"Fine, I'll go myself." Hayashi knew that he was the only one who could go. If he let an ordinary person go, the outcome would be tragic.
"Hurry up, ask the guest what they want. It's always good to be diligent, young man." The store manager nodded, but suddenly noticed the rising temperature around him. "I remember the air conditioning has been on, so why is it getting hot?"
"Jogo, calm down. It's getting hotter," Suguru Geto reminded casually, looking up at him.
At this point, Hayashi had already walked over. The closer he got to Jogo, the more the temperature around him increased.
"Excuse me, sir, what would you like to order?" Hayashi smiled, though his smile didn't quite reach his eyes as he looked at Suguru Geto. At this close distance, Hayashi could clearly feel the oppressive pressure coming from the four special-grade curses around him.
"A glass of iced water, please." Geto spoke, but his eyes lingered on Hayashi, sensing something unusual.
Jogo also noticed something off and turned to look at the server beside him.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Hayashi's intention was to avoid making a scene. He thought that after giving Geto his ice water, they might leave after sitting for a while, ensuring everyone's safety.
But he was wrong. Given how unique he was, it was nearly impossible for him to not be noticed.
"Hey, kid, can you see us?" Jogo squinted at Hayashi's back. "At this close range, with my heat, you shouldn't even be alive."
Hayashi stood still for a few seconds before turning around to face Jogo. "You all are walking around so brazenly—couldn't you be a little more discreet?"
The future could be changed by what Hayashi did today, whether he informed Gojo Satoru or not. But Hayashi's plan was to turn the tide himself.
After all, the situation had already escalated.
"As I thought, you can see us!" Jogo became excited and stared at Hayashi. "A jujutsu sorcerer, or something else?"
"Wait a minute, this kid's cursed energy feels strange," Geto interrupted Jogo, sensing he was about to make a move.
"It does feel strange. Either he's incredibly strong, or..." Jogo grinned, standing up. "Mr. Geto, it seems like we've found something interesting today."
Hayashi's expression became serious. These four were special-grade curses, and they were vastly different from the two special-grades he had faced before—on a completely different level.
Among these four special-grade curses, any one of them could probably wipe out the two he had previously encountered. Especially Jogo, who was leagues ahead of Hanami in strength.
"Damn it, if I'd known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have bothered with this part-time job. This is beyond bad luck." Hayashi felt like crying. How could he run into these guys while working a simple job?
Still, he couldn't show fear. Cursed spirits feed on negative emotions. He had to stay resolute.
"If we're going to fight, how about we move these people out of here? I don't want any innocent people to get caught up in this." Hayashi knew that it was too late to leave now. If he had just walked away earlier, everyone in the store would have been killed.
As a human, he couldn't allow something like that to happen right in front of him. Even if it meant putting himself in danger, he had to make sure the civilians got out safely.
"Alright." Jogo smiled slightly and snapped his fingers.
Hayashi's face fell as the temperature around them suddenly spiked. In an instant, the customers still drinking their cold beverages, the waiters, and even the store manager burst into flames.
"Ahh!"
"It's so hot! Help! Somebody help me!"
The cries of agony filled the air, but they couldn't escape the confines of the store. In the blink of an eye, everyone inside the store—except for Hayashi and the four curses—had been reduced to ash.
"How dare you!" Hayashi's eyes widened in rage. Jogo had slaughtered the civilians right in front of him, mocking him.
"You told me to 'move them out,' and I did. See, I'm quite trustworthy, aren't I?" Jogo sneered, completely ignoring Hayashi's anger. His expression was full of mockery.
"Young jujutsu sorcerer, since I've run into you, I'm going to treat you properly. Human laws don't apply to me. I kill as I please. What can you do about it?" Jogo taunted Hayashi. He didn't take Hayashi seriously at all. In his eyes, this young sorcerer wasn't worth a real fight—he could be toyed with.
Hayashi was seething with rage, cursed energy bursting from his body. The cursed tool, Black Steel, appeared behind him.
"If that's how it's going to be, then let's see how strong you special-grades really are!" Hayashi raised his hand, gripping the cursed tool behind his back. As he drew Black Steel, cursed energy flowed into the blade, and with a swift motion, he slashed at the group—one human and three cursed spirits.
The moment Hayashi unleashed his cursed energy, the four were taken aback. Such pure and powerful cursed energy—coming from a teenager?
Boom!!
Hayashi's slash cleaved through the air. The four curses immediately dodged, and the place where they had been sitting was split open by a deep gash that ran all the way to the wall.
"Not bad, kid. You've got some skill!" Jogo glanced at another curse. "Hanami!"
"&#￥#@@" The special-grade curse known as Hanami responded in a language no one could understand. With a hand sign, countless vines and branches erupted from the ground outside, encasing the entire store in a thick barrier, leaving no gaps for escape.
Geto stood at a corner, observing Hayashi. His eyes narrowed. A layer of pure cursed energy coiled around Hayashi's body like a protective aura.
"Not a single trace of cursed energy left unhidden, and yet when he unleashes it, it's so pure. This kid is no ordinary sorcerer." Geto regarded Hayashi highly. In recent years, he had only felt this sensation from a few individuals, and this boy's cursed energy was different from the others.
"Well, so what? I haven't fought in a while. Today, this kid will warm me up!" Jogo didn't seem worried at all about Hayashi escaping. With all four of them here, escape was out of the question.
"Let's make it quick. This is Tokyo—any disturbance here will attract attention," Geto reminded, though he didn't seem overly concerned.
"What's the rush? Let the kid ask a few questions first." Hayashi was still fuming with anger, but he knew that facing so many special-grades alone was a death sentence. Instead of rushing into a fight, he figured it was better to gather some information.
"What do you want to ask?" Jogo found the boy's calm demeanor strange. They were not ordinary curses—did this kid have something up his sleeve?
The calmer Hayashi appeared, the more the group hesitated. For a moment, none of them made any further moves.
"I want to know if there are other groups of curses like yours. Are there many special-grade or first-grade curses gathering to cause trouble?" Hayashi's cursed energy had already spread throughout the area. His cursed energy was undetectable by others, functioning like an extended field of awareness. If these guys moved again, he would retreat.
Without having a domain of his own, fighting four incredibly strong special-grade curses here would be suicide. Hayashi knew he had to pick his battles wisely.