Chapter 63 — Arrive in Time, One Sweep of the Spear
"Teacher Zen'in! You made it!"
When Ijichi saw Zen'in Shinsuke's figure, he visibly relaxed. With Shinsuke here, a freshly birthed special-grade shouldn't be too much to fear, right?
"Looks like it's finished transforming," Shinsuke said, watching the enormous cursed energy spill out from the building. A slight smile tugged at his mouth.
A newborn special-grade was still a special-grade—far beyond what a Grade-1 could compare with.
"I'll go in and take a look."
With that, Shinsuke shouldered his long spear and stepped into the duplex.
At the same time, Yuji Itadori was already fighting the special-grade curse.
One arm was completely severed; only the thumb remained on the other. He had no chance.
Yuji stared at the humanoid curse in front of him, terror welling up inside. Why had he stayed? Why had he become involved with jujutsu? Why had he allowed himself to become Sukuna's vessel?
Doubt gnawed at him. When had he convinced himself he could shoulder such a responsibility? Why had he stirred himself into this mess? If the curse decided to toy with him, a single strike might tear him in two.
"No. I can't think like this. I have to hold on until Megumi and Nobara get out!"
Yuji forced himself calm and pushed the fear down. Even if he died, it had to be meaningful—that was the decision he had made. He pictured his grandfather's final scene and his resolve hardened.
Cursed energy—he would use cursed energy. Remembering what Gojo had taught them about how cursed energy is formed, Yuji poured his fear into anger, tightened his fist, and charged.
Negative energy flared as red cursed power from his knuckles.
Smack!
His punch landed on the curse's palm and produced nothing—no reaction at all.
Even now that he'd tasted cursed energy, he was no match for the curse.
The humanoid curse blinked its round eyes, grinned, and slapped Yuji aside. Newly born curses treated humans like toys; they delighted in their torment.
Meanwhile, Shinsuke entered the building and found a domain-like space where people were being besieged by curses.
Boom!
He kicked through the wall and stepped into a room filled with curses—floating, grotesque masks watched the intruder.
"You the reinforcements from the school?" Nobara Kugisaki perked up when she saw Shinsuke—relief plain on her face. She only had one nail left; without help she would have died here. There were still too many things she wanted to do; she couldn't be eaten by these disgusting curses.
"You're Nobara Kugisaki—the new student this year." Shinsuke glanced at her, gripped his spear, planted his left foot forward, muscles bulging, and delivered a violent horizontal sweep into the air.
Boom—!
The spear's tip unleashed a brutal shockwave. Every single minor curse floating above detonated and disintegrated into purple mist.
"You're safe now. You can leave," Shinsuke said as he turned to head toward the main area. That whole room hadn't contained a single Grade-1—trash. He'd have skipped it if he'd known no one was in there.
"Grr… Wait up, mister!" Nobara hurried to follow. Honestly, Shinsuke's one sweep had stunned her—she'd been chipping away at curses with single nails for ages, and he'd cleared them with one move. So this was what a proper sorcerer at the school was like—frightening indeed.
"Megumi!"
Fushiguro Megumi arrived with his black dog and froze when he saw Shinsuke standing beside Nobara. "Uncle!? You came?"
"Uncle? That's your uncle? You actually have a relative that powerful?!" Nobara's eyes widened. Why hadn't they called this relative sooner, instead of sending three rank-new students into a deathtrap?
"Megumi, you're just in time. You and Nobara go out first," Shinsuke told Megumi, glancing at him—he wore a few scratches but was alright—and then sprinted upstairs.
"Got it! Nobara, let's go!" Megumi grabbed Nobara and bolted for the exit.
A special-grade is far too dangerous to linger around. Megumi's priority was to inform Ijichi and get the safe perimeter extended.
"Hey, slow down. There's an uncle here—what are you afraid of? That man just killed a room full of curses with one swing!" Nobara called after them, awed.
Nobara was actually excited — she wanted to see how the others would handle a special-grade curse.
But Megumi's face was grave. "Special-grade curses aren't something to be taken lightly. Even if my uncle has a record of exorcising one, we can't just run in and make things worse."
Megumi didn't know the full extent of his uncle's power; he'd only heard stories — that Shinsuke Zen'in had once purified a special-grade during a major operation, or that he'd slain countless curses during the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons incident. He'd never actually seen Shinsuke act in person. His mental image of his uncle was still rooted in family lore: like their father and like senior Maki, someone born without cursed energy who nonetheless fights with overwhelming physicality.
Still — if even Maki is Shinsuke's disciple, then surely Shinsuke can handle a special-grade.
Outside, rain drummed steadily and the barrier's effect made the world feel perpetually night.
Megumi immediately ordered his black divine dog to send the signal. He and Yuji had agreed: if they escaped, Yuji would switch to Sukuna and face the curse. Megumi worried that if Shinsuke arrived late and Yuji didn't see the signal, Yuji might never summon Sukuna and could die trying. As an insurance, Megumi made sure the dog notified Yuji. If Yuji could freely switch Sukuna in and out, he should be able to snap back to control once Shinsuke showed up.
At the other end, Yuji received the signal and switched to Sukuna without hesitation—no time to waste. Life mattered more than pride; even though he hated Sukuna, he had to rely on that power now.
"What a hateful brat. Does he think I'm his lackey?" Sukuna appeared, irritated more than impressed. He ignored the surrounding curses and seethed quietly. Yuji's behavior had clearly insulted him.
"Wait a moment—I should think about how best to make this brat regret it," Sukuna muttered as he tapped the shoulder of the special-grade curse and schemed.
An image of Megumi flashed across his mind. "That kid is close to this brat. If I just kill him where he stands, the brat might prematurely take control and switch himself out." Sukuna considered the consequences.
There was only one sensible move, he decided. A slow smile curved his lips. If he dragged this special-grade curse over to the brat's close friend, that would be perfect. Let the friend be the one to experience the carnage. No — Sukuna didn't want to hand the kill to someone else. He wanted to twist things, to humiliate. He wouldn't do the predictable thing—he wouldn't let anyone else have the satisfaction of slaying the curse.