Jujutsu Kaisen: Gojo's New Student(s)

by DeathlyJazzHands55

It was supposed to be a simple mission: Investigate The Cursed Energy Source and return with results. But, when the person who was assigned just so happens to be Satoru Gojo, things don't go the way they're supposed to. Follow Satoru Gojo and his new (totally not accidental) student, Luz Noceda, as they travel a realm completely foreign to both of them! (Rated T for Swearing/Blood)

6. S1 - Ep 6: Sorcerer Vs Witch - Part 1

[Episode 6: Sorcerer Vs Witch – Part 1]

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

Gojo's fist slammed into Luz's stomach, Cursed Energy flaring around her body like a shield as the fist made contact. The force of the punch typically would've caused Luz to go flying, but this time due to imbuing her whole body with Cursed Energy, absorbing the force of the blow and reducing the amount of damage she would've otherwise taken, she only staggered slightly. Going back a few inches, Luz reoriented herself, closed the distance between herself and Gojo, and wound up for an uppercut.

Gojo, in response, put up a block, squaring his arms as Luz delivered the punch, Cursed Energy meeting Cursed Energy. Despite having the amount advantage, Gojo's was far more refined and as such, he won the struggle, allowing for him to make an opening for himself by splitting his arms apart, deflecting the attack, leaving an opening for himself as he followed it up with a roundhouse kick to her chest.

Luz tried, and failed, to keep the constant flow of Cursed Energy around her body, faltering due to the sudden panic coursing through her. The kick landed dead on, sending her crashing into the wall of the basement inside Eda's home, having previously cleared it out before beginning their training session.

The basement was surprisingly large, having more than enough space to have close-quarters indoor training sessions. It was about the same size as the living room that it was underneath, meaning it was a 12x16 room, which was the same size as, well, a large living room. Except, unlike a living room, there was a bunch of empty space, making it feel larger than it really was.

Gojo's reason for training Luz in the basement was rather simple: While it was normal for Cursed Spirits to show up outdoors, it wasn't a common enough occurrence for their training to remain outdoors. Cursed Spirits hung around enclosed spaces more often than not due to negativity sticking to surfaces. It was an advanced technique to use Cursed Energy to sniff out negative spaces, and it would be something that Gojo could teach her later because right now, he was more focused on teaching her how to fight.

Small tangent aside, Cursed Spirits more often than not appeared in buildings due to the phenomenon of buildings absorbing Cursed Energy over time. It was why Luz needed to get comfortable with the idea of fighting in tight spaces. And he was demonstrating such a thing, by once again fighting her one on one, granted by suppressing his strength and speed so that he didn't completely eclipse her in power.

Luz groaned, standing up as she dusted herself off. Gojo had to admit that she was learning how to take those types of hits far better than she used to. Before, it used to completely wind her and he'd have to give her a break to catch her breath. But now? Sure, she was clearly in pain but she was far better at shrugging it off from before. It had only been a week and two days since they first met, and the change had already been drastic.

Gojo knew from the day that he looked at her and felt her Cursed Energy that Luz was special. Back then, he had his doubts. After all, he needed to keep an even head and not get too excited. Cursed Energy wasn't the end all be all, that would just be ridiculous—especially considering The Ghost Of The Zen'in.

All of that was to say, that Luz had met his expectations, and was now starting to blow past them. He surmised that if he gave her another week with this level of training, she might be able to surpass Megumi in terms of hand-to-hand combat. Of course, then there was the mysterious Black Box and the locks he was still trying to figure out, but that could come at a later time.

"Her potential is something else—far different than what I had expected. She's strong, too. That punch would've hurt if it landed. Granted, I'm still going at her with the same strength and speed as a Grade 3 Curse or Curse User, but that doesn't undercut her progress," As Gojo thought that, Luz charged at him with a rushed jab, something he easily moved out of the way from, practically dancing away from it as he spun on his heel, avoiding another rushed right hook. "Still, she needs to work on her overall form. She's great at starting a fight, but the longer it goes on, the more desperate she becomes."

Luz threw another punch at Gojo, only for him to effortlessly deflect it with a slap before grabbing her wrist with his free hand, and judo-throwing her to the pavement, her Cursed Energy flaring as she used it to protect herself. "She's getting faster at doing that. Good. It means our hours of training are starting to pay off!"

In response to his throw, Luz kicked upward, knocking Gojo back about two or three feet as she landed on the ground. She was starting to run out of stamina, her breathing hastening slightly as she tried to catch her breath. It was true that Luz was never the type to use hand-to-hand combat. If she were ever to have woken up in a fantasy realm, she always envisioned herself to be a witch or a wizard.

Oftentimes, reality and what she wanted never came true. So while she was a little discontent to be stuck to using her fists rather than blasting fire from her fingertips or shooting cool light lasers, she wasn't going to complain about her current abilities. Cursed Energy was still super cool, and the ways that it could be used were far more interesting than just "punch stuff real hard".

Her heart pounded against her chest, adrenaline coursing through her veins as a small smirk came to her lips. She could practically taste the sweat starting to build up on her upper lip, and for whatever reason it got her blood pumping more than watching her favourite fights in the animated version of The Good Witch Azura.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was the one actually fighting, or the fact that she was moving about in ways that she didn't typically move. Her mom always said she inherited her boundless energy from her father, hence why she was so easy to get riled up.

Granted, her mother had clarified that it was something that her father had before he had "the accident" at his job that her mother couldn't stop bringing up when mentioning him. Luz barely knew her father, only hearing stories from her mom since he died when she was only four years old and only having vague memories of them spending time together, but apparently, he had been a news reporter.

She forgot most of the details, but when he came back home from his overseas work in Japan he was a changed man. He was still super nerdy, but his passion for cooking and his overall enjoyment of what he used to like like Star Trek had all but completely vanished. He had become far more reserved, and was always in his office—said office they had converted into a games room—studying away at "a massive project he had been assigned to complete" by his bosses.

That aside, he still found time to be with them, but when it all came down to it, her mother said that her father was two different people entirely. Before Luz had been even conceived, he was an outgoing, charming, charismatic man. Then, when the accident happened, after which was when Luz had been "made" so to speak, her father was still charming and charismatic, but no longer outgoing like he used to be, most likely due to the trauma that he faced in the wake of the accident. He was still a massive nerd though, which had been his appeal to her mother, so that was all that truly mattered.

Then came his death, which was the one thing that Luz had forgotten practically all the details about. All she remembered was that he had gotten into a nasty accident again, and this time, he didn't survive. But, before he died, he left Luz with a book, said book being the first installment of The Good Witch Azura.

It was never clear to Luz what had happened, other than that he left the house to go get something for "the massive project", but at some point along the way to getting what he was looking for, he had died of a chronic heart condition that he had hid from Luz, but that her Mom knew all about; the heart attack occurring when he was driving on the highway. Luz was never told the condition of his body, only that the funeral had to be a closed casket, as she had not been there for the funeral, having been instead at a family member's house.

All of that aside, the point was that her mother attributed her boundless energy and excitement to her father prior to the accident. And it was thanks to that energy that she, once again, was not at all against being forced to go hand-to-hand with her Cursed Energy. Even if it wasn't something that she particularly envisioned herself doing, she wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Meanwhile, on the top of the staircase, Eda, and King stood while Hooty floated next to them, watching the training that was taking place. King stared, watching as Luz lunged forward at Gojo, only to get tripped up, resulting in her nearly falling flat on her face. But, instead of that happening, she did a front flip going with the flow of her forced movement.

"Whoa…" King muttered as Eda smirked, silently chuckling to herself at King being awestruck with what Luz was doing. "Luz is so cool…."

"Yup," Eda replied nonchalantly, arms crossed. She had to admit, despite how hard she was on Gojo regarding how he was training Luz, she had understood now that at this point it wasn't worth arguing about. For as much as she was protective over the kid seeing as she was just that, a kid, she wasn't Luz's mother.

Perhaps it was that protective instinct she had for when she used to look after Lilith growing up—despite having been the younger sister of the two, but she digressed. Actually, on second thought, it wasn't a "perhaps", it was just the facts. But, Luz wasn't someone who needed to be protected. Sure, she was a kid, but she was a kid in the same way a Witch was a kid. They needed to be trained in order to harness the power that they had.

And, for as much as Eda disliked how Luz was being taught, Gojo knew what he was doing. Sure, for a little while she didn't exactly trust Gojo's judgement when he came home with a bloodied and beaten Luz not but a few days ago, and was now immediately thrusting her into danger with another battle but this time with a Blight for Titan's sake, but at this point she was far beyond the point of trying to reign them in.

