Sometimes, Atsushi felt like he was far too casual about danger.
For example, even though he knew the setting of Jujutsu Kaisen inside and out.
He had still wandered into some random alley after transmigrating and casually farmed more than a dozen cursed spirits without the slightest sense of danger.
Sure, cursed spirits were everywhere in Jujutsu Kaisen, practically crawling around like maggots.
But there was no way more than a dozen of them should just happen to gather in one random place, right?
He had transmigrated to Tokyo, not into a cursed spirit nest.
Where the hell were all these cursed spirits even coming from?
Was someone breeding them or something?
And now, unsurprisingly, whoever they belonged to had come looking for him.
Worse, the difference in strength between Atsushi and the other side was so overwhelming that running wasn’t even an option.
He had simply been “invited” here by force.
So for now, all Atsushi could do was remain composed and give Kenjaku an awkward but polite smile.
Fortunately, after observing him for a short while, Atsushi was fairly certain Kenjaku had no intention of killing him just yet.
In fact, there was something strangely familiar about the way that stitched-forehead freak was looking at him.
Right.
It was exactly the kind of look his parents had given him countless times while he was growing up.
That suffocating gaze full of expectations that were anything but unconditional.
The kind of look that said, “You’d better make something of yourself.”
Kenjaku had even thoughtfully prepared an outfit appropriate for the location.
A light breeze swept past, carrying the salty, damp scent of the ocean.
Come to think of it, wasn’t this Dagon’s innate domain?
Wearing a Hawaiian shirt, Atsushi stood barefoot on the beach, warm grains of sand pressing softly against the soles of his feet.
Barrier techniques…
Cursed energy…
And an innate domain created by combining the two.
When he reached Lv.6, would the Domain he obtained be able to reach this level?
This cold, unresponsive system wasn’t going to give him some bargain-bin Domain with no barrier, no sure-hit effect, and no lethal function, was it?
Even though he had been forcibly dragged straight into the villains’ hideout from the original story, there wasn’t a trace of fear in Atsushi’s dark eyes.
He simply admired the scenery around him and let his thoughts wander wherever they pleased.
“Oh?
Geto, who’s this you brought back?”
While Atsushi was distractedly looking around, a clear, energetic voice sounded from behind him, though there was something faintly chilling beneath its playful tone.
Atsushi turned toward the speaker.
At first glance, the figure looked almost exactly like a young man.
But he had messy, long gray-blue hair, and his face and exposed skin were covered in grotesque scars resembling stitches.
His eyes were mismatched, one gray and one blue, and both shone with a childlike innocence mixed with unmistakable cruelty.
Oh.
Mahito.
Atsushi calmly reached that conclusion.
At the same moment, a system window appeared in front of him.
[Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Mahito]
[Bounty: 271]
Come to think of it, all four Disaster Curses were still alive.
That meant the current point in the timeline had to be before the Shibuya Incident…
Wait.
What did the “(Bounty: 271)” beside his name mean?
Atsushi immediately questioned the system internally.
[Bounty represents the additional amount of gold obtained after killing a target unit.
Bounty value is adjusted according to the number and strength of high-value units the target has killed recently.
Bounties refresh after 72 hours.]
[Bounty accumulation rules: qualifying consecutive kills must be at least Grade 4 Cursed Spirits or ordinary humans.
The stronger the defeated target, the more bounty is accumulated.]
[Each consecutive kill of an ordinary human or Grade 4 Cursed Spirit grants 1 bounty.
Grade 3 Cursed Spirits or Grade 4 Sorcerers grant 2.
Grade 2 Cursed Spirits or Grade 3 Sorcerers grant 8.
Grade 1 Cursed Spirits or Grade 2 Sorcerers grant 64.
Special Grade Cursed Spirits or Grade 1 Sorcerers grant 512.
Special Grade Sorcerers grant 1,000.
A bounty only activates after reaching at least 100 points.
Maximum accumulated bounty: 1,000.]
I see.
After hearing the system’s precise explanation, Atsushi gave an almost imperceptible nod.
So this guy had probably killed the equivalent of 271 ordinary people within the last seventy-two hours.
Or some combination of humans and lower-grade sorcerers that added up to the same amount.
Then again, considering it was Mahito, that wasn’t exactly surprising.
After all, in the original story, he was a cursed spirit born from humanity’s hatred and fear of other humans.
There were few curses more malicious than him.
At that moment, Kenjaku also heard Mahito’s question.
“Mahito, you’re back.
Perfect timing.
Let me introduce you.
This sorcerer is a friend I’ve invited over.”
Kenjaku turned around as he spoke, his tone casual and familiar.
He gestured toward Atsushi.
“What was his name again?
Doesn’t matter.
He’s quite a strong sorcerer.”
“I’ve already convinced him to become one of our allies.
I’m sure he’ll help bring our ideals one step closer to reality.”
