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With unease pooling at the base of her skull, Momo descended upon the graveyard.
Jujutsu Headquarters would be on her back about it soon if she came back without results. She'd been tracking this graveyard curse for a couple days, but it never showed up when she arrived. Whenever the sickly buzz of its presence rushed up her spine, it disappeared once she turned to face it. No matter how long she searched for it, it remained hidden.
Behind her, Mai sat sidesaddle on the broom, as intent as ever. A sense of impending failure curled in Momo's gut, but Mai's presence kept it from spreading.
Momo flew them along the dirt road, bracketed by rows of graves. “You got eyes on it yet?”
Mai adjusted the scope on her rifle with a sigh. “Not yet.”
The air had winter’s chill, but carried no sign of the curse. Mai threw her other leg over the side of the broom to face forward. “I’ve got an idea. Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“I bet it’ll manifest when we’re not looking. That's probably how it got everyone who came here to pray.”
Momo grimaced. “That’s…”
“Yeah. But we might as well give it a shot.”
Momo closed her eyes, and Mai did the same.
The swell of foreign cursed energy turned Mai’s stomach. Eyes screwed shut, she zeroed in on the curse’s location. It lumbered toward them, knocking over what sounded like headstones and offerings.
Momo flew three meters higher. “I’m gonna launch it.”
Mai wrapped one arm under Momo’s, and readied her rifle in the other.
The curse worked its way up into a full charge. Its overwhelming energy became less bearable with each passing second, but Momo held still until it was in optimal range. With no warning, she flew her broom up in a complete circle, unleashing a devastating Wind Scythe.
Mai held on and tracked the pull of cursed energy. The curse had about twenty meters to fall before it landed. She held her breath, trained her rifle on the space below it, and fired. The recoil jabbed against her shoulder, forcing out a hiss. Judging by the squeal that pierced the night, the shot had landed.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the pins and needles working up her arm, firing until her ears were met with the whoosh of a successful exorcism.
It never even hit the ground.
The pair opened their eyes, gazes sweeping the destruction that lay before them. Cracked gravestones lay scattered on the grass. Incense ash spilled out of upturned bowls.
Momo leaned back into Mai's chest. As a Grade 2 sorcerer, it would take a few months for her salary to cover the repairs. This wasn't the worst damage they'd incurred, so that was something to cling to.
It wasn't much of a silver lining, but it would have to be enough.