Chapter 14

Check the footage.

The footage on the screen appears to be moving.

Can I control it like a drone?

Can I see from a higher vantage point?

Oh, it moved!

It seems to move in the direction I think... amazing.

The千里眼 (千里 eye) is like a real drone.

I'm a bit excited.

I've always wanted a drone to feel like I'm traveling.

No, no!

That's not the purpose right now.

Take a deep breath.

Raise the千里眼 (thousand-mile eye) to get a full view on the monitor.

The shadow makes it quite hard to see, but a huge rock formation is visible.

When I look at the whole area, the entrance I came through is not visible at all.

Now, it's time to prepare for purification.

I'll cover the rock formation in a dome shape, including a bit of the surroundings.

I managed to visualize it well.

By the way, in Japan, there's a technique called术返し (jutsu kaeshi) to return curses.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

If I purify the shadow, will the curse return to the person who cast it?

Well, there's no point in worrying about it here.

If the curse I cast returns to me, it's my own doing.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

"Purification!"

I feel something being pulled out of my body.

I'm a bit surprised.

This must be magic.

I'm excited about this new experience, but it doesn't seem to have any effect on my body.

There doesn't seem to be any problem.

The monitor shows the rock formation and its surroundings clearly.

"Barrier. Strengthen"

I don't want to be affected by the shadow again after purifying it.

I check the monitor for a few minutes.

"It's okay, right?"

...

Hmm, it's not okay.

A few hours later, the shadow is entering the barrier.

Why!

Upon investigation, the answer is simple.

The barrier was applied to the entire space, including the floor.

The rock formation was only covered from above.

This is the cause; the shadow is entering from below.

The monitor shows the shadow seeping out of the ground.

It's disgusting and frustrating.

I'll purify it again, but this time I'll expand the range.

I'll include the forest around the rock formation.

I don't want the shadow to be in my sight.

I can't help but feel uneasy from the shadow.

Checking underground with the千里眼 (thousand-mile eye) is meaningless since it only shows a top-down view.

Spatial recognition can't grasp anything without walls.

Thinking about it again... Wait, do I need to recognize it?

I need the千里眼 (thousand-mile eye) to see the size, but I don't need to see inside the ground.

I just need to set up a barrier, so I'll imagine stakes buried underground.

I'll imagine them five times deeper than the rock formation.

Connecting the stakes will form a box.

I'll extend the stakes above ground and connect them to form a box.

I can imagine a huge, transparent box buried underground.

...This should work!

"Purification! Barrier! Strengthen!"

The shadow seeping from the ground was so disgusting

I strongly imagine the curse returning to its source.

...What is the source of the curse?

Well, it doesn't matter. If it's a curse talisman, let it return to that!