At this moment, Mamoru was no longer in his usual gentle and tranquil state. Shock and a thick, inseparable worry clearly surfaced on his blurred face.
His spiritual eyes were 'staring' straight at her in disbelief—more accurately, they were 'staring' at the layer of Sukuna's terrifying aura surrounding her, invisible to the naked eye but clearly perceptible to high-ranking spiritual entities.
"Miko..."
Mamoru's voice carried the ethereal quality unique to spirits and a faint, undetectable tremor. "On your body... what is this? You just went to school, how could you... how could you be tainted by something so terrifying?"
Mamoru's spirit even unconsciously shrank back slightly. The soft white light radiating from him fluctuated and retreated violently upon touching the invisible layer of Sukuna's aura on Miko, like water droplets falling into boiling oil. It was an instinctive fear and sense of suppression toward a higher existence originating from the soul level.
As an earth-bound spirit, his perception of auras was far more sensitive than that of ordinary spirits or even some Jujutsu Sorcerers. He could clearly 'smell' the ancient, tyrannical, and absolute level of power contained within that aura, which was far beyond that of ordinary evil spirits or Jujutsu Sorcerers.
'Dad...'
Miko felt a sting in her nose upon hearing her father's words. Seeing the worry and even the hint of fear displayed by her father's spirit, she felt both warmth and a greater sense of grievance and apology. She couldn't explain today's encounter in detail to set his mind at ease.
Her father was far more terrifying than other evil spirits, and she worried that Sukuna's small amount of aura wouldn't be effective against her father if he turned into a malevolent spirit.
Mamoru fell silent for a moment, his worried gaze seemingly trying to pierce through Miko's body to see the source of that aura. He could feel that although the aura was terrifying, it didn't seem to have the intention of harming Miko. However, the source of such an aura was too horrifying, making it impossible for him to feel at ease.
"This power... is too dangerous, Miko." Mamoru's voice was filled with a sense of helplessness.
"Just the residual aura makes me feel as if my soul is being torn apart. You must be careful, do not take the initiative to contact that existence again."
Miko remained silent.
How could she not want to stay away?
In this world, being able to see the dangerous side was a stroke of luck for Miko, as it meant she wouldn't die without knowing why.
At the same time, it was a misfortune. She had no ability to stop these dangers and didn't even have the chance to confide in anyone. All she could do was seize every opportunity to find ways to protect herself and her family.
During dinner, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.
Touko seemed to notice that Miko was more silent than usual but assumed she was just tired from studying and didn't ask further.
Miko, however, could feel her father quietly 'sitting' in his usual spot at the dining table. His gaze almost never left her, and his worried thoughts were like warm candlelight—though unable to dispel the cold shadows brought by evil spirits, they made Miko feel that she wasn't facing this treacherous fate alone.
She ate small bites of her meal, which tasted like wax. From time to time, Sukuna's four crimson eyes flashed in her mind, along with the extreme experience of having her vision instantly stripped away and then instantly restored.
Fear still existed, but beneath this fear, a very faint, vague awareness of 'power' seemed to begin sprouting in her heart.
If... if she could possess even a little bit of power to protect herself and her family, would she not have to passively endure fear like today, where even crying had to be done carefully?
This thought flashed by and was quickly covered by deeper worries. Gaining power often meant paying a price, much like the contract with Sukuna. For now, she only hoped that this 'peace' could last a little longer.
— — —
The abandoned building stood like a massive, decaying concrete coffin in the shadows at the edge of the city.
The cursed aura permeating its interior was a lethal miasma to ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerers, but to Sukuna, who had just acquired the Soul Devouring talent, this place had become a buffet restaurant filled with "delicacies."
Sukuna controlled Utaha's body, standing in the vast central area of the building, his feet resting on cracked concrete blocks covered in dust. The mouth belonging to him on her face grinned wildly, revealing sharp teeth, while his four crimson eyes flickered with undisguised greed and pleasure.
"Now then, let's begin... a rare 'buffet' time." His deep voice echoed through the empty building, carrying the anticipation of someone about to taste fine food.
He didn't use any flashy Cursed Techniques. With just Taijutsu alone, he could treat the Cursed Spirits lurking in this building like lambs to the slaughter.
Buzz—
On the walls, the ceilings, in the shadowy corners...
Countless lurking Cursed Spirits of various forms let out silent shrieks. They were originally the residents of this dark domain, but now they had become the lambs being hunted.
Weak Grade 4 and Grade 3 Cursed Spirits had no room to struggle. They were instantly turned into distorted streams of grayish-black Cursed Energy, wailing as they were hunted by Sukuna. Their lingering consciousness was instantly annihilated before absolute power, leaving only the purest essence of Cursed Energy.
Slightly stronger Grade 2 Cursed Spirits tried to resist, condensing into offensive forms, spitting corrosive energy, or waving distorted limbs. But under Sukuna's absolute suppression derived from his rank, all resistance rapidly collapsed upon touching that invisible suction field, eventually following in their companions' footsteps.
Even a powerful Cursed Spirit entrenched on the top floor—with strength approaching Grade 1 and possessing a certain level of intelligence—only lasted a few seconds longer. It let out an unwilling roar, condensing all its Cursed Energy in an attempt to flee, but it was like a moth caught in a spider's web. The more it struggled, the tighter it was bound.
Ultimately, in despair, it was forcibly turned into power in Sukuna's hands, becoming an exceptionally thick stream of dark red energy that merged into the vast torrent.
Thousands of Cursed Energy streams of various colors, all filled with negative energy, converged from all directions of the building, spinning and compressing frantically in front of Sukuna's chest.
This process was not a gentle fusion but a violent crushing, purification, and reconstruction. The lingering resentment, fear, and anger of the Cursed Spirits were forcibly stripped and dispersed under Sukuna's powerful will and the effect of the Soul Devouring talent, leaving only the most essential and easily absorbed Cursed Energy essence.
At first, the energy flow was chaotic and violent, emitting ear-piercing shrieks and the explosive sounds of energy collisions. But Sukuna's four eyes watched everything calmly, like a master chef controlling the heat. He finely adjusted the intensity of the suction and the frequency of the rotation, and the chaotic energy vortex gradually became docile and solid.
***
40 Advanced Chapters on
patreon.com/alex_1000