[Episode 2: Cursed With Cursed Energy]

[Opening Song: Bling-Bang-Bang-Born, By – Creepy Nuts]

The sound of dirt crunching underfoot was drowned out by the constant chattering of the civilian populous that lived within this new Realm—the Demon Realm, from what Eda had told him what the name of this dimension had been—as Gojo explored the neighbouring town that Eda had lived near. If he was remembering correctly, which he always did, the town was called Bonesborough.

His initial opinion of the place was that it had been… interesting. Especially considering the short amount of time he and his would-be pupil had been in this place. To be exact, it had been two days since he and Luz came to the Demon Realm, and if he had been asked what the best way to describe it had been, he'd respond with it being… exotic, and that was being generous.

His reasoning for such a statement was mostly due to the populous of Bonesborough. Specifically, it's more… unique appearing individuals. And while he was both ashamed and annoyed to admit it, he wasn't taking the change very well.

In the two days that Gojo had found himself in this realm, he had to stop himself at least ten times from killing innocent civilians whom he had assumed to be Cursed Spirits. He was trying to stop himself more and more often, and it was working, but there would come a day when it wouldn't. He had too much experience with Cursed Spirits and their appearances being engrained into his mind to not know that one day he'd accidentally slip up and kill someone completely unprovoked.

Although, while that was a bad thing, it at least allowed him to know the difference between what was considered sentient here and what wasn't. Even after Eda had told him, it had been extremely confusing to follow—even with his sharp brain, it was difficult for him to figure out what exactly the difference had been. But now, he was starting to get it.

For starters, the sentient life here was far more varied than it was on Earth, though that had been obvious. Eda chalked it up to everything that humanity had believed to be a myth was the reality here. Meaning that yes, Vampires were a real thing, and yes, Gojo had the pleasure of meeting one yesterday whilst taking a midnight stroll. Though unlike in fiction, Vampires here weren't evil, they were just guys who liked to party at clubs—and that was just one of the many examples this dimension had to offer.

That was something that Gojo was trying to get used to. All of the creatures that lived here. First, and second most common to Witches, were the Demons—aka the ones that looked to be most similar to Cursed Spirits. It was because of their unique appearances that he had gotten them confused for the very things he hunted and exorcised on the daily. Most of that had to do with the wide spectrum of Demons that existed, which had been due to the sub-categories that they were placed into by the local Police precinct.

There were Bat Demons, Mole Demons, Mouse Demons and Cat Demons. There were Gorilla Demons, Mixed Demons, and everything else in between—and all of them were bipedal, which had been the major thing that had confused Gojo because there was a difference, which he had found most perplexing.

All of those Demons, all of them, were the "sentient" ones, at least according to human and or witch standards. They were the ones who talked, walked, and acted like "normal" people, and because of that, they were allowed to live in the towns, though under the strict watch of the local police, which had been made up of Coven Guards.

Then there were Beast Demons, which were considered the wildlife of The Demon Realm, aka the "non-sentient ones." He hadn't seen much in terms of what existed out in the wild, but from what he heard, the wildlife was primarily hostile, though only when provoked. So, in other words, basically just his home dimension with stranger more diverse forms of wildlife.

Then came Witches, which had been this place's counterpart to humans. Aside from appearances, most Witches looked exactly like Humans, but unlike Humans, they had pointed elf ears. It was enough to trigger the uncanny valley for Gojo, and it rubbed him the wrong way. Then again, he was in a new dimension, so it was to be expected.

Everything else fell into a sub-category of either a Demon, a Witch, or sometimes even a Half-Witch. Half-Witches though were rare, and were looked down upon. Kind of like how mixed-Japanese people were often seen as lesser in Japan, a sentiment he wished would have gone away by now, but then again, maybe he was asking for too much.

That was something worth looking into. What exactly was a Half-Witch? He was fairly certain he knew, for example, a Demon and a Witch get married and have a child, but what exactly made them so insulting to the public? Japan had a reason to be fearful of foreigners. The less that World War 2 was talked about, the better. But witches being fearful of half-witches? Was it just regular racism or was there something more to it?

Again, not that he was okay with that. At the very least he was indifferent about it, but still. Even if there was a reason Gojo wouldn't have cared all too much. Besides, it wasn't his problem, now was it?

That aside, he was still unnerved by how some of the people looked. It just didn't feel right to him. But, that didn't mean he was going to start killing people or setting up some elaborate hundred-of-years long plan to eradicate this place all because it made him feel strange. Only a complete and utter madman would do that. Why waste time doing that when you could just, you know, live a normal life?

All of that was to say that, while he was a little off put by the locals, that didn't mean they thought the same of him. If there was a universal constant, then Gojo would somehow be able to catch the attention of every hormonal teenager, woman, and sometimes even men would have to be it. No less than thirty times had he been approached by several people asking for a selfie on those strange phone things that looked almost like an iPhone but didn't, or asked out, or whatever else.

He only ever denied the more upfront advances from the adults and completely threw aside the prospect of dating a teenager—he wasn't that desperate to result to committing a crime. Selfies he was okay with, because he liked doing that kind of thing, but the other stuff? Absolutely not.

"Though, Mei Mei probably wouldn't care…. That freak…" Gojo thought, sighing. What Mei Mei did to her little brother made him want to vomit. The only reason why Mei Mei wasn't already dead at his hands was because what she does empowers Ui Ui's Cursed Technique and increases his Cursed Energy, making him a far more powerful support than he otherwise would've been. It also doesn't help that his Binding Vow with his sister is what makes it better.

