Hostage exchange

Rizakura High School.

Araki Itsuki hung up the phone and smiled at Mahito, who lay dying on the ground.

"You're so lucky. Those Cursed Spirits actually risked their lives to come save you."

"Aren't they afraid I'll wipe them all out in one go?"

Before Mahito could feel afraid, Yuji Itadori was already terrified. He feared seeing Kento Nanami and the others die before his eyes.

"Araki, please save Nanami."

Araki Itsuki spread his hands helplessly. "Itadori, aren't you being a little too timid? I was only joking."

"I'm a righteous man who wins people over with virtue. How could I do something as shameless as sacrificing my comrades?"

"Relax, relax."

Then he lowered his gaze to the silent Mahito again.

"You look pretty defiant. Do you think you only lost to me because you haven't fully grown yet? Is that why you can't accept it?"

Smiles never disappeared. They merely moved from one person's face to another's.

Mahito's twisted smile had long vanished. The depths of his soul were filled with hatred and rage toward Araki Itsuki, as well as Ryomen Sukuna and Yuji Itadori.

Originally, this had merely been a game sparked by his chance encounter with a toy named Junpei Yoshino.

Only after Suguru Geto discovered how well Junpei got along with Yuji Itadori had he wanted to take things further and help Ryomen Sukuna establish a favorable binding vow.

But Mahito had never imagined he would end up in such a miserable state.

Araki Itsuki had mercilessly trampled his dignity and personhood into the dirt. That feeling of being kept in the dark while smugly congratulating himself...

It hurt. It hurt so much!

And that Yuji Itadori-could he perceive the contours of souls because he was a vessel, with Ryomen Sukuna's soul constantly inside him?

He was practically Mahito's natural enemy. Unlike Kento Nanami's earlier attacks, his could inflict fatal damage.

Then there was Ryomen Sukuna. After coming into contact with him, Mahito had discovered that Sukuna's current strength fell short of Jogo's.

But on the level of the soul, he utterly overwhelmed them. They were not even the same order of being.

Though Mahito understood that unleashing Ryomen Sukuna would usher in an age of Cursed Spirits, he still could not accept it. He wanted to kill them so badly!

A searing thirst for revenge almost set Mahito's heart ablaze. His earlier playful attitude was long gone.

Seeing the hatred and coldness in Mahito's eyes, Araki Itsuki chuckled.

"A king has a king's talents, and a cook has a cook's talents. That's what survival means."

"Mahito, from the moment you were born, you were destined to be meat on a chopping board, at someone else's mercy."

Idle Transfiguration was indeed powerful, though Mahito had to retain his palms in their original form to use it.

It could alter the soul of any living creature he touched, dismantling the enemy's defenses and killing them instantly.

If the Domain Expansions of Jogo, Ryomen Sukuna, and the others represented the ultimate in offensive power, then Mahito's domain was like Satoru Gojo's.

The moment an enemy entered the domain, the outcome was essentially decided.

Unfortunately, the form of Mahito's own soul could not begin to compare with that of Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses.

And Kenjaku, that crafty, thousand-year-old schemer who had painstakingly helped him grow, surely still had a means of keeping Mahito in check.

That was why Araki Itsuki had said Mahito had been meat on a chopping board from the moment he was born.

The reason he had survived this long was simple, too. Kenjaku wanted that meat to become a little more delectable.

Soon.

Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon arrived at the school, bringing along an embarrassed Kento Nanami and Ino.

"Nanami!"

Yuji Itadori cried out anxiously. Only when he saw that they had few injuries did he relax.

Amid the shattered ruins, Jogo saw Mahito covered in blood, barely recognizable.

Fury burned within him. Roaring flames ignited in his hand as he moved to strike Kento Nanami.

"Release Mahito, and we'll give them back!"

A smile on his lips, Araki Itsuki asked Jogo curiously,

"Aren't you afraid I'll take the hostages back, then turn around and slaughter you all?"

Hanami stepped forward. "%&&￥%."

A gentle female voice sounded in everyone's minds.

"If you do that, Jogo and I will activate our domains simultaneously. I only need to hold you back for one second. That will be enough for Jogo to kill them all."

The destructive power of Jogo's domain was terrifying. The instant an ordinary sorcerer entered it, the unbearable heat would burn them to ash.

Araki Itsuki noticed that the wrappings around Hanami had already been torn away, revealing her left arm, dark as a tree trunk.

An extraordinarily beautiful, alluring flower also bloomed on her shoulder.

Plants could not generate cursed energy themselves, but Hanami's left arm could steal their life force and convert it into cursed energy.

However, the cursed energy obtained this way would not replenish Hanami herself. Instead, all of it flowed into the offering flower on her left arm.

After receiving large amounts of cursed energy, the offering flower would bloom in stages, revealing the eye within.

That cursed energy could be used to activate a Cursed Technique or expand a domain.

But because Hanami cherished nature, she disliked using this ability and usually kept her left arm wrapped up.

Hanami continued, "Besides, I've already planted Cursed Buds in them. I can detonate them at any time."

"Once we have Mahito back, we'll leave, and the Cursed Buds will fall off."

Yuji Itadori stared at Hanami in astonishment, experiencing the strange sensation of information burrowing into his brain.

Everyone looked at Araki Itsuki, who still wore a smile. He was the only person present who could make the decision.

Yet Araki Itsuki simply clapped his hands. "Interesting. I agree."

With that, he kicked Mahito, sending him flying toward Hanami and Jogo.

While Mahito's bloodstained body was still airborne, Jogo crouched defensively. Flames rose from his palm, and his single eye remained fixed on Araki Itsuki.

Dense cursed energy surged around his entire body. He feared Araki Itsuki would launch a sudden attack while they were distracted.

But Araki Itsuki merely stood there at ease, making no move.

Seeing Araki Itsuki throw Mahito over just like that made Yuji Itadori's head explode. Having watched countless movies, he hurriedly reminded him,

"Aren't you supposed to exchange the money and the... no, I mean, shouldn't the hostages walk toward the other side at the same time?"

"You just handed that bastard over to them?!"

Araki Itsuki gestured for him to remain calm.

"No living creature can bear the price of making a fool of the Death Omen Star."

Once she was certain Araki Itsuki would not seize the opportunity to attack, Hanami promptly threw Ino from her shoulder toward him. Yuji Itadori hurried to catch Ino.

Embarrassed, Ino wanted to pull his cap down over his face.

He had never imagined that one day he would be taken captive by Cursed Spirits, and in front of his junior, at that.

But after stealing a glance at Nanami, Ino felt a little less embarrassed.

At least Nanami was taking the brunt of it.

By now, Mahito had repaired his body, but he had little cursed energy left.

Seeing Yuji Itadori's hateful gaze, he felt a flicker of mockery and self-derision.

My pain... is far greater than yours!

Jogo glanced at Mahito beside him. Still holding Kento Nanami, he revealed a curse's malice in his single eye.

Yet Araki Itsuki merely watched him with an ambiguous smile.

"Ant, do you want to taste the despair of casting yourself into the abyss with your own hands?"

Anger welled in Jogo's eye. He was about to act when Hanami grabbed him.

Then Hanami released Kento Nanami, allowing him to walk slowly toward Araki Itsuki and the others.

"Nanami!"

Yuji Itadori hurried to receive him. Seeing the concern in his eyes, Kento Nanami involuntarily flushed and coughed twice.

"#￥%&."

"Don't make any rash moves. Let us leave, and the Cursed Buds on them will fall off on their own."

Araki Itsuki extended a hand in a gesture of invitation and stood there watching them leave.

But as they retreated to the school gates and were about to disappear from sight, Araki Itsuki suddenly called out to Mahito.

"Mahito, savor this pain. I hope to see a stronger, craftier, more interesting you!"

"You will!"

They left.

Kento Nanami sighed. "If the higher-ups learn that we made a deal with Cursed Spirits, they'll sentence us to death without a second thought."

Yuji Itadori hurried to reassure him. "Gojo would support what we did, too. Don't worry."

Ino pushed his cap up and thanked Araki Itsuki. "Thank you, Araki."

Araki Itsuki waved a hand. "It's nothing. Everyone knows I'm the number-one good guy when it comes to helping people."

Kento Nanami coughed awkwardly. Yuji Itadori already liked to complain about his lectures.

Now he had been taken captive right in front of him. It was utterly humiliating.

Even if it had happened because the enemies were far too powerful.

He raised his wrist to check the time, only to discover that his watch was missing. Then he remembered.

Ino looked delighted. Noticing Kento Nanami's gaze, he hurriedly covered his wrist. "It's mine now."

"You little..."

They chatted, venting the fear left by their narrow escape.

Suddenly.

Yuji Itadori asked curiously, "So that's the end of this?"

The teasing smile still lingered on Araki Itsuki's lips.

"Not so fast. I prepared a gift for them."

In the outskirts more than ten kilometers away, Jogo and the others suddenly stopped.

A terrifying demon holding a monstrous, enormous scythe blocked the road, rolling his neck as he waited in boredom.

Upon seeing them, he flashed a savage, brutal grin and charged in a blur.

"I'll conduct this symphony of violence!"