21:05.
The Curtain covering Meiji-Jingumae Station was lifted.
Basement 4.
“That was a lot faster than I expected.”
“Big sis.”
“Yeah. The Curtain’s been lifted. Let’s wait for Yoshino and Itadori, then head down to Basement 5.”
Wiping the blood from her axe with a broad swing, Mei Mei headed for the stairs leading to Exit 2.
21:07
Basement 5.
As the non-sorcerers trapped on the platform scrambled to board the train, the only one still completely at ease muttered to himself: a gray-haired man with long hair.
“Hmm. So Grasshopper Guy got taken out? Looks like a capable jujutsushi showed up.”
Grasshopper Guy had no technique, so he was classified as Grade 2, but in practice he was strong enough to be considered Grade 1.
Judging by how quickly the crow infused with cursed energy had been exorcised after scouting the area, the opponent had to be at least two people—or at minimum a Grade 1 jujutsushi. More than enough to stir his fighting spirit.
Mahito, who had spent the entire Shibuya plan hunting nothing but small fry and endlessly churning out transfigured humans, was getting pretty sick of it.
“Now what.... I’d like to fight too, but I don’t have much time.”
There were only about seven minutes left until the train departed for the next stop, Shibuya Station.
Could he take down a Grade 1 jujutsushi in that short a window? It was possible, but if there were two or more enemies, it would be a real stretch.
And considering his next objective, wasting his full strength here on nothing more than preliminary work for buying time was absurd.
What a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. This was work.
He believed that obeying instinct was what made a true curse, but even he couldn’t chase fun forever.
“Well, still. If they make it here in time, I might leave them a little present....”
Just as he was thinking that and turning to leave,
“[Bullet].”
Fwoosh!
Countless poisonous spikes flew at him from the staircase side of the platform.
Shrrrk!
Even with the sudden attack, Mahito reacted instantly.
He warped his body into a net-like shape, letting most of the spikes slide off while simultaneously thrusting out an arm toward the direction of the attack.
Mahito’s sharply transformed hand reached for the unknown enemy.
Clang!
His hand bounced back as if it had struck something solid.
Judging by the faint difference in the source of cursed energy, there was more than one enemy.
“I was going to play nice, but I guess not.”
Clicking his tongue, Mahito returned his body to its original form and immediately felt a wave of dizziness.
“Poison....?”
Cursed energy with a poisonous nature was seeping out of the spike deeply embedded in his left thigh.
That cursed energy had begun coursing through his blood vessels. A sight he could never forget.
Because this was cursed energy born from him.
“Haha. This is better than I expected.”
The Junpei he knew had no ability like this. The poison was also far weaker than this.
He had suspected as much ever since he heard that Hanami had been killed, but just how much had he grown in such a short time?
With a dry laugh, four figures soon appeared before him.
“.....So you really were here, Mahito.”
“Long time no see. Junpei, and Sukuna’s vessel.”
“Oh my, acting like you know us? How unpleasant.”
“Ahhh, Big Sis.... That cold, pitiless look, like you’re staring at filth! Might you share some of it with me?”
Junpei and Sukuna’s vessel were staring at him with eyes that promised murder.
A white-haired woman and a kid he’d never seen before were there too, but they didn’t seem especially hostile.
Feeling a thrilling shiver run down his spine at the sight of not one but two familiar faces, Mahito smiled.
“Aren’t you going to say hello? It’s been a while. I’m hurt.”
“I have no intention of greeting someone like you.”
“What kind of way is that to speak to your teacher?”
The relationship that had begun as teacher and student had now reached an irreversible point.
In the first place, Junpei had been the only one who’d ever been sincere, but looking back, Mahito had to admit the whole process had been enjoyable in its own way.
Even though everything had gone to hell the moment Mahito toyed with Junpei, killed Nagi, and Junpei retaliated by exorcising Hanami.
Now that they’d met again, both of them wanted nothing more than to kill the other’s heart and body without leaving a single thing behind.
“Three Grade 1 sorcerers.... That kid is a variable too. And my Domain is sealed because of Sukuna. Not good.”
Unlike the others, who were full of nothing but the urge to charge in, Mahito had already decided to run the moment he realized there were more people than expected.
Still, if he just bolted with his tail between his legs, it wouldn’t look very good—so while he was thinking it over, Mahito came up with a fun idea.
Since the job wasn’t finished yet, it looked like their mutual cursing would have to wait.
But unlike the body, the soul could be killed over and over again.
Mahito transformed one of his fingers into Nagi’s shape.
“See? Even Mother’s upset.”
“Junpei. You should be polite to your guest—”
Crack!
Mahito, shaking the fake Nagi around in a ridiculous display, immediately split it in half.
The upper half of the fake Nagi, twisted in pain and terror, rolled across the cold floor and came to rest in front of Junpei.
“.........”
Junpei’s face had gone deathly pale, but he still kept silent.
Just as Mei Mei and Ui Ui, who’d been relatively lighthearted until now, hardened their expressions in fury at the disgusting spectacle, Yuji, who had been watching everything unfold, roared at the top of his lungs.
“What the hell do you think people are to you?!”
“Ah, don’t shout. I can hear you perfectly fine without all that volume.”
Unlike Mahito, who waved a hand dismissively as if annoyed, Yuji’s face had turned red with rage beyond its limit.
