"This is not a drill! This is not a drill!"
"According to the supreme order of the General Headquarters, starting today, all registered Grade 1 and below jujutsu sorcerers in Japan must unconditionally respond to the emergency mobilization of Jujutsu High!"
"Target: December 24th, the Shinjuku and Kyoto defense zones!"
"Mission: Stop the full-scale outbreak of the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons at all costs!"
The piercing sound of the broadcast echoed through every corner of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
The entire campus was permeated with a suffocating, high-pressure pre-war atmosphere.
Countless uniformed jujutsu sorcerers, assistant supervisors, and even some retired veterans of the older generation were hurrying about, transporting cursed tools and sealing talismans.
This was the terrifying deterrent power brought by Suguru Geto's declaration of war.
A Special Grade Curse User capable of easily controlling thousands of high-level cursed spirits could absolutely cause a catastrophe sufficient to overturn human civilization if he truly committed to a massacre in a busy urban area!
Amidst this tense atmosphere that felt like the coming of the end times...
The first-year classroom was eerily quiet.
Maki was meticulously wiping the newly issued naginata in her hand, while Toge Inumaki silently organized a whole crate of special medicinal water used for throat recovery.
As for Yuta Okkotsu.
He sat in his seat, staring blankly at the busy figures outside the window, his hands clenched tightly together, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.
"Still blaming yourself?"
A gentle voice, yet one carrying an undeniable sense of power, suddenly sounded in Yuta Okkotsu's ear.
Yuta Okkotsu snapped his head around.
He saw Yoru leaning against the doorframe, holding a long object wrapped in black cloth, calmly watching him with those deep red eyes.
"Instructor Yoru..."
Yuta Okkotsu lowered his head, his voice filled with deep guilt and pain.
"The reason Suguru Geto is launching the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons and dragging Shinjuku and Kyoto into the flames of war..."
"It's all because of me, isn't it?"
"If it wasn't to seize Rika, this war wouldn't be happening, and so many people wouldn't be facing the threat of death."
This kind-hearted boy, compassionate to a fault, took all the impending disasters upon himself.
He even wondered if none of this would have happened if he had chosen to be executed back in that small dark room.
"Idiot."
Yoru ruthlessly cut through Yuta Okkotsu's self-loathing.
He walked up to Yuta and slammed the long object wrapped in black cloth onto the desk with a thud.
"Look up at me!"
Yoru's voice suddenly rose, and an overwhelming, sharp sword intent erupted from his red eyes!
Under the pressure of this aura, Yuta Okkotsu subconsciously looked up, his eyes filled with shock and a hint of fear.
"Who do you think Suguru Geto is?"
"Do you think a war involving the survival of the entire jujutsu world would be started so recklessly just because he took a fancy to your Rika?"
Yoru looked at him coldly.
"This war was destined from the day he left the school ten years ago."
"Rika is merely an excuse he's using publicly, a bait to draw the fire of the higher-ups."
"What you should really be doing isn't wallowing in self-pity here like a coward!"
"Instead, pick up your sword and use your own strength to prove you're qualified to protect the comrades by your side!"
Yoru's words were like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly into Yuta Okkotsu's fragile heart!
That was right.
What could running away solve?
If he didn't even have the courage to protect his friends, then what was the point of all the blood and sweat he'd shed during those months of hellish special training?
Yuta Okkotsu's gaze gradually became firm. He took a deep breath and suddenly stood tall.
"I understand, Instructor Yoru!"
"I will fight with everything I have to protect everyone! I absolutely won't let Suguru Geto take Rika!"
Seeing the God of Pure Love's fighting spirit reignited, the sharpness in Yoru's eyes instantly vanished, replaced once again by that gentle smile.
"Good. That's more like it."
Yoru pointed at the black cloth bundle on the table.
"Open it."
Yuta Okkotsu unwrapped the black cloth with some confusion.
Inside lay a custom-made tachi, dark red in color, slender, and covered in strange cloud patterns.
Though it wasn't Yoru's legendary, supposedly destroyed divine weapon 'Shiranui'...
The moment the sword was unsheathed, it emitted a faint yet pure aura of extreme heat!
"This is..."
Maki and Toge were also drawn in by the sword's aura, looking at Yoru with faces full of surprise.
"This is a custom steel sword that I've nourished for several hours every day with the residual heat of Sun Breathing over the past half month."
Yoru explained nonchalantly.
"Although its material is still quite ordinary and it wouldn't even withstand a single full-power strike from me..."
"For the current you, the sliver of sun-attribute evil-cleansing property it carries is enough to let you cut through those low-level cursed spirits as easily as slicing tofu."
Yoru patted Yuta Okkotsu's shoulder, his tone carrying a rare note of solemnity.
"Yuta, the enemies this time are strong."
"But just remember one thing."
"You are the man deeply loved by Rika Orimoto, someone even a god could tear apart."
"I believe in you."
Having finished these words that sounded almost like a final instruction, Yoru paid no more mind to the stunned Yuta Okkotsu and strode out of the classroom.
After arranging everything and confirming that Yuta Okkotsu's mindset had completely transformed...
Yoru left the heavily guarded barrier of Jujutsu High alone and soundlessly.
Night fell.
On the towering steel spire of Tokyo Tower.
The wind howled, whipping Yoru's black Jujutsu High uniform.
With his hands in his pockets, he looked down at the brilliant yet turbulent metropolis below.
His eyes, growing even more crimson in the night, reflected the silhouettes of countless ordinary people rushing about for their lives.
"Suguru Geto's bait has been cast."
"Now, that old poisonous snake hiding in the dark sewers, the one who plotted a thousand-year conspiracy, shouldn't be able to resist coming out to feed, right?"
Yoru slowly reached out his right hand.
The 'Storage Cursed Spirit' scarf wrapped around his neck, emitting a faint ripple of cursed energy, suddenly seemed to come alive, opening a bizarre, large mouth.
A worn bandage wrapped around its hilt, its blade chipped and battered yet still radiating a terrifying killing intent—a broken tachi.
Yoru slowly drew it from the belly of the storage cursed spirit!
Shiranui!
The Special Grade Cursed Tool that Yoru had personally severed the karma of back in 2006, and which was in a semi-damaged state ten years later!
Although it could no longer withstand 100% of Yoru's Sun Breathing...
The moment Yoru gripped the hilt...
This broken divine weapon actually let out a massive, excited hum like a dragon's roar in the night wind!
It thirsted for blood!
It thirsted to sever the source of the evil that spanned a thousand years!
"Kenjaku..."
Yoru casually shouldered Shiranui, the wind ruffing his black hair.
"This thousand-year game of hide-and-seek."
"It's time for me to personally put an end to it."
The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons is about to break out, and all factions are in place!
And what kind of storm, enough to overturn everything, will that thousand-year 'Brain' known as the 'Most Evil Curse User' stir up in this ultimate battle?!
A massacre in the truest sense is about to begin!
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