In a small village somewhere in Japan's past, Dhruv Lakdawalla sat cross-legged on a wooden chair, looking utterly bewildered.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
"Hey."
Beside him sat another old man, roughly his age.
"Who are you?"
Staring at the old man's face, Dhruv Lakdawalla looked increasingly dazed.
"What, has it been so long that you don't even remember your best friend's face?"
The old man's words gradually brought into focus memories so ancient that they had long lain buried deep in Dhruv Lakdawalla's mind.
"Oh, it's you."
Looking at that familiar face, Dhruv Lakdawalla finally recalled who the old man was.
The old man beside Dhruv Lakdawalla was the dear friend who had fought at his side in his own era, helping him quell the turmoil in Japan.
"Didn't you die?"
In Dhruv Lakdawalla's memories, his friend had passed away long before him.
The old man smiled.
"Didn't you?"
His friend's words struck Dhruv Lakdawalla like lightning. His expression froze, and he went rigid.
"So that's what happened."
After a long while, the confusion vanished from Dhruv Lakdawalla's face. He finally remembered everything.
He had made a contract with Kenjaku and chosen to be reborn through incarnation. Just a moment ago, he had been locked in fierce combat with Hajime Kashimo in Sendai on November 2, 2018. Why had he suddenly appeared here?
The answer was simple: he had lost to Hajime Kashimo.
"So, how was he? That so-called thunder god."
The old man beside him asked.
Dhruv Lakdawalla sighed in wonder.
"Man, he was incredibly strong. My shikigami were no match for him at all. And Hajime Kashimo wasn't even going all out."
"To think he could make you say that, when you were the strongest in the archipelago."
His friend was surprised by Dhruv Lakdawalla's assessment.
"Yes. I even feel a little sorry. Hajime Kashimo never used his cursed technique. I couldn't even handle the properties of his cursed energy alone."
Recalling his battle with Hajime Kashimo, Dhruv Lakdawalla felt a twinge of regret.
"I was the only one who found satisfaction in that fight. Hajime Kashimo must have found it terribly dull."
At that, a satisfied expression returned to Dhruv Lakdawalla's face.
"Even though this rebirth lasted only two days, I still enjoyed every moment of my brief second incarnation."
"He's the only one I owe an apology to."
"I'm truly sorry I couldn't make Lord Hajime Kashimo give it his all."
Inside Sendai Gymnasium, on a seat in the very front row of the stands.
Only half of Dhruv Lakdawalla, who had once struck fear throughout the archipelago, remained seated cross-legged on the chair.
Some unknown attack had severed Dhruv Lakdawalla's body at the waist. His upper half lay alone in a pool of blood behind the seat, his eyes vacant.
Time turned back a little, to the decisive battle inside Sendai Gymnasium.
As his special domain took shape, Dhruv Lakdawalla began explaining its effects, looking certain of his victory.
"My cursed technique isn't limited to these two types of shikigami. I can also deploy a special domain through the paths my shikigami trace. The moment you cross one of those paths, your body will suffer a slash you cannot defend against."
"You seem to be a sorcerer who favors close combat. Well, then. My shikigami have already restricted your movements, and you're trapped within the domain's paths. How do you intend to defeat me?"
In Jujutsu Society, some sorcerers liked to reveal information about their cursed techniques during battle. This was not merely a form of taunting, but a binding vow consistent with the principles of jujutsu. Voluntarily revealing their cursed technique to an opponent enhanced its effects. Some even disclosed false information during this revelation, turning it into a psychological battle.
Hajime Kashimo curled his lip.
Dhruv Lakdawalla's words did not sound like an empty threat.
Whenever Hajime Kashimo considered rushing beyond the domain's paths, the combat instincts he had honed through battles with countless powerful opponents four hundred years ago immediately warned him against it.
With his technique revealed and the damage of his trajectory-based domain further enhanced, Dhruv Lakdawalla looked even more composed.
"I admit you're strong. These two types of shikigami alone probably couldn't do anything to you. In fact, if you knew about my cursed technique, defeating you wouldn't be so easy. Unfortunately, you won't get that chance."
"This old man has won. Stop resisting."
Dhruv Lakdawalla's words barely stirred Hajime Kashimo. If anything, he looked utterly dismissive.
"Heh, don't make me laugh. You think the likes of you can beat me, Hajime Kashimo?"
The situation was still nowhere near enough to leave Hajime Kashimo helpless.
All I need is a ranged attack, right? Who says I don't have one?
Sweeping away the Pterodactyl shikigami around him with a single swing of his staff, Hajime Kashimo leaped into the air like an arrow.
He twisted his body, gripping one end of his electric staff in his right hand, then whipped himself around.
Harnessing the momentum of that spin, Hajime Kashimo hurled his electric staff.
The rapidly spinning staff tore through the oncoming Pterodactyl shikigami like a boomerang with thunderous force, hurtling straight toward Dhruv Lakdawalla, who sat inside the gymnasium.
At the sight, Dhruv Lakdawalla felt delight rather than alarm.
"Nothing but a dying struggle."
To him, Hajime Kashimo's decision to throw his weapon as a ranged attack meant he had reached the end of his rope. Now he could do nothing but wait to be slaughtered.
As the staff hurtled toward him, Dhruv Lakdawalla's expression sharpened. He abruptly leaned back, dodging the ferocious strike by a hair.
The electric staff continued onward without slowing, smashing straight into the stands behind Dhruv Lakdawalla. The raised concrete seating collapsed easily beneath the blow.
That was close. If that had hit me, the outcome might really have been uncertain.
Still, I dodged Hajime Kashimo's last resort. Now it's only a matter of time before I defeat him.
What he failed to notice was the strange smile that curled across Hajime Kashimo's lips when he saw the electric staff come to a stop behind Dhruv Lakdawalla.
The preparations are complete. Now I just need to let it build up.
Even without a weapon in hand, Hajime Kashimo could deal with a few worthless shikigami effortlessly.
The cursed energy within him erupted, and electricity once again danced over his body.
As he drew Dhruv Lakdawalla's attention this way, Hajime Kashimo dove toward the mole shikigami below.
Come to think of it, I haven't paid you back for that first hit yet.
Plunging like a blue-violet meteor wreathed in electricity, Hajime Kashimo adjusted his posture and raised his right foot high.
"You dared step on your god Kashimo?! Then die!"
The instant he reached the shikigami's head, his lightning-clad foot came crashing down with the full force of gravity.
BOOM!!
Thunder roared, and the thunder god's wrath descended.