"You... You're saying Cursed Spirits are trash?" Kokichi forced himself to speak. He was genuinely, thoroughly shaken.
Mahito's smile remained entirely composed. "What's wrong? Is it not the truth? Or can you name a single benefit Cursed Spirits bring to this world? I suppose if you forced an answer... we reduce the human population. Does that count?"
Kokichi was rendered speechless. The King of Curses sitting before him was completely unfathomable.
Mahito dropped his smile, his expression turning solemn. "If one wishes to evolve, the first step is self-awareness. If you cannot even acknowledge your own innate flaws, then any growth you achieve will inevitably be warped. To recognize your mistakes, correct them, overcome them, and ultimately evolve—that is the only path of true integrity. Precisely because I am the King of Curses, I must discard prejudice and stare directly into the ugliness of my own soul. Only then can I achieve ascension."
"Ascension...?" Kokichi murmured, his metallic voice as faint as a falling leaf.
"Is that your question?" Mahito asked.
Kokichi snapped back to reality, the metal disc vibrating violently.
In truth, he had been preparing to end his turn. Through this Q&A, he believed he had already extracted all the intelligence he needed. He was ready to solidify his cooperation with the Curses. Allying with Cursed Spirits sounded like pure insanity, but this exchange had forced Kokichi to recognize Mahito's absolute transcendence. Whether it was his rationality, emotional intelligence, societal understanding, or the absolute grip he held over his subordinates, it was more than enough to give Kokichi peace of mind.
Prejudice and terror are born solely from the unknown. To Kokichi, the Lord of Curses could now be viewed simply as a bizarre variant of a Curse User—in fact, he was far more amicable and rational than most of the deranged Curse Users out there. With that established, cooperating with him was no longer unthinkable.
—Until this exact moment.
He realized he didn't understand Mahito at all. Or rather, he had finally developed a genuine, burning curiosity about the Lord of Curses' ideology. He wanted to look deeper into the mind of this King of Curses who dared to dream of godhood.
Kokichi took a deep breath and asked solemnly, "Lord of Curses, how do you think humanity should view Cursed Spirits?"
Not *how do you view humanity?* Not *how should Cursed Spirits treat humanity?* Not even *how does humanity currently view Cursed Spirits?*
But rather—*You. How do you believe humans ought to perceive Cursed Spirits?*
Kenjaku, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but laugh. "What a phenomenal question. Mahito, you'd better answer this one carefully. I have a feeling this question will define your entire existence. Even after you ascend to godhood, this question will follow you until the end of time."
Mahito nodded slightly. It truly was a brilliant question. This inquiry alone proved the terrifying depth of Kokichi Muta's intellect.
Mahito finally understood why Kenjaku had chosen to ally with him. It wasn't merely because Kokichi was easily lured by the promise of a healthy body; it was because Kokichi possessed the raw potential to become a core pillar of Kenjaku's faction.
"With extermination," Mahito stated.
"Extermination?" Kokichi was stunned. "You're saying... humanity should exterminate Cursed Spirits?"
"Whether you realize it or not, human beings are actually quite a cruel species," Mahito explained methodically. "Humans feel pity when they encounter stray dogs or cats. That is solely because stray dogs and cats pose absolutely no threat to them. Because of that lack of threat, humanity generates sympathy. They feed them, pet them, and even take them home to raise.
"But Cursed Spirits are different.
"I am well aware that several Jujutsu Sorcerer clans opt to tame specific Cursed Spirits. These Curses usually possess highly unique abilities—the most sought-after undoubtedly being Curses with spatial storage capabilities. Taming one exponentially increases a clan's operational ceiling. Because of this, you can always find bounties and procurement requests for such Curses on any Jujutsu forum.
"This might give you the illusion that Cursed Spirits and humanity can actually coexist.
"But the truth is, any human possessing true foresight must come to a single, absolute resolution: The resolution to erase Cursed Spirits from this world. And the faster, the better. Eradicating them entirely before Cursed Spirits experience a collective awakening is the most righteous course of action humanity could possibly take.
"Because, without a shadow of a doubt, Cursed Spirits are destined to become a superior species to humanity."
Kokichi couldn't hold back. "Are you out of your mind?! By what metric could Cursed Spirits ever become a superior species to humans?!"
"Because of my arrival, Muta-san," Mahito said, unhurried. "You must admit, the biological existence of a Cursed Spirit is objectively superior to a human's.
"Humans require metabolism; Cursed Spirits do not.
"If a human's limb is amputated, they are crippled; Cursed Spirits are not.
