Two Maggots

The shrieking Blood Arrow tore through the air and struck Hanami squarely in the head.

Its bark-like skin collided with the cursed technique.

It worked!

Realizing this, Kamo Noritoshi shouted triumphantly in his heart.

After all, it was his family's inherited secret art. As the Kamo Clan's signature technique, the power of Piercing Blood was beyond doubt!

In other words.

This was Kamo Noritoshi's vict—

The thought had only just surfaced when Hanami's pierced head suddenly twitched and jerked sharply to the left.

The movement was simple and nimble. The Piercing Blood that had struck its face was dragged off course, slicing through the sprout growing from Hanami's eye.

"...?!"

A direct headshot.

Yet it had endured the first impact of Piercing Blood?!

Hanami, one of the few among the Four Calamities famed for its defensive power, had shown immense wariness toward the Kamo Lineage's secret technique.

"That hurt."

If the stalemate continued, Piercing Blood really could break through its defense... but Hanami clearly would not give him that chance.

It silently swung down its fist, about to smash Kamo Noritoshi.

Then a sharp crack rang out.

Clap!

Kamo Noritoshi vanished abruptly. At a corner some distance away, two figures stood watching from afar.

"Hey, hey, hey. You only went to a meet-and-greet. How did you end up in such a pathetic state?"

The huge man with a bun leaned forward slightly, a rather savage grin spreading across his face.

"What is this? A Cursed Spirit? Seriously? I've never seen this type before... Kamo, did your Piercing Blood fail to punch through its defense?"

The woman beside him, wearing an equally astonished expression, also spoke loudly.

"This Cursed Spirit is that strong?! Ah, then... then I won't get involved!"

Aoi Todo and Mai Zenin.

Let's ignore the latter for now...

As a Grade 1 Sorcerer from the original story, this guy's Boogie Woogie was one of the most insidious and troublesome techniques imaginable.

By clapping, he could relocate specific targets. It was such a simple ability, yet it could be unbelievably tormenting.

—You didn't seriously think this ability was simple, did you?

Brother, if Boogie Woogie were in Naruto, it would probably be a ninjutsu only a Six-Tomoe Rinnegan user could cast...

Yet in the Jujutsu World, it had been handed directly to a Grade 1 Sorcerer. That was an absurdly generous deal.

Seeing him appear, Kana Shizumi, perched on the rooftop, parted his lips into a small O.

He had wanted to fleece them for a while, but instead he had poked a wolf den.

After a brief hesitation, Kana Shizumi quickly made his decision.

Time to run, brothers. Time to run.

Of course, that was just a joke. In truth, a strategic retreat right now was the correct call.

He had already gotten the reward, and Hanami, as one of the Four Calamities, was unlikely to be killed in a place like this.

On the other hand, if Kana Shizumi got dragged into it, he could be crushed to death at any second... staying alive came first.

He flipped down from the steps and began retreating at a light jog.

At the same time, shouts and sounds of fighting drifted in from outside.

Good, make it even livelier. I want to see blood flowing like a river!

Things had reached this point. Whatever happened next was beyond his control anyway, and Jail Mom had expected him to stir the pot...

"Hey, Kamo! There are too many people here, so I'm relocating them. Otherwise, there'll be too many casualties to explain away, and we haven't even prepared a Curtain... End this quickly!"

"Yeah, I'm ready!"

Clap, clap, clap...

After several successive sharp cracks, the commotion outside gradually faded into the distance.

While marveling at how useful Boogie Woogie was, Kana Shizumi also hurried to slip away.

It was best to run while nobody was around—yet just as he thought this and headed for the main entrance, someone stood at the doorway with her back to him.

It was Mai Zenin.

Hearing his footsteps, she half turned around. Their eyes inevitably met.

Why had this girl been left behind?!

At this moment, it was already too late to turn around and run... besides, backing away now would only make him look guilty.

What should he do?

Pretend to be an ordinary person.

That was the advantage of being half human, half Cursed Spirit... he had already gained experience from his previous encounter with Kamo Noritoshi.

As long as he did not expose himself voluntarily, Kana Shizumi could disguise himself as an ordinary person in the literal sense.

As his thoughts raced, Kana Shizumi began shouting.

"I heard explosions downstairs from upstairs just now. What happened? Did a gas line rupture?!"

After looking him over for a while, Mai Zenin stepped back half a pace as though she did not care and shrugged.

"Who knows? I'm not really sure... Anyway, we already contacted the police. They should be here soon enough."

—This girl lied without blinking. I clearly heard you yelling, "Hit it harder," just now.

Kana Shizumi nodded with a slight tremble.

If he could have broken out in a cold sweat and gone pale right now, that would have been a bonus.

But his cursed energy control was not refined enough for that. If he exposed himself, it would only backfire... so he lowered his head and said in a somewhat flustered tone.

"Th-then, what should I do now..."

"Go get someone from security to help. Since this is a hospital, there should be staff specifically responsible for this sort of thing."

Though they had only met once, Mai Zenin remained remarkably calm.

Considering her identity as a Jujutsu High student, perhaps this was part of their specialized training?

Hearing that, Kana Shizumi hurriedly nodded and dashed out.

"Then I'll go right now!"

He passed Mai Zenin.

But after only a momentary pause, Kana Shizumi seemed to realize something. His expression changed slightly as he suddenly dodged sideways.

Bang!!!

A thunderous blast erupted behind him. Intense pain followed, and Kana Shizumi collapsed awkwardly to the ground.

Perhaps because his strength had suddenly left him, he rolled across the floor, smearing dust and ash all over his face.

"This is the research building. It usually isn't open to the public."

Click, click...

With a metallic clatter, Mai Zenin ejected the casing, raised her gun levelly, and looked at Kana Shizumi with calm eyes.

"Normally, it only opens during exchanges between affiliated schools... These are all classrooms. Why would there be internal staff here on a non-open day?"

A miscalculation.

He had not investigated beforehand, so this had been a blind spot.

Kana Shizumi grimaced and rubbed his lower back.

"What if you killed an ordinary person?"

"I'd just apologize. Dead people can't hold anyone accountable."

He sighed and shakily got to his feet.

His right hand slid down from his lower back. When he opened it again, a deformed bullet lay in his palm.

That bitch was really cold-blooded. Just what one would expect from Zenin Clan talent.

"Do you even have any humanity?"

"...!!!"

Mai Zenin's eyes widened slightly as she instantly assumed a highly professional firing stance.

"Who are you?!"

He had been shot and had not died, so he was obviously no ordinary person.

Blood energy crawled over Kana Shizumi's body as he rubbed the kidney he had protected just in time...

That shot had almost punched straight through him.

"I'm just a passerby who happened to be passing through. Let me say this first... can we not fight?"

After all, just as he had said before.

Two maggots tangled together had absolutely no appeal whatsoever. Despair.