The Banknote Talismans

On a dark, moonless night with a howling wind, within a residential area of Tokyo, the streets were silent and deserted. In front of Akiko Shikaku's home, Yura hid behind a lamppost. Currently suffering from an evil spirit's curse, her body felt weak and sluggish, making it difficult to move. After witnessing the horrific composite evil spirit hidden in Akiko Shikaku's room, Yura had immediately prepared to retreat and regroup, but she was discovered by the hidden spirit and struck with a curse. With no other choice, Yura was forced into a desperate battle.

"Whew... whew... Curse Spirit Bullet!"

Pointing a trembling finger forward, she chanted a brief, rapid incantation. A tiny orb of blue spiritual power condensed at her fingertip and shot toward the second-floor room across the street. It shattered the window glass and struck the hideous, humanoid spider-like spirit hanging from the ceiling. The blast tore away a third of one of the spirit's six heads, but it had little effect.

The Curse Spirit Bullet was a basic technique that Yura was forced to use while cursed and lacking her usual talismans. It was a simple structure that merely gathered spiritual power and fired it off. Because humans naturally possess far less energy than yokai or gods, they must be more efficient.

Humans rely heavily on complex techniques to do more with their limited energy. A spell like the Curse Spirit Bullet, which purely releases spiritual power, is not only weak but also extremely wasteful. Yura would never have used such a technique if she hadn't lost her talismans.

Struck by the bullet, the composite evil spirit let out an angry roar as the damage to its head began to heal rapidly. However, this action caused the spirit to break its demon realm deep-dive state. Inside the room, Akiko Shikaku, who had been wondering why her window suddenly shattered, felt a cold shiver run down her spine. The temperature in the room plummeted several degrees, and an ominous presence descended from above.

Akiko slowly looked up. Her breath hitched, and her eyes widened in terror. Spanning almost the entire ceiling of her room was a massive ghostly shadow. The shadow was clear enough for her to see its silhouette and numerous gruesome details: twisted, tangled human limbs and six hideous heads were now visible to her.

Because of Yura's sudden intervention, Akiko saw for the first time the terrifying thing that had been lurking beside her, witnessing the horrific reality of the other world. In an instant, her curiosity and vanity vanished, replaced by overwhelming dread.

"Aaaaah—ugh!!"

Paralyzed by the sight on the ceiling, Akiko screamed. Realizing she could see it, the composite evil spirit wasted no time. It opened one of its mouths and spat out a blood-soaked intestine like a strand of silk, wrapping it around Akiko's neck and hoisting her off the floor.

Akiko's eyes bulged as she clawed at the object around her throat, trying to break free. It was useless. She was suspended in mid-air, her legs dangling, and in her agony, she could see the monster above her even more clearly.

The evil spirit had used Akiko to attract spirits and ghosts to feed on, but now that she had discovered its presence, she was no longer useful. A soul with high spiritual awareness would be a delicious meal.

Out on the street, the curse on Yura's body eased slightly after her Curse Spirit Bullet hit the mark. Just as she prepared to stand and retreat, she saw Akiko being hoisted up by the spirit inside the house. Yura grit her teeth and pulled out the only thing she had left: a single white katashiro.

"Go! Tanrou!"

Yura threw the katashiro. The white paper figure ignited with pale blue flames in mid-air, and a giant white wolf lunged out. Under Yura's direction, it leapt through the shattered second-floor window and into the room, biting through the spirit's protruding tongue. Akiko fell heavily to the floor.

Seeing the giant wolf shikigami interfering, the spirit's six heads roared in fury. Its eight pale limbs released their grip on the ceiling, and its hideous body dropped. The joints of its eight limbs flipped vertically, and its six heads twisted in a full circle; the spirit's back, which had been against the ceiling, was now its front. It plummeted down, attempting to grapple the Tanrou shikigami.