Not to mention, Mei Mei herself was an extremely powerful fighter. Gojo might not like what those two do—as a matter of fact, he found it repulsive as it was a mixture of all three of the worst things that one could do to a child, i.e. Grooming, Pedophilia, and Incest—but there wasn't much Gojo could do that wouldn't violate the already thin layer of peace that was between Kyoto and Tokyo's Jujutsu Schools.

While sure, Gojo could do something similar to what Mei Mei was doing, minus the illegal parts of it—so basically everything—to benefit himself to make him stronger than he already was, Gojo saw no reason to do so. As for his reasons….

Well, he wasn't a taken man. He was single and had been for his whole life—which shocked a lot of people to find out that had been the case. It wasn't because he was uninterested in having a sex life. He had a sex life. He was just never one for committal relationships. Not because he was a douchebag, but because he didn't want one. Well, no, he wanted one. But it was more like he couldn't.

It was hard to explain to people who didn't understand. When you are the strongest, having someone you are in romantic love with can often lead to enemies using them to get to you. No matter how much he yearned for it, no matter how much he wanted to be with someone—No matter how much he wanted to see the day when he could finally tell Shoko that he was in love with her—he couldn't for the sake of protecting everyone.

When he retired? Maybe. For now, though? No. He had responsibilities of his own to worry about. He had Megumi and now potentially Luz to worry about. He had his job. He had so many other things in the world that he needed to do before things got too out of hand to even think about having a romantic relationship right now.

Regardless of that, that wasn't the point. The point was that he somehow always was able to get the ladies, and sometimes even men, to ask him for things that he simply didn't have the time nor the energy for. And honestly? It was exhausting.

Every time he took a walk back home—and now even here—he was hit with cat-call after cat-call after cat-call. It was annoying, but he never made it seem like it bothered him. He even sometimes played into it when it was someone his age or a little older. He wasn't ashamed to admit that at times he was a manwhore, and he didn't mind having the occasional fling, but he never let it get serious.

Where it got annoying was when there were consequences for his actions. It wasn't a fact, but it was a hunch. He had a feeling that, out there, somewhere, he had a child that he had unknowingly created. He had flings with multiple women and men in the past, none of which he remembered because his brain was too preoccupied with his job and making sure the public was safe.

After all, if Yuta existed and was somehow tangentially related to him through some obscure means, then it was probably reasonable to assume that due to his debauchery, he most likely had a little demon spawn wandering about somewhere out in the world.

For a brief second, he considered if Luz might have been the result of a fling—after all, he had been in America before—though he quickly dismissed it. After all, if that had been the case, then she would most likely have presented something from his Clan since his family's genes were the most dominant. So, no, that most likely wasn't the case. Even if it would've been absolutely hilarious that he would wind up teaching another descendant of The Gojo Clan.

All of that aside, there was a real moral question in his actions, and he had already known the answer. Was it wrong to do what he did, i.e. having random flings with random people? Yeah, it was. But it wasn't his fault for being a handsome stud. If women or men wanted a piece of him, he'd oblige so long as they were his age, a year younger, or a few years older.

Besides, it wasn't a secret to his friends that he and Getou dated briefly. Very briefly. There wasn't much of a spark between them, despite how well they got along. He was glad he was able to maintain that friendship after the fact, even if it fell apart after The Incident and the Parade of 1000 Curses.

Tangent aside, there was a reason for his being here, and that was that he had been sent to get some groceries from the market for Eda, something revolving around a condition—most likely something that had to do with the Cursed Energy in her system—and to pick up some food if the food market wasn't closed this afternoon.

A day ago, he would've been concerned about picking what to eat considering he was rather untrusting of the food, but because it was today, he didn't have a problem. After all, he had already tested a lot of the food in this place during his first day here, and he found out that, while a lot of it looked unedible, it was perfectly fine. Some stuff, however, couldn't be consumed by Humans. He didn't have to find out the hard way, because the person he was shopping from at the time was able to guide him on what was and what wasn't edible. For that, he was eternally grateful for them.

However, that wasn't the only reason why he was out and about. He was here for his own reasons, aside from giving Luz some time to practice with those Glyph things that Eda was trying to teach her how to use, even though they wouldn't work no matter how many times Eda tried to put a spin on how they worked—which was connected to a theory of his, though that was another time.

No. His reason for coming to Bonesborough actually had something to do with what Eda had said earlier. The things that humans believed to be myths came from The Demon Realm. That part had gotten him curious. He had already met a Vampire, and if Vampires existed here, then that meant that they originated from here. And if they originated from here, what else did?

In other words, he was out researching to see if Cursed Spirits originated from The Demon Realm, and he was fairly certain that he had already found his answer, with that answer being a big, fat, juicy, no. Why? Because if that was the case, he would've sensed one by now.

Jujutsu Sorcerers such as himself, or any Jujutsu Sorcerer for that matter, had the innate ability to sense Cursed Spirits and Cursed Energy. Cursed Spirits were different from Cursed Energy. Where Cursed Energy made the hairs on the back of his neck go up, Cursed Spirits on the other hand made his skin crawl. And not once since he had shown up here had his skin broken out into goosebumps.

In other words, Cursed Spirits were not showing up… yet. Why yet? Well, that was simple, because there was Cursed Energy here. The other energy that he was picking up on? That was Magic, but there was something else there, too. If he focused hard enough, he could sense it. Every being in The Demon Realm had Cursed Energy. Not a lot of it, but it was there. And it was growing.

