A heavy silence filled the ruins.
Only the distant wail of approaching sirens broke the stillness.
Red and blue lights flickered far down the street like the blinking eyes of a restless monster.
Dust hung in the air.
The smell of blood mixed with the unpleasant, sulfur-like stench left behind by cursed energy.
Junpei Yoshino stood frozen.
His legs trembled.
He nearly collapsed to his knees.
The terrifying cursed spirit that had filled him with dread—
The monster capable of twisting human souls with a single touch—
Now lay scattered across the rubble as unrecognizable chunks of flesh.
Not a single complete limb remained.
Meanwhile—
The person responsible for all of this stood calmly nearby.
Yagami Sora adjusted his cuffs.
As if he had merely brushed away an annoying insect.
The contrast shattered Junpei's understanding of the world.
"…Is it… dead?"
Junpei asked weakly.
His voice trembled.
Fear.
Hope.
And disbelief mixed together.
"Not that simple."
Sora glanced lazily at the shredded flesh on the ground.
"Cursed spirits are born from negative emotions."
"As long as human hatred exists…"
"…they're difficult to erase completely."
"Especially a Special Grade like that."
He shrugged.
"They're like cockroaches."
"Leave one cell alive…"
"…and they'll crawl back to disgust you again."
No sooner had he spoken—
The chunks of flesh on the ground suddenly began twitching violently.
Wet, grotesque sounds echoed through the ruined street.
Then—
Hundreds of tiny creatures split from the flesh.
Each was no bigger than a finger.
Human faces.
Insect-like bodies.
They scattered across the ground in every direction.
Some rushed toward sewer grates.
Others squeezed into cracks in the asphalt.
The sheer number was nauseating.
"…Disgusting."
Sora's expression darkened slightly.
"So this is how you survive?"
He stepped forward.
His gaze swept across the fleeing swarm.
"What happened to your so-called pride?"
"Did the sewer rats eat it?"
He lifted his foot.
Then stomped.
"Vector Manipulation — Seismic Shock."
BOOM.
The ground within a hundred-meter radius shook violently.
Cracks spread across the asphalt.
Chunks of concrete burst upward.
Many of the tiny fragments hiding in the ground were crushed instantly—
Reduced to cursed-energy fragments before they could even scream.
But Sora wasn't finished.
He clasped his hands together.
"Wind Pressure — Vacuum Burst."
WHOOSH!
The surrounding air was suddenly ripped away.
A massive low-pressure zone formed instantly.
Then the surrounding air rushed back in.
The violent pressure difference created countless microscopic wind blades.
The entire street turned into a grinding storm.
Any of the tiny Mahito fragments attempting to crawl into the sewer were shredded instantly.
"Aaaaaah!"
Faint shrieks echoed through the air.
The death cries of hundreds of fragments.
However—
A small number of pieces slipped into the underground drainage system.
Using the murky sewage water as cover.
Their presence quickly scattered through the pipe network.
Sora narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…You're quick."
Tracking something inside that labyrinth of underground tunnels would be troublesome.
Especially with the police and auxiliary supervisor arriving soon.
Already he could hear hurried footsteps approaching.
Sora sighed.
"Fine."
"I'll let you crawl away for now."
He turned his attention toward Junpei.
"Hey."
"Wake up."
"You're staring so hard you're about to start drooling."
Junpei jolted back to reality.
He quickly wiped his mouth in embarrassment—
Then looked at Sora again.
His eyes shone with admiration.
Awe.
And a hint of obsession.
His fear of violence had already transformed into longing.
"Y-Yagami-sensei!"
He blurted out suddenly.
"Please!"
"Take me as your student!"
"I want to learn this power!"
"I want to become as strong as you!"
"I want to crush those scum under my feet—just like you did!"
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"You want to learn?"
He studied Junpei carefully.
The hesitation and timidity from earlier had vanished.
Now only determination remained.
A drowning person grasping desperately at a lifeline.
In the jujutsu world—
That mentality wasn't necessarily bad.
"Being my student won't be easy."
Sora smiled faintly.
Under the streetlight, the expression looked almost devilish.
"People die."
"And once you step into this world…"
"…there's no turning back."
"You'll see things far more disgusting than tonight."
"I'm not afraid!"
Junpei shouted immediately.
His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
"As long as I can become stronger…"
"As long as I'm not trampled on anymore…"
"I'm not afraid of anything!"
"Even if I die—"
"I'll die trying to become stronger!"
"…Good."
Sora nodded.
He pulled a phone from his pocket.
Then tossed it toward Junpei.
"My contact information is inside."
"Report to Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu Technical College tomorrow morning at eight."
"I'll inform that idiot teacher with the blindfold."
"As for your current school…"
"Don't bother going back."
"I'll have someone handle your withdrawal."
With that—
Sora turned and walked toward the alley entrance.
Kiyotaka Ijichi's car had already arrived.
The poor auxiliary supervisor stood beside it, anxiously peering inside.
"Um…"
Junpei called out suddenly.
His voice trembled with emotion.
"Yagami-sensei!"
"Thank you!"
"Thank you for saving my mother!"
"Thank you… for everything!"
Sora didn't stop walking.
He simply raised his hand and waved lazily.
"Don't misunderstand."
"I only helped because I hated that stitched-face curse."
"And besides…"
He shrugged slightly.
"I didn't want someone who looked halfway decent…"
"…turning into part of that disgusting pile of flesh."
Junpei watched him disappear into the night.
He gripped the phone tightly in his hand.
As if he were holding the entire world.
Everything that had happened tonight felt unreal.
But the lingering cursed energy in the air proved otherwise.
That boy—
Powerful enough to feel like a god—
Had pulled him back from the brink of despair.
And opened a door to a new world.
Junpei whispered softly to himself.
"The so-called Special Grade cursed spirit…"
"In front of Yagami-sensei…"
"…really was nothing special."
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