Restrictions Lifted

As the black mist rushed toward him, Toho Tetsu instinctively covered his mouth and nose while reinforcing his entire body with cursed energy, coating himself in a protective layer.

This looked like the effect of some cursed technique being activated, proving that the cursed spirit before him was no ordinary Grade 2. It was very likely a semi-Grade 1, or even Grade 1.

Since he could not judge the effect of its technique from its appearance, it was better to defend himself whenever possible.

After the black mist dispersed, he was ready to meet the cursed spirit's attack, but the scene before his eyes suddenly changed.

He stood in the middle of a ruined street. Every building within sight was battered beyond recognition, the sky was shrouded in an ominous blackness, miserable wails drifted faintly through his ears, and the stench of burning and blood filled his nose.

But that was not the important part.

What mattered was that he was standing at the center of a pile of corpses. When he looked down at those around him, he saw several familiar faces.

Utahime, Mei Mei, Shoko, Gojo, Geto, and even Itadori and the others from the beginning of the main story were among them.

Faced with all this, his grip on Fudōmaru tightened instinctively as he forcibly steadied himself and observed his surroundings.

If it had been him when he had first transmigrated here, he would probably have frozen on the spot and been unable to react at all. But after this period of study and training, he had been completely transformed.

When faced with such a bizarre and despairing scene, his first thought was still to determine what exactly was happening.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting, distorted howl rang out from the air not far away. When he turned around instinctively, he saw a gigantic humanoid monster slowly emerging from behind a half-collapsed building.

Compared to its body, even skyscrapers hundreds of meters tall seemed somewhat short.

It appeared to be made of twisted, ominous black cursed energy. Though it had no fixed form, it possessed a pair of eyes that glowed crimson.

It seemed to notice his gaze. Its eyes, filled with madness and the desire for destruction, locked onto him. Then, a blood-red beam shot from its mouth and instantly engulfed his body.

"Ugh?!"

As the black mist dispersed, Toho Tetsu instinctively leaped to the side, and that movement allowed him to evade the cursed spirit's pounce.

Only when he realized that he was still in the dark, gloomy basement did he understand that everything he had just experienced had apparently been an illusion.

Was that the effect of the cursed spirit's technique?

Moreover, he had been dragged into that illusion for several seconds, yet the cursed spirit had not attacked during that time. It had only charged at him after the illusion ended.

It seemed that if it wanted to affect his mind, it needed to maintain the technique continuously.

Thinking this, he calmed down slightly before turning his gaze back to the cursed spirit.

It had turned around as well, though that cruel and sinister smile still hung on its face.

After confirming the situation, the first thing he thought of was Utahime Iori's condition.

"Senpai! Are you okay?"

A somewhat trembling but clearly awakened voice came from behind him.

"I-I'm fine... It seems this cursed spirit has a technique that causes hallucinations. You need to be careful!"

Although something seemed off about her condition, she did not appear to be seriously hurt. Toho Tetsu tightened his grip on Fudōmaru again. This time, rather than waiting, he chose to take the initiative.

Although the cursed spirit's technique did not seem particularly threatening, its ability to pull people into illusions seemed far too weak. It simply did not have the offensive power a normal cursed technique should possess.

Therefore, he concluded that the technique definitely had a second effect. Either the conditions to trigger it had not yet been met, or it needed to be used repeatedly.

He could not give this cursed spirit the chance.

Watching its prey, wreathed in cursed energy, charge toward it of its own accord, a trace of humanlike mockery flashed through the cursed spirit's eyes. Then it clasped its hands together tightly and formed a strange hand seal.

The next second, the agony of his entire body being torn apart instantly consumed Toho Tetsu's senses. The sudden disruption nearly made him lose control of his cursed energy reinforcement, and his charging steps slowed by half a beat.

That half-beat of hesitation gave the cursed spirit a perfect opportunity to attack. It charged at him with a savage grin, its sharp claws, laden with filthy cursed energy, slashing fiercely forward.

Sensing the danger, he forcibly endured the pain of his body being torn apart and narrowly evaded the attack. But then, a heart-wrenching scream came from nearby.

"Ah—"

The sound instantly drew the cursed spirit's attention. It paused slightly before turning and charging toward Utahime Iori.

"Senpai, get out of the way!"

Seeing this, he shouted urgently. At the same time, he once again reinforced his body with cursed energy and rushed toward the cursed spirit, intending to stop its attack by attacking it himself.

But unexpectedly, the cursed spirit suddenly turned back for a counterattack. Its abruptly halted body twisted around, and it slammed a claw down at him.

With a dull crash, Fudōmaru's sturdy blade bent instantly, and Toho Tetsu was sent flying by the blow, crashing onto the floor nearby.

Having succeeded with one strike, the cursed spirit did not let the opportunity slip away. It pressed forward again, its sharp claws swinging repeatedly.

By now, Toho Tetsu had begun to gradually acclimate to that pain. Rather than using the already bent Fudōmaru to block the cursed spirit's attacks again, he rolled awkwardly across the ground.

