The night was deep.

Sitting at the desk and looking at the reference book in front of her, Honda just couldn’t calm her mind. She stared at the string of Buddha Beads on her wrist and sighed involuntarily. This was given to her by Duanmu Huai before they left, saying it could make her feel more at ease. The Buddha Beads looked very peculiar, with golden Sanskrit carved on them, appearing quite powerful.

But even so, Honda couldn’t find peace. No one in her family had returned yet, leaving her alone at home, which made her restless and even a bit parched.

Go drink some water.

With that thought, Honda stood up and left the bedroom, heading to the kitchen on the first floor. The entire house was empty. Even if Honda turned on all the lights, there was still an invisible fear and unease. She hurried to the kitchen, opened the fridge, took out a bottle of drink, and gulped it down.

The cold drink seemed to dissolve some of the heat rising inside her, and Honda discarded the bottle in the trash can before turning to head upstairs.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Ding dong..."

"Who, who’s there?"

Hearing the doorbell, Honda trembled slightly. Her parents had the keys, and it was unlikely for anyone else to visit so late. So who could it be pressing the doorbell?

She cautiously walked to the entrance, but on the other side of the frosted glass, Honda couldn’t see any silhouette, as if there was no one there at all.

Maybe I misheard.

Honda comforted her frightened heart, then turned to go upstairs again, when suddenly...

"Ding dong..."

The doorbell rang again.

"..."

Honda turned back trembling, staring at the door, not daring to make a sound, nor wanting to. Although she couldn’t see the situation outside, she instinctively sensed it seemed dangerous.

Soon after, a heavy knocking began.

"Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!"

The deafening sound almost made Honda collapse to the ground in fear. At the same time, a man’s shouting came from outside. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Open up! Open the door for me!"

"Huh? Dad?"

Though the voice sounded rude and terrifying, Honda recognized it as her father’s. But why was he so angry? Did something happen again at the company?

"Boom!"

The door knocked again, interrupting Honda’s thoughts.

"Lingzi, I know you’re home, open the door!"

"I, I..."

Honda shakily stood up, walked to the entrance, facing the door, hesitated for a moment, then reached out her hand...

Simultaneously, a crimson blade pierced through the door, stabbing forward.

"Uh... Ugh..."

"Boom!"

Duanmu Huai kicked open the door, looking at the woman who had fallen before him. She seemed about forty, dressed like a housewife, and was staring wide-eyed, clutching desperately at the wound on her neck, frantically struggling to hold on to life.

"You Curse Masters sure know how to play."

Duanmu Huai pulled out the Sharp Blade, letting the blood spray through the woman’s fingers.

"Building haunted houses to kill people and then selling the story, I see this is quite a play. I must say I’ve learned something new."

Looking at the Curse Master before him, Duanmu Huai shook his head speechlessly.

Regarding Spiritual Energy—or how the Magicians harness it—Duanmu had it all figured out.

Magicians use their emotional guidance to access Subspace’s Spiritual Energy, but Curse Masters are different. The reason Curse Masters commit mass murder, besides having strong power and abnormal personalities, is to use others’ emotional energy to gain additional Magic Power.

Clearly, emotions like death and madness are intense and easily attract Magic Power.

Earlier in the afternoon, while in Honda’s bedroom, Duanmu had noticed the house across the way. Although Honda’s home had some lingering spiritual energy, Duanmu felt someone was watching from across. He confirmed then the issue wasn’t with Honda’s home but next door!

Thus, after returning, Duanmu came back late at night and saw Honda’s father hammering on the door. The controlling Magic Power at that time came from the neighbor’s house.

It was simple then; Duanmu knocked on the door, pretending to deliver a package, and as the person approached, he swiftly pierced their throat with the Sword.

"Cluck..."

"Alright, enough said. Your accomplices have also been caught, so you can all meet your fate together."

With those words, Duanmu Huai swung the Sword, cleaving the woman’s head in two. Simultaneously, an eerie aura burst from the woman’s body, lunging toward Duanmu. But Duanmu simply waved it away, scattering the Magic Power instantly.

"Mikuni, you take care of the rest."

"Got it!"

Upon hearing Duanmu’s command, Mikuni, dressed in a black suit, hurried over with others. She made several gestures, and the support team skillfully placed the woman’s body into a body bag. It would then be taken directly to the crematorium and the ashes scattered at sea—as the investigation in the Shibuya incident revealed that Xia Youjie had long died. According to regulations, the corpse should have been dealt with, but his friend Gojo Satoru, being kind-hearted, wanted to preserve Xia Youjie’s body whole.