Chapter 123: Who Are We Morally Blackmailing?

Chapter 123: Who Are We Morally Blackmailing?

The Kyoto Prefectural Cursed Techniques High School.

Less than two minutes after Luk left, a message came through: a barrier with a diameter of about four hundred meters had appeared, centered around the Tokyu Department Store and Tokyu Den-en-toshi Store. This barrier [confined only ordinary civilians], blocking all cell phone signals. The only way to communicate was through the assistant supervisors, who had to relay messages manually.

The usually bustling crossroads in front of the station were now empty, with everyone having fled to the edge of the barrier, all saying the same thing.

"Bring Yuji Itadori here!"

It was speculated that this was the work of the long-vanished Cursed Techniques users and the Cursed Spirits they had colluded with. The upper echelons quickly dispatched Yuji Itadori to gather intelligence and exorcise the troublesome Cursed Spirits and Cursed Techniques users.

Before anyone could catch their breath, just one minute later, at 7:00 PM, all the Cursed Techniques users' phones rang simultaneously.

"Urgent notification! Urgent notification!"

"Simultaneous cursed energy fluctuations have been detected across Tokyo, with a large number of twisted, aberrant beings attacking ordinary people!"

"All Cursed Techniques users, prepare for action, everyone mobilize!"

Upon receiving the notification, Gojo Sakura appeared a bit flustered. "Luk and Yuji Itadori are both gone, what are we supposed to do?"

"At least you're a near-Grade 1 Cursed Techniques user. Do you always rely on others to solve problems for you?"

Mingming gave her a stern look, then took out her scythe and walked to the entrance of the barrier.

"I'll earn some extra money."

By the time they reached the barrier, almost everyone had gathered, except for Nanami Kento, who was on a mission, and Tsuchimikado, who was at a handshake event.

"Let's form teams to complete the tasks assigned by the higher-ups."

The Kyoto School Principal, Ryoganji, stepped forward to read the instructions. "Grade 1 Cursed Techniques user Mingming and near-Grade 1 Cursed Techniques user Gojo Sakura will lead the second-year students Zenin Maki, Inumaki Toge, and Panda in the exorcism work."

"Grade 1 Cursed Techniques user Kugisaki Natsuno will lead the first and second-year students Natsuki Momo, Zenin Maki, and Kamo Kenki in the search and rescue mission."

"Grade 1 Cursed Techniques user Tohru Aoi will coordinate with Yuji Itadori and provide support as needed."

Finally, he turned his gaze to Yuji Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi, his lips moving slightly as he struggled to read the higher-ups' instructions.

"First-year students Yuji Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi are to find Tsuchimikado and Nanami Kento, then wait outside the barrier for support from a Special Grade Cursed Techniques user—Yuji Itadori."

Mingming threw her scythe at Ryoganji. "You're sending two students on their own? Have you gone senile, Ryoganji?"

Yuji and Fushiguro were Luk's disciples. With Luk gone, she felt obligated to stand up for the two of them.

"This isn't my order, it's from the higher-ups."

Ryoganji knew that if Yuji Itadori or Luk found out, there would be trouble, but he dared not disobey the higher-ups.

"Let the higher-ups go to hell. Yuji and Fushiguro will be on my team."

"It's fine, leave it to us!"

Yuji Itadori responded seriously. "Tsuchimikado is our comrade; we can't abandon her."

Fushiguro Megumi, who had retrieved her spirit dog, frowned and sighed, troubled by her emotional response, but she also stood up.

"Yes, please leave it to us. We'll take care of our own safety."

...

Tsuchimikado watched as Satoru transformed into a monster, her eyes filled with despair.

Meanwhile, monsters began appearing among the pedestrians, each one grotesque and twisted beyond recognition. Filled with a desire to destroy, they immediately started attacking others upon transformation.

"Ahh! There are monsters!"

"What's happening?"

"Help!"

The crowd on the street began to panic and flee, cries and screams spreading quickly.

"Satoru..."

Tears streamed down Tsuchimikado's face as she took out her cursed nail and aimed it at the monster that was once Satoru. Her hand trembled, remembering the childhood they had shared, making the cursed nail feel as heavy as a thousand pounds.

In her moment of hesitation, the monster seized the opportunity and lunged at her.

Smack—

Tsuchimikado firmly blocked the monster's deformed claw. Her physical strength far exceeded that of Satoru, who had been a normal human, but her inner turmoil prevented her from striking.

"Not going to kill her? I love watching this kind of drama."

Sukuna emerged from the corner, a disgusting smile on his face. "This girl wasn't even a fan, so I had to touch her myself. Yes... this is a gift for you, knowing your relationship. Do you like it?"

"Are you the Cursed Spirit causing this disaster?"

Tsuchimikado kicked the monster away, sending it flying several meters and landing on its back, clutching its stomach.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, gritting her teeth as she looked at Sukuna, her cursed nail and cursed hammer appearing in her hands.

