"In this moment, have you ever thought about the people you've tormented and cursed, those who have unwillingly provided you with nourishment day after day? They were innocent," Hayashi said.
"No!!!" Shingo roared, his stitched mouth twisting with fury. "They brought it on themselves! Without their greed, they wouldn't have ended up like this! I merely brought their greed to the surface. They earned their overtime pay. There was nothing wrong with it!"
"Shut up!" Hayashi shouted, driving his fist into Shingo's stomach. Shingo's body bent over in pain as Hayashi continued, "It's easy to add blame, but the truth is, while their actions were driven by greed, you had no right to take away their time, their rest. A person's energy is finite. How can they make infinite money in such a limited time?"
"In the end, they died because of their greed, and also because of your interference. And you, Shingo, are no less greedy than they were." Though Shingo understood more about the human world than most curses, his reasoning was twisted by his curse nature.
Overtime and sleepless nights weren't driven solely by greed. Why did they work so hard?
Yes, for money, but also for survival, for their families. They needed to make ends meet, to maintain their relationships, to support the ones they loved.
Living in this world was hard for everyone. People sacrificed time and energy to survive, and that was their right. But if their actions were manipulated by a curse's influence, then it was unnatural. Their deaths were unjust.
"Human desire is endless! We are the purest beings, the ones who should truly be called human!" Shingo screamed, unleashing a surge of cursed energy. In an instant, he closed the distance between him and Hayashi, positioning himself behind Hayashi, in the direction of the sun within the domain.
Facing away from Shingo, Hayashi stood motionless. Red-hot steel beams, now glowing as if freshly pulled from molten lava, shot toward Hayashi's back.
But Hayashi didn't move. The beams twisted, distorting before they could touch him, bending away from his body.
Seeing this, Shingo cried out, "What is the rule of your domain!?"
"My domain isn't complete yet. What you're witnessing is its rule," Hayashi said, turning to face Shingo with piercing eyes. "I have a question for you: how does one guide and expand a domain?"
This wasn't a question Hayashi asked for himself but for his classmates at Jujutsu High, as well as for Zhang Yiyi and Kong Yue.
Among them, Fushiguro Megumi had the greatest potential to master domain expansion. Though he had already grasped an incomplete version of it, he still had a long way to go to fully master it.
As for Zhang Yiyi, a first-grade jujutsu sorcerer at such a young age, her talent was undeniable, but reaching the level of domain expansion was extremely difficult.
Many jujutsu sorcerers spent their entire lives without ever mastering domain expansion. Hayashi couldn't let Zhang Yiyi's talent go to waste, but he had no idea how to help her. Perhaps this special-grade curse, Shingo, had some unique insights.
But domain expansion was an elusive concept, one that couldn't be easily explained. Each person's understanding was different, making it difficult to put into words.
At best, it could be guided, like a mentor leading a student to the door, leaving the rest to personal talent. Everything a person had experienced—their memories, their burdens, their self-awareness—could all play a role.
It was like a thin sheet of glass. Once broken through, the other side revealed a completely different world—a new world.
"Do you... really think you could let me go if I answered that?" Shingo asked, abandoning all resistance. He knew that within Hayashi's domain, none of his techniques would be effective. There was no way to touch Hayashi's true form.
Yet, being asked such a question by a human was unexpected. Domain expansion wasn't something that could be explained with mere words.
"No, I can't let you go," Hayashi said bluntly. His question had been more out of curiosity. He already knew that domain expansion was one of the hardest things to master. If it could be taught so easily, the world would be filled with people who could expand domains. Chaos would reign.
"Of course, that's your answer," Shingo muttered, making strange noises unique to curses, a mix of indifference and resignation. "Jujutsu sorcerers... always the most cunning and troublesome creatures. Even if I die, that person will avenge me."
"If you tell me about domain expansion, I'll make your death quick and painless," Hayashi offered. Despite Shingo's tenacity, Hayashi couldn't help but respect his courage. Other curses would have gone mad by now.
Five minutes later.
Hayashi formed hand signs, and between the sun and moon, an invisible force intertwined and collided, directing its power straight into Shingo.
Under the weight of that power, Shingo's body disintegrated into ash.
A silver medallion dropped into Hayashi's hand, etched with ancient, mysterious patterns. He pocketed it.
With the domain receding, Hayashi found himself back in the office building. The cursed energy that had filled the space began to dissipate, scattering from top to bottom.
At that moment, all the employees felt a sudden lightness, a clarity in their minds they hadn't experienced in years.
"Damn, the job's done, why the hell are we still working overtime? I'm outta here!"
"Yeah, no more overtime. Time to go home and play some games."
"Let's go! I'm grabbing a beer and some barbecue. Gotta enjoy the night!"
"Haven't seen my girlfriend in days. I miss her like crazy. Time to head home to some warmth."
"Hey, I heard there's a new anime out called Nanami's Bizarre Adventure. I gotta catch up when I get home."
"Let's go home!"
Voices filled the building as the workers began to return to normal, their burdens lifted. For the first time in a long while, they felt truly free, and Hayashi let out a relieved sigh. It was finally over.
The curse that had haunted this place had been exorcised. From now on, the office would return to normal. And hopefully, no one would ever be forced to work overtime again.
Every person's face was lit up with genuine joy and relief.
Meanwhile, on a beautiful beach bathed in sunlight, a long-haired man suddenly sat up from his lounge chair. He sensed something breaking—a connection severed—and his expression grew dark and uncertain.
"What's wrong? This isn't like you to be so unsettled," asked a grayish-blue-haired man with stitches running across his entire body. He was holding a magazine but glanced curiously at the long-haired man.
"A special-grade curse in Sendai was exorcised. I'm not sure who did it, but the special-grade cursed object is now in their hands. We might be able to track it, but..." The long-haired man, Suguru Geto, was surprised. Who could have dealt with such a powerful special-grade curse?
"You mean the one from the Heisei Group?" asked the stitched man, Mahito, sitting up with interest. "If it's that one, whoever exorcised it must be capable of domain expansion. Could it have been Satoru Gojo?"
"It wasn't him. I'm certain of that. Which is why this situation is more troubling than I expected. Shingo was a key part of my future plans. If he's gone, we've lost a powerful ally," Geto said, still trying to piece together who could have taken down Shingo.
"Are we short on backup? Once the others hear about this, they'll jump at the chance to join us. Losing one isn't a big deal. Things are getting more and more interesting," Mahito said with a strange laugh, clearly unfazed by Shingo's death.
Geto glanced at Mahito, annoyed but unwilling to argue. Sometimes, talking to him felt pointless.
In all of Japan, Geto was familiar with most registered special-grade jujutsu sorcerers. None of them could have had a conflict with Shingo.
Shingo wasn't a novice curse. He was knowledgeable and cautious. If a registered special-grade jujutsu sorcerer had shown up, Shingo would have immediately hidden, ensuring there was no risk of exorcism.
There was one other possibility: an unregistered special-grade jujutsu sorcerer had exorcised Shingo.
Or perhaps it was one of those who preferred to keep their power hidden. But even then, there was no reason for them to get involved.
These unknown variables were starting to shake Geto's carefully laid plans, making the future harder to predict.
As he gazed out at the calm ocean, Geto ran through countless possibilities, but none could explain who had the power to exorcise the special-grade curse Shingo.