Chapter 150 (Patreon)

The Zenin Clan.

A few days earlier, Mai Zenin had been forcibly brought back to the clan estate by her father, Ogi Zenin.

The moment Maki learned what had happened, she bid farewell to Rika Orimoto. She insisted that matters concerning the Zenin Clan had to be settled by its own members.

At least, that was how Maki felt.

Rika did not try to stop her. Instead, she quietly followed Maki after she left.

The Zenin Clan had already chosen to side with the Jujutsu Sorcerer Alliance. Now that they had forcibly taken Mai back as well, there was no chance their intentions were innocent.

“I was wondering who had arrived. So it was you.”

Naoya Zenin rested his chin against his palm, looking completely at ease.

“You finally came, Maki. I have been waiting for you.”

Maki cast him a disdainful glance.

“Enough. Where is Mai?”

Naoya maintained his indolent smile.

“My, how impatient. You cannot use jujutsu, and you cannot even see Cursed Spirits without help. I suppose that pretty face is the only thing you have going for you.”

Maki had no intention of entertaining his taunts. Wasting words on someone like Naoya would accomplish nothing.

“All right, there is no need to glare at me like that. Mai is in the underground Cursed Tool Storehouse.”

Naoya’s smile turned mocking.

“Although someone like you should not have permission to enter.”

“No permission? Do not make me laugh. The head of the Zenin Clan gave me full authority.”

Maki raised a small ring of keys.

“The clan head? Naobito?”

Naoya’s eyes narrowed.

“No, that is not right. You mean that brat—the son of Toji Fushiguro.”

The mere mention of Megumi Fushiguro was enough to sour Naoya’s expression.

Naobito Zenin’s will had named Megumi as the next head of the Zenin Clan.

“Hmph.”

With their heartwarming family reunion brought to an end, Maki left her cousin behind and headed toward the Zenin Clan’s underground Cursed Tool Storehouse.

——————

Central Sendai had already been swallowed by black mud.

Every Cursed Spirit that emerged from it immediately became a soldier under Ragnar Kagenou’s command.

“At this point, the Culling Game encompasses all of District 11. Even Sukuna and Kenjaku no longer dare to reveal themselves carelessly...”

Ragnar gazed across the city submerged beneath the mud.

“I wonder how far Ryu Ishigori and Takako Uro have progressed with their conquest.”

For the past several days, the two of them had led the Cursed Spirits born from the black mud across the surrounding regions, continuously corrupting and absorbing ordinary Cursed Spirits.

The black mud’s advance had initially been slow. However, with Ishigori and Uro slaughtering everything in their path, Miyagi, Yamagata, Akita, and Aomori had fallen in only two days.

Wherever All the World’s Evil spread, everything was swallowed.

Any sentient being contaminated by the black mud would be corrupted and remade into one of Ragnar Kagenou’s soldiers.

Iwate Prefecture.

“Give up. Your resistance is meaningless.”

Ōtakemaru stared at Ryu Ishigori, whose entire body had been stained pitch-black by the mud.

“So you are one of the sorcerers serving Ragnar Kagenou?”

Ishigori gave a cold snort.

“Insolent fool. How dare a mere Cursed Spirit speak my king’s name so freely?”

“What did you say?”

Ōtakemaru’s blood-red eyes narrowed.

Pitch-black clouds spread across the sky above the city, and deafening thunder rolled within them.

“Then die for my king.”

Dark-red Cursed Energy gathered between Ishigori’s hands before erupting into a massive shock wave.

BOOM!

“This power...”

Ōtakemaru looked down at his palm. The flesh had been stripped away, exposing the bone beneath.

“It is saturated with hatred, murderous intent, and death. It truly is the curse of all curses.”

Cursed Energy poured into his wounded hand, rapidly regenerating the missing flesh.

“So Cursed Spirits can restore their bodies with Cursed Energy alone.”

Ishigori grinned.

“How convenient.”

Ōtakemaru drew the nodachi strapped across his back and charged straight toward him.

