"Do we not need to bother with those ordinary people?" Toji asked Medea.
"They're just brainwashed bugs. As long as they lose their leader, it's fine to ignore them." Medea walked side by side with Toji, holding Riko in her arms.
"Is that kid dead?" Toji's gaze landed on Riko's lifeless body.
"Dead. At least for now." Medea gave a definitive answer.
'For now?' Toji looked at her strangely.
'Forget it, it's none of my business. My job is done.' Toji was in an exceptionally good mood.
He had completed the commission, made a fortune, and that bump-headed guy had even given him a generous bonus on the spot.
More importantly, this time Toji had achieved something he had always longed for—proving himself to the Jujutsu world and the Zen'in Family.
A pure inverse Heavenly Restriction. Zero Cursed Energy. Because of this, Toji naturally gained resistance to Cursed Energy and a physical body at the peak of human limits.
Such a person would have been highly valued and cultivated in any other family.
After all, many weaker sorcerer clans relied heavily on cursed tools to exorcise Cursed Spirits.
But Toji had been born into the Zen'in Family.
A feudal household obsessed with Technique.
Non-sorcerers are not human.
Under this belief, Toji, who possessed zero Cursed Energy, was not just ignored, but considered even lower than ordinary people.
Because even most regular people had at least a trace of Cursed Energy.
But Toji had none.
So the first thing Toji did after gaining strength was to cause an uproar in the Zen'in Family, then fight his way out.
That alone was enough to show the resentment buried deep in his heart.
This time, by defeating Satoru, Toji had successfully slapped the entire Jujutsu world across the face.
Look at this. The so-called one whose birth reshaped the Jujutsu world.
And he was killed by me, a monkey with zero Cursed Energy. It's laughable.
Haha. Hahahaha.
It felt like the weight that had been pressing down on his chest for years had finally been lifted. Toji had never felt so free.
"I just made a huge sum of money. Want to celebrate? I know a few places that cater to high-rollers." Toji offered.
"No. I still have things to take care of. Besides, you don't have time to celebrate right now." Medea looked ahead with a faint smile.
Toji scratched his head, thinking of finding a rich woman to celebrate with later.
But in the next moment, Toji's eyes widened in disbelief.
Following Medea's gaze, someone who should have been dead stood before them.
"Yo, you guys really made a mess." Satoru stood in front of them, glancing at the burning Time Vessel Association headquarters, then back at the two.
Clouds drifted overhead as golden sunlight bathed his figure, giving him an almost divine glow.
Toji even wondered for a second if he was hallucinating from being too happy.
Satoru lifted his left hand and brushed aside the white hair covering his forehead, revealing a newly healed wound.
"I'm still alive and kicking!" Satoru grinned widely.
"...Reverse Cursed Technique." Only then did Toji understand how Satoru had survived.
"That's right." Satoru's gaze fell on Riko in Medea's arms.
Through the Six Eyes, he could see that she was surrounded by a transparent barrier, her aura completely sealed within.
"Hey, why are you here?" Satoru tilted his head, smiling in a way that wasn't quite sane as he looked at Medea.
'He's looking at me like I'm a target too.' Medea had the clear sense that if her answer wasn't satisfactory, she would be eliminated next.
"Amanai Riko is fine. If you want to see her, go to Tokyo Bay tonight. Eichi and Suguru are there. Oh, and that maid, Kuroi, too." After saying that, Medea walked away.
"Oh, and this guy is pretty useful. Just don't kill him." With that, she left the area that was about to become a battlefield.
"What a meddling woman." Her parting words made Toji a little irritated.
He had just beaten Satoru, and now she was telling Satoru to spare his life?
The shock of Satoru being alive had begun to turn into anger.
"It's just you and me again." Satoru no longer spared Medea another glance and didn't even look at Toji directly.
"Haha. Hahahaha. I should probably thank you. I never had a clue how Reverse Cursed Technique worked. The two people around me who could use it always explained it in ways I couldn't understand at all..." The madness that had briefly calmed when Satoru first saw Medea and Riko now surged again after confirming Riko's safety.
'This guy's already high.' Toji looked at the increasingly unhinged Satoru with a serious expression.
"Your mistake was simple. You didn't cut off my head, and you didn't use that cursed tool when you pierced my brain."
'Tsk, what an annoying brat.' Ogama opened its mouth, spitting out the Inverted Spear of Heaven into Toji's hand.
"What are you talking about? Hasn't the match just started?" A crazed grin spread across Toji's face.
Normally, after completing a job and receiving his bonus, Toji would've left long ago.
But now, standing before him was the destined peak of the Jujutsu world. A sorcerer who had been born with everything he never had.
Toji now had only one desire. To thoroughly kill Satoru. To kill the misfortune that the Jujutsu world had cast onto him.
"Huh? Is that so? Maybe!" Satoru spread his arms wide and laughed wildly.
In that moment, he didn't look like the Chosen One of the Jujutsu world.
He looked like the Devil King of the Cursed World.
Toji charged at full force, brandishing the Inverted Spear of Heaven straight at Satoru.
But it was useless.
The awakened Satoru's Six Eyes had reached a new level. Every move Toji made was completely perceived.
As the fight escalated, Satoru slowly floated into the air.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red." A crimson orb of energy formed instantly in front of Toji.
Toji raised the Inverted Spear of Heaven horizontally in his right hand to block the blast directly, while his left hand shielded Ogama, who had shrunk down to his chest.
Ogama was too fragile. Even a small shock from an attack like that could end its life.
"What a monster." Blood covered Toji's face as he stared up at Satoru floating in midair.
In that moment, a fierce Battle Intent erupted from deep within Toji's heart.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)