Chingetsu's gaze turned cold. Hannya's skull cracked beneath his foot. "How boring. I thought you could keep me entertained a little longer."
Somewhat dispirited, Chingetsu kicked Hannya away.
He had finally encountered a special grade cursed spirit, only to find that it could barely take a beating. Chingetsu's words made the corners of Utahime Iori's mouth twitch.
So a special grade cursed spirit everyone else avoided like the plague was just a toy to you? You're beyond inhuman! Of course, Utahime Iori only dared complain deep inside.
Still, Utahime Iori finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The greatest threat, the special grade cursed spirit Hannya, had been subdued. All they had to do now was exorcise Hannya, and this cursed spirit incident would be successfully resolved.
Utahime Iori stood up and was about to greet Chingetsu when something suddenly changed.
Hannya, whom Chingetsu had kicked away, suddenly began swelling like a balloon being inflated. At the same time, its aura kept rising.
Strange, blood-red patterns writhed across Hannya's balloon-like, bloated body. In an instant, they covered its entire surface.
"That's more like it. Now this is interesting."
Chingetsu rolled his neck, loosened his wrists, and took a sprinter's stance. "Then, let's begin!"
His voice was still echoing when he charged up to Mutated Hannya and threw a punch.
A recoil force surged from Mutated Hannya's body.
Chingetsu stepped back to dissipate the force, watching Mutated Hannya with interest. "Inflating your body to defend against outside attacks like a pufferfish? Not a bad punching bag-no, I mean, not a bad idea."
"Heh heh heh."
After its mutation, Hannya let out its signature eerie laugh again.
A cloud of black mist laced with streaks of blood slowly sank into Mutated Hannya's body. As the mist entered it, the wounds Chingetsu had inflicted began slowly healing.
Chingetsu looked toward the source of the black mist. Several desiccated human corpses lay there. "You really don't take me seriously, do you?"
Chingetsu's gaze chilled, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips. "Killing people right in front of me. Very good."
A sonic boom rang out, and Chingetsu instantly appeared behind Hannya. "This ends here."
"Killer Queen!"
Before his words had faded, a slender, pale hand pierced Hannya's chest. It passed straight through, leaving a gaping hole.
Through the round wound, Chingetsu's expressionless face could seemingly be seen behind Hannya. He slowly withdrew his hand, revealing a small round mirror resting in his palm. Its surface was spotless, and Hannya's demonic mask pattern was carved into its back.
On closer inspection, a woman's face seemed to flash across the mirror. "A special grade cursed object, just as I thought."
That meant his earlier conjecture had been correct.
But producing a special grade cursed object to cultivate a cursed spirit was not something an ordinary person could do.
With resources on that scale, the force behind this could not be far behind the Three Great Families, even if it did not match them. Still, now that the cursed object was in his hands, no one would be getting it back, whoever they were. Why would he spit out meat already in his mouth?
Chingetsu put away the mirror and walked out from behind Mutated Hannya with an indifferent expression.
Hannya opened its mouth wide without a sound as scorching energy began spreading through its body. Killer Queen, First Bomb, ignition!
? -
Chapter 36: Weakness
Flames instantly swallowed the body of the special grade cursed spirit Hannya.
As Hannya died, the black mist inside the supermarket began gradually dispersing.
Apart from the few unlucky people Hannya had drained dry earlier, the other survivors began showing signs of waking.
"The black mist has dispersed. Has the special grade cursed spirit been exorcised?" Utahime Iori keenly noticed the changes around her. "The Curtain has disappeared too."
"Did the curse users flee as soon as the special grade cursed spirit was exorcised? What a cunning bunch." "Unfortunately, I still couldn't save them."
Utahime Iori looked at the desiccated corpses on the floor, her gaze dimming.
She did not mean to blame Chingetsu. She only blamed herself for being too weak to help at all. Utahime Iori knew Chingetsu absolutely had the ability to save those people, but everyone handled things differently.
Although they had only just met.
Utahime Iori could sense that Chingetsu was not a "good person" in the traditional sense. Or rather, his actions and thoughts depended entirely on his moods and preferences. This mysterious boy had his own principles and boundaries.
He was not bound by the outside world's morality.
He would not put himself in danger over the lives of a few ordinary people, yet Hannya killing people in front of him had sent him into a fury.
With a complicated expression, Utahime Iori watched Chingetsu toy with the mirror.
Having someone like him as a friend meant gaining a powerful backer. Having him as an enemy would be a nightmare.