“Not bad.”

Ishigori raised both hands as crimson Cursed Energy erupted around them.

“Perhaps you will be enough for dessert.”

Ōtakemaru was several times larger than Ishigori, yet Ishigori showed no hesitation.

BOOM!

A Cursed Energy blast erupted at point-blank range, engulfing both of them.

It was the first time Ōtakemaru had encountered a sorcerer willing to unleash such a self-destructive attack merely to injure his opponent.

“A fighting style that shows no concern for your own life...”

Ōtakemaru emerged from the blast and raised one hand.

“You are no different from a Cursed Spirit.”

Lightning gathered in his palm, condensing into a blazing spear before he hurled it forward.

“Lightning?!”

A blinding flash tore through the air.

The lightning spear pierced Ishigori’s chest and pinned him against a nearby wall.

“Regardless of how much power they possess, human bodies remain fragile.”

Before Ōtakemaru could finish speaking, Ishigori’s body moved.

He reached up, wrapped his hand around the lightning spear, and slowly pulled it out of his chest.

“That barely tingled...”

Ishigori tossed the spear aside.

“But I wanted something sweeter than this, you bastard.”

The puncture wound in his chest closed beneath the combined effects of the black mud and his Reverse Cursed Technique.

“That is impossible...”

“Nothing is impossible.”

Ishigori’s grin widened as he pushed his Cursed Energy output to its absolute limit.

“Now, allow me to serve you dessert.”

Cursed Energy surged around him.

“Granite Blast!”

RUMBLE!

Dark-red light consumed the battlefield, with Ōtakemaru standing directly at the center of the explosion.

“That still was not enough?”

A gigantic silhouette emerged from the enormous cloud of dust.

“Very well.”

Ōtakemaru’s voice rumbled across the ruined city.

“You have managed to anger me, human.”

Cursed Energy carrying the forces of wind, rain, lightning, and fire coiled around Ōtakemaru’s body, creating a terrifying sight.

His massive figure vanished in the blink of an eye.

When he reappeared, he was already standing directly in front of Ishigori.

“Incredible speed—”

BANG!

Ishigori was sent flying before he could react.

His body smashed through dozens of walls before finally crashing into a reinforced pillar.

Before Ishigori could rise from the rubble, Ōtakemaru appeared in front of him. His fists descended like a violent storm.

“Thin Ice Breaker—!”

The moment Ishigori raised his hand, Ōtakemaru’s nodachi flashed.

His arm was severed before he could complete the technique.

“What a troublesome Cursed Spirit.”

Bolstered by All the World’s Evil, Ishigori no longer feared death. As long as the black mud remained nearby, no injury—regardless of its severity—would last for long.

“Die, you irritating flea!”

Ōtakemaru raised his nodachi and swung it down.

At that moment, the space in front of Ishigori suddenly changed.

The flat plane of the sky rippled, warped, and folded in upon itself.

“Takako Uro. This is my mission.”

Folds appeared across the sky like creases in a sheet of cloth.

Uro peeled back the plane of space and stepped through it.

“What does that matter? My king values efficiency above all else.”

“Another irritating insect.”

Flames gathered around Ōtakemaru’s hand before he hurled them toward her.

“An insect?”

Uro grasped the empty sky before her and pulled it aside like fabric.

“You still have not understood the position you are in.”

The space surrounding Ōtakemaru’s attack distorted.

The flames curved around Uro before being hurled straight back at him.

“This is my own attack...”

Ōtakemaru crossed his arms as the flames crashed into him.

“Does her Cursed Technique reflect Cursed Energy?”

Uro appeared beside him.

She reached out, seized another section of the sky, and dragged it downward. The distorted plane folded around Ōtakemaru, trapping his body within the warped space.

“Thin Ice Breaker!”

BOOM!

The surface of the sky shattered like a thin sheet of ice, sending Ōtakemaru hurtling away.

At the same moment, Ishigori’s Cursed Energy output reached its peak.

“Granite Blast!”