The Zenin family main plaza.
The night wind, thick with the heavy scent of blood and the acrid smell of burning wood, tore through the open air above the square.
The Hei.
This elite unit, which only permitted sorcerers of Semi-Grade 1 or higher and represented the absolute peak of the Zenin family's military power, was now out in full force, surrounding the blood-soaked Maki.
At their head stood the burly, thick-featured Jinichi Zenin.
"Maki, you've completely lost your mind."
Jinichi clenched his fists, his bones cracking like popping corn as he emitted a crushing pressure of cursed energy that felt as heavy as a mountain.
"Today, you die here. Your blood will be used to wash away the Zenin family's shame!"
"Shame?"
Maki slowly raised her head, her eyes as cold as stagnant water as they swept over everyone present.
"From the moment I was born, haven't you all treated me as a shame?"
"In that case, I'll take all that high-and-mighty pride of yours, along with this entire rotten family, and trample it into the mud!"
"Arrogance!"
Jinichi roared, being the first to strike.
He used no flashy techniques. Instead, relying on his tempered physique, he charged at Maki like a heavy tank at full throttle.
His massive fist tore through the air, creating a piercing sonic whistle!
Boom!
Maki didn't dodge. Gripping the Dragonbone cursed tool in her left hand, she met that world-shattering punch head-on.
Two terrifying forces collided in mid-air, erupting in a visible shockwave of white vapor!
The hard stone floor beneath their feet cracked like a spiderweb, sending debris flying like bullets in every direction.
"Is this all you've got?"
Maki let out a cold laugh. The Soul Splitter Katana in her right hand turned into a streak of light, aiming straight for Jinichi's throat.
Clang!
Several members of the Hei acted simultaneously, using cursed tools imbued with high concentrations of cursed energy to barely block the lethal strike.
But the sheer physical impact still tore their hands open, causing blood to flow freely.
"All together! Don't give her a chance to breathe!"
Following Jinichi's roar, the Hei members swarmed her like a pack of wolves.
Various high-level techniques, sharp martial arts, and poisonous hidden weapons rained down like a storm, completely submerging Maki.
However, could the Sorcerer Killer after her awakening truly be overcome by mere numbers?
Maki danced among the crowd.
Every turn, every swing of her blade carried a sense of cruel and violent beauty.
Rumble!
The battlefield spread from the main plaza all the way to the gardens on the back mountain of the Zenin estate.
Those expensive decorative rocks and towering ancient trees were as fragile as tofu before Maki's terrifying physical strength.
With a single whip-kick, Maki shattered an ambushing sorcerer along with the half-mountain of rock behind him!
With every step, the earth trembled; with every swing, the air wailed.
Even the elites of the Hei could only let out screams of despair under this absolute physical oppression.
In less than ten minutes.
The once beautiful mountain garden had been reduced to a pockmarked ruin.
A small hill had even collapsed and shifted due to the final, violent collision between Maki and Jinichi!
Squelch!
The Soul Splitter Katana pierced through Jinichi Zenin's chest.
One of the Zenin family's top combatants fell into a pool of blood, eyes wide with lingering resentment.
With that, every member of the Hei had been wiped out.
Maki pulled out her blade, casually flicking off the blood. She turned her head to look at Naoya Zenin, whose face was twisted to the extreme nearby.
"Now, you're the only one left."
Maki's voice was so calm it was chilling.
"Impossible... This is impossible!!"
Naoya let out a hysterical roar as he looked at the corpses littering the ground.
"You clearly have no cursed energy! You're just a blind fool who can't even see a cursed spirit! A failure!"
"How could you possibly be stronger than me?!"
Naoya's pride was utterly shattered at this moment. He could not accept that the 'stain' he had trampled under his feet for over twenty years had just slaughtered the entire Zenin family!
"I'll kill you! I'll cut you into mincemeat!"
"Projection Sorcery: Max Speed!"
Naoya fell into a complete frenzy, his cursed energy exploding without reservation.
His figure vanished instantly.
This time, he pushed Projection Sorcery to its absolute limit.
Twenty-four frames per second—he even broke through that limit in his continuous acceleration!
To an ordinary person, Naoya had transformed into countless afterimages, surrounding Maki from all sides.
He intended to use absolute speed to shatter her limbs before she could even react!
However.
In Maki's eyes—which now saw through the very essence of all things—Naoya's speed was still too slow.
"I told you."
Maki stood her ground, not even bothering to take a defensive stance.
"Your speed is too monotonous."
Thud!
Just as Naoya's fist was about to touch the back of Maki's head.
Maki spun around, her hand clamping down on Naoya's wrist like a steel vise.
Being forced to a halt during the high-speed movement of Projection Sorcery caused the terrifying reactionary force to instantly make the bones in Naoya's arm let out a miserable snap.
"Aaaaah!!!"
Naoya let out a scream of agony, his eyes finally showing extreme terror.
"So what if I don't have cursed energy?"
Maki stared him down, her gaze filled with cold mockery.
"I don't need such hypocritical things."
"My body is the ultimate weapon."
"Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Four cold flashes of light passed through.
Naoya didn't even have time to beg for mercy.
At the exact same moment, all four of his limbs were severed by Maki!
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
The once arrogant Naoya Zenin, who prided himself as a favored son of heaven, was now a cripple without limbs, rolling on the ground in pain and wailing.
Maki didn't look at him again, nor did she deliver the final blow.
For someone as narcissistic as him, living in fear and humiliation as a cripple was far more painful than death.
Afterward.
Maki carried her blade through every corner of the Zenin estate.
Whether they were sorcerers hiding in the shadows or combat personnel trying to flee.
She didn't let a single one go.
When a sliver of light appeared on the eastern horizon.
This bloodbath, which had lasted the entire night, finally came to an end.
One of the Big Three Families that had stood high and ruled the jujutsu world for a thousand years—
The Zenin family.
Completely annihilated.
Maki stood in the center of the ruins of the main plaza.
Around her were burning fires and endless corpses.
She looked down at the hairpin on her chest that had belonged to Mai, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
Revenge was complete.
But she had also become a homeless monster.
She turned around and, facing the rising sun, walked out of the Zenin family gates step by step.
Behind her were three hundred cold corpses and the end of an era.
As for Maki, where would she go from here?
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
Want 40+ chapters ahead right now? patre0n.c0m/Royal_ink ]