Chapter 39 – Suguru Geto's Frustration
"Sensei, you don't need to step in. Leave it to us."
On the way, Kinji Hakari leaned back with his hands behind his head, relaxed and cocky—as if the Grade 2 promotion exam were nothing more than a formality.
Beside him, Kirara Hoshi looked equally unconcerned.
After months of training, they had fought plenty of curses already. With their strength and coordination, a Grade 2 exam shouldn't even need a teacher's supervision.
"You're pretty confident," Zen'in Shinsuke remarked, watching their carefree attitudes. He didn't comment further, only added lightly:
"My rule when accompanying students on missions is simple—so long as you're still breathing, I won't interfere."
"Even better!" Hakari grinned wider. He was still in the honeymoon phase of curse-hunting, full of passion. And when Hakari got passionate, he threw himself into it 100%.
"According to the intel, this time it's a Grade 2 curse," Kirara added. "About a few dozen kilometers from here. Once we exorcise it, we'll be done."
The three traveled by car, arriving an hour later at the base of a mountain just outside the city. A foul stench seeped from a large drainage tunnel. Parked at the entrance was a garbage truck, and a sanitation worker in full gear and a face mask was clearing out refuse.
"…You sure this is the place? Don't tell me that's a damn sewer entrance?" Hakari wrinkled his nose as black sludge trickled out.
"Exactly. It is the sewer."
Kirara pulled out three masks and handed them one each.
"Unless something's off, the curse is hiding inside."
"Swish!"
"Ahhh!"
Before Kirara finished speaking, a white silk thread lashed out from the darkness, coiling around the sanitation worker and yanking him screaming into the depths.
The three exchanged looks. That confirmed it—this was the spot.
"Come on! If we don't move, he's dead!"
Hakari darted in without hesitation, Kirara right on his heels.
Shinsuke lingered at the entrance, expression sour. A sewer-dwelling curse… Just the thought made his stomach turn.
"Boom!"
Moments later, violent cursed energy rippled out of the tunnel—the fight had already begun.
Sensing it, Shinsuke confirmed it was indeed only a Grade 2 curse. That decided it. He shifted a few steps away from the reeking air and sat down to wait.
They'll manage. No need to ruin my shoes in that filth.
---
Inside the sewer
Hakari and Kirara followed the silk thread, quickly spotting their target: a human-sized spider curse, pale legs twitching in the darkness.
"So it's just a big spider." Hakari's lips curled with disdain.
"Forget the trash talk—save the worker first!" Kirara shot back, glancing at the man wrapped up like a mummy in silk.
"Fine, let's end this quick."
Hakari snapped his fingers.
Rumble!
A train materialized in the confined space, roaring down the tunnel and slamming into the spider curse.
"SKREEEE!"
The monster screeched as its body was crushed against the wall. The train dissolved into cursed energy, leaving a glowing sigil seared into the spider's body. An identical mark lit up on the sewer wall.
With a violent suction, the curse was yanked back—
BANG!
It smashed into the wall, ichor spraying, screeching in pain. Its eight legs wrenched itself free, emerald eyes blazing with murderous light.
"Shht!"
Threads whipped from its abdomen, lashing toward the two students, while its mandibles spat a jet of green liquid—clearly venom.
Hakari and Kirara dodged, but the acid splashed onto the cocooned sanitation worker.
"AHHHHH!"
The man convulsed, flesh melting away in seconds until nothing but bones clattered to the ground.
"…Tch."
Hakari sucked in a breath through his teeth. Yeah… this one's got bite. A proper Grade 2, at least.
"Kinji!" Kirara shouted, eyes sharp. "Don't give it another chance—finish it in one go!"
Kirara darted around the tunnel walls, slapping down cursed marks at different points—and on himself and Hakari—so they wouldn't get tangled up in their own attacks.
"Alright! Time for the passionate part!"
Hakari's eyes lit up. His blood boiled with excitement as he went all-in against the curse.
With Kirara's ability supporting him, Hakari could freely call down trains, dump trucks, even hundred-ton beasts to smash into the spider curse.
Over and over, the "jackpot" roared into existence—vehicles of every kind slamming into the half-human-sized spider. They were constructs of cursed energy, yes, but their destructive force was very real.
For over ten minutes, the barrage continued. At last, the spider's cursed energy ran dry. Its body crumpled under the relentless assault, collapsing into sludge before dissolving completely into nothingness.
"Done and dusted!"
Hakari raised his arms, tilting his head back with eyes closed, basking in the rush of victory—winning through sheer gambling thrill.
"Yeah… pity we couldn't save the guy," Kirara muttered, wiping sweat as he glanced at the sanitation worker's remains—nothing but a heap of bleached bones.
"Let's go. Nothing we could've done."
In battle, protecting bystanders wasn't something they could manage—not yet.
They were still Grade 3 sorcerers, after all. This mission would only bump them up to Grade 2—barely scratching the surface of real power.
Still, with their techniques, it was only a matter of time. By graduation, they'd surely reach Grade 1. If nothing else, semi-Grade 1 was a given.
Both relaxed now that the job was done, ready to head out—
Swish!
A thick strand of web, like a white bullet, shot from deeper in the sewer, piercing straight through both their abdomens.
"Guh!"
Blood sprayed from their mouths. Their eyes went wide with shock. In the next instant, the silk yanked them into the darkness like helpless prey.
Only then did they realize—spiders rarely lived alone.
Damn it… it's a nest!
The intel from Jujutsu High had been wrong. Again.
With little mission experience, they didn't know how often the school's information was unreliable. Had they known, they might've been more cautious.
Now, as they were dragged deeper, only one furious thought remained in their minds:
Where the hell is our teacher?!
---
Outside the sewer
Zen'in Shinsuke found himself facing someone both unexpected and, in a way, inevitable.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Do you just haunt me or something?"
"Why the hell are you everywhere I go!?"
Suguru Geto glared at him, teeth clenched. Deep down, he felt a stab of unfairness. Did Shinsuke have any idea how hard it was to find decent curses these days?
Ever since defecting from Jujutsu High, every time Geto set his eyes on a promising curse—this guy showed up out of nowhere. And every damn time, Shinsuke butchered the curse right in front of him. Not a scrap left for Geto to absorb.
"…Guess we're fated, huh, Geto?"
Shinsuke gave a lopsided smile. Though truthfully, he was a little surprised. Since when did Geto bother with Grade 2 curses?
No—wrong.
The realization hit him immediately. Suguru Geto wouldn't waste time on a mere Grade 2. Which meant… the real monsters were deeper inside.
"We'll catch up later. Right now I need to check if my students are still alive."
And with that, Shinsuke vanished, slipping into the darkness below.
Only now, distracted by Geto's sudden appearance, did he notice it—Hakari and Kirara's cursed energy signatures had gone silent.
"You bastard!"
Geto's face twisted with anger. He charged after him, determined. This time, he'd snatch the prey before Shinsuke could cut it down.