Misunderstanding

[It was not destruction, but... alteration.]

[That was a precision operation that could only be mastered through countless rounds of trial and error. On top of the "Circulating Corridor" the cursed spirit had originally released, you forcibly overlaid a completely opposite "Circulating Corridor."]

[If the cursed spirit's technique was a black hole that devoured all sense of direction, then what you released was a white hole that straightened out all the chaos.]

["Break."]

[At your quiet utterance, two techniques of the same origin but opposite polarities instantly collided in the air.]

[The eerie corridor that had stretched on endlessly now shattered like a mirror struck by a sledgehammer. With crisp cracking sounds, it revealed the mansion's original straight, dilapidated wooden structure.]

["Follow me."]

[Standing amid fragments of space drifting down from above, you adjusted the glasses on your nose and waved to the two dumbfounded women.]

[You looked so calm and casual, as though you had not just broken a Grade 1 cursed spirit's barrier, but casually solved an elementary school math problem.]

[Utahime and Mei Mei froze in place. As a Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer and a Grade 2 jujutsu sorcerer respectively, they understood better than anyone what had happened in that instant.]

["Was that... that cursed spirit's innate cursed technique?"]

[Barely concealed astonishment flashed through Mei Mei's usually calculating eyes, and the abacus in her mind clattered furiously.]

[How was that possible...? Had you analyzed the cursed energy and technique with "Phantom Parade" at the instant of contact, then immediately constructed a replica of the technique to counter it?]

[Replicating a technique at that speed... wouldn't even the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes need time to understand it?]

[Even if that was the very nature of "Phantom Parade," wasn't this a little too outrageous?]

[In their flattering misunderstanding, what you had just displayed was not proficiency gained through hundreds of repetitions, but a terrifying instant analysis talent.]

["Li-!!"]

[Utahime abandoned her reserve as your senior. With tears from her earlier confinement still clinging to the corners of her eyes, she rushed straight over and seized your sleeve as though clutching a lifeline.]

["I knew you were the reliable one! You're the normal one! Unlike those two scumbags who only ever cause trouble for people!"]

[She patted your shoulder excitedly, hard enough to make you glance sideways, as though she had found one of Jujutsu High's only two people with a conscience in you (the other being Shoko).]

["Huh? Utahime, you're crying so hard your nose is about to run."]

[Just then, that blood-pressure-raising voice rang out right on cue.]

[The mansion's front door was kicked open, and Satoru Gojo swaggered in with his hands in his pockets.]

[The azure eyes behind his sunglasses swept the room. Seeing all three of you unharmed, he curled his lip in boredom.]

["Tch, how boring. I could've blasted this dump and the cursed spirit away with a single 'Blue,' but you had to make it all technical and complicated. Shunchen, are you showing off how clever you are?"]

[Only you knew that this was not showing off.]

[You simply wanted to seize every opportunity you could to test the skills you had practiced repeatedly in simulations before the nightmare named Toji Fushiguro arrived.]

["Satoru, while you don't need to respect our seniors, you should at least be gentle with them."]

[Suguru Geto followed behind him with a smile, offering advice.]

["Utahime must have been terrified just now, right? After all, not everyone can be as strong as us and solve every problem without even using their brains."]

["Geto! Gojo! You two bastards!"]

[Veins bulged on Utahime's forehead in anger. She turned and threw herself into Shoko's arms beside her, as though seeking a safe harbor.]

["Shoko! Look at those two! They're not cute at all! You're the nice one, Shoko. Boo-hoo-hoo..."]

[With a cigarette between her lips, Shoko let Utahime cling to her, looking helpless.]

["Ah, all right, all right. There, there."]

[Amid this laughter-filled "everyday school life," no one noticed the cursed spirit responsible for it all trembling in the shadows of the mansion's ruins.]

[Though it was not particularly intelligent, it instinctively sensed the terrifying auras emanating from the two men who had just entered, powerful enough to crush it.]

[Driven by instinct, the cursed spirit turned into a distorted black shadow and tried to dash toward the woods on the hill behind the mansion.]

["Oh? Trying to run?"]

[Satoru Gojo tilted his head slightly and was just about to raise a finger, while Suguru Geto also prepared to summon a cursed spirit to intercept it.]

["Since you're here, don't leave."]

[A calm voice beat them both to it.]

[Your figure had already vanished from where you stood at some point. Like a shell fired from a cannon, you instantly cut off the cursed spirit's path.]

[Facing this enormous Grade 1 cursed spirit with its gaping mouth, you did not summon Wukong. You did not even use a cursed technique.]

[You simply reinforced your body with cursed energy and punched it.]

[A dull, thunderous impact set teeth on edge.]

[The instant the cursed spirit's hard exoskeleton struck your knuckles, the agonizing recoil shot along your nerves straight into your brain.]

[An ordinary person would have hesitated from the pain, but under the effects of masochism, that pain instantly became a frenzy of adrenaline, sending a flash of savage excitement through the eyes behind your glasses.]

["Get... down!"]

[Bracing against the impact, you caught the cursed spirit's thick arm with a reverse grip. Your waist muscles abruptly exerted their strength-a textbook-perfect shoulder throw!]

[The entire mansion's foundations shuddered. You slammed the enormous cursed spirit into the floor like a ragged sack, instantly splintering the rotten boards and embedding half its body in the dirt, leaving it unable to move.]

[Amid the rising dust, you lifted your foot and planted it on the cursed spirit's enormous head in a display of absolute violence.]

["Creak..."]

[The sound of deforming bones rang out, and foul-smelling bodily fluids gushed from its mouth.]

[With one hand, you calmly adjusted your slightly crooked glasses, then turned to meet the gazes of the two strongest behind you, neither of whom had had time to act.]

[Your effortless subjugation of the Semi-Grade 1 cursed spirit silenced everyone for a second.]

[As Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto looked at the cursed spirit you had violently subdued, a measure of appreciation entered their gazes toward you.]

[They truly had not expected this tech geek, who usually looked so refined and spent all day tinkering with puppets and cursed corpses, to have a beast hiding beneath that outer shell.]

[Over this past year, you had not merely stood behind them, watching their backs.]

[You truly could not catch up with those two born monsters in talent for cursed techniques, but you were using the most primitive, most direct method to narrow the gulf called "the strongest," little by little.]

["Geto."]

[You pointed at the cursed spirit beneath your foot, which had barely a breath left, your tone as casual as though you had picked out a fine head of cabbage at a market.]

["This one's spatial technique is pretty interesting, so I didn't exorcise it outright. It should make a pretty suitable 'Pokémon' for you, right?"]