Something Went Wrong...

On December 24, sorcerers stood ready for battle throughout Shinjuku and Kyoto, their taut nerves making them glance around involuntarily.

The normally brightly lit cities were silent now, broken only by the occasional terse report.

Satoru Gojo stood on a rooftop, surveying the entire city with an equally grim expression.

That bastard Suguru Geto...

Before the battle began, most of Jujutsu High's sorcerers capable of fighting had been gathered together, and Ijichi briefed them on everything they knew.

"After defecting, Suguru Geto gathered all the former members of the Time Vessel Association under his command. He amassed money while using ordinary people to generate curses."

"Although Grade 1 Sorcerer Kamo Xu has slain most of the cursed spirits that appeared over the past three years, if we include those Geto had already subdued..."

"Our rough estimate still puts Suguru Geto's cursed spirits at over two thousand. His threats may not be a bluff."

Masamichi Yaga interrupted the report in displeasure and offered his own broad assessment, partly to boost morale and partly because he genuinely doubted that Suguru Geto could muster a decent fighting force when Kamo Xu had killed so many cursed spirits.

"At the end of the day, most of them are just Grade 2 Cursed Spirits, aren't they? What's there to fear from a rabble?"

"There can't be more than fifty curse users, either. They have no reason to make enemies of the entire Jujutsu Society over one extremist ideology..."

Masamichi Yaga's reasoning was sound, and many agreed wholeheartedly. All except one person...

Satoru Gojo. He knew all too well what kind of person Suguru Geto was.

With his personality, why would he fight a battle he was certain to lose? What would he gain?

Did he think he wasn't famous enough? Was he coming out to play the clown and give everyone a laugh?

No one could guess what Suguru Geto was thinking, nor what he hoped to accomplish with this incident...

"Damn it, gather everyone we can! Graduates, the Three Great Families-call in those people from the Jujutsu Alliance too!" Masamichi Yaga roared angrily. They had no other option now. To keep the cities safe, they had to bolster their forces.

But no one answered his roar. They all knew this man was swallowing his pain and forcing himself to give the order.

"Commit everything we have to an all-out battle! This time, we must..."

Masamichi Yaga gritted his teeth, forcing the final words through them.

"We must eliminate the curse that is Geto!"

Kento Nanami pushed up his glasses, the reflected light concealing his expression.

Shoko Ieiri had already slipped out, closing the door softly to escape the weight of it all.

Riko Amanai kept her head bowed low. Her failure to stop Suguru Geto from doing those things still haunted her to this day. If only she had been stronger then, or had never left his side...

Satoru Gojo showed nothing at all. Anger, grief, confusion...

Nothing. He simply stood there, looking at the ceiling lights.

An irrevocable order had been issued for Suguru Geto's execution. Alive or dead, he had to be brought in. He had to be killed thoroughly, completely, without leaving even the slightest chance...

"Our chances of victory are less than twenty percent. If the Jujutsu Alliance comes too, we're practically guaranteed to be wiped out."

Suguru Geto addressed the family gathered before him. As things stood, he could barely muster a little over sixty-five hundred cursed spirits.

Aside from the two thousand being sent to Shinjuku and Kyoto, he only had three thousand cursed spirits, most of them small fry.

Suguru Geto scratched his head in frustration, repeatedly reminding everyone.

"If you encounter Satoru Gojo, remember not to confront him head-on. Let Miguel hold him off for fifteen minutes. Once I've killed Okkotsu and taken Rika, we can retreat."

"But if you encounter Kamo Xu, remember this above all else: do not fight him under any circumstances. Run the instant you see him, as far away as you can. He probably won't go out of his way to trouble you..."

As he spoke, he looked at the man standing behind him-Toji Fushiguro.

"Would you mind doing me a favor, Mr. Fushiguro?" Suguru Geto asked with a smile, his eyes full of calculation.

Before Toji Fushiguro could refuse, Suguru Geto continued, "You just need to hold off Satoru Gojo with Miguel. The longer you keep him occupied, the greater my chances of survival. That makes it a win-win for us."

