"This seems... a bit..."

"Obvious?"

"I was going to say unsubtle... But, that works too."

"What even is this thing?!" Despite their height, communication was actually pretty easy between them. Calm words could be exchanged, and Akuma certainly heard Magatsu's yelling. They spoke on the back of a great bird-looking creature, its size so large that each of its feathers were longer than Magatsu was tall. But its differences to a normal bird didn't end there, this creature had a long tail of a snake, and its head formed directly on its shoulders, like it completely lacked a neck. Its face, as well, looked to be made of bone, and its large beady eyes only added to the wrongness of its appearance. Electricity seemed to crackle up and down its wings as it carried them through the sky at a great speed, no doubt powered by the immense amount of Cursed Energy flowing through it.

"This is Nue. One of Fushiguro's Shikigami." Akuma seemed to doubt his own words as he spoke.

"I thought Nue was way smaller than this?"

"So did I... Perhaps its power is being bolstered by another of the Shikigami."

Magatsu turned to look at the backside of the great bird, eyeing its snake-like tail. "I'm gonna guess Orochi."

"You're familiar with the Ten Shadows?"

He couldn't help but smirk at Akuma's surprise. "Who isn't at this point?"

After a moment of reflection, Akuma chuckled. "True. There's only so much Fushiguro can keep secret about his technique. I suppose that just comes with being the strongest Sorcerer."

Mentioning Megumi's position made a small frown settle on Magatsu's face, a thought had occurred to him. "I wonder if Fushiguro is so tired because he's the strongest Sorcerer..."

"It's a dark time we live in..." Akuma seemed to be thinking the same thing. "One where our strongest Sorcerers are weaker than the strongest Curse..."

Even mentioning that felt like a bad omen, like a superstition that could settle on them and perhaps Curse this mission. Glancing over at Akuma again, Magatsu frowned. "That Curse shouldn't show up... I mean, Ill-Fated is bad... But it makes sure I don't die..." After all, if he died, his suffering would end. "Akuma though... He's in danger being around me..." That being said, Magatsu doubted that Ill-Fated would try and kill the other Sorcerer. No, that wasn't how it usually worked... Usually, it would wait for them to get closer.

"I'm friendly with Akuma, but I don't ever actually want to call us friends..." Hopefully, that would make him safe. "Yeah... We'll be fine... Akuma is strong, and we won't run into anything he can't handle... Especially not him."

The systems in place for categorising Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcerers had remained consistent for quite a long time even when looking at the span of history, however, that had changed about eighteen years ago. A Special Grade Cursed Spirit, one that hadn't been documented until just a bit before its rise to power... It displayed feats of strength and a technique so dangerous, that all who remained of the old Jujutsu HQ at the time sought fit to add onto the Grade system. This decision may have been highly contested by some of the higher ups, if any had still existed at this point.

The big three families save for one or two members who managed to escape, the whole of the old Jujutsu HQ, the whole of both Jujutsu schools, and Tengen themselves. All of them, were destroyed by one Cursed Spirit.

So, the new rank was added. A Grade that sat above Special Grade, and one only three individuals were given the title of, with one other individual having been given the Grade retroactively as well, as the Grade came into being after their death. Magatsu was well versed in the recent history of how Japan had come to look like this, and he was reminded of it as his eyes scanned the landscapes below Nue.

Ruins of cities, dried blood having painted streets a new colour, plants taking their territory back from the concrete and metal... Looking down, it felt so much worse to see so much of it at once than he had thought it would be. Magatsu knew how many lives had been ended down there, and he knew why there were only three places left in Japan that humans could live with some modicum of peace. The new Jujutsu HQ, the new Jujutsu High... and of course, the Idle Death Gamble Casino. That place in particular was strange to count among them, considering it was a surprisingly big bit of land made up of an immense casino with two hotels on each side.

"The Casino and Jujutsu HQ are protected by a Special Grade Sorcerer each-" It was strange he hadn't heard of Kubo before arriving. "-But the school only has First Grade Sorcerers to protect it..." It didn't really matter anyway, it was kept safe by the strength of its hiding place, but the only location of the three that was actually properly safe was, again rather surprisingly, the Casino. "The Special Grade Sorcerer, Kinji Hakari... Apparently, he fought that Cursed Spirit before..." Neither of them won, rather, it seemed neither could actually kill the other.

Sitting on top of Nue, this brought forth the question of if Megumi would be capable of dispatching the Cursed Spirit. Obviously, they weren't the same Grade... "And besides, if he could, I'm sure he would have by now..."

They had only briefly interacted, yet Magatsu was sure that Megumi would go out to slay the Spirit if he was confident he could win. He was just too strong.