"Humans are burdened by finite lifespans; Cursed Spirits are immortal.
"Cursed Spirits are organisms of cursed energy. We require only one source of fuel. Everything else is completely unnecessary. Humans, on the other hand, are delicate yet inefficient machines that require a constant, varied intake of matter and energy.
"Humans possess societal structures, cooperative coexistence, and the ability to pass down knowledge. Before I appeared, Cursed Spirits lacked these capabilities... But now, I am here."
Mahito's eyes gleamed with profound implication. "Anything humanity can do, Cursed Spirits can now do as well. Things humanity cannot do, Cursed Spirits can achieve effortlessly. Furthermore, the miracles humanity desperately yearns for are merely our baseline biological functions.
"I ask you: Why shouldn't Cursed Spirits become humanity's superior species?"
Kokichi was rendered utterly speechless. A wave of profound terror washed over him. A possibility he had never once entertained slashed through his mind. Compared to Cursed Spirits, what were humanity's actual advantages?
Before this conversation, he would have proudly cited humanity's complex societal structures, their inherited histories, and the unstoppable march of their civilization.
But now, the words died in his throat.
Because the highly intelligent Cursed Spirit sitting directly in front of him, speaking to him with such chilling eloquence, was living proof. He couldn't formulate a single counterargument.
The corners of Mahito's mouth curled up. He reached out a finger and gently tapped the metal disc, like an owner affectionately petting a dog. "It seems you've realized it.
"Current Cursed Spirits aren't there yet. The vast majority of them are like unevolved hominids—monkeys, wild beasts, low-intelligence organisms. Calling them parasites, incombustible trash, or even worse slurs is entirely accurate.
"But my existence has shown you a new evolutionary path for Cursed Spirits.
"Not merely appearing as 'Curses,' but emerging as a true 'Species.'
"I ask you, Muta-san... when faced with such an existence, as a human being, could you possibly harbor any thought other than absolute extermination?
"If you do, it stems from nothing but ignorance or sheer arrogance.
"The kind of fatal ignorance and arrogance of a merchant happily selling the very rope that will be used to hang him.
"Unfortunately, I cannot deny that such humans exist." Mahito couldn't help but chuckle darkly as he finished.
Kokichi began to hyperventilate. An invisible, suffocating pressure had wrapped around his throat. Not as an individual, but as a member of the human race, he felt an apocalyptic dread regarding the future Mahito was painting. A primal, murderous intent flared in his heart—
*—Kill him. I have to kill him, no matter the cost.*
It had nothing to do with morality. It had nothing to do with profit. It didn't even stem from fear.
It was a mission. A sacred, biological imperative demanding he slaughter Mahito, even if it meant sacrificing his own life.
He desperately imagined a future where Mahito didn't exist, hoping to glean some small comfort. But there was none. The boundless terror didn't recede; it only deepened. Precisely because Kokichi possessed such a brilliant analytical mind, he could instantly extrapolate that bleak, lightless future. Even if he managed to kill Mahito right here and now, the future held nothing but absolute despair.
Why?
Because Mahito was not unique.
Aside from Mahito, Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon were also highly intelligent Cursed Spirits. They could easily fulfill the same societal roles as Mahito. In fact, if Mahito was telling the truth about being less than two months old, it proved that Jogo, Hanami, and Dagon had gestated long before him. Intelligent Curses had been born before Mahito, and inevitably, more intelligent Curses would be born after him.
As long as the fundamental concept of Cursed Spirits wasn't eradicated, it was only a matter of time before they formed a civilization capable of crushing human society. And eventually, just as Homo sapiens replaced Neanderthals, Cursed Spirits would replace humanity as the undisputed masters of this planet.
—It was an unsolvable equation.
"What exactly are you trying to do, King of Curses?!" Kokichi's metallic voice trembled, breaking into a terrified scream.
"The Q&A isn't over yet, Muta-san," Mahito said nonchalantly. "It's my turn to ask."
"After saying all that, you actually want to continue?!" Kokichi demanded, his voice shaking violently.
"Why not?" Mahito asked. "Are you planning to violate the 'Binding Vow'?"
"I—!"
"Kokichi Muta!" Hakari's voice suddenly cut in, cold and sharp as a knife. "A Binding Vow is absolute. Think very carefully before you speak."
Kokichi froze, the words hitting him like a physical blow to the head.
Hakari was right. Driven by frantic, hysterical terror, Kokichi had been fully prepared to throw everything away. He had just resolved to sacrifice his own life, no matter the method, to transmit this intelligence directly to Satoru Gojo. He needed Gojo to prepare for an all-out war of the species.
