Chapter 5: The Usage Method of the Third Bullet (Combined Chapter)

"It should be around here."

Late at night, in a corner of Saitama Prefecture.

As the sun had set, the once bustling city during the day gradually fell into slumber, with only a few neon-lit night markets still exuding lively energy.

On an unremarkable bridge, Tokisaki Kurumi stood, wearing a fox mask that concealed the upper half of her face and a shoulder-exposing dress of red and black. She gazed at the nearly dried-up river below.

Matching the scene with the hazy memory in her mind, she confirmed that this was the place she was looking for. Then, with a light leap, Tokisaki Kurumi jumped down from the dozens of meters high overpass.

Controlling her spirit power, she landed softly without making a sound.

"It took me the entire day, but I finally found it."

After looking around to ensure no one was around, Tokisaki Kurumi walked toward the nearly dried-up riverbed.

This was the site of the Eighty-Eight Bridge, a cursed place hiding one of Sukuna fingers.

In the original story, the main characters, aiming to train through actual combat, accepted a mission to exorcise a cursed spirit. Following clues, they arrived at this place and eventually discovered the hidden Sukuna finger.

At this point in the timeline, Yuji Itadori had only just swallowed one of Sukuna fingers, and the plot hadn't progressed to this location yet. Therefore, the finger lost here still remained unclaimed.

Tokisaki Kurumi had spent the entire day searching throughout Saitama Prefecture to locate this site.

But she couldn't be blamed for that.

Even though she had harvested a large amount of time last night and summoned many clones, with their help, it still wasn't easy to find a place whose name she had forgotten.

After all, even if she was a transmigrator, her memory wasn't so exceptional that she could remember the exact location of every quest or dungeon.

"But even if I found it earlier, it wouldn't have made a difference."

Glancing at the deep night sky, Tokisaki Kurumi murmured to herself, "One of the conditions to enter the barrier is nighttime."

Though it was unclear why one of Sukuna fingers had ended up lost here, the fact that it hadn't been found by the jujutsu world for so long wasn't just due to luck.

Even though it was only one of twenty fingers, a Sukuna finger had the ability to autonomously construct a barrier and conceal its presence.

To enter the barrier here, three conditions needed to be met:

It must be nighttime, one must come beneath the bridge, and cross the water channel.

Without hesitation, Tokisaki Kurumi stepped over the faint stream that still trickled across the riverbed.

"Buzz…"

In the next moment, a strange sensation washed over her.

As her boots crossed the stream and stepped onto the ground, the scenery before her eyes instantly changed.

The dried riverbed, the surrounding trees, and the Eighty-Eight Bridge behind her were all replaced in a flash by a new landscape.

Tokisaki Kurumi found herself inside a cave-like place.

The cave was wide and deep, with peculiar holes growing all along the rock walls. Although the dampness of soil could be felt, there wasn't a single weed or wildflower present—nor even the slightest sign of life.

Though there was no presence of living beings, the aura of cursed spirits was abundant.

With Tokisaki Kurumi intrusion, the deathly still cave seemed to activate some mechanism, and the sound of scratching and skittering echoed from all directions.

"Bang!"

A cursed spirit resembling a mole burst out from a hole above Kurumi head.

"Bang!"

Without even raising her head, Tokisaki Kurumi aimed her long flintlock rifle upward and pulled the trigger.

The weak cursed spirit was pierced by a spirit power bullet before it could even attack and turned into pure cursed energy, vanishing instantly.

But soon, more mole-like cursed spirits emerged from holes all around, densely packed and disturbingly numerous.

"In terms of numbers, I've never been afraid of anyone."

Chuckling softly, Tokisaki Kurumi stomped her boots hard. "Come out, O me!"

As she summoned, her shadow stretched long and thin, as if it had come to life.

In the next moment, more versions of Tokisaki Kurumi emerged from the darkness.

They were all clones created by the Eighth Bullet—just like the one she had sent to contact Yuji Itadori and the others.

Though they couldn't use Zafkiel, even using only flintlock rifles against these Grade 3 cursed spirits was like blasting mosquitoes with cannons.

