"Do you believe in reincarnation?"
Kenjaku idly toyed with the Cursed Object in his hand as he casually posed the question to the one in front of him.
"Reincarnation?"
At the word, the other party rely let out a scornful snort.
It was a cold, mocking laugh, yet the temperature around them spiked in an instant.
The air warped under the scorching heat of invisible Cursed Energy, and even the Cursed Object spinning at Kenjaku's fingertips grew warm.
"So-called reincarnation is nothing more than a comfort you humans invent for death, a form of self-deception born from your inability to prolong life."
It was a one-eyed Cursed Spirit.
Though still a Cursed Spirit, he possessed a fairly independent sense of self, completely unlike those Cursed Spirits that did nothing but rampage. Jogo's voice was perfectly calm, yet beneath it lurked a madness that could barely be restrained.
"Life is a fla that burns out in an instant. How could it possibly be lit again and again?"
"But as one of the Four Great Calamities, even if you're exorcised by a Jujutsu Sorcerer, you can never truly be destroyed. Or so I recall."
"Hmph. That's because you pathetic humans are trapped, imprisoned inside cages made of flesh and blood. Unlike us Cursed Spirits, who are immortal and indestructible, all you can do is cling to delusions like reincarnation."
Jogo gave a harsh, cackling laugh.
"Once you die, you die. Your fate is cut off completely. Only by becoming a Cursed Spirit can life continue. Humans are nothing but counterfeits passing themselves off as the real thing, while Cursed Spirits are the true humans. That is why every human in this world must be killed. Only then can this mistaken world receive true justice!"
Ordinary Cursed Spirits kill humans unconsciously.
That is their instinct as Cursed Spirits. Born from human negative emotions, they are driven to kill humans by nature.
But this one-eyed Cursed Spirit was different.
He possessed an extraordinarily clear sense of self.
He had developed sothing separate from a Cursed Spirit's instincts, a positive emotion that should have belonged only to humans.
Jogo had chosen to kill humanity for the sake of a greater cause.
That was what it ant to be one of the Four Great Calamities.
A being known in the Jujutsu World as a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
The King of Earth and Volcanoes. Jogo!
"…Cursed Spirits are the true humans?"
Kenjaku stared at the Cursed Object in his hand and murmured the words back to himself.
"A long, long ti ago, soone once said sothing very similar to . She said humans were nothing but liars full of deceit. Cursed Spirits might be vicious and cruel, but when it cos to keeping promises, their integrity is far beyond anything humans could ever match. If reincarnation and an afterlife truly exist, as the Buddha says, then she would rather be reborn as a Cursed Spirit than ever beco human again."
"That thing in your hand... is it the [Prison Realm]?!"
Jogo finally got a clear look at the Cursed Object in Kenjaku's hand. His eye widened at once, and flas burst from his head!
[Prison Realm]!
Legend had it that this Special Grade Cursed Object was ford from the physical remains of the enlightened monk Genshin after his death in the Heian period!
Genshin had been a master of Barrier Techniques in life, and the Special Grade Cursed Object born from his remains inherited that very trait, becoming an unfailingly powerful sealing artifact!
Even among Special Grade Cursed Objects, [Prison Realm] was an exceptionally rare existence. Its value as a collector's item alone was beyond estimation!
"Calm down, Jogo. It's getting hot."
Kenjaku coughed a few tis and fanned himself with one hand.
But that did nothing to cool Jogo's excitent. Magma began to well up from his head, and blistering heat rolled upward, scorching the air until it twisted and warped.
"You bastard! You actually have a forbidden object like that! Kaori Itadori! Hand it over to ! I'm adding [Prison Realm] to my collection!!!"
"Manager, why is it so hot today? Can't we turn on the AC?"
Not far away, a waiter was drenched in sweat as he kept complaining to the manager.
"Are you kidding ? It's winter! If you turn on the AC, I'm docking the electricity bill from your wages!"
