One week later, Arata Hoshino stood at the entrance of an abandoned factory.
Looking at the rust-stained building before him, he couldn’t help but frown.
“This is the place?”
“Yes.” Kento Nanami stood beside him, clad in his usual beige suit, goggles hanging at his chest, holding a short blunt cleaver wrapped in charms.
“According to the Window’s report, the target is a suspected Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
Its activity is mainly concentrated in this industrial zone.”
Arata glanced at him sideways.
Blonde hair, yellow-green eyes, 184cm tall, Danish-Japanese mixed heritage, 27 years old.
The descriptions of this man from the original series flooded his mind.
A Grade 1 Sorcerer, Satoru Gojo’s junior, the record holder for consecutive Black Flashes, a staunch believer in the “off-the-clock” principle.
His weapon is a blunt blade wrapped in charms, and even his tie is made of cursed charms.
And…
In the Shibuya Incident, he died at the hands of Mahito.
“What’s wrong?” Nanami noticed his gaze and turned his head.
“Nothing.” Arata withdrew his look.
“Let’s go.
The sooner we solve this, the sooner we clock out.”
The shadows of the abandoned factory stretched long under the afternoon sun.
Arata followed Nanami through a gap in the rusted chain-link fence.
The gravel and dried moss crunched beneath their feet, and the air was thick with a faint, lingering stench of rot, as if something had been dead there for a long time.
“The report says the first to go missing were seven homeless men,” Nanami spoke as he led the way, the shoulder lines of his beige suit sharp and steady, showing no sign of hesitation despite entering a curse’s nest.
“Then it was unemployed people looking for scrap metal.
For the past week, nearby residents have started complaining about the smell.”
“So it was judged as Grade 1?” Arata asked casually.
“Suspected.” Nanami stopped in front of a derelict warehouse and glanced back.
“When Gojo recommended you, he said you needed combat experience.”
Arata chuckled.
“He just sold me out like that?”
“He said you were the most decent of his students.” Nanami adjusted his goggles, his tone as flat as if he were reading a business report.
“Okkotsu is abroad.
As for the rest…” He paused, not finishing the sentence.
“The rest are all problem children,” Arata finished the thought for him.
Nanami did not deny it.
“The cursed energy residue here is thick.” Nanami crouched down, wiping a finger across the floor to pick up some dark red, viscous liquid.
“Blood.
But it doesn’t seem human.”
Arata scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowing slightly.
Something was wrong.
This looked like Mahito’s handiwork, but according to the original timeline, Mahito should still be operating in the shadows at this point.
He shouldn’t be coming into direct conflict with sorcerers so soon.
“Arata.” Nanami suddenly stood up, holding his blunt blade horizontally.
“Get back.” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The moment the words fell, a light chuckle echoed from the depths of the warehouse.
The laugh was soft, like the snicker of a child whose prank had succeeded, but it sent a chill down the spine.
A figure emerged slowly from the shadows.
Long, blue-grey hair hung loosely.
His face and exposed skin were covered in stitch marks, looking like a doll cobbled together from fragments.
He wore simple dark clothing, hands in his pockets, walking with the casual gait of a teenager on a stroll.
“Oh dear, was I found?” Mahito tilted his head, his gaze sweeping over the two before resting on Nanami.
“Are you the sorcerer?
You look more interesting than the ones before.”
“Arata,” Nanami’s voice was very low.
“I’ll handle this one.
You get out and notify the Assistant Director.”
“Nanami-san…”
“This is an order.”
Arata bit his lip, but he knew Nanami’s personality; arguing now would only cause trouble.
He backed away slowly, his eyes locked onto the cursed spirit named Mahito.
Mahito’s gaze suddenly snapped to him, filled with childlike curiosity.
“Eh?
You don’t seem afraid of me?”
Arata remained silent and continued to retreat.
“Interesting.” Mahito tilted his head, his mouth stretching into a wide grin.
“You’re not afraid because you’re a sorcerer too?”