"The one responsible for wiping out the three great clans, the one that tore apart Jujutsu society... The one partly responsible for killing a Special Grade Sorcerer - with the help of The Ghost - and fully responsible for killing another..." The Disaster Grade Cursed Spirit of Humanity, Mahito.

With a surprisingly smooth landing, Nue set them both down just outside a well-ruined building, the old warehouse looked like it had been abandoned long before everything went to hell. Stepping closer to the building, Magatsu jumped as the great bird perched behind them collapsed into a flood of black liquid, fading away into a solid shadow that quickly vanished.

"Oh, right, it does that." Akuma chuckled a bit. "Honestly, it could have done this mission itself."

Magatsu muttered, "I wonder how much Cursed Energy it takes to keep it acting this far away from him."

"I'm not sure, but it can't take that much. Fushiguro doesn't have much more Cursed Energy than me, as far as I'm aware." With that, he swung the rusted door open without a second thought and stepped inside, leaving Magatsu wondering how much Cursed Energy Akuma actually did have. "He definitely doesn't have more Cursed Energy than Kubo."

"Really? I thought Fushiguro was the strongest Sorcerer?"

"In general terms. But if you wanted to just fight Cursed Spirits, Kubo is easily the strongest... It's just..." Akuma sighed, and the noise echoed a bit inside the warehouse, which was surprising given the far wall was practically completely felled. "He can't fight other Sorcerers or Curse users. Kura or myself could easily beat Kubo in a fight."

Magatsu didn't really understand that, but he shrugged with confused acceptance. "Maybe it's just how his technique works?" Looking around, this place clearly used to store tools and the odd piece of construction equipment. A long-since out of commission forklift sat in a corner, weeds and roots growing around its wheels as if they were binding it in place. "Why have Cursed Spirits settled here, of all places?" Moving on from the entrance, they passed shelves that were somehow still standing despite their rusted frames and broken planks, eventually, finding their way to a clear section of the large room past the initial row of shelves.

"Here." Akuma didn't offer any more of a description, so Magatsu quickly stepped over to see what he was signalling. With a frown as he looked over a fallen shelf, Magatsu could make out the shape of two skeletons laying under its top shelf, firmly planted on the ground. The bones were broken in quite a few places, but all the ribs, the spine, and the head were all intact. "Probably died of blood loss, dehydration, or starvation, rather than the initial impact."

"You pointing that out just to sound smart?" He was trying to keep the mood light given the circumstance, but Akuma took it seriously.

Shaking his head, he explained, "That means they spent some time dying before actually kicking it. So those negative emotions are probably the source of the Curses here." Settling a hand on his hip, Akuma glanced around once more before letting out another sigh. "Which, annoyingly, aren't attacking us outright." The implication was clear, but Magatsu was already aware of why the Curses hadn't acted yet.

"They're scared."

"Exactly." He seemed almost relieved that Magatsu had figured it out, mainly because it was clear that they certainly wouldn't be scared of the weaker Sorcerer. "That being said... I know you're Grade four because of your technique, but how much Cursed Energy do you have?"

"Huh?" His head tilted, greatly resembling a confused puppy. "Why do you ask?"

"Well..." For a moment, he seemed unsure of how to continue. "While It's not well documented, experiencing an overabundance of..." He paused again. "Unfortunate... Events...-"

"Tragedies?" Magatsu helpfully corrected.

"Right... Can actually lead to your Cursed Energy amount growing... I imagine that your life hasn't been easy, so..."

Akuma clearly regretted even starting this conversation, so Magatsu just smiled and waved it off. "Nah, my life has been-" A flash of images ran through his mind. A scene in a car, one where he was so small he still sat in a booster seat in the middle of the back. He wasn't quite sure what the man and woman in the front were saying, but it made him laugh... His laugh was pleasant, and the two in the front laughed too. So much so, in fact, that the man driving didn't pay attention to where he was driving, or what into. But, the spikes that went through the car didn't hit the middle seat, instead, they pierced through the front two seats as the car stopped with a slam and Magatsu watched the end of them both of either side of him drip with blood.

Another image, this time, one of a nice looking home... Was home the right word? It was certainly where a lot of children without homes lived. Things were fun, he was playing with some other kids, and his older brother was keeping a close eye on him... So was all the caretakers, actually. So much so, that not of them noticed the fire till it was too big to stop. The flash stopped and resumed later. Magatsu sat in the middle of the street, his brother burned all over yet still clutching onto the younger boy in a protective manner, making sure to cover his ears. Not that it mattered, Magatsu could still hear the screams coming from the orphanage in front of him as the fire consumed it.