If Gojo wanted to keep endangering Luz, claiming it was going to help her, she wasn't going to argue with the walking Magic Bomb. That was just asking to get hurt. And while she disagreed with what they were doing now, that being getting physical and hurting one another, she was being forced to understand that Humans weren't squishy little bugs that needed to be protected.

But could one blame Eda for thinking that way? There were things here that could snap a human in half with ease without some form of magic being used to protect oneself. Sure, Luz had her own special Cursed Energy or whatever it was called, but it wasn't going to be enough if she ran into something like an angered Tyrannakong—an oversized Monkey with the head of a lizard and a pair of batwings—even though they lived near the shoreline at the feet of the Titan Corpse, but that was just semantics.

"HOOT HOOT WHY IS EDA ANNOYED?" Hooty asked, his loud shrill voice ear grating to Eda, causing her to wince. Hooty tilted his head nearly 180 degrees, confusion marring his face as Eda waved him away, making him frown. "COME ON, WHAT'S THE MATTER? I JUST WANT TO HELP," as Hooty said that, Eda walked away, not saying anything, earning a pout from Hooty. He looked to King, who merely glanced at him. "WHY DOES EDA NOT LIKE ME?"

"Your voice, your personality, the way you act. All of that. It's annoying. That's why we don't like you, Hooty," King said before following Eda, leaving Hooty all by himself. Huffing, he looked over to Luz and Gojo, both of whom were winding down their training, making small talk about something he couldn't hear from where he was.

"ALL HOOTY WANTS TO DO IS TO HELP…" Hooty thought before an idea popped up in his head. A small, mischievous smile took up his beaked face, his eyes practically sparkling. "WAIT! HOOTY HAS AN IDEA!"

While that was happening, Gojo sighed, looking over to Luz as he spoke. "Alright," Gojo began as he relaxed his stance, "we'll stop this for now. We want to conserve as much energy as possible for your big fight today," Gojo continued as Luz relaxed putting down her guard as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead and face. "You did well to incorporate imbuing your whole body with Cursed Energy. But, can you tell me what the difference is?"

"Oh! Well, yeah. Uh… you said that "Cursed Energy comes from the stomach, and so when we use Cursed Energy, uh… Blah, blah, blah boring, boring boring, transferring Cursed Energy to fists is a specific need, whereas transferring to the whole body is like throwing an insulated blanket overtop of something rather than just directing the energy normally," right?" As Luz said that, Gojo couldn't help but laugh.

Where most people would be frustrated that Luz seemingly didn't pay attention, cutting out the part that it was important to think of Cursed Energy like a rechargeable battery rather than a set amount, Gojo would beg to differ. Yes, she cut it out of her retelling of the explanation, but it was clear that she had kept it in mind. Otherwise, why would she substitute it for "blah, or boring" rather than saying "I forgot"?

That was why Luz, to him, was an interesting person. For people without patience, she was most likely an annoyance. But, when working in the business he did, being patient was all part of the process. Of course, there comes a time when patience could be a death sentence, but still, those times never really came when Gojo was there.

"HELLO!" Hooty called out from the top of the stairs, his body slithering like a snake down to greet the two. Gojo turned to face him, raising an eyebrow as he did whereas Luz seemed a little annoyed at Hooty's sudden appearance. He could understand why Luz might have felt annoyed, but there wasn't any harm in him coming to say hi. It was a little weird that Luz would find his presence annoying, considering they were so much alike. "HOOTY WAS WONDERING WHAT YOU TWO WERE DOING?"

"We were just about to take a break from training," Luz responded bluntly as Hooty blinked.

"OH…" Hooty said, his expression going from cheery to dejected, at least, until he returned to appearing happy, his eyes reflecting an idea that Gojo had caught onto well in advance. "MAYBE HOOTY CAN HELP WITH TRAINING?" He asked as Luz groaned. The last thing Luz wanted was to be in a room with Hooty for an extended amount of time.

Don't get her wrong, she didn't dislike Hooty. As a matter of fact, she quite liked him. He was a chill guy, and he and her had a lot in common, but his voice was ear-grating, and he was constantly nagging and bugging people to do stuff with him. It was annoying, and it often got on her nerves, even if she didn't show it.

She felt bad for thinking like that—really, she did, especially because she knew what it was like to be bullied and to be treated like the odd one out. But even for her, there was a limit to what she could and couldn't take. She was already tired as is, and she was looking forward to taking that break from training.

Gojo, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity. From what he had seen of Hooty, what with him zipping around the property at night to make sure there were no intruders or any would-be Demon hunters, Gojo was able to surmise that Hooty was a rather fast fellow. And considering Hooty was fast, but not so fast that she wouldn't be able to keep up with him after a small amount of time, Gojo knew exactly what it was he was going to do.

He was going to make Hooty's wish come true. If Hooty wanted to help, then so be it. Even if it did annoy Luz. Not that he particularly cared if Luz was annoyed, as it also gave him some time to do something else between now and the scheduled fight between Luz and whoever the top student at Hexside was going to be.

"After all, speed is something that Luz needs to work on. She can take a hit and dish one out, and her speed is already something that is impressive. But, it could use some work. She can barely keep up with me holding back, so that needs to change, and Hooty here might be a prime example of being able to increase her speed without her getting hurt too badly," Gojo thought as he smiled. "That, and Hooty is a sad, sad individual. So cheering him up wouldn't hurt."

"Actually, maybe that's not a bad idea," Gojo said as Luz slowly turned to face Gojo, her left eye twitching as she raised her hands in that comical "why" sort of way that one would often see in TV shows. Ignoring it, Gojo continued. "Tell me, Hooty. How good are you at taking a hit?"

"HOOT HOOT HOW GOOD AM I?! WELL, I CAN TAKE A LOT OF HITS WITHOUT IT HURTING!" Hooty boasted, Gojo stroking his chin in thought. In other words, Hooty couldn't take a single hit without it hurting, and he was merely jesting to seem useful. Or, perhaps he wasn't boasting. At the end of the day, it didn't matter. He mostly just wanted Hooty for his speed.

"That's great, Hooty! Tell you what, you're in luck! I think you can help Luz here with her training. All you have to do is constantly keep dodging Luz's attacks with Cursed Energy, but if she hits you once, she wins. If you can keep dodging for…." Gojo began as he looked at his phone. The battle was in an hour, which gave Luz plenty of time to practice her speed training, that being said she would need a sufficient break, so taking that into account…. "…For about half an hour, then you win. Deal?"

"DEAL!" Hooty said as Gojo smirked, looking over to Luz, who looked utterly betrayed.

"You said we were done!" Luz complained as Gojo leaned over to whisper in her right ear.

"C'mon, Luz, he just wants to help. Besides, give the guy a break, everyone else aside from me and you treats him poorly. Humour him at least once," Gojo said as Luz sighed, before smiling. He was right, and besides, it would be a bit hypocritical of her to just wave away someone who, like her, was weird and being basically shunned for it. The last thing she wanted was to be a hypocrite.

"Alright. This won't be so bad." Right as Luz said that, Hooty began to zip around the basement faster than her eyes could track, her vision being filled with nothing but a fast-moving brown line that was either getting faster or slower—that was how fast Hooty was moving. As she stared at what was before her, she was beginning to regret her decision, and before she could back out, Gojo was already gone. "Well crap… I spoke too soon…."

As for where Gojo went, it was back in town. He was greeted by loud noises of people chattering, all kinds of denizens of The Boiling Isles roaming around the town going from point A to point B. Unlike the last few times he came here, he no longer had the urge to start attacking people at random due to his experiences with Cursed Spirits. Although he was still distrustful of the more absurd-looking ones, which now that he thought about it probably made him some kind of racist.

All of that to say, aside from the ones that looked vaguely human or humanoid without any alarming features, he no longer felt as if he was constantly on edge, worrying whether or not a Cursed Spirit was lurking amongst them. He could now properly tell the difference between Magic and Cursed Energy. And, he had been right in his initial assumption.

Magic was positive energy, so it had a different sensation to it. Cursed Energy was negative energy, making it familiar. In a way, Magic was almost like a raw version of Reverse Cursed Technique, but without it being linked to Cursed Energy. It also had different properties, because Reverse Cursed Technique was still Cursed Energy, but in reverse, whereas magic was its own separate thing.

All of that to say, that even though he could fish out a Cursed Spirit that still didn't stop him from being more than a little distrustful. "But if I'm to live here for any longer, I'm going to have to learn to get used to it…." Gojo thought as a sudden idea came to his head. "Although, what's stopping us from just going home now? I mean, I know Luz doesn't want to, but I really need to get back. The next semester is going to start soon, and Principal Yaga isn't going to be happy if I don't show up soon…"

He dismissed the thought as he began to walk around town. Next week, he was going to need to have a serious talk with Luz about returning to the human realm. Unless something drastic happened, or if some crazy development occurred, it was something they needed to seriously consider going forward.

