"What's the principle behind Cursed Spirit Manipulation?"
Sōjun Minamoto approached Suguru Geto, voicing his curiosity.
Before Geto could respond, Sōjun chuckled to himself.
"There's no principle. It's just like perfect control—it simply is. This belongs to the realm of Innate Techniques, an instinct sorcerers are born with."
What he did have some insight into, though, was the Assimilated Technique.
Realizing he'd asked the wrong question, Sōjun rephrased it:
"Under Cursed Spirit Manipulation, how exactly do you control those Cursed Spirits?"
He was already preparing for the second phase of his Golden Core construction experiment. His goals were twofold: first, to simplify the formation process—like removing the need for metal materials—and second, to tackle the issue of quantity. Progress had been slow with multitasking, but Cursed Spirit Manipulation, in theory, allowed for unlimited control over Cursed Spirits. That made it perfect for him.
...
In the empty classroom, Suguru Geto sat in his usual seat.
To his left was Satoru Gojo, and to his right, Shoko Ieiri. The two were passing notes across Geto, chatting away.
Focus, it's class time.
He glanced at the lectern, elbowed the two of them.
If the teacher catches you guys—
Whap! A handful of half-used chalk pieces smacked him right in the forehead.
He stood up instinctively.
"Sensei…"
But the teacher who always hit him by accident wasn't even there. Only two empty seats sat beside him.
Geto shook his head with a quiet laugh, sat back down, rested his chin in his hand, and looked out the window.
His eyes soon drifted out of focus, gaze hazy, like a painting of someone longing for something out of reach...
Alright then—analyze the character's emotional shift and the social backdrop at this point.
...
"What's the principle behind Cursed Spirit Manipulation?"
A voice echoed from afar.
"Under Cursed Spirit Manipulation, how do you control the Cursed Spirits?"
The voice grew clearer.
Hearing it, Suguru Geto's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"You start by subduing them, turning them into Cursed Spirit Orbs. Then you eat them, absorb them—and once that's done, control comes naturally."
His explanation became clearer as he spoke, but how do you describe something that's just instinct?
Geto looked toward Sōjun Minamoto.
"Then… can I try tasting one?"
"?"
"The Cursed Spirit Orbs. I want to know what they taste like."
"I've never tried it with anyone besides myself."
Geto hesitated. Using Cursed Spirit Manipulation halfway and then handing it off to someone who doesn't know the technique… that's not much different from just eating a curse.
"Something's bound to go wrong."
But Sōjun Minamoto was confident—not in subduing curses, but in his ability to use "Source" to assimilate them even if he had to swallow them raw.
"All the more reason to give it a try."
He clapped his hands and pulled Geto to his feet.
"Come on, let's go exorcise some Cursed Spirits."
Geto stood up with a sigh and followed him.
"Just saying—the taste of Cursed Spirits isn't exactly pleasant."
"That's fine."
Sōjun waved it off casually.
"Why are you on your own?"
He asked, curious. It was rare for members of their three-person team to act alone.
"We're short on people. Satoru's strong enough to handle a mission solo."
Geto spread his hands.
"And Shoko's a medic. She doesn't take part in dangerous missions to begin with."
"Now I've started doing missions solo too," he added.
Ever since the Star Plasma Vessel incident, Satoru Gojo had mastered Reverse Cursed Technique, and his strength had surged.
He could take on missions alone now, while Shoko Ieiri had become busy healing injured sorcerers.
Their trio had split up, only gathering during class.
Sōjun Minamoto patted him on the shoulder.
"Stop moping around alone."
Out of habit, he sent a message to Shiko Mishima:
[Meet at the main gate of Jujutsu High.]
Right after sending it, he suddenly remembered—she wasn't his assistant monitor anymore.
Ding dong~
His phone chimed.
"Got it!"
Shiko Mishima quickly replied to the message.
Without thinking too much about it, Sōjun Minamoto called out to Suguru Geto, and the two of them headed straight for the main gate of Jujutsu High.
From a distance, Sōjun Minamoto spotted Shiko Mishima standing by the roadside. She noticed him at the same time. The two exchanged a brief smile—old habits died hard.
"New car?"
Sōjun Minamoto greeted her, making casual conversation.
Shiko Mishima nodded with a bright smile. After her promotion to Grade 2 Sorcerer, she had been assigned her own car, though a dedicated assistant monitor hadn't been arranged.
She didn't bother thinking about the reason, nor did she want to. She was already content with what she had.