The white wolf reacted quickly, dodging the falling spirit. The spider-like spirit used its eight limbs to lunge again with a screech, this time successfully tackling Tanrou and crashing through the window back out into the street.

The white wolf and the giant humanoid spider tumbled onto the pavement, locked in combat. The wolf tried to create distance to use its agility, but the spirit's many pale limbs held it in a death grip. Forced into a corner, Tanrou began a frantic, bloody melee with the spirit, the two creatures tearing at each other.

This composite evil spirit was incredibly powerful, capable of almost total physical manifestation, and it was a size larger than Tanrou. With its numerous limbs, heads, and mouths, it held the advantage in close-quarters combat. Unable to utilize its mobility, Tanrou suffered horrific wounds and let out cries of pain.

Watching this, Yura was frantic but helpless. Without more katashiro, she couldn't summon other shikigami. As one of the Seven Soul-Bound Shikigami of the Ashiya Clan passed down through the Keikain family, Tanrou's strength was tied to its summoner. If the Ashiya Doman of a thousand years ago were commanding it, such an evil spirit would be no match. However, the current Yura, though talented, was far too young.

The spirit and Tanrou continued their vicious struggle. Yura wanted to use her Curse Spirit Bullet, but with the two creatures entangled, she couldn't aim. Without her talismans, she also couldn't cast any enhancement spells on Tanrou.

'Dammit! I'm never leaving my talismans lying around again!'

Yura screamed internally. Although her family had lectured her repeatedly about properly storing her talismans, her scatterbrained nature had caused her to ignore them—until today, when it was costing her dearly.

Finally, Tanrou, overwhelmed by the horrific spirit, succumbed. After a massive gash was torn into its neck, it vanished in a burst of blue flames. All that remained was a charred katashiro that crumbled into ash and scattered.

"Tanrou... ugh!"

As her soul-bound shikigami was defeated, Yura felt a sharp pain in her head and clutched her forehead. When a soul-bound shikigami is broken, the contractor's spirit suffers damage as well.

Having defeated the giant white wolf, the deformed spirit's wounds began to heal. As a spiritual entity, it only needed to consume the ghosts it had previously devoured to rapidly recover.

During its recovery, the spirit turned its six pairs of eyes toward Yura, who was clutching her head across the street. It lowered itself into an attacking stance. Yura's heart tightened.

She was now the spirit's target, and she had no means of resistance left. Although soul-bound shikigami tied to one's soul can be summoned infinitely and cannot truly 'die,' they require a long period of recovery once broken. Furthermore, Yura had no more paper katashiro to facilitate the summoning.

Sensing the danger, Yura ignored her mental exhaustion and turned to flee. But the deformed spirit had already struck. It spat out its intestines like whip-like silk, sweeping them across the ground. The 'whip' caught Yura's legs, tripping her. She fell forward, and her wallet tumbled out, scattering banknotes and receipts across the ground in front of her.

"No... this is bad..."

Yura's heart sank. Behind her, the spirit charged on all fours at high speed toward her fallen form, all its mouths agape, ready to feast on a rare Onmyoji meal.

It's over...

As Yura struggled to stand, she felt the chilling wind of the approaching spirit. Her despair hit rock bottom. But just as the humanoid spider was about to reach her, a faint golden glow suddenly emanated from her side.

The golden light was coming from the banknotes scattered around her! Yura stared in shock.

"My... my allowance?"

Suddenly, the banknotes around Yura took flight. They gathered and spread out behind her, vibrating with a light that constructed a barrier of faint golden radiance. The spirit slammed headfirst into the barrier with a loud 'thud' and was sent flying back, howling in pain as white smoke rose from where it had touched the light.

In that sudden turn of events, Yura looked back in bewilderment at the various banknotes floating in the air and glowing with spiritual light. She murmured in disbelief,

"My allowance... really became talismans?"

...

On the same street, perched atop the lamppost where Yura had previously hidden, Miketsu stood deep within the divine realm, looking down with a smile.