After all, he couldn't just shunt off his responsibilities. He had Megumi to look after, and he had another class he needed to prepare for. Not to mention Maki had asked him for assistance with hand-to-hand combat because Panda and Inumaki were busy off hunting a Semi-Grade 1 Cursed Spirit in Iwaki last he checked.

And while he was enjoying his time here, he was needed elsewhere. And whether Luz liked it or not, getting home was going to be their top priority coming up. And on that note…. "I'm gonna have to teach Luz how to speak, read, and write in Japanese soon, seeing as I am moving her to Tokyo Jujutsu High when we get back…." Gojo thought, before clearing his thoughts. That would be for later. Of course, he wasn't a monster. He would let Luz have her final goodbyes with her mother and any family she had outside of that, but afterward, she would be cut off. For their own safety, of course.

All of that aside, seeing as he had some time to kill, he could at least experiment with his theory. That being that Cursed Energy either disrupts or destroys magic. After all, when positive energy meets negative energy, they cancel each other out if they are of equal standing. But, if there is even a fraction of more over the other, then the one with more beats out the other. It's the same when negative meets negative and positive meets positive.

And if that were all, then he could write it off as being correct. But, Eda was a shining example of something that both disproved and proved his theory. She was Cursed, that much was obvious. She had Cursed Energy and said Cursed Energy was slowly but surely eating away at her magic, and she could not control it no matter how hard she tried to do so in the process. What confused Gojo was why it hadn't already finished destroying her magic.

That was where the potions came in. Somehow, despite not adding to her Magical Essence produced by the organ next to her heart called a "Bile Sac"—which yes, sounded every bit as disgusting as it was—yet it still was able to subdue her Curse. Not get rid of it or weaken it, but subdue it.

Did that mean that, with enough Magic, someone could destroy someone's Cursed Energy? Or, perhaps, he was just overthinking it? If that had been the case Eda would've been curse free. So that clearly wasn't it.

But, then came the problem that, If Magic was pure raw positive energy, and Cursed Energy was pure raw negative energy, according to the laws of physics and science, it should behave how all energies work. Then again, if Reversed Cursed Technique existed the way that it did, being positive Cursed Energy, then did that mean that it wouldn't work like that?

"So many questions, so few answers. But, unlike before, I might actually be able to put my theory to the test," Gojo thought, a small smirk taking up his visage. Due to being The Strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, he never really had a reason to test out whatever theories he came up with because he would typically already know the answer. But, given that he was in a new realm, there were so many questions that he could ask and not immediately know the answer to.

This was both a fun experience for him and a learning one. While he had only a half an hour to venture into the town until he had to go back to Luz to see if she was able to complete the exercise he had given her and Hooty, he would use that time wisely.

As he walked around Bonesborough, unlike last time, no one was waving at him or saying hi. This time, they were all patiently watching him, looking as if they wanted him to leave or disappear. He couldn't blame them. The last time he was here he had turned Coven Guards into Coven Stains, so it was clear that he wasn't wanted.

Hell, it had even reflected on his Penstagram account, which he had been actively updating with more pics of himself. He had lost over 1,000 followers on the day of the incident, but because of his constant posting and because his account was a thirst trap account, he had gained another 10,000 followers, leaving him at 16,000 followers. He found it quite ironic that he was able to double his follower count in a little over a week.

Although, now he wondered just how many people lived in The Boiling Isles. The Titan's corpse was, from what he was able to estimate, around about the size if not a little bit larger than North America. So, if he considered that, and if he took into consideration the two major cities and the several dozen outposts that had hardly any residents, but still had residents, and if he assumed that each outpost had roughly 50 people living there, added the population of Bonesborough—it was 30,000 people—and Glandus's population—it was around 50,000 people—the population of The Boiling Isles was, at a bare minimum, 84,200 people.

In other words, Gojo had roughly 19% of the population following him on Pentsagram, again assuming that his math was right and he wasn't just making it up. For all he knew there were other cities that he hadn't seen on the mass teleportation sprees he had done over the last week. And, that was also not accounting for the births and deaths, though due to the small estimated population, he didn't know what their death or birth rates were.

All in all, he did not envy population trackers and what they did for a living. It sounded like hell, and even with a big brain such as his, he seriously believed he would go insane after doing that for prolonged periods of time.

"Thankfully, I'm a Jujutsu Sorcerer and not a population tracker. I'm on vacation, I have spare time, so I'm gonna go use it. And hey! I'm not being harassed by those Coven—"

"You!" A loud, harsh voice interrupted Gojo's thoughts as he physically deflated with an annoyed gleam in his eyes behind his mask. He didn't have to look behind him, again because of his Six Eyes, because he could already see what it was that was behind him. It was, yet again, a bunch of Coven Guards, much to his chagrin. However, this time the person heading them looked a hell of a lot more intimidating than just some mook—well, intimidating to others, not him of course.

The person in question was a tall, purple-skinned man, meaning he was some form of bipedal Demon. He was large and muscular, something that was fairly apparent from just looking at him. He wore a beaked mask with button-like lenses, a dark gray cowl that had had a small golden fasten over the beaked mask, and he was wearing a white sleeveless tunic kept together by brass buttons.

Around his waist, he wore a brown leather belt with a brass buckle, and he had on a pair of black trousers with dark purple shoes that he had tucked his pants into. On his left lapel, he wore a small triangular brass badge, meaning he was in an important position. What that position was, Gojo had no clue, nor did he care.

"Aside from the déjà vu I'm feeling right about now, this guy is clearly the boss of the people who I killed a few days back," Gojo thought as he sighed. Just when he thought he could do something productive, too. He guessed he had opened his metaphorical mouth too soon to start assuming things. "What do you guys want now? Can't you see that it's pointless to confront me? I'm sure your Emperor would understand if you told them you didn't want to die."

"You spineless brat!" The large man roared, "You already escaped your punishment once because you got lucky. This time, however, you won't! MEN! CAPTURE SATORU GOJO!" With the bellowing command, the large man pointed in his direction, and a whole fleet of men ran toward him. Gojo counted, at the bare minimum, 30 people. He frowned, staring them down with nothing but annoyance written all over his face.

The large man laughed, as each one of the guardsmen seemed to be preparing some kind of capture spell. Each of them, much like Eda had done when she went to burn Luz's book when they had first met, had drawn a circle with their fingers, meaning it was some kind of pre-requisite for all spells instead of just the one. The circle in question was a dark yellow. He didn't know what the circles meant, but if he had to guess, it correlated with the kind of magic they were using.

Magical nets shot out from the circles, as Gojo stood perfectly still. He waited for the nets to reach him, and when they did, they harmlessly bounced off of the air around him, sliding down the ground before fizzling out. The man stopped laughing almost abruptly as Gojo smirked. "What's the matter? Weren't you going to capture me?"

"AGAIN!" The man roared, as they tried the same thing again, only this time, they conjoined their efforts to create one large net. It easily dwarfed Gojo in size, and it was sparking with magical energy. He guessed that they were trying to disrupt whatever "spell" they believed was surrounding him by overloading his senses. Not that they could mind you, but still.

"This is also why being out here is amusing. Watching people try to figure out what can stop me with the powers they have available to them, only to realize it's pointless," and as that thought came to a close, the massive net washed over Gojo… only for it slump around him, but not come anywhere nears to touching him. And when it tried to seemingly constrict around him like a snake, it ended up breaking itself attempting to do so.

The Coven Guards stood and stared at him as if they were witnessing an impossibility—a complete anomaly that none of them could understand. It got to the point that even the man in charge simply stood and stared, all of his bravado drained in an instant.

"The amount of déjà vu I'm feeling right about now is almost laughable if it wasn't completely insulting," Gojo said, a slightly joyful tick in his voice as he took a few steps forward. It seemingly snapped the Covens Guard out of whatever stupefied trance they had all been put into, as the large man growled like a feral animal.

"They're all about as weak as a 4th Grade Curse, some peaking at the mid-point of 4th grade while others sit at the lowest rung. Although, that guy, the boss, he's somewhere around Grade 3 if not a little bit higher than that," Gojo thought as the man ordered them to charge. If nets didn't work, then throwing oneself at the enemy surely had to. He was honestly surprised that they hadn't caught on to what was happening, but then again, in a world of Magic, they were most likely assuming it was some kind of wind spell or something stupid like that.

In response to what his foes were doing, he raised his right hand before balling it into a fist, doing so in such a way that it was toward him as if he was going to jump up and punch a question mark block from Super Mario. As he did this, he watched as the Coven Guards tried to close in on him, slowly closing the distance between himself and them.