Fushiguro tilted his head and considered it. It did seem reasonable. Fierce fighting spirit flared in his eyes. "Quite the clever scheme, Lord Geto. Just make sure that lunatic doesn't come after me if anything goes wrong afterward."

"I'd like to test that strongest sorcerer myself..."

Night gradually fell. Suguru Geto probably never would have imagined, even at death's door, that Kamo Xu had been specifically assigned to guard Jujutsu High.

Kamo Xu strolled through the school, casually spreading his cursed energy. He believed Suguru Geto would steer clear of him once he sensed the signal.

That way, Maki Zenin wouldn't have to face a Special Grade Curse User, only to have a leg crushed and her kidney pierced.

Inumaki and Panda wouldn't have to end up on the brink of death, either.

He kept walking, but the unease in his heart grew stronger...

Just as he happened to sense the cursed energy Suguru Geto was emitting...

"Ring-ring... ring-ring...

Making money, raking it in, counting all that cash...

Once I've got money, Mom can spend it..."

It was his custom ringtone, recorded in his own voice. It was awkward and embarrassing, but Kamo Xu alone didn't think so.

He leisurely took out his phone and checked it... Caller: [Kamo ATM].

He hung up without a second thought. He wasn't answering a call from that old bastard.

"Ring-ring, ring-ring.

Making money, raking it in..."

The phone rang again. Seeing that it was still the same man, Kamo Xu answered with a dark expression and immediately switched on speakerphone, as though even holding the phone to his ear disgusted him. "Hey! What do you want? I'm busy handling a deal worth hundreds of millions. You'd better have a good explanation."

The other end fell silent for a moment before asking a question.

"You know that Special Grade Curse User Suguru Geto is holding the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know. So what? What do you want? Stop wasting my time..."

"...Your mother, Kimie, hasn't come home all day. Did you arrange for her to stay at Jujutsu High? She won't even answer my messages. What are you two thinking..." came the voice on the other end.

"Hello? Why aren't you saying anything? Hello? Hello..."

Clack...

The phone fell to the ground. Kamo Xu's hands began trembling uncontrollably, and his unease erupted in full at that moment.

The voice still came from the phone on the ground, but Kamo Xu's head was buzzing. He couldn't process anything. Only one sentence echoed in his mind.

A whole day? She hasn't come home... But yesterday, she already-!

The fallen phone's screen had shattered, but he had no thought of picking it up. Blood gathered beneath his feet and formed a disk. Cursed energy erupted at a reckless pace as he headed toward Kyoto, along the route she had to take from Jujutsu High to his home!

Kamo Xu became a streak of blood-red light and sped away, [leaving Jujutsu High].

This place had become a stage for Suguru Geto and Yuta Okkotsu alone...

Suguru Geto sensed Kamo Xu's vast cursed energy suddenly departing and was momentarily bewildered. He had thought letting him come here was already the greatest concession Kamo Xu would make. He hadn't expected him to leave outright.

Wasn't he afraid Yaga would blame him for this?

But now... even the last slight chance of anyone stopping me is gone. Suguru Geto finally let himself loose.

As it happened, someone stood in his way...

I'll start with this worthless piece of trash from the Zenin Clan!

In the shadows outside Jujutsu High, a man watched the scene unfold with a smile. Behind him stood a "person" with pale skin and light blue hair.

His handsome face and body bore numerous stitch-like marks, making him look like a broken person sewn back together. He watched the departing blood-red light with a mocking smile.

The man spoke. "Well done, Mahito. I'm sure that man will break down the moment he sees your masterpiece for himself."

The one called Mahito laughed, his face twisted with revolting insincerity. "I should be thanking you. That woman's soul was unimaginably pure. Aside from that blessing full of positive energy making me sick, you really should have seen her calling out [Asahi] right up until she died! Hahaha, it was hilarious!"

The man did not respond to Mahito's excitement. He merely watched quietly, waiting for the show about to unfold. The wind swept his hair aside, revealing the conspicuous scar across his forehead...

Kenjaku had appeared!

Now even the biggest nuisance has been successfully lured away. The wielder of Cursed Spirit Manipulation...

[You're as good as dead.]