Chapter 20: Invaded Jujutsu High and Kenko
Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College, the third-floor corridor of the teaching building.
Masamichi Yaga knelt on one knee on the shattered floor tiles, his heavy panting exceptionally clear in the silent corridor.
His dark uniform had been torn open in several places, the edges soaked in dark red blood.
He supported himself on the ground with his left hand while his right arm hung limply at his side. His forearm was bent at an unnatural angle, appearing to be broken in at least three places.
Sweat mixed with blood slid down his forehead and dripped into his eyes, bringing a stinging pain.
Those eyes, usually so steady and stern, were fixed dead ahead on the person five meters away.
But could that thing still be considered "human"?
Dressed in a loose dark kimono, he had a tall and thin build, his long black hair tied loosely at the back of his head.
The most eye-catching feature was the scarred suture line stretching across his entire forehead, looking like a hideous centipede crawling on his skin.
He stood there, his posture as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll.
His right hand casually held onto something.
A Golden Goblet.
The goblet's body was covered in spiderweb-like cracks that spread all the way from the rim to the base, as if it had been smashed and then barely glued back together.
A faint, dark light flowed deep within the cracks, resembling coagulated blood, or perhaps something even more foul.
A black, viscous, and constantly squirming liquid was slowly overflowing from the rim.
One drop, two drops.
"Drip."
"Drip."
They fell onto the corridor floor and rapidly spread like living mud, greedily devouring everything it touched.
Masamichi Yaga's pupils shrank violently.
Just what exactly is this liquid...?!
Behind him, Kugisaki Nobara was half-kneeling on the ground, her left hand pressing tightly against her right shoulder.
There was a wound deep enough to show bone, the flesh turned outward, and its edges tinged with an ominous livid black.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Fushiguro Megumi coughed up a mouthful of bloody froth. He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over that golden goblet, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
"That Holy Grail..."
Kugisaki Nobara saw it too.
She suddenly widened her eyes, her voice trembling slightly from the pain.
"That black stuff... we saw it at the Psychiatric Hospital! And at the Juvenile Detention Center too!"
She stared fixedly at the cracked golden goblet in the man's hand, then looked at the black liquid constantly sloshing inside the Holy Grail.
"Those two Cursed Spirits from before... were you behind them?!"
The man didn't answer.
Or rather, he couldn't.
He merely tilted his head slightly. Inside his eye sockets, where his eyes should have been,
were currently filled with a black, viscous liquid identical to the one in the Holy Grail. It was slowly circulating, squirming as if it were alive.
They had completely lost the luster a human should possess, leaving only emptiness and chaos.
"Hrr..."
A sound like leaking air came from his throat, the syllables broken and forming no coherent words.
"Hrr... grr..."
The voice didn't sound like something a human could produce at all.
It sounded more like something was manipulating a puppet that was about to fall apart, forcefully pulling at the vocal cords to squeeze out a lingering echo.
Fushiguro Megumi leaned against the wall, his chest heaving violently.
"...Does he have... no self-awareness...?"
"He's being controlled by... that Holy Grail..."
...
Time rewound to one week before Kama's descent.
A hidden basement somewhere in Tokyo.
Kenjaku, who had just recently taken over the body of a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer, was sitting at a crude wooden table, his fingers tapping the surface unconsciously.
The sutured scar on his forehead looked especially hideous under the dim lighting.
He was pondering his next plan.
Sukuna's Vessel had already appeared, but it wasn't enough.
He still needed more preparation.
He needed more chaos, more Negative Emotions... only then could that plan advance smoothly.
Just as he was deep in thought, a bizarre distortion suddenly rippled through the space above his head.
Kenjaku became instantly alert and snapped his head up—
"Bang!"
A golden object plummeted from the ceiling, striking him squarely on the forehead without the slightest deviation.
"Ugh!"
Kenjaku let out a muffled groan, his body leaning backward as he almost fell out of his chair.
He quickly steadied himself, propping one hand on the table while the other immediately reached for the Cursed Tool at his waist, warily surveying his surroundings all the while.
There was no one.
Kenjaku frowned, his gaze falling upon the object on the ground.
It was a Golden Goblet with a quaint and ornate design. Intricate patterns were carved into its body, emitting a faint glow in the dim light.
Right now, it lay quietly on the floor.
Kenjaku didn't step forward right away.
He maintained his guarded stance and waited for a full minute. After confirming that no one had appeared and there were no fluctuations in Cursed Energy, he finally stood up slowly and walked over to the golden goblet.
He crouched down, pulled a Talisman out from his sleeve, and lightly stuck it onto the goblet.
The Talisman had no reaction.
It's not a Cursed Tool?
Kenjaku's frown deepened.
He hesitated for a few seconds before reaching out and picking up the golden goblet.
It was cold to the touch and lighter than it looked.
He raised the Holy Grail to his eye level and scrutinized it carefully.
The cracks on the body were even more numerous than he had initially seen. It looked as if it had been struck by some tremendous force, barely managing to maintain its complete shape.
A tiny bit of black stain remained at the bottom of the Holy Grail.
Kenjaku could feel that this Holy Grail contained some sort of power.
It wasn't Cursed Energy.
It was something older, fouler, and darker.
Just as he was about to investigate further, the Holy Grail suddenly vibrated slightly.
Immediately after, Kenjaku felt the air around him begin to flow.
It was Cursed Energy.
The thin Cursed Energy drifting about the basement was being drawn in by an invisible force, converging toward the golden goblet in his hand.
Like tiny streams, the Cursed Energy flowed slowly into the rim and was absorbed by the Holy Grail.
Kenjaku's pupils shrank.
This Holy Grail... is actively absorbing Cursed Energy?
Before he even had time to be surprised, an even more bizarre event occurred.
In the corner of the basement, several of the lowest-level fly-head Cursed Spirits were drifting aimlessly.
They possessed no intelligence, only instinct. Normally, even Kenjaku couldn't be bothered to clean them up.
But at this moment, as if attracted by something, those fly-heads started floating in Kenjaku's direction.
No, they were floating toward the golden goblet in his hands.
They drifted directly over the rim, and then—
"Swoosh!"
Like dust being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, the several fly-heads were instantly drawn into the Holy Grail without even a hint of struggle.
At the bottom of the Holy Grail, that small black stain expanded just a tiny bit at a visible rate.
Although it was an extremely minuscule change, Kenjaku saw it clearly.
The hand holding the Holy Grail began to tremble slightly.
It wasn't out of fear.
It was excitement.
The corners of his mouth uncontrollably curled upward, and an almost crazed smile bloomed on his face.
"This is..."
He muttered softly, his voice carrying uncontainable ecstasy.
"Even the heavens are helping me..."