"Is that so, or not?" Sukuna toyed with her like an ant, his words slurred, and finally, he twisted his smile. "Seems like it."

"Then prepare to die!"

Tsuchimikado charged at Sukuna, her cursed hammer whistling through the air as it aimed for his head.

Sukuna's Nothingness Transformation turned his arm into a thick shield, blocking the cursed hammer with one hand while reaching out with the other toward Tsuchimikado.

Crack—

The sound of shattering echoed through the air. In the shocked gaze of the True Man, the shield splintered instantly, and the remaining force of the Curse Hammer smashed his entire head to pieces, splattering red and white matter everywhere.

Thud!

The True Man's headless body thrashed a few times before collapsing to the ground.

"Damn!"

Nagasaki spat at the corpse of the Curse Spirit, her eyes fixed on the monster still clutching its stomach. Her hope was crushed.

The rewritten Curse Spirit technique was permanent and wouldn't fade with the death of the caster.

She took a deep breath and, gripping the Curse Hammer, approached the monster that had once been Sazuki.

"I'm sorry, Sazuki. It's my fault."

As she turned, the seemingly lifeless body of the True Man quietly moved, a new head regenerating.

The body of a Curse Spirit was a product of negative energy, which could be directly repaired using Curse Power, unlike the complex reversal techniques used by Curse Mages.

He held his breath, a sly smile spreading across his face as he took a step closer to Nagasaki.

In Shinjuku, Luk stood before the building where he used to work.

Despite it being Halloween night, the building from the ground floor to the top was still brightly lit, and with his sharp eyes, he could still see the busy figures inside. The only exception was the seventh floor, the black-hearted company where he had worked for two years.

Those still working late were soulless corporate drones, thus they had missed the Handshake Club and the chaos on the streets. This was probably the only silver lining to their misfortune.

Looking at the building, a flood of bad memories surged in Luk's mind.

The body of "Nobuchika" emerged from the ground, smiling at him. "I've been waiting for you, Luk."

"Are you planning to fool me with a fake?"

Luk knew at a glance that the "Nobuchika" before him was just a common Curse Spirit shaped to resemble Nobuchika.

"That was to prevent you from killing me the moment you saw me. After all, I'm weak, so I have to be careful."

The Curse Spirit smiled and touched his ear. "Can you hear it? The chaos, the monsters running amok, the destruction and slaughter. Many people must have died already."

"What are you getting at?" Luk's eyes didn't flicker as he calmly stared at the Curse Spirit. The Observation Technique from his One Piece transformation, the "Conqueror's Body," had already spread, covering almost all of Tokyo.

Just a few more minutes, and he'd play along.

"All of this is because of you."

The Curse Spirit's smile widened as he spoke each word clearly. "Because you failed to stop my actions with the True Man, this situation arose. Men, women, adults, children, and the elderly—over two thousand people have already died."

"And this is just the beginning. It will take a significant amount of time for the government to mobilize the army to suppress this chaos. By then, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people will die!"

Luk scratched his ear. "Yes, many people will die. So what?"

"It's all your fault."

Seeing that Luk was unmoved, the Curse Spirit seemed to falter.

"Golden words, shifting the blame. Wasn't it you and the True Man who did this? What does it have to do with me? Did I put a knife to your throat and force you to kill people? And it's my fault, my fault."

Luk looked at the company building and gave it the middle finger.

"When you work, they withhold and deduct your salary. When you leave, they try to squeeze every last drop out of you. Work and reward are not proportional, and now you're telling me that ability and responsibility should be? I'm not Spider-Man; the 'with great power comes great responsibility' line doesn't bind me."

Luk looked at the Curse Spirit with disdain. After living for over a thousand years, he had thought the Curse Spirit might have something new. Instead, it was just another attempt at moral manipulation.

With two fingers, he lightly drew a line, and the Curse spirit's body split in half, dissipating into the air. At the same time, something inside him emerged, unlocking the "Nine Immortal Techniques" spell, specifically the "Commanding Spirits" technique.

Luk raised an eyebrow. This indicated that the bindings, or Nobuchika, had been defeated, but he hadn't done anything, and the Curse Spirit was clearly just a cannon fodder.

His Observation Technique was ready, and he saw the entire layout of Tokyo, sensing the auras of everyone, the Curse Spirits, and the Curse Mages.

Luk didn't accept moral manipulation, but the cries and screams in his ears were too loud. He decided to end this farce caused by the Curse Spirits quickly.

A massive Storm Dragon Spirit appeared, meeting Luk's gaze before bowing its head.

"Be a good boy and clear out all the enemy units."

Luk patted the Storm Dragon's head. "The transformed monsters, the Curse Spirits, and the Curse Mages with unclear auras—clear them all out."

The sky, already dark, grew even darker as thick clouds rapidly gathered, blocking out the moonlight. The air became humid, and a fierce wind began to swirl around the area.

Rumble—

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and large raindrops began to fall.

The storm had arrived.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end