Hayashi En adjusted his glasses, feeling no sense of complacency over this single transaction.
[SYSTEM: Current Balance: 15,070 points.]
He looked at the numbers on the system interface and slightly tightened his fist.
"The funds are quite ample, and the cursed technique is already in place."
Hayashi En felt the new power coursing through his body.
He pulled a black notebook from a drawer.
He flipped it open.
It was filled with dense rows of kanji that only he could understand.
The first line, [Fushiguro Megumi (Juvenile Detention Center Incident)], was already checked off.
The second line: [Heavenly Tyrant (Maki)].
Hayashi En placed a checkmark next to it.
Maki was a vital piece in his layout and a top-tier combatant capable of facing Special Grade Cursed Spirits in the future; this investment was guaranteed to pay off.
His gaze shifted downward.
The third line: [Yoshino Junpei].
Hayashi En's finger stopped on that name.
Beside it, another name was written.
[Mahito].
Seeing those two characters, Hayashi En showed a rare expression of displeasure.
That Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from the hatred humans felt for one another.
That monster with a face full of stitches, who constantly talked about 'souls' while toyed with hearts and trampled on life at a whim.
In the original story, he treated Yoshino Junpei like a toy, leading the bullied youth into corruption, only to turn him into a transfigured human and kill him in front of Itadori at his moment of peak despair.
All just to enrage Itadori.
All just because he thought it was 'fun'.
"How utterly sickening..."
Hayashi En closed the notebook.
"Treating human hearts as experimental subjects and despair as seasoning."
"Scum like that has no reason to exist."
To Hayashi En, other Special Grade Cursed Spirits might just be walking 'point bundles'.
But Mahito was different.
He was a pest that had to be utterly crushed until not even a speck of ash remained.
The reason he had previously exchanged for the system-enhanced Ratio Technique was specifically for its ability to strike the soul.
In this world, soul-related abilities were generally considered high-tier.
For Mahito, who could maintain the shape of his own soul, ordinary attacks were useless.
Only soul attacks were the ultimate weapon against him.
...
The next day. Satozakura High School, Kawasaki City.
In a corner behind the school building, a blonde boy named Ito held a cigarette, looking mockingly at the black-haired youth huddled against the wall.
"Hey, Yoshino. I heard you like horror movies? Want me to add some special effects?"
"*Sizzle—*"
The cigarette butt was pressed mercilessly against the boy's forehead.
"Argh!!"
Yoshino Junpei let out a scream of pain but didn't dare fight back.
Laughter erupted all around.
"Look at him, squirming like a bug."
Ito grabbed Junpei's hair, forcing his head up. "Remember, a rat should know its place. Stop acting like you're better than us."
"*Slap!*"
With a sharp slap, blood trickled from the corner of Junpei's mouth.
Ito wiped his hand in disgust and walked away with his lackeys.
Junpei was left alone in the corner. He clutched the charred wound on his forehead, his body trembling with hatred.
'Why...'
Junpei raised his bloodshot eyes.
'Why won't anyone save me? Why can they do whatever they want without consequence?'
'If only I had power... if I could just press a button and kill them all...'
His nails dug into his palms.
'I would press it. Without hesitation.'
He stood up unsteadily and walked out of the school gates like a living corpse.
The freezing rain hitting his face made him more lucid, and more desperate.
Without realizing it, he wandered into a remote, dark alley.
"If I were you, I wouldn't think like that."
A gentle voice suddenly rang out.
Junpei looked up sharply.
In the shadows ahead, a strange shop had appeared at some point. It had a vintage wooden door and a warm yellow lantern.
Standing at the entrance was a man in a black vest and gold-rimmed glasses, holding a black umbrella and smiling at him.
"Who... are you?" Junpei took a step back.
"I am a merchant."
Hayashi En closed his umbrella and pointed to the plaque behind him.
"Yoshino Junpei, right?"
"How do you know my name?" Junpei asked warily.
"That is not important."
Hayashi En's gaze fell upon his wound. "Does it hurt?"
"None of your business."
"True, it is none of my business. But I can see very clearly that a beast lives within your heart."
Hayashi En's voice sounded like a devil's whisper.
"It wants to burst out and tear apart the person who burned you with a cigarette, the one who slapped you... all of them. Correct?"
Junpei froze.
"So what if it does?!" he shouted, tears mixing with the rain on his face. "They deserve to die! But I can't beat them! What am I supposed to do?!"
Hayashi En watched him vent in silence until the boy was exhausted.
"What if I told you that I could give you an opportunity?"
Junpei looked up abruptly. "What... opportunity?"
Hayashi En pulled a silver circular badge from his pocket and handed it over.
"I will not give you a blade to kill with. Slaughter is the privilege of the strong and the abyss for the weak."
"This is the [Malice Reflection Mirror]."
"It cannot help you kill anyone. However, as long as you wear it, any malice harbored toward you or any attempt to harm you—be it physical or spiritual—will suffer a backlash."
Hayashi En pointed to his forehead.
"Take that cigarette butt, for instance. If you had this, it would have been his eye that went blind."
Junpei stared blankly at the badge.
Double backlash? Blinding him?
The very thought of such a scene sent a tingling wave of pleasure through him.
"I want it!" He reached out to grab it.
But Hayashi En pulled his hand back, looking down at him.
"I am a merchant; I do not give things away for free. You must pay a price."
"I don't have any money..." Junpei fumbled through his pockets in a panic.
"I do not want money."
Hayashi En produced a contract. "What I value is your 'potential'."
"Sign it. From this day forth, you will be a 'Probationary Clerk' of Exchange No. 8. You must be on call at all times and show absolute loyalty to me."
Hayashi En shrugged and patted Junpei on the shoulder.
"Of course, my shop is no ordinary shop, and the work you'll do won't be that of an ordinary clerk. But regardless, it shouldn't be too dangerous."
Seeing Junpei's hesitation, Hayashi En slung an arm around his shoulder with a smile that suggested he had high expectations.
"And naturally, if you perform well, I can teach you true power—power enough to change this world."
True power?
Junpei looked at the contract and did not hesitate. He had nothing left to lose.
"I'll sign."
He wrote his name on the contract.
Hayashi En nodded with satisfaction and pinned the badge to Junpei's collar. With a faint flash of light, the badge became invisible.
"Alright, Junpei. Wipe away your tears and go home. From now on, no one will be able to bully you again."
Just as Junpei turned to leave, Hayashi En called out to him.
"Oh, one more thing. You might soon encounter a fellow with stitches on his face. When that happens..."
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