Gojo was of the opinion that it was because of his and Luz's appearance in The Demon Realm that had been causing it. Because when he first showed up here, such a thing wasn't happening. But today? Today was different. Notably, however, there already existed other people in this realm, like Eda, who had Cursed Energy already.

For example, yesterday, when he was taking a walk to explore Bonesborough, he came across a handful of Witches and Demons Luz's age, and noticed that Cursed Energy was in them, and a lot of it, too. Well, enough to see a Cursed Spirit, but that was beside the point. For a race of people who supposedly knew nothing about Cursed Energy, as Eda had shown when he pulled out Reversal: Red yesterday hadn't been able to deduce that it was Cursed Energy, it was rather confusing and concerning that they were unaware of The Cursed Energy inside of them.

And it wasn't like Eda's, either. It was more like Luz's. In other words, it was Cursed Energy that was derived from negativity rather than being forced upon a person like in Eda's case. That put a fatal hole in his theory that Cursed Energy was brought here by him and Luz. Maybe it had already been here, but never enough to where it meant anything, but now that Luz and himself had shown up it was getting worse?

If that was the case, then that definitely complicated things. It meant that he needed to begin his training with Luz faster than he had initially wanted to. He wanted for her to exhaust every option she had available to her when it came to magic so that he could test if his other theory was true, but if the chances of Cursed Spirits were going to show up soon due to Cursed Energy making a more impactful appearance, then that meant he had no choice in the matter.

"Not that I mind training Luz. It'll be fun, that much is for certain," Gojo thought, a small smile spreading across his visage. "Even if she doesn't awaken to a Cursed Technique, with the amount of Cursed Energy that she has, she'll be a powerhouse. Maybe not on the same level as Yuta or myself, but maybe somewhere along the same lines as Nanami or maybe even Todo Aoi."

That was another thing that was bugging him. Luz Noceda was just a random girl who lived in a random town filled with nobodies. For her to awaken a bunch of Cursed Energy almost instantaneously was worrisome. It was almost too convenient, and on top of that, it also made Gojo's head spin.

As far as he was aware, considering he was crossing out his other theory as to why she had some much Cursed Energy, she didn't come from a notable Jujutsu Family who had a history of vast amounts of Cursed Energy. From what he was able to gather using his phone—because he still somehow had an internet connection here, with the only thing he was unable to do being that he couldn't call or text anyone—the Noceda family had no ties to Jujutsu at all.

It was strange. Very, very strange. He was missing something, surely. Maybe the answer would reveal itself when Luz awakens to her Cursed Technique. That was assuming that she had one, of course, but that was beside the point. Luz was still a confusing mess for him, but he'd be able to figure it out. He always did. It was only a matter of time before he did.

That being said, aside from the locals, Bonesborough was quite the town. Or would it be better to call it a city? He honestly didn't know, but to him, it felt like a mix of both. There weren't any highrises or anything like that—he doubted that they could build one of those here anyway—but there was quite the population.

During his walk to the market, he was able to spot a pub called Grimgrubs Pub—in fact, that was where he had met the Vampire last night. Swell guy, but a little on the rapey side with how he spoke about the women at the pub. Made Gojo want to punch his teeth out, but he refrained from causing a scene. The drinks there were… interesting. Apple Blood was just a sweeter apple cider, and Bonesbroth was just a better-tasting beer. Muddledwarp was Vodka, which was the most surprising thing he had to drink there.

Needless to say, he got a little tipsy when he left the pub. Not to a noticeable amount, and Reverse Cursed Technique got him back into tip-top shape once he had been done with that place. He also heard rumours of a night market, which would be something he'd have to look into later.

There was a library, which he had already checked out the morning prior. He found a history book, and after scanning through it briefly, he was able to find out that this place was even more bizarre than he had once thought. Apparently, The Demon Realm, specifically where he was at, The Boiling Isles, sat atop the corpse of a once massive beast known as The Titan.

And while that was weird, it wasn't the weirdest part. The weirdest part had to do with the culture. A noteworthy thing about the culture here in The Boiling Isles was that it was very similar to humanity, often paralleling it to a haunting degree. Case in point, Penstagram.

It was literally Instagram, just slightly different and with a few things labelled differently. Such as Likes being dubbed Hearts, Reposts being dubbed Endorsements, and so on and so forth. He had even made an account for himself under the username XxBlindfolded_BeautyxX.

Much like Instagram, it didn't take him very long to gather a following after he had taken a picture of himself after having just come out of a shower in purified acid water with his hair down, blindfold off, and a towel just barely covering his waist with a caption that read "I am a mess".

Yes, he was what most people dubbed a Thirst Trapper, but with a body like his, who wouldn't be? The best part? The same tactics that worked back home worked here, as he had far too many followers for a starter account. Already 7K followers in less than a day. What could he say? He was just that popular! That being said, with popularity came problems.

Case in point…

"You! Turn around right now!" A shrill voice echoed behind Gojo. Looking over his shoulder, he was greeted with at least twelve of those white-cloak guys. What did Eda call them again? Coven Guards? Whatever the case was, there were twelve of them, and they were all holding swords. They were also far thinner than the one that he had swatted away with Reversal: Red.

"What if I don't want to? What're you going to do then?" Gojo remarked, sarcasm dripping from his tone as the one who stood in front of all of the Coven Guards, which Gojo assumed was the leader of the posse that was before him, growled.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around right this instant! We need to identify you immediately. Someone who looks a lot like you is wanted for fraternizing with the known criminal Eda Clawthorne. Make this easy, and turn around!" The shrill voice that came out of the man's face made Gojo's head hurt. It wasn't nearly as bad as Hooty, but with Hooty it was funny. With this guy, it wasn't.

