"So it really was you..."
Natsuki Subaru swallowed hard.
The sensation was like being violently shoved from a warm fireplace into an ice cellar; a chill surged up from the base of his spine, spreading all the way to the back of his head.
To think he had actually spent the day chasing and playing with this child, being led around by the nose by her innocent, guileless smile.
When she laughed, she showed two little canine teeth, and her eyes curved into crescents, looking just like any other ordinary little girl.
But now, those eyes were narrowed into slits, radiating a calmness akin to a hunter appraising prey—a look completely inconsistent with her age.
The more Natsuki Subaru thought about it, the more terrified he beca.
"Big brother, your body is shaking~ Are you scared?"
ili narrowed her eyes slightly while quietly observing her surroundings.
It seed Natsuki Subaru had co here all alone.
Is he here to die?
A smug smile appeared on ili's face.
Though she didn't know how Natsuki Subaru had managed to survive the curse, coming here by himself now was nothing short of a death wish.
"Big brother, I don't actually hate you, you know! But I'm sorry—could I trouble you to die for a bit? Since you chose to co here alone, you must have already prepared yourself for death."
ili set the Witchbeast in her arms down.
the mont the 'puppy' hit the ground on all fours, its entire posture changed—its back arched high, its fur stood on end, and its originally drooping ears snapped upright as its lips curled back to reveal bone-white fangs.
The sound erging from deep within its throat was no longer a coquettish whimper, but a long howl approaching that of a wolf.
Simultaneously, in the shadows on both sides of the forest, dozens of pairs of eyes erged from the darkness.
At first, they were just scattered glimrs, like fireflies flickering among the bushes.
But soon, those points of light grew more nurous and dense, surging in the darkness like a sea of ghost fires.
Seconds later, dozens of wolf-like Witchbeasts erged one after another from the forest, surrounding Natsuki Subaru.
Despite having a form similar to wolves, an aura of evil practically hit him in the face. Bloodthirsty snarls vibrated deep in their throats, as if they were ready to pounce and tear Natsuki Subaru to pieces at any mont.
Natsuki Subaru stood rooted to the spot, his palms slick with cold sweat.
He could sll the scent of those Witchbeasts and hear their breathing—heavy and rhythmic, like a countdown to sothing.
He could even feel the weight of their gaze; those dozens of eyes pinned him down like nails, making him feel as though he had already been torn apart countless tis.
"Big brother, in that case, get ready to die!"
ili spoke with a smile, the curve of her lips widening even further than before.
She raised one hand, her slender fingers tracing a light arc in the air as she issued a command to the Witchbeasts.
"Kill him."
The Witchbeasts erupted in a deafening roar simultaneously.
In the next second, they sward forward—grayish-black silhouettes surged from all directions like a tide, dry leaves crushed to powder and soil flying.
The Witchbeast in the very front had already opened its bloody maw, reeking of stench, lunging straight for Natsuki Subaru's throat—
However, at that exact mont, the creature suddenly skidded to a halt.
The Witchbeasts behind it also braked hard; so collided with each other, while others tumbled awkwardly to the ground, but not a single one continued forward.
Those glowing eyes were no longer fixed on Natsuki Subaru; instead, they all turned in unison toward the direction behind him.
Their throats emitted a different kind of low growl—completely different from the bloodthirsty snarls from before.
It was a low, hurried, tremulous whimper, like the terrified wails of small animals facing a natural predator.
"What are you doing?!"
ili shouted at the Witchbeasts in bewildernt.
Normally, these Witchbeasts would carry out her orders without hesitation.
But why were they hesitating now?
Did they encounter sothing?
While ili was confused, another set of footsteps echoed from behind Natsuki Subaru.
Yuji Itadori appeared before them.
Moonlight fell upon him, outlining a well-defined silhouette.
His hands were shoved in his pockets, and his hood obscured his face; his posture was as casual as if he were out for a post-dinner stroll.
There was no tension on that young face, no fear, not even any pre-battle excitent—only a calm, matter-of-fact composure.
"Subaru, there aren't any problems elsewhere in the village. The villagers are safe."
Yuji Itadori lowered his hood and spoke slowly to the Natsuki Subaru beside him.
"Y-you are?! You're Yuji Itadori!"
The mont she saw him, ili shouted his na in utter shock.
Red hair, a young man with scars on his face.
Her sister, Elsa, had ntioned this na.
This was the man who had severely injured Elsa and caused her to be captured by the Knight Order!
Why was he here?!
According to the intelligence, only Natsuki Subaru had co to this territory.
ili couldn't fathom what was going on at all; she only realized one thing.
The reason these Witchbeasts were showing fear was because of the person in front of her!
Witchbeasts were essentially more powerful and terrifying beasts, and they possessed instincts even sharper than those of ordinary animals; they could detect the presence of danger better than other creatures.
And Yuji Itadori, standing before her, was that dangerous presence.
"You... know ?"
Yuji Itadori's gaze simply fell upon ili, and he let out a slight sigh.
Sure enough, it was as he had anticipated in the worst-case scenario: the mastermind behind all of this was actually just a child.
To turn a child into this kind of killer...
"You're the one who hurt Big Sister! It was you!"
Rage filled ili's eyes as she shouted sowhat hysterically at the Witchbeasts beside her, "Kill him, kill him, kill him!!!!"
Under ili's continuous commands, those Witchbeasts that had previously shown fear bared their fangs again, their cloudy eyes filled with killing intent.
"Big Sister?"
Yuji Itadori imdiately realized that the young girl before him was the younger sister of the previous Bowel Hunter, Elsa Granhiert.
Was she also a hireling?
"Yuji Itadori! I'm going to avenge Big Sister!!"
ili shouted loudly at Yuji Itadori.
"Even if you're strong, you're only one person in the end! But what I can control are the Witchbeasts of this entire forest!"
As ili spoke, the roars of more Witchbeasts echoed from further within the forest.
"The Witchbeasts of the entire forest, huh?"
As Yuji Itadori spoke, he raised his hand.
"In that case, let's experint a little to see if the energy in this world called Mana is similar to Cursed Energy."
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