The alarms of Jujutsu High screamed into the night, a discordant wail that pierced the smoke-filled air. Behind Shin, the inner sanctum of the Higher-Ups burned, the flames licking at the paper screens and consuming the bodies of the corrupt elders. Shin stepped out of the chamber, his shoes crunching on debris, his expression eerily calm amidst the chaos he had just orchestrated.
He adjusted his grip on the Playful Cloud, the special-grade cursed tool feeling heavy and eager in his hands. As he rounded the corner into the main courtyard, the path to freedom was blocked.
Six figures stood in the moonlight, their silhouettes sharp and imposing. They were not ordinary security. Their stances were refined, their cursed energy tightly controlled, and their uniforms bore the distinct crests of the Kamo Clan and the Zenin Hei Squad. These were the elites—the executioners sent to clean up messes the Higher-Ups couldn't handle.
Shin stopped, shaking the dust off his uniform. He took a deep breath, forcing his facial muscles into a mask of clueless innocence.
Shin: 'Just act natural.'
He waved a hand casually, as if he were a lost tourist rather than a regicide.
Shin: "Hello, were you guys also tasked with heading to Tokyo? If so, could you let me ride alongside with you?"
The air grew heavy with killing intent. The guards did not flinch, nor did they speak. Their eyes were locked onto Shin, analyzing him not as a student, but as a target to be liquidated. The silence stretched, filled only by the crackle of the fire behind them. It was very evident that they were not in the mood for casual conversation.
Shin sighed, dropping his shoulders in mock disappointment.
Shin: "Whoa! I didn't say anything rude so relax a little!"
The response was immediate and lethal. Without a single word of coordination, four of the guardsmen suddenly advanced towards Shin, weapons drawn. Their movement was a blur of high-level sorcery, closing the gap in the blink of an eye.
They struck in a perfect kill formation, four blades converging on specific vital points: Head, Kidney, Heart, and Legs. It was a checkmate move designed to end a fight instantly.
Unfortunately for them, they were fighting a monkey.
Shin didn't retreat. Instead, he exploded forward, ignoring the front-line entirely. He ducked under the blade aiming for his head and weaved past the thrust meant for his heart, rushing towards the two sorcerers who had stayed in the back-line to cast ranged techniques.
When the two sorcerers from the back realized that Shin was targeting them, it was too late. Their incantations died in their throats.
Shin swung the Playful Cloud. The three-section staff struck with the force of a wrecking ball, bypassing their cursed energy reinforcement through sheer kinetic force. He bludgeoned them both in a single, fluid motion, the sound of breaking bone echoing through the courtyard.
Shin skidded to a halt and turned around to face the remaining four. There in the open, the two sides faced off—four elite sorcerers against one man with zero cursed energy.
The remaining guards wasted no time. They rushed towards one another, abandoning caution for overwhelming violence.
The fight that followed was a masterclass in brutality. It lasted only five minutes, but each second was packed with lethal intent. The guards struck, stabbed, swung, and lunged, their cursed tools glowing with deadly energy. But Shin was a leaf in a hurricane. He parried a katana with the center section of his staff, ducked a spear thrust, and side-stepped a burst of blood manipulation.
Shin used this moment to familiarize himself with fighting more than one opponent by himself. He wasn't just surviving; he was downloading their movements.
Shin: 'I think I get it, they can't all rush at the same time without sending one another a signal for a specific formation. Plus, since these guys are more experienced than usual they had no problem striking when I'm focusing on another attack.'
He analyzed the micro-movements of their feet, the way their eyes shifted before an attack. They were disciplined, but discipline was predictable.
After three minutes, Shin picked up all the patterns. The game was over.
One guard lunged for a downward slash. Shin didn't dodge. He stepped into the guard's space, slamming the end of Playful Cloud into the man's solar plexus. As the guard folded, Shin spun, using the momentum to whip the staff around in a wide, devastating arc.
The remaining guards tried blocking when they noticed the attack coming. They reinforced their arms with maximum Cursed Energy, confident in their defense. However, it was meaningless. The Playful Cloud, amplified by Shin's Heavenly Restriction strength, tore through their defenses like paper. The strike effortlessly swiped through all of them, sending broken bodies flying into the courtyard walls.
