In the world of jujutsu sorcerers, there has never been an absolutely invincible cursed technique.
The myriad of innate techniques awakened in sorcerers can not only be inherited, allowing the techniques of powerful ancient sorcerers to resurface in the modern era, but they can also evolve with the times, giving rise to techniques that align with contemporary concepts.
Take the camera, for example.
Such a thing didn't exist in ancient times, so ancient sorcerers couldn't possibly awaken techniques related to photography. But in the modern era, after the concept of photography became widespread, some sorcerers might awaken techniques tied to it—like pointing a camera at someone to immobilize them. Roy had seen records of such techniques in the Jujutsu Headquarters' archives.
Cursed techniques themselves change with the passage of time and the emergence or disappearance of concepts, so there has never been an absolutely invincible technique.
However, there are techniques explicitly designed to counter specific types of techniques.
The cursed technique of the curse user, Susaka, is one such example.
His technique reverses strength and weakness.
The more powerful an attack is, the weaker its effect becomes when used against him.
Conversely, the weaker an attack is, the more potent it becomes when directed at him.
The effect of this technique is straightforward—no matter how much one tries to elaborate, it can be fully explained in just a sentence or two.
For someone like Susaka, who possesses such a technique, facing complex rule-based techniques would be extremely troublesome. He'd have no choice but to play by the opponent's rules, and sometimes those rules come with unreasonable abilities—attacks that don't care about strength or weakness, instantly killing anyone they touch. In such cases, he'd be at a severe disadvantage, with an eighty percent chance of having to flee.
But against pure close-combat specialists, his technique makes him nearly unbeatable!
The stronger the attack, the less damage it can inflict on him.
And if the attack is weak, its power naturally becomes amplified when used against him.
But let's not forget—every proper jujutsu sorcerer can use cursed energy reinforcement. By manipulating his cursed energy to form a defensive layer over his body, he can easily block weak attacks. As long as the attack doesn't land, it's meaningless.
To defeat him, one can't use attacks that are too strong or too weak. And if one uses an attack of moderate strength, even if it hits, it won't deal significant damage… For close-combat specialists, facing such an opponent is nothing short of a nightmare.
Initially, Susaka had no intention of provoking a special-grade sorcerer.
After all, a special-grade is still a special-grade—who knows what terrifying techniques and abilities they might possess?
But if that special-grade sorcerer was the newly promoted Roy, then that was a different story.
His technique inherently countered Roy's abilities at their core. Roy's technique was likely some kind of close-combat reinforcement, right? Even if they did clash, Susaka's chances of winning were quite high.
Cursed users are like this. Ordinary jujutsu sorcerers don't need to worry about their livelihoods because the higher-ups assign missions and provide salaries. But cursed users have much more to consider. As sorcerers, they consider themselves superior and refuse to work as subordinates to non-sorcerers. To make ends meet, they often end up like Susaka, degenerating into assassins or mercenaries.
"I never wanted to make enemies with Jujutsu High. Being targeted by the strongholds of the jujutsu world is no pleasant feeling. But since things have come to this, killing this newly promoted special grade wouldn't be a problem, right?"
In the alleyway, with such thoughts in mind, Susaka revealed a hunter-like smile and sprang into action.
That saying about "the one you absolutely must not provoke isn't just Gojo Satoru" was nothing more than empty threats from some hot-headed brat in his eyes.
Susaka gripped his dagger, reinforcing his legs with cursed energy, and leaped toward Roy with the agility of a gazelle.
He channeled cursed energy into his dagger—this way, even a body reinforced by cursed energy wouldn't stand a chance. It would be a fatal wound to any sorcerer.
In that split second, as his eyes widened with murderous intent, a strange color suddenly imprinted itself in his vision.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the white-haired brat's eyes suddenly change.
The blood-red pupils, exuding an eerie elegance, vanished in an instant, replaced by pitch-black orbs that seemed to suck in everything they beheld. Chains of black and white seals rotated endlessly within the irises, while an ominous glimmer pulsed like black obsidian.
For a moment, an inexplicable sense of dread surged through Susaka's heart at the most inopportune time.
No.
What could a pair of eyes possibly do?
He'd never heard of a cursed technique activated through eyes!
It was just a bluff, meaningless. His technique completely countered this guy's—
Such thoughts flashed through 's mind in that brief instant.
But the next moment.
His entire body suddenly convulsed.
"Gah—!"
An excruciating, tearing pain erupted from the depths of his brain.
Susaka collapsed face-first onto the ground, eyes bloodshot, clutching his head as if his teeth might shatter from how hard he was clenching them.
The agony struck his brain directly—like an iron rod ruthlessly thrust into his skull and violently stirred.
