Chu Yang acted as if he hadn't heard, restraining Itadori while silently standing his ground.
The moment the Cursed Spirit was about to strike—
A sword suddenly materialized in front of Chu Yang, blocking the attack.
The sword was entirely white, with a faint cyan hue from its hilt to its tip. It floated in midair.
The instant the Cursed Spirit touched Tianque, it let out a bone-chilling, agonized scream.
It sounded eerily human.
Itadori was stunned by his own thought. His expression turned blank.
Tianque radiated a brilliant white light, enveloping the Cursed Spirit.
An astonishing sight unfolded before them—
The Cursed Spirit slowly transformed back into a human.
"A person?!"
Itadori was horrified.
The "Cursed Spirit" before them was actually an ordinary person whom Mahito had twisted beyond recognition.
Tianque possessed the ability to correct souls, restoring them to their original state.
Technically, this wasn't a Shikai ability—just an inherent trait of the sword.
Chu Yang had yet to fully grasp this Zanpakutō.
Both Fengdu and Tianque were different from any Zanpakutō in the Soul Society.
Even as their wielder, Chu Yang only had a vague understanding of them.
The person who had returned to human form was on the brink of death. The moment he had been transformed into a Cursed Spirit, his fate was sealed.
Itadori rushed forward and cradled him in his arms.
The victim was a young man, not much older than Itadori. As if aware of his impending death, he showed a look of relief.
"Thank you... for freeing me from this pain..."
With those final words, his life force faded away.
"Why? Why did he end up like this?"
Watching a life slip away right before his eyes left Itadori feeling utterly powerless. He lost control of his emotions and screamed at Chu Yang.
"The Cursed Spirit we're dealing with can alter the shape of a soul."
"If you ever encounter him, make sure your cursed energy envelops every part of your soul. Only then can you defend against his technique."
Chu Yang spoke softly.
"He was turned into this by a Cursed Spirit? Where is it?! I'm going to kill it!"
Itadori's eyes turned bloodshot.
Thud!
A trash can suddenly toppled over in the narrow alleyway, rolling toward them.
Itadori looked up and saw another Cursed Spirit.
Without hesitation, he charged toward it.
"You bastard!"
All he could think about was landing a punch.
Then—
Chu Yang appeared in front of him and kicked him aside.
"Learn to observe before throwing a punch. Otherwise, you'll die at the hands of a stronger Cursed Spirit."
Chu Yang lectured him as he used Universal Pull, drawing the Cursed Spirit toward himself.
Tianque gleamed once more.
The Cursed Spirit howled in agony before slowly reverting to human form, just like before.
Itadori, still reeling from the pain, suddenly felt a wave of fear—he had almost killed another human being.
The victim this time was a girl. Her condition was better than the boy's, suggesting she hadn't been a Cursed Spirit for long.
She could still be saved.
Chu Yang knelt down, placed a hand on her head, and infused her with life energy.
Though unconscious, fear contorted her face.
Chu Yang sighed. With trauma this severe, even if she survived, she might never recover.
He decided to erase her memories.
During the process, Chu Yang glimpsed her past.
The boy and girl had been university students from a nearby school, out on a date at the cinema when they had the misfortune of encountering Mahito.
As memories of the boy disappeared, a single tear rolled down the girl's cheek.
"Senpai, what are you doing?"
The shaken Itadori's voice had quieted considerably.
"Erasing her memories."
Chu Yang answered.
"Then... why is she crying?"
Itadori asked in confusion.
"She's forgotten someone important."
Chu Yang's gaze fell upon the boy's lifeless body.
Itadori seemed to realize something, his fists clenching in anger.
Even without her memories, the lingering fear would remain in her subconscious. She would have to overcome it on her own in the future.
Chu Yang lifted the girl and handed her to Itadori.
"Contact Ijichi Kiyotaka. Have him take care of her."
Itadori nodded. As he saw Chu Yang leaving, he quickly asked, "Senpai, where are you going?"
Chu Yang's voice was chilling.
"To take out the trash."
There was still a lingering presence of a third Cursed Spirit at the scene. Chu Yang figured it had to be Mahito, so he followed the residual traces of its aura.
If the girl hadn't survived, Chu Yang would have brought Itadori along to teach him something.