The manager was scolding the waiter, but he was just as baffled himself.
Hadn't the first snow of the season only fallen that morning? This should have been the coldest ti of the year.
Could global warming really have gotten this bad?
He looked over and saw a beautiful, elegant woman at a nearby table, fanning herself with one hand while constantly muttering to herself.
What a gorgeous woman, the manager thought.
But what was with sitting there alone without ordering anything, and talking to herself the whole ti? Is she nuts?
With that in mind, the middle-aged man called over another employee and ordered, "Go check that table right now. Don't let her take up a seat and hurt our business!"
"Hey! What are you standing there for? Get over there already! I'll dock your pay!"
The employee could only break out in a cold sweat.
Because in his eyes, the table that seed to have only one person sitting at it was eerily flickering with three blurry black shadows.
And an incredibly twisted heat was rising from it, as though a volcano were about to erupt at any mont!
"S-Sorry, Manager! I quit!!!"
"Hey! What the hell is wrong with you?! Get back here!!!"
Before the manager could stop him, the employee bolted from the restaurant, scrambling away without even bothering to collect his things.
"Kids these days are way too fragile. Say a few words to them and they quit on the spot..."
Having no other choice, the manager forced a smile and went over himself.
"Excuse , custor, have you decided what to ord—?"
"Quiet."
Jogo's eye turned cold.
In the next instant, roaring flas surged up from beneath the manager's feet, burning the middle-aged man into charred black remains!
"Tch."
Kenjaku clicked his tongue in disgust at the sight.
"Don't make too big a scene."
"Then this should do."
The one-eyed Cursed Spirit's mouth stretched all the way to his ears, revealing a smile of pure malice and cruelty.
In an instant, flas of death burst outward in every direction!
"Uwaaah?!"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
In the blink of an eye, everyone was swallowed by the cursed flas. The staff busy working, the female students at the next table chatting about TV dramas, even the kindly old man nearby feeding a child.
The Western-style restaurant, lively and crowded only monts before, beca a living inferno with a single thought from Jogo.
That was the power of the King of Earth and Volcanoes.
A Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
They were humanity's natural enemies, beings that could slaughter humans with godlike power at a re turn of the hand. If there were no Jujutsu Sorcerers in this world to exorcise such monstrosities, then in less than a week, the entire world would beco a desolate wasteland lit by ghostly flas.
"Kaori Itadori, you said that if we want to wipe out humanity, we have to revive Ryon Sukuna."
Under the shadows cast by the flas, Jogo let out a wild laugh.
"Compared to Ryon Sukuna, how strong am I?"
"Objectively speaking, about eight or nine Fingers."
"That's enough."
The mont Jogo heard that, he was overjoyed.
Eight or nine?
Humans only have ten fingers in total, don't they?!
He had never expected his strength to be nearly on par with the famous King of Curses!
So the one-eyed Cursed Spirit burst out laughing.
"Hand over the [Prison Realm]. As the price of the [Binding Vow], I'll kill Satoru Gojo with my own hands!"
"Sure. If you can do it, I'll gladly present the [Prison Realm] to you with both hands."
Kenjaku rely gave him a sweet smile.
"When do we leave?"
Jogo asked impatiently.
"Where the hell is that vault anyway?! I can't wait to kill Satoru Gojo! I'll mount his arrogant head on my staff! I'll show those humans! The so-called strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer of the modern age is nothing more than soone Jogo defeated!"
"Don't be so hasty."
"Kaori Itadori! Weren't you the one who said it?! As long as we kill Satoru Gojo and revive Ryon Sukuna, we Cursed Spirits will win! Humanity will be utterly crushed! Didn't you say that yourself?!"
"That's true, but that was what I thought before."
Kenjaku toyed with the Cursed Object in his hand as he spoke to Jogo.
"Jogo, have you ever been watched by a pair of eyes? Eyes that can see through the fog of history. Every secret in your heart, every plan you've ever made, in front of those eyes, any trick is just cheap ornantation. There isn't even the slightest room to hide."
