"You!" Yukino was furious. She had no idea what Ryuji was thinking, but seeing him hold her back from intervening in the bullying enraged her. She tried to shrug him off, but to her surprise, she couldn't budge.
Ryuji's grip on her shoulder was firm, and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't free herself.
This shocked Yukino. She had practiced Aikido for years and wasn't weak by any means. While she knew she was physically less powerful than a man, she shouldn't have been completely unable to resist.
What kind of strength did this guy have?
---
"Hey! I'm talking to you! Do you hear me?" The bully in front of Yuta was getting impatient. Yuta had his head down, mumbling something under his breath, completely ignoring them.
The lead bully raised his hand and shoved Yuta hard. Yuta, who didn't resist, fell to the ground with a thud.
"No! Don't hurt Yuta!"
It was at that moment that Rika, the special-grade cursed spirit tied to Yuta, couldn't hold back anymore. To Rika, no one was allowed to hurt Yuta not a single person.
"Rika, stop! Don't do this!" Yuta pleaded, trying to calm her down, but it was too late.
Rika's monstrous form began to manifest. First, her ghostly claws appeared, followed by her arms and upper body, slowly emerging from behind Yuta. Her terrifying presence loomed over the bullies.
"So, that's the special-grade cursed spirit Rika, huh?" Ryuji murmured, his eyes narrowing with interest. The moment he saw Rika materialize, he felt the overwhelming power of her spiritual energy.
This was no ordinary spirit. Rika was something else entirely. A special-grade cursed spirit with immense spiritual power known in her world as the "Queen of Curses."
What should he do? His hunger for power flared up. If he could devour Rika, his strength would increase drastically. The mere thought of it made Ryuji's eyes light up with excitement.
"I want it…" he muttered under his breath, his greed for power growing.
Meanwhile, the bullies, who were completely unaware of the supernatural until this moment, suddenly saw their reality warp. According to the rules of Jujutsu Kaisen, cursed spirits are invisible to ordinary humans except in certain situations.
One of those situations is when a human is on the verge of death. And these bullies, now that they were in mortal danger, could suddenly see the horrifying cursed spirit before them.
"What is that?!"
"M-monster! It's a monster!!"
Rika's terrifying form was fully visible to them now. She grabbed one of the bullies, lifting him effortlessly into the air. His terrified screams echoed through the empty schoolyard.
The other bullies, paralyzed with fear, stared at her wide-eyed. They were powerless to do anything but tremble.
---
Yukino, who had been preparing to step in and stop the bullying, froze as the situation dramatically flipped. A moment ago, Yuta was the one being bullied. Now the bullies were screaming, crying, and backing away in sheer terror.
But why? What was happening?
As an ordinary human, Yukino couldn't see the cursed spirit at all. All she could hear were the desperate pleas and cries of the bullies, but she had no idea why they were so scared.
Ryuji, still holding her in place, noticed her confusion and smirked.
"Do you want to see what's happening?"
"...What?"
"Just like you said earlier you don't believe that supernatural things exist, right? Well, I can show you. Do you want to see the 'weird' things that actually exist in this world?"
Yukino was taken aback by his words. Was he serious? Could he really show her something that normal people couldn't see?
Her rational mind wanted to reject it things like spirits or curses didn't exist in the real world. But the curiosity, the doubt she harbored, gnawed at her.
"...You're saying you can show me what's happening?" she asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
Ryuji leaned in slightly, his tone teasing. "Exactly. Once you see it, though, there's no turning back. Your peaceful, logical world might never be the same again. Still want to look?"
For a moment, Yukino hesitated. There was something about Ryuji's offer that felt dangerous like stepping into a world she didn't belong in. But the alternative turning away without knowing felt even worse.
"I want to see," she finally said, her voice firm.
Ryuji's smile widened. "Good."
He turned slightly toward her, his hand still resting on her shoulder. With a simple thought, he channeled his spiritual energy obtained from devouring different spirits into her, unlocking her ability to temporarily perceive the world of spirits.
"Brace yourself," Ryuji warned with a smirk.
Yukino felt a strange sensation wash over her. Her vision blurred for a moment, and she instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the world around her had changed.
"What… what is that?!" she gasped, stepping back in shock.
Now, Yukino could see it the massive, grotesque form of Rika, the cursed spirit, towering over the bullies. The cursed spirit was holding one of them by the neck, its monstrous jaws snarling as the boy screamed.
Yukino's eyes widened in horror. She had never seen anything like this before nothing in her rational, orderly world could have prepared her for the sight of a real, living monster.
Ryuji released his grip on her shoulder, watching her reaction. He wasn't surprised. Seeing a cursed spirit for the first time was overwhelming for anyone.
"See? There are monsters in this world. You just couldn't see them before," Ryuji said, his tone almost nonchalant as if he were talking about something mundane.
Yukino couldn't tear her eyes away from the terrifying creature. The logical side of her brain struggled to process what she was seeing. Her worldview one based on logic, facts, and rationality was crumbling right before her eyes.
"What about you?" Yukino suddenly asked, her voice shaky as she turned to Ryuji. "Ordinary people can't see these things… but you can. How? And what did you do to me just now?"
Ryuji chuckled, clearly enjoying her confusion. "Ah, that's a secret." He winked at her, refusing to give her a direct answer. "Let's just say I'm a bit different from most people."
"…"
Yukino was left speechless, completely thrown by what she had witnessed and by Ryuji's evasiveness. This went against everything she thought she knew about the world. Just moments ago, she was scolding him, thinking he had a case of Chuunibyou, but now… it was her entire understanding of reality that was being questioned.
Before she could even gather her thoughts, the situation escalated.
---
"Rika! No! Stop it, please!" Yuta shouted desperately, his voice hoarse with panic.
But Rika, driven into a rage by seeing Yuta bullied, couldn't be calmed down so easily. Her monstrous form loomed over the bully in her grasp, her rage palpable.
"I won't let anyone hurt Yuta!" she roared, her voice echoing unnaturally through the air. Her grip tightened around the boy, his face contorting in terror. The cursed spirit's energy surged, and her eyes gleamed with violent intent.
"Rika! Please, stop!" Yuta continued to beg, but Rika had already reached her breaking point.
"Anyone who bullies Yuta must die!"
With a savage snarl, Rika opened her massive jaws, ready to devour the bully whole.
The other bullies screamed in terror, their knees buckling as they collapsed to the ground, completely paralyzed with fear. The one caught in Rika's grasp was white with panic, his body limp and shaking as Rika prepared to bite down.
Yukino, still trembling from her own shock, watched the scene unfold, completely frozen in place. She couldn't even process what was happening this horrifying spirit was about to kill someone right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
_________________________
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