In the blink of an eye, Mahito’s figure vanished.
Nanami swung his blunt blade in a horizontal arc, but it only sliced through empty air.
The next second, Mahito appeared in front of Arata, his stitched hand reaching directly for Arata’s chest.
“DON’T MOVE!”
The power of Cursed Speech rippled out instantly.
Mahito’s movements jerked to a halt in mid-air.
The stitched hand stopped inches from Arata’s chest, less than three centimeters away.
“Arata-kun!” Nanami’s figure cut in instantly, his large blunt blade carrying cursed energy as it slashed down.
The Ratio Technique forcibly created a weak point on Mahito, sending him flying.
His body flipped twice in the air before smashing heavily into a pile of scrap metal.
“Cough…” A sharp pain shot through Arata’s throat, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
The backlash of Cursed Speech hit faster than expected; his throat felt as if it had been scrubbed with sandpaper.
Mahito climbed out of the scrap pile, his smile even brighter than before.
He patted the dust off himself as if he hadn’t cared about the strike at all.
“That hurt.” Mahito tilted his head, his tone carrying a hint of childish complaint.
“Do you sorcerers only know how to launch sneak attacks?”
“Though, as long as the soul is fine, the body doesn’t matter.” Mahito looked up, his eyes darting between Nanami and Arata, finally settling on Arata.
“Can you still move?” Nanami stepped in front of Arata.
“I can.” Arata wiped the blood from his mouth.
The burning sensation in his throat hadn’t faded, but he stared at Mahito, his mind racing through memories of this character.
Mahito.
A cursed spirit born from human hatred and fear of other humans.
His technique is Idle Transfiguration, which allows him to reshape the body by touching the soul.
His weakness is the soul; as long as the soul can be attacked, he can be effectively damaged.
The problem was, neither Nanami nor the techniques Arata currently possessed had the ability to attack the soul.
“What are you thinking about?” Mahito’s voice suddenly sounded much closer.
Arata’s pupils contracted, and he instinctively backed away, but the stitched hand was already close to his chest.
The next moment, blood surged from his body, instantly condensing into a wall of blood in front of him.
*Thud!*
Mahito’s hand hit the blood wall.
The blood seemed to come alive, wrapping around his arm in an attempt to pin him down, but Mahito just glanced down and yanked hard, snapping the blood ropes instantly.
“Sugoi!” Mahito praised.
“Your technique is so interesting.
Can I touch you?”
“No.” Arata’s face was cold as he fired another blood arrow.
Mahito tilted his head to dodge, but at that moment, Nanami’s blunt blade swung in from the side.
The blade struck Mahito’s neck, but Mahito just tilted his head, looking at Nanami like one would look at a disobedient child.
“You’re so annoying.”
He raised a hand and slapped Nanami’s chest.
Though Arata released blood to protect him in time, Nanami’s body was still thrown back like he’d been hit by a truck, smashing through a wall and disappearing into the ruins.
“Nanami-san!” Arata’s pupils shrank, but he had no time to check on Nanami because Mahito had already turned back to him.
“Now it’s your turn.” Mahito walked over, his pace not fast–leisurely, even.
Arata took a step back, his mind spinning.
What to do?
Cursed Speech was unusable, Blood Manipulation was ineffective.
Although Star Rage could theoretically increase attack power, it was essentially a physical blow and useless against the soul.
Unless…
Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
But Cursed Spirit Manipulation only allows for direct absorption without subjugation if the target is two grades or more below the user.
Within two grades, they must be thoroughly defeated first.
Unless he could copy Mahito’s technique, or had a Cursed Tool that could directly attack the soul.
Suddenly, a thought struck Arata.
There *was* a Cursed Tool capable of attacking the soul.
The Soul Liberation Blade.
[Total Bonus Chapters Achieved: 0]
[Ptreon.cm/Prince_of_LanLi for 50 adv chs.
20% discount right now.
Throw spirit stones to this humble one *dogeza*.]