Ignoring the fact that Atsushi was still communicating with the system internally and appeared to be spacing out, Kenjaku reached out and shoved him toward Mahito.
“Oh?
Really?”
Mahito’s eyes lit up at Kenjaku’s words, like a child who had just been handed a new toy.
“I’m Mahito.
Nice to meet you…”
A pure, innocent smile spread across his face as he extended a hand toward Atsushi.
“Blood Manipulation…
Blood Binding!”
Atsushi’s previously unfocused eyes sharpened instantly the moment Mahito’s fingertips were about to touch him.
Almost on instinct, he activated Blood Manipulation.
Without needing conscious thought, relying purely on instinct and the technique engraved into him, Atsushi unleashed his cursed technique as naturally as breathing.
Without warning, countless thin yet incredibly tough threads of blood wove themselves through the air.
Like a perfectly placed net, they wrapped tightly around Mahito’s outstretched arm and stopped it from moving even an inch farther.
“Heh…
Looks like he figured your technique out.”
The moment Kenjaku sensed Mahito’s cursed energy stir and saw Atsushi bind him with Blood Binding, an amused expression appeared on his face.
“A technique that controls blood?
Blood Manipulation?”
Mahito seemed to be seeing a Blood Manipulation user with his own eyes for the first time since his birth.
His interest in the boy who had restrained him with blood immediately intensified.
“Then…
how about this?”
Creak.
A teeth-grinding sound of muscle and bone twisting came from Mahito’s arm.
Its fixed shape instantly collapsed, splitting apart into several writhing gray-white tendrils that slipped through Atsushi’s blood threads like worms crawling through gaps in a net.
“Haha!
So this is one of the inherited techniques of the Three Great Families?
Doesn’t seem that impressive!”
After escaping Blood Binding through transfiguration, Mahito’s arm merged back together from the tendrils and returned to its original form.
The instant it did, he reached for Atsushi’s forehead again.
“You really shouldn’t underestimate him.”
Kenjaku, who had watched everything unfold, made no move to interfere.
Instead, he slipped both hands into his sleeves and spoke with an amused smile.
“Because in a certain sense…”
At the exact moment Kenjaku’s casual words fell, a crisp crack rang through the air.
“Blood Manipulation…
Blood Edge!”
At some point, Atsushi had already formed a dagger in his hand, glowing with an ominous crimson light.
Mahito stared blankly at his severed hand, which had fallen to the ground and was still twitching.
For the first time, genuine disbelief filled his eyes.
“…he’s your natural enemy.”
Only then did Kenjaku leisurely finish his sentence.
He looked at the scene before him with an expression that practically said, Just as I thought.
“My hand…
It’s gone…
No…
I can’t feel my fingers.”
Mahito stared down.
“Even though it was only a tiny part of it…
my soul…
was actually cut?”
Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Mahito.
A cursed spirit born from humanity’s hatred and fear of other humans.
His Innate Technique was Idle Transfiguration.
Mahito believed that the soul existed before the body, and that the body’s shape was determined by the shape of the soul.
His technique allowed him to touch the soul directly and alter its form, thereby reshaping the physical body.
Mahito could also use the technique on himself.
As long as he maintained the shape of his own soul with Idle Transfiguration, no matter how badly his body was damaged, his flesh would eventually return to the form dictated by his soul.
That made ordinary physical attacks essentially meaningless against him.
Only attacks capable of damaging the soul could truly injure Mahito.
But before meeting Atsushi, Mahito had never encountered an enemy capable of harming his soul.
After all, the prerequisite for attacking the soul was being able to perceive it.
Sorcerers capable of doing that had been exceedingly rare throughout history.
“You…”
Most of the flesh from Mahito’s severed hand began returning to his wrist under the pull of cursed energy, like fragments being drawn back into place.
But several of the fingers Atsushi had cut through remained lying on the sand.
They visibly withered, rapidly losing all vitality.
Staring at the completely dead fingers on the ground, Mahito’s voice gradually shifted from its earlier childish cruelty into something manic and hysterical.
“You can see it, can’t you?!”
“My soul!”
Faced with the increasingly hysterical Mahito, Atsushi, who had only counterattacked on instinct, remained remarkably calm.
“You don’t have to scream.
I can hear you just fine, curse.”
His soul?
How the hell would I be able to see something like that?
Being able to attack something didn’t necessarily mean he had to be able to perceive it.
Because of [Glass Cannon], all of Atsushi’s attacks dealt additional true damage.
And judging from what had just happened, Mahito’s cursed technique, Idle Transfiguration, was being interpreted by the system as nothing more than substituting cursed energy for health.
In other words, it was a high-level defensive ability that had to be consciously maintained and consumed cursed energy.
And damage reduction…
Could not reduce true damage.
Mahito’s immense cursed energy gradually began to rise.
But as Atsushi stared back at him, his dark eyes remained completely calm.
Which one of them was the prey.
Had yet to be decided.
(To be continued.)