But now, he just wanted to smash Mahito's head into pulp.
Following the stench, Chu Yang arrived at an abandoned sewer.
The sewer's natural foul odor was so strong that it nearly masked the stench of the Cursed Spirit.
"This is exactly where trash belongs," Chu Yang said coldly.
"How rude. I actually quite like the sewers."
With flowing blue hair, Mahito would have been attractive to many young girls—if not for the horrific stitches running across its face.
Tilting its head with an innocent expression, Mahito looked at Chu Yang. "You found me so quickly. You must be a pretty powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer, huh?"
"You must have been born recently. Under normal circumstances, any Cursed Spirit with even a shred of intelligence would run the moment they saw me."
Chu Yang snapped his fingers, and the sewer's exit suddenly collapsed, completely sealing off the only way out.
"You seem pretty confident, sealing off the exit like that. What if the one who dies here is you?"
Mahito stared at Chu Yang, curious.
Chu Yang picked up a stone, infused it with Cursed Energy, and flicked it toward Mahito. A loud explosion echoed through the air.
Boom!
Before Mahito could react, one of its arms was blown apart.
"How about now?"
"Can I be a little more confident?"
Chu Yang flashed a friendly smile.
Mahito's expression grew serious. "You're not an ordinary Jujutsu Sorcerer, are you?"
As it spoke, Mahito spat out a grotesque creature from its mouth.
The monster rapidly expanded in size.
Its appearance resembled the Cursed Spirits that had appeared in the movie theater earlier—humans whose souls had been forcibly transfigured.
Chu Yang gripped [Tianque] in his hand.
With a sweep of his sword, the monster let out a shriek, reverting back to human form before quickly losing all signs of life.
Mahito's pupils shrank.
That sword counters my ability!
"If I want to win, I have to attack him directly."
Abandoning the idea of using Transfigured Humans to overwhelm Chu Yang, Mahito decided to close the distance and alter Chu Yang's soul directly.
Chu Yang sensed its intent and used Universal Pull to drag Mahito toward him.
Mahito was stunned for a moment before breaking into a wild grin.
The moment it touched Chu Yang, it would activate Idle Transfiguration.
Chu Yang grabbed Mahito by the throat.
At the same time, Mahito grabbed Chu Yang's arm, grinning triumphantly.
"Hahaha! You're about to taste true despair!"
Laughing maniacally, Mahito unleashed Idle Transfiguration.
Chu Yang laughed as well.
A moment later—
Chu Yang remained completely unchanged.
Mahito was stunned.
"Why…? Why isn't my technique working on you?"
"There's no way your Cursed Energy is this powerful!"
"What grade Jujutsu Sorcerer are you?"
Mahito kept rambling, its expression growing increasingly unhinged.
"Special Grade."
Gripping Mahito's head, Chu Yang smiled. "Just got promoted recently. Nice to meet you."
Mahito looked shocked.
The next second—
Chu Yang crushed its head and tossed the body aside.
Mahito wobbled as it stood back up, its wounds rapidly healing. In no time, its head was restored.
[Tianque] could correct souls, but it couldn't interfere with Mahito's ability to maintain its own soul's integrity.
With its head fully regenerated, Mahito smirked. It seemed to recognize Chu Yang and asked excitedly, "You're Yang? Sukuna's new vessel?"
Chu Yang had originally intended to kill Mahito outright, but he suddenly held back, eyeing it with interest.
If Mahito knew about him, that meant the Cursed Spirit faction behind it did as well.
Kenjaku knew that Chu Yang was Sukuna's new vessel.
"Those damn higher-ups really do blab about everything. Makes me want to kill them even more."
Chu Yang knew that Jujutsu High's leadership had leaked intel to Kenjaku.
There was some kind of connection—or even a deal—between them.
"If I kill you, will Sukuna revive here?"
A glint of madness flashed in Mahito's eyes as it pressed both hands onto Chu Yang, continuously activating Idle Transfiguration.
Chu Yang stared at it coldly.
The excitement faded from Mahito's face, replaced by growing unease.
Chu Yang's Cursed Energy was like an impenetrable fortress—it couldn't be moved, let alone infiltrated to affect his soul.
"I was going to just kill you… but now, I need your memories."
"Domain Expansion."
"Deathmatch Corridor."