Reiji ran at full speed, enhancing every muscle fiber with cursed energy. The air cracked behind him as he sprinted through the night. At this pace, it would take only a few minutes at most to reach Shoko. Echoes of a furious battle boomed behind him, the sound of colliding titans fading as he left the destroyed station in a plume of dust.
Back at the station, the gigantic man… M'khoro, advanced toward Gojo and Geto with heavy, deliberate steps. His abdomen, torn wide open moments ago, sealed itself shut at an alarming pace. Geto stared, stunned, as what should have been a lethal wound simply vanished, knitting together as though it had never existed.
Gojo's face twisted into a ferocious grin as he finally grasped the caliber of his opponent.
'He's still holding back,' Gojo realized, pulse sharpening with exhilaration.
As if responding to that very thought, M'khoro halted abruptly. He reached beneath the heavy fur cape draped over his shoulders, fingers hooking onto something hidden. In one swift motion, he drew out a massive weapon: a battle-axe, sculpted entirely from gleaming white bone. As he pulled it free, the cape came undone as well, and fell uselessly to the cracked platform.
Stepping forward fully into the flickering, broken station lights, M'khoro's physique was revealed in its entirety. The two students froze.
He stood nearly eight feet tall, a wall of dense, primordial might. His joints were twice the size of a normal man's, wrapped with lean, corded muscle that clung to his frame like coiled steel cables. Every inch of him radiated lethality. His stoic expression alone carried a suffocating dread, now made infinitely worse by the presence of the bone axe resting effortlessly in his hand.
Without warning, M'khoro hurled the weapon. He swung his arm with incredible force, and the axe screamed toward Geto like a cannon shot. As Geto prepared to dodge, he noticed something wrong with its trajectory. It was moving fast… far faster than anything thrown with mere physical strength should have been able to travel.
Before the axe even struck, M'khoro exploded forward toward Gojo. Geto barely evaded the projectile, rolling across shattered tiles as the bone blade embedded itself deep into the wall behind him.
A flurry of blows crashed against Gojo; strikes so powerful they made the air itself quake. Infinity blocked each hit flawlessly, but the sheer pressure still rattled Gojo's composure.
A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.
'Fighting this guy up close is going to be dangerous… I need distance.'
Gojo immediately summoned Blue, intending to drag the fierce warrior sideways and slam him into the platform pillars. But this time, M'khoro reacted immediately. Feeling the pull, he planted his feet and pushed into the drag with monstrous strength. The ground beneath him cratered, tiles shattering under the pressure of his stance.
Gojo hopped back, jaw tightening.
"Is this guy for real?"
Geto, having regained his footing, seized the brief opening. Taking advantage of M'khoro's immobilized posture, he summoned a colossal curse; a semi–special grade manifestation that towered over both students. Titanic arms formed from writhing shadows as the curse ripped its way into existence beside him.
Sensing the surge of cursed energy, M'khoro turned sharply, but the curse struck first. Its fist smashed into the ancient warrior's ribs with earth-shaking force, sending him flying into the rubble once again.
"Woah!" Gojo breathed, still smirking nervously. "Where were you hiding that, man?"
Geto didn't break his serious expression.
"Focus. I don't think that hurt him at all."
Gojo snickered lightly as he moved to stand beside his classmate, both preparing for the next assault.
"I saw it earlier… his control over his cursed energy is pathetic. We just need to stall him and wait for an opening."
Geto nodded sharply.
The rubble shifted. Then burst violently.
Chunks of concrete shot outward as M'khoro rose from within. This time, streaks of bright orange light pulsed faintly across his bone gauntlets, subdued but unmistakably dangerous.
Gojo's Six Eyes reacted instantly.
His voice cracked sharply, "Geto- watch out!"
But it was already too late.
Geto's curse had charged in for another strike. The moment they collided, a brutal shockwave tore through the station. The curse; an almost special-grade entity,was obliterated on impact, its body disintegrating as though hit by a meteor.
Geto's breath caught.
Gojo's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by rare seriousness.
M'khoro did not pursue them. He simply extended his hand.
A sharp hiss cut through the air as the bone axe ripped itself free from the rubble behind Geto and flew back to its master's grasp with terrifying speed.
The two students exchanged a shaken look.
'What kind of cursed tool is that?' Geto wondered, his face settling into a grim scowl.
Gojo shook his head slowly. "It's strange… I can't put my finger on it. But holding him off now is going to be rough."
Both teens tensed as M'khoro lifted his chin, seemingly ignoring them. He inhaled deeply like a predator catching a scent. Only now did they notice the bone piercing threaded through his septum. A faint wind drifted through the ruined station, brushing past them as M'khoro's long hair swept wildly behind him. Even the small wooden totem strapped around his waist swayed unnaturally, vibrating with something ancient and ominous.
Then-
He vanished.
Gone in the same instant the breeze faded.
"What? What just happened?" Geto demanded, heart still racing.
Gojo narrowed his eyes, scanning the space.
"He ran away. Way too fast. But… I can still see traces of his cursed energy. His control really is terrible."
Geto turned to him.
"We should go after him."
Gojo's lips curled into a thin, eager smirk.
******************************************************************************
Shoko lounged on her hospital bed, lazily munching on the snacks a kind nurse had slipped her earlier. An old television flickered in front of her, its screen glitching every few seconds, but she really didn't mind. The episode of the reality show playing on the tv was surprisingly entertaining, and for once she felt like she could just… relax.
