Chapter 88: The End of a Jujutsu Sorcerer is Slaughter
The city under the neon lights was grotesque and kaleidoscopic. Everything before her eyes had become utterly absurd—a spectacle never seen before. Whether in the sky or on the streets, all sorts of terrifying monsters stood everywhere. As far as the eye could see, there was no end to them.
The small ones looked smaller than a finger, almost like grains of rice, but the massive ones floated directly in the sky, blotting out the sun and covering the heavens. The dense, swarming cursed spirits made one's skin crawl just looking at them.
Peeled, hideous monsters treated humans as if they were nothing, weaving freely through the crowds. It felt as though the "true" humans were the anomalies of this world, while the myriad ghosts and monsters were the true masters, wantonly occupying this reality. The originally beautiful world had transformed directly into a living hell. A true "world of men as a prison."
"Is this really my world?"
But what made Wakaba Mutsumi feel even worse was the pain brought by this awakening. The previous sentiment—that Hachiman wouldn't harm her—now felt like it had been heavily diluted.
The sensation of cursed energy awakening was incredibly strange. It felt as if someone was shoving her head directly underwater, making it impossible to breathe. To make matters worse, she had to endure a dizzying sensation akin to being stuffed into a tumble dryer.
Mutsumi suffered from both difficulty breathing and intense vertigo.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...
She even felt like she was on the verge of total suffocation. Hachiman's hand, covering her eyes, was the only source of warmth she could feel in this environment that felt almost lethal. Yet, as the depth of the awakening increased, even this warmth began to transform into something terrifying.
Even with her eyes closed, Mutsumi could feel that the hand in front of her was gradually losing the texture of a normal human. Suddenly, she discovered with horror that Hachiman's originally normal arm now carried a furry, feather-like texture.
Although she couldn't open her eyes, she directed her sensory abilities toward the sky. She finally realized what that furry, feather-like sensation was.
She discovered that the greatest terror... was actually right beside her!!!
Mutsumi couldn't help but shudder. The original Hachiman was gone. In his place, high above the firmament, stood a massive, one-eyed monster resembling an angel. Droplets of blood fell from its crimson, solitary eye as it gazed down at the surrounding world with madness.
It was clearly holy and sacred, yet it gave off an aura of extreme, ominous sin! It felt as though it carried an unfathomable, terrifying evil.
The massive amount of blood pouring down from that tear-shaped eye gave the impression that it was frantically corroding the world. For the first time, Mutsumi felt such a fear—it even gave her the illusion that she was about to vomit.
.
.
.
Feeling the violent struggle from Mutsumi and the further increase of cursed energy in her body, Hikigaya Hachiman knew her awakening was almost complete. He hadn't known exactly what degree of intensity was appropriate for this awakening process.
Once he was certain, Hikigaya released the sensory stimulation he had placed on her.
The "little bird," who had been feeling tense and anxious, was now lying there like a stiff corpse. Even her "The person who speaks first wins" board had fallen over and remained motionless. One could imagine how great the shock had been.
Hikigaya lowered his hand from her eyes and moved it up; as expected, Mutsumi's forehead was already quite hot.
"Likely from overusing her brain."
Hikigaya used Reverse Cursed Technique to repair her brain. This was a normal reaction. "This world is far more disgusting than you imagined."
Mutsumi's weight was light to begin with; even with her whole body leaning against him, he felt almost nothing.
He stroked her head.
"This is also the first lesson I'm giving you: learn fear.
Cursed spirits are born from human malice. As long as conflict between humans exists, they will exist forever."
This was also what made Hikigaya feel disgusted. Even if you killed these things, new spirits would be born; there was no end to them. Counting the base number of low-level spirits, they outnumbered humans by an unknown magnitude.
After being repaired by the Reverse Cursed Technique, Mutsumi slowly opened her eyes. However, the mental fatigue could not be instantly mended. Fortunately, the terrifying, one-eyed angel beast that had frightened her most had completely vanished, as if it had been a mere hallucination.
Seeing an empty bench by the road, Hikigaya took Mutsumi over to sit down.
"Does Hachiman feel fear too?"
Leaning quietly against him and enjoying the peace of having survived a disaster, she could now see the tiny cursed spirits floating in the air just by opening her eyes.
Hikigaya was stunned for a moment by the question, but he answered anyway: "Yes."
Though he had already forgotten the last time he felt true fear.
"I don't know if he feels fear, but I know this guy is best at giving fear to others."
A voice suddenly cut into their conversation. Just by hearing that cold, detached tone, Hikigaya knew Nanami Kento had arrived. Nanami was wearing his signature white spotted suit over a blue shirt, walking slowly through the crowd.
"Those who oppose him are either dead or insane."
Nanami knew all too well how terrifying his "big client's" true strength was. He had also witnessed those angel-like, terrifying things on Hikigaya. Back when Hikigaya made no effort to hide it, he was the nightmare of any sorcerer with strong spiritual vision.
Unseen, unheard, unsmelled—he was essentially a taboo. Moreover, the title "The Emperor's Agent" was the nightmare of countless curse users.
Absolute justice without mercy; for the curse users who fell into Hikigaya's hands, death was actually the best outcome. To remain alive was merely to suffer.
"Don't make me sound like some great villain."
"I'm just telling the truth."
Nanami pushed up his glasses. Poor man—he had just finished work and rushed over here without a moment's rest, only to find his employer with yet another beautiful girl he had never seen before. The green-haired girl was likely the new generation sorcerer Hikigaya wanted him to help train.
Judging by her cursed energy, she was indeed fit to be a sorcerer. Nanami's earlier evaluation of Hikigaya was just a minor vent of frustration—a small "outburst." His employer's private life had nothing to do with him; Nanami was just invited to conduct training.
