Aoi Todo, a third-year student at Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu High School and a Grade 1 Sorcerer.
Mai Zenin, a second-year student at Kyoto Prefectural Jujutsu High School and a Grade 3 Sorcerer.
Since the annual Tokyo-Kyoto Sister-School Goodwill Event was approaching, these two had accompanied their team to Tokyo Jujutsu High for a briefing. However, they weren't required to attend the meeting and were free to roam.
After provoking two first-year students from the Tokyo school, Todo insisted on attending an idol meet-and-greet. Unfamiliar with the city, he recruited Mai Zenin to serve as his guide.
Having successfully attended the event, the two were heading back to Tokyo Jujutsu High when they unexpectedly sensed the presence of a Cursed Spirit.
"A Cursed Spirit? What bad luck." Aoi Todo, muscular, hair in a topknot, and scarred across his face, was a Grade 1 Sorcerer who instantly shifted into combat mode. "Judging by the amount of Cursed Energy, this looks like a Special Grade."
"A Special Grade?" Mai Zenin, the girl with short black hair wearing a high-collared dark uniform, couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. "Todo-senpai, what do we do?"
"There are too many people here; we can't engage directly. Mai, retreat first. Find a way to contact the Principal and the others to request reinforcements. I'll stay here to keep an eye on him and lure him to a less crowded area," Todo ordered calmly.
Facing a suspected Special Grade Cursed Spirit, one could neither act rashly nor look away, for it could trigger a horrific massacre at any moment.
"Understood!" Mai Zenin immediately complied, disappearing into the crowd and ducking into a secluded corner to pull out her phone.
During their exchange, Aomori had recognized Todo from his distinctive features.
At this point in time, a short-haired girl with Aoi Todo is almost certainly Mai Zenin!
What a convenient encounter.
Aomori wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away. While Todo's Innate Technique was troublesome, Aomori wasn't alone. It was time for the new generation's "Model Worker" to clock in.
He withdrew his gaze, jumped down from the streetlamp, and began walking away nonchalantly. Seeing this, Todo followed, his eyes fixed on Aomori. He failed to notice a shadow splitting off from the streetlamp's base, a dark mass pursuing the isolated Mai Zenin.
Aomori led him toward a secluded area. Pedestrians grew sparse until he reached a small grove of trees where he was the only one wandering.
"Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
A powerful voice rang out nearby. Aomori saw a torrent of black liquid pour from the sky, forming a hemispherical black dome that trapped him inside. Todo had seized the moment to cast a "Curtain."
A Curtain is a barrier technique used to hide a specific area from ordinary people. It can be set with specific "Binding Vows" to restrict certain people from entering or leaving. Even non-sorcerers can learn it with training.
"So this is a Curtain?" Aomori walked to the edge with interest, pressing his hand against it. As expected, he felt a repulsive force.
"I've set a Binding Vow: 'Cursed Spirits cannot leave,'" Todo said.
"Very confident, locking yourself in here as well," Aomori said, turning to face him.
"Because if I can stall you for five minutes, my reinforcements will arrive. Besides, the caster being inside the Curtain increases its strength." Todo stripped off his black uniform jacket and tossed it aside, revealing his massive, sculpted physique. "I've exorcised Special Grades before. I don't believe for a second I can't last five minutes."
A year ago, during the "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons," he had soloed five Grade 1s and one Special Grade.
Since Todo had already raised his own "death flag," Aomori felt it would be rude not to oblige.
"I believe the chant for the Curtain goes like this." Aomori held up two fingers and recited: "Emerge from darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."
"What?!" Todo watched in shock as a second Curtain fell from the sky, encasing them both.
"First time using barrier techniques, so I'm a bit rusty. But it's enough to keep you in. Now, we can play to our hearts' content," Aomori laughed.
"First time?"
A Cursed Spirit capable of fluent conversation was shocking enough, but now he was seeing one learn barrier techniques? And likely after seeing it used only once? Todo recalled Aomori touching the barrier earlier. He mastered it just by doing that? What terrifying learning capacity.
This extraordinary Special Grade… he must not be allowed to escape!