As they drew closer, he extended his pointer finger upward, and as red energy began to converge on his fingertip his Cursed Energy began to flow around him. He used Lapse: Blue the last time these clowns tried to capture him, and he saw doing the same thing twice to be boring, so he decided to use his other power—the objectively better one aside from his ultimate technique sans his Domain Expansion.

The moment he began to converge Reversed Cursed Technique to his fingertip, some of the Coven Guards got the right idea and turned to run back to their boss, much to his annoyance as they were actively disobeying orders. Those who didn't and stayed true to listening to him, however, weren't going to like their prize for remaining loyal. And besides, even those that did run away weren't going to escape what he was about to do, although they would take significantly less damage.

If Lapse: Blue was like a black hole, sucking things into itself before imploding them—assuming Gojo wanted that to happen of course—then Reversal: Red was like repulsor. Except, unlike a regular repulsor which would push some people back this was leagues stronger and far more violent. This type of repulsor was a deadlier kind, as in if someone got too close it would do more than just push back those around him.

When the Reversed Cursed Energy finished converging to his fingertip, Gojo smirked, as soon as he finished gaining the power he needed to release it in the way he wanted to, a blinding red light quickly overtook the area, dirt kicking up around Gojo in large plumes, the ground cracking and shifting, shaking nearby buildings ever so slightly as the pure raw power of Reversal: Red was put on full display—or, at least half of it, anyway.

When he had used it to knock away the first ever Coven Guard he had run into, he had put hardly any Reversed Cursed Energy into it. After all, it had been only meant for a distraction and to clear themselves enough distance so that they could escape reliably. But this time was different. This time, he wasn't around anyone he particularly cared about, and any civilians were far enough away to where he didn't need to worry about getting too caught up in the crossfire.

A part of him felt bad for wasting all of this power on a bunch of measly goons. But, he was proving a point. The point that, no matter what anyone knew him as, be it Satoru Gojo, Criminal, or Blindfold, he was unambiguously the strongest person there ever was to live in their current era.

Letting Reversal: Red go off, a thunderous wave of energy lashed out in all directions, causing those who were mere inches away from his Infinity to be completely wiped off the face of the earth, being turned into mere atoms by the pressure and force of the explosion. Those that were behind them were practically blown apart limb from limb, blood staining the ground before being blown away with their appendages. Anyone else who had been caught up in the blast was knocked back and made to eat dirt.

Surprisingly enough, their boss, on the other hand, was able to stay his ground if only because he had dug his hands and feet into the ground to do so, and he was far enough away to where the damage he would take was minuscule. His cowl was ripped off, and his mask was destroyed, revealing his ugly face underneath. Large spider-like jaws, beady black eyes, and drool staining his mouth from pure rage at what he was witnessing.

Lilith had failed to mention just how powerful this man really was! She had been vague about it, saying that he was merely strong. She forgot to mention that he was capable of doing something like this! His magical senses were being actively overloaded by negativity, and it was disgusting. It was abnormal. It was non-conforming, and Warden Wrath utterly loathed it!

All the while he was standing there, hands and feet dug into the ground, pushing back against the pressure, minor cuts developed in his face and shoulders and in his tunic. It made him furious in a way that simply could not describe. This human was far more trouble than he was worth, and had he not been furious, he would've fallen back.

But for the sake of his comrades, he would not allow this monster to remain on the streets. The threat he posed was more than anything they had ever faced since the Dreadwardian Era, where crime ran amok, and pillaging was commonplace before their Emperor came to power.

And as the Warden of The Conformitorum, it was his duty to put this man away for good.

As for Gojo, he simply couldn't get over the large man's face. It was… weird. And reminded him far too much of a Spider Cursed Spirit he had dealt with over 3 years ago. "Whoa, he is ugly…!" Gojo thought as the power of Reversal: Red faded out, the ominous red light disappearing as the large man stood up, snarling at him.

"Are you done? I have things I want to do," Gojo taunted as the man roared, charging toward Gojo like a rabid animal. For a brief second, he thought about maybe using his Domain Expansion. After all, he wanted to get this over and done with. However, at the same time, Gojo wasn't about to use his trump card on someone not worthy of seeing it. That, and he had a far better idea—he was going to humiliate this person.

The large man reared his fist back after getting within a few feet of Gojo, preparing to punch him in the face. Yet, despite the obvious attack, Gojo was completely unphased standing stock still as if nothing was going to happen. Those who were watching stared in both a sense of gratitude that someone who was on a wanted poster was going to be arrested and awe that it was happening before their very eyes.

It was confusing. They were rooting for this loser, despite seeing what he had been capable of, and all for what? Did they really think he was some dangerous criminal? Sure, he had a lot of power but he hadn't hurt anyone who had been innocent.

Had he really become a hated criminal by the populous? All because he talked to one woman? Or was there something else that he was missing? Maybe they were spreading some sort of misinformation about him. Or maybe these guys liked the Coven Guards. Either way, it didn't matter to Gojo, because in the long run, he wasn't going to be here for much longer—so he had hoped anyway.

Still, it was funny just how quickly the population could change their mind about a person at the drop of a dime. "The propaganda machine must be working overtime, huh?" Gojo thought as the man's fist came inches away from his face, just about ready to smash his face in…. before it stopped dead in its tracks. Not because the man stopped it mid-swing, but because it, quite literally, stopped mid-air, despite the man's effort to push it closer.

"Can you move your fist? It's blocking my view," Gojo said, frowning as the man began to snarl.

"Fine, have it your way," Gojo said as he leaned a little into the fist, skin tearing off of the man's knuckles, finally getting the man to leap back and away from Gojo, blood trickling down from his fist to the ground, staining the area crimson.

As for how Gojo had been able to make his Infinity do that, the answer was simple: He had used Domain Amplication to cover his Infinity ever-so-slightly with his Domain to give it a sharper edge, then immediately deactivated it when his opponent leapt away. It was an Anti-Domain Technique, essentially protecting oneself from an enemy Domain by coating yourself in your own. It could also be used as a shield, as any physical contact that was made would be met like a finger to a blade.

"What… was that?" The man spat, glaring at Gojo who smirked.

"What? Never heard of Domain Amplication? That was what shaved your knuckles, spider monkey. I mean, seriously, anyone who knows anything about anything should know about Domain Amplication. Actually, maybe not, given the fact that you don't even know what a Domain is, or what I can even do," Gojo said, his eyes narrowed underneath his blindfold. He could feel another presence nearby, and it wasn't any of the civilians.

Glancing briefly over to an alleyway, Gojo frowned. "It's the same presence from last time. From when those Coven Guards attacked me before. Whoever that person is over there is most likely responsible for the constant attacks on me when I come out here," Gojo thought before bringing his attention back to the man before him.

"Domain's? Domain Amplication? What kind of Magic is that!? I have never heard of such a thing. And if I've never heard of it, that means it goes against the laws and regulations. That makes it Wild Magic. That makes it non-conforming to The Emperor's Ideals! I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO STAND!" The large man then charged again and was met with the same result when he attempted to gut-check Gojo, minus the knuckle scrapping because he didn't activate Domain Amplication.

This time, however, when he leapt backward, he extended his arm like a rubber band, whipping it toward Gojo. Gojo found the party trick neat but didn't comment on it, because it again did not hit him. It didn't even blow his hair with the wind it generated. Gojo simply stood there and allowed the man to embarrass himself, retracting his whip-like arm as Gojo yawned.

"You got anything else you can do? This is getting boring," Gojo replied as the man glared daggers at him. Gojo could tell he was starting to get to the man. It was obvious based on how his body language was like that of an angered bear. Gojo found it absolutely hilarious but kept it to himself.

"Why… Can't… I… Hit you!" The man roared as Gojo sighed.

"Well, if you come over here, I'll show you," Gojo said, raising his hand and waving it, a smile on his face. "C'mon, I promise I won't hurt you!" As Gojo said that, the man narrowed his eyes.

In truth, Warden Wrath didn't trust the blindfolded bastard known as Satoru Gojo, as Lilith had so kindly given him the name of. The bastard was just that, a bastard. He spat upon the very thing that The Emperor stood for and killed countless of those who served their glorious leader in The Emperor's Coven.

So when he happened upon Gojo Satoru in the public square, most likely planning to do something nefarious as all people who were associated with Eda Clawthorne tended to do—ignoring the fact that he had a raging crush for the woman—he saw a chance to put him behind bars and personally torture him for years to come.

