"Clang!"
A chilled can of Coke tumbled out of the vending machine, letting out a sharp, metallic ring.
The sound echoed with startling clarity through the silent grounds of Jujutsu High.
The summer sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling the stone-paved path.
Everything seemed so tranquil and harmonious.
Satoru Gojo leaned down. His hand, trembling slightly from maintaining his Limitless technique for three consecutive days, reached out and picked up the icy can.
*Hiss...*
As he pulled the tab, the cold carbonation hissed out.
Satoru tilted his head back and took a long, deep gulp.
The freezing liquid slid down his throat, providing a brief respite from the dull, throbbing ache deep inside his brain—a pain that felt as if his mind were beginning to boil.
He was exhausted.
For three full days and nights, he hadn't closed his eyes once. His nerves had been stretched to the absolute limit.
Even as the possessor of the once-in-a-century Six Eyes, he had reached his physical and mental breaking point.
"Satoru, are you all right?"
Not far away, Suguru Geto watched Satoru's pale face, a flash of concern in his eyes.
"I'm fine, I'm fine! I've been resurrected!"
Satoru waved him off casually, a signature arrogant smirk playing on his lips.
"But seriously, these past three days have really put me through the wringer."
"Once we get Riko-chan safely to Master Tengen, I'm going to sleep for an absolute eternity!"
Behind them, Riko Amanai and Misato Kuroi let out long sighs of relief.
A pure, innocent smile finally returned to the young girl's face.
"Thank you... Satoru, Suguru... and Mr. Yoru..."
Riko looked at the two boys. Despite their obvious fatigue, they still stood before her like immovable mountains. Her eyes reddened slightly.
"If it weren't for you all, I probably would have died back in Okinawa."
Within this barrier, reinforced by Master Tengen and touted as the safest place in all of Japan...
Every sense of danger and every defensive instinct dropped to zero at that moment.
They believed that as long as they stepped through the gates of the school, it was all over.
They believed the nightmare had finally retreated.
However, the moment Satoru Gojo turned around, ready to tell Suguru and Riko to continue toward the Tombs of the Star Corridor...
Disaster struck without the slightest warning.
There was not a trace of killing intent.
Not a single drop of residual cursed energy.
Even the flow of air didn't shift in the slightest.
It was as if space itself had suddenly split open, and a ghost that didn't belong to this world appeared out of thin air right behind Satoru Gojo.
*Schlick!*
A faint yet blood-curdling sound of tearing flesh erupted in the ears of Suguru and Riko.
Time seemed to grind to a complete halt.
The pupils of Satoru's Six Eyes, which mirrored the vast sky, snapped down to the size of pinpricks.
He looked down, staring in disbelief at his own chest.
A cold, sharp, crimson-stained blade had silently pierced through his back and was now protruding from his chest!
*Drip... drip...*
Warm blood slid down the blade and splattered onto the stone path, blooming into shocking flowers of red.
"Wha...?"
Satoru's throat let out a raspy murmur.
His brain, clouded by extreme exhaustion, went momentarily blank.
'Who is it?'
'When did he get close?'
'Why... why didn't my Six Eyes pick up a thing?!'
'Why... didn't my Limitless work?!'
"SATORU!"
Suguru Geto let out a soul-shattering roar.
His normally gentle eyes instantly became bloodshot with sheer horror and fury.
*BOOM!*
Massive cursed energy erupted from Suguru like a volcano. A giant Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit was summoned instantly, lunging with a roar at the shadow behind Satoru.
Simultaneously, Suguru grabbed Riko and Misato's arms, shoving them toward the hidden passage to the Tombs of the Star Corridor.
"Get inside! Don't look back, no matter what happens!"
Riko stumbled from the force of the shove. Tears instantly spilled over, but she grit her teeth and didn't make a sound, pulling Misato along as they bolted into the depths of the passage.
However, facing Suguru's furious assault and Riko's flight...
The man standing behind Satoru, gripping the long blade, simply pulled the weapon out with nonchalant ease.
*Squelch!*
Blood sprayed once more.
Satoru's body lurched violently, and he fell to one knee. The agonizing pain caused cold sweat to bead across his forehead instantly.
Using the recoil of the withdrawal, the man's figure flickered like a phantom, leaping back several meters to effortlessly evade the cursed spirit's strike.
The sunlight finally illuminated the man's face.
There was a jagged, savage scar at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes held the cold, mocking glint of a predator.
Toji Fushiguro.
He casually flicked the blood off his blade and rested the ordinary-looking katana on his shoulder.
He looked down at the bleeding Satoru Gojo, his lips curling into a bloodthirsty, mocking sneer.
"Special Grade? The strongest of the modern era?"
Toji's voice was low and gravelly, dripping with heavy irony.
"It looks like you really haven't slept much these past few days."
Satoru clutched the deep, bone-exposing wound in his chest, gasping for air.
He stared intently at the man, his Six Eyes working at maximum capacity as he tried to analyze his opponent's nature.
No cursed energy.
None at all!
Within this man's body, there wasn't even the faint trace of cursed energy that ordinary people possessed!
He was like a lifeless stone!
"Who... the hell are you?"
Satoru asked through grit teeth, enduring the searing pain.
"Me?"
Toji tilted his head, seemingly giving the question some thought.
"Just a monkey who was abandoned by his family a long time ago—someone whose name isn't even worth remembering."
Instead of pressing his advantage, he stood there in a completely relaxed stance, as if the Satoru and Suguru before him were merely lambs waiting for the slaughter.
"Though, you can also call me—"
"The Star Plasma Vessel Assassin."
The moment those words left Toji's mouth, a terrifying, physical pressure instantly enveloped the entire school.
Suguru Geto stood protectively in front of Riko, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
He knew they had made a catastrophic mistake.
They had underestimated the warning that the man named Yoru had left before he departed.
They had underestimated this Sorcerer Killer, a man with zero cursed energy who could infiltrate the school's barrier undetected!
Their strongest fighter had been critically wounded in a moment of total vulnerability!
And that ghostly assassin, whom even the Six Eyes could not track, was now watching them with the eyes of a hunter.
Inside this barrier, in the place thought to be an absolute sanctuary...
Who could possibly stop this monster's blade?