Silencing the Witness

"Mr. Ichiro, I cannot thank you enough for saving my life!"

At the Jujutsu High Cursed Spirit exorcism site, Kiyotaka Ijichi had never expected Lin Ichiro to subdue the female curse user who had appeared there before reinforcements arrived.

Kiyotaka Ijichi could only express his gratitude with a standard ninety-degree bow.

"Mr. Ijichi, there's no need to take it to heart. The cursed tools your side sponsored were a huge help to me. But regarding the payment—"

"Because of the mistake in the intelligence this time, I will provide Mr. Ichiro with reasonable compensation. Please rest assured."

"But could the lady over there stop looking at me like that?"

Lin Yi did not take Kiyotaka Ijichi's thanks to heart. It was rare to get an opportunity to fight a sorcerer. Although she was only a Grade 2 Sorcerer and a summoner-type at that, after their exchange, Lin Yi had gained a rough understanding of his strength while his cursed technique remained in its usual disguised state.

He had also made a tidy sum from both the client and Jujutsu High. There was no more satisfying commission than this.

Still, Shoko Ieiri's gaze from the side made Lin Yi deeply uncomfortable. It was impossible not to recognize her: a white lab coat, a cigarette constantly hanging from her lips, and faint dark circles under her eyes. She was simply too distinctive.

In the time Lin Yi had spent talking with Ijichi, she had smoked no fewer than four cigarettes. Given her smoking frequency, Lin Yi could only say that the Reversed Cursed Technique truly was absurdly versatile.

For all he knew, she used the Reversed Cursed Technique to cleanse her lungs every night before bed, allowing her to smoke heavily since her student days without getting lung cancer.

"Such weak cursed energy, yet such extraordinary physical ability? It seems Mr. Lin Ichiro has the same type of Heavenly Restriction as Maki."

"So there's even a professional term for a constitution like mine? Mr. Nanami, has the Cursed Spirit exorcism work been going smoothly?"

"Everything went smoothly. This was a Cursed Spirit incident caused by curse users. Mr. Ichiro, you did well."

Kento Nanami adjusted his glasses. Just as Lin Yi had previously guessed, with Kento Nanami's strength as a Grade 1 Sorcerer, a Cursed Spirit of the same grade posed no threat to him. But when curse users were involved, that was another matter entirely.

Kento Nanami instinctively sensed that something was wrong with this Cursed Spirit exorcism operation. Ever since Satoru Gojo, the strongest sorcerer of the modern era, had emerged, curse users who had once been active throughout Japan had long fled overseas out of fear of Gojo's power. They would rather run rampant abroad than dare set foot in Japan.

Since Satoru Gojo had claimed the title of the strongest sorcerer of the modern era, Jujutsu High had rarely handled Cursed Spirit attacks related to curse users. Most of their work had involved dealing with the increasingly powerful Cursed Spirits.

Yet now, curse-user-related attacks had appeared again, and there had been more than one. Previously, they had targeted Jujutsu High students; this time, they had caused a bloody incident in a residential district. The only common factor was Lin Yi, standing before Kento Nanami.

Lin Yi had appeared at both scenes. Combined with the number of times Nanami himself had encountered him, he could not dismiss all of it as coincidence. Yet the Cursed Corpse toys found in Lin Yi's office contained no suspicious traces suggesting that Lin Yi was a sorcerer.

Even if he wanted to investigate Lin Yi, he had no idea where to begin.

"Mr. Lin Ichiro, I recall that when we first met, you wanted to entrust me with managing your funds."

"Oh? Mr. Nanami, are you interested now?"

"Not at all. But if you had not been involved in this exorcism mission, Ijichi would have died, and that assistant supervisor would have died as well. So this is my repayment."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Nanami."

Before Kento Nanami had even finished speaking, Lin Yi pulled a bankbook from his wallet and handed it to him. His decisiveness left even Nanami stunned.

Who carried a bankbook around with them? Was he not afraid of losing it?

"This is one-third of my assets. Mr. Nanami, I have faith in you~ Well then, my work here is done. See you around."

Lin Yi gave the stunned Kento Nanami a thumbs-up, slipped both hands into his pockets, and sauntered away.

He left Kento Nanami, Shoko Ieiri, and Kiyotaka Ijichi staring in bewilderment.

Not long after Lin Yi left, Jujutsu High's vehicle arrived as well. Stepping out were Jujutsu High's first-years, a small group of five led by Yuta Okkotsu.

Seeing that the scene had already been resolved, along with the bound curse user, Maki Zenin—who had expected a fight—looked especially displeased.

"What the hell? So you could handle it yourselves. Then why call for reinforcements?"

"Maki, there was a small accident. Someone helped resolve it. Let's go. We'll talk after we get back."

Faced with Maki Zenin's complaint, Kiyotaka Ijichi merely gave a brief explanation before escorting the curse user subdued by Lin Yi into the vehicle, preparing to bring her back to Jujutsu High for interrogation.

They also wanted to know why the curse-user faction, which had been quiet for so long, was once again committing crimes in Japan.

That night, Jujutsu High's vehicle escorted the female curse user back to Jujutsu High.

The female curse user, who had been paralyzed by the poison of her own shikigami Cursed Spirit, woke to find herself watched by several first-year Jujutsu High students, including Maki Zenin. Toge Inumaki had even removed his mask, ready to suppress her with Cursed Speech the moment she made any suspicious move.

Maki Zenin grinned wickedly as she studied the attractive female curse user and said in a sinister tone, "Awake? You really can sleep. We're on the way back to Jujutsu High, you know. Our teacher, Satoru Gojo, is very curious why curse users like you dare return to Japan. Heh heh. To curse users, Satoru Gojo is the most terrifying enemy. Once we get to Jujutsu High, you know what you should say, right? What? Scared already?"

Seeing the female curse user reveal fear after hearing her words, Maki Zenin was startled. She was still a curse user who took pleasure in slaughtering ordinary people. Was her courage really this weak?

She had become this frightened just from hearing Satoru Gojo's name?

"Maki, something seems wrong with her."

Yuta Okkotsu had noticed the issue, and Maki Zenin saw it through her cursed-tool glasses as well. The cursed energy around the female curse user was fluctuating irregularly.

"Everything is for that person..."

Before she could finish speaking, irregular distortions and swelling appeared in the attractive female curse user's muscles, across both her body and face.

Before Maki Zenin and the others could react, the curse user's swollen body exploded inside the vehicle into a mass of blood and flesh, splattering the entire interior.

A piercing screech of brakes rang out. Maki Zenin and the others, drenched in blood, hurriedly got out of the vehicle. Looking at the death scene inside, which resembled an abstract painting, every face was filled with panic.

"Hey, Maki, what did you just say?!"

"You heard everything I said! How would I know what happened?"

Faced with Panda's question, Maki Zenin quickly recovered from the bloody scene. After all, she came from a sorcerer family and adapted to such gruesome sights quickly.

Yuta Okkotsu and Yuko Takagi, the transfer students, had already gone to the guardrail and begun vomiting.

"It was a Binding Vow~"

The Jujutsu High vehicle driving ahead had seen what happened in the vehicle behind through its rearview mirror. Once the vehicles stopped, Kento Nanami and Shoko Ieiri had just stepped out when they saw a familiar figure abruptly appear behind Maki Zenin and the others.

There was no mistaking that figure.

The strongest sorcerer of the modern era, Satoru Gojo!