But he couldn't do it.
Even if he threw away his life, he couldn't do it.
Because of the Binding Vow.
Unlike a self-imposed limitation, violating a Binding Vow made with another person invoked the wrath of heaven itself—and the penalty was completely unpredictable. If Kokichi broke the Vow now, he might drop dead the exact millisecond he tried to transmit the message. Even if he successfully sent it at the cost of his life, the Vow's backlash might scramble the data in transit, or perfectly intercept it before it ever reached Gojo.
The countless, terrifying consequences of breaking a 'Binding Vow' echoed through Kokichi's mind. Finally, he fell completely silent. The very pact he had initiated to protect himself had unexpectedly become the chain binding his hands and feet at the most critical moment!
Kenjaku glanced at Hakari, shrugged, and sighed. "It seems this Q&A is over. Perhaps we can resume this conversation another time?"
"I have just one final question. May I, Muta-san?" Mahito asked.
Kokichi remained silent for a long time, offering no response.
Mahito didn't mind. He casually asked, "Muta-san... are you interested in becoming a 'New Human'?"
"A 'New Human'?" Kokichi repeated.
"Muta-san, what do you believe is the single greatest difference between Cursed Spirits and humanity?" Mahito asked methodically. "I just listed all the biological ways Cursed Spirits are superior to humans, comprehensively proving that we possess the capacity to rule this planet as a higher species. But that is merely potential. Humanity possesses a fundamental threshold that current Cursed Spirits cannot cross no matter how hard they try... My question pertains to that threshold. Do you know what it is?"
"What is it?" Kokichi asked subconsciously.
He didn't even realize it. Initially, this Q&A had been an equal exchange, a mutual probing where both sides parried and thrust. But right now, Kokichi was being entirely led by the nose. He had completely lost his independent analytical rhythm.
Despite his genius, teenage Kokichi Muta was currently exposing his most fatal flaw in high-stakes negotiations.
He lacked composure.
He had too little life experience. The moment a sufficiently world-shattering topic was dropped on him, he was guaranteed to lose his footing—just as he had now.
He had completely forfeited control of the narrative, reduced to a mere puppet in Mahito's philosophical dialogue.
"It is the physical body," Mahito declared, staring at the metal disc. His voice resonated with divine certainty.
"Why would organisms made of cursed energy need a physical body? That should only be a hindrance," Kokichi argued.
"No, the physical body is crucial. Its importance far exceeds your imagination," Mahito answered earnestly. "Because only a physical body is capable of housing Positive Energy. If a Cursed Spirit wishes to become a complete, perfect organism, it absolutely must possess Positive Energy. This is humanity's exclusive talent. Cursed Spirits are fundamentally incapable of producing Positive Energy on their own."
It was an undeniable truth. The original story repeatedly proved that Positive Energy was absolute poison to Curses. Forget generating it—merely touching it was a death sentence for a Cursed Spirit.
"I... I don't quite understand," Kokichi admitted. This topic had long surpassed his realm of expertise. If he didn't already know he was speaking to a Curse, he would have thought he was attending a lecture by a Jujutsu Grandmaster.
"Have you ever noticed that the more powerful a Jujutsu Sorcerer is, the more psychologically unhinged they are?" Mahito asked.
*No!* Kokichi desperately wanted to deny it categorically, but his voice failed him. Thinking about it critically... it was actually entirely true.
Every single powerful sorcerer he knew was, to some degree, mentally defective. It sounded harsh, but if they didn't possess supernatural abilities to justify their existence, every sorcerer he knew—including himself—belonged in a psychiatric ward.
"The very first lesson in manipulating cursed energy teaches you that cursed energy is derived from the darkest depths of your negative emotions. Anger, sorrow, fear, agony, despair. These overflowing negative emotions are processed through the sorcerer's body, forged into power known as Cursed Energy, and continuously supply you with undeniable supernatural force. This is the absolute foundation of Jujutsu: Cursed Energy Refinement."
Mahito tapped his finger rhythmically against the plastic table. He continued:
"One of the inherent costs of wielding cursed energy is that you must maintain a baseline hum of negative emotion at every waking moment; otherwise, the cursed energy disperses. Consequently, coexisting with negative emotions is a fundamental reality for sorcerers. If you can control it, you remain a Jujutsu Sorcerer. If you lose control, you become a Curse User.
"Curse Users revel in spreading despair. This isn't because they are inherently born as homicidal maniacs—though I won't deny such anomalies exist—but because to acquire greater power, their own cursed energy violently compels them to commit atrocities."
