In the dark alleys of Dogenzaka, the stench of blood was overwhelmingly thick.
Toji Fushiguro held the Inverted Spear of Heaven in one hand, the cold gleam of its blade reflecting Haruta's face, twisted in utter terror.
"Don't... don't come any closer! I'm warning you..." The sickly grin Haruta once took pride in had completely vanished. Bracing himself against the muddy ground with trembling hands, he desperately crawled backward.
The brief exchange moments earlier had already shattered his sanity.
The man before him possessed no Cursed Energy whatsoever, yet his speed was so overwhelming that even Haruta's dynamic vision could not follow it. His physical strength was even more monstrous, enough to shatter multiple ribs with a single punch.
If not for the "Miracles" stored beneath his eyes automatically activating to nullify fatal injuries, he would have already been beaten into a puddle of flesh.
Toji stopped walking and glanced down at the special grade cursed tool in his hand.
Originally, he had intended to pierce this guy's heart with the Inverted Spear of Heaven and finish things instantly.
But the Inverted Spear of Heaven forcibly nullified all Cursed Techniques. The moment it struck, Haruta's "Miracle" technique would disappear entirely, killing him on the spot.
"Killing you too quickly would be letting you off easy."
Toji casually shoved the Inverted Spear of Heaven back into the mouth of the storage-type Cursed Spirit wrapped around his neck.
"The boss gave orders. Strip away all your miracles and let you die the ugliest death possible. Since I took the money, I should at least provide decent service."
He cracked his knuckles, the popping sounds echoing like firecrackers.
Seeing Toji put away the weapon, Haruta felt no relief. Instead, an icy chill crawled from the base of his spine straight to the top of his head.
"You... what are you planning to do?!"
Bang!
Toji closed the distance instantly and smashed a heavy punch directly into Haruta's cheek.
Haruta's body spun through the air like a top before slamming violently into a nearby brick wall.
The wall cracked on impact, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with shattered teeth.
Another black mark beneath his eye disappeared.
"Four left."
Toji coldly announced the number as he strode forward, grabbing Haruta by his signature blond ponytail and lifting him straight off the ground.
"Let me go! LET ME GO!" Haruta screamed like a pig being slaughtered, flailing desperately.
Toji showed no mercy. He drove his knee upward into Haruta's abdomen with brutal force.
Crack!
The sickening sound of ruptured organs rang out, and another black mark vanished beneath Haruta's eye. Immediately afterward, Toji grabbed him by the hair and smashed his head into the pavement like a sandbag.
Boom!
A crater exploded across the stone ground.
"Three."
This wasn't a battle anymore.
It was pure, one-sided slaughter.
Haruta, the twisted Curse User who delighted in tormenting the weak, was finally experiencing the despair of being crushed like an insect before absolute violence.
Again and again, he suffered fatal injuries, only to regain consciousness through the restoration of his "Miracles," only to endure another round of agonizing destruction moments later.
Just as only one black mark remained beneath Haruta's eye—
Rapid footsteps suddenly echoed from the alley entrance.
"Ms. Nitta! Be careful! The smell of blood here is too strong, and there's an emergency signal from an Assistant Supervisor!"
Along with a clear and energetic young girl's voice, two figures rushed into the dark alley.
Leading the way was Kugisaki Nobara, dressed in her Jujutsu High uniform and carrying her small hammer along with several long nails.
Behind her was Nitta Akari, the Assistant Supervisor in a black suit, her face filled with anxiety.
The two had received reports that an Assistant Supervisor stationed on the perimeter had been attacked and had immediately come to provide support.
But the moment they entered the alley and saw the scene before them, both froze in place.
Several Assistant Supervisors from Jujutsu High lay scattered across the ground in pools of blood. At the center of the carnage stood an enormous man with scar-covered features and muscles like carved stone, holding a blood-soaked blond Curse User who no longer even resembled a human being.
The blond man's limbs were twisted into unnatural angles, his bones clearly shattered, while he twitched limply in the giant's grasp like a dead dog.
"Hey..."
