Greetings fellow readers, MasterW here!
I'm sorry for the delay, I took some time for vacation and completely disconnected myself from everything.
All in all, I'm happy I did, become I've never felt more relaxed.
Now, I bring you guys a new chapter
Without any further to do, enjoy!
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(Marikawa Shizuka's POV)
For Marikawa Shizuka, life had taken a complete 180-degree turn.
She used to be a normal school nurse at a privileged private high school. The salary was good. The working conditions were good. The hours were reasonable. It had been a quiet, stable life.
Then everything changed overnight.
Now she was part of the supernatural side of things — a jujutsu medical specialist, though she privately preferred the term "Supernatural Police." It sounded cooler.
The knowledge she had spent years carefully learning was finally being put to real use, and it worked. In a single day of this new job, she had already seen more activity than an entire year back at Fujimi Academy.
And the cases were far more grotesque.
"Keep him steady!" she shouted, pressing down on a heavily bleeding wound.
"Where?! He's bleeding everywhere!" one of the sorcerers that arrived with the wounded yelled back.
"JUST HOLD HIM DOWN!"
A few days in this environment had already forced her to become more active and commanding. There was no other choice when dozens of patients could start bleeding out at any moment.
"AAHHHH—!"
Her current patient screamed as he clutched the gaping hole in his stomach, blood soaking the medical bed. Shizuka worked quickly, grabbing a syringe of morphine and injecting it into his arm. The drug took effect almost immediately, and the man's agonized shouts faded into weak groans.
"We need to move him for surgery, now! Move!"
Just then, the door to the emergency room slid open.
Sakurajima Mai stepped inside with Yurikawa Hana close behind. Hana's usual cheerful expression was still present as she entered, but it vanished the moment her eyes took in the blood-soaked room and the dying man on the bed.
Shizuka did not waste time.
"Hana! Use Reverse Cursed Technique on him — now!"
Hana nodded quickly and rushed to the bed. She placed both hands over the man's stomach, greenish energy flickering around her fingers as she poured Reverse Cursed Technique into the wound. For a few seconds, the bleeding slowed… then stopped improving entirely.
Hana's expression froze.
She pulled her hands back slowly.
"…He's dead," she said quietly
Silence filled the room.
No one spoke. The only sound was the faint beeping of nearby monitors and the soft drip of blood onto the floor.
Hana turned away from the corpse and moved to the other injured people still conscious in the room. She began healing them one by one, her hands glowing steadily. One of the wounded men, however, suddenly reached out and grabbed her by the throat.
"Where the fuck were you?!" he shouted, voice raw with pain and anger. "Aren't you a sorcerer who can use Reverse Cursed Technique on others?! Why weren't you here helping the wounded earlier?!"
Before Hana could respond, Mai's hand shot out and clamped down hard around the man's wrist.
She applied pressure instantly. The man's grip on Hana's throat immediately loosened as he let out a choked sound of discomfort.
Mai's eyes were cold.
"If you have a problem" she said evenly, "You can take it up with Yoshioka Akira-sensei."
The man froze. The name alone was enough to shut him up completely. Mai released his wrist a moment later, and he sank back against the bed without another word.
Hana finished healing the remaining patients in silence. Once the last of them was stabilized, she and Mai left the emergency room without looking back.
The door slid shut behind them.
Silence returned, heavier than before.
Hana's expression remained troubled as the two girls walked away down the hallway.
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(Third Person's POV)
Saeko stood alone in one of the smaller preparation rooms, reviewing the mission details on her phone.
A Grade 2 cursed spirit had been reported in an abandoned warehouse district on the outskirts of Chiba. Several civilians had gone missing over the past week.
The higher-ups wanted it handled quickly and quietly.
Normally, a mission of this level would involve at least two sorcerers. Sending her alone was unusual, but not completely unexpected. Ever since her Heavenly Restriction had fully manifested, her physical capabilities had placed her in a different category from most students
Still, she could not help but wonder if Sensei had any involvement in the decision. Or maybe there was something more
She finished checking her equipment, Sandai Kitetsu resting securely at her side. The cursed blade felt calm today, almost anticipatory.
As she left the preparation room, she found Mai waiting near the entrance of the school.
Mai crossed her arms, eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and mild suspicion.
"Solo mission, huh?" Mai said. "Must be nice being the teacher's favorite."
Saeko raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"
"Of the mission? No." Mai's gaze sharpened slightly. "Of whatever put that look on your face? Maybe a little."
Saeko's smile returned 'So she noticed'
"I'll tell you about it when I get back."
Mai clicked her tongue but did not press further. "Just don't die. Sensei would be annoying if something happened to you. Or maybe do, that way I'll be there to care for sensei while he grieves you"
"I won't" Saeko replied. "I'll be back before dinner."
She paused for a moment, glancing at Mai again
"What are you doing here, anyway?"