He couldn't focus on anything outside himself, only frantically pounding his own head as if trying to stop it from exploding. Unconsciously, thick streams of blood began pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
This pain was nothing like physical agony. This torment from within his brain felt like it was boiling his very mind away. Under its influence, not only did his body lose control, convulsing uncontrollably, but even his consciousness began fading into darkness.
"After living most of your life, you still haven't figured out your own limits?"
Through his blood-blurred vision, someone stepped into view.
"Dreaming of becoming the first to kill a special grade? You'd make a great comedian—now talk. Who sent you?"
"W-what did... you do...?"
"I'm the one asking questions here."
Roy stood over Susaka, his expression icy as he stared down at the muscular old man.
"If you still choose not to answer, you'll die in agony with blood flowing from all seven orifices, and without control over your own body, you won't even be able to commit suicide. But if you confess honestly now, I can make your death quicker."
As a curse user, Susaka had considered that his end might come violently.
He was prepared to face death.
"...I don't know who it was. I took the job on the dark web for curse users... The task only specified capturing one of your students, any one would do..."
He had no idea who had posted the job or what their true motives were.
Even the meeting location and time after completing the task were to be notified by the other party later.
"Give me the URL of that dark web, along with your account and password."
Roy stood in the alley, the dim sunlight casting his figure into shadow from behind. His icy tone sounded as if he were speaking to a corpse.
"..."
Susaka was prepared to die.
But no matter whose hands he died by, he had never imagined it would be so pathetic, so meaningless.
He didn't even understand how he had lost, forced to die with nothing but resentment, his eyes wide open in unwillingness.
Roy kicked the dagger on the ground, sending it flying like an arrow to pierce Susaka's heart.
Soon, Susaka stopped moving.
Yuji, standing behind Roy, witnessed everything.
He had expected a fierce battle—even if it was Roy-sensei, surely he'd need to put in some effort, take a few moves to defeat this curse user.
Who would have thought the outcome would be so one-sided?
This curse user, who had treated Yuji as nothing, was utterly powerless before Roy-sensei.
Honestly, it wasn't just the curse user who didn't understand—even Yuji stood there like a fool, completely clueless about what had happened or how his teacher had won.
"What did you do?"
At that moment, a third voice echoed through the alley.
Yuji's gaze flickered downward, and as if bitten by a mosquito, he suddenly slapped his own right cheek.
But it was no use.
Soon, another mouth sprouted on his left cheek—a mouth with beast-like fangs. The voice had come from there.
"Popping up whenever he feels like it... This Sukuna guy is such a pain."
Yuji glared at his left cheek—though he couldn't actually see it, he could still feel it.
Having a mouth belonging to Sukuna on his face was disgusting.
Roy rummaged through Susaka's pockets and found his phone.
"Want to know? Take a guess."
He knew Sukuna was speaking to him but didn't bother looking up, his tone laced with amusement.
Roy had no interest in explaining his abilities to enemies.
In this world, revealing one's technique could form a "binding vow," which could enhance the scope or power of the technique. But Roy's ability wasn't a cursed technique, so he wasn't sure if the principle of binding vows applied. Even if it did, he didn't think his Mystic Eyes needed the slight boost a vow could provide.
The essence of a binding vow was trading something to gain something else.
For example, if I were a swordsman facing an unimaginably powerful enemy, I could pay the price of "never touching a sword again for the rest of my life" in exchange for "my strongest strike," unleashing the most powerful slash.
If this restriction were broken and I wielded a blade again, the consequences would be devastating.
But Roy's Mystic Eyes inherently defy logic. There's no way for opponents to defend against or counter this ability—a single glance is enough to decide the outcome, rendering restrictions unnecessary.
"Hmph, even if you don't say it, I can guess."
Sukuna opened his mouth, letting out a defiant sneer.
"That assassin was clutching his head earlier, as if his brain was under attack. Most sorcerers would assume you launched a direct assault on his mind."
"But that creates a glaring inconsistency. That assassin believed he could defeat you, meaning he must have had absolute confidence in his technique. Yet until his death, he never used it—just clutched his head and waited to die. And the core of a technique resides within the human brain."
"You... don't tell me you can directly target other sorcerers' techniques?"
Directly target techniques?
That powerful?
Yuji shuddered, his eyes lighting up.
Even as a newcomer to the jujutsu world, he knew a sorcerer's combat strength largely depended on their innate technique. If that technique were countered or sealed, the battle was practically over!
His teacher once said no sorcerer could defeat him—was this what he meant?
His teacher was incredible!
"To deduce so much from such a brief exchange—truly worthy of the King of Curses."
Roy used the dead Susaka's fingerprint to unlock the phone, registered a new one, then pocketed the device. Turning around, he clapped slowly in mock admiration.
Yet his face showed no tension at having his ability exposed. Instead, he gave Sukuna a meaningful look.
"Close, but you haven't seen through everything. Keep guessing—I'll grade you in real time!"
"Tch!"
Sukuna clicked his tongue in disgust.