Closing...

"HOLLOW PURPLE!"

The purple sphere surged forward, devouring everything in its path, space twisting violently in its wake.

Mei Mei and Itadori sprinted through the forest, staying out of range of the devastating mass. Itadori gritted his teeth under the weight of Todo on his back.

The Shikigami stood with menacing grace, tilting its head in amusement.

Its body glowed crimson, the residual heat boiling the air like asphalt on a scorching day. The ground beneath its feet melted away.

WOOSH!!

The Shikigami vanished, evading Gojo's path of destruction and his strongest technique.

Gojo's diamond-blue eyes dilated in shock at the sheer speed of the Shikigami. Hollow Purple left an empty void trailing in its wake, erasing everything in its path.

"What...?" Gojo muttered.

Speed?

No, that wasn't all there was to it. Gojo analyzed.

You see, Zankei commands two types of Shikigami—both serving the same purpose but with vastly different applications.

Aside from its absurd physical prowess, this Shikigami was imbued with Zankei's cursed technique, Kubigari.

Themosticles, an ancient Shikigami of remarkable intelligence for a being of its kind, had applied Zankei's mastery of heat manipulation. Not to resist Hollow Purple, but to exploit thermal distortion and spatial pressure for a split-second advantage, just enough to redirect its own body out of the attack's linear path.

Extreme localized heat bends space ever so slightly, and that fractional deviation was all Themosticles needed to slip away just before the erasure wave struck.

Gojo narrowed his eyes at the new position of the Shikigami.

"I see you..." He clapped his hands together and teleported instantly to its location.

The cost of such intense application of Zankei's technique had significantly drained Themosticles' cursed energy reserves, but the Shikigami showed no fear.

Gojo approached the monstrous figure, beads of sweat forming on his forehead from its overwhelming cursed energy signature. The surrounding trees began turning red from the heat.

"You're one intelligent creature, aren't ya?" Gojo mused. But before he could reach it—

A pool of liquid shadow materialized beneath Themosticles' feet, dragging him away from Gojo's grasp.

"Hesitated too much, dammit."

---

Elsewhere, deep within the underground network beneath Jujutsu Tech High, a rendezvous.

A cursed user whistled out of boredom, idly swinging his katana through the air, until the ground suddenly shook with a violent rumble.

CRASH!

"Huh!?" He jolted at the sound, watching debris collapse as Hanami stumbled in, battered, bruised, and barely standing. His body, though regenerating, bore deep wounds from his brutal encounter.

The cursed user licked his lips, thrilled by the sight.

"Ah, how vulnerable and fragile you look right now~" he taunted.

Thud!

Hanami collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

"How pitiful. I should end your suffering," the man mocked, raising his katana—

Tap!

"Don't even think about it, alright?"

Mahito appeared behind him, a hand on his shoulder.

"Help him up, and know your place," Mahito said coldly, his voice devoid of its usual playful tone.

"A-ah, r-right!" The man stammered, rushing to assist Hanami.

Mahito suddenly turned, sensing a presence behind him. Kenjaku and Arata emerged from the shadows, walking toward him.

"Mahito, I take it you're done with the extraction?" Kenjaku asked calmly.

"Yeah. Slipping past the security and managers was a real task," Mahito grumbled.

"A task for you? I thought you'd just kill them all," Kenjaku replied with a faint smirk.

Mahito shrugged, then gagged suddenly as his throat bulged.

"Blegh!"

A scroll of mummified fingers fell to the ground.

"Good. But that's not all… right?" Kenjaku asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Mahito waved him off. His torso split open like a cupboard, revealing nine mummified toes.

"Brilliant." Kenjaku picked up the cursed remains carefully.

"So now that the operation is over, what's next?" Mahito tilted his head.

Kenjaku smiled faintly.

"Something this body has done before, Suguru Geto's plan. But this time, for an entirely different objective."

He tugged the stitches around his head.

"The sealing of Satoru Gojo."

Mahito grinned.

"I see… He's been a major figure in Jujutsu society, and a very annoying obstacle."