Another image... One of a bit later. This time, him and his brother resting in an alleyway with nowhere to stay. They were huddled close together under a blanket too small to keep them both warm... Yet, he at least managed to close his eyes and get some sleep. Waking up later, not by the pleasant warmth of morning, instead, his eyes opened to the sound of crunching... And he turned down the alley in confusion at his brother's absence. His confusion, however, didn't last long, as his eyes settled on the figure of a Cursed Spirit hunched over a burnt corpse and eating it without a care.

"-Fine!" The pause had only been a second as all those memories came rushing back, and his face displayed none of the emotion he had just felt course through him... Yet, Akuma's face settled, like, he somehow knew that Magatsu was lying. "Well, I actually have quite a bit of Cursed Energy-!" The sentence was broken up by a bit of awkward laughter. "But I have a Binding Vow now that limits my output to weaken my Technique... But, sometimes it still flares up anyway."

Despite his attempts at keeping calm, the damage had already been done. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, given their job today, his surge of negative emotions had called the Cursed Spirits out of their hiding.

Akuma sensed them before Magatsu, but even given his delay in turning, they both saw the first Spirit long before it attacked them... Mainly, perhaps, because it wasn't. The thing just stood there at the opposite end of the room from them, glaring with eyes that bulged and hung loose from their sockets. It was rather humanoid, but its proportions were completely off, with hands bigger than its chest and legs that seemed too small to move it at all. Its flesh looked flayed and stripped off, like its skin had been delicately taken off piece by piece and its blood extracted slowly and carefully. Magatsu watched its face as its eyes switched back and forth between them both, before settling on Akuma.

"I guess it wants a piece of me first."

"Well, you are the bigger threat."

"Keep an eye out for the other one." With that, Akuma stepped forward while Magatsu stepped back. The Sorcerer approaching the Spirit almost seemed to sigh, reaching his hands back to his hair to double-check it would stay where it was, tied up into what closely resembled a ponytail. Magatsu noted that they wore their uniforms quite differently. While he wore his own as was standard, pinned shut near his shoulder, with the only difference being his choice of pants being a bit more baggy than normal. Akuma, on the other hand, wore his own like an open coat, with shorter pants that just reached his knees.

The Cursed Spirit barely reacted as he approached, instead, it waited for him to get within range before swinging with its bulging arm that looked ready to burst. With a casual lean of his body, Akuma jabbed his fist against the Spirit's forearm, and with a slight delay, the limb exploded with pressure from inside as Cursed Energy flowed into it. Magatsu watched with intrigue as Akuma brought his fist back again, this time hitting the Spirit directly in the face. The punch carried a surprising amount of force, sending it flying back and through the already severely damaged wall.

"His Cursed Energy... It flows differently than normal." It was strange. Rather than resembling a roaring flame across his body, Akuma's energy seemed to pool and collect like water, flowing across his body and not breaking the outline of his bodies shape. It was interesting, and made for a much more efficient usage of Cursed Energy than was normal, thanks to none of it leaking out. "He has a Cursed Energy Trait."

It only took a moment for Akuma to confirm the Cursed Spirit had been dealt with, and not much longer to return to Magatsu's side. "Did you see the other one?"

"No." He couldn't help but frown with his answer, after all, this all felt... Off. It wasn't normal for Ill-Fated to make a situation as dangerous as this one so easy... Was it just luring him into a false sense of security? "What's going to happen...?"

His question was answered sooner than he would have liked, and both of them looked outside with wide eyes before rushing through the open wall, Cursing under their breaths as the sky darkened around them. The curtain lowering to the ground in front of them and around all sides of the building at a decent distance were too fast, and with an angry growl did Akuma hit the side of it as they reached the barrier's edge once it had closed.

"Dammit!"

"A Veil!? Who lowered it?" Magatsu glanced around quickly, but his eyes found nothing.

"Probably that guy." But, Akuma's did. Following his eyeline, they both looked to the roof of the building, frowning as what could clearly be identified as a Curse User stood watching them. On both sides, he was accompanied by humanoid figures that were clearly not Sorcerers, and clearly not human anymore either. But... Not Curses.

"Transfigured humans..." Magatsu grit his teeth and focused on the man standing between them... But, luckily, the Curse User was clearly just that. Even if Mahito attempted to disguise himself like that, the Spirit had just too much Cursed Energy for this to be him. "Even if he tried to hide it all..." Magatsu was confident they could take this guy, after all, at a glance, he knew that he himself had more Energy than the Curse User before them.

"Before we begin-" His voice was booming, like it was amplified by something... But, Magatsu didn't believe it was by the effects of a Cursed Technique. "I'd like to offer you both the chance to join me."

