When a person is sentenced to prison for their crimes, they are faced with a life where they can see the end from the beginning. Monotonous prison life and the physical numbness brought on by labor leave them with far too much time to think.
Some might feel remorse for their actions; others might earn a reduced sentence through good behavior.
But the true villains? They never regret what they've done. They only reflect on how their crimes weren't sophisticated enough, how their killing wasn't decisive enough, or how they hadn't been clean enough when scrubbing the crime scene.
It is precisely these people who never stop to consider that, perhaps, they were the ones in the wrong. They hate order, they hate society, and they hate... humanity.
The good news is that these pieces of trash are all locked up in prison. The bad news is that they are all locked up together.
Humanity's hatred for humanity is not an uncommon emotion, but in a place like a prison—packed with criminals, unscrupulous thugs, and anti-social lunatics—it's everywhere. It's practically background noise.
Yet, it was these seemingly insignificant emotions that, on the eve of the Goodwill Event, birthed a truly nauseating entity: Mahito.
It is a well-known fact that among non-human races, the more they mimic and resemble humans, the more intelligent and cunning they are compared to their kin. Mahito was the pinnacle of this. From the moment of his birth, he possessed self-awareness, peak intelligence, and a personality that served as a collection of all of humanity's darkest traits. He toyed with hearts, manipulated souls, and committed every evil imaginable—all without a shred of guilt, simply because he found it "interesting."
To borrow a quote from the famous chef and critic, Iron Bull: "A genuine bastard. The beast among beasts."
In short, this guy was the intended final boss of this Goodwill Event. Now, let's turn our gaze back to the battlefield.
As mentioned previously, Satoru Gojo had set up Teleportation Slates on the perimeter to drop participants at random locations within the forest.
The Tokyo students, being the "good kids" they were, followed Gojo's instructions to the letter. One after another, they stepped onto the slates, endured a brief bout of vertigo, and appeared in various corners of the woods. Their actions were surprisingly consistent: pick a path, head toward the center of the barrier, and kill anything that didn't look human.
The Kyoto students, however, weren't quite so honest.
You likely recall that a certain robot named Mechamaru was mixed into their ranks. He wasn't a standard robot controlled by AI; he was a puppet remotely operated by a sorcerer. His true self was a boy named Kokichi Muta.
Similar to Toji Fushiguro, Muta was a man born with a Heavenly Restriction. However, the "vow" he carried was the exact opposite of Toji's. In exchange for a massive casting range and an immense output of cursed energy, he was born with withered muscles and skin so sensitive that even natural light was agonizing. He lived out his days immobile in a dark, damp room.
This Restriction sounds decent on paper, but in reality, it was fairly useless at the top levels. In terms of total cursed energy, he couldn't even match Satoru Gojo from ten years ago, let alone Yuta, who had even more than Gojo.
As for that "immense output," it mostly manifested as firing massive beams of cursed energy. While these "Ultras" packed a punch and dealt heavy physical damage, they required a damn charge time. It was great for bullying the weak, but against anyone actually fast or skilled, he'd never land a hit.
Finally, regarding the "ultra-wide range"—there isn't much to complain about there. Since his body was broken, hiding away and remote-controlling a robot was safe. But if you think about it, if it weren't for the Restriction, he wouldn't need to hide like a rat. If he could take the field in person, who would choose to play a long-distance game? He couldn't even meet up with pretty girls in real life. It was honestly tragic.
But setting his Heavenly Restriction aside, Kokichi Muta had one truly commendable talent: mechanical engineering. Even with the convenience of jujutsu, it's hard to imagine one person in this era building a literal Gundam and actually piloting it into battle.
Back to the point. Once the Tokyo team had finished teleporting, Muta—acting through Mechamaru—sneaked a bunch of mini-robots to his teammates. These little droids acted as communication devices and shared their locations with one another through cursed energy. They were essentially the jujutsu world's version of a GPS—provided they stayed within Muta's operating range.
After that, the Kyoto team stepped onto the slates. By dodging cursed spirits along the way, they were able to regroup in record time.
Mechamaru scanned the group, his voice a digitized, synthetic rasp that sounded like it belonged in a sci-fi movie. "Everyone's here, then."
"Aren't we missing one?" A crisp female voice called out from above. Momo Nishimiya was circling overhead on her "magical" broomstick, acting as their scout.
Regarding that broom: while it was unique, it wasn't a Cursed Tool in the traditional sense. It was originally destined to spend its life as a simple cleaning tool, but because it had the capacity to hold a "soul," Momo had claimed it. Through her Tool Manipulation, it became a Tsukumogami, granting her the power of flight and aerial offense.
Although her "Absolute Territory" was well within sight, the boys below didn't dare look up—mostly to avoid being labeled creeps, but also because they weren't particularly interested in a girl who looked like she hadn't finished puberty. Had it been Zen'in Mai or Miwa Kasumi flying up there in a princess dress or a miniskirt, it might have been a different story.
"Todo never considers the team. He's always been a lone wolf; you know that." Noritoshi Kamo leaned against a tree, his eyes narrowed as he spoke with a sigh of resignation. "We can move out without him."
"Which way?" Kasumi Miwa asked, her left hand resting casually on the hilt of her katana while her right hand brushed a stray lock of blue hair from her eyes.
Ultimate Mechamaru stared at Miwa for a moment, a red light flickering in his artificial eyes before gradually dimming. "Based on experience, the target is usually at the center of the barrier." He pointed a mechanical finger. "That way."
Unlike Tokyo Jujutsu High, which consciously trained its students to fight solo, the Kyoto students regrouped not because they were on a mission to execute Yuta, but because of habit. Unlike Yuji Itadori, Yuta Okkotsu was already a powerhouse in his own right with Rika Orimoto protecting him. Even if the Higher-Ups wanted him dead, they wouldn't be stupid enough to assign a bunch of students to the job.
The Kyoto team stuck together because they were accustomed to a team-based combat doctrine. Sorcerers usually only have one technique; by grouping up, they ensured a diverse range of abilities to counter any unknown threat.
But as the saying goes: cattle and sheep travel in herds, but the predator walks alone. The extra "options" provided by teamwork made them comfortable, but they lacked one crucial thing: the ability to face true adversity and create "infinite" possibilities out of "limited" means.
Aoi Todo never joined them precisely because he understood this. A team meant safety, and safety meant weakness. However, he didn't criticize them for it; the strong have their philosophy, and the weak have their way of surviving.
On the other side of the forest, Maki, Panda, and Toge had each carved a path toward the center. The cursed spirits they encountered were mostly Grade 3 or Grade 4—easy pickings for sorcerers of their caliber.
However, as you may have noticed, there was one "unlucky" soul I haven't mentioned. Upon stepping onto the Teleportation Slate, he was dropped directly into the center of the barrier.
"The negative energy around here is... overwhelming."
Yuta Okkotsu shielded his eyes with his left hand as he scanned the area. A massive swarm of grotesque creatures immediately fixated on him like he was a gourmet meal, lunging forward in a frenzied mob.
The strength of this pack was significantly higher than the spirits the others were facing on the perimeter; many had cursed energy levels exceeding Grade 2.
Yet, Yuta remained unfazed. He even took a moment to look up at the sky. "The Cursed Womb has completely manifested. Does that mean...?"
He didn't finish the thought. His right hand drew his blade while his left hand pressed against the ground.
"Rika!"
At his call, Rika's physical form didn't manifest. Instead, a surge of blackish-blue light flickered over Yuta's body, followed by a tidal wave of cursed energy. It flared for only an instant before being compressed and condensed entirely into the blade of his sword.
Simultaneously, the ground before him began to heave and buckle. It erupted upward, the tremors throwing the monsters off balance. Some were crushed under flying slabs of earth, while the stronger ones leaped into the air to avoid falling.
"Is that all you've got?"
Yuta gripped his sword and unleashed a diagonal upward slash. A wave of cursed energy poured out, and the number of silhouettes in the air suddenly doubled as their bodies were cleaved clean in two.
Thud. Splat. The heavy sounds of falling remains echoed through the clearing.
However, despite having wiped out the enemy, Yuta didn't look relieved. If anything, his expression darkened. He frowned, wiped a splash of fluid from his face, and stared at his hand.
"They felt like normal cursed spirits... their bodies were full of cursed energy, but... why is the blood red?"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
A soft, slow applause drifted from above.
"Subarashii ne."
Yuta looked up toward the source of the voice. Sitting on a branch nearby was a bare-footed man, looking to be in his early twenties. His exposed arms and face were covered in jagged, meaningless stitch marks. He had long, silver-gray hair tied into twin braids, and his voice held a childlike innocence.
But his words sent a chill down Yuta's spine.
"It took me three whole days to finish those Transfigured Humans... and you killed them all with a single hit?"
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