Suguru Geto stood frozen atop the still-warm pool of blood. Riko Amanai's body lay lifeless at his feet, the cold bullet of reality slamming into his mind. Before him, a man dressed in black stood calmly with a crooked smile—Toji Fushiguro.
"I killed Satoru Gojo," Toji stated flatly, almost lazily. The words struck Suguru's consciousness like a thunderstorm. Rage exploded.
"DIE, YOU BASTARD!!"
Instantly, Geto summoned his two deadliest curses. From the shadows materialized Rainbow Dragon, a white dragon with scales hard as spiritual steel. Beside it, a terrifying figure with a slashed mouth grinned—Kuchisake-Onna, a cursed spirit with empty eyes and scissors in her hands.
Rainbow Dragon roared and charged, jaws wide open ready to swallow. But Toji didn't flinch. He drew a thin-bladed sword from beneath his robe—the Soul-Splitting Katana.
CRASH!!
His body was shoved back as he withstood the dragon's impact, but he remained standing. Suguru formed his fingers like a pistol and—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Cursed energy bullets whistled through the air. Yet Toji—a man without cursed energy—dodged with astonishing zigzag movements. His steps were nearly impossible to follow, like a shadow dancing between light. Geto gritted his teeth. His speed… wasn't human!
Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind him.
"I slipped into the school easily."
Suguru reflexively turned—Toji was already behind him, calm.
"The barrier hiding the Tomb of the Star isn't meant to be guarded. As long as the location is known, infiltration isn't difficult. Right now, the sorcerers are busy, the school is full of Fly Heads... I'm an invisible man. But once I hold a cursed tool, I become visible."
Suguru stepped back. Toji showed his palm—a small cursed spirit was hidden there.
"I stored my sword inside my body, using a storage spirit. That's why the barrier didn't detect me."
"Shut up!! How did you find me?! What did you do to Kuroi?!"
Toji smirked. "My five senses are sharp enough. Footprints... scent... sound... following you was too easy."
He paused, then shrugged. "About that woman… either dead, or alive."
Suguru's enraged scream shook the stone corridor. "DAMN YOU!! DIE, YOU FILTHY MONKEY!!"
Rainbow Dragon shot forward again, its body like a rainbow bullet. But Toji met it with a single swing...
SWISH!!
The sound of metal slicing air—and the dragon fell, its body nearly split in two. Only the rainbow head remained, crashing into the building below.
Suguru froze. How? Rainbow Dragon's skin… was as hard as cursed steel.
Toji stood, his sword still dripping with the curse's blood.
But suddenly, the world changed.
Toji was now trapped within Kuchisake-Onna's Domain Expansion. Walls of reality enclosed them. The vow had begun.
The spirit whispered, her voice echoing like a shriek from the grave.
"Do you think… I'm beautiful?"
Toji stared at her. Silence. Then, he smirked.
"Ah... you're not my type."
The spirit's face instantly contorted with fury. A pair of giant scissors appeared, ready to sever Toji's limbs. But—
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Toji deflected every slash with the Inverted Spear of Heaven. His speed silenced the spirit. In an instant, he broke free.
Suguru was already standing behind him.
"THIS WILL BE OVER SOON," Toji said lazily, without even turning.
"You're the one who ends, BASTARD!" Suguru retorted, then tried to absorb Toji's cursed spirit.
But his effort was futile—the spirit rejected him. Suguru was stunned.
Toji, without losing momentum, threw his spear into the air.
SHING!
He pulled a long sword from the mouth of his storage spirit and swung repeatedly. Blood sprayed.
THWACK! THWACK!
Suguru and Kuchisake-Onna were cut down together. The spirit vanished, Geto staggered, his chest wide open.
And before he fell, the spear Toji had thrown earlier plummeted down. Toji caught it and slammed it into Suguru's face like a boulder.
CRACK!!
Suguru Geto fell unconscious.
Toji kicked him aside in disgust.
"Hah... how does it feel to be beaten by a monkey?"
He stared at Suguru's broken body.
"If you were a shikigami user, I might have killed you. But you're a curse manipulator... who knows if your curses would run wild if you died?"
He spat on the ground.
"Thank your parents."
And with a sneer, he stepped on Suguru's head.
---
A fragment in time.
Four sorcerers: Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, Riko Amanai, and Kuroi—all lay fallen in pools of their own blood. By one man without cursed techniques.
Toji walked away. But his steps faltered. His calm face hardened, as if touched by nostalgia.
"...That's right," he murmured softly.
"I was the one who named my child... Megumi."
It meant 'blessing'.
____________
Not far from where Gojo Satoru lay—gravely wounded and sprawled among the lonely ruins—a young boy stood still in the shadows.
Dressed in a black shirt and white pants, Tora stared sharply at Gojo's unmoving body from a distance.
His voice was quiet, but the serious tone betrayed a sharp curiosity.
"Whoa... will these Fly-Head curses attack me if I get close to Gojo Satoru?"
His tone shifted—calmer now, as though analyzing something far deeper.
"I'm sure right now... the Six Eyes are busy. Probably trying to fully understand Reverse Cursed Technique..."
But then—
His focus faltered.
Through the eyes of his black crow shikigami, he saw something move near the massive stone slab.
That stone gate... the place where Toji Fushiguro had vanished moments ago.
The crow tilted its head, watching from afar as Toji stepped out from the darkness.
His footsteps were calm. Unhurried. Like a predator that had already finished the hunt and had no need to rush.
Suddenly, Toji stopped.
He slowly turned his head… and looked directly at the sky.
Straight at the crow.
Tora's breath caught in his throat.
In that instant, the world fell silent.
Then—
Toji smirked.
A cold, condescending grin. Arrogant. Unshaken. And without a word, he turned and walked toward the forest, uninterested.
Hidden beneath the thick underbrush, Tora's eyes widened.
"Did… did he notice me from the start?"
His heart raced. Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
His legs trembled from fear.
And yet… his eyes gleamed with a strange, reckless excitement.
"Ahh… I wonder if Toji really did kill Suguru Geto."
Fear and curiosity clashed in his chest.
Tora began to move forward—each step more steady than the last—toward the battlefield that had just witnessed a deadly encounter.
The air still reeked of cursed energy. Blood still stained the earth. The ruins whispered of chaos and fury.
And in the midst of it all, with a small, eager smile on his lips, Tora approached the place where Toji Fushiguro and Suguru Geto had fought until one of them fell.