(Aoki is a huge piece of foreshadowing. Stop cursing me out!)
"Who!?" Igarashi Amaha whipped his head around to look behind him.
Clatter, clatter!
The grating sound of chains rang out, and candlelight illuminated the face before him.
Igarashi Amaha got a clear look at the person before him. Even with his exceptionally strong nerves, his pupils abruptly contracted.
The person before him was extremely scrawny. No, scrawny no longer described him. His chest had completely caved in, leaving nothing visible but sharply defined bones-truly skin and bones. His hair had grown all the way down to the floor, and so had his nails. He resembled a wild beast. It was hard to imagine this was a human, a living human.
Wait! What did he just say? Cursed energy! Could it be?
"What did you mean by cursed energy just now?" Igarashi Amaha watched the person before him warily and asked a question he had been pondering for five years.
Igarashi Amaha controlled the muscles in his body, ready to attack at any moment. Even if the person before him wanted to eat him, he would not have been surprised in the slightest. Three years had passed since he first heard the screams from the basement. Three years was enough to drive a person into becoming a beast, especially in this world.
"Still a fledgling? Looks like you have no idea why you were brought here. Welcome to hell. My name is Aoki, Aoki Akawa. This is my eighth year in hell." Aoki Akawa spoke those absurd words in a hoarse voice.
Igarashi Amaha frowned. Eight years! He spent eight years in this sunless space without killing himself. Things have gotten troublesome. "My name is Igarashi Amaha. I'm ten this year. I know why I was captured: because I'm an abnormality to them. What I want to know is what exactly an abnormality is, and what cursed energy means. Sorry for the trouble, but please explain."
"Oh? Only ten? I really couldn't tell. Igarashi... an aristocratic surname." A ripple stirred in Aoki Akawa's lifeless eyes. What an extraordinary child.
Igarashi Amaha said nothing, waiting for Aoki Akawa to continue.
"Ah, cursed energy. Might as well talk about it. It's been so long since I spoke to a human. Yes, yes."
Igarashi Amaha's brow furrowed even deeper. What does he mean, he hasn't spoken to a human in so long? Then that means... the negative substances of this world could.
Aoki Akawa plopped down on the ground and said somewhat forlornly, "Let's talk, then. Cursed energy is dogshit. It's power that comes from humans' negative emotions. The reason we're called abnormalities is that we possess cursed energy and can become jujutsu sorcerers, while those monkeys can't.
Igarashi Amaha was certain now. This was the "imaginary world" of Jujutsu Kaisen. Although he had not thoroughly familiarized himself with this world, he had seen the basic plot. What he had just seen was a cursed spirit, then. But why had he only seen that one cursed spirit in all these years? A village like this should not have so few cursed spirits.
"I have a question, Mr. Aoki. Could you answer it?" Igarashi Amaha voiced his question.
"Ah, it's been so long since anyone called me by my name. How nostalgic. Go ahead, clever brat."
"There should be plenty of cursed spirits in this village, so why have I only seen one in all these years?"
Aoki Akawa froze. This kid hadn't even known what cursed energy was a moment ago, so how did he suddenly know about cursed spirits? But he only thought about it and did not ask aloud.
"Because I exorcised them all."
"What?" Looking at the state Aoki Akawa was in, Igarashi Amaha was somewhat doubtful. It wasn't that he was looking down on him. To exorcise a cursed spirit, one first had to defeat it. How could he possibly do that in this state? Besides, if he had that kind of strength, he would have escaped long ago.
Aoki Akawa saw Igarashi Amaha's doubt and explained with a smile, "It's my cursed technique, Filth Attraction. It can attract cursed spirits of a grade I specify. Don't judge me by how I look. I'm actually very strong. Some of the weaker ones are no match for me."
"But if you're that strong, why are you still here? Why don't you escape?"
"That's a long story. We'll talk about it another time. Give me your arm. I'll do some basic treatment. Don't worry about me doing anything to you. Even though I look like I'm about to die, I'm still very strong." Aoki Akawa offered no further explanation, instead looking at Igarashi Amaha's arm.
Igarashi Amaha did not refuse. He raised his arm and walked toward Aoki Akawa, because the other man was telling the truth. If things really were as he said, resisting would be useless. If they weren't, then there was no need to fear him. He still had some strength left.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out. Igarashi Amaha moved his arm around. It hurt a little, but it would no longer keep getting worse.
"Thank you."
"We might end up dying in the same place. No need to be so polite."
After briefly getting to know one another and treating the arm, the two had become somewhat familiar and started chatting.
Clang!
Just then, the iron door sounded. When they got a clear look at the visitor, it was the village chief.
Holding a torch, the village chief walked up to Igarashi Amaha and said in an icy tone, "I'd been hoping to find your parents and make some money. Who would've thought you were a monster? You little shit. My son died because of you monsters."
With that, the village chief swung a kick at Igarashi Amaha's face. He was about to dodge, but had forgotten that his feet were shackled, and took the full force of the kick.
Thud!
Knocked to the ground, Igarashi Amaha tasted something salty in his mouth and stared fixedly at the village chief.
"You still dare glare at me!" Another kick flew at Igarashi Amaha's face.
The blood trickling from the corner of Igarashi Amaha's mouth did not seem to satisfy him. He pulled out his belt and began lashing down viciously.
His face, neck, chest, arms, and thighs were all targets.
The belt whistled through the air as it lashed down again and again. Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
After an unknown amount of time, the village chief spat as he looked at Igarashi Amaha, who lay unconscious on the ground, covered in blood. He was still muttering things like how the boy couldn't take a beating.
"You, keep an eye on him. Don't let him die, or you'll be the one getting beaten." The village chief raised his belt toward Aoki Akawa as he spoke.
"All right."
The village chief nodded in satisfaction, turned, and headed outside.
Clang!
The door sounded. Two minutes later.
"Get up. That stupid monkey's gone," Aoki Akawa said to Igarashi Amaha, who lay motionless on the ground.
Igarashi Amaha stirred and slowly sat up. There was no resentment or cursing. Instead, he calmly began examining the wounds on his body.
"You don't seem angry. Are you an M?" Aoki Akawa asked curiously.
"If anger could solve problems, I'd be lying on a bed in a five-star hotel watching my favorite comedy right now," Igarashi Amaha said in an even tone.
"Heh, you really are interesting."
"Likewise."
Please give me whatever support you can. I'd be endlessly grateful.