The Types of Auras that Differentiate People and Things

"Yes, I'm at the location, and there's no cursed energy. I can only detect a strong spiritual energy." Hisagi looked indifferently at the large bloodstain on the bridge, now off-limits.

The smell of blood still lingered around the wooden bridge, more so for those with a sharper sense of smell than others.

"Zz… Are you sure there's no sign of a cursed spirit? Remember the sting? You should feel some kind of twinge when there's danger, like that superhero who wears red and swings between buildings."

Ignoring these words, from Hisagi's eyes a dark field appeared surrounding him, and every living being was like a blue flame floating in the air.

Similar to fireflies, Hisagi could differentiate between cursed and spiritual energy, and as he had learned, everyone had spiritual energy due to their soul. As usual, the souls were either smaller or larger, some stronger and others weaker.

"Rest in peace now; I promise I'll kill whoever did this to you." Hisagi extended his hand toward the soul, which seemed unwilling to leave the crime scene.

[+1 Soul at peace, the flames of your soul have grown!]

Unlike cursed energy, everyone left behind their soul, and this was what created resentment, hatred, and malice. This energy would create a cursed spirit, and the soul, recognizing only negative emotions before dying would take control.

If Hisagi hadn't eliminated the resentment from the place and guided the soul to the spiritual world, that soul filled with bitterness would eventually have turned into a cursed spirit.

"It wasn't a cursed spirit, but it wasn't something human either." Hisagi murmured, frowning.

Aoki had told him that many creatures existed, known as demons, cursed spirits, yokai, and people who could wield cursed energy—known as Jujutsu sorcerers, shamans, and yokai hunters called spirit agents.

All the information Aoki had gathered over the years in his search for answers about what had killed his family had made Hisagi understand many things.

In this world, there is an order: the spiritual world, the human world, and the demonic world.

Yokai can belong to a part of the spiritual world, demons to the demonic world, and cursed spirits to the human world.

If humans hadn't noticed anything up until now, it was because Jujutsu sorcerers had been protecting the world in secret with the help of spirit agents.

But this balance is fragile, and it would only take a small trigger for everything to spiral out of control.

"I'll keep investigating. I think there are also sorcerers looking for answers." Hisagi said as he sensed cursed energy in the air, though it wasn't evil but controlled.

"Zz… Don't trust the sorcerers. Remember, not all of them are good." Aoki quickly advised.

Hisagi nodded slightly with a subtle look and hung up the call. But before he could leave, a young man intercepted him and asked, "Family of the victim or just a curious passerby?"

"Who are you?" Hisagi asked directly, knowing this was an ordinary human.

"I'm Detective Isshiki Totomaru from the police department. Could you answer some of my questions?" Of all the people in the park at this hour, Isshiki found Hisagi, who had stood motionless for fifteen minutes in front of the crime scene, the most curious.

Hisagi shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, detective, but I don't have time. I also can't help with your investigation. I was just here because of the rumors, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be going."

"Wait..." Isshiki tried to stop Hisagi, but when he turned around, he found that the young man he wanted to question was already more than a hundred meters away.

Isshiki was stunned, and his pen fell from his hand. When he bent down to pick it up, he noticed the flowers around the lake beginning to bloom one after another.

"What's happening?" Isshiki wanted to look back at Hisagi, but he was no longer in the park.

"Did I just talk to a spirit?" Isshiki had been confused ever since the investigation at midnight. Nothing made sense.

The data was incredibly confusing, and there was no clear direction for the investigation other than searching for the people who had kidnapped the woman accompanying the victim. According to the records, everything was normal—ordinary people who, from morning to night, someone had decided to ruin their lives.

Isshiki had promised the victims' families he would catch those responsible, but he had no answers. And now, what had just happened made it clear he had no chance of figuring out what was going on.

"Why is all of this happening to me when I've only been on the job for a week?" Isshiki muttered helplessly as he wandered aimlessly through the park.

…

Kamicoshi City.

"Have you lost a loved one?" asked a voice behind Hisagi, who was sitting on a bench in a cemetery.

"Huh? No, well… These places can sometimes be the safest places where one can clear their mind."

Hisagi's words piqued the old woman's interest, and she said, "My son took his own life a few months ago. Believe me, life will treat you well if you just keep going."

Hisagi stood up from the bench, looked at the old woman, and said, "Thanks for the advice; I'll keep that in mind."

The old woman smiled kindly while telling him what she was planning to cook, as if they had known each other forever.

But the reason he was in Kamicoshi City, about a hundred kilometers from where he lived, was that he had found a lead on who might be responsible for the brutal death of the person on the bridge.

It turned out the soul he had helped ascend had given him a connection to a woman—the woman who had been kidnapped. Thanks to this, he was getting closer to finding the culprits behind her death.

Though it wasn't related to cursed spirits, he would make sure, for personal reasons, to find out who was responsible. If someone could do that without possessing any energy, then the culprit was likely either a sorcerer or a Yokai.