The Meatball Curse Spirit charged at Rin like an out-of-control armored spike-car, kicking up clouds of dust.
Its body was covered in hideous fleshy spikes as thick as an adult's arm, each gleaming with a dull metallic luster as if to tear the air apart. Its massive frame crushed the plastic track, leaving a deep furrow behind, as its deafening roar echoed across the empty playground, making the ground tremble.
The crushing pressure it exerted felt tangible, freezing the surrounding air. Even Chika, hiding in the corner, couldn't help but cover her ears and huddle tighter.
As the first Cursed Spirit to attack, its speed far surpassed its peers. In the blink of an eye, it closed a distance of over ten meters, its massive silhouette almost completely engulfing Rin.
Yet, Rin's expression remained calm.
His eyes narrowed slightly as the Crimson Sharingan spun slowly within them. The black tomoe were like obsidian submerged in a pool of blood, churning the halo deep within his pupils.
The Sharingan's Insight was pushed to its limit. The flow of Cursed Energy within the Meatball Curse Spirit, the distribution of its spikes, and even the shift in its center of gravity as it charged were all clearly visible to Rin. To him, every movement of this seemingly berserk Cursed Spirit was full of openings.
"Now."
Rin jerked his head, and the eight small black braids hanging behind him instantly straightened, as if injected with violent Cursed Energy.
The hair at the tips of the braids quickly intertwined and hardened, their protruding points gleaming with a chilling light as they transformed into eight sharp bone spikes. Then, he parted his thin lips, and his cool voice rang out clearly amidst the roar.
[Silk Binding Cursed Technique]
Before his voice faded, the eight spiked braids shot out like venomous snakes ready to strike.
The sharp tips sliced through the air with a whistling sound, precisely avoiding the hard spikes on the Meatball Curse Spirit's surface and aiming for the weak points on its sides—the nodes where the flow of Cursed Energy was weakest, as captured by the Sharingan.
"Puchi—!"
A dull squelch sounded, like a hot knife cutting through butter.
The eight bone spikes plunged into the Meatball Curse Spirit's body without resistance, and dark green blood gushed out from the wounds.
The hard spikes that had made it impossible for other Cursed Spirits to land a blow in previous fights were rendered useless under Rin's precise strike.
The Meatball Curse Spirit let out a piercing shriek, its forward momentum coming to a sudden halt.
It twisted its body frantically, trying to shake off the braids, but Rin had already manipulated them to form barbs inside it, hooking deep into the muscle and fascia. No matter how much it struggled, they didn't budge.
Within a few short seconds, the other dozen or so Cursed Spirits had also rushed close.
They bared their fangs and extended their claws, lunging at Rin.
Rin made no extra movements.
He reached back and grabbed the base of the eight braids. The veins on his arm bulged instantly, his muscles tensing like iron. Surging Cursed Energy flooded through his arm into the braids, forcefully hoisting the massive body of the Meatball Curse Spirit into the air.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, Rin exerted his strength, using the Meatball Curse Spirit as a giant flail and smashing it violently toward the Grade 3 Cursed Spirits leading the charge.
"Bang—!"
Following the loud crash, a large crater was smashed into the plastic track.
The three Cursed Spirits at the forefront had no time to dodge and were crushed into pulp by the heavy body of the Meatball Curse Spirit, dark purple blood and mangled flesh splattering everywhere.
Several nearby Cursed Spirits were also caught in the impact; some had limbs broken, while others were impaled by the fleshy spikes. They fell to the ground screaming, instantly losing their ability to fight.
Even the Meatball Curse Spirit, used as a "weapon," fell silent in the violent collision. Most of its surface spikes were broken, and it lay slumped on the ground like a pile of mud.
Before the dust could settle, a dark shadow suddenly lunged from behind the pile of Cursed Spirit corpses—it was the Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit that had been hiding at the back.
Its three heads were held high, its six emerald-green eyes fixed on Rin with greed and cruelty. Its tongues flickered frantically, seemingly excited about its plan to "reap the benefits" from the sidelines.
Before Rin could even adjust his stance, the Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit launched its attack.
Its three giant mouths opened simultaneously, spraying three columns of dark green venom like high-pressure water guns. They merged in mid-air into a thicker torrent of poison, heading straight for Rin's face with a pungent, foul stench.
At this moment, Rin was in a brief period of stiffness due to the immense physical exertion of swinging the Meatball Curse Spirit, and he could only barely twist his body to avoid it.
But the venom's coverage was so wide that it was impossible to dodge completely.
At this critical moment, however, the corners of Rin's mouth curled up slightly in a smile of anticipation.
His left hand, hidden behind his back, suddenly rose, his fingers already formed into a complex hand seal. From start to finish, this cunning Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit had never escaped the surveillance of his Sharingan.
Whether it was its deliberate act of staying behind or its threat as a Second-Grade Cursed Spirit, Rin had kept a trump card ready from the beginning.
While smashing the other Cursed Spirits, his left hand had already been secretly forming seals, channeling his remaining Cursed Energy.
