Covered in blood, the sorcerer Tamami Yoshihiro frantically fled down an alleyway.
'Damn it, damn it all!'
Tamami muttered curses under his breath. How had it come to this? How had he, the leader of the invincible group of sorcerers known as "The Undefeated," ended up like this?
'The sorcerer killer...'
He gritted his teeth in anger.
A few days ago, an anonymous post appeared on the dark web, a place frequented by sorcerers.
—Seeking information on the special grade spirit incident at Tokyo ○○ Department Store on October 6th, 2005. Reward: 3 million yen.
Three million yen for just one piece of information, not even asking someone to kill. It was an offer that any fledgling sorcerer would be tempted by.
However, the reason behind seeking information about that incident and who was behind it remained unclear, making it a dubious request. Tamami Yoshihiro and his group, The Undefeated, claimed no knowledge of the incident and thus ignored it.
'I should have bound them with a vow not to lie!'
Tamami Yoshihiro only realized his brother, Tamami Yuuhiro, had lied to him after the sorcerer killer slaughtered dozens of sorcerers and destroyed two sorcerer communities.
The sorcerer killer. A legendary figure in their world, never failing, leaving no trace, and never letting unnecessary emotions interfere with his work. That's why he hardly moved for small change.
'There had been rumors of his retirement...'
Yet here he was, actively hunting sorcerers. Why, if not for a contract? Yoshihiro found out the reason after some digging. The sorcerer killer's son was involved in the department store incident.
'Damn, I hadn't even heard the sorcerer killer had a son!'
Since when did any sorcerer care so tenderly for their son?
But the sorcerer killer did. He posted a large bounty for information about the department store incident, based on the information from sorcerers who responded, and began hunting down those who lied to pinpoint the real culprit. As he got closer to The Undefeated, the truth began to unravel.
After the sorcerer killer almost reached The Undefeated's hideout, Yuuhiro confessed, shaking with fear.
He had diverted a protective charm, Sukuna's finger, from its original place and handed it to someone else, likely causing the special grade spirit at the department store.
Yoshihiro felt like he was going insane. If he had known, he would have handed his brother over to the sorcerer killer, family or not!
But now the enemy was at their doorstep, and despite Yuuhiro being a thickhead, he was a core part of The Undefeated's force. It was too late to expel him now.
There were only two sorcerers of grade 2 or higher in The Undefeated, Yoshihiro and Yuuhiro, but they had a large number of affiliated sorcerers, totaling 26. So, they thought they had a fighting chance.
How terribly they had miscalculated.
With the first swing of his chain, to which something white was attached at incredible speeds, nearly half of The Undefeated's sorcerers were decapitated. By the second, only Yuuhiro and Yoshihiro were left standing.
Between the black chains flying towards him, Yoshihiro caught the sorcerer killer's eye.
The sorcerer killer, whose son was rumored to be involved in the incident and out of his mind, didn't appear angry or excited. Instead, he seemed emotionless, almost bored.
This made it all the more chilling.
When Yuuhiro screamed and charged at the sorcerer killer, Yoshihiro knew this was his only chance to escape. So, he ran.
"After all, it was Yuuhiro who created this mess. If his death allows me to escape, then he's paid his dues."
No, that still wasn't enough to cover his sins. He had single-handedly destroyed what he had built and maintained with The Undefeated!
Clang!
Something flew past him, and Yoshihiro hit the ground hard.
"You have better instincts than your brother."
The dry voice made Yoshihiro's skin crawl.
"I thought you might have reinforcements, but it was just overconfidence that you could escape. I see no need to watch further."
Realizing escape was impossible, Yoshihiro immediately prostrated himself on the ground.
"Please, spare me!"
He babbled, not fully aware of what he was saying.
"I know who's behind the incident! If you listen to me, you can avenge your son's death—"
The sorcerer killer swiftly approached, grabbed his throat, and lifted him. The previously indifferent green eyes now seemed to blaze.
"My son is alive and well."
"What? Really?"
But he was at the department store where the special grade spirit appeared? Struggling with this unbelievable truth, Yoshihiro's eyes widened.
The sorcerer killer's scarred mouth twisted into a smirk.
"Who said he was dead?"
Yoshihiro clenched his teeth. Caught in his lie, he knew the sorcerer killer must have realized he knew nothing.
He had wanted to keep this card until the very end. As the grip around his throat tightened, he rolled his eyes in desperation.
"Behind me is, the, ugh, upper echelons—"
Crack.
Toji simply snapped his neck, ending his life effortlessly. Then, he casually dropped the body.
"Do you think you're the only one who said that?"
Anyway, it's all rotten to the core. Toji clicked his tongue.
"You've made quite a mess."
Turning at the sound of Shiu Kong's voice, Toji saw him grumbling and approaching.
"Have you suddenly become a crusader of justice? Or did you belatedly discover the thrill of murder? Do you know how many sorcerer heads you've taken these past few days? There are already three sorcerer communities you've destroyed because of you. You know that?"
"I know."
"And knowing that, you still made such a big deal... Sigh."
Shiu Kong stopped mid-sentence, discarded his nearly finished cigarette, and lit a new one. With the fresh nicotine hit, he seemed to calm down, speaking in a more composed voice.
