Chapter 21 (Patreon)

Four years later.

Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture.

Ragnar Kagenou was out exorcising Cursed Spirits as usual.

It was not because he was especially diligent, nor because he was the type of jujutsu sorcerer who took his duties seriously.

The real reason was simple: the more Grade 1 and Grade 2 Cursed Spirits he killed, the more Cursed Energy he gained for himself.

If that increase in Cursed Energy did not exist, Ragnar would have turned into a hopelessly lazy teacher like Gojo Satoru a long time ago.

Ragnar sighed to himself.

“These past few years have been way too peaceful. Nothing ever happens.”

“And there’s still no news about Geto Suguru either. Is he seriously still out there scraping together funds for his little organization?”

As he walked past a small neighborhood park, his gaze drifted toward two children playing in the sand.

Then, while sitting down on a nearby bench, Ragnar watched the two of them exchange rings like some kind of engagement gift.

He stared at them for a second.

“…No way.”

“They’re already finding future wives at this age?”

The boy even received a ring from the girl.

That was honestly ridiculous.

And also unbelievably enviable.

Ragnar clicked his tongue.

“Damn it…”

“So this is what pure, innocent first love looks like.”

“Not a trace of betrayal. Not a single hint of drama.”

For one brief, irrational moment, he almost felt like turning into some absurd judge of love and burning the two of them on principle.

Almost.

Still, envy was envy.

And just as Ragnar was about to get up and leave with that faintly bitter feeling still clinging to him—

Screeeech!!!

A piercing sound of brakes tore through the air.

Ragnar’s eyes snapped toward the road.

A large truck had lost control and was barreling straight toward the girl.

Hum—

Golden ripples spread open behind Ragnar.

Clink!

The Chains of Heaven shot out in an instant, locking onto the truck and stopping it by force.

The vehicle trembled violently before freezing in place.

Only one centimeter away from the girl.

Ragnar exhaled.

“…That was close.”

“Another second and that would’ve ended badly.”

The girl had already collapsed to the ground in fright.

The boy rushed toward her at once.

“Rika! Are you okay?!”

Rika Orimoto sat there stiffly, her face pale. “I-I’m fine…”

The moment Ragnar heard their names, something clicked in his mind.

So it was them.

Yuta Okkotsu.

Rika Orimoto.

Originally, Rika was supposed to die in this accident. And after her death, Yuta Okkotsu would curse her, causing her to remain in this world in another form.

A Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit.

No—more precisely, a monstrous existence born from Yuta’s power and bound to him.

Ragnar stepped closer and crouched in front of Rika.

“Can you stand?”

Rika nodded nervously. “Y-Yes…”

The nearby pedestrians were already panicking. Some were terrified by the truck, others by the chains that had appeared out of nowhere.

Ragnar ignored all of them.

He looked at Rika and spoke in a calmer voice.

“It’s fine now. Get off the road first. Standing here is dangerous.”

Rika nodded quickly. “O-Okay… Thank you, big brother.”

Yuta also bowed his head right away.

“Thank you so much!”

By then, more and more people were starting to gather.

Ragnar had no interest in explaining supernatural phenomena to a crowd of ordinary civilians, so he turned and left.

“What a pain…”

After all, ordinary people were definitely not supposed to see chains materializing out of empty air.

But not long after he walked away, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

When he turned around, Yuta and Rika had actually followed him over.

Ragnar lifted a brow.

“Why are you two following me?”

The two children looked at each other, then bowed together.

Yuta raised his voice first.

“Thank you for saving Rika, big brother! Thank you very much!”

Rika followed right after him.

“Rika too! Thank you, big brother!”

Ragnar could not help letting out a faint laugh.

“It’s fine. Just be more careful next time.”

“And when you cross the street, look around properly first.”

The two of them answered in unison.

“Okay!”

Just as they were about to leave, Rika suddenly froze.

Her hand clutched at her chest.

A pained expression spread across her face.

Yuta’s expression changed immediately.

“Rika?!”

He hurriedly caught her before she fell, then looked helplessly toward Ragnar.

Ragnar narrowed his eyes and looked closer.

A large amount of Cursed Energy was gathering around Rika’s heart.

