"With this kind of technique and cursed energy output, and at such close range to Mukuro… don't tell me?!"
Crushed beneath a claw like a towering mountain, Mahito's head was nearly ground into paste. In his exhausted state, he had no way to resist Rainbow Dragon, a curse with special grade strength. At the same time, he finally realized who had arrived.
A genius among geniuses in the jujutsu world. A once-in-a-thousand-years user of Cursed Spirit Manipulation. One of the five current special grade sorcerers.
Suguru Geto.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
That damn old man had said only two special grade sorcerers were still in the country. So what was this supposed to be?
Mahito's state of mind felt like he had just crawled out of an endless frozen abyss and finally glimpsed a sliver of light. Yet when he chased that hope with everything he had, what awaited him was a blazing hell.
Hope and despair overlapped again and again, until his final mental defense collapsed completely.
Fear and helplessness flooded his mind.
At this moment, he no longer had the will to resist. It was as if he were a rabbit trapped in a snowy wasteland, surrounded on all sides by vicious wolves and tigers.
"This thing's weak, but its technique is pretty handy. Killing it outright would be a waste. No matter what, it's still a special grade."
Bringing Kokichi with him, Mukuro had already walked up to Suguru. His words treated Mahito as nothing more than a slightly useful toy.
A special grade curse at this level was hardly any different from an ordinary curse in front of special grade sorcerers. Maybe not something you could kill several of with one punch, but not far off.
"You didn't have to beat it into this state, though. That's disgusting." Suguru smiled with mild distaste and flicked his finger.
Rainbow Dragon rose into the air and quickly dissolved into the sky. Where it had been pressing down, all that remained of Mahito was a flattened pile of flesh, with tiny legs and arms sticking out. It was nauseating to look at.
"That's because you came back too late. Trying to walk over ants without crushing them is pretty hard."
Neither of them spared even a glance for the quivering lump of meat still trying to crawl away.
"You should have dealt with the curtain first."
Suguru had actually arrived some time ago. It was only because Mukuro had not pulled out the stake carrying the barrier technique that he had spent time breaking it from the outside.
"Come here, trash."
While speaking, Suguru extended his palm toward the mass of flesh that no longer looked human yet still tried to flee.
"Ahhhh!"
A heart-rending scream burst from Mahito's mouth. He clawed desperately at the ground, trying to anchor himself, carving deep grooves with his fingers.
A powerful suction tore at his body. The forcibly stitched pieces of flesh shattered and flew straight into Suguru's hand.
'Everyone…'
In his final moments, Mahito's mind replayed the days he had spent with Jogo and Hanami. From the moment he was "born," those two had stayed by his side like parents and friends, awkwardly protecting him.
The last image in his mind was the sly smile of the old man who had tricked him into coming here.
As a curse born from hatred between humans, he knew very well that man had only been using him. So why did he still come?
'I should have been more careful…'
That entire lifetime flashed through his mind, yet in reality it lasted no more than an instant. The last remnants of his body vanished completely, becoming a glass-like bead in Suguru's hand, dark and murky, faintly gleaming.
"So this is… Cursed Spirit Manipulation?!"
Kokichi murmured as he stared. The special grade curse he had fought so desperately, even after evolving again, was now just a bead in a special grade sorcerer's palm.
"This is the student you mentioned before? He looks pretty lively."
Suguru patted Kokichi's shoulder, wearing the expression of someone seeing a junior finally amount to something.
"Yes! My name is Kokichi Muta. I'm a second-year at Kyoto Jujutsu High. Nice to meet you, Geto-san!"
Knowing a little about Suguru's relationship with Mukuro, Kokichi straightened up and introduced himself properly, hoping to leave a good impression.
"No need for small talk. Go back to Kyoto and find somewhere to stay. I'll personally take you back to the school tomorrow."
Mukuro waved his hand, giving him instructions.
"Huh? Yes!"
Following a brief daze, Kokichi nodded hard. His eyes were already a little red.
In a sense, he had betrayed the school before and was prepared to face harsh punishment. He just hadn't expected his teacher to trust him enough to let him leave alone.
* * *
"So, you still have something else to do? You deliberately sent the weaker student away."
After Kokichi walked off, Suguru looked at his longtime friend. He knew Mukuro was still holding something back.
"I want you to try tracing their base directly."
Mukuro pointed at the bead in Suguru's hand.
"Same as usual."
Suguru tossed it over. In the brief exchange, the curse bead turned into a strawberry.
Curse beads created through Cursed Spirit Manipulation tasted like rags wiped through vomit. So when Suguru was with Mukuro, aside from occasionally swallowing them directly out of habit, he usually had Mukuro use illusions to turn them into fruit or snacks that could be eaten in one bite.
After taking the strawberry back and swallowing it, Suguru waved his hand.
Mahito, whole and intact with his stitched face, stepped out of the void and stood beside him. He looked exactly the same as before, including that punchable expression. The difference was that he was now nothing more than a puppet that obeyed Suguru alone.
"Let's go. Take us to your nest."
A curse absorbed through Cursed Spirit Manipulation might seem to live on in another form, but its essence was gone.
Like Mahito now, his strength and awareness were forever frozen at the moment of absorption. His personality remained the same, but unless Suguru allowed it, it would never surface. In truth, he was no different from dead.
"Understood."
Mahito replied simply and led the two special grade sorcerers toward the place preserved in his memory.
* * *
Half an hour later.
"Looks like they sensed something ahead of time."
When they reached the destination, lingering traces of cursed energy showed that powerful curses had once been there. They were already gone.
"Did you have a designated meeting spot?"
Faced with Suguru's question, Mahito only shook his head. He clearly had not known before his death.
"Forget it. They'll show themselves sooner or later."
Mukuro felt a hint of disappointment, but the result was within expectations.
A crafty rabbit has three burrows, let alone a turtle that's lived over a thousand years.
* * *
More than half an hour earlier, at this same location.
"We need to move."
Watching a talisman suddenly ignite in his hand, Kenjaku turned back with a grave expression and looked toward Jogo and the others.
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