"Who's playing with you? A Cursed Spirit who doesn't understand romance is destined for extinction!" Todo prepared to go all out. He stood rooted, adjusting his muscles and Cursed Energy to their peak state, ready to strike.
"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you."
Aomori launched himself forward, closing the distance instantly. He threw a powerful punch that whistled through the air. Todo lowered his center of gravity, slipped the punch, and whipped his body upward, driving a fierce uppercut from his shoulder.
"Got you!"
The corner of Aomori's mouth curled. His hands moved like flowing water. His left hand parried the punch while his right hand darted straight for Todo's face.
Bang!
Todo took the hit squarely on his right cheek. His body went flying. Even as he soared through the air, he was thinking: What just happened?
It was the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.
With little time to spare, Aomori used the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist against Todo, whose close-quarters combat was far superior to Itadori's. He broke Todo's momentum and seized the initiative. After punching him away, Aomori pursued relentlessly, thinking: It's about time for that move.
The force was incredible. Todo flew a great distance. Just as he was about to slam into a tree trunk, he clapped his hands. Space shifted instantly. The person about to hit the tree was now Aomori.
This was Todo's Innate Technique, "Boogie Woogie." It allows the user to swap the positions of two objects containing Cursed Energy. It works on both living and non-living things, and the trigger is a clap of the hands.
Having prepared for this, Aomori pressed his hand against the tree at the last moment, swung around the trunk using it as an axis, and kicked back toward Todo.
"He reacted that fast?" Todo gritted his teeth and clapped again, activating Boogie Woogie.
But this time, Aomori was even faster. He seized the opening and landed a solid punch on Todo's left cheek. With both sides of his face equally swollen, he was finally symmetrical.
"Your technique is best suited for 'multiplayer' activities; you're lacking a good partner," Aomori remarked.
"My technique was seen through instantly? Is this a joke? Where did a monster like this come from?"
Todo was beginning to doubt his very existence. His pride in his body and his technique were proving useless. He couldn't see a way to defeat the enemy before him. Should he give up?
"Of course not! I am a real man!"
With a roar, Todo threw a punch that flickered with black sparks. In his moment of desperation, he had unleashed a Black Flash!
"Finally!" Aomori's expression was even more excited than Todo's. He reached out his palm to catch the punch directly.
Thud!
Aomori's Skateboard Shoes scraped the ground, leaving two tracks as he was pushed back for the first time. He shook his slightly numb palm, his eyes bright: "Cursed Energy, the physical body... so this is what it feels like."
He already understood the theory of Black Flash; this firsthand experience provided the final piece of the puzzle.
"You... don't tell me?!" Todo was stunned yet again.
"What's with that look? As a god, isn't it normal to learn this?"
Before Todo's despairing eyes, black sparks erupted from Aomori's fist.
Boom!
After a violent tremor, Todo collapsed in a deep crater, his eyes rolled back, completely unconscious.
"Coming all this way to deliver a person and a skill... what a great guy."
Good people were becoming rare in this world; they had to be protected. Aomori flicked his finger, sending a globule of Holy Light into Todo's body to ensure he wouldn't die, then dispelled the barrier and vanished.
Once again a step too late, Satoru Gojo arrived to find only a devastated battlefield and an unconscious Todo.
"Well, this is quite bad," Gojo said with a wide grin.
…
Following the connection, Aomori found Darkrai. Beside the Pokémon lay a sleeping girl with short black hair.
"Good job," Aomori praised. He looked at Mai Zenin. His chosen target was the Zenin clan, one of the "Big Three" families. With her as a guide, finding the estate would be easy.
He flicked a ball of Holy Light onto her forehead. Mai Zenin groaned and woke up immediately, seeing Aomori and the pitch-black Darkrai. Sensing the massive Cursed Energy emanating from them, she broke into a cold sweat.
Two Special Grade Cursed Spirits? I lost consciousness suddenly… must have been that black one. The spirit Todo-senpai was following is here too. Is he okay?
Her reflex was to draw her handgun and aim it at Aomori, her hands trembling uncontrollably. She couldn't even beat a Grade 1 spirit, let alone face two Special Grades. Her heart was full of despair: Am I going to die? Maybe this is for the best. Onee-chan will finally be free of me...
