Until that moment, Tan Man had never imagined that events could take such an unexpected turn.
By the time he came to his senses, his mother's body had already been burned black by Hellfire.
Her charred appearance was virtually identical to the Corpses beside her, summoned through Eight Hot Hells: Reviving Hell.
Those Corpses, imprisoned in hell, bowed to Tan Man as though they were subjects gathered around their king.
After all, compared to the endless, meaningless slaughter of one another in hell, returning to the world of the living was clearly far more interesting.
[Eight Hot Hells: Reviving Hell: Its meaning is to open the Great Hell of Equal Lives, one of the Eight Hot Hells. There is no concept of death in the Great Hell of Equal Lives, so the summoned Corpses can be destroyed but cannot be killed permanently until the summoning ends.] [Cursed Technique-Eight Hot Hells: Rather than directly converting cursed energy, this technique is fundamentally a summoning technique, much like the Ten Shadows Technique. The difference is that it summons not shikigami, but the products of hell.] [It shares another feature with the Ten Shadows Technique: special conditions must be fulfilled before subsequent techniques can be unleashed. Its equivalent of the Ten Shadows Technique's taming requirement is the severity of the caster's sins.]
But another power had awakened alongside the cursed technique: the ability called Evil Eye, bestowed upon Tan Man by his quarter-witch bloodline.
[Evil Eye: A person who looks directly into his eyes-or multiple beings who do so simultaneously, including cursed spirits, animals, and other beings with free will-falls into an illusory "nightmare" lasting one minute in real time. During this period, he can peer into their minds.] [Can only be used three times per day, meaning within twenty-four hours. Cannot affect the same person twice within one day.] [Evil Eye originates from Ban Mido in GetBackers.]
The instant Tan Man unleashed his cursed technique, he had also involuntarily used Evil Eye on his mother.
His mother was now trapped in that "wonderful" nightmare.
Within the nightmare's illusion, the Tan Man his mother saw was like a demon king descending to destroy the world. Yet she felt no fear whatsoever. Instead, his power filled her with joy.
With her body burning in Hellfire, she struggled to reach up and stroke Tan Man's cheek. Her charred lips closed slightly, unable to make a sound.
But Tan Man, who was peering into her inner world, could tell exactly what she was saying.
With this power, you'll surely meet the Zenin Clan's standards and become a strong contender to inherit the clan. Then I won't have to live like this anymore!
Before Tan Man had time to be shocked by the name Zenin coming from his mother, he glimpsed the memories flashing before her eyes as she died.
His mother had originally lived with his grandmother in a small village in Germany. If his grandmother had not revealed her witch powers to help the villagers during a disaster, drawing witch hunters to her, things would have been different.
His mother would probably still have been living a carefree life, utterly unlike the one she lived now.
Tan Man felt he could finally understand why his mother was so obsessed with having a better life.
Those memories also showed Tan Man how someone with great power could invite her own death through pointless compassion for the weak, who repaid her kindness with betrayal.
Then Tan Man saw that night, and the casual promise his biological father in this world had made to his mother afterward.
As long as you can bear an exceptional child, I promise you can use him to escape this mire and live comfortably in the Zenin Clan, wanting for nothing.
Even through his mother's subjective embellishments, Tan Man could still see the contempt on the face of Naobito Zenin, the current head of the Zenin Clan.
Of course. How could such an important man possibly care about a woman of her background?
For a child born to a woman like her, merely proving a connection to the head of the Zenin Clan would probably be considered a tremendous disgrace to the clan.
Yet this pitiful woman had clung to his words as her last lifeline.
Every scene abruptly ended when the minute was up.
The fire spread rapidly, soon engulfing a whole row of buildings. Since the flames burning in this room were Hellfire, however, it was actually safe for Tan Man.
[Because of the special connection established by the cursed technique, Hellfire will not actively harm Tan Man, but it is not entirely harmless either.]
But the flames ignited by the spreading Hellfire fell outside the scope of hell's power, because they were flames born in the human world.
To six-year-old Tan Man, those flames posed a lethal threat.
The room's only telephone had already been burned to nothing.
And his current physical condition would not allow him to unleash his cursed technique again. Or rather, even if he could, he had no way to control the Corpses and make them carry him to safety.
He simply curled up on the floor, staring at his mother's charred corpse as he recalled everything he knew about Jujutsu Kaisen and considered his current predicament.
[In his previous life, reading manga on pirate websites before bed using a secondhand phone passed down from his older brother had been one of the few cheap activities he could call entertainment. That was why his memories of the world depicted in the manga were particularly vivid.]
But the wails around him and the noise of vehicles outside kept disturbing Tan Man, making it difficult for him to calm down.
After an unknown amount of time, three firefighters broke down the door to Tan Man's home.
After all, the unusual Hellfire burning here was impossible for them to ignore.
"What's the situation inside?" The captain stood behind the other two and asked the man in front.
"A child. There's a child inside, but those strange black flames seem to be avoiding him?"
The sight inside the room stunned the man at first, bringing his thoughts to a halt. It was simply too unnatural.
Hearing only that description, the captain instinctively assumed it might merely be a coincidence and immediately urged him on.
"Then hurry up and get him out first!"
Without hesitation, the three entered the room, keeping clear of the mysterious black flames.
One of them hurried forward to check on Tan Man.
"Are you all right, kid...?"
But the moment he met Tan Man's golden, snake-like eyes, he felt Hellfire erupt all over his body.
The black flames seemed to ignite deep within him, scorching his soul.
"Aah!"
The other two froze as their companion leaped up with a strange cry.
The captain immediately grabbed him, preventing the firefighter from charging into the flames.
"Have you lost your mind? What are you doing? Pull yourself together!"
At that very moment, the remaining man tried to carry Tan Man out quickly and inevitably met those eyes.
"Aah! It burns!"
At that terrified scream, the captain felt a chill run down his spine.
Another one... gone mad?
Before you continue