Besides, strictly speaking.
Chingetsu had no obligation to save those people.
No rule said that anyone was born to be a savior.
With the strength Chingetsu had displayed, he could completely disregard the Curtain and leave whenever he wanted. So she, who could do nothing against a special grade cursed spirit, had no grounds to criticize him. Besides, without Chingetsu, everyone in this supermarket would probably have become Hannya's food. Compared with her, who had not helped at all, Chingetsu could already be called these people's savior. Utahime Iori approached the victims and recited prayers for their souls.
That was the only thing she could do now.
Meanwhile, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto also noticed the Curtain disappearing. "The special grade's presence has vanished. Did someone exorcise the special grade cursed spirit?" A flicker of surprise crossed Satoru Gojo's eyes.
Less than ten minutes had passed between the Curtain rising and disappearing.
In other words, someone had exorcised a special grade cursed spirit in under ten minutes. Anyone capable of that had to be at least a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer.
Or even-
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in the other's eyes. A special grade sorcerer.
There was very likely a special grade sorcerer inside this supermarket.
Although that person had exorcised the cursed spirit, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto still could not be sure whether they were friend or foe. After all, not every jujutsu sorcerer was willing to submit to the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's authority.
They were cursed spirit hunters, but cursed spirits were not their only prey.
That was why cursed spirit hunters were among the groups that gave Jujutsu Society's higher-ups the biggest headaches. They were neither wholly good nor evil, and their ranks were a mixed bag.
They acted entirely according to their moods and preferences.
Even the Jujutsu Association's officials were unwilling to provoke them.
"If there really is a special grade cursed spirit hunter inside, this isn't something we can handle." Satoru Gojo's tone grew unusually serious.
Until they knew the other party's intentions, any action could trigger a series of unpredictable changes.
"Geto, contact Mr. Yaga and explain the situation." Suguru Geto dared not delay and dialed Masamichi Yaga's number.
Just as Satoru Gojo had said, this matter had already exceeded their capabilities. On the other end of the line was Masamichi Yaga.
"What? You're saying someone exorcised the special grade cursed spirit?" There was a trace of uncertainty in Masamichi Yaga's voice.
It was not that he was unwilling to trust his students, but their report was simply too incredible. Exorcising a special grade cursed spirit in under ten minutes was not something an ordinary person could accomplish. To facilitate handling the various incidents caused by cursed spirits, jujutsu sorcerers were rated higher than cursed spirits of the same grade.
Generally speaking, a grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer could easily exorcise a grade 1 cursed spirit and hold their own even against a special grade.
But even Masamichi Yaga, an outstanding grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer, would not dare claim he could exorcise a special grade in under ten minutes.
Such a virtually one-sided battle could only mean that the jujutsu sorcerer who exorcised the special grade cursed spirit was also at the special grade level.
Yet he had never heard of such a person.
As Jujutsu Society's rare, high-level fighting forces, almost all special grade sorcerers were registered.
But those people were either high-ranking figures in religious sects or reclusive old monsters from the Three Great Families. Nor had there been any recent news of a special grade being deployed.
Besides, deploying special grade combatants required multiple levels of reporting beforehand. After all, special grade power was already beyond the norm.
Every deployment was subject to strict procedures. "Wait until I get there."
"Until I arrive, do not act rashly under any circumstances." Masamichi Yaga's tone was graver than ever.
-
Chapter 37: Chingetsu Was the One Who Exorcised the Special Grade Cursed Spirit?
Masamichi Yaga's concerns were not unfounded. The appearance of an unknown special grade sorcerer could very well change Jujutsu Society's current balance. At that thought.
Masamichi Yaga pressed harder on the accelerator. "Thank you."
Utahime Iori stood up and spoke to Chingetsu. Chingetsu could not help glancing at her.
He had originally thought this girl would launch into a tirade.
Some idiotic remark like, "You're so strong, so why didn't you save these ordinary people?" He had not expected this.
Utahime Iori's first words were actually thanks. How interesting.
It seemed jujutsu sorcerers were not all brainless fools. At least this younger generation lacked the older generation's hidebound thinking.
Chingetsu gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.
That served as his response to Utahime Iori's thanks. However.
The faint smile on his lips showed that he was currently in quite a good mood.
One reason was the large amount of cursed energy points Hannya had provided, finally giving him enough to unlock his second Stand, [Bites the Dust].
Before you continue