"Rise."
At Rin's whisper, the rest of the long hair on his head grew wildly and intertwined, instantly weaving into a half-person-high black shield in front of him. The hair on the shield was tightly wound and glowed with a faint black light, its hardness comparable to steel.
"Sizzle— Sizzle—."
The venom slammed into the shield, instantly emitting clouds of pungent green smoke.
The dark green venom acted like strong acid, constantly corroding the hair. The once-hard shield dissolved at a visible rate, and a large hole was soon eaten through it.
Those strands of hair, tougher than steel cables, turned into smoking slime under the venom's effect and dripped onto the ground, even corroding small dark brown pits into the plastic track.
Through the hole in the shield, the Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit locked onto Rin again. But just as it was about to spray more venom, its pupils suddenly contracted.
Rin's right hand had already formed another hand seal.
The Cursed Spirit wanted to open its mouth, but it found that it hadn't had time to channel its Cursed Energy yet, while Rin's Cursed Technique was already primed.
"Puchi! Puchi!"
Several dull sounds rang out simultaneously.
The eight braids previously embedded in the Meatball Curse Spirit's body were suddenly pulled out, tearing out several sections of dark green internal organs with them. They arced through the air, stabbing toward the three heads of the Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit.
The snake Cursed Spirit tried to dodge, but the distance was too short, and the attack locked on by the Sharingan was terrifyingly precise.
It could only watch helplessly as the eight spiked braids struck like arrows, instantly piercing through its three heads. The sharp tips emerged from the back of its skulls, and dark green blood erupted like fountains, splattering across the playground in eerie patterns.
The Three-Headed Snake Cursed Spirit's body shuddered violently, its three heads slumped lifelessly, and its massive frame collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, completely devoid of life.
The battle finally came to a temporary halt.
Rin used his hand like a blade to cut off the long hair that had been partially corroded by the venom. He then manipulated his remaining braids to drag the scattered Cursed Spirit corpses before him one by one.
The Sharingan in his eyes spun once more, and an invisible gravitational force radiated from his pupils, enveloping all the Cursed Spirit corpses.
Space began to warp slightly, rippling as the corpses were sucked in like they were entering a black hole, disappearing completely as they were absorbed by Rin's Devouring Ability.
Even the Cursed Spirits that weren't quite dead yet were finished off and devoured.
Although the improvement brought by Grade 3 Cursed Spirits was already negligible, Rin never wasted any opportunity to become stronger.
As the last Cursed Spirit corpse vanished, a warm current began to circulate within Rin's body.
He could clearly feel his muscle density increasing subtly and the total amount of Cursed Energy in his body growing by a small margin. Though the increase wasn't large, it added up—this was the key to his rapid growth in a short period.
After sensing the changes in his body, Rin finally had time to assess the situation.
He closed his eyes and channeled his Cursed Energy to sense the state of the entire campus. Aside from the residual Cursed Energy fluctuations on the playground, he could no longer feel the presence of any Cursed Spirits elsewhere.
It seemed the Cursed Spirits scattered throughout the school had been completely cleared out by him.
But new questions soon surfaced. The [Curtain] shrouding the school had still not dissipated, which meant Geto Suguru should still be nearby.
According to Rin's deduction, Geto Suguru's goal was likely to have the Cursed Spirits devour each other to give birth to a stronger one. However, judging from the recent battle, those Cursed Spirits could at most reach the Second-Grade level and were unable to evolve further.
Combined with his memory of the plot, Geto Suguru's plan had clearly ended in failure.
What was even stranger was that from the beginning of the battle to its end, he had been exposed to Geto Suguru's field of vision, yet Geto had neither shown himself nor lifted the [Curtain].
What exactly was he waiting for?
Given Geto Suguru's personality, he should have actively tried to recruit a "civilian" sorcerer like Rin, who was talented and hadn't joined Jujutsu High, rather than hiding in the shadows like this.
Could there be... other complications?
Rin looked around, activating his Sharingan again to carefully scan every corner.
But no matter how he sensed, he couldn't find any residual Cursed Energy. With Geto Suguru's strength, if he deliberately hid himself, Rin wouldn't be able to find any trace of him at all.
Just as Rin was sinking into confusion, a bone-chilling cold suddenly surged up his spine and instantly spread throughout his body.
He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; his scalp tingled, and even his breathing became rapid.
Then, a powerful Cursed Energy far exceeding all previous Cursed Spirits swept in from all directions like a surging black tide, tightly enveloping him.
The air seemed to be sucked out instantly. The endless malice contained within that power felt like countless fine needles piercing his nerves.
Rin felt as if he had been thrown into the deep sea, making even channeling his Cursed Energy incredibly difficult.
He stiffly turned his neck, his Sharingan staring intently in the direction the Cursed Energy was coming from—the shadow of the teaching building on the east side of the playground.
In just a second, he read a clear message from that Cursed Energy.
A brand-new, powerful Cursed Spirit, far surpassing the Second-Grade level, had arrived.
And its target was Rin alone.