Chapter 126: Another Breakdown
What sheer audacity—to dare attack a branch of the Sorcery Association in broad daylight. If these fanatics were capable of this, was there anything they wouldn't do?
Since the Association had all the files on this curse user, things were manageable. It meant that someone had already gathered extensive intelligence, formulated combat plans, and drafted countermeasures specifically to eliminate him. Before being killed by Satoru Gojo, the curse user had been ranked as Grade 1, meaning his Corpse Worm Manipulation was effective against Grade 1 sorcerers.
Once touched by any bodily fluid from an infected host, one would be exposed to a massive amount of parasitic eggs. To be safe, close-quarters sorcerers should stay back, leaving the long-range attackers to hold the line. Otherwise, if a melee combatant were infested, the resulting monster would possess even greater destructive power, only adding to the pressure on the group.
The Corpse Worm Manipulation worked by controlling cadavers via parasites, which were usually located behind the thoracic spine. Mutsumi's technique had not yet developed long-range capabilities, and Yukino, at a Grade 3 level, was not yet equipped to handle a crisis of this scale. Dealing with something where a mere scratch or a drop of blood on the skin could lead to parasitic invasion was far too dangerous for them.
To remain cautious and avoid unnecessary complications, Hikigaya Hachiman decided to step in himself.
"Vengeful spirits of the dead, returning for a second act."
Hachiman immediately cast the "Veil," isolating the entire area of the Tokyo branch.
"Becoming a sorcerer means encountering all sorts of incidents. It's not strange to be targeted by curse users," Hachiman said to Yukino and Mutsumi. "In that case, the task is simple: kill this ignorant curse user and subject him to the ultimate penalty."
Lately, curse users had been getting bold; it clearly meant he hadn't killed enough of them.
"Mutsumi has seen me fight before, but Yukino, my methods prioritize efficiency. It might be a bit... bloody. We cannot afford to be soft-hearted toward the wicked."
Yukino shook her head, indicating her understanding. She knew well the rot of the jujutsu world and the darkness of curse users; to cure it, one needed strong medicine.
"Hmm?"
Yukino had been wondering why Hachiman told her to use the Kamo family name if she encountered the unreasonable Zen'in clan. Now, as she saw a massive amount of blood suddenly erupt from Hachiman's body, her confusion turned to realization. Behind him, the blood mist coalesced into over a dozen thick, extending crimson vine-like roots.
These massive constructs, formed of blood, had smooth surfaces etched with black patterns, emitting a faint, eerie black-red glow. Just looking at them made one's skin crawl. This was the first time Yukino had seen Hachiman fight. Compared to the gentleness he showed her, the current Hachiman appeared cold and lethal.
Yukino instantly understood his hidden identity. No wonder he stood above all secular financial cliques at school—he belonged to the Kamo family, one of the Three Great Families of the jujutsu world.
She also heard the gasps of the Grade 1 sorcerers. Clearly, Hachiman's level was top-tier even within the Kamo clan.
"Are you kidding? That's Blood Manipulation?"
"Blood Manipulation? How is it possible to have blood tendrils that thick?"
The Grade 1 sorcerers present had seen other Kamo members fight; those were usually precise, thin streams of blood where the user carefully calculated every drop from a blood bag. Why was the style so different here? This was extravagant and overwhelming, a discharge of blood like a small waterfall.
The Nine-Tailed Fox was equally shocked.
'He possesses dual techniques?'
Hachiman had already demonstrated a technique that only Fujiwara no Yoshifusa could use, and now he was showing the Kamo family's Blood Manipulation. Generally, a person could only possess one Innate Technique; no human or cursed spirit was supposed to awaken two distinct systems simultaneously.
THUD!!! A series of rapid piercing sounds echoed.
The dozen or so tentacles behind Hachiman treated the military-grade reinforced concrete of the Association's defenses like tofu, effortlessly puncturing the thick layers. They plunged directly into the "zombie hell" of the second floor to face the undead.
For Hachiman, the impact of the parasitic eggs was effectively zero. These blood constructs were detached from his body the moment they were summoned, so there was no risk of infection spreading back to him through the blood. Once finished, he would simply destroy the contaminated blood.
In a confined space like this, Hachiman's Blood Manipulation was exceptionally effective; there was simply no way to dodge it. Since the monitors on the lower floors hadn't been destroyed yet, the impact of Hachiman joining the fray was broadcast directly onto the large screen.
The once clean, white space below was now dyed a layer of crimson, littered with disgusting severed limbs and gore. The stalemate was broken. Each of the tentacles split from one into
three, and their tips transformed into gaping maws filled with teeth resembling a lamprey's mouth, beginning to feast upon the transformed monsters.
Over thirty brutal blood dragons were feeding simultaneously; blood and pulverized meat flew in all directions. To deal with monsters, one had to be even more brutal than they were.