Dismissively waving his hand, Gojo looked away, "Maybe you'll find them if you stop messing around then. Some guards you guys are, harassing random people on the street," Gojo remarked, earning a few head turns from those who were scattered about going about their daily commute. One cyclops-looking Demon snickered, which seriously annoyed the guy with the shrill voice.

"For the love of Titan! Just turn around already!" The Coven Guard said, taking out his sword and pointing it in the direction of Gojo. For his part, Gojo was trying to repress a chuckle. He found this whole scenario hilarious. Not because of his squeaky voice, or because of the fact that Gojo knew that it would take more than twelve cloaked guards to do anything to him, much less their whole army. But because of just how easy it was to anger this guy.

Nevertheless…

"Are you sure you want to start pointing a sword at me?" Gojo said, his voice losing all of the joyous undertones that it usually carried, swapped out for something far more serious and insidious. His Cursed Energy flowed throughout his body, crackling and snapping all over the place as it flared, reaching its crescendo as he slowly turned his head to glance over his shoulder, not that he needed to, but it was for the dramatic effect of it all.

The Coven Guard in charge of the group of twelve involuntarily took a step back, his hands shaking as was apparent by how his sword was slightly twitching up and down. He slowly lowered it, as Gojo fully turned around, facing the group of twelve. A few of the passersby took steps back, with even a few of them hiding behind others.

Cursed Energy was negativity incarnate. That was why whenever Gojo unleashed his Cursed Energy, the witches and demons that were nearby got antsy. It was because they were able to pick up on it more than humans could, as they were magically sensitive beings. To them, a foreign form of magic had just invaded their senses, and it didn't do good things to them either.

"I've never been a fan of forceful people, so let's cut straight to the chase. Do I look like the man who's wanted?" Gojo questioned as the man choked on his own words. He looked like he was about ready to pee himself, what with how his whole body seemed to shake in fear. Gojo took a step forward, as the Coven Guard stood his ground.

"Y-You're… U-Under arrest for—"

The Coven Guard wasn't allowed to finish his sentence as Gojo outstretched his right index finger. A blue swirling vortex of energy began to converge to the center on his pointer fingers fingertip, as Cursed Energy flowed around him like a raging inferno. It converged toward the ever-growing blue ball of energy, emanating a faint blue light similar to that of Gojo's eyes.

The Coven Guard fell to his rear, scuttling back like a panicked prey animal. "W-What t-t-the Titan I-Is that!?" The Coven Guard shrieked, his chest rising up and down. It felt like nothing he had ever seen before! And the magic that the criminal was outputting… it wasn't anything he was familiar with, even with Wild Magic!

It didn't feel like Magic…

It felt wrong.

The group of Coven Guards looked as if they were about to charge forward, but Gojo wouldn't give them the chance. Much like he did with Reversal: Red, with a flick of his wrist, he shot forward his Lapse: Blue toward the group of soldiers. But, unlike what happened with Reversal: Red, Lapse: Blue had a different effect.

Reversal: Red was meant to repel objects and people. It was meant to push them away, to clear distance for Gojo to make room for himself to try something out. Lapse: Blue was the complete opposite. It was meant to draw his opponents closer together, like a magnet. And as the blue orb flew toward his opponents, they were all drawn toward the blue orb, hitting into one another as they tried to get away, to no success.

And once they were all drawn together…. They all popped like balloons. A shower of red, crimson blood burst everywhere in the streets, luckily not hitting anyone or any important buildings, but it did paint that particular part of the road in red. Not even a shred of their clothes remained due to the intense gravitational pull that was caused by Lapse: Blue. Granted, he didn't have to make them implode, but he really didn't care for these Coven Guard people.

Screams echoed throughout the streets as people watched it all happen. Gojo was the least bit affected by what he had witnessed, as to him, it was just like exorcising a Curse. Yes, they were people, but those people were trying to capture him for talking to someone. It was kind of stupid if you asked him. However, it seemed as if not many other people seemed to care aside from a few of the children who had seen what had happened.

Maybe that said something about the society these people lived in, where death was common and often visible. He did come across a gladiatorial arena, so perhaps that was the case. There were probably going to be repercussions for his actions at a later date, but as far as things went now, he didn't care. Not to mention, who exactly was going to get in his way?

It wasn't as if anyone here had a weapon that could disable Cursed Techniques. And if there was one, he would need to find it and destroy it before anyone got any ideas. The last time he fought someone like that, it was a pain in the ass. Even now, there were days he couldn't get that smug grin out of his mind….

"Now, where was I? Oh yeah. I believe Eda said the place was called Mr. Potions, or something like that…."

Unbeknownst to Gojo, however, in the shadows lurked a woman with ivory-pale skin and emerald green eyes. Her hair was long and a dark shade of blue that flowed down to just past her waist, and she was dressed in a similar uniform to that of The Coven Guards, minus the hideous mask.

Rather than pants like the rest of those in The Emperor's Coven, she wore a dress that covered up to her ankles. On the sternum of her dress was a blue diamond-shaped gem that matched the lighter colour of her hair, and she also had black lipstick. In her right hand was a staff with a raven ornament on it, which she was holding onto for dear life.

What she had just witnessed… that was not normal. The feeling she had gotten from that magic had made her want to vomit. It was sickly, diseased, and it made her stomach churn just thinking about it. And the man behind that magic, the one who had been dubbed "Blindfold" by the Wanted Poster. He was powerful.

No. Scratch that. He wasn't just powerful. He was immensely powerful. At least, that was what she felt when that wretched form of Magic touched her senses. It was Cursed, completely and utterly. Dare she say it was a bastardization of what Magic should've been? What made it even more insulting was that it was a human who had done it.

Not a witch.

Not a demon.

A Titan forsaken Human.

"The Emperor… he must know," Lilith Clawthorne noted mentally, letting out a calming breath, slipping away into the shadows to go report what it was she had just bore witness to.

[XXXX]

"This is stupid!" Luz shouted, frustration boiling over as she slapped down a piece of paper that she had been holding onto. On the piece of paper was a symbol—a Glyph was what it was called according to Eda. Said Glyph appeared to be a large triangle within a circle. At the top of the triangle was another, smaller circle with another smaller triangle on top. Down the middle was a line that went from the bottom of the small circle to the bottom of the larger circle that encircled it. Finally, to complete the glyph, there were two small diagonal lines going through the main line.

The glyph in question was a Light Glyph, used by those who don't know how to do finger seals to produce magic. Because Luz was human, supposedly, she could use these Glyphs as well. The only problem with that was, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how often she practiced with the same advice Eda had given her, nothing happened. Literally! Nothing happened!

And it wasn't just because she couldn't do it. Even Eda was shocked because Light Glyphs were supposedly the easiest to use! They required very little willpower—which was real by the way, who would've thunk it—and even an infant could use it.

Yet Luz… couldn't. It was annoying, it was frustrating, and after two days of trying and failing to get the thing to do something, anything, Luz had finally reached the end of her patience. Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes as she stared at the crumpled-up Glyph. Why wasn't it working? What was she doing wrong?

She had done what Eda had done, and she had even copied the same phrase Eda was saying to see if that did anything—apparently, it was only just there for added flair, but you never know until you tried it—but NOTHING. There was nothing. No spark, no animation, no nothing. It simply lay in the palm of her hand like a regular old piece of paper.

Luz sat on the living room floor, and behind her sat Eda, who was stretched out on the couch, which was a dark violet in colour and had room for three people, all three seats of which were taken up by Eda, who had been watching Luz with concern in her eyes. She was dressed in a purplish-white nightgown, which was typically the same outfit she wore when she knew she wasn't going to be doing anything that day. At least, that was what Eda had told Luz.

Of course, there was more in the living room than just a couch. There was a circular blue rug that Luz was kneeling on, a coffee table which had been a few feet in front of Luz, and a chair off to the right of the couch which completed the look of the place. There was a massive closed window behind the couch that let in natural light, and there was a chandelier above their heads.

"What am I doing wrong?" Luz murmured, staring at the piece of paper as Eda scratched the top of her head. What was she doing wrong? Well, for starters, nothing. She was doing everything correctly. That was the bizarre part. The Glyph should have worked. Maybe it was just a faulty one. That happened sometimes. Whenever Eda needed to purchase a Glyph or make one herself, sometimes she forgot to add magic to it.

Oh, sure, they could work off of willpower alone, but it was hardly ever something done unless things were desperate, and the result would usually be weaker than what it would had the Glyph been powered by Magical Essence and willpower. And nine times out of ten those that were forged with willpower only worked with Witches because their very minds had magic coursing through them, so for a Human it wouldn't work.

It was very confusing at times, but those who knew the ins and outs of Glyphs understood that. Hell, Eda typically disliked Glyph's, because it was magic in a tamed state that couldn't be freely manipulated. But for Luz, that was her only choice. Not to mention the fact that eventually, she herself would have to rely on Glyphs if her Curse kept sapping away her magic.

Hopefully, though, that wouldn't be for a long time now. Even still, one had to be extra careful, and who was Eda if not careful—yes, she knew she was reckless at times, but due to her life as a fugitive, she had to learn to be careful over the years.

"Hold on, squirt. Maybe that Glyph's defective. Happens sometimes, gimme a sec," Eda said, getting up from the couch. She could see there was a brief hint of hope in Luz's eyes, which was good. Walking over to the bookshelf off to the right of the couch, where she kept all of her guilty pleasure reads. It was chock-full of messy romantic dramas, as well as a few regular adventure books—things she never openly admitted to liking because she was supposed to be the cool, sassy old woman who didn't like anything remotely stereotypical.

But, amidst all of that stuff, there was one thing on that shelf that was important. Something that she had saved for when her Curse sapped away all of her magic—which she could feel it actively doing, and it hurt. Titan did it hurt—and that was a single binder taller, larger, and thicker than any of the other books on the shelf. Pulling out the binder, she opened it, and when she did she smirked. Her Glyph Binder.

It had contained several pre-drawn Glyphs that she had been stocking up on in case her magic got ripped away forever by the damnable Curse that was forced upon her by some random. She still wanted to find the bastard who cursed her and beat them up for that. What had she ever done to deserve it? Clearly, it was something big if it was worth forcing The Owl Beast upon her.

Whatever the case was, while it was a looming issue that she knew was going to screw her over one way or another, for the time being, it didn't matter. What mattered now was making sure that these Glyphs weren't faulty, because the one that she had given to Luz had been from her own special, personal collection.

