Cursed Spirit Manipulation

Watching Chinatsu effortlessly restrain a cursed spirit that radiated such a terrifying aura, Suguru Geto's pupils trembled slightly. The cursed spirits he had summoned in an instant froze in place as well.

"Hm? What are you standing around for? I'm your top-tier support. Just focus on dealing damage, but don't slack off." Chinatsu turned toward the stunned Suguru Geto with a slightly puzzled look and urged him on.

Suguru Geto gave a quiet, awkward laugh, then walked straight over to the cursed spirit immobilized by the power of Limitless.

On the way, Suguru Geto had briefly explained his technique, [Cursed Spirit Manipulation], to Chinatsu. It was a rare technique that allowed him to subjugate cursed spirits and make them his own.

Of course, Chinatsu would have known his technique even without an explanation. She had both the Six Eyes, which could see through other people's cursed techniques, and knowledge of the original story's plot as a reincarnator.

Suguru Geto slowly raised his palm toward the immobilized cursed spirit, but just as he was about to begin the subjugation ritual, he paused.

Why do I feel like I'm just getting carried...?

Suguru Geto inwardly poked fun at himself. They were supposed to be a team, but aside from ordering a cursed spirit to break the door lock at the start, he seemed to have done nothing at all.

After a moment of silence, Suguru Geto pulled himself together again. He had confidence in his technique and talent.

He might look like dead weight by comparison right now, but he believed he could grow quickly and become someone strong enough to protect the weak.

Subjugation ritual!

Suguru Geto pressed his palm against the body the cursed spirit had formed from cursed energy and activated his technique.

Once [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] activated, the cursed spirit's body began to twist violently, as though it had been struck by [Blue] at point-blank range.

Although Chinatsu had immobilized the cursed spirit, she had not sealed its mouth. The moment it realized the subjugation ritual was affecting it, it opened its mouth and let out a series of shrill, piercing screams.

Suguru Geto was currently only around Grade 2 or Semi-Grade 1, yet the cursed spirit he was trying to subjugate stood at the very peak of Grade 1. The difficulty was obvious.

Without Chinatsu beside him, Suguru Geto might have been able to hold his own against this cursed spirit and exorcise it, or he might have been outmatched and managed to retreat. But he would never have been able to perform the subjugation ritual as safely as he was now.

Time ticked by. Throughout the safe yet arduous subjugation ritual, Suguru Geto's expression kept shifting, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his cheeks.

At last, Suguru Geto's expression tightened, and the cursed spirit beneath his palm twisted into a black sphere that dropped into his hand.

At this stage, Suguru Geto only needed to swallow the sphere formed from the distorted cursed spirit to complete the process.

Suguru Geto looked down at the black sphere in his hand and fell briefly silent.

Once Suguru Geto steeled himself, he raised the hand holding the cursed spirit sphere and opened his mouth, drawing a deep breath as he prepared to swallow it. Just then, Chinatsu, who had been silent for some time, suddenly spoke.

"Cursed spirits must taste awful."

Chinatsu's sudden remark caught Suguru Geto off guard. No one had ever asked him about that before, nor had anyone ever cared about that side of things... not even his parents.

Cursed spirits were not tasteless, much less enticing like candy. In fact, they were the exact opposite. Anyone who tasted one would say they never wanted to try another.

Suguru Geto let out a breath, and a smile of relief appeared on his face.

"Yeah, they taste awful. I don't know if this is the right way to describe it, but to me, a cursed spirit tastes like a rag soaked in vomit. It's absolutely disgusting..."

With that, Suguru Geto opened his mouth again and swallowed the black cursed spirit sphere. Chinatsu saw plainly how he struggled to get it down while pretending nothing was wrong.

In the original story, the events Suguru Geto would experience in the future played a major role in the collapse of his convictions and his eventual mental breakdown.

But the accumulated stress and negative emotions from years of swallowing cursed spirits before that could not be ignored either. He looked strong on the outside, but deep down, his mind had become fragile.

With a gulp!, Suguru Geto forced the cursed spirit sphere down. His face briefly darkened, but he quickly composed his expression and gave Chinatsu a faint smile.

"Thank you so much. This cursed spirit is incredibly powerful. It's the strongest one in my collection right now."

After Suguru Geto finished speaking, the newly subjugated cursed spirit emerged once more, rising from below.

Now that it had been subjugated, however, the cursed spirit obeyed Suguru Geto completely. Its aggression was gone, and it simply stood blankly on the floor.

After dealing with the cursed spirit, Chinatsu and Suguru Geto retraced their steps and left the idol agency's building.

Before leaving, they put the door lock back in place. Fortunately, surveillance cameras were not yet widespread in this era, or they would have had to deal with the footage as well.

After all, the [Curtain] set up by jujutsu sorcerers only blocked the view from outside, while the surveillance cameras were installed inside the building.

Once they were outside, Chinatsu was about to suggest getting a meal together since it was getting late, but the phone in Suguru Geto's pocket began to buzz.

Suguru Geto opened his phone and checked the message. His parents were asking why he still had not come home for dinner at this hour.

Given that, Chinatsu did not pursue the invitation. They simply exchanged contact details on their phones, then Suguru Geto turned and hurried away.

"Well then... see you at school!"

"Yeah, see you at school."

Watching Suguru Geto's retreating figure, Chinatsu remained where she was and gently waved him off. In the darkness of the night, her azure eyes shone all the more brightly.

In the original story's near future, Suguru Geto would fall onto the path of "killing all non-sorcerers to create a world where only jujutsu sorcerers exist." To uphold his convictions, he would kill his own non-sorcerer parents...

Chinatsu lowered her head slightly. After a moment of silence, she too turned around and quietly headed back to her home at the Gojo Clan estate.

Along the way, a light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

But under the effects of Chinatsu's "Limitless Defense," none of the falling raindrops could land on her. Every drop was kept away by "Limitless," all the way until she arrived home...