Mahito's finger suddenly stopped tapping. He spoke with absolute, unwavering conviction: "Cursed Energy drags sorcerers toward extremes.
"It doesn't matter what facet it is; an extreme is an extreme.
"Extreme justice, extreme conservatism, extreme radicalism, extreme obsession, extreme evil, extreme bloodlust, extreme destruction, or extreme conviction. Any sorcerer possessing immense cursed energy is invariably tainted by these extremes. Without exception... Let me repeat that. *Without. Exception.*"
Kokichi remained silent. He couldn't refute a single word.
Even looking at the sorcerers present right now—Kenjaku, Kinji Hakari, Kirara Hoshi, and even himself—the rule held perfectly true.
Expanding the scope to every sorcerer he had ever met, including Satoru Gojo, the rule remained unbroken. It wasn't 'more or less'; it was an absolute. Just as Mahito said—
*Without exception.*
"Theoretically, since all sorcerers are perpetually marinading in extreme emotional states, they should have lost their minds ages ago, succumbing entirely to their darkest whims. Yet, they haven't. Why?" Mahito asked.
He didn't wait for Kokichi to answer. He provided it himself.
"Because of the physical body.
"The flesh generates Positive Energy, the exact antithesis of negative energy. This Positive Energy effectively neutralizes the corrosive effects of the negative energy, pulling the vast majority of sorcerers back from the brink of insanity before they completely lose control. It allows them to use their rational minds to suppress their base instincts, maintaining the order of human society, and even acting as the guardians of that order."
Mahito suddenly clenched his fist, raising it to his eye level. He stared at his knuckles as if gazing upon his ultimate destiny.
"But Cursed Spirits do not have a physical body.
"Therefore, when a Cursed Spirit is driven to an extreme, there is absolutely zero possibility of them being pulled back.
"Cursed Spirits are the incarnate products of extremes! From the moment of our birth, we are utterly consumed by negative emotions. There is no escape.
"Curses can only drown in negativity, unable to extricate themselves. That is why, excluding those of us who absorbed apocalyptic quantities of cursed energy, it is virtually impossible for a Curse to develop true intelligence. Even if I personally transfigured a Curse's brain, it still couldn't suppress its instinct to slaughter humans. No, truthfully... even we intelligent Curses cannot suppress it. The only reason we are restraining ourselves now is simply because we are waiting to unleash a much larger, catastrophic disaster.
"As a mere 'Curse,' that would be perfectly fine.
"But I refuse to be a mere Curse.
"Because I feel hollow. Because I feel shame. Because it disgusts me.
"Having finally acquired intelligence, having finally gained rationality... am I supposed to use it merely to inflict a deeper level of curses upon the world? How is that any different from a caveman who finally learns to craft tools, only to immediately scheme ways to hunt larger beasts?
"A caveman is not a human. He is simply a higher-tier monkey!
"I absolutely refuse to be a monkey.
"I want to become Human.
"An entity that is not enslaved by extreme emotions, yet does not sacrifice its cursed energy—a 'New Humanity.'"
Kokichi was floored.
This was the second time today he had been utterly stunned to his core.
The first time was when the King of Curses calmly called his own species incombustible trash, leaving Kokichi in disbelief. The second time was right now—he found himself violently drawn to the Lord of Curses' profoundly noble, transcendent ambition.
Mahito unclenched his fist and let a warm smile grace his face.
"Kokichi. Come help me.
"I will become the God of both Cursed Spirits and Humanity.
"I will forge a world where humans and Cursed Spirits can coexist.
"I will make you a true member of the 'New Humanity.'"
Kokichi's mind went completely blank. Suddenly, he remembered the core reason he had agreed to act as a spy for the Curses in the first place. If it was Mahito, circumventing the Heavenly Restriction would be effortless, wouldn't it? He thought of his deepest, most desperate wish: to truly stand face-to-face with his friends. If it was Mahito, he could grant that wish instantly, couldn't he?
No. It shouldn't be a question. It was a certainty. If it was Mahito, he absolutely could.
And so, as if possessed—or perhaps giving voice to the truest desire hidden in his heart—he subconsciously blurted out a question through the haze of his blank mind.
He asked, "Can my friends... become New Humans too?"
*Got him.* Mahito chuckled softly. He nodded in agreement.
"Of course," he said. "If that is your earnest petition."
*Clap.*
Kenjaku clapped his hands together once.
"The Q&A is concluded. The 'Binding Vow' is dissolved," he said with a beaming smile. "It seems both parties are highly satisfied. Now that is what I call a perfect 'Binding Vow.'"