And yet, with such practiced and lazy ease, he used some form of foreign magic and wiped out his squad, leaving those who were alive in throbbing pain or dispatched and crippled. All by lifting his finger and pouring magic into a tiny little red ball. So much power, in such a tiny little orb, all the while he didn't look so much as bothered with Wrath attacking him. Not that any of his attacks hit.

Now, he was giving Wrath a chance to figure out his tricks. It was incredibly cocky, and it pissed Wrath off. But despite that, he would take Gojo at his word. Besides, if he learned how he was doing whatever he was doing, he could probably find a way around it.

And so, walking up to Gojo, Wrath closed the distance between the two and reached out with his hand to grab Gojo's… only for it to stop mere inches away. His beady yellow eyes widened, as Gojo smirked. "I can't touch him! It… it stops just before I can reach him!"

"Now do you get it, spider-monkey? This is my Cursed Technique. It's not magic. It's not whatever you just called it, Wild Magic or whatever. It's something else entirely beyond your scope. This is Limitless. Specifically, this is Infinity. It protects me from any and all physical or magical contact. Nothing can bypass it. But it's not as if you're being stopped from moving," as Gojo began to explain, he felt his Cursed Energy flair, increasing in amount and density.

The global Binding Vow of sharing one's technique to increase power output was now being unleashed. It seemed to have carried over to this new realm, allowing Gojo to knock another question off his list of need-to-know things.

"You see, the closer you get to me, the slower you go. So, what now?" Gojo asked, pushing his hand forward and intertwining his fingers with Warden Wrath's. "We could just shake hands like this, you know. After all, I can touch you, but you can't touch me."

"You bastard…!" Warden Wrath swore, clenching his teeth together. He tried to grab Gojo, but he literally couldn't. His fingers, despite having moved in closer, wouldn't budge. He couldn't touch Gojo's skin, no matter how hard he tried. That, and when Gojo grabbed his hand, his fingers were digging into his flesh. Not drawing blood, but it wasn't a friendly grip.

"C'mon, spider-monkey~! Just a friendly handshake, sweep things under the rug, just this once?" Gojo asked, his voice carrying a taunting edge to it, only further pissing Warden Wrath off, a visible vein making itself known on his forehead.

"I… Refuse! You piece of trash human!" Warden Wrath spat, earning a few gasps in the crowd of people who had gathered to watch. Whispers and murmurs echoed around the, most questioning his actually being human. Not that Gojo cared, of course.

"Suit yourself~!" And just like that, Gojo drove his palm into Wrath's gut, and upon doing so he hit him so hard he could feel bones break underneath his clothing and skin, as he forced compressed air through his body, not once even using Cursed Energy. The force of the blow sent Wrath reeling in the air, but because Gojo didn't let go of his hand, he didn't go flying.

Crimson blood spewed out of his mouth, pain washing over him as he felt his insides burn. "What…!?" But it didn't stop there, as Gojo bent Wrath's wrist, breaking it in the process as he slammed the man into the ground, leaving a sizeable crack in the earth below, finally letting go as he stomped down on Wrath's chest.

"Y-You…. This won't be the end…! The Emperor will have your head! By the Titan, I promise you this!" Warden Wrath spat as Gojo smirked, pressing his foot down harder on his chest, forcing him to cough up and splutter, crimson liquid dripping from the sides of his mouth.

"Then tell your Emperor that Satoru Gojo is waiting for him with open arms~!" As he said that, Gojo kicked Wrath toward the alleyway, right where the mysterious watcher was staring, a sudden movement lurking behind the darkness to catch Wrath as Gojo huffed with an impressed gleam in his eyes behind his blindfold. "You know, maybe come out and fight for yourself instead of sending your lackies after me, whoever you are!" Gojo called out, as a pair of emerald green eyes narrowed back at him with barely contained fury and embarrassment.

Suddenly, a golden flurry of fire roared up around the pair of eyes and Wrath, and just like that, the pair were gone, the golden fire going away. Gojo blinked underneath his blindfold, confusion drawing up his visage before he shrugged. Honestly, he didn't care. He did plan to fire off a Reversal: Red in their direction, but if they were going to make themselves disappear then he didn't see the need.

Gojo sighed, picking out his phone. There were still twenty minutes until he had to return to the house. He still hadn't proven his theory, because that big overgrown spider-monkey-faced Demon didn't use any magic. Still, he guessed that the magic net that came into contact with his Infinity still worked to prove his theory right.

"Nah. I need more proof. That Witches Duel Luz is going to have will be what I need to finally come to my conclusion. There are still 50 minutes left till we have to be at the Arena, so we still have some time before that. Meaning I can mess around town for 20 minutes," Gojo smirked. He had plenty of Snails to go buy some drinks at the local bar, assuming he had been barred from going there due to his rapidly growing infamy.

Buying out everyone's tab and putting an unlimited tab until he was caught by those stupid Coven Guards was a smart idea, and it might even get him some popularity back in the public eye. Besides, he had the money to do it, so why not?

And so, with his mind made up, Gojo went off to the bar to cause a little bit of mischief.

[XXXX]

Philip's eyes narrowed, anger bristling underneath his skin as his blood boiled. His anger, this time, was directed toward Warden Wrath and Lilith, for very obvious reasons. Philip, understandably, hated failure. It was one of the many things, aside from Witches, Demons and Jujutsu Sorcerers, that he couldn't stand. He refused to put up with it. It was why he constantly killed so many of his Golden Guards, simply because they would fail him so often. The only outlier so far had been Hunter, which was a good thing.

Philip sat on his throne, crystalline blue eyes glaring hatefully down at the pair who had failed him, the Teleportation Glyph burning away as the two stared at him, realization in their eyes at what had occurred.

He had brought them here for the sole purpose of ragging on them. He had used a Vision spell—that is a combination of 3 light glyphs, a single fire glyph, and a single ice glyph—to create an invisible one-sided mirror that allowed him to view the battle that Warden Wrath had gotten into. Lilith was sent there to act as a backup should Warden Wrath fail.

However, as he had expected, the person who they were fighting happened to be a Gojo. A Gojo who seemingly had both of that accursed family's innate Techniques—The dreaded Six Eyes and Limitless—or at least, he was assuming that was the case. So while yes, he would rag on the pair before him, he would not do anything to them, because there was nothing they could've done.

That said, however, it did not mean he wouldn't act as if he wasn't going to punish them. He needed to make sure they stayed in line and understood that he was not going to take failure lightly, even if it was something he had foresaw happening.

"My L—"

"Silence." As those words left Philip's mouth, Lilith, who had been the one to speak, gulped in fear, sweat dripping down her face like a frightened child after a particularly horrifying thing had scared them. "I believe I told the two of you to capture Blindfold, did I not? I gave you ample men to do so. And yet, I do not see him here. I will give you a minute to explain yourselves. If you cannot give me a sufficient reason, then I will send the both of you to the dungeon, where you will wait to be executed at my mercy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my Lord. You see, we made a valiant attempt at capturing Blindfold, also known as Satoru Gojo. We had him outnumbered, overpowered, and in theory, we should've been able to capture him," Warden Wrath began as Philip leaned back in his throne, prompting Wrath to continue. "Under standard capture protocol, we announced our capture, said as to why, and began the process. He stood there, and we assumed that it would work the way it always does…. Until our capture spells had zero effect on him."

"So he dispelled the capture spells, is what you're telling me?" Philip spat, irritation in his words as Warden Wrath shook his head rapidly in denial.

"N-No! That is not what happened, my liege. The capture spells, quite simply, had no effect," Lilith spoke up. "They landed on him, and they simply… fell off. On a closer inspection, they never so much as even reached him. It was like a barrier was constantly around him. Wrath ordered the troops to attack, as was standard protocol, and… just like last time he blew them all up but this time he used a red orb rather than a blue one. And when Wrath tried to fight him…."

"I was utterly humiliated," Wrath continued, snarling as he spoke. "I couldn't touch him. No matter how hard I pushed, I was always met with failure. He could grab me, but I couldn't grab him. If it had not been for you teleporting us back to the palace, I'm afraid we would have died…"

As soon as Wrath finished, Philip sighed, facepalming his mask in the process. He should've seen this coming. He really should have. A Gojo with Limitless and potentially the Six Eyes appearing in The Boiling Isles was a worst-case scenario, aside from his meeting with Luzura, a girl he knew was supposed to show up at some point to affirm his existence the way it did here going array and no longer happening, which would create a paradox and be bad for both sides of the spectrum.

"Very well. You shall be spared. However, Warden," Philip began, as Wrath perked up a this title being spoken. "You are on thin ice. Unlike Lilith, you are disposable. Remember that well. Fail me again, and I will strip you of your rank and have you imprisoned. Are we in understanding?" Philip said as Wrath bowed his head.

"Yes, my liege."

"Very well, then you are dismissed," Philip said, waving Wrath away as he left the throne room, leaving Lilith alone once again. Philip turned to face Lilith, a frown taking up his visage underneath his mask. "Now. Lilith, I believe my direct orders to you were to step in should Wrath be overtaken by this Satoru Gojo individual. Why didn't you?"

"Pardon my tone, sire, but I was about to do that before you called us back to the throne room," Lilith responded as Philip sighed. Philip had to admit, she was right. He knew she was right, and vice versa. However, if there was one thing that Philip hated, it was being wrong.

Being wrong was something that he hated, namely because if he was of the mindset that if he was wrong about one thing, then everything else he did was also wrong. And that couldn't be true, because he was divined by God to do what he was doing. Ergo, if he was wrong, then God was wrong, and God could not be wrong because God is perfection manifest.

And if God was perfection manifest, then his choices and decisions were also perfection manifest. So if, for whatever inane reason, he was supposedly wrong, he would refute that entirely and utterly. "You dare question my actions, Coven Leader Clawthorne?"

Lilith faltered, stuttering over her words before sighing, and bowing her head. "No, sire. I recant my prior statement." With that, Philip reclined on his throne, a smirk taking up his visage under his mask in the process. "Ah, but the other mission you sent me on," Lilith began, gaining Philip's interest. "I was able to get some information regarding Blindfold. He has a student. One named Luz Noceda."

"Luz Noceda?" Philip thought before his eyes widened underneath his mask. "Luz…. Luzura…! She must be the one, then? Good. That means the time loop will be stable, and my existence is assured. But then, how does Lilith fall into this? Why does Lilith appear differently, too? Maybe the time pool makes her appear younger…. Yes, that must be it."

"M'lord?" Lilith's voice brought him out of his thoughts, as Philip hummed.

"I see…. Luz Noceda, huh? What more do you know about this Luz individual?" Philip questioned as Lilith frowned, her eyebrows furrowing in thought.

"Aside from her name, aside from the fact that she is aligned with Satoru Gojo and is currently being taught by him, and aside from the fact that she has a Witches Duel scheduled with a top student at Hexside to admit her entry into the school before next semester, I do not know much else, M'lord," Lilith replied as Philip drew himself back into his thoughts.

"So, Luz Noceda will be attempting to go Hexside, then. I see no reason to step in. I'll allow her to live her life unimpeded then. Even if she is working with that damnable Gojo and by extension that thorn in my side Edalyn, assuming my assumptions are correct, and that Gojo is teaching Luz, then he will no doubt follow her to Hexside. If they are distracted there, then that leaves me free to continue my plan without having to worry about them intervening. Which means, if I want them to leave me and my plans alone…."

"Lilith, tell the police precinct in Bonesborough to abandon the hunt on Luz Noceda and Satoru Gojo, otherwise known as Unknown Human and Blindfold," Philip ordered as Lilith blinked, a confused gleam in her eyes.

"I mean no offence when asking this, but why?" Lilith asked as Philip chuckled to himself.

"Why, because if this Luz Noceda is going to Hexside, then Satoru Gojo will follow. Two nuisances that will be swept under the rug and will be out of our hair. If Hexside deems them worthy to at least attempt joining the school, then the Police must have overreacted and made a foolish assumption that, merely because they were interacting with a criminal, they are aligned with her. So, until evidence is provided that they are working with The Owl Lady, remove their posters and call it a false alarm. It is not as if in the past that we have been wrong about criminals not really being criminals," Philip answered, an annoyed tick forming in his mind.

Of course, he wasn't actually wrong here, he just needed to feed Lilith an excuse for her to buy to take down the Wanted posters for both Gojo and Luz. Despite that, his sense of pride had taken a blow. Even falsely admitting wrongdoing was something that irked him. It made his blood boil, and when that happened….

Philip collapsed on his throne, his heart beating a mile a minute. He felt his skin begin to boil, and for pain to roll over him like a tsunami. He watched as Lilith was escorted out of the throne room, and Philips's breathing began to accelerate. Without command, one of the Coven Scouts fetched him a Palisman.

The pain was unlike anything that Philip had ever felt in his 400 years of life. Whenever the Glyphs he had engraved into his skin began to burn, his frail, pathetic body would begin to decay rapidly. He knew what his fate was. He knew that if he died, something awful would occur to his soul. It was a looming threat in the back of his mind when he miraculously killed his brother by dunking his head in the boiling acid water of this realm.

Something, deep inside of him, knew that his fate was an unjust one. But, he would only allow himself to die once he wiped this acrid realm away. He would destroy every living being that God demanded him to rid of. The Witches, the Demons, The Beasts, and especially that damnable star child he had looked at in the bowels of his castle.

All of them. All of them will die.

He would kill them all and be rewarded with his heavenly prize. He would finally die, and he would join his brethren in Heaven while everyone else would burn eternal. For it was God's will, and he would not allow a false God like those of the Gojo Clan revered themselves to get in his way.

"Satoru… Gojo…! I will not allow you, nor anyone, to get in my way…! So stay away…. Leave me to my plans and enjoy the brief freedom I've allowed you and your vile brat of a student to have…. Because it is only temporary!"

[XXXX]

Gojo groaned, clutching the side of his head as the Reversed Cursed Technique worked its magic, ridding him of the splitting headache he got from consuming far too much of this dimension equavilant to sake. It was both good and bad at the same time. Good for the taste, bad for the splitting headache. There was a reason why he never went out drinking, and that was because of the effects that drinking had on him.

He might have been blessed with The Six Eyes and Limitless along with near-perfect mastery over Reversed Cursed Technique and near-boundless amounts of Cursed Energy. But he had been appropriately cursed with having horrible headaches anytime he consumed alcohol. Maybe it was because the universe knew that a drunk Gojo was a scary Gojo.

As a matter of fact, the last time he allowed himself to get drunk was when he graduated Tokyo Jujutsu High School, and subsequently nearly burnt down the onsight temple because, and he distinctly remembered Getou quoting drunk him: "It's just a giant Curse that was shaped like a temple so there was no loss." On that day, he was nearly put to execution for defiling the place, but it was quickly rescinded when they realized who it was they were trying to execute.

The moral of the story was that allowing Satoru Gojo to be drunk was akin to giving a toddler too much sugar and letting them run rampant. And, as a consequence of drinking as much as he had, he had somehow been cursed to have consistent headaches if he drank over an ounce of booze. He thought that he was safe from it here, but, evidently, that wasn't the case.

"Seems it also carries over to other dimensions, too…. You're way too good at this stuff Utahime…." Gojo thought as he teleported into the basement of Eda's home, seemingly getting there at the same time Eda had. The aforementioned witch was staring incredulously with wide eyes and a slack jaw as Hooty lay slumped against a cracked wall, with Luz breathing heavily staring down the large worm owl-faced creature, wiping her forehead of what appeared to be sweat.

"So, uh… what happened?" Gojo asked as Eda jumped, seemingly just noticing that he had shown up, before blinking and clearing her throat.

"Dunno! I just heard a loud crashing sound down here and came to check it out. I knew you had Hooty doin' something with Luz and all but I never thought it was gonna be this!" Eda exclaimed, looking back at the slack form of Hooty, who seemed to be grumbling something under his breath. When Gojo looked at Luz, he noticed that her Cursed Energy had been erratic, but also controlled at the same time. It was something that he had seen before.

"Is it possible…? Did she do it?" Gojo thought, frowning. "No. Don't assume yet. If she has, then I'll know when the duel takes place. And seeing as she isn't acting like she did something special, she might have just come close but didn't actually pull it off." As he thought that, he walked down the stairs, approached Luz from behind, and patted her on the shoulder, catching her attention.

Turning around, Luz looked up at Gojo, a smile on her face. "I did it!" Luz exclaimed, "It took me a minute to figure it out, but I was able to hit him! He was going suuuper fast, but all I had to do was wait till he slowed down—kinda, not really, it was like a split second thing but, ah whatever—and then when I did I hit him, he—"

"Whoa Luz, slow down," Gojo said, chuckling as he spoke. She had been really excited, and rightfully so. He had seen just how fast Hooty had been, especially considering he protected the house at night when everyone was supposedly asleep, snaking through the trees unseen and making sure no hostile animals came by to try and do something funny.

While he wasn't as fast as himself, or anyone really of notable renown, he was still a really fast creature. Something that he should take pride in knowing. Either way, the point was that Luz was able to beat him. And now, if he were to put her on the grading scale for Sorcerers, he'd put her comfortably around upper Grade 3 to maybe Semi-Grade 2 if she was able to do it.

