Chapter 154
"AAARGH—!"
The enormous school of fish-shaped curses vanished beneath the wave of fire. Their screams lasted only a moment before the heat reduced them to ash.
Through the Sharingan, Kiriya watched thin strands of pale-blue energy rise from the remains. With a thought, he drew them into his body and guided them toward his eyes.
The familiar coolness appeared—and disappeared almost immediately.
Kiriya clicked his tongue.
"That helped, but barely."
He rolled the lingering taste around in his mouth, distinctly dissatisfied.
"They’re nowhere near a Grade 1. Hell, they weren’t even worth as much as the Grade 2 curses from earlier."
"And this is what they called troublesome?"
He glanced around the ruined shopping district.
"Are these sorcerers slacking off this openly?"
Kiriya had barely finished complaining when his expression sharpened.
He threw himself sideways.
Snap!
A pillar of light crashed down on the spot where he had been standing.
The pavement collapsed beneath the impact, leaving a deep crater. Underground pipes burst apart, spraying water across the street.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
More pillars descended in rapid succession, each aimed directly at Kiriya’s head.
He slipped between them by the narrowest of margins, never remaining in one place long enough to be struck.
’Up there.’
Energy Perception immediately located the attacker on a nearby rooftop.
While dodging another barrage, Kiriya looked up and saw a bizarre cursed spirit sitting cross-legged above him.
It had the tusks of a wild boar, the fur and trunk of a mammoth, and the solemn posture of a meditating monk.
"ZOMBA."
The creature uttered a strange words and raised two fingers together.
Another series of light pillars fell from the sky.
’It can use a cursed technique, and that amount of energy...’
Kiriya’s eyes lit up.
’Semi-Grade 1.’
At last, something worth the trip.
He twisted in midair, landed smoothly, and bent his knees.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—Eightfold."
Lightning erupted beneath his feet.
Kiriya became a streak of thunder racing toward the rooftop.
Sensing danger, the cursed spirit summoned several pillars directly in his path, trying to cut off his approach.
But the Eightfold version of Thunderclap and Flash did not move in a straight line.
Kiriya’s lightning trail twisted sharply through the air, changing direction again and again.
The cursed spirit could not predict where he would appear next.
A heartbeat later, he was standing in front of it.
Its thick fur offered no protection.
Kiriya’s blade passed cleanly through its neck, and the enormous head spun into the air.
Click.
He returned his sword to its sheath and closed his eyes, savoring the pure essence flowing into his Sharingan.
If the weak curses from earlier had been no more than wisps of cotton candy, and a Grade 2 curse was a lollipop, then this Semi-Grade 1 was rich, smooth chocolate.
His Sharingan was very pleased with the upgrade.
Kiriya felt his ocular power rise again, this time by a clearly noticeable amount.
"That’s more like it."
He opened his eyes with a satisfied sigh.
Unfortunately, curses of this quality were not exactly common.
Kiriya spread Energy Perception across a one-kilometer radius, hoping to find another decent target.
He found nothing.
Only a handful of weak curses lurked several dozen meters behind him.
"Fine."
He shook his head.
"I’ll clean up the scraps, then ask whether they have anything stronger."
Even scraps were still food.
Before he could move, however, slow applause echoed through the abandoned shopping district.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The sound was unnervingly clear in the empty streets.
Kiriya narrowed his eyes and turned toward the location where he had sensed the weaker curses.
A man stood there.
He appeared to be in his late twenties, tall and powerfully built, dressed in a five-panel Buddhist robe.
His features were handsome, but the wild confidence in his expression gave him an arrogant, almost untamed air.
His narrow eyes regarded Kiriya from above, openly evaluating him.
"Interesting."
The man laughed.
"Very interesting."
"I thought a monkey without cursed energy could struggle all it liked and still accomplish nothing. I never expected you to give me such a pleasant surprise."
He pointed toward Kiriya’s Sharingan.
"Tell me, boy. What exactly are those eyes?"
Kiriya frowned.
"Geto..Suguru?"
Wasn’t this guy supposed to be busy watching Yuta Okkotsu?
Why had he come here?
Geto’s eyes opened slightly wider.
"Oh? You know who I am?"
"Of course."
Kiriya shrugged.
"One of the four former special-grade sorcerers. I’ve heard plenty about you."
"Though apparently you gave up being a sorcerer and became a cult leader instead."
He looked Geto up and down.
"Shouldn’t you be somewhere fleecing your rich, gullible followers? Why bother with an unknown nobody like me?"
Geto casually adjusted his posture, though his gaze became more serious.
"You know quite a lot."
"Did Satoru tell you?"
"No."
Kiriya raised a finger.
"I have my own sources."
"No wonder Satoru took such an interest in you and even made an exception to bring you into Jujutsu High."
Geto rose to his feet, studying Kiriya’s wine-red eyes with open curiosity.
"You really are fascinating."
"Just now, you absorbed something from the cursed spirits after exorcising them."
"You possess no cursed energy whatsoever, yet you can do something like that."
His smile deepened.
"Those eyes of yours may be worth studying."
Kiriya’s brow tightened.
From Geto’s words, it was obvious that he had been keeping a close watch on Gojo.
Kiriya had known the man for less than half a day, yet Geto had already followed the scent and found him.
That level of intelligence gathering was worthy of the main villain from the prequel.
"Since you’re not answering," Geto said gently. "I’ll take that as permission."
He swept one wide sleeve outward.
A long, furry cursed spirit shot from beneath the fabric like a striking serpent, jaws opening toward Kiriya’s throat.
Shhk!
Kiriya moved in a flash.
His sword cut the serpent apart into several pieces, and its body dissolved into smoke before it hit the ground.
At the same time, Kiriya pushed the Body Flicker Technique to its limit.
He appeared directly in front of Geto and slashed for his neck.
"Good movement."
Geto smiled.
Several centipede-shaped curses burst from his sleeves and lunged toward Kiriya’s arms, legs, and torso.
"Hinokami Kagura: Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
Kiriya spun through them with a blazing circular slash.
The centipedes were torn apart instantly, though the attack also gave Geto enough time to retreat.
"So you like cursed spirits, do you?"
Geto spread both arms.
"Then let’s see how many you can devour!"
Dozens of cursed spirits surged from behind him and flooded toward Kiriya from every direction.