Ryu Ishigori was a jujutsu sorcerer from 400 years ago who was incarnated into the modern era by Kenjaku to participate in the Culling Game as a player.
Mr. Ishigori was a sorcerer who boasted incredible destructive power and the highest cursed energy output of any player in the Culling Game. His ability to fire cursed energy like a cannon made him a massive wide-range threat. He could unleash the same amount of power regardless of whether his cursed technique was activated. His pure offensive firepower annihilated Kurourushi, the Special Grade cockroach cursed spirit, in a single shot.
That was what Ethan remembered from the Jujutsu Kaisen manga, which he read in his free time.
Now, Ethan might not yet be able to match Mr. Ishigori in pure cursed energy output, but he instinctively understood that his overall cursed energy was higher than that of the Special Grade cursed spirit he was about to face.
His non-dominant leg was a liability in this fight. He could run away—he would certainly be able to escape alive if he focused entirely on retreat. He was still two miles away from the Special Grade. Surely, the War Curse would kill every person aboard the airplane behind him, but that wasn't the only reason Ethan chose to fight.
He was excited.
He wanted to fight someone strong.
Although he loved curse hunting in New York, none of the curses there had ever posed a real challenge to him or his shikigami. Unknowingly, a smirk crept onto the seven-year-old's face—the same expression other children wore when they found a new toy to play with.
The Special Grade remained still, as if waiting for him to make the first move.
Ethan deployed an opaque curtain around the aircraft. It would prevent non-sorcerers from leaving the premises and disturbing the upcoming fight. He didn't want any distractions—his entire focus was on brute-forcing his cursed energy into cannons.
It wasn't difficult. After all, attacking with cursed energy was the simplest form of jujutsu sorcery. Ethan had dedicated the last two years to learning every form of cursed energy release capable of one-shotting enemies with strong defenses or advanced regeneration—all in preparation for the iconic tenth shikigami, the one with the eight-headed Dharma Chakra above its head.
Even now, he wasn't satisfied with his progress.
Ethan approached the War Curse with high mobility using Nue's wings. He didn't wait for introductions or monologues. The moment he entered range, multiple high-output cursed energy cannons fired from the tip of his index finger.
BOOM!!
The impact arrived a heartbeat later, creating small-scale deforestation across the area. Something told him this fight might clear out the surrounding forest entirely. The hills were overdue for some trimming.
When the smoke settled, the cursed spirit became visible. The left side of its body had borne the brunt of the attack and was already visibly healing.
"What is this? A young sorcerer? Kuhuhuhu…
Your amount of cursed energy is astonishing—for a human.
Consuming you… yes, it will be worth it!"
The giddiness displayed by the Special Grade was like that of a child seeing the Milky Way for the first time. A young curse, perhaps? Ethan didn't assume—assumptions got people killed.
"You foiled my plans, you know!? But whatever. As long as there are humans, there will always be conflict and war!
And I will always be there!"
The War Curse's voice was filled with glee and intrigue.
This was Ethan's first time encountering a curse capable of speaking coherently. He didn't bother replying.
Instead, he summoned the Great Serpent, forming a snake-head shape with his hands. Throughout the process, he never stopped moving. He remained in constant motion—slipping in and out of shadows, refusing to let the Special Grade pinpoint his position.
Orochi manifested beneath the War Curse, and before it could react, the serpent clamped its jaws around it. The curse was momentarily startled—and Ethan seized the opportunity.
Infusing his fists with cursed energy, he shot forward at maximum speed, sonic booms erupting in his wake. He slammed a punch directly into the curse's face.
His cursed energy turned black.
BLACK FLASH!!
Ethan had been trying to land a Black Flash ever since he read that a sorcerer who achieves it gains an instinctive understanding of their technique beyond what any book could teach. At the time, he hadn't understood what that meant.
But now—
He did.
In an instant, a whole new world—one that had always been just out of reach—opened up to him. His understanding of cursed energy, something he had believed he had mastered, soared to an entirely new level.
He felt closer to his technique. He now instinctively knew the exact amount of cursed energy required to summon shikigami of varying sizes—where previously, he had brute-forced most of his summoning.
His cursed energy output surged to 120%.
He was in the zone.
He released multiple cursed energy cannons, each more stable and refined than before, targeting the battered cursed spirit as Orochi released it.
Ethan didn't wait for impact. He sank back into his shadow for two heartbeats. During those brief moments, he focused entirely on the sensation of landing a Black Flash.
He emerged behind the cursed spirit.
His fist—already wrapped in cursed energy—connected with its back.
The euphoric sensation returned, twice as intense.
His cursed energy turned black once more.
BLACK FLASH!!
Black Flash is a spatial distortion that occurs when cursed energy is applied within 0.000001 seconds—one millionth of a second—of a physical hit. When achieved, cursed energy flashes black, and the destructive power of the strike becomes equivalent to a normal hit raised to the power of 2.5.
Thanks to the reinforced cursed energy amplification from his previous Black Flash, Ethan shattered the Grade 1 barrier effortlessly.
Now—
Even without cursed energy infusion, his punches could break reinforced concrete through sheer passive reinforcement.
He was growing exponentially mid-battle, something that had never happened to him before.
A manic smirk spread across his face, madness gleaming in his eyes.
The Special Grade cursed spirit didn't understand what was happening.
Couldn't this child see that he was a Special Grade—the pinnacle of cursed existence?
He had fought sorcerers before. Monks in robes wielding strange dimensional energies. Fought was generous—slaughtered was more accurate.
Yes. Slaughter.
That was how his encounters usually ended.
So how was this child—who hadn't even reached adulthood—keeping up?
Keeping up… with him?
He was born from humanity's fear of war.
He had existed for centuries. He still remembered being exorcised by that obnoxiously calm, bald sorceress back in the 1700s. He had accepted his death then—he had only been a newborn curse, barely Grade 1, facing what other curses called the pinnacle of strength.
Even so, he had made her sweat.
His second incarnation was different.
This time, he used subtlety instead of brute force. He tempted humans with power, letting them kill one another while he grew stronger.
He orchestrated events surrounding the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, hiding in the shadows to avoid her gaze—waiting until he was strong enough.
He subtly aided the rise of fascism and militarism.
He caused two World Wars.
He grew stronger with every conflict.
If other Special Grades learned his methods, they would call him a coward.
But it didn't matter.
In the end—
He was still a Special Grade.
SO HOW WAS HE BEING BEATEN BY A HUMAN WRETCH!?
AND WAS THAT PIECE OF SHIT SMILING!?
He would show this cursed brat why it was impossible for a Grade 1 sorcerer—no matter how strong their physical reinforcement—to defeat a Special Grade.
After centuries of accumulating power, he had reached the pinnacle of jujutsu sorcery.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION:
ETERNAL THEATRE OF WAR."
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