Nobara tightened her grip on her hammer, staring fixedly at the scarred man.
The instant she saw his face clearly, her breathing caught.
That face.
Those beast-like drooping eyes.
That arrogant, detached aura.
"Fushiguro...?"
The name slipped unconsciously from her lips.
But she immediately realized something was wrong.
No.
Although they looked incredibly alike, Fushiguro Megumi absolutely did not possess such a terrifying physique, nor that overwhelming bloodlust that seemed to crawl out from mountains of corpses.
Most importantly, she could not sense even the slightest trace of Cursed Energy from this man.
Hearing the voice, Toji Fushiguro slightly turned his head and glanced at the two girls from the corner of his eye.
"Jujutsu High brats?"
He quickly lost interest and looked away again.
At the moment, he was merely a bodyguard hired by Rin. Since the boss had given no instructions regarding these newcomers, he couldn't be bothered with them.
However, the instant Haruta saw Nobara and Nitta Akari, his previously dull eyes suddenly exploded with desperate hope.
People from Jujutsu High!
As long as Jujutsu High sorcerers were here, he might still escape!
Haruta let out a piercing scream, forcibly burning the last of his remaining Cursed Energy. His body twisted violently as he broke free from Toji's grip.
Like a crippled mad dog, he scrambled on all fours toward Nitta Akari at the alley entrance.
"Damn it! Stop this monster for me!"
Haruta's face twisted hideously as a hidden spare knife slipped into his hand from his sleeve, and he lunged directly at Nitta Akari's face.
"Ms. Nitta, get back!"
Nobara's face turned pale as she immediately raised her hammer, preparing to activate Straw Doll Technique and pin the Curse User down.
But Haruta was too fast, and the distance was too short.
Nitta Akari was completely frozen by the sudden attack.
Just as the knife was about to slash across her throat—
"How annoying."
Toji Fushiguro let out a cold scoff.
His right arm flicked violently.
The manriki-gusari wrapped around his wrist shot out like a black venomous dragon erupting from the abyss, accompanied by a shrill sonic boom.
Puchi!
The pitch-black chain pierced straight through Haruta's back with absolute precision. Its hooked end shredded his heart before bursting out through his chest in a spray of hot blood.
The final black mark beneath Haruta's eye flickered once before disappearing completely.
The "Miracles" were exhausted.
His lunging body froze in midair, and the knife slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the ground at Nitta Akari's feet.
Haruta slowly lowered his head, staring blankly at the black chain piercing through his chest. Blood foam bubbled from his mouth before his head tilted limply to one side.
His final breath left him.
Toji flicked his wrist, retracting the manriki-gusari.
Haruta's corpse crashed into a puddle like a heap of garbage, never moving again.
From the moment Haruta attacked to the instant Toji killed him, less than two seconds had passed.
Nobara's hand holding the hammer still hung frozen in midair.
She stared in shock at the man retracting the chain.
That assassination technique, which ignored distance and struck with horrifying precision, completely overturned her understanding of combat.
"Hey, you two."
Toji shook the blood from the chain before wrapping it back around his arm.
He turned around, cold eyes sweeping over Nobara and Nitta Akari.
"The perimeter's been cleared. Hurry and find somewhere safe to hide. The Shibuya that's coming next isn't something brats playing sorcerer can handle."
With that, Toji bent his knees and leapt upward.
His massive frame effortlessly landed atop a rooftop more than ten meters high, and after several jumps, he vanished into the endless night.
Only after Toji's presence had completely disappeared...
...did Nitta Akari's legs finally give out.
She collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, her entire body drenched in cold sweat.
Nobara slowly lowered her hammer. Looking first at Haruta's corpse and then toward the direction Toji had vanished, she bit her lower lip.
"That old guy... who the hell was he? He looked way too much like Fushiguro, and that monstrous physical strength..."
Nobara shook her head hard, forcing herself to calm down.
Now was not the time to think about things like that.
"Ms. Nitta, can you still walk? We need to regroup with Itadori and the others immediately. Gojo-sensei's been sealed. The situation underground is definitely a hundred times worse than this!"
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