"Yes. But this time, we have a massive advantage. When it comes to manpower, we have him." Kenjaku pointed at Arata, who was chewing on a page from a science textbook.

Mahito blinked.

"You mean this kid?"

"No, Zankei Kubigari. Though his host has been improving…"

"Interesting." Mahito's eyes glimmered with intrigue as he scanned Arata's soul with envious curiosity.

"But… why the hell is the kid eating pages out of a textbook?"

Arata pointed at himself.

"Oh, me? I dunno. He told me to. Said if I want to do something for him, I gotta eat book pages… Does that make me weird?"

"It definitely does," Mahito sang in a playful tune, skipping away.

"Arata, be so kind and switch with Zankei," Kenjaku requested.

Arata rubbed his chin.

"I dunno… He's been plotting something ever since we got here, and he does NOT like being disturbed. Last time I brought him out, I got my head chopped off…"

Kenjaku sighed.

"I see. Try convincing him anyway."

"Oh, he can already hear you. He's basically here, but not at the same time." Arata shivered.

---

Meanwhile, inside Zankei's innate domain…

He sat cross-legged on the floor, reading scattered pages of a book.

"I see… So this is the true essence of heat and its definition," he muttered.

Suddenly, a surge of information flooded his mind. Memories of countless encounters and theories verified in a single moment.

"Very good," Zankei nodded to himself.

"Themosticles did an exquisite job with Gojo. Just as I thought, my theories hold true."

He rose to his feet, a spark of flame hovering over his hand, illuminating the domain.

"It's only a matter of time before I behead you."

He gathered the papers neatly, his study of thermodynamics complete.

"HEY!" A boisterous voice echoed.

Zankei didn't turn around. He raised his hand, releasing a plasma slash behind him.

"Go away."

"HEY! What the hell was that for!?" The voice returned, this time from another angle.

Zankei turned slowly, his expression flat, facing Arata.

"Huh… What do you want, ginger-head?"

"We're both ginger-heads!" Arata pouted. "Anyway, the crew brought back the cursed objects."

"I see. So?" Zankei replied disinterestedly.

"So? Don't those pieces of corpses help you… like, increase your strength or something?"

"Strength is one thing. How you use it is another. Cursed energy reserves help in the long run, but control and refinement determine whether you're special, or just another guy who can see curses.

In layman's terms, strength is common. Control is rare. Anyone can hold a blade—only few can wield it without cutting themselves open."

He flicked another page into the flame.

"Reserves mean nothing if you're stupid."

"Is that so?" Arata muttered, fidgeting with the edge of his uniform.

Zankei observed him. His golden orbs for iris glinting.

"You look different."

Arata froze, then forced a playful tone.

"What's this? You noticing people's feelings now?"

"Still hung up about that little… encounter?" Zankei asked, walking back to his throne of skulls.

"What if I said I am?"

"Then I'd say you're not unhinged enough. Not crazy enough. Not abnormal enough."

"And what the hell does that mean?"

"To be a sorcerer, you need those traits. It means you're still pretending. Normal people die fast in this world. Monsters survive. Which do you want to be?"

"I can't go back to normal, can I?" Arata said clenching his fist.

"No." Zankei said with a flat tone.

"It'll only get worse?"

"Depends."

"Zankei… did you ever consider yourself a good person?"

Zankei scratched his neck subtly, lowering his head.

"No. I'm not."

"How bad?"

"You'd vomit if I told you. Every good intention rots. Every excuse I made became another corpse. But…" His eyes narrowed, sharp and unblinking. "…I've never felt more free."

Arata chuckled bitterly.

"I think I'm the biggest hypocrite ever. Don't you agree?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've been okay with you doing the most despicable things, destruction, killing. But when I committed that… murder… I felt disgusted with myself."

"Hypocrisy is just honesty in denial. Stop denying, and you'll stop suffering, or It'll only get worse," Zankei replied flatly.

Arata fell silent, his pupils trembling.

"Remember why you started this, Arata."

SHUT!!