Unfortunately, her little "hospital vacation" was already turning out very different from what she had hoped. After the first day, once her condition stabilized, she was abruptly moved to a larger room meant to be shared with an older patient.
Age had long since caught up to the man. A tired nurse stood beside him, spoon-feeding him with visible effort as half the food dribbled back out of his mouth and down his chin. Shoko's eyes drifted to him despite herself. His frail, deteriorating state was a sobering reminder of the fate awaiting every human, sorcerer or not.
She forced the thought away and turned back to the TV.
Then something shifted suddenly.
A faint wave of pressure washed over her skin, like stepping into the territory and an ancient beast. Shoko sat up slightly, eyes narrowing.
The machines in the opposite section of the room began to flicker and beep erratically. Nurses hurried around in panic, tapping screens and adjusting cables, but nothing responded. There was another subtle distortion in the air, like a ripple spreading through still water.
Shoko's TV glitched harder, the image trembled as if it was surrendering to some unseen presence.
She tilted her head.
'Something's wrong.'
The old man, overwhelmed by the chaos, suddenly gagged and vomited the contents of his stomach all over the nurse in front of him. Shoko immediately turned toward him, worry bubbling into her expression.
The nurse sighed deeply, an exhausted, defeated sound. She stood up without a word and walked toward a side table where clean towels were stacked.
Shoko swung one leg off the bed, ready to go help. But she could never have predicted what came next.
The nurse's hand shifted- not toward the towels, but toward a different table entirely. Her fingers curled around a scalpel with a disturbing, unnatural speed. Before Shoko could even gasp, the nurse lunged forward and stabbed the blade deep into the old man's eye.
Shoko froze.
Blood gushed down the man's cheek as his body flopped backward on the bed, instantly lifeless.
The machines around them shrieked louder, screens stuttering violently as panic swallowed the entire hospital floor. The nurse turned toward Shoko with wild, trembling eyes; a strange madness was glittering within them.
"W-wait-" Shoko pressed herself against the back of her bed. The nurse grabbed a second scalpel and stepped toward her, movements stiff and unnatural.
"What the hell…" Shoko whispered, more confused than terrified.
The nurse advanced, scalpel raised high—
"Blood Manipulation: Crimson Binding!"
Ropes of blood erupted and snapped tight around the nurse's limbs, pinning her instantly to the ground.
The blade clattered to the floor.
Shoko's eyes snapped to the doorway… where Reiji stepped in, breath heavy, veins bulging across his arms and neck. He was clearly using Flowing Red Scale.
"Thank god you're okay…" His voice was low and shaky, almost a murmur. "We need to get out of here. Now."
Shoko pushed herself to her feet, frowning slightly as she looked at the nurse thrashing helplessly in the blood bindings.
"Shouldn't we… help people here?" she asked, even as she moved to stand beside him.
Reiji's voice hitched a little. "We need the higher-ups before making any moves. We can't risk getting involved with civilians without clearance. And we do not even know what's happening."
Shoko stared at the restrained nurse, who was clawing desperately at the floor.
"…You're already involved though," she said dryly.
Reiji's eye twitched. Her morbid humour was somehow intact despite the situation.
"Come on," he muttered.
She followed him without further complaint. They stepped out into the corridor; a narrow hall leading toward the main wing. Lights flickered overhead as panicked hospital staff rushed past, some crying, some shouting for help, others simply sprinting for their lives.
"Reiji," Shoko said suddenly, keeping her voice low. "I felt something earlier… like the whole place got closed off inside something."
He didn't flinch, but his expression darkened. "I think we're in some kind of domain. That's why you need to alert the higher-ups while I head for the epicentre."
"What?" She blinked, baffled. "But we're still inside the hospital, aren't we? Where's the barrier?"
Reiji's frown deepened as he recalled the cursed event at the orphanage. "It's an open barrier… spanning a huge area. The hospital is only one small part of it."
He added grimly, "And besides… there's another ancient sorcerer on the loose."
"Woah." Shoko deadpanned, tone flat.
Reiji shot her a glare from the corner of his eye.
But before he could respond, he froze.
Standing at the far end of the corridor, half-lit by the flickering lights, was the towering figure of M'khoro. His obsidian skin glistened ominously. He filled the hallway in a way that made it feel smaller, tighter, and suffocating.
The instant Shoko saw him, her blood ran cold. Even without cursed techniques, the aura he exuded was unmistakable.
Reiji drew his whips again. "Shoko… you need to leave."
For once, real seriousness washed over her face. Her eyes darted to the bone axe in the giant's hand; a weapon so drenched in danger that she felt her stomach lurch.
"Reiji… are you sure about this?"
He didn't answer with words, his stance was answer enough. And strangely, M'khoro didn't move either. It was as if he were waiting, granting her time to escape.
Understanding the unspoken demand, Shoko dashed down the other end of the corridor.
A thick stress settled over the hallway. Doctors and staff glanced at the two figures standing motionless as they fled past. One young sorcerer sharpening his resolve, the other an inhuman titan studying him like prey. Neither moved.
Until Reiji finally spun around and bolted for the nearby staircase.
'I can't fight him here… I need an open area without any civilians.'
As he sprinted down the steps, M'khoro's face contorted briefly in confusion. But when he noticed the terrified hospital staff scrambling around them, the confusion faded and a sense of understanding dawned.
Slowly, he stepped aside from the centre of the corridor.
Then he followed the trail of Reiji's scent, like a predator stalking its prey.