Shiko got into the driver's seat, Sōjun took the front passenger seat, and Suguru Geto settled in the back.
The car started smoothly, shifted gears, and accelerated—the feeling was all too familiar. Sōjun sat firmly in place, but Suguru, caught off guard, felt a sudden push against his back and nearly slammed his face into the headrest in front of him.
Sōjun shared the mission details with Shiko. It was a Grade 1 mission they'd taken on the spur of the moment. With two Grade 1s and one Semi-Grade 1 in the team, they could even take on Special Grade missions without much risk.
...
Once they arrived at the site, Sōjun formed a sword-hand seal, channeled his Cursed Energy, skipped the incantation, and released a black Curtain that swiftly expanded over the area, fully deployed.
Suguru's expression briefly flickered in surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. After all, Sōjun was someone capable of setting up a Barrier alongside Tengen-sama. His proficiency in Barriers Techniques being above average was only natural.
The three of them stepped into the Curtain and soon located their target. Suguru moved in to exorcise the Cursed Spirit, then compressed it into a Cursed Spirit Orb and handed it to Sōjun.
His face turned serious.
"Just a heads-up—Cursed Spirits taste nasty. You really want to try it?"
He'd never shared this with anyone before, but to him, the taste was like biting into a rag that had been used to clean up vomit and diarrhea, then swallowing it whole. He wasn't worried about Sōjun's safety—his strength was more than enough. But he did want to emphasize just how disgusting it was. He'd suffered through it long enough.
Sōjun took the orb and examined it closely. It was a swirling black sphere, about the size of a thumb—just right for swallowing.
He tossed it into his mouth and gulped it down.
The other two stared at his face.
Suguru's mouth twitched.
"So? Isn't it like a filthy, sour rag soaked in sauce?"
"You've actually tasted that?"
"None of your business!"
Sōjun shut his eyes.
Yeah, it was bad. Mostly just sickening. For someone like him with a psychological aversion to filth, it was brutal—especially with Suguru hammering the imagery home.
The Cursed Spirit Orb reminded him a bit of Pokémon—tame, capture, increase affinity. Wasn't this basically a Pokéball?
According to Suguru, the full process—exorcism, swallowing, and absorption—would allow one to control the spirit.
Was that a kind of Binding Vow?
From what Sōjun had observed, it seemed likely. Binding Vows required giving something up against your will in exchange for something else. The stronger the internal resistance, the higher the cost—and the greater the return.
He couldn't tell whether the key was the orb itself or the act of swallowing, but it didn't matter. He'd learned what he needed. Within his own inner world, the clues were clear. The stars were his ideal Spirit Orbs, and their mirrored counterpart in reality—eyeballs.
He could treat his Cloning Technique as one of the main stars, letting its effects radiate outward. The orbiting "satellites" could be turned into Golden Cores, ready to use as needed, freeing him from multitasking constraints and limiting only his Cursed Energy usage.
He had a plan.
...
The Cursed Spirit Orb started to destabilize in his stomach, as if it might revert to its original form at any moment. Blood welled up from his stomach lining, but he forcibly stabilized it, holding it in place until every last drop of value was drained. Then he fully consumed and assimilated it—reducing it to the most fundamental form of a curse.
His Cursed Energy rose slightly.
Suguru felt the faint connection he'd had with the spirit completely vanish. The process was over.
In the next moment, Sōjun opened his eyes and exhaled deeply.
Yeah, the taste was revolting—but the thrill of getting stronger definitely outweighed it.
He said,
"Let's go. A few more..."
Suguru, seeing how composed he was, admired him inwardly. From every angle, Sōjun was a genius.
Before he could finish speaking, Suguru handed him another orb.
"Here."
Sōjun glanced over.
Suguru reached into the black vortex of Cursed Energy behind him and pulled out several more orbs, looking at Sōjun as he spoke.
"If that's not enough, I've got plenty more."
All-you-can-eat.
Aside from that vomit-soaked rag flavor, there was also the smell of trash buried in sewer sludge, socks fermented for a week without washing...
Sōjun didn't refuse a single one.
He threw them into his mouth one after another, carefully attuning himself to find what he was after.
After eating a few, something clicked. He didn't hand the rest back—just kept tossing them into his mouth, chewing slowly. His sharp white teeth ground the black curses down bit by bit...
Desensitization therapy. Infinite adaptability.
When applied to things like this—
He always found a way to innovate his technique.
(30 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake