Yaga's Interrogation

The principal's office remained silent for a long time.

From beginning to end, Yaga's expression never changed. It showed neither approval nor disapproval.

He simply watched Rihito in silence, as though trying to see something within him.

"Are you finished?"

Yaga's voice was low, but not cold.

"You said you didn't want to use Junpei's death to make yourself look good. You said your answer was to 'get stronger and protect the people around you.'"

He set the cursed corpse on the desk, folded his hands, and slowly straightened in his chair.

"Rihito, do you know why I asked you that question?"

Rihito didn't answer.

"Because everyone who wants to become a jujutsu sorcerer says something like that."

"Strength, protection, responsibility, duty... there's nothing wrong with those words in themselves. But if someone hasn't even figured out why they're standing here, those words are nothing more than what they think they're supposed to say."

Yaga paused.

"You said that wasn't your answer. Good. At least you didn't try to fool me with pretty words."

"But honesty alone isn't enough. Honesty is only the starting point."

He stood and walked around the desk. Behind him, the cursed corpse doll creaked, like rusty joints being forced into motion.

"You need to understand what those words of yours-'get stronger and protect the people around you'-actually mean."

The instant he finished speaking, the cursed corpse sprang off the desk and lunged straight at Rihito.

So fast! Rihito's pupils contracted as he registered its speed.

When the first punch came crashing down, he twisted aside.

Boom!

The fist grazed his cheek and smashed a huge hole in the bookcase behind him.

But before he could regain his balance, the second punch was already upon him.

Caught off guard, he could only raise his arms to block.

Thud!

The tremendous impact sent Rihito sliding back half a step, his soles scraping shrilly against the floor.

The cursed corpse didn't stop.

It didn't breathe. It had no rhythm, none of the human instinct to pull back after throwing a punch.

It was more like a wound-up machine, throwing punch after punch, each heavier than the last.

Before long, Rihito discovered a fatal problem.

He had no chance to activate his cursed technique.

The cursed corpse's attacks were too relentless. The intervals between punches were so brief that he could only block, dodge, then block again.

It's too fast. There's no opening at all.

No matter how powerful my cursed technique is, it's meaningless if I can't make contact.

Thud!

One tiny mistake, and a punch struck Rihito's shoulder, slamming him into the bookcase.

The bookcase shook violently, sending several books tumbling down.

Then Yaga spoke:

"Your cursed technique is powerful. It has enormous potential."

"But Rihito, a jujutsu sorcerer's battles have never been fought with cursed techniques alone."

As he spoke, the cursed corpse threw another punch at Rihito's head.

Its fist smashed into the wall beside his ear with a tremendous bang.

"When your cursed technique doesn't work, all you can rely on are the fundamentals."

"Cursed energy reinforcement, hand-to-hand combat, judgment, reflexes-how much of any of those do you have right now?"

Rihito had no time to answer.

But he knew those were exactly what he lacked most.

As a newcomer whose cursed technique had only recently awakened, he had far too little combat experience.

So little that sometimes his only way to seize victory was to gamble with his life.

He had won those gambles before, but what about next time? Was he supposed to gamble every single time?

Yaga continued:

"Your file says you had already fought a special grade cursed spirit before your second assessment."

"The fact that you survived means you do have something going for you."

His voice paused briefly.

"But can you bring it out now?"

"Not when someone else has driven you into a corner. Now, at this very moment, while you still have a choice-can you bring it out of your own accord?"

Those words slowed Rihito's movements for a fraction of a second.

In that brief opening, the cursed corpse's fist struck him square in the stomach.

"Damn it-!!"

Rihito went pale and doubled over, his stomach churning as his breath was brutally knocked out of him.

"You can't even beat a single cursed corpse. What makes you think you can protect the people around you?"

Rihito braced one hand against the floor and raised his head.

He was in terrible shape.

A sickly metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and his right arm trembled faintly.

The flow of cursed energy within him was growing thinner and thinner. He probably had only thirty percent left.

The last time he had fought Mahito, expanding his domain had burned through nearly forty percent of his cursed energy.

With only thirty percent remaining, he theoretically didn't have enough to do it again.

His cursed energy might run dry the instant he expanded his domain, leaving him completely at his opponent's mercy.

But... he was already out of options.

I'll gamble!

"I don't know what kind of answer would satisfy you, but there's one thing I do know."

Rihito spoke, his voice quiet but utterly steady.

"When Junpei died, I couldn't do anything in time. If someone were killed in front of me now, I still wouldn't be able to do a thing."

As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand, pressing his thumb against his index finger and curling his little and ring fingers inward.

Cursed energy was drawn from deep within his body, like the last scraps of firewood being tossed into a furnace.

Across the room, the cursed corpse lunged at him again, whipping up a vicious gust.

"So when you ask why I want to become a jujutsu sorcerer, my answer is still the same-to get stronger and protect the people around me."

"I know those words aren't pretty enough. But right now, they're the only thing I'm certain of."

Rihito's voice echoed through the principal's office as frost spread across it.

He lifted his head toward Yaga.

His cursed energy was almost gone, and his vision had begun to blur. He couldn't tell what expression Yaga wore.

But... perhaps this was what he wanted to see!

"Domain Expansion-Static Universe!"

In an instant, gray mist erupted outward from Rihito.

The floor, bookcases, walls, and windows were all coated in a thick layer of white frost in the blink of an eye.

The temperature throughout the principal's office plummeted instantly. Even their exhaled breath froze into icy mist.

The cursed corpse's fist also stopped in front of Rihito's forehead

, less than five centimeters away.

Ice crystals covered its joints, stiffening its movements.

Every inch of movement required it to fight the immense resistance brought on by the cold, its frozen fabric groaning and creaking.

Rihito paid it no attention, because the cursed corpse no longer posed any threat to him.

Slowly, he rose from the floor.

His body no longer trembled, and his back was ramrod straight!

The silence lasted about three seconds.

Then the cursed corpse retreated.

It withdrew from Rihito and returned behind the desk, like a hunting dog called back by its master.

"You pass."

Yaga's tone hadn't changed at all, as though everything that had just happened had been nothing more than an ordinary classroom question.

"Go collect your uniform!"

A moment later, the domain gradually crumbled. The frost began to melt, and the principal's office soon returned to its original temperature.

After being forcibly expanded, the domain had lasted only six seconds.

Rihito stood where he was, his cursed energy completely depleted. His legs were weak, but he forced himself to remain standing.

"...Why?" he asked.

Yaga turned, walked back behind his desk, and sat down.

He picked up the unfinished cursed corpse doll and lowered his head again.

"For a jujutsu sorcerer, there is no death without regret."

"But at least you can make your death worthwhile."

Rihito remained silent for a long time.

Then he bowed deeply.

He turned, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The hallway was much brighter than the principal's office.

Nanami leaned against the wall outside the door, holding a cup of coffee that had gone completely cold.

He glanced at Rihito, who was battered and disheveled, his cursed energy exhausted and blood still staining the corner of his mouth.

"Did you pass?"

"...Yeah."

Nanami asked nothing more. He straightened and headed toward the other end of the hallway.

"Come on. I'll take you to collect your uniform."

Rihito followed.

After only two steps, his legs buckled, nearly sending him to the floor.

He caught himself against the wall, steadied himself, and continued forward.

Nanami didn't look back, but his pace slowed a little.

At the end of the hallway, sunlight streamed through a window, casting a bright patch of light on the floor.