The sky gradually darkened, and the school slowly emptied out. By the time it was completely dark, the school was eerily quiet.
Hayashi knew that apart from him, there were still two people in the school—Sasaki and Iguchi, the two reckless individuals who planned to open the sealed Sukuna's Finger tonight.
At this moment, in the pitch-black school building, a faint flicker of light danced at the end of the hallway, visible through the glass.
Sasaki and Iguchi sat across from each other, a candle on the table illuminating the small space, creating an eerie and mysterious atmosphere.
Sasaki held an oval object wrapped in strange characters. In the flickering candlelight, the symbols glowed faintly, though neither Sasaki nor Iguchi could see this unusual sight.
"It's kind of stuck… I can't get it off," Sasaki said, noticing that the object wrapped in paper wasn't as easy to open as she had imagined—it seemed to be stuck together.
Iguchi, watching Sasaki struggle, asked, "Did we really have to come all the way in here to do this?"
Iguchi didn't feel anything particularly special about tonight. The task seemed no different from their usual antics, though the object itself did look a bit mystical. Still, it didn't seem worth all this fuss.
"Maybe we should turn the lights on," Iguchi suggested as he stood up to head for the switch.
"No! Don't ruin the atmosphere," Sasaki interrupted. "Feeling the thrill is what the Occult Research Club is all about. Besides, nothing's going to happen anyway."
"Uh, fine." Iguchi sat back down.
"Ah, I got it off!" Sasaki exclaimed. Hearing this, Iguchi stood up again, eager to see what was inside the wrapped bundle.
Sasaki began to carefully peel away the layers, knowing full well that nothing dangerous would happen, but the atmosphere had grown tense, causing her to swallow nervously.
Layer by layer, the yellowed strips of cloth gradually accumulated on the table until only a small piece remained.
Finally, after the last piece was removed, what was revealed was a purple-black finger. Both Sasaki and Iguchi froze in shock.
"A… human finger?"
"Is it real?"
"It's real."
At that moment, Hayashi burst through the door of the Occult Research Club and shouted at the two, "You two need to get out of here now!"
"Huh? Who are you… Hayashi?" Sasaki and Iguchi recognized the new transfer student. After all, Hayashi had become quite popular among the first-year students at school, despite his quiet, aloof demeanor. People still paid attention to him.
Just then, the candle on the table was abruptly snuffed out, and a horrifying creaking sound echoed through the room.
"What's happening?"
"Run!" Hayashi grabbed Sasaki and Iguchi by their collars and flung them out of the room. The two of them tumbled into the hallway.
"Ow, that hurt," Sasaki muttered, rubbing her shoulder. She was about to ask Hayashi why he had thrown them, but her words caught in her throat when she saw countless hands and tentacles writhing in the darkness, creeping toward them.
At that moment, Sasaki realized they had made a terrible mistake and were in serious danger. Meanwhile, Iguchi, trembling, leaned against the wall, paralyzed with fear.
"If you don't want to get me involved, then run now! I can handle myself," Hayashi shouted as he stood in front of them.
"Ugh, okay." Iguchi and Sasaki, no longer capable of forming coherent sentences, felt a surge of strength from Hayashi's imposing figure.
Despite their fear, Iguchi, being a guy, managed to pull himself together, helping Sasaki up before the two of them bolted down the stairs.
Once they were gone, Hayashi breathed a sigh of relief. By now, the Cursed Spirit had grabbed the purple-black finger off the ground and was about to shove it into its mouth.
"You're still thinking about the finger with me standing here?" Hayashi sneered. "Cursed Energy Armor!"
In an instant, Cursed Energy surged out of Hayashi, forming an armor that enveloped his body. He lunged forward with his right hand.
Crack!
Dozens of grotesque hands reached for Hayashi's outstretched hand, trying to tear it apart.
To the Cursed Spirit's surprise, not only could it not tear Hayashi's hand, but it struggled to even slow him down.
Hayashi swiftly snatched the purple-black finger from the Cursed Spirit, then leapt up and kicked the spirit squarely in the face. "Black Flash!"
Boom!
"Ahhhhhh!" The Cursed Spirit let out a pained cry, its eyes filled with terror as it merged into the wall.
Hayashi looked at the purple-black finger in his hand, smiling mysteriously. "So this is Sukuna's Finger? Good. I'll take the nail."
Using his golden finger, Hayashi broke off Sukuna's indestructible fingernail with a sharp snap. (Don't overthink this—only the protagonist can do this.)
Technically, Special Grade Cursed Objects cannot be destroyed or divided, but Hayashi had indeed accomplished it.
Breaking the world's logic is something only someone like Hayashi can do. While it's impossible to completely destroy a Special Grade Cursed Object, Hayashi could decompose and absorb it using his "special ability."
"Hey, you can keep this, Cursed Spirit. Here, take this!" Hayashi tossed the remainder of Sukuna's Finger away. He only needed the fingernail—the finger itself still had to be left for Yuji Itadori, who would arrive soon.
Hayashi quickly leaped through a window, scaling the rooftop as he dashed away into the distance.
At this moment, Fushiguro Megumi and Yuji Itadori arrived at the school, both sensing the thick presence of a curse in the nearby building.
"It looks like the seal's been broken. You stay here; I'm going in," Fushiguro instructed Yuji, jumping over the gate and rushing inside. He wasn't sure if he could save those two in time.
Just as Fushiguro was about to rush into the building, he saw Sasaki and Iguchi stumbling down the stairs in a panic. Tears streamed from Sasaki's eyes.
"Please save Hayashi! He… he's still up there!" Sasaki's tears flowed uncontrollably, and she broke down in sobs.
If Hayashi ended up dead because of her impulsive actions, Sasaki would carry the guilt for the rest of her life.
"What happened? Why is Hayashi up there?" Yuji Itadori leaped over the gate and caught Sasaki before she collapsed.
Hayashi had been adamant about not joining any clubs, so why was he in the Occult Research Club when everything went wrong?
"I don't know! Just please, go save him! There's a terrifying monster up there," Sasaki said through trembling lips.
"You stay here and take care of them. I'm going to check it out," Fushiguro called out, racing up the stairs. If someone was still up there, they were likely in grave danger by now.
Sure enough, when Fushiguro reached the upper floor, all he saw was a grotesque Cursed Spirit—there was no sign of Hayashi, the person Sasaki had mentioned.
"Was he eaten? Damn it!" Fushiguro spread his hands, quickly forming a hand seal. "Divine Dogs!"
In an instant, black energy swirled in the air, quickly forming two wolf-like creatures.
One was white, the other black, both baring their sharp fangs, ready to strike at any moment.
The Cursed Spirit, which had just consumed Sukuna's Finger, trembled at the thought that the terrifying person from earlier had returned. Spirits can feel fear too, especially intelligent ones.
But now it realized that it wasn't that person—it was someone else entirely.
With newfound confidence, the Cursed Spirit gathered its surrounding curses to launch an attack, eager to vent its frustration and make up for the beating it had just endured.