Chapter 23
### Chapter 23: Chapter 21, Nige Ru Da Yo!
Lin Qi’s head poked down from the ceiling, revealing a massive yellow-green bug. Strangely, the bloated caterpillar head sported a set of disturbingly humanoid features that set off alarm bells in the minds of both Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman Hikigaya as they felt the horror of the uncanny valley.
“Isn’t this the unethical superior of that cursed spirit from earlier?” Hachiman thought to himself as he listened to the bug repeatedly spouting capitalist declarations. It seemed like it should be on a streetlight, not in this office building.
After some involuntary sarcasm, Hachiman suddenly changed his expression, realizing something serious: “Could it be that the Grade 3 Cursed Spirit that Lin Qi mentioned is this guy?!”
The cursed spirit that Yukinoshita just defeated was merely a small fry!
Looking at the size difference, it was evident that this caterpillar-like superior was far stronger than that fish-man office worker cursed spirit!
Just the head peeking down from the ceiling was already larger than three fish-man cursed spirits combined, let alone the body parts that were yet to be revealed.
“Give me… overtime… overtime!!!”
Accompanied by a violent tremor, the caterpillar superior screeched as it crawled out of the ceiling, crashing heavily onto the ground, its massive size nearly filling the entire space and separating Yukinoshita Yukino from Hachiman Hikigaya.
It writhed its body, squeezing the load-bearing columns until cracks appeared, breaking several pieces of debris.
Seeing the bug body just within reach, Hachiman gritted his teeth and threw a punch, but his strength was far inferior to Yukinoshita’s. He merely dented the spot slightly before being bounced back as though he had punched the belly of a few hundred-pound fat person, severely reducing any potential damage.
Not only did he fail to inflict enough harm on the cursed spirit, but he also managed to provoke it.
“No overtime… then you’re fired!!!” the bug roared, and suddenly a pair of appendages burst out from the sides of its round body. Transforming from a caterpillar into a centipede-like being, its numerous legs began to move in a way that would send shivers down anyone with a fear of insects.
Fortunately, after realizing that his punch had no effect, Hachiman quickly retreated to create some distance from the cursed spirit; otherwise, he would have ended up with his gut sliced open by the suddenly sprouted sharp legs.
Yukinoshita Yukino, who was poised to attack, was also startled by the cursed spirit’s transformation. However, the cursed spirit’s focus was not on her but rather swaying its body towards Hachiman Hikigaya.
Yet, its colossal size made it challenging to move in this relatively narrow space. The steel and concrete load-bearing columns could not withstand its movements, and one of the columns was even broken!
The collapsing stone pillar fell with a loud noise, kicking up dust that made Yukinoshita cough.
Her view was completely blocked by the cursed spirit’s enormous body; she was clueless about Hachiman’s situation and could only shout, “Hachiman, run outside! This building will collapse from this cursed spirit’s rampage!”
Now facing the boy with dead-fish eyes, the cursed spirit’s mandibles, as thick as Hachiman’s waist, opened and closed grotesquely, with visible slime dripping from them, and an overpowering stench rushed toward him.
Stunned, he stood frozen in place, seemingly paralyzed by fear.
Fortunately, Yukinoshita’s voice broke through his daze, and Hachiman quickly snapped back to reality. He turned and ran while yelling, “What exactly is wrong with this thing?!”
Fortunately, the staircase was on his side; he didn’t need to dodge the cursed spirit to get downstairs.
Hachiman dashed down the stairs, moving faster than he did during the forced 200-meter dash at the middle school sports day.
However, with only two legs, he was at a disadvantage compared to the countless legs of the cursed spirit, each nearly as high as he was. If it wasn’t for the confined space hindering its movement, he would have been caught by its terrifying mandibles before reaching the exit.
The cursed spirit smashed through the remaining load-bearing columns, and its massive head wedged into the narrow staircase, momentarily halting its advance.
Hachiman, having entered the staircase just in time, managed to gulp down some air. He glanced back at the bug’s head, which completely blocked the stairway, and before he could truly relax, he saw the cursed spirit suddenly open its mouth full of spiral-shaped sharp teeth, its thick tongue launching out like an arrow!
His pupils dilated, and instinctively, he hunched down just in time to narrowly dodge the surprise deadly strike, but he lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs, crashing against each step painfully and forcing tears from his eyes.
The cursed spirit’s tongue shot out, piercing through the wall. Chunks of scattering debris rained down on Hachiman. If he hadn’t dodged in time, it would have been his body that shattered.
Not having time to linger, Hachiman scrambled to escape, rolling and climbing until he finally reached the ground floor, successfully getting outside.
He then saw Yukinoshita Yukino jumping down from the second floor, rolling upon landing to dissipate some of the impact before reaching his side.
“Are you okay?” she asked with concern, eyeing his battered appearance.
“…It hurts like hell. Lin Qi, please save me,” Hachiman grunted in pain.
Suddenly, the office building shook violently as a large hole was smashed into the side. The cursed spirit roared as it squeezed out from within, having chosen to break the wall since the narrow staircase was blocked!
“Oh no, this is bad,” Lin Qi, who had remained silent so far, suddenly spoke up, “I forgot to drop the curtain.”
“You mean…” Yukinoshita recalled the information he had previously shared with them.
“This is going to attract a lot of attention,” Lin Qi said, his tone unusually awkward. “But it’s fine; ordinary people can’t see cursed spirits.”
“That’s a huge problem!” Yukinoshita lost her composure, realizing that the building was wobbling dangerously due to the cursed spirit’s rampage. Only now did it hit her that this was her family’s property!
“Cough, cough!” Now was not the time for concerns.
Black patterns slowly emerged on Yukinoshita Yukino’s face, and a second pair of eyes opened. Lin Qi waved his hand, and the cursed spirit chasing after Hachiman was instantly sliced into several pieces…
Along with the unstable building that followed.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Lin Qi said as he lifted Hachiman with one hand, and together, their silhouettes vanished from the scene.
Before long, several fire trucks surrounded the site that had been turned into a wasteland.
……2
After school, then become a Jujutsu Sorcerer: