"This is... Cursed Speech?"
Akira's body froze, but inside, he was shaken.
Cursed Speech, a high-level jujutsu technique.
It allows words to carry a binding force through cursed energy. In simple terms, it's a weaker form of "word becomes law." It's a very convenient jujutsu technique and the signature of the Inumaki family.
Judging from the voice he heard, Akira could easily deduce that it was none other than the Inumaki family heir—Toge Inumaki, a popular supporting character from Jujutsu Kaisen.
"So it's not a curse user. It's the chaotic main group."
Akira's expression relaxed, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
He had expected to run into them at some point—after all, the jujutsu world isn't that large—but he hadn't thought it would happen this soon.
It seemed, just as Gardevoir had sensed, this encounter was a good thing.
With this in mind, Akira glanced at Gardevoir, who was also looking at him, concern visible in her wide eyes. She could sense something unusual about the Cursed Speech.
"This is bad."
Akira immediately realized the issue.
Cursed Speech was indeed powerful, but it came with a price.
The stronger the command, the greater the strain it placed on the user's throat.
The more powerful the target, the more backlash the user would experience.
With Akira, Gardevoir, and the enemy inside the Curtain, Toge Inumaki would definitely be experiencing heavy backlash. Even if his throat didn't get ruined, it wouldn't be in good shape.
Since the Cursed Speech was cast after the Curtain went up, Akira felt responsible.
"Gar-chan, let's go!"
"Gar~"
Waiting patiently (X), Rushing in solo (✓)!
The effects of the Cursed Speech came and went quickly. In less than two seconds, both Akira and Gardevoir were back to normal.
Effortlessly hopping over the wall, Akira followed the trail of cursed energy forward.
Before long, he encountered a cursed spirit unlike any he'd seen before.
It was big—huge, in fact.
Just its height was equivalent to a two-story building, and its body was round and bulky, resembling a massive caterpillar.
In the face of such overwhelming size, other attributes seemed secondary.
The sheer destructive power and force from its massive form alone were enough to surpass any cursed spirit Akira had previously encountered. Not to mention, the immense cursed energy stored within its gigantic body made it feel as though one were drowning in a sea of malice. Those with weaker strength would struggle just to breathe.
Cursed spirits are clusters of curses, beings composed of cursed energy. As long as the cursed energy isn't fully depleted, they can regenerate. Stronger cursed spirits are like creatures with both a health bar and a mana bar.
At first glance, Akira made a quick judgment.
At least a Grade 1 cursed spirit, and if not Special Grade, then certainly one of the stronger Grade 1s.
"How much pressure must these students have been under for something like this to form? Damn the cram."
A cursed spirit born from stress, full of negative emotions, wasn't going to stop because of Akira's complaints. It smashed through the school building, fully emerging from within. Its short yet fat arms swung violently, smashing a panda into the ground. The concrete surface cracked and caved from the impact, clearly demonstrating the power behind it.
The massive body then began to writhe, as if intending to crush the panda beneath it.
In this critical moment, another Cursed Speech command rang out: "Stop!"
The command, laced with strong intent and cursed energy, briefly halted the cursed spirit's movements.
Taking advantage of the pause, a new command followed: "Run!"
The panda, previously sprawled on the ground, instantly sprang to life. Its limbs scrambled as it sprinted away, moving with such speed and agility that it could be mistaken for a cheetah.
But the massive cursed spirit soon shook off the effects of the Cursed Speech and resumed its pursuit.
This was one of the downsides of Cursed Speech: its effects were temporary, and its power came and went quickly.
To be fair, the cursed spirit's movements weren't fast, but given its enormous size, even with the panda's impressive speed, it wasn't enough.
The cursed spirit's single step covered ten times the distance of the panda's strides, and it was closing in fast.
Just then, a light cry echoed from the sky.
A girl with a single ponytail and glasses, wielding a long staff, leaped from above, striking the cursed spirit's head with all her might.
Unfortunately, it wasn't very effective.
The cursed spirit was simply too large and too fat. Although the blow created a visible wound on its surface, the "fat" acted as a cushion, preventing the weapon from digging in deeper. Instead, the elasticity of the "fat" caused the weapon to bounce back and fly out of her grasp.
Beneath the girl lay the cursed spirit's gaping maw, its diameter easily five meters wide, like a bottomless pit.
It was going to swallow her whole.
"Maki!!!"
The panda stopped running, shouting in a human voice, filled with urgency.
The shortest boy, standing furthest away, opened his mouth, trying to scream, but only coughed up blood instead. His throat had reached its limit from the backlash of Cursed Speech.
In midair, the girl named "Maki" paled, her expression helpless, though the fire of defiance still burned in her eyes.
She was still young, only sixteen, in the prime of her life. Who would want to die at such a time?
"Is this the end for me? How pathetic… I haven't even become the head of the Zenin family… Mai…"
But the expected pain didn't come. Even the feeling of falling had stopped.
Instead of being devoured, she found herself moving farther and farther away from the cursed spirit's maw, away from death's shadow.
Narrowly escaping death, Maki's eyes widened as she looked around, searching for her savior.
She saw them—a figure in white, floating gracefully in midair, as elegant as a queen crowned with glory.
And she saw the handsome boy standing in the center of the schoolyard, shouting, "Well done, Gar-chan!" Despite the oppressive atmosphere filled with curses, his face radiated confidence.
They were the ones who had saved her at the last second.
She didn't recall any information about them, yet they were so strong.
Could they be the ones she had been searching for all this time?
As she pondered, Maki's feet touched the ground once more, right beside Toge Inumaki.
Toge wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and managed to squeeze out two syllables: "Tuna Mayo."
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me right now—watch out."
The last part was directed at Gardevoir, who was floating in the air. The cursed spirit, enraged at losing its prey, redirected all its fury toward her. A tidal wave of malice, cursed energy, and its massive body surged forward.
However, just as the cursed spirit swung its fat arm, Gardevoir's figure vanished into thin air, reappearing behind Akira, like a shadow.
Skill: Teleport.
In the games, it was more of a utility skill than a combat one, but in reality, it was an undeniably powerful battle skill. It was also Akira's greatest reassurance for letting Gardevoir fight on the front lines.
Once they regrouped, Akira immediately issued his next command: "Gardevoir, use Calm Mind."
Gardevoir pressed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes. The psychic energy surrounding her didn't expand outward but instead grew more concentrated, rippling with radiant hues.
This was the latest skill Gardevoir had mastered—Calm Mind, a technique that allowed her to temporarily focus and increase her psychic output.
Akira didn't want to engage in a drawn-out battle against this clearly tanky cursed spirit. He needed to end the fight in the shortest time possible with maximum firepower.
Of course, Calm Mind required some time to activate. Akira would buy that time himself.
The caterpillar-like cursed spirit turned its massive body, crushing the ground as it charged toward them with the force of a collapsing building.
Akira showed no fear; he even raised a middle finger.
"Hey, loser, over here!"
Step one: Taunt.
Whether it worked or not, it didn't matter. He had to establish himself as the tank.
After shouting, Akira didn't wait to see the cursed spirit's reaction and immediately moved on to step two:
Akira had already chosen his position wisely, standing next to a large roadside tree.
With his trainer-strengthened body and the boost from cursed energy, Akira uprooted the tree entirely and hurled it like a spear at the charging cursed spirit. The massive creature staggered from the impact—you fight size with size.
Using the cursed spirit's recovery time, Akira proceeded to step three: Eat My Steamroller Attack!
It wasn't unusual for there to be a steamroller nearby when the school grounds were under construction, was it?
Akira pushing the steamroller over the cursed spirit wasn't unusual either. Though it wouldn't kill the creature—the size discrepancy was too great—it couldn't bypass him to get to Gardevoir.
By the time the furious cursed spirit decided to start dismantling the steamroller, Gardevoir had finished her Calm Mind.
A crisp "Gar~" was the signal.
Akira raised his hand, making a finishing move gesture.
"Use Psychic."
Gardevoir raised her hand as well, mirroring Akira's action.
A tangible wave of psychic energy enveloped the cursed spirit's massive body, compressing it from all sides.
In the presence of Gardevoir's wide-range psychic attacks, size was no longer an advantage.
Her body may be small, but her power was immense.
"Now, use Dazzling Gleam!"
The radiant energy surrounding Gardevoir converged at her chest, distorting the air and light around her from the intensity.
A brilliant beam of light shot out, creating a massive hole in the cursed spirit's body.
Psychic was a versatile move combining control, damage, and movement. Dazzling Gleam was different—it specialized solely in destruction.
This was Gardevoir's most powerful offensive move so far. Boosted by Calm Mind, her highly concentrated psychic energy overwhelmed the cursed spirit's regenerative capabilities, tearing apart its body and stripping away its life force.
When the Dazzling Gleam finally subsided, the cursed spirit had shrunk to less than a meter in size.
Gardevoir followed up by using the remaining psychic energy to slam the cursed spirit into the pit it had created earlier while smashing the panda into the ground.
Akira gave the steamroller's front wheel a little kick for good measure.
The heaviest part of the machine slowly rolled forward, infused with Akira's own cursed energy, erasing the last remnants of the cursed spirit's existence.
It was like a unique gravestone.
Finisher.
P.S.: In Chapter 140 of the manga, Yuji Itadori and Choso throw cars at each other with one hand. Akira pushing a steamroller isn't an exaggeration. After all, Pokémon trainers can casually carry Cosmoem.