"She really will be a prodigy if she can do that. I know my instincts are right, they always are. She has the potential to be like Yuta minus his Cursed Technique, all she needs to do is do that and I can officially declare her as such," Gojo thought as Eda walked down to check on Hooty. She walked over to him, and with the help of what appeared to be some kind of plant-based magic, she was able to pull Hooty out of the small indent in the wall, his body slumping over her shoulder like a saggy noodle.

"Sorry, Hooty!" Luz called out as he groaned, though he did have a small smile on his face, so that was good. Gojo was just glad that he was able to include the guy. He knew what it was like to be left out of things due to his quote-on-quote "annoying tendencies" so he really sympathized with the Demon there.

Luz turned back to Gojo, seemingly not tired from her training. Though, if he had to guess that was most likely because she was running on adrenaline. "Alright, Luz, let's get you something to drink and eat before your big fight. Are you sure you're prepared?"

"Yes!" Luz replied instantly, flexing her right arm, and grabbing her forearm with her left hand like one of those old-timey women's rights posters. Gojo found it charming, cracking a grin before gesturing Luz to follow him up the stairs, watching as Eda stuffed Hooty back into a hole in the house for him to rest, seemingly frustrated with all of the mumbling she was doing. About what, Gojo didn't know as he didn't bother to tune in.

The break wasn't all that eventful. Luz drank some purified water, and Eda had to step in to make sure Gojo didn't burn the Slitherbeast egg he had been trying to—and failing to—cook. During the break, Luz took the time in between eating to measure the output of Cursed Energy she was pumping into her fists.

The battle was supposed to be a friendly fight between two people. There was no exorcizing or anything like that involved, and so she was trying to make sure that her Cursed Energy and the amount of it she put into her fists and strikes represented that—it was what she did with Hooty. It was like putting a dampener on an electrical line, after all, Gojo did say Cursed Energy was like electricity so the metaphor worked.

However, there was another thing that she had noticed while she was monitoring the Cursed Energy output, and it had to do with her body. Luz knew it was going to happen due to the kind of training that she was undergoing with Gojo, but she had felt her arms starting to become more like her legs.

Due to the gymnastics training she had done to become a cheerleader, her legs had built up a small amount of muscle to withstand constant landings and constant motion. And while it wasn't a lot of muscle, it was still there, though it was more than what a normal active person had. Gymnastics and Cheerleading was a specialized sport so it made sense.

And now, as she had noticed, it was starting to happen with her arms. She could feel it in how she moved her arms that they no longer felt like limp wet noodles. Her flabby loose skin around her arms had begun to become more rigid and sturdy. She could clench her fist and see her skin constrict around the muscle underneath, and see the form of it rather than it simply looking the same. It wasn't much of a change yet, but it was still there.

She had also noticed just how energized she was now. When she started her training with Gojo a week ago, she was giving out in less than an hour, only continuing because he had been pushing her. But now? She could keep going for hours and only start to feel tired after the two to three-hour mark. Her reaction time was also getting quicker, too.

Before, she could barely catch a softball. Now, she could catch a fist and deflect another one before it even came close to hitting her face or any part of her body for that matter. And while it was slow, she was beginning to learn how to fight. She could also take hits without doubling over in pain anymore—at least, normal hits anyway. Like a regular punch or a regular kick and so on. Of course, that mostly had to do with coating her body in Cursed Energy, but also just in general.

It was nice. It was nice to know that she wasn't a frail nerd anymore like those kids used to call her. She was still "weird", and that would never change—not that she wanted it to—but now she had the means to stand up for herself properly. No one would mess with her again! Not that she would hurt anyone. She wasn't that kind of person. Nor would she go around trying to get revenge for something someone said to her—Luz could be petty, but not that petty.

"So, Luz, you ready?" Gojo asked, earning a nod from Luz.

"Hey, Blindfold," Eda spoke up, catching his attention. "I wanna see this. It isn't every day a human fights a witch. That, and I want to be there in case something bad happens to Luz. You cool with that?" As Eda asked that, and just before Gojo could respond, King practically climbed up onto Eda's shoulder, staring at Gojo with eyes that appeared to sparkle like an excited puppy when the word "treat" was mentioned, made all the more comparable due to his tail wagging.

"I wanna go, too! I wanna see Luz kick some butt!" King said, excitement dripping from his tone as Gojo found himself snickering silently to himself. He always loved how King reacted sometimes. He really was like a little kid trapped in a bipedal dog's body.

"Alright, if that's what you want, then it's fine by me. But first, let me take Luz to the actual arena then I'll teleport back, grab you guys, and we can watch from the front row seats. Be right back!" Gojo said, before grabbing Luz and teleporting her to the entrance of the Bonesborough Arena.

It was large, matching the size and grandiose vibe that the Roman Colosseum gave off. Unlike the Roman Colosseum, it wasn't partially destroyed due to time and the elements. It was built out of some kind of black stone, with a grey stone base and a carved-out entrance. Large torches ablaze with flame were dotted around the building in a pattern, where a torch would be placed next to a window-shaped hole, a spot would be skipped, and then another torch would be placed afterward.

Overtop of the arena was what appeared to be a glass dome, which made sense so that nothing could go outside of the arena and cause collateral damage. It was a logical choice, though it did make the arena look a little on the ugly side in that regard. Not that anything could be done about it. It was a safety measure, after all, and safety was a top priority.

Waiting at the entrance, just like he had said he would, was Principal Bump, with what appeared to be a floating timepiece. The moment Luz and Gojo arrived and made contact with the ground, the final grain of sand landed atop the pile of sand underneath it, and with it, Bump smiled with the same kind of energy a grandfather would.

"Just in time. Perfect. Your opponent is already waiting for you in the preparation room, Luz. Allow me to escort you," Principal Bump said gesturing her to follow as Luz did just that. Before they entered, however, Gojo cleared his throat.

"Be right back, Gramps. Just gotta fetch a few people and I'll return, 'kay!" Gojo said as Bump nodded. Luz watched as Gojo disappeared, before being ushered through the entrance. She was led down a flight of stairs by Bump, who hummed the whole way through. Luz felt giddy, adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Who was she going to fight? She had done some research on who the top students at Hexside were in the first year through Eda's scroll phone thing, but never really memorized the names, only appearances. Whoever they were, though, she wouldn't mind either way. Nor would she hold back all too much. Gojo said it best himself. She wasn't there to make friends. She was there to win. And while the whole no-killing rule was in effect—not that she would kill anyone, that was just wrong on so many levels—that didn't mean she was going to soften her blows.

Luz only had one goal in mind. To win, and to enter Hexside. That was it. That was all she was going in there for. Nothing more, nothing less. After reaching the bottom of the stairs, and after walking down one last hallway, Bump stopped just before a wooden door. He turned to face Luz and opened it. "Best of wishes, Young Luz. You will need it."

"Thanks!" Luz replied cheerfully, stepping into the room as Bump closed the door behind her. When she entered the room, her eyes darted around the room, searching for her opponent. The room was your standard locker room, with two branching paths on the left and right with signs about them marked for "away" on the left and "home" on the right.

Two rows of lockers lined the center preparation room, along what appeared to be several test dummies off to the right near the "home" exit. And there, Luz saw her opponent, as well as someone else who was standing next to them, arm on their shoulder and whispering something to them.

Firstly, her opponent. Luz's opponent was a girl about her age, with ear-length, two-toned green and brown hair done up in a ponytail in such a way that her hair was pulled out of her face. The way her hair was coloured, though, was that it was mostly green save for the exposed roots of her hair at the front and the sides. She had slightly pale skin and bright golden eyes, and she was dressed in what Luz knew to be the Hexside uniform, seeing as it was the same uniform as that one girl whom she had saved earlier in the week from that Cursed Spirit—unknowingly on the girl's part, of course, but she digressed.

Then came the other person—an older woman in comparison. She had long dark blue hair and vibrant and striking green eyes with bags underneath them. She was clearly an adult, making her either a relative or a mentor, and she was dressed in a two-tone grey and black dress with a pale blue gem at the sternum, along with a white cloak that reminded Luz of the Coven Guards.

The older woman noticed her and smirked. "Speak of the titan, and they shall arrive. It seems, Amity, your opponent is here," the woman noted as Amity turned to face Luz, her expression neutral. Her gaze, on the other hand, was anything but. It was calculating, as if she was trying to look for a weakness like some kind of robot programmed to do so.

"I'll leave you two to it then. There's still a few minutes before the fight. A friendly back and forth couldn't hurt things, now could it?" The woman said, before turning to leave. But, not before saying something that both sounded ominous but also reassuring aimed at Amity. "Don't forget, myself, your mother, father, and siblings will be watching. Do not disappoint us."

