Chapter 114 (Patreon)

Suzuki Airi still felt uneasy.

She had lived in this world for far too long not to understand how terrifying Cursed Spirits could be. She had witnessed their cruelty with her own eyes.

“Golden light...?”

A faint glow appeared behind her.

“Where is that coming from?”

Airi turned around and froze.

Countless golden ripples had spread through the air behind Ragnar Kagenou.

Swish!

Golden Noble Phantasms shot out from the ripples.

They moved so quickly that the force of the wind whipped Airi’s hair across her face.

A thunderous impact followed.

One of the Noble Phantasms pierced the Cursed Spirit and drove it into the ground, dragging its body across the street for dozens of meters.

Purple blood painted a long trail across the pavement.

A moment later, the Cursed Spirit crumbled into ash and disappeared.

“S-So strong...”

Airi covered her mouth with both hands.

The hope in her eyes grew even brighter.

“Come to think of it, I still don’t know your name.”

“Ragnar Kagenou.”

Airi stared at the blond young man standing before her.

Most people with dyed blond hair tended to remind her of delinquents, but Ragnar gave off no such impression.

Instead, his appearance felt completely natural.

His golden hair and blood-red eyes made him look like a foreign actor who had stepped straight out of a movie.

After Ragnar exorcised the Cursed Spirit, they encountered no further trouble along the way.

Just as Airi had claimed, this route was considerably safer than the others.

After following a long and winding path through the ruined streets, the two finally arrived at the stronghold she had mentioned.

It was nothing impressive.

The place was merely another dilapidated building, hardly any different from the abandoned structures surrounding it. The only thing that made it stand out was the series of unusual markings left along its walls.

Ragnar suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Airi immediately tensed, fearing that another Cursed Spirit had appeared.

“Nothing.”

Ragnar studied the markings for another moment.

“You people have been fortunate. It seems you haven’t encountered any Cursed Spirits capable of thinking for themselves.”

“Otherwise, you would have died before you even realized you were being hunted.”

Airi fell silent.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Okay.”

Following the special markings, the two entered the building and made their way through its dark interior.

Eventually, they reached one of the upper floors.

“We’re here.”

The moment they stepped inside, countless pairs of eyes turned toward them from the dim room.

“Who are you?”

A suspicious voice called out from the darkness.

Before Airi could answer, Ragnar spoke first.

“I’m looking for someone.”

“Looking for someone?”

The survivors exchanged confused whispers.

“Is he serious? He came all the way here just to look for someone?”

“Well, having another person around is better than nothing.”

“Another unlucky one... Once you enter this place, there’s no getting out.”

“Look at his hair. He doesn’t exactly look respectable.”

“He’s probably some delinquent with nothing better to do.”

After a short while, a girl wearing the same school uniform as Airi emerged from the crowd.

The moment she saw Airi standing beside Ragnar, relief spread across her face.

“Airi! Thank goodness you’re safe.”

“Yeah. I still couldn’t find a way out, though.”

After exchanging a few words, Airi took the girl by the hand and brought her over to Ragnar.

“Tsumiki, he came here specifically to find you.”

“To find me?”

Tsumiki Fushiguro stared at Ragnar in confusion.

She searched her memory carefully, but she could not recall ever meeting him before.

“Excuse me, but... who are you?”

Ragnar offered no lengthy explanation.

“I’m Megumi’s teacher.”

“Megumi?!”

The moment she heard that familiar name, Tsumiki’s eyes widened.

“A teacher?!”

A second cry of disbelief came from Airi.

No matter how she looked at him, Ragnar did not resemble a teacher at all.

Had the rules changed while they had been trapped here?

Were teachers now allowed to dye their hair and wear colored contact lenses whenever they pleased?

“How is Megumi?”

Tsumiki’s voice trembled slightly.

It was obvious that she had been deeply worried about him.

Before she had fallen victim to the curse, the Megumi she remembered had constantly gotten into fights with delinquents from other schools, and his grades had only ever been average.

“Don’t worry. He’s doing well.”

Ragnar continued calmly.

“Tokyo Jujutsu High provided him with financial support so that he could continue his education.”

“I see...”

Tsumiki released a quiet breath of relief.

“That’s good.”

She lowered her gaze.

“I was worried because he spent all his time getting into fights. I thought he might fail to find a job after graduating and end up wandering the streets.”

“...”

Ragnar fell silent.

Even Airi did not know how to respond.

Tsumiki truly had very little confidence in her younger brother.

Even if Megumi failed to find a job, surely he would not end up living on the streets.

——————

At that exact moment, Megumi Fushiguro was making his way toward Yasohachi Bridge.

Suddenly, he sneezed.

Megumi rubbed his nose and frowned.

“That’s strange.”

For some reason, he felt as though someone was talking about him behind his back.

Was it Itadori?

Or Kugisaki?

Two familiar voices suddenly came from behind him.

“You really hate telling us anything about yourself, don’t you?”

“Exactly.”

Megumi did not even need to turn around.

He already knew who had caught up with him.

Nobara Kugisaki crossed her arms.

“You didn’t even notice us following you this far. You must be in quite a hurry.”

Yuji Itadori stepped closer.

“We’re not asking you to tell us every little thing.”

His expression grew serious.

“But when you need help, you should at least say something.”

“Aren’t we friends?”

Megumi remained silent for a moment.

Eventually, he told them the truth.

His older sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro, had fallen into a deep sleep after being cursed.

“If I do nothing, there’s no telling when the curse might finally hurt her.”

Megumi looked toward the bridge ahead.

“That’s why I want to exorcise it now.”

After hearing his explanation, Yuji and Nobara smiled.

It was only a matter of exorcising a curse.

That was what they did all the time.

“The mission’s threat level has increased,” Megumi warned them. “It could be dangerous.”

Nobara waved him off impatiently.

“We heard you.”

Yuji walked up beside Megumi.

“You should’ve told us from the beginning.”

Megumi looked at the two of them.

The corners of his mouth lifted into the faintest smile.

He then explained how to enter the barrier beneath Yasohachi Bridge.

In jujutsu, crossing a river or boundary to reach the opposite side often carried special meaning.

The moment they crossed that boundary, the atmosphere changed.

The scenery surrounding them distorted, and the world before their eyes transformed completely.

A Cursed Spirit appeared in front of the three sorcerers.

Yuji pulled his sleeves back.

“There it is.”

Nobara drew her hammer and nails.

“At least this one looks worth exorcising.”

The Cursed Spirit that had appeared inside the barrier was Kechizu, the third of the Special Grade cursed objects known as the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings.

“Ah...?”

Kechizu possessed a vaguely humanoid body.

His eye sockets were hollow, with streams of blood running down his face, and an enormous mouth stretched across his stomach.

His appearance was grotesque enough to terrify any ordinary person.

To a jujutsu sorcerer, however, something like this was hardly unusual.

Kechizu tilted his head.

“Why are there already guests here?”

He seemed genuinely confused.

How had humans entered the barrier before him?

Nobara glanced toward Megumi.

“Fushiguro, this thing isn’t connected to your sister’s curse, is it?”

Megumi also had no idea why another Cursed Spirit had appeared here.

“Probably not.”

Yuji did not appear particularly concerned.

Their objective was to exorcise Cursed Spirits.

Whether there was one or two made little difference.

“Then you two deal with the other one.”

Cursed Energy surged from Yuji’s body as he stepped forward.

“I’ll exorcise this one.”

Kechizu stared at the human approaching him.

A childish sense of amusement appeared on his face.

“What?”

He leaned forward eagerly.

“Do you want to play with me?”