"He has a special condition." Maki couldn't find the words to explain to Hisagi, who seemed to harbor a deep hatred for cursed spirits, that someone new in the class had been cursed by the queen of cursed spirits.
Hisagi, who had just finished eating, stood up, having regained his mobility after increasing his stats once more.
The girl in front of him watched as he put on his clothes again; of course, Hisagi didn't feel anything like shame.
He had his pants on—someone must have dressed him and cleaned his bloodied wounds.
"What's so special about this new student?" Hisagi looked at Maki, waiting for an answer, intrigued.
"He's cursed…" Maki murmured while observing Hisagi's movements, hoping to find some aftereffects from that fight in which he nearly died.
"Then we need to help him. What's the problem?"
"It's a cursed spirit that's bound to him, and for some reason, it uses its power to defend him from anyone who tries to harm him. We attacked him when he introduced himself to us, but we were defeated!"
Hisagi frowned, disgusted. As someone who walked a righteous path, this seemed like nonsense to him, but knowing the lack of manpower to exterminate cursed spirits, perhaps this new boy was the alternative many would seek.
But even if others accepted him, he never would.
He could tolerate having companions, but not those who depended on a cursed spirit to fight against the darkness. He was aware that to kill a monster, sometimes you needed another monster, but this type of monster was unstable.
"Did Gojo approve of this?" Hisagi had a rough idea of the intentions of the man who expressed little.
"He said he planned to have Yuta and use his power to fight against cursed spirits." Maki also had her reservations about this situation, but as long as it remained under control, she didn't care and wouldn't judge.
But Hisagi was different. He would not tolerate being a companion to a cursed spirit he had sworn to exterminate from the face of the earth.
That's why Maki told him about Yuta, who was currently training to become a sorcerer.
"Alright."
"Are you sure?" Maki doubted Hisagi; his expression was quite calm.
Hisagi nodded and stated, "Of course. If that cursed spirit bound to him goes out of control even once, I'll kill him personally, even if our Sensei Gojo wants otherwise."
"Huh?" Maki froze when she heard these words.
Kill Yuta Okkotsu?
That would go against Gojo Satoru's orders, and to defy his will required being stronger than him. Nowadays, no one was at Gojo's level, but Hisagi was close, and he could feel it.
"If my principles are violated in this school of sorcery, then there's no reason for me to stay here anymore," Hisagi thought as he walked toward his dorm.
"Wait!" Maki followed Hisagi, who was getting farther away, but just as she was about to start running to catch up with him, he stopped and stared at the flowers.
His gaze was serene. He had, of course, changed after the last conscious moment in that battle.
"You know, I thought I was going to die."
Maki looked at Hisagi in silence. She had, of course, been at death's door a few times herself and understood that feeling better than anyone.
Helplessness…
The fear of dying without accomplishing anything...
Regrets and unresolved desires...
"I understand…" Maki left this sentence on her lips.
"I thought about many things, like you, for example. I thought I would die without teaching you my martial arts, spells, and techniques." Hisagi turned around, a wide smile on his face, and said, "I'm glad I didn't die."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Maki wanted to hit Hisagi, but then she remembered he was bandaged like a mummy and quickly walked ahead.
A blush had appeared on her face.
Normally, this didn't happen to her, and besides, Hisagi had been so casual about it that she felt embarrassed.
"Where are we going?" Hisagi followed her, not understanding but feeling much better after telling someone what he felt.
"I'm going a different way."
"Are you going to cry in silence? Don't worry, he won't die that easily."
"Shut up."