Opening the book, Eda plucked out another Light Glyph, but before she handed it to Luz, she checked to see if Magic had been poured into it. Exactly like she had suspected, there was Magic. "So then why was there none in Luz's?" Eda thought, frowning. Regardless, she closed the Glyph Book, before putting it back and walking back to Luz. "Alright, kiddo. Take this one. Same thing as before, you'll get it this time. I'm sure of it," Eda said, a small smirk making its way to her face as Luz took the Glyph.

When Luz touched the Glyph, Eda watched as some kind of light blue energy that manifested on Luz's hand touched the Glyph, and much to her shock, the blue energy destroyed the magic that was in the Glyph. "What the hell?" Eda thought, as she looked at Luz, who seemingly either didn't see it or was too focused on the Glyph to have noticed that it was there. It happened in a blink, so it was expected to happen, but still.

"Is that why Luz couldn't use the Glyph? Because she unknowingly destroyed the magic in the Glyph?" Eda thought as Luz glared at the Glyph, frustration evident in her eyes.

"Why isn't it working?!" Luz exclaimed, throwing the Glyph onto the floor, standing up and staring at it. "Why can't I do something even a baby can do?! It's not fair!" Luz said as King, who had been snuggled on top of one of the backrests on the couch stood up, looking over to Luz.

"Well, maybe you're not doing it right?" King said though it was more of a question than a statement. "Maybe try harder?" King suggested innocently, as Luz groaned. Before she could say anything, Hooty appeared out of one of the hidden holes in the wall, this one having been covered by a clock, poking his face out with an inquisitive expression.

"HOOT HOOT HAVE YOU TRIED TO HOLD YOUR BREATH WHILE DOING IT?" Hooty questioned as Luz, getting increasingly more and more annoyed, shook her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she closed them. It finally reached its breaking point when she stared back at the Glyph, her face going red in embarrassment, before she finally, seemingly, gave up.

"Just leave me alone!" Luz said, pushing Eda aside as she ran away before Eda could say something. The sound of Luz running up the stairs to her room reverberated throughout the house, as Eda's shoulders slouched, a frown taking up her visage. That wasn't what she wanted to have happened. Not even remotely.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the blue energy that she had generated felt exactly like what Blindfold had been giving off when he got angry. Was it the same stuff? She did feel her skin break out into goosebumps briefly when Luz grabbed the Glyph and that energy stuff sapped away the magic out of it.

It was then that the front door opened, and Eda turned on her heel to see who it was. Not that she needed to see who it had been, because it was quite obvious who it had been. After all, Blindfold had been the only other person who knew where she lived. He stood in the doorway carrying two bags filled to the brim with bottles of the elixir that she needed to keep her Curse at bay.

"Two bags filled with top-of-the-line whatever the heck this does Elixer!" Gojo announced as Eda stared at him with a slightly agape jaw.

"I asked for two potions, not two bags. Besides, how much did that cost?" Eda questioned, not panicking just yet as Gojo fished out his phone. He swiped up a few times on his screen, before smirking.

"Well, I converted some of my money from my world into Snails—weird name, by the way—so it didn't come out of your pocket. Uh, I believe the cost was somewhere around… uh… 10,000 snails for two bags worth? Which I believe, if my math is correct, 30 potions? Should last you the month, yeah?" Gojo said as Eda stood there slack-jawed.

10,000 Snails was more than half of what she made in a month selling human junk at the market. And Blindfold was just… slinging that around as if it was nothing?! She blinked, staring at him as he placed the two bags filled with potion on the coffee table. She could tell based on how his forehead shifted that he was raising an eyebrow at her before speaking.

"You look shocked about something. What's up?" Gojo questioned as Eda waved it off.

"Doesn't matter. I'm just… shocked you were able to buy that much. How much money do you have, anyway?" Eda asked, curiosity coating her words as Gojo smirked.

"What's the highest number you can count to?" Gojo asked as Eda paled.

"There's no way you have more than 1,000,000 Snails…" Eda said as Gojo laughed, which only made Eda realize that Gojo Satoru was rich. He had to be, otherwise he wouldn't have just casually dropped 10,000 Snails like it was nothing. Just how deep were Gojo's pockets? How was he able to make that much money? When was he able to make that much money?

"Now, that aside," Gojo began as he crossed his arms, plopping down on the couch, leaning back as he put his left leg overtop his right, "I was able to disprove my theory, but in its stead something more… worrying took its place," Gojo said as Eda raised an eyebrow. That didn't sound good, especially coming from someone who oozed confidence like Gojo.

"Whaddya mean?" Eda asked as Gojo hummed quizzically in response.

"I'm not going to say anything yet. I'd rather confirm my suspicions first before I say something that could turn out to be completely wrong. For all I know I'm pulling at straws. But for the time being, I'm going to keep my eyes and ears peeled for something that seems off—even for this strange place," Gojo said, his words carrying an ominous tone to them.

It wasn't often that Eda was put off by a statement. But that? That right there did not sound good to her. There was something that Gojo was worried about, and from the very little that she knew about Gojo if he was worried about something, that meant that it was going to be very bad.

Sure, she had never seen him worried before, but just from knowing the bare minimum about the guy, and the fact that he was able to send a Coven Guard flying with that red ball of energy he created, she was willing to bet that whatever got him worried probably wasn't good for their health. Gojo's mouth twitched into a neutral expression from the frown that it had been before, as he sat hunched forward, resting his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped together.

"So, where's Luz?" Gojo asked, changing topics as Eda blinked. Oh, right. Luz. She had been so floored at the amount of money that Gojo supposedly had and the fact that he was worried about something that she had nearly forgotten about what had, quite literally, just happened. Maybe she was getting old if that was starting to happen.