"Join you in what?" Akuma raised an eyebrow.

"Not much context, huh?"

"Yeah, he isn't professional at all."

"Hear that?" Magatsu called out to the man. "You're not doing a good job selling this to us."

He could actually see the veins on the man's forehead ready to pop from annoyance even from here. "Insolent brats." With a snap of his fingers, the Distorted humans on either side of him dropped down and began to walk towards them. The things approaching the Sorcerers were much more solid looking humanoids, both of them identical and looking to be made nearly entirely out of muscle. Besides their mouths, their faces were devoid of features, and a brown layer of flesh wrapped up and down their shoulders and across their backs, like made to resemble clothing.

"These things are strong." Akuma dropped the volume of his voice to talk directly to Magatsu, who responded in kind.

"Aren't all Distorted Humans?"

"Yeah... But these ones especially... They're called Polymorphic Soul Isomers." After giving him a look with a raised eyebrow, Akuma sighed and answered Magatsu's unasked question. "There are records about that Cursed Spirit specifically... Sorcerers have been trying to find out what he can do for ages..."

"Fair enough." Magatsu raised his fists, ready to join the fight if need be. "But that raises the question... Why are they listening to this guy...?" The man didn't look overly interesting, though, he did seem to be in his forties. "If he was super powerful, I think he would have been killed ages ago..."

Stepping forward, Akuma shook his head. "It doesn't matter why they're listening to him. You get ready to give me backup if need be, but, I'll engage them myself for now."

Magatsu wanted to argue... But, in truth, he probably wouldn't be able to help much anyway. With an explosive burst of speed, the white haired Sorcerer rushed towards the Isomers before they could attempt to rush him themselves. Despite the fact that they seemed to lack eyes, both creatures reacted in time and sidestepped the Sorcerer. With confusion, Akuma glanced back as he sailed past them, and both Isomers dashed towards Magatsu instead.

"Shit-!" Magatsu brought up his fists, prepared to fight... But, Akuma got back first...?

It was incredibly confusing to see. One moment, the Isomers were practically baring over him with Akuma nearly back at the building, the next, Akuma was standing back exactly where he had been before, and intercepted both Isomers by punching one into the other. The Distorted humans cracked and practically fell apart with that single attack as they went flying to the Sorcerers left side.

"Oh...?" The Curse user, at least, seemed to have some clue as to what just happened. "Interesting..." Stepping off the building now, he dropped down to the ground with a gentle thud, before continuing to walk calmly towards them. "I suppose I should test you further..." Right as he finished talking, Magatsu felt a strange sensation wash over him, coming from just behind them both.

Turning around, his eyes widened as a creature that seemed to be made almost entirely of one gigantic mouth clamped its teeth down over Akuma, ready to eat the Sorcerer... Only, his jaw didn't fully close...?

Once again, Magatsu was left confused as he watched the Cursed Spirit - what he assumed was the other Grade 2 they had been sent to kill - try its best over and over to munch on Akuma, but to no avail. Every time its jaw closed, its teeth stopped just inches away from Akuma's body. It was almost like there was some kind of invisible barrier around him.

With another casual attack, Akuma turned and dispatched the second Cursed Spirit. Like the first, this one faded away into nothing, unlike the... "Huh?" Glancing over, Magatsu couldn't find the Isomers bodies. Had they vanished? "I didn't know Transfigured humans disappeared like Cursed Spirits..."

Paying attention to the Curse User again, the man was about to speak before Akuma said something. "I don't like using that facet of my Technique. Please refrain from trying to hit me again." He seemed... Genuinely annoyed?

Though, it was nothing compared to what came after.

"Why not?" The man almost laughed. "Even though it's a different technique, I never imagined it would look so similar to Limitless.-"

" 'Limitless'...?"

"-In fact, just now, you-"

"Hold your tongue." Magatsu had never heard Akuma speak with so much rage in his voice, but the anger on his face was even worse to look at.

"-Were the spitting image of Satoru Gojo!" A calmness seemed to wash over them all as Akuma's face settled after the man's words, but, Magatsu could recognise it for what it was as the Sorcerer's anger changed to animosity. "But, am I right in my assumption that your Technique is not, in fact, Limitless?"

"That's right." With a sigh, he continued. "They are quite similar in certain aspects, including the base usage... But, my Technique isn't the same. While Limitless works to alter Space, my Technique works to alter Time."

"So it is true!" The man almost cheered. "I stand before a user of the Eternity Technique!"

With this newest chapter, I wanted to let you all know that there is now a Discord for my fanfics. The link will be in my bio on Ao3. :)