The magma-filled domain dissipated, reverting to the scenery of the outside world.
Beyond the collapsed domain, Seele stood calmly to one side with her scythe in hand. Nearby lay Hanami, who—at some unknown point—had once again been cleaved cleanly in half at the waist.
Clearly, during the time Black Seele dealt with Jogo, Seele herself had also finished off the Forest Curse outside the domain.
"That's enough. This one no longer has the ability to resist. Just leave him like this."
After tossing Jogo's body together with Hanami's, Black Seele returned to Seele's side.
"So… should the other me go back now?"
"Yeah. There's no point staying out here, and that woman will be here soon anyway."
Glancing in a certain direction, Black Seele waved her hand, looking unwilling to remain outside any longer, and once more returned to the stigmata on Seele's chest.
Seele pressed a hand to the stigmata at her chest, then turned to look in the same direction Black Seele had just glanced toward.
A few seconds later, the faint sound of footsteps approached from afar.
"It seems little sister Seele's side is already wrapped up as well."
A gentle voice echoed across the ravaged battlefield. Makima—her attire immaculate, not a speck of dust upon her—walked over at an unhurried pace.
At that moment, Jogo and Hanami, who had been lying on the ground with hazy consciousness, suddenly regained a bit of awareness and simultaneously turned their gaze toward the approaching woman.
That was because they once again sensed the presence of one of their own kind—this time far more clearly than before.
"Another… one of our kin?"
Though surprised by Makima's identity, seeing how familiar she appeared with that human girl caused the brief spark of joy in Jogo and Hanami's hearts to sink once more.
"Another curse that has submitted to humans… Why? Why are you, beings of the new era, willing to associate with humans of the old era instead of joining us to forge a golden age of curses?"
Hearing this, Makima—now close by—turned her head to look at the two cursed spirits lying on the ground. Her dark-gold eyes examined them as though they were mere objects, devoid of any emotion.
Makima wasn't surprised that they could see through her true nature. After all, within her perception, aside from Seele, there were no humans left in the surrounding area. She had no intention of concealing her aura anymore, allowing her curse-like essence to be exposed—naturally noticed by the two cursed spirits at once.
"A golden age of curses? Strictly speaking, I am also preparing to create such an age, and I'm currently laying the groundwork for it. In that sense, our goals may indeed overlap… to a certain degree."
"Of course, only to a certain degree. The golden age of curses I intend to create is meant to fulfill my master's expectations. It requires more cursed spirits to serve as kindling and offer themselves to my master—not to create some world that belongs to curses."
After all, only cursed spirits that could offer value to her master were good cursed spirits. Otherwise, they had no reason to exist.
When Makima spoke the first half of her words, a trace of joy had just begun to rise in Jogo and Hanami's hearts—only to be doused by a bucket of icy water the very next moment.
Reeling from the emotional whiplash, Jogo forced his battered body—still ravaged by the power of Decay—to endure, baring his teeth in fury.
"In the end, you're still just curses that have bowed to humans. Creatures like you have long forgotten the pride of being a curse—willingly letting weak humans command you, even going so far as to sell out your own kind."
"Enough talk. What exactly is your purpose in capturing Hanami and me alive? Let me be clear—we will never betray any information about our companions. If you intend to use torture to force us to submit, then go ahead and try."
In response, Makima merely wore a faint, meaningful smile.
"Torture? I don't need such methods. With me, you have a better option."
What did she mean?
Jogo and Hanami felt puzzled—until, in the very next instant, they sensed their consciousness rapidly sinking.
Their thoughts grew sluggish. Their awareness felt as though it were being rewritten.
It was as if some unknown force was forcibly asserting control over them, their sense of self becoming increasingly blurred.
Control… Could this be something akin to Curse Spirit Manipulation—a technique capable of forcibly dominating cursed spirits like them?
"That's right. Based on your understanding of this world, you may think of me as… a curse born from humanity's fear of being dominated."
A curse born from humanity's fear of domination. Control…
At that moment, Jogo and Hanami finally understood why Makima had never taken their lives.
Unfortunately, that realization came far too late.
With barely any effort, Makima completed her control over the two Disaster Curses before her.
"Is it over, Sister Makima?"
Seeing that both cursed spirits had gone quiet, Seele asked from the side.
"Yes, it's over. Next, I'll need to trouble you to disperse the remaining Decay within their bodies so they can recover."
Makima replied with a smile.
Seele nodded, then activated the power of Creation, thoroughly purifying the residual Decay from the two cursed spirits.
Without the continuous damage from Decay, their bodies quickly recovered. Soon after, they rose and knelt on one knee before Makima.
"Lady Makima."
Makima gave a slight nod, then waved her hand, signaling for them to leave.
"Proceed with your original plan. Retreat for now and hide yourselves while awaiting further instructions."
"Yes, Lady Makima."
Standing up, Hanami and Jogo swiftly withdrew in a certain direction.
As the two special-grade cursed spirits departed, the barrier enveloping the forest of Jujutsu High slowly dissipated.
Clearly, while Seele and Makima were dealing with the special-grade cursed spirits and curses, the remaining Jujutsu High personnel had already finished off the rest of the curse users.
They waited in place for a short while. About a dozen seconds later, the barrier completely vanished, and a figure rapidly approached—appearing before Seele and Makima almost in an instant.
"Yo, you two. Looks like your fight's already over?"
Having finally arrived at the battlefield, Gojo Satoru spoke while clicking his tongue, surveying the surroundings.
There was no doubt—judging from the residual cursed energy, the curses that had appeared here were exceptionally powerful. Fortunately, seeing that both women before him were completely unharmed, it seemed unlikely that the enemy had posed any real threat to them.
As for why Gojo knew that the attackers weren't just curse users, but also cursed spirits and curses, it was because the students from the two Jujutsu High campuses who had exited the barrier had already reported what they experienced inside.
A surprise attack on Jujutsu High by curse users, cursed spirits with human-level intelligence, and even cooperation between curse users and cursed spirits.
"Just thinking about it already sounds like a real headache."
…
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