"Don't be nervous. I won't hurt you." Aomori gave a radiant smile, radiating unrestrained charm that momentarily dazed her. Seeing her vacant eyes, Aomori slowly reached out, took the handgun from her grip with gentle force, and began playing with it.
Mai Zenin remained dazed for a moment before snapping back. Seeing her gun gone, her face paled, and her gaze grew more wary. This spirit... he has a charm skill?! And he could speak normally?
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm. "Then let me leave."
"Don't be in such a hurry. Meeting is a form of fate. It is your luck to encounter me, a god. I can grant you one wish. You humans call this a 'serendipitous encounter,' don't you?" Aomori held up an index finger.
A bored god granting a boon to a girl he met. It was a perfectly logical plot development.
God? Serendipity? Is this guy's head broken? Mai cursed internally while playing along: "My wish is to leave here immediately and return to Jujutsu High."
The world was too dangerous; only the school felt safe and warm.
"Is something so simple really okay? It could be a more difficult, more urgent wish. For example, the downfall of the Zenin clan. Everything there... completely destroyed. Not a single person left."
Mai's eyes widened suddenly.
"You hate it, don't you? That so-called family that binds everything and serves as your cage. Being looked down upon, bullied, constantly compared to others... you hate everything about the Zenin clan! Speak up boldly. Make a wish to me, and I can solve it all. Whether you want them killed or want to become the Clan Head, it's effortless." Aomori's voice was full of temptation.
"No, I don't... I didn't... stop talking nonsense!" Mai Zenin clutched her head, denying it.
"Don't lie to yourself anymore. I can see it, your heart and your future." Aomori tilted her chin up, looking into her eyes. "Do you want to see? Your future."
Looking into his swirling purple eyes, she nodded blankly. Aomori smiled. "As you wish."
Then, Mai Zenin saw everything.
She saw herself as a child, relying on her twin sister, Maki Zenin; saw Maki leave her behind; saw both her and her sister cut down by their father and thrown into a room filled with Cursed Spirits; saw herself willingly sacrifice her life for her sister, uttering her final wish for destruction; saw her sister turn into an asura, transforming the Zenin estate into a living hell...
"No! I don't believe this is real!" Mai screamed, but in her heart, she already believed. That man, her father, was indeed capable of such things. And hadn't she always known she was just a burden to her sister?
Twins were considered an ill omen in the sorcery world precisely because identical twins were treated as a single person regarding their Innate Technique. Mai was Maki, and Maki was Mai. They were intrinsically linked. If one wanted to be mediocre, the other's hard work wouldn't matter. Her very existence was a drag on her striving sister.
So, dying wasn't so bad. That ending seemed alright.
"Is it really okay?" Aomori gently stroked her hair, whispering in her ear, "If that happens, your sister will live in constant pain. Her body and soul will be broken. Is that what you want to see?"
"Onee-chan..." Mai still deeply loved Maki. She couldn't bear to see her live a life of misery.
"Mai, you want to be mediocre and stay happily with your sister forever, right? I can do that. Just speak your wish, and I'll handle everything. What do you say?"
"I... I want to be with my sister happily. Please, help me." Mai Zenin wiped away her tears, sobbing.
"Very well. Your wish has been heard. Now, let's go stir up some trouble together!" Aomori laughed happily.
…
Tokyo Jujutsu High, Conference Room.
Satoru Gojo, Tokyo Principal Masamichi Yaga, and Kyoto Principal Yoshinobu Gakuganji sat together, looking grim.
"Todo has been treated and is out of danger. Mai Zenin's whereabouts are currently unknown," said the sunglass-wearing Yaga. "Since this happened in Tokyo, we will take full responsibility for the investigation. Satoru, this falls on you."
"Yeah, yeah! I'll work hard even without you telling me," Gojo raised a hand.
"The one missing is my student; Kyoto Jujutsu High cannot stand idly by. I want to know about this intelligent Special Grade," said the nearly 80-year-old Gakuganji, opening one eye slightly.
"That's a long story. I'll give you the report in a moment."
"Fine. Until Mai is found, the Goodwill Event will be postponed. Agreed?"
"Yes, that's only right."
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