Countless black gun barrels pointed at the mole cursed spirits crawling out of the holes.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang——!"

No command was needed. The main body and the clones acted in perfect synchrony, pulling their triggers simultaneously.

Crisp gunshots rang out without pause. The very first volley of bullets wiped out over 80% of the mole cursed spirits.

"Boom boom boom boom——!"

The speed at which they were exorcised seemed to have startled some greater presence, and the entire cave began to tremble.

As if receiving a command, the cannon-fodder cursed spirits—used to probe the intruder's strength—quickly retreated back into their holes.

Not far away, at the top of the cave, a hole larger than the others suddenly opened.

From it, a black egg slowly descended.

"You choose not to run but approach me instead?"

Tokisaki Kurumi lips curled into a smirk as she stared with interest at the newly appeared black egg.

Of course, she knew what it was.

Ever since Yuji Itadori swallowed a Sukuna finger, all the unsealed Sukuna fingers across the country had started to exhibit abnormalities.

Originally inert objects, they had begun to show signs of awakening, attracting surrounding cursed spirits to devour them.

Humans who swallowed Sukuna fingers would be assimilated by Sukuna.

But cursed spirits that devoured them would transform into the same form—black eggs.

After this egg hatched, another powerful special-grade cursed spirit would appear in the human world.

This particular special-grade had clearly not yet been fully born. Even the weakest jujutsu sorcerer could kill it if they broke through its defense.

However, even with only a limited intelligence, the special-grade cursed spirit wasn't dumb enough to seek death.

The pure cursed energy released by the slaughtered mole spirits was being drawn into the egg like a whale gulping water, speeding up its hatching.

"Crack…"

With a faint breaking sound, cracks appeared on the upper half of the egg.

The fractures spread like spider webs. Not long after, two pale arms suddenly burst out, shattering the top half of the egg.

And so, the bizarre cursed spirit incubated within appeared before Tokisaki Kurumi and her clones.

A forcibly catalyzed, half-hatched special-grade cursed spirit, its eyes—filled with hatred and murderous intent—locked directly onto Tokisaki Kurumi main body.

Though it lacked legs, its immense cursed energy propelled its body like a cannonball straight at her.

Even though it had just been born and wasn't fully hatched, this brute-force strike at full power was enough to crush even a Grade 1 sorcerer with poor defense into mush on the spot!

But Tokisaki Kurumi didn't move a step, nor did she show any intent to dodge.

The rage in the cursed spirit's eyes deepened, and it was already just a breath away from reaching her when Kurumi simply raised her hand.

However, the expected scene of the woman being blown to bloody pieces didn't happen.

A faint, translucent barrier appeared around her, blocking the attack entirely.

"Though it's just the lowest-grade Astral Dress, it's not something a half-baked special-grade like you can break."

A mocking smile tugged at the corners of Tokisaki Kurumi lips.

Her lofty, condescending attitude made the cursed spirit even more furious—but deep inside, it began to feel fear.

After devouring the Sukuna finger, it had gained intelligence surpassing beasts but still below that of an average human.

Even animals knew how to avoid danger. Of course, it understood the concept too.

But just as it began to retreat, Tokisaki Kurumi suddenly lifted her leg and lashed out like a whip.

The sharp strike of her long leg sent the cursed spirit flying, crashing through several stone pillars before it finally came to a halt.

That slender woman... actually possessed such terrifying strength within her?!

With just a single move, the special-grade cursed spirit realized the vast gap between them. It immediately gave up on attacking and prepared to escape into the cave.

Although the environment looked like a cave, in reality, it was its domain.

An incomplete domain.

A domain was the greatest trump card for both jujutsu sorcerers and cursed spirits. Those capable of using a domain were extremely rare, like a phoenix feather or a unicorn horn.

However, after devouring Sukuna finger, as long as it could fully hatch and master the power of the finger, it would easily obtain its own domain.

Within a domain, the domain's owner was the absolute ruler, with complete authority over life and death.

Because inside their own domain, every attack carries an unavoidable hit property.