"She's up in the guest room converted into her bedroom. She… learned the hard way that she couldn't use the Glyphs, which makes no sense. Even babies can use them!" Eda said, putting her hands into her pockets as she frowned. "But… I think I know why. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with that blue stuff that came out of her hand when she touched the Glyph. It sapped away all of its magic in an instant. I tried saying something to her but, instead, she ran off after these two," Eda said, jabbing her thumb at Hooty and King over to her left, who deflated upon being pointed out, "said the wrong things at the wrong time."

Gojo sat upright, before standing up, putting one hand in his pants pocket, a small smile on his face. "I'll go cheer her up~!" He said with his usual jovial tone of voice, which made Eda curious. Though, not curious enough to follow him up the stairs. Honestly, whatever it was that he was going to do, Eda didn't care. At the very least she knew he wasn't going to hurt her. Besides, he seemed trustworthy enough. All she cared about was knowing that Luz might be happy by the end of it.

On the second floor where Gojo had been, which consisted of two bedrooms, a bathroom, and what looked to be a closet in the distance, he stood at the entrance to Luz's room, which used to be a guest room. Arms crossed, Gojo spoke. "Luz. It's Satoru. Is everything alright? I heard what happened downstairs. Mind if I come in?"

"Go away!" Luz's voice echoed from the door, but it wasn't a scream, nor was it a shout. It was a very messy, very upset-sounding voice. She sounded like she had been crying for what must've been minutes. He frowned, forehead scrunching up as he huffed. Gojo wasn't great with kids, but he did know basic respect. So, instead of just barging in like he knew most people did, Gojo instead sat outside the door, back to the door itself as he curled his legs up to his chest.

"Listen, kiddo. I know you're upset. You can't use those Glyphs that Eda was trying to teach you about, yeah?" Gojo asked though he got no response. Not that he needed one. He already knew the answer. He had seen the crumpled-up piece of paper on the floor in the living room, so he was fairly safe to assume that had been the case. "I'll take your silence as a yes," Gojo said, still getting nothing in response.

He sighed, leaning his head against the door, he continued, "You remember what I said I would do if you couldn't use the Glyphs? That I would try and teach you what I know?" Gojo said, as finally, he got a response.

"What's the point if I can't even do something that a literal baby can do?" Luz's voice, quiet and soft, spoke through the door. That must've meant she was sitting there. Gojo smirked, shaking his head. He could be sarcastic, but that wouldn't be appropriate. After all, he had raised Megumi since he was a teenager. He knew how to parent. He wasn't stupid. When a kid is emotional, you have to take it slow.

Despite Luz's age presumably being 14, maybe 15—he never bothered to ask—she wasn't all that mature. Then again, Megumi was forced to grow up quicker than most other kids his age due to his awakening to his Cursed Technique and Cursed Energy when he was five years old. Luz had no such problem, so she got to be a kid, something not even Gojo was afforded when he was growing up.

His parents always forced him to train his Limitless, always forced him to do tests outside of his age range, and always made him do what they wanted him to do. He wasn't given any freedom growing up until he ran off to Jujutsu High in Tokyo. Despite not having what some would consider an ideal childhood, he knew how to talk to kids because he was taught to do so by his parents.

Why? Because they had fully expected him to produce an heir by now. "Heh, sucks to be them. That won't be happening for a long time. Not intentionally, at least," Gojo thought before pushing the thought aside as he frowned. "Now what kind of attitude is that? From what I gathered, you were pretty eager to learn. What changed that?"

"I can't do a basic thing that a baby can do, Gojo! A baby! If I can't do that, then how can I do something that's harder?!" Luz said, frustration clear in her voice on the other side of the door. Gojo chuckled to himself, something that Luz heard. "What's so funny about that?"

"Well," Gojo began as he stood up, facing the door as he continued, "What if I told you that the reason I was in Gravesfield in the first place lines up with the reason why you can't use those Glyphs?" Gojo said as the door opened, and what he saw was pretty much what he had expected. Luz looked like a mess, with tear streaks running down her cheeks with her eyes slightly red and puffy, showing that she had been crying for a while now, only just stopping after he showed up.

"What do you mean?" Luz asked, her voice slightly shaky, as Gojo let himself in, gesturing for her to follow. Luz's room was basic, not having much in it other than a bed, a dresser, and a closet. There was a purple rug sticking out from underneath the bed, but aside from that there were no decorations, and the curtains were a staunch white. It looked more like an uncustomized dorm room than anything else.

Gojo plopped down on Luz's mattress, bouncing on it a few times before nodding his head. "Pretty soft. Lucky. I have to sleep on the couch," Gojo said as Luz frowned. He snickered, before putting his hands to his sides and looking at her. "So, I think I should explain what I am, first. As you know, I can do things that normal people can't. That's because of what I do for a living. I'm what's called a Jujutsu Sorcerer. And no, it's not people doing Brazilian Jujitsu. They are two different things entirely."

The joke got Luz to laugh a little, which was his intention. Good. That was a good start. "What we do, is we hunt these things called Cursed Spirits. Things that are invisible to the naked eye, and cause chaos all around the world. You've heard of spontaneous combustion, yeah?"

"Yeah, where people suddenly, you know, poof into flames. But that's just a lie, right? People don't just randomly do that, right?" Luz said, a hint of panic in her voice as Gojo's expression turned neutral.