His expression shifted slightly.

“…What?”

“I already prevented Rika Orimoto’s death.”

“Then what’s with all this Cursed Energy?”

He stepped forward at once.

“Yuta. Lay her down first.”

Yuta did not hesitate.

He carefully lowered Rika onto the ground as fast as he could.

He was clearly panicking, but even then, he did not dare interrupt Ragnar or get in his way.

Ragnar observed Rika’s condition for a moment and quickly noticed the problem.

Her body was too weak to handle the sudden surge of Cursed Energy flooding into her.

But that only raised a more serious question.

Where had that power come from?

Ragnar’s gaze slowly shifted toward Yuta, whose face was filled with fear and desperation.

Then a possibility surfaced in his mind.

…No way.

Had Yuta Okkotsu still cursed Rika?

It sounded unreasonable.

But right now, it was the only explanation that actually made sense.

Once the impossible is eliminated, whatever remains—no matter how unlikely—must be the truth.

Rika Orimoto had most likely still been cursed by Yuta in the moment he believed she was about to die.

Even though Ragnar had intervened and saved her, that single moment of absolute despair had already been enough to trigger it.

That meant Rika was now caught in a dangerously unstable balance.

She had survived.

But she had also been cursed.

A state halfway between disaster and miracle.

Ragnar let out a breath and looked at Yuta again.

As expected of a descendant of Sugawara no Michizane.

That level of power was terrifying.

An ordinary human producing something on the level of a Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit—

No.

Calling him ordinary at this point would already be absurd.

Ragnar raised his hand and invoked Banji Himei Repair, directing its effect into Rika’s body to stabilize the Cursed Energy gathering around her heart.

If it stayed concentrated there for too long, it would definitely become dangerous.

After all, Cursed Energy was power born from human negativity.

Noble Phantasm: Banji Himei Repair

Rank: C

Type: Anti-Curse Noble Phantasm

Description: A healing Noble Phantasm that stands as the counterpart to Medea’s Rule Breaker.

It is capable of nullifying all damage caused by curses and Cursed Energy.

After a few moments, Yuta could not hold back any longer.

“Big brother… is Rika okay now?”

A moment later, Rika slowly sat up.

Ragnar withdrew his hand and replied calmly,

“She’s fine. It was just her body reacting badly to the shock.”

Yuta finally let out the breath he had been holding.

“That’s good…”

Ragnar glanced at him.

“From now on, take her to do more things that make her happy.”

“If her emotions stay unstable, this might happen again.”

Yuta nodded immediately.

“I understand. Thank you very much, big brother.”

Then, as if suddenly remembering something important, he asked,

“Um… what’s your name?”

“Ragnar Kagenou.”

Yuta repeated it seriously, as if making sure to remember it forever.

“Ragnar-nii… thank you so much.”

Ragnar waved a hand.

“It was nothing.”

Then his expression grew slightly more serious.

“By the way, Rika. Yuta. You two can’t tell anyone about what happened here today.”

Rika blinked. “Okay, Ragnar-nii.”

Yuta nodded as well.

“We won’t tell anyone.”

Ragnar looked at the two of them and said evenly,

“You have to keep it secret.”

“Otherwise, Rika might be taken away.”

Yuta’s face immediately tensed, and he nodded again with far more force this time.

“I understand!”

Ragnar gave a small nod.

“Good. Then go home.”

“And forget about today as much as you can.”

The two of them answered together once more.

“Okay!”

Ragnar watched Yuta Okkotsu and Rika Orimoto leave, then fell silent for a moment.

In the end, he made up his mind.

“Forget it.”

“I’ll keep an eye on them until they’re older.”

If other jujutsu sorcerers or Curse Users discovered them now, the consequences would be impossible to predict.

And in any case, it did not really interfere with what he was already doing.

He was still hunting Cursed Spirits.

And he was still searching for the whereabouts of Itadori Kaori—

Or rather, Kenjaku.

Even if Kenjaku had used Itadori Kaori’s body to give birth to Itadori Yūji, there was no reason for him to switch bodies so soon.

After all, he still needed to keep watch over Yūji.

Sukuna’s vessel was far too important to simply leave unattended.