Chapter 40
"Are you sure about this?" Masamichi asked as he stepped up beside Satoru, "I can think of a hundred ways that this goes wrong and I'm not even looking for a reason."
"Well, it's too late to go back on things now," Satoru muttered as he tapped his foot against the ground while staring out across the desolate city block that had been cleared in preparation for tonight's events, "Besides, I'm sure Yuta and Kiniro can handle themselves."
"That's not what I was asking," Masamichi replied solemnly, making Satoru's foot pause, "Are you okay with this being how things will end?"
Satoru frowned, but he didn't answer for a long second, "If I say yes, I would be lying. But I think out of everyone involved in this situation, I deserve closure the least. Even with everything that happened, I was the one who ended up gaining the most."
Masamichi stared at Satoru, and for a split second, he saw his former student rather than the terrifying counterweight that kept all of Jujutsu society in check, "Maybe, but that doesn't negate what you went through. You became as strong as you are because of everything that was forced upon you, and don't forget you nearly died in the process."
"Believe me, I don't," Satoru answered darkly, "But that's why this has to end. Even if I'm unsatisfied with it."
"You were hoping to fight him." Masamichi stated with certainty, "Did you think that you could manage to convince him to give up on this hopeless endeavor?"
"No," Satoru answered, matching Masamichi's certainty, "I don't think anyone can reach him now, but even if I thought I could reach him, I respect Suguru too much to think that he would be so flimsy on his ideals. After all, I can't say with certainty that if things had gone differently, I wouldn't be the one waging war upon us."
"I can, because if you and Suguru were to switch sides, there wouldn't be a war," Masamichi said darkly, "There wouldn't even be a fight."
Satoru didn't respond right away, and he never got the chance to, as the sun dipped below the horizon and at the end of the street, an opening formed.
The gateway looked like a mass of living shadow that rippled and expanded, widening to the point where several eighteen-wheelers could drive through at once. But before the gateway could even reach its full size, the first curse spirits began to emerge. At first, they were small entities, resembling various animals and wildlife, but before long, the curses became abstract horrors belonging to nightmares, with some towering over the buildings lining the street.
"This is going to be a long night," Masamichi muttered to himself while Satoru focused, suddenly identifying several curse users as they emerged from the portal on a curse spirit that lazily drifted through the air
"Suguru's followers are here, but he's nowhere in sight," Satoru announced, feeling a small amount of disappointment," Tell everyone to stay coordinated and avoid being isolated. I'm going after one of the curse users; he seems like trouble."
Without waiting for a reply, Satoru disappeared, flying through the air with a single jump, moving faster than most people could track.
Knowing that Satoru would be fine regardless of what happened, Masamichi turned his attention to the swarm of demons stampeding down the street, looking to tear apart anything in their path, 'Depending on who survives tonight, I have a feeling that a lot of promotions are going ot be handed out after this.'
---
"Iaido"
Despite barely speaking above a whisper, Kasumi's voice echoed and carried through the air in the silence that followed the rasp of her sword leaving its scabbard.
The large dog-shaped curse that had launched itself at Kasumi with its spring trap jaws wide open didn't even have time to process its death. Kasumi's drawing strike happened in the blink of an eye, leaving only the black and red scar in the air as proof she had even moved to begin with.
As her sword returned to its scabbard, Kasumi felt the moment of unnatural tranquility end, replaced by a state of absolute clarity and focus. From her perspective, the remaining two curses, perfect replicas of the primary offender, were moving at a snail's pace.
"Iai"
Kasumi drew her sword again and cut the air in front of her, twice in quick succession, but where her blade physically ended, her cursed energy continued forming two cutting projections that carved through the air before eventually meeting the offending curses.
The blades of cursed energy cut through the curses as if they were made of actual steel, instantly exorcising the spirits as they crumbled to ash.
With a small click, Nagi returned to its sheath, and Kasumi stood upright with a small exhale, "Is anyone in need of assistance? It seems that I've dealt with the last of the curses who broke away from the main horde."
"No, I'm still running crowd control, so feel free to come back over to help me finish the job."
Momo was the first to respond through their communicators and most likely the only one with her hands free as she sat on her broom, hovering above the main group of cursed spirits that had been released upon Kyoto.
However, most of the curses hadn't managed to make it off the original street they had been summoned on, and it wasn't from a lack of trying. The problem was evident at a glance as a dense red haze clung to the ground like a thick fog, while massive thorny vines covered the street, writhing like snakes looking for anything they could strangle. That was the fate that awaited most of the curses that hadn't managed to escape Momo's trap.
Months had passed since the goodwill event, and in that time, Momo had undergone a complete transformation. Not only was her conservative attire replaced with something far more flattering of her figure and features, but so had her capabilities on the battlefield.
From her broom, thick red pollen drifted to the ground at a steady rate, filling the air with the smell of flowers strong enough to blur the vision and cloud the mind. Anyone caught within the cloud would have to fight to keep their wits about them. But hidden within the pollen was another danger, countless seeds that would sprout the moment they touched the ground, quickly growing into the massive thorny brambles that now restrained the curse spirits below. Dazed, confused, and bound, Momo's enemies would slowly choke to death on the intoxicating pollen or bleed to death as the thorns pierced their bodies and feasted on their blood.
"Has anyone seen Todo yet?" Noritshi suddenly asked over the intercom, "I lost sight of him when we had to separate to clean up the stragglers."
"What does it matter?" Mechamaru replied in his already mechanical voice, coming off even more monotone than usual, "He never intended to cooperate with our efforts. Should he find himself overwhelmed, then he only has himself to blame."
---
Todo couldn't suppress his grin as his fist slammed into the curse with a satisfying crunch and he watched the spirit's body deform from the immense amount of force before crumbling into ash as it was exorcised.
Grinning to himself, Todo couldn't suppress his excitement, "What is that, the fifth grade 1 I've fought today? And there's no sign of them stopping any time soon."
Todo grinned to himself and was ready to begin pursuing the city for his next fight when he felt a chill pass down his spine. Stopping in his tracks, Todo looked up and found that his next opponent had come to him, 'This thing…'
Todo stared at the cursed spirit that undulated in the air above him. The curse had the body of a centipede, with bright red legs and a snow-white carapace, spanning at least ten meters long and one meter across. However, instead of an insectoid head, the curse had a dark red skull with a pair of arms where its torso would be, along with a set of massive pincers.
Staring at the curse, Todo slowly felt his lips curl into a smile as his cursed energy flared, 'Good, finally something worthy of using my technique on. I was starting to worry I would go the whole night without it!'