Back in reality.
The man standing before Yuji—the mountain of muscle and scars that was Aoi Todo—was currently weeping. Tears streamed down his rugged face, and his chest heaved with emotion. He placed a heavy, trembling hand on Yuji's shoulder and spoke through a choked sob.
"Itadori! We are... best friends!"
"Eh???"
It wasn't just Yuji; everyone present stared in absolute bewilderment. What is this? They've only known each other for five minutes, and suddenly they're 'besties'? Is this a Domain Expansion where everyone is your brother?
Despite the sheer absurdity of being claimed as a soulmate by a man he'd just met, Yuji didn't feel any repulsion. On the contrary, something deep within his gut told him that Todo's personality and tastes aligned perfectly with his own. Like two magnets of the same polarity destined to snap together, they were fated to be brothers-in-arms.
Nanami watched this display and adjusted his goggles, feeling a familiar headache brewing. He truly couldn't understand the inner workings of the modern youth. Am I really that out of touch?
"Oh my~ Look at all of you, gathered in one place."
A woman in dark clothing, her hair styled in a distinct front ponytail, stepped into the light. Beside her was a young boy who followed her with doting, wide eyes.
"Ah, Nanamin. It's been a while!"
Nanami gave a stiff, formal nod. "Mei Mei-senpai."
Though Nanami's weary face suggested he was the elder, Mei Mei was actually his senior by two years.
"Who is she? Why are there only two of them?" Yuji whispered, eyeing the woman with the massive battle-axe and the strange hairstyle.
Nanami lowered his voice. "Mei Mei-senpai is a Grade 1 Sorcerer, and one of the absolute elite. For someone of her caliber, a two-person team is more than sufficient."
"That strong?"
Mei Mei covered her mouth and chuckled. "It depends, really. If the payment isn't sufficient, my strength might drop to rather disappointing levels."
"..."
Confirmed. She's a total miser.
"Everyone is here, then!"
The voice that cut through the air sent a jolt of adrenaline through the group. They spun around to see a figure covered in patchwork stitches, a manic grin stretching across his face. In his hand, he held a child no older than seven or eight.
The moment they saw him, Nanami, Todo, and Mei Mei's pupils contracted.
Nanami immediately stepped in front of the students, his hand on the hilt of his blade. "It's the Special Grade Souma Gojo warned us about."
"All students and non-Grade 1s, fall back! This is not a battle you can survive!"
"Leaving so soon? I don't think so~"
Mahito laughed, waving a hand. Suddenly, the shadows erupted with Transfigured Humans, surrounding the group until the perimeter was locked tight.
Then, with a cruel, experimental glint in his eye, Mahito traced a finger across the crying child's face.
The boy's cheeks ballooned unnaturally. His limbs snapped and elongated, his torso twisting into a jagged, fleshy spiral. Within seconds, the child was gone, replaced by a whimpering, distorted mass of meat. Mahito watched the transformation with the detached curiosity of a child pulling the wings off a fly.
Silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the sorcerers. But within that silence, a storm of white-hot rage and killing intent was brewing. Even the composed Nanami felt his knuckles turn white as he gripped his shortsword.
"Ahahaha... I can smell it! The negative energy! It's anger!"
Mahito tilted his head, feigning innocence. "Are you mad? But why?"
"YOU BASTARD!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!"
Yuji's eyes were bloodshot. The roar that tore from his throat was primal, visceral.
The angrier Yuji became, the wider Mahito's grin stretched. He lived for this—the exquisite game of playing with human hearts. To kill a child right in front of them and harvest such high-quality misery... he was practically high on the atmosphere.
Caw—!
Suddenly, a hole was punched through Mahito's head. A crow, moving at terminal velocity and wreathed in cursed energy, had pierced his skull!
"Black Bird Manipulation: Bird Strike!"
Todo lunged forward instantly. "Nanami-senpai!"
Nanami didn't need a second prompt. He blurred toward Todo, his blade glowing with energy.
Boogie Woogie!
Ratio Technique!
A sharp clap echoed through the street. Todo and Mahito swapped places in the blink of an eye, and Nanami's strike landed exactly where the curse's vital point had shifted to.
The blunt blade struck the 7:3 weak point, the impact accompanied by a violent discharge of black lightning.
"Black Flash!"
BOOM!
The three Grade 1s had executed a flawless, unspoken combination in under a second. Mahito's body was shredded, sent flying like a sack of broken parts into a concrete wall. His remains were smeared across the bricks in a mess of gore that looked impossible to recover from.
Yet, a second later, the mangled meat began to writhe and flow like clay, knitting itself back into Mahito's smiling form.
"As I thought," Nanami muttered, his eyes narrowing.
Mei Mei's expression remained grim. Todo let out a cold snort. "Souma Gojo's intel was spot on. To kill this freak, we have to strike his soul directly."
"And we have to avoid his touch at all costs. One tap to the soul and it's game over. What a pain!"
Mahito looked genuinely surprised. "Oh? It sounds like you're quite familiar with my technique?"
This was his first real encounter with the High, yet they seemed to have a dossier on him. Could it be...?
Mahito bit his thumbnail, his expression darkening. Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon were like family; they wouldn't betray him. Uraume only cared about Sukuna. That left Kenjaku. Did that snake leak my info? What's her game?
"Kugisaki!"
Nanami suddenly lunged toward Nobara, holding out a scrap of Mahito's writhing flesh that he had carved off during the exchange. "Use your Straw Doll Technique on this! Now!"
Nobara blinked for a fraction of a second before her instincts took over. She grabbed her hammer and a nail, pinning the pulsating meat to her straw doll.
"Straw Doll Technique: Resonance!"
"It's useless, it's useless! Attacks that don't target the soul can't hurt m—Pfft!"
Mahito's mocking laughter was cut short as his chest suddenly buckled inward. A fountain of blood sprayed from his mouth, and his confident smirk curdled into a mask of pure disbelief.
At that moment, Nanami's respect for Souma Gojo hit a new peak. Souma predicted this as well. Nobara's technique is a natural counter to this Mahito curse.
"Nanami-senpai, the flesh turned to ash!" Nobara called out, watching as the sample she had nailed withered away into dry dust.
Nanami adjusted his glasses. "It's fine. Now that we know his weakness, we simply need to follow the protocol to bring him down."
"Mei Mei-senpai, Todo—we three go in. We only need to carve off pieces of his body for Kugisaki to use. Everyone else, protect Kugisaki-san!"
"Got it!"
"Damn you... damn you all!"
Mahito was spiraling into a frenzy. "That damn Kenjaku! She definitely leaked my data! Dammit!"
He looked up to see the three Grade 1s closing in on him like hunters. Mahito felt something he rarely experienced: fear. In a raw contest of power, he was confident he could take all three. But if they only needed a single scrap of his skin to deal lethal soul damage, he was in grave trouble.
"Hehe... ahahaha... three on one? That's just bullying! I think I need some friends of my own!"
Mahito's smile turned grotesque. He shoved his hand down his own throat, pulling out three small, pulsating orbs.
"Let's see if your 'tools' actually work, Kenjaku!"
"Cursed Womb Release: Tengumaru!"
Mahito formed a seal, and the three orbs expanded instantly, manifesting as three snarling, monstrous Tengu.
Daitengu, Akatengu, and Karasutengu!
Three Special Grade Cursed Spirits!
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