Chapter 136 ⟴ Yotsuba's Disbelief

In the spacious shōgi room, Rina and Machi were hiding in the back.

Floating in front of Nino was a weak Evil Spirit with twisted limbs. No larger than a dwarf, it resembled a creepy middle-aged man.

These weak Evil Spirits lacked intelligence and the ability to possess. They merely wandered dark corners, driven by base instincts.

They served as basic targets for Nino's training as a Jujutsu Sorcerer.

"Go for it, Sister Nino!" Ai clenched her little fists, cheering on the nervous girl.

Sensing Daiki's terrifying pressure, the trembling Evil Spirit roared repeatedly, trying to frighten Nino away.

"Huff—" She slowly exhaled.

Nino channeled the Cursed Energy within her body and threw a punch.

۞ Black Flash! ۞

Bang!

The black flash erupted.

The weak Evil Spirit, unable to dodge, took the black lightning head-on, its ethereal body shattering into fragments!

۞ Black Flash! ۞

In one fluid motion, Nino darted forward and unleashed a spinning kick, channeling another Black Flash that obliterated the Evil Spirit's head.

Such fierce speed and extraordinary strength — these superhuman abilities made Machi envious.

The Kōhai Trio girls marveled at Nino's agility.

Standing outside the shōgi room, Mai Zen'in stood frozen.

{T/N: It was Mai all this time. Sorry... this Author is really confusing.}

'A Black Flash? That technique Jujutsu Sorcerers can't use at will — how is she kicking it out so effortlessly?' The impossible scene left her mind reeling.

Even regular Jujutsu Sorcerers could barely manage to punch out a Black Flash. Yet this girl had not only produced one with ease but delivered it through a kick.

This couldn't be mere coincidence!

Mai's gaze fell directly on Daiki.

She recalled the livestream where Special Grade 1 Sorcerer Ogi Zen'in was struck by scattered black lightning from a Black Flash. Even that indirect hit had completely shattered him.

The Kyoto Jujutsu Sorcerers watching the livestream had dismissed it as coincidence, but now it was clear — he had mastered Black Flash perfectly.

Not only had he mastered it himself, but he could teach others to master it too — something previously thought impossible.

'If I could master Black Flash perfectly, what would sister think? I could finally crush her at her own game.' A dangerous light flickered in Mai's eyes.

Though most of the Zen'in family grudges had faded, she still yearned to teach her sister a lesson for abandoning her. But with her current strength alone, that remained impossible.

Maki Zen'in possessed a Heavenly Restriction, giving her potential nearly identical to the former Curse User Tōji Fushiguro.

Yet she couldn't become a Special Grade Sorcerer like him for one reason: they were twins, originally one being. By the Jujutsu World's rules, as long as Mai lived, her sister's Cursed Energy could never reach zero.

This meant Maki would never equal Tōji.

'I can't let this opportunity slip away again.' Mai's eyes flickered as she remembered her previous mistake.

One wrong word had cost her chance at revenge. If Daiki had been in a fouler mood, it might have cost her life.

In the shōgi room, Nino's Black Flash had exorcised the Evil Spirit.

While Miku and Yotsuba offered their congratulations, internally they wondered about this change.

After all, Nino was usually preoccupied with face masks and cosmetics. These high-difficulty spinning kicks seemed completely out of character.

'Come to think of it, when was the last time Nino used any cosmetics?' Miku realized her sister hadn't used face masks in quite a while.

She'd abandoned not only her daily face masks but all cosmetics. Though puzzling, Miku hadn't investigated further.

But Yotsuba took a different approach, glancing between Nino and Ichika.

Nino looked perfectly calm, as if destroying Evil Spirits was routine. Even Ichika's expression remained unchanged, as though she'd expected everything.

This reminded Yotsuba of the incident with the two Mikus.

'Could Daiki-kun's ability have other applications?' Sensing something amiss, Yotsuba felt an urgent need to discuss her theories with Itsuki.

The events of last night had left her thoughts in chaos. Looking back now, she realized she shouldn't have let Daiki's words affect her so deeply!

How cunning of him!

Yotsuba puffed her cheeks and glanced at Itsuki, but something strange caught her attention.

'Why is Itsuki so calm? Even Miku looks confused, but Itsuki shows no reaction at all... It's as if she knew about this from the beginning!' A chill ran down Yotsuba's spine as she studied her sister's profile.

Then, a memory flashed through her mind.

One of Miku's silhouettes seemed to merge with Itsuki's!

'No way! Could one of the two Mikus from before have actually been Itsuki in disguise?'

Goosebumps spread across her entire body.

Yotsuba's heart sank as she remembered confiding all her suspicions to Itsuki. If that had really been her in disguise, then she had walked right into their trap.

Before she could pursue this thought further, Benio Adashino entered the shōgi room.

"I am Benio Adashino from the Bureau of Onmyō. Thank you so much for your help earlier — without it, I might have remained trapped in the Magano, unable to return to reality." The rescued girl said respectfully.

"It's nothing, I just helped out. Besides, the Magano's Impurities abandoned their invasion on their own — it didn't have much to do with my intervention."

Daiki's modest words were naturally not taken at face value by Benio.

Rina was about to speak when his phone rang.

"Ah, Suguru Getō. By my calculations, the grimoire should be back by now."

The caller was Suguru, who had just returned to the Chiba area.

"I have some matters to handle here. Should I head back first?"

Looking at the night sky outside, Miku and the others decided it was time to return.

"Why don't I escort everyone back? The Inspector General still has business to attend to — let me handle these small matters." Mai offered eagerly, awaiting their response.

Though the Spatial Transference technique would make the return journey instantaneous, they couldn't refuse Mai's earnest offer to help.

"Then we'll trouble you!"

Understanding that Daiki had pressing matters, Miku and the others accepted Mai's offer to avoid delaying him further.

Daiki nodded in acknowledgment before teleporting away.

"If you don't mind, I can escort everyone as well." Benio offered to Mrs. Izumi and the Kōhai Trio, who quickly nodded their agreement.

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Meanwhile, Suguru had returned to the Star Religious Shrine headquarters.

The tablet in his hand was indeed the one gifted by the Immortal Witch of Sardinia.

The moment he sent the message, a figure materialized beside him.

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