Hachiman's version of the technique was incredibly versatile. Even with the sheer quantity of blood, he could maximize its power in this enclosed environment. One didn't even need the monitors to know what was happening—the vibrations through the floorboards told the story.
These massive blood serpents strangled and ground the zombies into paste like a meat grinder. The surging dragons even burst through the windows to the outside of the building, clearing away the monsters clinging to the walls. It was the ultimate, high-efficiency cleaning machine.
In almost no time at all, the once-massive army of zombies was wiped clean. The title "The Cleaner" Hachiman had given himself was quite fitting. To him, cursed spirits and curse users were just trash, and he was the one who threw the trash into the bin.
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Kenjaku, who had been hiding far away waiting to replenish his "troops" with the fallen sorcerers, was stunned.
"Where are my troops?"
He could clearly sense that in a very short span of time, the forces he had accumulated had vanished into nothingness. His technique involved parasites that wouldn't stop until the spine was crushed; how could such a fearless army be resolved so easily?
Beyond "helping" Geto find his family, Kenjaku's other goal was to use the Association's sorcerers to bolster his ranks. He never expected his newly recruited forces to disappear in an instant.
"Wait?"
That ominous cursed energy. Kenjaku finally noticed the "blind spot"—a cursed energy so vast and terrifying it felt like a scorching sun. Upon realizing what it was, his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He was immediately reminded of the terror he once felt under the thumb of a certain terrifying individual.
"Damn it, why do I run into him everywhere?"
Kenjaku was truly fed up. He recognized that cursed energy; it was something he wouldn't forget even in death. The soul-level trauma and the fear of his optic nerves being scorched
were still vivid and terrifying. As he thought about it, his old wound flared up—even the "Divine Protection" was useless.
A broken Kenjaku clutched his eye, the intense pain making him lose his composure. He had only one thought now: Run. He entertained no delusions of luck; he had to leave this area before that demon locked onto his location!
The man who had been sitting calmly in the corner just moments ago was now like a mouse seeing a cat, fleeing in a panic.
But it was too late. Hachiman had focused part of his mind on dealing with the infected hosts and the rest on tracing where the commands for these parasites were coming from. These low-level organisms had no intelligence, only a craving for flesh. The enemy was being quite careful; the traces of the technique Hachiman found were heavily masked. There were even numerous false signals designed to prevent reverse-tracking.
An ordinary person might have been fooled by such tedious methods. But for Hachiman, if "unraveling the thread" didn't work, he would use a massive-scale detection technique, spreading a "radiation" outward to mark every suspicious cursed energy point on the map. As the saying goes: if you don't want people to know, don't do it.
"Found you."
When Hachiman opened his eyes, a bright red circle appeared in his mental vision, about four to five kilometers away.
'Long-range manipulation, huh. He's run quite far.'
Hachiman felt a bit exasperated; why were these guys always so cautious, hiding so far away?
That area was now locked down by Hachiman, meaning it didn't matter how far the bastard ran. To a spineless coward like this, Hachiman would show no mercy.
The people in the room had only just realized the monsters below were gone, yet Hachiman had already located the mastermind. It had taken him maybe thirty seconds. He was truly a monster.
A flash of cold light flickered before their eyes, followed immediately by a bone-chilling sensation. A crimson spear appeared in Hachiman's hand. He didn't aim it downward, but up at the sky.
A red shooting star streaked across the horizon—the spear Hachiman had thrown with immense force. When he threw it, not only did red lightning flicker, but it created an audible sonic boom. Even in daylight, a clear blood-red arc could be seen in the sky.
The spear traveled incredibly fast. At its safe altitude, it wasn't obstructed by the skyscrapers, and its speed accelerated once more. Hachiman had calculated the trajectory in his mind to ensure it would kill the enemy without affecting any public spaces or innocent bystanders.
Kenjaku, who was currently darting through a deserted alley, suddenly saw a red flash from above. The spear hit him instantly. The force behind it was violent and destructive, accurately piercing his heart and pinning him to the pavement.
This was Hachiman's precise control of power. In a bustling city center, an explosion would have immeasurable consequences, so he kept the destruction focused.
"Can you handle the rest?" Hachiman asked. He could sense his spear had accurately hit the torso. The power carried by the spear should have crushed the curse user's heart and destroyed all cursed energy circuits within the body. Even if there were a 1% chance of survival, the man wouldn't be able to use techniques.
Hachiman was still cautious—a curse user who was supposed to be dead had returned to life, so what if he revived again? He wanted the Grade 1 sorcerers to go and "thoroughly" finish the job while recovering the body. Surely even the most useless person could handle that.
He looked at the Grade 1 sorcerers, who snapped out of their daze and nodded immediately. This guy was just too powerful.
"Let's go!"
The sorcerers exchanged glances and set off at once. Since they were on the third floor and had no desire to walk through the hallways filled with bone and meat paste below, they simply jumped out of the windows.
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