"They can, if a Cursed Spirit is to blame. Essentially, supernatural things like ghosts and all of that fun stuff? That's the result of Cursed Spirits. So, if you think you're being visited by your dearly departed, nine times out of ten, it's actually a Cursed Spirit that's there to rip out your organs and strew them across the walls—which, yes, is something I've seen before," Gojo said as Luz cringed, recoiling.

"I did not need that visual, thanks!" Luz said, sticking out her tongue as if she had tasted something revolting. A fair reaction, all things considered. And while he meant it as a joke, that was something that he had seen before. After all, how could he forget such a sight, especially considering what it had been linked to?

"Not important Gojo, focus on the pep talk," Gojo thought as he continued. "Well, it's true. Now, from what I heard about those around town, they were saying that you keep talking about how you can see things that "don't exist." I take it to mean you see things that others don't. Like weird-looking animals, or things that go beyond that description, right?" Gojo asked as Luz's eyes widened.

"Yeah! They're all over Gravesfield, and no one even notices! It's like no one else… can… see them…" It was then that the pieces were slowly pulling themselves together, and Gojo could see the gears turning in Luz's head. All he needed to do was give her one last push.

"I saw them, too, Luz. Those were Cursed Spirits. Specifically, they're known as Flyheads. They're docile, but Cursed Spirits nonetheless. Which brings me to my next point," Gojo said as he flared his Cursed Energy, though this time he made it visible. When Luz saw it, her eyes widened even further.

"You're on fire!" Luz called out, to which Gojo smirked, raising his hands placatingly.

"Calm down! I'm perfectly fine. This isn't fire, Luz. This is my Cursed Energy. It's what allows me to use my special powers. And, it's what allows you to see those Cursed Spirits back in Gravesfield," Gojo explained, and when he did, the shine that he had seen in Luz's eyes from when they first met reappeared.

"This brings me back to why I was in Gravesfield. See, my… superiors said that they had detected a large amount of Cursed Energy there, and sent me to investigate. That Cursed Energy, Luz, was yours. Meaning that you, Luz, are like me. And you know what that means?"

"I… I'm a… Jujutsu Sorcerer?" Luz asked, slowly pronouncing "Jujutsu" like a kid just learning a new word. Gojo smirked, crossing his arms.

"Not yet, kiddo. Right now, you just have a bunch of Cursed Energy. Unrefined, and floating around you. I bet you can't even feel my Cursed Energy right now, can you?" Gojo asked as Luz shook her head in the negative. "That's what I thought. Which means we have a lot of work to do. But! That's fine by me because we have all the time in the world to teach you the basics! So, what do you say, Luz? Wanna become a Jujutsu Sorcerer? I won't lie, it'll be difficult, but—"

"Are you kidding!" Luz said, excitement written all over her face as she smiled like a kid on Christmas Day getting what they had been asking for all year round. "This is a dream come true! I've always wanted to do cool stuff like in my favourite shows, and to find out that I can is the one thing I've always wanted!" Luz's expression slipped from excitement to sadness, her eyes shifting to look down at the floor.

"My mom… she always said that I needed to grow up. But, I don't want to grow up. Well, that's not true, I do, but I want to grow up my own way. I don't want to be forced into a box, and that would've happened if I hadn't caught Owlbert trying to steal my book or met you and Eda," Luz said, before her expression switched again from sadness to joy.

"I first thought that those Glyphs would've been what allowed me to visualize my dream, but when those didn't work… Well, you already saw that. But! If I can really do what you can do, or some version of it, I'm gonna do it!" Luz said as Gojo smiled.

"This kid sure is gutsy," and while he was smiling on the outside, on the inside, he wasn't. He was frowning. Not because of her answer, but because of something else. Something that had worried him the moment he had met Luz, and it all had to do with her aforementioned gutsy and excitable personality.

It wasn't that he had a problem with it or anything like that—he'd be a hypocrite if he had been—but rather what that could possibly mean for her in the future. "That said, she's under the belief that she'll be some kind of superhero. I don't want to shatter that perception, but still. That mindset is what gets people killed. I'll do what I can, but if she doesn't wake up soon, I'll have to tell her the brutality of what being a Jujutsu Sorcerer really can be like."

He really didn't want to do that, nor did he want her to experience that brutality. Maybe it was that protective urge in him that made him want to wrap her up in bubble wrap and tinfoil and never let her leave this house, but Gojo knew damn well that she needed to be trained, or else she would suffer for it. And if there was one thing that he knew all too well, it was that experiencing something and being told something were two entirely separate beasts.

And while yes, he wanted to make sure that Luz was safe and protected—that much was obvious—he was obligated to do this. But, by doing what he was going to do now, by taking her under his wing he would be exposing her to a world of horrors. A world of monsters. A world of uncaring enemies whose only sensation is to kill or cause mayhem and destruction. To a world of prejudice and hatred.

It was something he hated—he hated the fact that Luz would be exposed to that type of thing. But, unfortunately for Luz, she had no choice. After all, she was cursed with having Cursed Energy. And so, because of that, Gojo would do everything in his power to make sure that not only would Luz be as safe as possible, but, be trained properly so that she would be able to not only defend herself but those that she cared for.

After all, that was in his job description as a teacher and as The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer.

"Alright, kid. Then starting bright and early tomorrow, we're gonna start on helping you control that Cursed Energy of yours. So get some rest, because you're going to need it," Gojo said as Luz mock saluted, a bright and cheery smile on her face.

"Yes, sir!"

[-To Be Continued-]

[Ending Song: 怪物/Kaibatsu/Monster – By YOASOBI]