The Heian sky was still burning.
Not literally anymore—but the afterimage of Takeru's technique lingered like the world hadn't fully recovered from being erased.
Where Tamamo-no-Mae had stood—
there was nothing left.
No presence.
No curse.
Just scorched air slowly cooling down.
Takeru exhaled once.
Tired.
Not injured.
Just… done with it.
Yuji stared from a distance.
"…That was not normal."
Megumi nodded slowly.
"…That was not even close to normal."
Hakari leaned forward slightly.
"…He just deleted a disaster."
Kashimo was still frozen.
"…I didn't even see the hit."
Ryu muttered.
"…I felt it."
Yorozu crossed her arms.
"…That was overkill."
Uro just pointed at the empty space.
"…So it's gone gone?"
Takeru didn't answer them.
He just walked forward.
And where the curse had been—
a glowing orb remained.
Dense.
Heavy.
Pure cursed essence compressed into something physical.
Takeru picked it up.
Paused.
Looked at it.
"…Huh."
Everyone immediately reacted.
Yuji shouted:
"…DON'T EAT THAT!"
Megumi added:
"…That's definitely not food!"
Hakari yelled:
"…That's NOT SNACK MATERIAL!"
Takeru ignored all of them.
"…Special Grade."
He lifted it slightly.
Turned it once.
Then—
took a bite.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Yuji went stiff.
"…HE ATE IT."
Megumi closed his eyes.
"…He actually ate it."
Hakari whispered:
"…Why is he like this…"
Takeru paused.
Chewed.
Then blinked.
"…Oh."
A pause.
"…That's actually good."
Everyone stared harder.
Ryu looked disgusted.
"…What do you mean 'good'?"
Yorozu narrowed her eyes.
"…That was a cursed disaster."
Uro pointed at him again.
"…He's reviewing it."
Takeru swallowed.
"…Kind of like… premium bitterness."
A pause.
"…High-grade flavor."
Yuji slowly turned to Megumi.
"…He's ranking curses now."
Megumi replied instantly.
"…Stop acknowledging it."
Sukuna, watching from a distance, smirked slightly.
"…Of course he would."
Fred slowly raised a sign from behind a burning tree:
"5-star cursed orb review: confirmed."
Takeru stretched slightly.
Still tired.
Still calm.
"…Alright."
He looked at the group.
"…Next."