Chapter 104 (Patreon)

Boom!

The moment Rika Orimoto’s shikigami manifested, the surrounding trees and earth were blasted apart.

“Raaaah—!!!”

A roar tore through the forest.

Even Dagon was forced back two or three meters by the shockwave.

Such pressure.

Dagon spread the wings on its back, preparing to take the fight into the air.

Rika Orimoto looked down coldly.

“Tear that Cursed Spirit in front of me to pieces.”

The Queen of Curses began to swell.

Her body expanded at an abnormal speed, rising until she reached several dozen meters in height—large enough to meet Dagon’s gaze in midair.

“I am not a Cursed Spirit. I am Dagon… I have a name!”

Rika Orimoto, standing atop the Queen of Curses’ head, paused for a moment.

Then she laughed.

It was a quiet, contemptuous laugh.

“What are you laughing at?”

Dagon’s anger was obvious.

“What am I laughing at? Do you really need to ask?” Rika smiled coldly. “A Cursed Spirit is still a Cursed Spirit. Don’t tell me you actually think you have feelings.”

Dagon’s voice rumbled low and heavy.

“Hanami is dead. You humans… dared to kill him.”

“You really don’t listen, do you, mutt…” Rika muttered.

Then she blinked.

“Ah. That was bad. I picked up a strange habit.”

Rika pressed one hand against her forehead. Soft strands of hair slipped between her fingers, their tips falling before her dark, gleaming eyes.

Dagon raised its arm.

In the next instant, a massive amount of water gathered above its head.

Splash!

The water came crashing down, crushing the ground and forest beneath it in an instant.

But the torrent slamming into the Queen of Curses had no effect at all.

Bang!

Before Dagon could react, the Queen of Curses swatted it down into the rushing water.

Gurgle, gurgle…

Dagon sank beneath the surface.

The water became unnervingly still.

Then, behind the Queen of Curses, ripples suddenly spread across the surface.

Dagon burst out of the water at high speed.

Its heavy fist, packed with tremendous force, swung straight toward Rika Orimoto’s back.

“Die.”

——————

Mahito activated Idle Transfiguration, warping his arm into a gigantic fist before smashing it into Masamichi Yaga.

The ground shook violently.

Countless torii gates shattered under the impact.

“This is… bad.”

Masamichi Yaga sat collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest. Blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“Too weak.”

Mahito glanced at him once, already bored.

Then he walked directly into the Tomb of the Star Corridor.

Getting inside had been far too easy.

Looks like everything went exactly as planned.

Kenjaku had already taken control of three-quarters of Tengen. Naturally, he knew the structure of the Tomb of the Star Corridor like the back of his hand.

As for the guards inside, Kenjaku had already dealt with them long ago.

If not for the two obstacles known as Ragnar Kagenou and Satoru Gojo, the entire jujutsu world would have fallen into Kenjaku’s hands by now.

“The Forbidden Storehouse… Forbidden Storehouse… Ah, found it.”

Just as Mahito reached out toward the cursed objects inside—

Click.

“Who’s there?”

Mahito narrowed his eyes.

“Tengen?”

Seeing him react, “Tengen” spoke.

“It’s me.”

“Hey, hey, hey. I heard Tengen was supposed to be the lifeline of the jujutsu world. You really controlled him that easily?”

Kenjaku replied calmly, “There’s no need to waste time on such trivial details. The storage areas for cursed objects are protected by Cursed Seals.”

Mahito immediately touched one with his bare hand.

The next instant, one of his fingers was burned away.

“Oh, wow. That’s impressive.”

But a moment later, Mahito’s burned finger regenerated as if nothing had happened.

Kenjaku chanted several incantations under his breath.

The cursed objects were transferred out directly.

“These are Numbers One through Three of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings.”

Mahito picked them up and examined them.

“We’re not taking the other six?”

“Only Numbers One through Three of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings are capable of incarnating. The remaining failures were discarded long ago.”

“Failures, huh?”

Mahito rubbed his chin for a while, then lost interest.

“Well, whatever. That has nothing to do with me. Anything else?”

Kenjaku led Mahito deeper into the Forbidden Storehouse.

“Come. This way.”

“This is really convenient. Getting teleported here instantly saves so much trouble.”

By using Tengen’s physical body, Kenjaku had gradually begun to master the Empty Barrier.

Then Mahito stopped.

“What… is this?”

In front of him were eight enormous serpent heads, nine red-and-white fox tails, a red-faced tengu mask with a long nose, and a head resembling a human skull.

Kenjaku said, “These are all Special Grade Cursed Spirits that were hunted down over the course of a thousand years. They are classified as Special Grade, but each of them is far stronger than an ordinary Special Grade.”

Mahito placed his hand on one of the massive serpent heads.

“Wow. I can still feel cursed energy moving inside this thing.”

“Are they not dead?”

“Their current state is similar to Sukuna’s. I turned parts of them into Special Grade Cursed Objects myself. That is why they have been preserved until now.”

Mahito used Idle Transfiguration to shrink the Special Grade Cursed Objects in front of him.

Then he stuffed the objects, along with the six Sukuna fingers, into his pocket.

Kenjaku said, “I’ll send you out. Be careful of Ragnar Kagenou. He did not enter the Curtain.”

Mahito grinned.

“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t draw his attention.”

Once Kenjaku finished forming the hand seals, Mahito was teleported directly out of the Tomb of the Star Corridor.

“Tengen… your power has become impressive.”

Kenjaku spoke to himself through Tengen’s body.

“In order to stabilize the Pure Barrier, you held back even when facing me.”

“However… I am not like you.”

“Everything you have built will become the foundation for my success.”

Then, using Tengen’s physical body, Kenjaku fabricated dozens of Grade 1 Cursed Spirits within Jujutsu High’s Pure Barrier.

——————

Through Mei Mei’s Black Bird Manipulation, Ragnar Kagenou saw Masamichi Yaga lying half-dead on the ground.

“Principal?”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“What happened? Did someone attack him while I wasn’t paying attention?”

Mei Mei immediately controlled her crows and sent them patrolling across Jujutsu High.

Unfortunately, they found nothing.

Ragnar Kagenou said, “Looks like the enemy’s real target wasn’t the students of Jujutsu High. It was Tengen inside the Tomb of the Star Corridor.”

Mei Mei thought for a moment, then frowned.

“No… that doesn’t feel right. If their goal was Master Tengen, Master Tengen’s barrier should have been able to stop them completely.”

Ragnar replied calmly, “Don’t assume anyone is invincible just because they’ve lived for a thousand years. Tengen may be old, but that doesn’t mean no one can kill him.”

Suddenly, Mei Mei’s expression darkened.

She controlled another crow, fixing its gaze on the entrance to the Tomb of the Star Corridor.

“Ragnar, could you bring Principal Yaga back?”

Her voice remained composed, but her eyes were sharp.

“I can’t afford to lose focus right now. I need to communicate with Gojo inside the Curtain, and I also need to keep scouting the Tomb of the Star Corridor with my crows.”

Ragnar Kagenou stood up.

“I was planning to check the situation anyway. Are you fine staying here alone?”

Mei Mei answered immediately.

“No problem. There are Cursed Seals set up here. If an enemy approaches, I’ll know.”

Ragnar nodded and said nothing more.

Masamichi Yaga was still a Grade 1 sorcerer with real strength.

To defeat him in such a short time…

Only someone with Special Grade-level power could have done it.

Kenjaku.

Mahito.

Ragnar did not even need to think about it.

“It’s you two again.”