There were no flashy effects when the trait activated. A flash of light passed through Gardevoir’s eyes, and the same red marking appeared on her forehead. Her slender body swayed slightly, and Akira quickly supported her, asking softly, “Are you all right?”

  Gardevoir shook her head, gesturing with her hands while making soft sounds. Akira understood and relayed her words.

  “The marking itself is not lethal, but it keeps releasing Cursed Energy. Miss Tsumiki’s brain has been affected by Cursed Energy, which is why she cannot wake up. If we can remove that influence, her brain should gradually recover. I will have Gardevoir finish it as soon as possible.”

  At that moment, a sudden red light filled the ward. The source was the center of Gardevoir’s forehead.

  “Gardevoir!!!”

  Akira’s expression changed at once. When he saw Gardevoir shake her head and noticed that the System display showed no loss of health, he finally relaxed a little and asked what had happened.

  Gardevoir raised one hand and pressed it to her forehead, where the red pattern was slowly fading. She had tried to stop it with psychic power, but the effect was weak, and Akira knew it was because their power systems were different.

  At the moment the mark vanished, Gardevoir lowered her hand and brought both palms together, releasing a twisted, rainbow colored beam of light. The beam did not strike anyone in the room, but landed on the wall by Tsumiki Fushiguro’s bedside and reflected back into a slightly blurred figure.

  It looked like a woman. Her face was unclear, but her figure was distinct, and the most striking feature was a stitched scar running straight across her forehead.

  “Sha.” Even as a vague image, it made Gardevoir show clear disgust.

  Akira’s face hardened, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. So early already, Makoto, the great villain Kenjaku.

  “This is the one who cursed Miss Tsumiki Fushiguro. Little Sha caught her through the connection between the technique and the caster.”

  The beam Gardevoir released was one of her skills, Psybeam, which allowed illusions to be seen.

  “A Curse User?” Satoru Gojo’s expression darkened as well. “Can you repeat that just now… tch, too late. Careful one.”

  After the curse mark that Gardevoir had synchronized disappeared, the original mark on Tsumiki Fushiguro also began to fade. It was obvious the Curse User had noticed the counter probing and directly canceled the technique.

  “Shoko.”

  “I know. Leave the patient to me. You staying here will not help.”

  “I will find that Curse User.”

  Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri had been classmates at Tokyo Jujutsu High and had worked together for over ten years. Their coordination needed no explanation.

  Healing was also the one clear weakness of Satoru Gojo. Cursed Energy was negative energy and worked well for damage, but it could not heal unless it was reversed into positive energy, a process known as Reverse Cursed Technique.

  Like Domain Expansion and Maximum Technique, it stood at the highest level of Jujutsu. Satoru Gojo had entered this realm, but his Reverse Cursed Technique only worked on himself, while Shoko Ieiri could use it on others, earning her the nickname “National Treasure.”

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  She was also the only one who could mock Satoru Gojo on talent. “Reverse Cursed Technique is so simple. Why can’t you learn it?” she had said back then.

  In that sense, there really was such a thing as natural restraint.

  “No. I will do this.”

  The ward door opened, and a spiky haired boy with long lashes walked in with a sour expression. It was Megumi Fushiguro.

  “You’re back, Megumi,” Satoru Gojo said as he adjusted his blindfold. “You were out for a while. Find anything?”

  “You know the answer,” Megumi Fushiguro said, his face growing even darker.

  “You sounded so confident. I thought you had found something.”

  Megumi Fushiguro ignored the jab and spoke on his own. “It has to be me.”

  “This is not about ideals, but reality. This Curse User is very skilled. Even Shoko and I could not catch a trace. Are you sure you can find them? And even if you do, can you beat someone at that level?”

  “Tsumiki Fushiguro is my sister.”

  “Ah.”

  Satoru Gojo slapped his forehead in an exaggerated way, clearly at a loss over his ward’s stubborn attitude.

  “She’s your sister, and I’m still your guardian. Try to think about my position too. How about this. These two are my students, only a year older than you. If you can get the approval of either one, I will agree. Not only that, I will recommend you as a Grade Two Jujutsu Sorcerer. How does that sound?”

  “Approval means beating them?” Megumi Fushiguro asked.

  “Yes.”

  Maki Zenin accepted directly and shot Akira a look that clearly meant not to interfere. Akira shrugged, gestured politely, took Gardevoir’s hand, and stepped aside.

  “Let’s go to the roof.”

  Megumi Fushiguro walked ahead with his hands in his pockets and his back slightly hunched, clearly used to this. By coincidence, Maki Zenin moved just the same, carrying her weapon behind him with matching steps.

  They really were close relatives. The same blood showed in their bones.

  Akira glanced at Satoru Gojo. “What are you really thinking?”

  “Blocking is worse than guiding. He needs to know what real combat is.”

  This concerned his adopted son’s future, and Satoru Gojo was no longer joking around.

  “I’ll leave it to you then. Some things he may not listen to if I say them.”

  Akira nodded in understanding. He had gone through a rebellious phase himself, ignoring his parents and trusting nonsense from outsiders instead.

  Looking back later, he could only think about how stupid he had been.

  When Megumi Fushiguro opened the rooftop door, Satoru Gojo put down the barrier.

  By the time Akira arrived with Gardevoir, Maki Zenin already had her blade at Megumi Fushiguro’s throat. In the time it took to say a few extra words, Megumi Fushiguro had already lost.

  Combined with what Satoru Gojo said earlier, the reason was clear. Their combat philosophies were different.

  Influenced by Akira’s approach for weaker fighters, Maki Zenin cut out all unnecessary actions. At such close range, she rushed in at maximum speed, aiming to give the opponent no time to react.

  She, Akira, Panda, and Inumaki had all trained this style together. Megumi Fushiguro was different.

  At this age, it was hard for a boy to abandon dramatic thinking. He wanted approval from everyone, so he needed not just to win, but to win cleanly.

  Showing Jujutsu, or even Revealing One's Hand, was his first choice. But for Maki Zenin, at this distance, unless she was already on guard, one extra word would mean her loss.

  “That’s too naive. Only an idiot waits for you to make a move. Someone who expects the enemy to do that is even worse.”

  Maki Zenin left those words behind, flicked her ponytail, and withdrew her blade.

  “Your opponent is not a Cursed Spirit. It’s a Curse User with no bottom line. Fight with that mindset, and you will die.”

  Megumi Fushiguro did not even get the chance to complain. His face turned red as he held it in, and after a long pause he forced out one sentence.

  “I wasn’t ready this time. Again.”

  “Sure. As many times as you want.” Maki Zenin curled her finger provocatively. “This time you go first.”

  Having learned once, Megumi Fushiguro crossed his hands and formed a strange seal, leaving a hand shadow shaped like a dog’s head on the ground.

  The shadow had barely taken form when the shadow of a much larger blade already covered it. The curve of the girl’s mouth was dark and sharp, silently saying that letting him go first did not mean letting him go far.

  Maki Zenin never held back when she struck.

  With Top Healer of the Jujutsu World Shoko Ieiri downstairs and the monster duo of Marisa Nado standing guard, there was no safer setup than this. As long as no one was killed, she could hit as hard as she wanted. Even Megumi Fushiguro, famous for his iron skull, would end up bleeding if he took a clean blow.