"Have you completely given up on returning? Planning to become a sorcerer?"
"Me? They wouldn't accept a monkey with absolutely no sorcerous power."
Toji's only goal was to annihilate the culprits involved in Zoro's incident, whether they were non-sorcerers, sorcerers, or sorcerer killers. It just so happened that most of the suspects were sorcerer killers. The few non-sorcerers involved had already been handed over to the police.
"I'm not interested in other sorcerer killers."
He didn't have a noble intention to eradicate all sorcerer killers on this occasion.
The reason he ended up dealing with so many sorcerer killers was that the suspects often belonged to sorcerer killer groups.
"If they had handed over the problematic members easily, it wouldn't have come to this."
They chose to fight together instead of surrendering their problematic members, so he simply sent them all to the afterlife.
Yet, despite causing an unprecedented situation in the sorcerer world by destroying three sorcerer killer groups, he still hadn't caught even a hint of the mastermind behind everything.
'It's as if they don't really exist.'
No one had seen him directly. Those who acted had only been requested or asked by someone else. They were all tails; the head had vanished like smoke.
In that case, he needed to send a warning, even if it was just to the tails.
"If there's anyone with a brain, they would have understood by now."
Whether they understood or not, it was a lesson about what happens to those who dare to meddle in affairs involving his son.
Shiu Kong, witnessing the faint madness swirling in Toji's green eyes, pressed a hand to his forehead. This guy's lost it, totally lost it.
"This incident won't be ignored by the higher-ups either."
"It's only the sorcerer killers I've killed. The non-sorcerers have been handed over to the police nicely."
The higher-ups had a certain level of awareness of the activities of the sorcerer killers but had tolerated them until now. The reason was simple.
'There's a lack of manpower.'
After the birth of Gojo Satoru, the explosive increase in curses had driven the already few sorcerers into extreme overwork, naturally leading to an increase in deaths and desertions.
As a result, the higher-ups were too busy dealing with curses and lacked the strength to track down and punish the well-hidden sorcerer killers. Since sorcerer killers also killed curses, they were seen as a necessary evil and were overlooked.
"But they are humans, not curses."
"If the higher-ups do step in, it would probably be because the tribute money from the sorcerer killers stopped, not for that reason."
Some among the higher-ups accepted tributes in the form of cursed objects, tools, or money in exchange for turning a blind eye to their existence.
The three sorcerer killer communities that Toji had dismantled had all been paying tributes to the higher-ups. There was no direct evidence, but circumstantial evidence was plenty.
"This incident is a monumental one, creating a special grade curse in a department store in broad daylight in Tokyo. It's way beyond what the higher-ups can overlook."
Even if they wanted to protect them, they couldn't. After all, they were sorcerer killers, and the incident was too big.
'By now, the old fogies must be keeping their mouths shut and suffering from stomachaches.'
Their under-the-table income must have stopped.
"Oh right, what about that woman?"
Shiu Kong pointed behind him. Toji noticed a woman trembling behind Shiu Kong.
Although she had deserted due to the chronic overwork in the sorcery world, she hadn't committed any serious wrongdoing and was the only informer among the whistleblowers who provided useful information to Toji.
After a brief consideration, Toji waved dismissively at the woman.
She bowed politely and quickly left the scene. She had already received her reward of three million yen and even more, planning to leave Tokyo forever.
'She plans to stay away from the sorcery world and live in the countryside, raising cats or something.'
He had a hunch that if he ever encountered her again while she was still a sorcerer killer, she wouldn't die a peaceful death.
Watching the woman scurry away, Toji pulled out his mobile phone. It had been two hours since his last call. It was about time to call Zoro.
Toji pressed the buttons firmly. After a brief ring, Zoro's voice came through the phone.
"[Dad?]"
"What are you doing?"
"[I was sleeping.]"
Yawning sounds from Zoro could be heard.
Zoro tended to have short nights but long naps during the day. He spent most of his time either training, playing with the kids, or sleeping. Toji had tried to change this habit, claiming it was bad for health... but failed.
"Where are Megumi and Tsumiki?"
"[They're playing. Right now, they're playing tag... wait, Megumi! Don't run on the stairs! Who told you to run there?! You'll get in trouble!]"
"Did they fall?"
"[No, that didn't happen. As long as I'm here, it won't happen. ...Listen, Megumi. You absolutely, absolutely must not run on the stairs. Tsumiki, you too. Got it?]"
The sternness in Zoro's voice was followed by Megumi's whimpering apologies.
"You're strict."
"[Things that aren't allowed need to be said as such.]"
Zoro's voice trembled as he added that stairs are dangerous.
"Anything happen?"
"[Nothing.]"
"Is Gojo guy around?"
"[No.]"
Toji's eyebrows raised. He wondered if the promise of protection had been broken, but that didn't seem to be the case.
"Where did he go?"
"[He said he's going to the higher-ups. Instead, that person with the bangs is here.]"
So he's with that curse sorcerer. It seems Gojo went to report to the higher-ups that Zoro is a non-sorcerer.
It's good timing, the old folks' faces should be seen at least once. Among them, there might be someone involved in this case, probably panicking right now.
"I'll be there soon."
"[Bring back some ginger tea when you come.]"
"Got it."
Toji ended the call. It was time to face a long-standing adversary.
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