“Why are you like that....? How can you just toy with people’s lives like that, over and over again, with so many of them?”
“Hahaha. Should I start killing them with a crying face from now on, like I have no choice?”
Mocking Yuji, Mahito grabbed one of the civilians trying to board the train.
“Huh? What the—?!”
“Stop it!”
“[Idle Transfiguration].”
Krrrchk—
The instant Mahito’s hand touched him, the man transformed into a grotesque monster and began attacking the people around him indiscriminately.
The crowd, shocked by the sudden appearance of a transfigured human, scrambled to flee or shoved themselves into the train, and Basement 5’s platform turned into a scene of utter chaos in an instant.
“You bastard....!”
“For shallow things like you, I’ll give you a shallow answer.”
Because it’s fun. Because they’re like bugs, something I can toy with however I want just by touching them.
Look at this stupid mess.
They’re all just scrambling to save their own lives. If there’s something they want to do, they have to do it even if it kills them. All those pretty words your jujutsushi love to throw around—protecting life, love, all that nonsense—mean nothing.
It was a childish statement, more faithful to instinct than anything else.
Even if they had expected it, the logic hit with such violence that everyone facing Mahito was left speechless.
“I’m doing it because I want to. Just like you save people. Don’t go looking for a reason. Ah, Junpei probably understands that better than anyone?”
“I do. I understand it all too well.”
At the cold voice from behind him, everyone’s gaze converged on one place.
At last, Junpei, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.
“Because you taught me. That everything in this world is meaningless, so it’s fine to live however I want.”
“You still remember that?”
“Yeah. So just like you said, I killed that aralia curse. I can’t even remember its name properly.”
The grin on Mahito’s face cracked just a little.
He was still smiling, but a different emotion had seeped into the expression.
Junpei’s mouth slowly curled upward, certain he had struck the enemy’s reverse scale.
“What, are you angry? A guy who didn’t even care when he was killing humans, a guy who said everything was meaningless, gets pissed because one weak little comrade died?”
“Interesting. Have you always been this good with words?”
“That just proves you’re forcing it. Meaning doesn’t exist on its own. People give it meaning. You, born from the ugliest side of humanity, deny that with your mouth while still feeling camaraderie? You look ridiculous.”
“Don’t look for consistency in me, Junpei. You said you were disappointed in humans, but you gave your heart to your mother and to Itadori Yuji too, didn’t you?”
“True. We’ll probably hate each other for the rest of our lives. I know you too well, and you know me too well.”
The more they understood each other, the less they could sympathize.
In that case, all that remains is a fight to curse each other.
“Mei! Yuji!”
“I’m going!”
As soon as the signal dropped, the three of them formed a pincer formation and charged at Mahito.
Yuji, whose body was unaffected by Mahito’s technique, took the front line, while Mei Mei and Junpei struck and withdrew. They couldn’t summon the Bird Strike in a place this crowded, but the other side had its Domain sealed because of Yuji, so it was a fight they could take.
They didn’t know what the bastard’s goal was, but if they exorcised him here, that would be enough.
They’d finish this quickly before the casualties could grow any worse.
Clicking his tongue as he watched them rush in, Mahito opened his mouth wide and spat out the transfigured humans he had stored inside his body.
It was a shame to lose his stock, but he could replenish it at the next station whenever he wanted.
What he absolutely couldn’t do was conserve power here in some half-baked way and end up having it grab him by the ankle.
In his open palm, several souls merged together and began to reject one another.
Because of their tendency to push each other away, the lump of flesh, which had been the size of a soccer ball, exploded outward and ballooned in an instant.
[Multiple Souls] - [Repulsion]
KWA-GA-GA-GA-GAK!
Thanks to the sheer number of transfigured humans he had poured out, the mass of flesh filled the entire staircase side of the platform without leaving a gap.
Crushed by the overwhelming mass, the sorcerers were naturally forced back, and in that opening Mahito lightly tapped the necks of several passengers who had not yet boarded the train.
Leaving the transfigured humans to chase after those who had broken through the pressure of Repulsion, Mahito leapt onto the last car of the train.
“Mahito!! Stop right there!!!”
“Sorry, but the fight will have to wait until next time. If you’re lucky, maybe we’ll meet again in Shibuya.”
Even as he was buried under transfigured humans, Junpei struggled desperately to break free, and Mahito waved at him.
“Bird Strike.”
BOOM!
“Oops, that might have been a little dangerous.”
Mahito blocked Mei Mei’s crow’s suicide attack by using the surrounding non-sorcerers as shields.
Junpei barely managed to climb onto the platform and give chase, but the accelerating train was already pulling away.
He also didn’t forget to use Idle Transfiguration to drop the passengers he’d transformed one by one, slowing Junpei down even more.
“Aaaaaaah!!!!”
With Junpei’s furious scream, surrounded by winged transfigured humans, Mahito completely left Meiji-Jingumae Station behind.
After confirming there were no more pursuers, he opened the door and stepped into the train car full of people.
The passengers, panicked by the terror of the transfigured humans, were all trembling, and some of them could see Mahito.
But no one had the courage to move.
“Now then, shall we get to work in earnest?”
-----------------------------------
21:14.
The train departing from Tokyo Metro Meiji-Jingumae Station approached Shibuya Station.
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