Stepping deeper into the mountains, Jinsuke heard the clash of battle up ahead.
Nanami and Riko were locked in combat with more than a dozen monkey-like curses. All around them, in the trees, at least a hundred more perched, howling and clapping their hands in eerie rhythm.
Individually, their strength was nothing to brag about — most were only Grade 4 or 3 curses, with a few reaching Grade 2.
For Nanami and Riko, this wasn't impossible to handle.
"Stupid monkeys! Taste my technique!"
Riko didn't fight head-on. She darted and weaved, cursed energy condensing in her palms.
She compressed it. Then compressed again. And again.
Her body bent like a bow as she hurled the condensed sphere forward at a curse lunging for her.
"BOOM!!"
The moment the sphere touched its target, it detonated like a bomb.
Two Grade 4s and one Grade 3 were instantly reduced to ash.
"Heh!"
A triumphant smile spread across Riko's face.
This was her awakened technique: Star's Limit.
Cursed energy, compressed to the absolute extreme.
As long as she wasn't interrupted, she could keep compressing endlessly — right up until her body gave out. In theory, with enough endurance, she could create something with the destructive power of a nuclear warhead.
With potential like that, her future as a Grade 1 sorcerer was almost guaranteed. If she could reinforce her body… stepping into Special Grade territory wasn't impossible.
After all, if you can create mushroom clouds, shaking a nation is child's play.
No wonder the Star Plasma Vessel couldn't naturally awaken a technique. It was too broken.
Watching Riko literally throwing cursed energy like grenades, Jinsuke twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"A blossoming young maiden… and she's chosen the path of artillery warfare. Hopefully, she surpasses the 'predecessors' of that path someday."
"HOOOOWL—!!"
A roar shook the forest. A suffocating cursed pressure rolled out from the mountain depths.
Nanami and Riko stiffened. That kind of cursed energy was no joke. Definitely Grade 1. Maybe even higher.
"…Again with this level of trouble?"
Nanami gripped his blade, face solemn.
He wouldn't let another tragedy happen before his eyes.
But the massive cursed spirit didn't appear. Instead, the monkeys suddenly stopped their assault, retreating back into the forest as if answering a command.
"BOOOOM—!!"
From deep within the mountains came a thunderous crash. Two powerful cursed energies were colliding.
Jinsuke's eyes lit up with interest. His figure flickered—and he was gone.
Nanami and Riko exchanged a glance.
"What do we do?"
Normally, they should report back to Jujutsu High and call for higher-level sorcerers. But their "sensei" had already run off to watch the action.
"…Let's follow" Riko decided coolly. "That old guy's fast. Even if he can't win, he can probably drag us out alive."
Nanami didn't argue. Together, they advanced into the mountains.
Minutes later, they reached the battlefield.
Jinsuke stood at the edge, arms crossed, watching with clear amusement.
In the center stood a towering figure, nearly three meters tall, its entire body cloaked in long white fur. Its face twisted with feral rage.
Opposite it—
Nanami and Riko froze.
"…Suguru Geto!?"
The dark monk's robes were unmistakable.
The man declared a curse user, sentenced to death by Jujutsu High.
"Well, if it isn't little Riko and Nanami."
Suguru's tone was calm, detached. He'd already felt their cursed energy during the earlier skirmish. But he hadn't expected it to be old acquaintances.
"…Huh? You're here too?"
Geto blinked when his gaze fell on Jinsuke. He honestly hadn't noticed him at all until now. The man was just… standing there, like a ghost, not giving off the faintest presence.
"Geto! Why did you do it? Tell me you were framed!"
Riko shouted, eyes burning with desperate hope.
Geto's smile didn't waver.
"Sorry, Riko. I chose this myself."
Then his eyes shifted toward Jinsuke.
"And thanks to that little pep talk of yours last time, I finally made up my mind. To live the way I want!"
"…Eh?"
Jinsuke's expression blanked.
"Oi, oi. Don't pin this on me. That was your choice, not mine. If anyone's at fault, it's probably Yuki, not me."
"Wait! So it's true? Geto became a curse user because of you!?"
Riko turned on Jinsuke, glaring daggers.
"I just… helped him think" Jinsuke muttered, looking way too innocent for the situation.
"Exactly" Geto said smoothly. "He didn't force me. I decided it myself. Instead of doubting and hesitating forever, I'll act. I'll do what I believe is right."
Now, he believed exterminating every non-sorcerer in the world was the right path.
And the hulking, Semi-Special Grade in front of him?
The perfect weapon.
Generations of terrifying bedtime stories had birthed it. A phantom spirit whispered into children's ears, growing stronger with every retelling. Now it stood on the verge of evolving into a true Special Grade.
Its minions devouring villagers had only accelerated that fear.
That same behavior had caught Jujutsu High's attention — exactly what made it Geto's target.
One king… and hundreds of underlings. Quite the bargain.
"HOOOOOOWL—!!"
The white-furred monkey king howled. Hundreds of its kin surged forward, swarming toward Geto.
The cursed ape had recognized the greatest threat. The others?
The girl, the boy, and the strange man without cursed energy? They weren't worth its attention.
"Tch. Semi-Special Grade. Giving up would be your only smart choice."
Geto didn't even flinch.
Sorcerer grades were ranked higher than curses.
A Grade 1 sorcerer could handle a Grade 1 curse.
And a Special Grade sorcerer… was capable of exorcising a Special Grade.
This half-step pretender? Even with intelligence, it wasn't worth worrying about.