The thick stench of blood felt like an invisible hand gripping his throat, making it hard to breathe.
"Urgh..."
Yoru snapped his eyes open, a violent spasm in his stomach forcing a dry heave from his throat.
Before him lay a scene straight out of hell.
The abandoned construction site, once a forest of steel and concrete, was now draped with severed limbs.
Blood dripped from the floorboards, the rhythmic tap, tap echoing piercingly through the silent night.
'Where am I? Wasn't I just working overtime on some code?'
Clutching his throbbing head, Yoru stumbled as he tried to stand.
Just then, a bone-chilling chewing sound drifted from the shadows ahead.
"Crunch... crunch..."
It was the sound of bone being ground to pieces. Yoru stiffly turned his head.
By the moonlight, he saw the source of the noise.
It was a mass of flesh composed of countless distorted human faces, standing three meters tall, its bloated body covered in sharp bone spurs.
It held the upper half of a body in a security uniform, gnawing on it like a piece of sugarcane.
At the monster's feet huddled two figures in high school uniforms.
Clearly a couple who had wandered in for an adventure; the boy had already fainted from terror.
The girl covered her mouth tightly, tears soaking her collar. The image of the monster feeding was reflected in her pupils, fear draining her of even the strength to flee.
It was the primal despair felt when humans faced a natural predator.
"Meat... want... more..."
The monster tossed the remains aside, its dozens of murky eyes snapping toward the girl in the corner.
"No... please..."
The girl finally snapped, letting out a scream of pure desperation.
"Help! Someone help me!"
A Cursed Spirit.
The term instantly exploded in Yoru's mind.
At that moment, a cold, mechanical voice rang in his ears:
[SYSTEM: DING! STRONGEST ROLE-PLAY SYSTEM ACTIVATED.]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT WORLD: JUJUTSU KAISEN.]
[SYSTEM: INITIAL TEMPLATE LOADING... YORIICHI TSUGIKUNI (DEMON SLAYER PEAK POWER).]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT SYNCHRONIZATION: 1%.]
[SYSTEM: UNLOCKED ABILITY: HINOKAMI KAGURA (PROTOTYPE SUN BREATHING).]
'Yoriichi Tsugikuni? The man who drove Muzan Kibutsuji into a corner?'
Before Yoru could process this, the Cursed Spirit moved.
"More... new... meat..."
The claws that had been reaching for the girl stopped mid-air. The monster seemed more interested in Yoru, the new prey that had suddenly appeared.
It could sense a certain flavor from this human.
Something even more delicious than fear.
BOOM!
The massive body lunged forward instantly, bringing a foul, stench-filled gale.
Its speed was staggering! The girl closed her eyes in despair.
'He's dead.'
That scrawny boy would be torn apart in a heartbeat.
But just as the claws were about to crush Yoru's skull, he moved.
Or rather, his body moved on its own.
Facing this eldritch horror, his heart didn't feel a flicker of fear.
Instead, there was an indescribable calm and a sense of pity for the thing before him that desecrated life.
"Life should not be trampled upon like this."
Yoru's hand instinctively grabbed a rusted iron bar by his feet.
His breathing changed.
Though he hadn't mastered Total Concentration Breathing, his lungs rose and fell with a strange rhythm.
Everything around him seemed to slow down.
The flow of the wind, the contraction of the Cursed Spirit's muscles, even the dust floating in the air—all became crystal clear.
[SYSTEM: HINOKAMI KAGURA: DANCE]
Yoru swung the iron bar.
Though it was just a piece of scrap iron, in that moment, it seemed infused with the soul of the sun.
A faint but incredibly pure light of fire traced a perfect arc through the darkness.
Slash!
Without resistance, the Cursed Spirit's skin—which even bullets couldn't pierce—proved as fragile as paper.
A massive arm of flesh flew into the air, followed by the neck.
The dozens of distorted faces didn't even have time to show pain before being swallowed by the searing energy.
"ROAARRR—!!!"
The Cursed Spirit let out a wretched scream; its prideful regeneration had failed!
Its wounds felt like they were being cauterized by fire, preventing Cursed Energy from repairing them.
The massive body collapsed with a crash, kicking up a cloud of dust.
No presence left... is it dead?
The girl in the corner watched, dumbfounded.
That ordinary-looking boy had killed the monster using only an iron bar?
Yoru breathed heavily. The iron bar in his hand, unable to withstand the force, had bent slightly and was emitting wisps of heat.
"Is it over...?"
He looked at the fallen Cursed Spirit, his frayed nerves relaxing slightly.
Even with only 1% synchronization, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's peak swordsmanship—even just the surface level—was enough to slay the beast before him.
Just as he was about to check on the girl...
Whoosh—
A sharp whistling sound came from above, and Yoru reflexively looked up.
A black shadow fell like a meteorite, landing steadily on a broken pillar amidst the ruins.
The moonlight shone down, illuminating the newcomer.
A black Jujutsu High uniform, an iconic black blindfold, and a shock of silver-white hair.
The man stood with his hands in his pockets, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.
Even just by standing there, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
'Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one.'
The strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern era—Satoru Gojo.
Had arrived.