Only when he found an opening did he pour cursed energy into Fudōmaru and slash out a dark blue blade of light, forcing the cursed spirit back before leaping several meters away.

The pain of his body being torn apart remained, but after adapting to and resisting it for a while, it had weakened considerably. He struggled to rise from the ground.

Seeing that he was beginning to adapt to the pain and that his movements were gradually returning to their previous level, the cursed spirit extended its sharp hands toward its chest, seemingly preparing to activate its technique again.

By now, Toho had roughly figured out this cursed spirit's abilities.

First, it was at least a semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit, because it possessed a cursed technique that Grade 2 cursed spirits could not have, and it could hide in the basement by deliberately concealing its cursed energy fluctuations.

The effect of its technique was likely to drag people into a death illusion, then use deliberate movements to trigger the sensation of the pain they had endured within that illusion.

However, this effect seemed to work only once. Once it took effect again and the target gradually became accustomed to it, the technique had to be used once more.

Even so, this cursed spirit was still difficult enough for him to handle. That pain was simply too real. If several kinds of pain were layered together, they could easily shatter a person's mind and will.

Not far away, Utahime's screams, slightly weaker than before but still deeply unsettling, confirmed this.

He could not allow the cursed spirit to use its technique a second time. Even if he could endure it, Utahime definitely could not. He had to end this quickly.

Thinking this, he no longer cared whether using an ability beyond his current level would cause Jujutsu High to lower his evaluation. The pale blue cursed energy that had only been maintained on his body's surface suddenly erupted, engulfing him entirely.

This sudden change made the cursed spirit, which was in the midst of activating its technique in the distance, stiffen. Its breath caught, and a trace of panic and retreat instinctively appeared in its eyes.

In its senses, that target, whose strength had originally been merely average, was now radiating an oppressive presence that was rising at a rate it could not comprehend.

It was a cursed spirit. How could it possibly feel as though it could not breathe?

The next second, the cursed energy that had swelled as if it were about to burst through the ceiling contracted back onto Toho Tetsu's body.

But this was not because he had weakened his output. He had simply forced that expanded, overflowing cursed energy back into his body to avoid unnecessary waste.

At that moment, he felt stronger than ever before, as if a light jump would carry him into the sky and a single punch could destroy everything.

But he knew that was merely the illusion brought about by the sudden growth in power. The only thing that was real was the faint tearing pain in the muscles throughout his body from excessive reinforcement.

Reinforcing his body to the maximum had improved his physical abilities, but it had also caused minor damage to his body. He needed to end the battle quickly.

With that thought, he stepped forward. The floor beneath his feet shattered section by section, while Fudōmaru, which the cursed spirit had bent, returned to its original sharp and sturdy state due to its own properties and the massive influx of cursed energy.

Seeing this terrifying sight, the cursed spirit no longer had any intention of activating its technique. It merely turned and rushed toward Utahime Iori, who had fallen nearby.

With its now considerably sharper mind, it reasoned that its only chance of survival might be to take that human woman hostage and use the opportunity to escape.

But with an explosive boom, only shattered floorboards remained where Toho Tetsu had just stood. The next second, he appeared before the cursed spirit, his voice filled with icy coldness.

"I'm here..."

Just as it realized that terrifying enemy had appeared in front of it, a fist carrying violent, chaotic, yet forcibly restrained cursed energy slammed brutally into the cursed spirit's face.

"Ugh!"

With a scream, its body smashed heavily into the basement wall, creating a deep crater covered in spiderweb cracks.

Broken stones fell like rain. Intense pain consumed its body, but it had no time to scream or howl.

Because that terrifying figure appeared before it again with another explosive boom.

In that instant, it actually felt regret.

If only it had left this place earlier. If it had gone somewhere else, anywhere else, it would not have suffered such terror.

But regret was useless now. It could only roar as it tore its body free from the wall, its claws ripping through the air with a piercing whistle as it lunged at the figure before it in one final attempt.

But with a flash of cold light, its arm flew straight out and landed some distance away.

The pain of its body being cleaved open made the cursed spirit open its mouth wide, but before it could make a sound, that deadly cold light flashed again, slicing through its arms, waist, and legs in succession.

Then unbearable pain erupted from every part of its body, and the cursed spirit's remaining limbs separated from its torso just like the arm before them.

The loss of support made it collapse to the ground, where it writhed and struggled in agony.

Only then did it see the true form of that cold light—a blade wrapped in solidified dark blue flames. The one wielding it was the human who had filled it with fear and regret.

Looking at the cursed spirit lying before him, Toho Tetsu let out a long breath. Then he raised Fudōmaru above his head. The usual gentleness and calmness had vanished from his eyes, replaced by absolute indifference and killing intent.

"Die."

The next second, the blade wrapped in vast cursed energy slashed down from the air. Dark red cursed energy lightning flashed through the underground space once more, amplifying the force of the strike to its limit.

With a deafening roar, a several-meter-long scar was carved into the floor and wall. The cursed spirit was reduced to ashes by that blow, leaving only a few remnants of its body drifting through the air as they slowly turned to ash.