three girls slowly started to relax, a figure walked toward them down the right-hand hallway.
"Yo~ Good evening, you three. Looks like you've been having quite the thrilling time."
Takumi approached with a smile. His handsome face and gentle expression made all three girls' hearts skip a beat.
The moment their eyes met, each of them felt like they'd fallen in love. They also recognized him at once, blurting out in unison.
"You're Takumi-senpai!?"
"Oh? You know who I am?" Takumi raised an eyebrow and looked at the three of them in surprise.
He really hadn't expected to run into students from his own school on this job.
....
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