kscans

Chapter 57 - Strength Lies in Numbers

Meeting Takahashi again. Naturally, I told Chika about it. She was genuinely happy for us, as if it were her own reconciliation. Since Chika seemed concerned too, I suggested arranging a gathering, but...

"No, that's a bit... I'm not mentally prepared yet."

Takahashi has moved on from the past, or rather, that's not quite right. It would be more accurate to say he's come to terms with everything and is living in the present. I thought there wouldn't be any issues since he's living positively toward the future, but Chika felt differently.

"I'm not saying my past self was wrong, you know?"

"Yeah."

"But even so, looking back now... Back then, I was absolutely vicious toward both Takahashi and Suzuki."

"That's true."

But she wasn't the only one. Takahashi and Suzuki were the same.

Chika, who chose to maintain the status quo, and I, who just went along with it. We were both torn to shreds with harsh words.

While the insults toward Chika were terrible, I was actually the one who received the most brutal verbal abuse. And what made it worse was that I couldn't even argue back. All I could say was, "You're absolutely right."

"I don't think I can just say 'We both said mean things, so we're even!' That's a bit beyond my personality."

She's probably closer to the normal reaction than I am. The reason I don't mind much is partly because of my inherent personality, but also because of my relationship with those guys. I'm an only child so I'm not sure if this is accurate, but it feels like having siblings close in age. That's why now that the biggest problem has been resolved, all reservations between us have completely disappeared.

"So sorry. I'll just accept your thoughtfulness for now."

She said she'd let me know when she's sorted through her feelings.

(I hope someday the four of us can drink together.)

Well, Suzuki's whereabouts remain unknown. I could probably find out by asking the Mutual Aid Society. Even though he's abandoned his dangerous ideology, he's still considered a person of interest. I think they periodically check his location. So they'd probably tell me if I asked, but...

(That wouldn't be right.)

If we meet again, it would be better if it happened by chance, like with Takahashi. I'm not trying to be a romantic, but the fact that I met Takahashi by coincidence is part of why our conversation progressed so quickly.

"Alright, it's ready."

I was currently sitting in meditation at the Mutual Aid Society's training facility. This wasn't for spiritual training or anything like that. If it were, I wouldn't be thinking about other things. I was sitting in meditation simply to gather power.

"...It's quite difficult to give form to other people's negative feelings."

Why am I charging up power? To develop a new technique.

During that short trip when I fought Hades' subordinates, I improvised several techniques. And that sparked my desire to develop new techniques. It's probably just a passing phase that I'd forget about if I did nothing, but what the hell. Even if it's temporary, I should enjoy it while I can.

"Damn... I can't wait to use it."

I don't know if it will succeed, but preparations are complete. All that's left is to try it out.

However, this technique isn't meant to be used on inanimate targets. It's specialized for use against people. More precisely, against women. I asked Takahashi to be my test subject, and he gladly agreed to do it after work, but...

"I got too excited and came too early."

I finished work early today and came straight to the training ground, but maybe I should have gone for a drink first. As compensation for helping with the experiment, he asked me to treat him to a drink afterward. Having some alcohol in my system might have made my conversation more sharp... Oh, he's here.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Not at all. Thanks for coming despite your busy schedule."

"It's no problem. But man... the Mutual Aid Society has really changed."

Well, I guess it would seem that way to Takahashi. The purge of the upper echelon happened after Takahashi left the organization. He was temporarily detained after being defeated by me, but he probably didn't have time to feel the changing atmosphere of the Society.

"By the way, Senpai is still around, huh? I saw him in the lobby."

"Yeah. That guy's been here all along. I heard he even had a kid recently."

"Seriously? The hands of time are really moving forward."

"Indeed. Anyway, are you ready?"

"Yeah."

That's excellent.

"So what kind of technique have you developed? I heard it's some kind of curse..."

I can use various types like magic, onmyodo, Taoist arts, immortal techniques. But I'm especially good at curses.

Most arts called "techniques" are so complex and theoretical that they could constitute the entire academic disciplines, but curses are different.

Curses, as the name suggests, are techniques for hexing. Since curses are emotion-driven, they're less logical than other techniques. In other words, they can be performed more intuitively than others. To explain it simply, it's like the difference between science and humanities.

So what has someone like me, who specializes in curses, developed? Hehehe.

"Seeing is believing... Behold, my new technique!!"

I clap my hands together and release the curse I've been charging. The black, mucus-like curse splatters on the ground and spreads like oil. And then...

"...Old hags?"

Countless elderly women emerge from the black sea. Their number? Three hundred. I could increase it further if I wanted, but this is just a test run.

"I call it, Legion of Old Hags (Babazu Legion)."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Heh... I've been getting frequent consultations from a high school friend about mother-in-law problems."

The harassment is beyond terrible. Whether it's out of love for her son or what, I was appalled that a woman of her age would act like that. I tried to give some advice, so I looked into it, and apparently there are quite a few mothers-in-law who harass their daughters-in-law. The content ranges from childish pranks to criminal-level behavior.

After thinking about it, I advised my friend to clearly decide which takes priority, his wife or his mother. I thought that once things got that bad, there was no choice but to cut ties with one of them. As a result, he decided to take his wife and move away.

"I got that news while I was thinking about what my new technique should be."

And that's when it hit me.

"What if I could utilize the aggressive nature of mothers-in-law?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I walked around collecting negative energy from old women who seemed likely to harass their daughters-in-law. Then I mixed in my own curse, resulting in this Babazu Legion. When the target is female, they recognize her as a daughter-in-law and demonstrate tremendous aggression.

"I know what you're thinking. Isn't it troublesome having to collect negative energy from old ladies every time?"

"No, that's not even the main issue here."

"But there's no problem."

"Listen to me!"

I collected those feelings to understand the negative emotions of mothers-in-law who harass their daughters-in-law. I've gathered enough to understand, so from now on I can recreate it with my own curse.

"Now, are you mentally prepared?"

"You bastard! You're completely insane! What kind of thought process is this?!"

"Let's go! GO! Old hags GO! GOGO old hags!!"

Countless old women let out strange cries and lunged at Takahashi.