Things Change

The pressure from Hisagi's energy exploded momentarily, releasing a small fraction of his full power.

Crack!

Hisagi's body remained still, and his gaze focused solely on the monster in front of him. Just as the cursed spirit, a class-four spirit nearing class-three strength, was about to strike him, Hisagi's figure instantly became a residual image.

Boom!

The massive body of the cursed spirit smashed through a concrete wall. Dust and fragments of the wall flew across the school hallway, covering the large body of the monster.

"Just one physical hit..."

The monster twisted its head in confusion. The young man before it clearly lacked cursed energy, yet he had managed to dodge the attack. The cursed spirit, confident in killing its prey, found itself unable to react in time.

It's common for the forces of the main Jujutsu sorcerer schools and cursed spirits to clash against each other, as they have for thousands of years.

But humans without cursed energy are merely their prey—defenseless and unable to resist their power. Yet that ordinary boy had vanished from the monster's sight in the blink of an eye.

The dense eyes of the cursed spirit scanned the area, trying to locate the boy. Suddenly, a mocking voice echoed in its ears.

"Are you looking for me?"

That voice sounded like the devil's babble from hell, causing the low-class cursed spirit, which should have been incapable of feeling, to involuntarily shudder.

"I can clean it up! Yes, it's not my fault; it's dirty."

Class-four cursed spirits can only express their resentment through actions. They never spoke—that's what Hisagi had learned from Aoki.

"If it can speak, it shouldn't be a class-four spirit. Maybe it's reaching class three. Should I investigate further?"

Crack!

"No, a waste of time." Hisagi pushed his Shunpo to its limit and, in an instant, appeared above the cursed spirit's head. His fingers slid along the purple hilt of his sword, and in a flash, he unsheathed it.

The cursed spirit appeared to be searching for its prey, perhaps thinking of the new, delicious meal it could savor.

Boom!!!

But in just a few seconds, the class-four cursed spirit retracted its enormous hand, smashing its head in rage.

The black, violent wind from the spirit's strike shattered windows and shook the building, but it didn't move Hisagi. Without blinking, Hisagi unsheathed his sword, and the blade shot toward its target using a technique he had learned called Hitotsume Nadegiri.

Clang!

Boom!

As the cursed spirit roared, Hisagi used the technique to deliver a precise strike with extreme force and speed, capable of slicing through large objects, even through 'iron.'

In that moment, when Hisagi's sword met the cursed spirit's hard, robust body, the cut was so clean that the spirit took a moment to react. In an instant, along with Hisagi's attack, a terrifying sensation exploded. Though the cut shouldn't have done much damage, it ended up tearing down walls and creating a massive crater in the building.

Boom!

The cursed spirit, despite its powerful body, had no time to counterattack.

The next moment, the class-four cursed spirit with its large body fell to the ground, split in two, rapidly withering. The numerous dark eyes that once shone with life lost their color. Silence reigned.

But just then, a swarm of worm-like cursed spirits began emerging from the corners of the hallway, and Hisagi responded with overwhelming force.

Senmaioroshi!

"Thousand-page strike!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In a fraction of a second, the second sword technique Hisagi had learned during his spare time revealed its full power. This technique unleashed a barrage of rapid strikes so fast they could shred the target to pieces.

As the cursed spirits swarmed toward Hisagi, his sword ripped through them, leaving only ashes as flames consumed their bodies.

*Congratulations on sending numerous cursed spirits to their eternal rest. You have obtained the 'Bakudo: Way of Binding' book with 99 Kido spells!

*You have repeatedly killed weakened class-four cursed spirits. You have earned +700 soul points!

"Demonic arts?"

After catching his breath, Hisagi was surprised to receive a new item. Since making his connection with his sword a long time ago, it was only recently that he could use it. Now, after all these years, he had obtained a book of cursed spells, which greatly surprised him.

However, there wasn't time to review such rewards. "Not much longer."

Hisagi's face reflected cold determination.

Around him, the corpses of cursed spirits slowly accumulated, burning in special flames that granted him soul points.

In the midst of these battles, Hisagi sharpened his attacks, each strike growing more refined.

At the same time, in the stillness of the darkness, Hisagi's senses stretched out and a deadly strike flew toward his chest. His thin clothing was torn, revealing a chest that was only slightly reddened by the impact.

In that instant, Hisagi could only brace for the blow, but numerous tentacles emerged from the darkness, aiming at him. With an intense expression, Hisagi retaliated.

Boom!

The tentacles exploded under the force of his attack, shattering the body of the cursed spirit.

Arrr!

"Ah ah ah oh oh oh!" The cursed spirit let out a painful scream, fear filling its eyes.

After striking the cursed spirit's chest with tremendous force, it fell to the ground, dead within seconds. Hisagi lifted a glowing purple finger from the ground. "A special-class cursed object?"

Just one finger was enough to create a powerful, special-class cursed spirit, indicating how formidable the original spirit must have been.

"What should I do?" Hisagi wondered. Just then, a white figure appeared in front of him, throwing a punch toward his body.

Crash!

The powerful impact was strong enough to force Hisagi to raise his sheathed sword in front of his chest to reduce the blow. At the same time, the purple finger fell to the ground.

Boom!

Unable to withstand the surprise attack, Hisagi was sent flying, creating a large crack in the ground.

…

At the other end of the school, at that very moment, Maki, Toge, and Panda rushed toward the source of the immense cursed energy and an incredible anomaly.

Boom!

"There seem to be two pressures from cursed spirits, and one of them feels completely different. We must hurry before it's too late," Maki shouted, gripping her spear tightly.

But just as Maki was about to rush in, she saw two students—a boy and a girl—fleeing the staircase in panic, tears streaming from their eyes.

"Help! There's someone else inside the school!" The panic-stricken tears in Aiko's eyes wouldn't stop, and after escaping the school, she collapsed on the ground.

"What's going on?" Panda knew that if another human was still inside, they would be dead by now.

"I… I don't know. Go upstairs and rescue him. There are terrible monsters in there," Aiko said, trembling in fear.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, the ground shook, and two massive explosions echoed throughout the school. Debris and dust flew everywhere, creating an oppressive atmosphere.

"You stay here and take care of them. I'll go upstairs and see what's happening." Panda quickly ascended the stairs. If any ordinary person were still alive, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

Indeed, when Panda reached the other side of the building, the destruction was immense. He saw numerous collapsed walls and rubble everywhere, leaving him stunned. What had happened here? But his eyes locked onto a repugnant-looking cursed spirit. Still, there were no traces of the boy mentioned.

"Have they eaten him?" That was Maki's first thought upon arriving, but then she noticed two blurry figures moving at high speed through the cracks in the walls.

"Is someone else fighting a cursed spirit?"

"Do we have backup?"

Crack!

"Damn it!" Panda couldn't afford any distractions, as the situation was more complicated than he had imagined. He stretched his arms, and in an instant, his body's proportions shifted.

Maki swiftly wielded her spear, launching numerous attacks that wiped out a dozen cursed spirits. Then she shouted, "Toge, we need to set up the barrier."

"Salchicha con queso." Toge gestured with his hand and then closed his eyes, successfully casting the spell.