"That's right. Hana and I can help you suppress the Culling Game. We can even become sorcerers affiliated with Jujutsu High..."
The small mouth on Hana's cheek spoke up, agreeing with her earlier statement and revealing their condition.
"On one condition: eliminate the Disgraced One."
"Wait, hold on." Hakari, who had recently returned, was the first to interrupt. He hated people who spoke in riddles.
Not to mention that the Culling Game had already been mostly brought under control over the past two days. He himself had crushed an entire barrier through sheer strength, yet he had never heard of anyone called "The Disgraced One."
So he asked directly, "Who exactly is this Disgraced One? And who are you?"
The small mouth hesitated briefly before answering, "My name is Angel. Unlike ordinary reincarnated sorcerers, Hana and I exist in a symbiotic relationship."
Her relationship with Hana wasn't like the one Sukuna and Yuji once had. Neither could simply seize control whenever they wanted.
She existed by relying on Hana, and even using her own technique required Hana's cooperation. Likewise, her cursed energy and technique continuously nourished Hana's body. The halo above her head and the pure white wings behind her were the clearest proof.
In a sense, Angel and Hana were essentially one person.
"As for the Disgraced One..."
"You're talking about Sukuna, aren't you?" Suguru, who had been rubbing his chin thoughtfully, answered before she could.
Recently, he had occasionally visited the Tombs of the Star Corridor to speak with Master Tengen. As someone who existed during the same era as Sukuna, Tengen had shared certain information, including details about Angel and the Disgraced One.
Suguru didn't know the exact nature of their relationship, but one thing was certain: Angel genuinely wanted Sukuna dead.
And shared interests made for useful temporary allies.
"That's correct." Angel finally revealed her greatest value. "The best way to eliminate Sukuna is through my technique. My technique can extinguish all cursed techniques."
Angel's cursed technique, Technique Extinguishment, had an effect similar to the Inverted Spear of Heaven. It forcibly nullified active techniques.
Reincarnation through cursed objects was, at its core, a cursed technique. And because Yuta's soul hadn't been completely erased during Sukuna's takeover of his body, the technique itself had never concluded.
In other words, Sukuna's possession remained an active technique, which Angel's technique, or even the Inverted Spear of Heaven, could forcibly cancel.
"So by that logic..." Nanami spoke up. "Wouldn't you be able to instantly force Sukuna out of Yuta's body? A technique this powerful can't possibly be without drawbacks."
Battles between sorcerers were battles of cursed energy and techniques. If one could simply erase the opponent's technique outright, it would effectively remove half of the equation. There had to be limitations somewhere.
"That's exactly why I came to you. Though Hana also wanted to come." Angel decided not to hide anything.
Her technique was undeniably powerful.
The problem was that she wasn't.
Once techniques were set aside, cursed energy became extremely important. Her reserves of cursed energy weren't exceptional, her maximum output couldn't compare to top-tier fighters, and her hand-to-hand combat skills were nearly nonexistent.
Furthermore, her technique required a noticeable activation motion. Without knowing Domain Expansion, even a surprise attack couldn't guarantee a hit.
Most importantly, her technique wasn't instantaneous. If the reincarnated soul hadn't fully integrated with the body yet, things would be easier, but the deeper the synchronization became, the harder it would be to separate them.
Against a near full-power Sukuna, even using Technique Extinguishment at maximum output would require time to completely remove him from Yuta's body. And Hana's body simply couldn't survive long enough to create that opportunity.
That was the real reason Angel had approached Jujutsu High.
After a brief silence, Mukuro finally spoke. "You can stay at Jujutsu High for now. There's a chance we'll need your help in half a month."
In certain aspects, Hana's technique was even more useful than his Deva Path. However, that was only the ideal scenario.
Reincarnation wasn't merely a single innate technique. It was a forbidden phenomenon that transcended time, space, and flesh itself, a miracle that brought the dead back to life.
Expecting Technique Extinguishment to completely suppress Sukuna at that stage was unlikely.
Still, there was no harm in preparing for every possibility.
"That's wonderful!"
A single casual sentence from Mukuro immediately made Hana beam with happiness, and she quickly moved behind Megumi to start a conversation with him.
"Yuji, does your hand still hurt?"
Meanwhile, Choso gently grabbed Yuji's left hand.
The place where his little finger had once been was now completely empty. Sukuna had torn it off and turned it into a cursed object. That part of Yuji's soul was gone forever. Even Shoko and Yuki couldn't restore it with Reverse Cursed Technique.
"I'm fine." Yuji shook his head before lowering his gaze. "I'm more worried about Okkotsu-senpai. Sukuna took over his entire body..."
The moment he mentioned it, guilt filled his face. If he had died earlier, maybe none of this would have happened.
Just then, a thought struck him, and he immediately covered his ears.
"Wait! That bastard Sukuna can't hear what we're saying, can he?"
A resonance still existed between them. Sukuna had once lived inside his body, and part of Yuji's soul had followed Sukuna into Yuta's body.
"Don't worry." Yuki casually pulled his hands away from his ears. "If you can't hear Sukuna's thoughts, then he can't hear yours either."
As someone who had extensively studied souls, she dismissed his concern with ease.
"Speaking of that..." Suguru suddenly looked at Yuji's missing finger. "Let me help you."
The space beside him distorted, and Mahito in his Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing form emerged.
"Help me?" Yuji looked completely confused.
"How's the experiment going?" Mukuro suddenly asked a question that left everyone else puzzled.
"Honestly, not very well." Suguru shook his head. "A curse is still a curse. Mahito had tremendous potential, but I absorbed him too early. Maybe if he'd had another year or two..."
Ever since absorbing Mahito through Cursed Spirit Manipulation, Suguru had been researching Idle Transfiguration. Following Mukuro's suggestion, he continuously studied the technique through his Domain Expansion.
When Suguru expanded his domain, the guaranteed-hit effect allowed him to indirectly gain Mahito's guaranteed-hit Idle Transfiguration. However, using Idle Transfiguration required the ability to perceive souls. Thus, whenever his domain was active, Suguru temporarily acquired that ability.
Over time, he had gradually learned to perceive the outlines of souls even on his own.
But that was only one part of the process.
The true experiment Mukuro referred to had begun several days earlier. The Culling Game players and the elite military units sent by various countries had all become Suguru's test subjects.
He had tried using Mahito's power to alter them. Some were subjected to attempts at completely removing their cursed energy, while others were modified the way Kenjaku once did, turning their bodies into vessels capable of housing cursed techniques.
But without exception, every single attempt ended in failure.
Removing cursed energy from an ordinary person or sorcerer wasn't simple. The Instant Spirit Body version of Mahito possessed tremendous technique strength, but Mahito's understanding and mastery were still insufficient.
And once a curse was absorbed by Cursed Spirit Manipulation, it was essentially dead.
Dead things couldn't continue growing.
"Then we'll have to do it myself." Suguru looked toward another person. "Maki, come here too."
There was only one option left.
Suguru raised his hand.
"Cursed Technique Extraction."
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