Besides, Nanami wasn't envious. In his view, maintaining relationships with women was a massive hassle. Thus, even though he was middle-aged, he had no plans to find a girlfriend.
"Anyway, let's start with introductions. I am Nanami Kento."
He was a serious person who placed great importance on etiquette. Whether in professional settings or personal dealings, he was as polite as a gentleman. Nanami spoke with his hands at his sides and leaned forward slightly; his manners were impeccable.
Considering Mutsumi wasn't a professional yet, he refrained from handing over a business card.
Seeing such a serious self-introduction, Mutsumi didn't know how to respond for a moment. Hikigaya said to her: "Mutsumi, just a self-introduction is fine."
"Wakaba Mutsumi. My name."
"I see, Wakaba-san." Nanami bowed slightly again.
"I am the sorcerer Hikigaya-kun called to help you master your technique."
Hikigaya explained: "Nanami's technique is very similar to yours in many ways, so I called him to help. Although Nanami looks like an ordinary office worker, he is actually a Grade 1 Sorcerer of the Jujutsu Association."
Mutsumi had already received much of the basics of the jujutsu world from Hikigaya. This knowledge was vital, allowing her to better understand the world and cursed spirits. A Grade 1 Sorcerer was the highest rank below Special Grade and served as the backbone of the Association.
"Now then, let's get into the teaching," Nanami suggested directly.
Since Hikigaya had chosen this location, a specific area had already been prepared. It was a rooftop near a batting cage game center; the terrace was exceptionally large and could hold many, many spirits.
Hikigaya noticed Mutsumi's eyes still looked uncomfortable and reminded her: "Actually, if looking at those spirits makes you feel unwell, you can get a pair of glasses that filter out low-level spirits. Nanami's glasses have that function too."
Not just Nanami, but people like Mei Mei and Gojo Satoru proactively used items to cover their eyes because they didn't want to constantly see low-level spirits. Additionally, some spirits are sensitive to gaze, and looking at them can trigger an attack.
The Jujutsu Association has a mature, complete industry for such equipment.
"Even if we buy them, it only takes a week to get a custom pair," Hikigaya comforted her. "Wait a moment, I'll go catch some suitable cursed spirits."
Shinjuku had plenty of spirits if nothing else, which was why Hikigaya came here—you could catch whatever you wanted.
Mutsumi soon learned just how literal Hikigaya's "catching" was. In her vision, numerous slender, scarlet, spike-like tentacles erupted from Hikigaya's back, their surfaces covered in scales. These overwhelming crimson tentacles swept across the field, covering every spirit within Mutsumi's sight.
It was an exaggerated sight. To Mutsumi, those hideous monsters, some large enough to swallow her whole, weren't even a match for a single blow from Hachiman.
One by one, they were treated like toys, directly impaled by those crimson, tentacle-like spikes and then bound tight.
It was incredibly precise and lethal, the movements efficient without any wasted effort. Before long, many spirits impaled by spikes were suspended in the air. Whether out of Hikigaya's dark humor or just for convenience, some spirits were hung directly from streetlights.
No matter how much these spirits bit, chewed, or tore at them, the slender tentacles remained unchanged. Instead, to limit their power, the cursed energy within the tentacles began to corrode their bodies. They could only let out shrill wails, unable to resist.
Seeing the miserable state of their companions, the other spirits realized they couldn't win and tried to flee in panic. But it was useless. These tentacles, which automatically tracked targets, acted like a highly automated program; Hikigaya didn't even have to look to capture them all.
During this process, Mutsumi also witnessed the powerful vitality of these spirits. Even with two or three large holes in their torsos, they could still move and struggle freely.
"Don't take too many. I mainly want to see the effect of her technique," Nanami said, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.
As a sorcerer who could only act on single targets, seeing such a large-scale destructive technique always made him a bit envious. But this was too much; Nanami felt that killing all of them would take until tomorrow morning.
"Too many?" Hikigaya heard him. He actually felt this amount might not be enough to kill. However, Mutsumi had just entered the jujutsu world; things shouldn't be rushed.
Hikigaya had high expectations for Mutsumi's technique effect, as the technique's strength was very high. Thus, he had skipped the lowest Grade 4 spirits and started capturing from Grade 3.
Upon hearing Nanami say they didn't need so many, Hikigaya directly executed the surplus spirits using the most violent and efficient method. He used the tentacles formed by [Flowing Red Scale/Red Blood Manipulation] to directly strangle the bound spirits.
For some of the larger ones, the tentacles invaded through their mouths or eyes, dismantling them from the inside. Visible bulges began to writhe along their bellies and torsos until, with a final surge of force, the fragile skin burst open with a series of cracks, revealing their vulnerable internal organs.
Squelch!
Fragments of organs and muscle were ground together, making it look as though it was raining blood. Hikigaya made it this messy and disgusting on purpose. In battle, it was inevitable for the opponent to become a mangled mess of flesh and blood. New sorcerers often felt nauseous or fearful when faced with such cruel images, making them hesitate to strike.
"Mutsumi, you'll get used to it the more you watch."
The violent, bloody scene made Mutsumi's stomach churn, and she covered her mouth once again.
"The end of a jujutsu sorcerer is bloodshed and slaughter," Nanami agreed.
Simultaneously, the thought that "jujutsu sorcerers are crap" grew even stronger in his mind.
"Sorry," Mutsumi lowered her head. "I let Hachiman down."
"It's okay. Everyone starts as a newcomer." Hikigaya saw her dejected expression.
"You'll get used to it after you kill more spirits."
Hikigaya brought the refined selection of spirits to the prepared site and pinned them all to the ground.
"First, I'll teach Mutsumi a principle: the Disclosure of One's Innate Technique."
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