"…Does soone like that really exist in this world?"
Even Jogo, one of the Four Great Calamities, had never heard of anything so bizarre.
"As far as I know, there is only one person capable of glimpsing the past, present, and future."
Kenjaku's gaze turned distant with rembrance.
"It is said that Abe no Seii could see into people's hearts, understand all things, and discern the secrets of every Cursed Technique. If reincarnation truly exists in this world, then that Onmyōji's ancestor may very well have returned."
"Abe no Seii…?!"
Jogo was stunned.
If [Ryon Sukuna] was already the ultimate demon-god human imagination could conceive of, then [Abe no Seii] was a legend so great that even demon-gods would bow before him!
The child of a fox spirit!
Half-human, half-yokai!
The strongest Onmyōji in history!
He commanded a hundred demons and established the order of the jujutsu world. Even the King of Curses, who once rampaged through the human world, only managed to fully reveal his edge after Abe no Seii had completely died!
The King of Earth and Volcanoes suddenly lost so of his nerve.
Seriously?
You told the other side had Satoru Gojo, the strongest of the modern age, but you never said there might also be so reincarnation of Abe no Seii?!
This is supposed to be the Age of Decline, right?
This is supposed to be an era of dwindling Cursed Energy, right?
Cursed Spirits lay dormant for centuries, even millennia, just waiting for powerful sorcerers to die off one by one.
So how is it that just when it's finally my ti to shine, you're telling they can reincarnate and start over on new accounts?!
"Well, there's no need to worry. It's only a guess of mine."
Kenjaku smiled faintly.
"Besides, fighting soone who stands ahead of history, even if I were to lose, it wouldn't be an unjust defeat. As for , Satoru Gojo is still the more troubleso one to deal with."
"What's that guy called now?"
Jogo's voice sank lower.
"We can't let humans have soone that powerful on their side. If I have to, I'd sacrifice myself to kill him and secure a future where Cursed Spirits can go on living!"
"You should stick to the original plan and kill Satoru Gojo."
Kenjaku tapped a finger against the table.
"But in return, you're to bring Hanami, Dagon, and Mahito with you to help . Since he's been reincarnated as a human, then naturally he has weaknesses. I've already thought of a way to dig out those eyes of his."
"Fine."
Jogo thought it over, and only after seeing Hanami, who had been silently sitting nearby the whole ti, nod did he finally agree.
"A toast to the bright future of the Cursed Spirits."
Kenjaku raised her glass.
Cursed Spirits do not understand lies.
They are the easiest fools in the world to deceive.
All she had to do was act mysterious, and they would believe it completely, as innocent as children.
That way, she had gained quite a few more pieces to help her probe for traps.
Even if Naoya Zenin had heaven-defying ability, she should still be able to claim a complete victory.
And yet, even so, a faint unease still lingered in the heart of this "Mara".
Amid the clinking of glasses, she could not stop herself from thinking of Naoya Zenin's face.
That day at the Zenin Clan estate, before leaving, she had looked at Naoya Zenin from afar.
If he really was the reincarnation of Abe no Seii, then there was no way she could have escaped his notice that day.
Just who was he?
In a thousand years, this was the first ti she had ever encountered soone so impossible to read.
Kenjaku had investigated Naoya Zenin's past.
Everything in that past told this thousand-year-old monster that Naoya Zenin was nothing more than an utterly boring existence, a foolish, ignorant, and idiotic young master from a rich family.
So how had he managed to reveal such brilliant thods in so short a ti?
Intercepting Suguru Geto's corpse, entering Jujutsu High, searching for Yuji Itadori...
Could it be that he also possessed the [Brain Transplant Cursed Technique]?
Was he soone familiar with her, who had taken over that body?
Or could it be...
"Could there really be a Cursed Technique in this world that turns back ti?"
Kenjaku sipped her juice and fell into deep thought.
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