The waitress was the first to move.
She instinctively hurried toward the entrance while reassuring them, “Don’t worry, customers.
It’s probably just a bunch of drunks causing trouble.” Just as she was about to open the door, Makoto quickly called out, “Wait!
Don’t open it!” The waitress looked back in confusion.
Makoto’s expression turned serious.
“Trust me.
Don’t open that door.
Just stay quietly inside.
That’s the best choice right now.” The waitress swallowed hard, then slowly nodded and backed away.
She glanced toward the kitchen.
“If something really does happen out there, you two should hide in the storage room with me.
The door is very sturdy, so we should be safe inside.” Makoto nodded as though he agreed.
Sakiko leaned halfway across the table and whispered, “Has it started?
What do we do?” “We chill.” Sakiko immediately glared at him.
“You can still joke at a time like this?” Makoto shrugged.
“I’m a Jujutsu Sorcerer.
I can sense the flow of Cursed Energy.
This place is still relatively safe.
Once it stops being safe, we’ll leave.” Only then did Sakiko relax and settle back into her seat.
She held her coffee between both hands.
The cappuccino that had once been pleasantly warm slowly turned cold as time passed.
Anxiety, fear, and even despair began spreading through her again.
Strange motes of light started appearing across the surface of her body.
Seeing this, Makoto teased, “This is actually a good chance to practice controlling your power.
Think of it as training for the fighting later.” Sakiko shot him an irritated look but obediently did as he suggested.
For the moment, the café fell quiet.
…
Chen Guohao’s group wasn’t nearly as fortunate.
Although they were also near the edge of the barrier, their building stood much closer to one of Shibuya’s main streets.
The subway entrances opened like the jaws of abyssal beasts, swallowing the humans fleeing through the streets.
Those who escaped screamed as they fled into side alleys, desperately pounding on every door they passed.
Naturally, that included the door to Chen’s building.
Under Chen’s orders, the group remained completely silent and pretended no one was inside.
Unfortunately, the dense crowd attracted Cursed Spirits and Transfigured Humans.
Screams rang out one after another.
Many people witnessed ordinary humans suddenly burst apart before their eyes, spraying blood across the pavement.
The horrific spectacle shattered the sanity of the urban crowd.
Terrified people began desperately ramming themselves against every nearby building, trying to force their way inside.
A rock smashed through the window of Chen’s room.
A large hand immediately reached through the shattered glass and tried to unlock the window from inside.
Chen glanced at Jack.
Pale-faced, Jack grabbed a stool and smashed it down on the reaching arm, forcing the person outside to retreat.
But with screams continuing outside and blood splattering across the windows, the group was inevitably dragged into the battlefield.
Chen drew his revolver and began issuing orders.
“Everyone, prepare to fight.
Kobayashi Yuu, watch for enemies.
Jack, strap that round table to your back and use it as a shield.” “Everyone else, give all your cash to Li Huizhen.
We need to test how effective her Talent is.” “If Cash Bullet works well enough, I’ll take you somewhere we can get more physical currency.” Park Jeong-ho instinctively asked, “Where?” Chen answered viciously.
“A bank.” If there was one thing Japan didn’t lack, it was ten-thousand-yen bills.
Since they had already been dragged into this slaughter, Chen intended to squeeze as many rewards from the situation as possible.
According to his past experience, these invisible monsters should be worth at least C-rank.
That meant every one they killed could earn them ten Mission Points.
…
Makoto and Sakiko’s side was finally being affected as well.
Compared with private homes with their doors tightly shut, a café obviously looked like a much better place to take refuge.
As a panicked crowd surged through the entrance, the waitress stood frozen in confusion.
Makoto immediately told her, “Go hide in the storage room.
Forget about this place.” The waitress opened her mouth to protest.
A second later, a car in the distance suddenly caught fire and exploded.
That was enough to completely ignite the crowd’s fear.
People shoved, fought, and screamed.
Since most of them were dressed for a Halloween costume parade, the café soon looked like a gathering of demons, with almost no one remaining rational.
Sakiko was no exception.
Purple motes of light began flashing around her body as her Talent approached the edge of losing control.
Makoto immediately grabbed her wrist and guided her around the crowd toward the floor-to-ceiling window.
He raised one hand and slashed it downward.
An invisible Spatial Rift formed from his fingertip.
The glass in front of him instantly shattered, opening a path for the two of them to escape.
This was Makoto’s first true use of his Spatial Manipulation Cursed Technique.
A portion of his Cursed Energy vanished, transformed into a Spatial Rift that sliced apart the glass.
‘Could this move technically be called a Spatial Slash?’ Of course, compared with the slash that turned Gojo Satoru into Go/jo, Makoto’s version was nowhere close.
Sakiko followed him in a daze.
The moment they stepped outside the café, the overpowering stench of blood struck them.
Sakiko’s face immediately went white, and she bent over, retching.
Makoto didn’t look much better, but the cold Cursed Energy flowing through his body helped him maintain basic composure.
He led Sakiko through several twists and turns until they finally reached an alley where he couldn’t sense any sinister Cursed Energy.
Unfortunately, the alley was packed with people too.
It probably wouldn’t take long before Cursed Spirits and Transfigured Humans were drawn here by the crowd.
“Are you okay?” Makoto reached out and gently wiped a tear from the corner of Sakiko’s eye.
Instead of answering, she lowered her gaze toward his wrist.
“I’m sorry.” “Sorry?” Makoto instinctively looked down.
Only then did he notice bloody, corroded wounds spreading across his wrist.
‘What happened to my hand…?’ Sakiko hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and clumsily began wrapping it around his injury.
Her eyes were filled with guilt.
“This must be the power my fear produces.
I promise I won’t let my emotions control me again.
I won’t hurt you again either…” “I’m sorry.” Her voice trembled slightly by the end.
Sakiko had always thought of herself as someone capable of bearing the crushing weight of reality.
Yet her life with her father had already become a complete mess.
Now, after entering the Main God Space, she’d even become a burden to Makoto.
How could someone as proud as Sakiko accept that?
But at that moment, tiny specks of white light suddenly appeared around her hands.
They fell onto Makoto’s wrist.
The burning pain slowly faded, and the wound began healing at a visible speed.
“This…” Sakiko stared blankly for a moment before delight spread across her face.
As her expression brightened, Makoto even felt his physical strength and Cursed Energy beginning to recover.
His heart shook.
‘Sakiko’s Talent has incredible development potential!’ A thought occurred to him.
Makoto reached out and gently patted Sakiko on the head with a smile.
“Looks like every emotion you feel might correspond to a different ability.” “Sakiko, you’re far more important than you think.” …