Silence returned to the school, broken only by the groans of the dying.
A blue holographic window flickered into existence in front of Shin's eyes.
[Level Up]
Shin looked at the notification with cold indifference. He looked down at the broken bodies of the elite guards.
Shin: "Sorry. You were necessary for the foundation of a better future."
He stepped over them, leaving the burning school behind. As Shin continued on his way toward his destination, Tokyo, the adrenaline began to fade, replaced by the hyper-awareness of his senses.
He passed under the large Torii gate marking the school's boundary. A familiar silhouette caught his attention, perched high on the gate's crossbeam, framed by the moon.
Shin: 'Is that the girl from the cemetery?'
Stopped in his steps, Shin turned his attention toward the girl. She stood perfectly still, her presence almost non-existent, blending into the night air just like him.
Shin: "You need something?"
Yori looked down at him. Her expression was unreadable. She nodded her head sideways and hopped down, landing silently. She approached Shin with a fluid, predatory grace. Since Yori didn't draw her weapon, Shin was relaxed, though his grip on his staff didn't loosen.
Yori: "I saw what you did."
Shin stiffened slightly.
Shin: "Please don't call the cops."
Yori: "My organization don't use cops, we take care of our own problems. So don't-"
Shin: "Oh thank god! Wait, what organization-"
Yori raised a hand, cutting him off.
Yori: "Don't worry about that, just know we're not your enemies nor are we your ally. We simply want balance."
Shin studied her. She wasn't a sorcerer. She was something else. A keeper of order in a world that had just gone mad.
Shin: "Oh, alright. So what do you want?"
Yori: "I only approached to say thank you. Goodbye."
Yori walked away, disappearing into the shadows of the forest. For some reason, her steps made no sounds. Not a twig snapped, not a leaf crunched. It was as if the earth itself accepted her weight without complaint.
Shin felt weird by her presence but ignored it for now before continuing on. He had bigger problems to solve.
The journey to the city was lonely. Upon reaching Tokyo, Shin noticed a massive, dark dome enshrouded around the entire city. The Cursed Energy emanating from it was thick, tasting of iron and malice. This was the Culling Game barrier.
Luckily, Shin was able to walk through the veil after putting his hand through it to test. Since he possessed no cursed energy, the barrier treated him as nothing more than an inanimate object.
Upon entering, the atmosphere was clearly apocalyptic. The streets were cracked, cars were abandoned, and buildings sat in varying states of ruin. The air was thick with the screeching of curses and the smell of decay.
Shin stopped in the middle of a deserted intersection. He looked up at the sky, obscured by the barrier. He thought about Kenjaku. He thought about Sukuna. And he thought about the blue window that had guided him since the day he woke up in this body.
The System was powerful. It healed him. It stored his weapons. It told him his stats.
But stats were limits. As long as he had a level, he had a ceiling. And to kill gods, he needed to be limitless.
Before heading into Hell, Shin decided to use a binding vow to strengthen himself.
He stared at the blue interface floating in the air.
Shin: "From this point forward, I no longer need the [SYSTEM]. Instead, I want my enemies to struggle acknowledging my presence. I want to be a ghost."
The blue light flickered violently. The text distorted, scrolling rapidly as if the machine were panicking.
[Binding Vow Conditions Check]
[Analyzing Sacrifice: Infinite Growth Potential, Inventory, Auto-Recovery]
[Analyzing Request: Absolute Presence Concealment]
[Equivalent Exchange: Valid.]
[Binding Vow Conditions accepted]
The holographic screen began to crack, digital shards falling away like broken glass. The text on the screen jittered one last time, displaying a final, almost human message before it vanished forever.
[System: Bye-bye ;( ]
And then, there was nothing. No map. No health bar. No notifications.
Shin stood in the silence. He felt lighter. He looked down at his hands. He felt the wind against his skin, the vibration of distant curses, the settling of the concrete. He was no longer a player in a game.
He was an anomaly in the code of reality. Shin Zenin smiled, gripped his staff, and walked into the darkness of Tokyo.