Unlike her, Mai, Hana, Yuria, Miko, Kageyama and Zaimozuka had normal school. So, it is a surprise to see one of them in the school.
With the exception of Hana, who is obligated to go to the school every now and then for medical classes with Marikawa-sensei
Mai shrugged. "Escorting Hana. Miko and Yuria were somehow busy, so I got stuck with the job"
Saeko gave a small nod of understanding. With that, she stepped out of the school gates and made her way toward the assistant's car that was waiting right outside the school
The spring in her step had not completely faded.
She has had a good day.
She intended to keep it that way
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(Momobami Kirari's POV)
In the private office of her estate, Momobami Kirari sat behind a large desk covered in stacks of documents, reports, and encrypted files.
Her fingers moved steadily as she sorted through the papers, eyes sharp and focused despite working for long hours
Ever since Akira had told her to prove herself, she had been working without rest.
She did not possess the power of a sorcerer, nor the lethal skills of a JAA assassin. What she did have was her intellect, her knowledge, her vast wealth, and an extensive network of connections.
Those were the tools she intended to use, and she would use them for his benefit.
What better way to prove her worth than by uncovering a threat before it could reach him?
It had started with the JAA.
Her informants had brought her reports of an assassin known only as "X" moving through the underworld, systematically eliminating other assassins. According to the latest intelligence, X had even led a direct attack on JAA headquarters.
That alone was significant. But something about the situation felt incomplete.
Kirari trusted her instincts more than most of her sources. And her instincts told her there was something deeper buried beneath the surface.
She pushed her network harder. Money flowed freely. Favors were called in. Quiet pressure was applied where necessary.
Slowly, a single name began to surface in the darkest corners of the underworld.
CLAW
It was little more than a whisper. No official records. No public knowledge. The mundane world had never even heard the name. Yet the more she dug, the more the word appeared, always half-hidden, always carefully avoided.
Realizing that the ordinary underworld could only take her so far, Kirari turned her attention to the jujutsu world.
There, she contacted one of her more valuable informants…
Kong Shiu
Before Zen'in Toji's death, Kong Shiu had been a well-known broker
The man people approached when they wanted to hire the infamous "Sorcerer Killer."
But after Toji's demise, he had faded into obscurity, vanishing deep into the underworld. Most people assumed he was no longer useful.
Kirari disagreed.
With enough money, even a man who preferred to remain hidden could be persuaded to work again. She had hired him specifically to dig into the identity and purpose of "CLAW."
Now she waited for results.
If Kong Shiu delivered what she needed, it would be more than enough to show Akira that she was not simply another woman chasing after him. She was someone capable of standing beside him, someone who could provide value in ways others could not.
Kirari leaned back in her chair, a faint, almost predatory smile curving her lips as she stared at the name written on the top of the latest report.
She would uncover whatever was hiding behind that name.
And when she did, she would present it to him personally.
And maybe, she might get a reward~
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(Third Person's POV)
The abandoned warehouse district on the outskirts of Chiba was quiet under the fading evening light.
Rows of rusted metal buildings stretched out in uneven lines, their windows long since shattered or boarded up. Weeds pushed through cracks in the asphalt. The air carried the faint scent of old oil, damp concrete, and something far less natural, a lingering, heavy presence that made the back of Saeko's neck prickle.
She stepped out of the car that had dropped her off a short distance away and adjusted the position of Sandai Kitetsu at her hip. The cursed blade remained calm, almost eager.
Saeko's blue eyes scanned the area with quiet focus.
She could hear the faint creak of metal shifting in the wind, the distant sound of a truck on a highway several kilometers away, and, more importantly, the low, distorted smell of cursed energy coming from deeper within the district.
A Grade 2, it seems the information was right.
She moved forward at a steady pace, footsteps light and controlled.
Most sorcerers would have approached more cautiously, layering themselves with reinforcement and preparing barrier techniques.
Saeko had no cursed energy to reinforce with. What she did have was a body that had been refined into a weapon far beyond normal human limits, and a blade that hungered for the kill.
The trail of residual cursed energy led her to a large, half-collapsed warehouse near the center of the complex.
The main sliding door hung crooked on its track. Inside, the darkness was thick and oppressive.
Saeko stepped through without hesitation.
The interior was a maze of broken crates, rusted machinery, and overturned shelves. Bloodstains, some old, some relatively fresh, marked the concrete floor in several places.
The missing civilians from the report had clearly been brought here.
A low, wet sound echoed from deeper inside.
Saeko's hand settled on the hilt of Sandai Kitetsu.
The cursed spirit emerged from behind a stack of collapsed metal racks. It was a large, hunched creature with elongated limbs and a torso covered in what looked like rotting industrial cloth.
Multiple mouths opened and closed across its body, each one dripping black saliva. Its eyes, six of them, locked onto her with mindless hunger.
It charged.