Although it currently couldn't use its domain to attack, escaping within its own domain would still be effortless.

It definitely wasn't qualified to fight this woman right now. It could only wait until it was fully hatched before seeking revenge against her!

"Wait until you're fully hatched, then come back to seek revenge against me… Is that what you were thinking?"

Just as the thought of escaping surfaced and before it could even act, Tokisaki Kurumi voice suddenly rang out beside its ear.

The special-grade cursed spirit abruptly looked up, horrified to find that even though it had just been kicked dozens of meters away, Tokisaki Kurumi was still standing right in front of it.

What terrified it even more was that, beneath it, pale arms were emerging from the shadows, binding it tightly in place, rendering it completely immobile.

"Zafkiel."

With Kurumi invocation, a golden Roman clock imbued with the weight of time appeared behind her.

"Third Bullet."

From the position of number three on the giant clock, wisps of black smoke flowed out and poured into her short flintlock rifle.

"Ten-round burst."

As the ability bullets formed, ten Third Bullets fired from the gun barrel, undoubtedly piercing into the body of the special-grade cursed spirit.

Its body began to tremble violently.

Not just its upper body—even its yet-unhatched lower half was affected.

At the same time, with the injection of the ten Third Bullets, its not-yet-fully-hatched lower half suddenly split open rapidly.

But its evolution didn't stop there. After complete hatching, its aura continued to rise sharply. The pitch-black cursed energy almost solidified into substance, making it even more terrifying.

Even the surrounding scenery began to twist and distort little by little.

Feeling the changes in itself, the cursed spirit that had just been struggling and full of fear was now filled with ecstasy.

Although it didn't know what had happened, the attack just now hadn't killed it—instead, it had made it several times stronger!

Now that it had gained power far greater than before, the special-grade cursed spirit let out a ferocious grin and looked at Tokisaki Kurumi once again.

However, what caused its expression to freeze was that Kurumi smile hadn't changed in the slightest.

As if its transformation had been completely within her expectations.

A sense of foreboding welled up in the cursed spirit's heart. It broke free from the arms binding it, jumped into the distance, and began cautiously observing Kurumi like a beast, trying to figure out her tricks.

In truth, its transformation had indeed been within Tokisaki Kurumi expectations.

Each of Zafkiel twelve ability bullets had its own distinct power—some were impractical, while others were quite useful.

The Third Bullet was among the most impractical.

Because its ability was to help the target it hit grow.

In the world of Bungou Stray Dogs, she had never used the Third Bullet even once.

However, even the most impractical ability of Zafkiel was still part of Zafkiel power. And now, this was the perfect opportunity to make use of the Third Bullet.

Her purpose for coming to Yasohachi Bridge tonight wasn't to retrieve Sukuna finger—but to complete a side mission.

Side Mission 1: Exorcise special-grade cursed spirits. The more exorcised, the higher the final evaluation rating.

But special-grade cursed spirits weren't that easy to come across, and it was even rarer to know exactly where to find one.

And now, thanks to her use of the Third Bullet, this half-baked special-grade cursed spirit had truly become a genuine special-grade cursed spirit.

Not only had it fully hatched, it had also gained complete control over its domain.

Before battling top-tier sorcerers like Satoru Gojo or Ryomen Sukuna, she wanted to first experience fighting a domain user within their domain. That was one of her goals for coming here today.

"Well then, now that you've become stronger, you may come and fight me."

Tokisaki Kurumi slowly stepped back, gradually sinking into the shadows.

And in the spot where she had originally been standing, a clone emerged from the shadows to take her place.

There was still too much she didn't know about domains.

So she had no intention of personally fighting a cursed spirit capable of using a domain.

Always sending in her real body wasn't Tokisaki Kurumi true style.

The true Tokisaki Kurumi battle style had always been to use clones to test the waters, rarely going in herself unless she had seen a clear path to victory.

In the world of Bungou Stray Dogs, the reason she hadn't received an S-rank evaluation was most likely because she personally handled too many things.

So in this world, she had no intention of repeating the same mistake.