Saeko drew Sandai Kitetsu in a single fluid motion. The blade sang as it left the sheath.
The cursed spirit's first attack was a sweeping claw meant to tear her in half. Saeko stepped inside the arc of the swing, her body moving with a speed no ordinary human could match.
Sandai Kitetsu flashed once.
One of the spirit's arms flew off at the elbow, dissolving into black sludge before it even hit the ground.
The creature screeched, multiple mouths opening at once.
It lashed out with its remaining limbs and a wave of corrosive cursed energy. Saeko weaved through the attacks, her movements precise.
Every step, every shift of her weight was calculated.
She closed the distance again.
Sandai Kitetsu cut through the air in a clean diagonal arc, slicing open the cursed spirit's torso. Black ichor sprayed across the floor. The creature staggered, then lunged wildly in desperation.
Saeko did not retreat.
She stepped forward to meet it, twisting her body at the last moment and driving the blade straight through one of its central mouths. The tip of Sandai Kitetsu punched out through the back of its skull.
For a moment, the warehouse was silent.
Then the cursed spirit's body began to collapse, dissolving into the usual black sludge of a defeated curse. Saeko held the blade steady until the last of it faded, then pulled Sandai Kitetsu free and gave it a single sharp flick to clear the residue.
She exhaled slowly.
The entire fight had lasted less than a minute.
Saeko sheathed her sword and took a moment to scan the warehouse one final time. The missing civilians were almost certainly already dead, the residual traces of their presence were too faint and too old. She would report it properly once she returned.
As she turned to leave, a small, satisfied smile touched her lips.
Of course, not without first taking care of the peeping toms around the place.
"It would be better for you to come out," she said calmly to the empty air, "before I am forced to go to you."
A moment of silence followed.
Then six figures stepped out from the shadows of the surrounding warehouses and broken structures. They wore the standard attire of the Zen'in Clan's Kukuru Unit, dark, practical combat clothing with simple white jackets and pants designed for mobility. Their half-covered faces were hard, and their cursed energy signatures marked them as mid-level combatants at best.
One of them stepped forward.
"Busujima Saeko. By order of the Zen'in Clan, you will come with us."
Saeko's expression did not change. "I am not going anywhere with you."
"We weren't asking," another replied.
A third man spoke up, almost casually. "Make sure you don't hit the face. Naoya-sama was explicit, she must be mostly unharmed and untouched."
Saeko's blue eyes narrowed.
The Kukuru Unit members attacked at once.
They moved with the coordinated efficiency of people trained in the Zen'in's jujutsu martial arts, short, explosive bursts of movement, cursed energy reinforced strikes, and attempts to overwhelm through numbers rather than individual brilliance.
It was a practical, brutal style meant for subduing targets quickly, it didn't matter if a couple of them died in the middle of the fight.
Of course, they didn't know no one expected them to win, they were just sent to die.
Saeko watched them for the first half-second.
Then she adapted.
Her body, refined by Heavenly Restriction and sharpened through constant training under Yoshioka Akira, absorbed the rhythm of their movements almost instantly.
The way they shifted weight, the timing of their cursed energy reinforcement, the angles they preferred for joint locks and takedowns, all of it was read, processed, and mirrored in real time.
One of the men noticed.
His eyes widened mid-strike as Saeko suddenly matched his footwork and countered with a near-identical technique, only faster and far stronger.
"What the—?"
Sandai Kitetsu flashed.
His head left his shoulders before he could finish the sentence.
The remaining five hesitated for only a fraction of a second, long enough for Saeko to close the distance. She moved through them like a hot knife through butter.
One lost an arm at the shoulder. Another was cut cleanly from collarbone to hip. A third tried to retreat and form a simple barrier, only for Saeko to shatter it with a single reinforced step and drive her sword through his chest.
The last two attempted to coordinate, one high and one low.
Saeko stepped into the attack, used the low man's momentum against him, and jumped on top of him crushing his skull against the floor, and cut both the other one in a single continuous motion.
Silence returned to the warehouse district.
Blood pooled across the cracked asphalt.
Saeko stood in the center of the bodies, Sandai Kitetsu still drawn. She glanced down at the blade. A faint, almost pleased sensation seemed to radiate from the cursed tool.
"Someone is happy," she murmured.
Then a small, content smile curved her lips.
"Don't worry. So am I."
In Fujimi Academy, the things she had cut down had mostly been walking corpses — already dead in every way that mattered. Shidou's life had been so pathetic it barely registered as a real kill.
This, however… this had been different. These were living, trained combatants who had come with the intent to take her. And she had answered them in kind.
It put a genuine smile on her face.
With a calm, satisfied expression, Saeko swung Sandai Kitetsu once to clear the blood, then smoothly returned it to its sheath.
She turned and began walking away from the warehouse district, her steps light and unhurried.
She did not know that what she had just done would start a storm.