It sounded like a veiled threat, but Amity didn't seem too perturbed by it. Or, if she did, she didn't show it. And with that, the woman left. Amity approached Luz, looking her over before reaching her hand out toward Luz in a friendly gesture. "Amity Blight. I take it you're Luz Noceda?"

Luz eagerly accepted the hand, the pair shaking them before letting go, Luz's hand going to her left pocket whereas Amity simply let hers drop to the side. "Yup! I was told you're a top student at Hexside. Must be stressful, hehe," Luz remarked as Amity chuckled in the same way a rich person would, all polite and elegant and such.

"In some ways, yes. Not that you'll ever need to worry about that," Amity remarked, before the friendliness dropped, giving way to a serious expression, narrowed eyes and a sharp frown. "Allow me to be blunt, human. You will not win. I don't even know why you're bothering to waste my time, or anyone else for that matter. Principal Bump is, quite frankly, a fool for even bothering with you. But, since he asked nicely, I'll oblige him. Do not expect me to take it easy."

Luz both felt angered at the remark that Amity made about herself and Bump, but also felt a sense of competition after hearing all of that. It drew a smirk to her face, something that Amity clearly wasn't expecting given the sudden shift in her expression, having it go from annoyed to confused.

"Think whatever you want to, Amity. But I'll prove to both you and Bump that you're dead wrong about me. I might not have the same amount of training under my belt as you or the others, but I don't think that matters. I'll still give it my all, regardless of what you say," Luz replied as Amity, frankly, didn't know what to think.

She didn't know whether to be annoyed that the human before her shrugged off her insult, or to be impressed at her resolve. It was both parts interesting and a welcome change compared to her past opponents who were cowards, and both parts infuriating and outrageous, because at least with her other opponents they were either witches or demons. But this? This was a human!

Of course, she couldn't forget what her mentor, Lilith Clawthorne had told her. Even though her opponent was a human, she couldn't let her guard down. It was weird because Lilith seemed genuine about that. It didn't help that she claimed that her opponent was going to be "unlike other humans", whatever that meant.

Humans were weak, scrawny, and overall inferior in comparison to witches and demons. It was a widely accepted fact. So for Lilith to be genuinely weary of a human, specifically the one she was fighting due to her connection with some other human named "Satoru Gojo" or whatever, essentially made it impossible for her not to initially take her opponent seriously.

But, after seeing her opponent, she couldn't help but throw all of that away. Just as she thought, Luz Noceda was scrawny, weak, and inferior. She possessed no magic, and she possessed no Glyphs. How was she any different from a regular human?

A smug, confident smirk found its way onto Amity's face, scoffing as she turned to face the "home" exit of the preparations room. "Say whatever you want, Human. You'll still lose, and that's all there is to it. Good luck. You'll desperately need it." And with that, Amity walked away, as Luz stared at her from behind, eyes narrowed.

She had a few choice words to say to Amity, but, that could wait till after the fight. Without wasting any time, Luz jogged over to the "away" exit of the preparation room, finding herself walking down a long, winding hallway that felt like it had gone on for ages. By the time she made it to where she needed to be, and when she stepped out into the actual arena itself, she found herself in what appeared to be a pit of sorts, surrounded by walls up to the same height as a regular-sized house.

And then came the actual size of the arena. It was large, to say the very least. The ground was heavily compacted sand, and it spanned for at least a mile. Why it needed to be as large as it was, Luz didn't know nor did she care. On the opposite end of the arena, stood Amity, arms crossed with a confident look in her eyes.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and those who had the smarts to throw the whole thing away welcome to a special Witches Duel!" A youthful-sounding announcer called out to the crowd, which Luz was only just noticing. The stadium was packed with students and citizens, cheers for Amity to win echoing throughout the whole thing. Luz felt both unwelcome and also slightly demotivated. But, that was quickly dashed away when she was able to spot Gojo, Eda, and King in the nosebleeds, looking down at her, with Gojo flashing her a thumbs up.

"Today, in a turn of events never seen before, this duel will be between a human and a witch! Can you believe it?! I mean, we already know the outcome, but still, it'll be entertaining! So, let's give our obvious winner a warm welcome, give it up for Amity Blight, the top first-year student at Hexside in the Abomination Track!" The announcer called out, as Amity did a little bow, the cheers washing over the arena as Luz sucked in a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Keep calm, Luz. Don't let their pointless jabs get to you, just focus…." Luz thought as the announcer continued. "And…! Well, there's no real fanfare needed. The obvious loser, everyone, the human known as Luz Noceda." Much to her and the announcer's expectations, there were no cheers, except from Gojo.

"C'MON, KIDDO! YOU GOT THIS!"

Luz felt a tinge of embarrassment, even though she shouldn't have. Eda didn't say anything, though that had most likely been because she wanted to remain hidden enough so that no one noticed she was there, ergo she didn't care about her silence. As for King, she could see his tail wagging back and forth as he sat atop Eda's head, and that meant a lot to Luz. Once again, she felt motivated to win, if only to impress Gojo, Eda, and King.

The announcer cleared his throat, "Seems like someone thinks the human will win, but who cares? Rules are simple. No killing and the winner is decided by knock-out or forfeit. With that said, let the fight begin!"

A loud buzzer sound echoed throughout the stadium, signalling for the fight to begin. Luz immediately got into a fighting stance, before she began to close the distance between herself and Amity. Amity, for her part, stared mildly confused at the fact that Luz was actually taking the fight seriously. It was almost insulting, personally anyway, that she would even bother trying to take this seriously.

"Is she serious? She's really going to fight me? What a joke, she should've just given up. Whatever…" Ignoring the human, and ignoring what she saw as a blatant insult, the tip of Amity's pointer finger glowed purple, as she knelt down and drew a large circle in the sand. It glowed purple, much like her pointer finger, and when it did, she took a step back and called out "Abomination, Rise!"

The ground rumbled, almost as if an earthquake was about to happen, as a bright purple light erupted from the ground like a fountain, briefly blinding everyone, sans Gojo, in the stadium. The light died down, as a massive arm thrust out from the hole, pulling itself out as a leg followed suit, hoisting the rest of the summon out from the hole.

And what came out, was nothing short of both horrifying yet also mesmerizing.

The creature that came out of the ground was massive. It was various shades of purple, with dark green, almost emerald-coloured eyes, having a body made entirely out of sludge. Its sheer size, being almost the same size as the walls of the pit themselves, which were roughly 18 to 25 feet tall, made Luz stop in her tracks, skidding to a halt as she stared up at the monstrous thing.

It loomed over her, its eyes glowing like a true Demon as it cast a shadow that spanned the rest of the arena floor. It dripped the purple sludge from its surface, leaving small stains on the sand floor, almost like it was drooling. It made the creature look like a carnivorous beast, staring down something it viewed as a quick snack.

"Holy crap!" She thought, steeling herself as the massive abomination roared. It shook the ground with the sheer volume, but not enough to sway Luz off her feet. Luz could barely analyze the thing before Amity gave the massive abomination a single command. Although, Luz had noticed that she seemed briefly shaken by how large it turned out to be, but much like herself she steeled her emotions and spoke.

"Abomination! Take out the human!"

And with that, the Abomination roared once more, charging at Luz with the speed of a freight train and the power of one too, shaking the ground as it stomped toward her. Luz had no choice but to run away, narrowly avoiding a car-sized fist that landed just a few inches away from her, kicking up dust as it made contact with the ground.

As she ran, she drew herself into her thoughts. "How the hell am I supposed to beat that thing?!" Luz thought, narrowing her eyes in thought as panic took over. For a brief second, she thought about targeting just Amity, but she quickly discarded the idea. Why? Well, for starters, it would simply protect her from anything that Luz threw at her with its sheer size alone.

However, because of its sheer size, it was taking a while for it to pull itself up from punching the ground. And by the time it had reached halfway, Luz was already a fair enough distance away from the monster. If she had remembered correctly, in science class, their teacher talked about how the bigger something was, the more weight it had. And the more weight something had, the more effort it took to do even the simplest of tasks. It was why being overweight was a bad thing, seeing as it made the general quality of life worse by comparison to someone who wasn't.

And Luz was going to use that to her advantage. She was smaller and leaner, and she could easily run circles around the thing before it could even get a chance to get back up again. And, if what she wanted to do was going to work, she needed to keep herself regulated and to make sure she didn't tire herself out before then.

It would be risky, but taking risks was what she had to do. And if she wanted to win, she was going to have to take the biggest risk in her life thus far. But first, she had to ensure that it was going to be slower than her. "Okay, let's do this!" Luz thought as she felt her Cursed Energy flow into her fists, the blue and black energy taking shape and morphing over her fists, all the while commentator rambled about how large the Abomination had been, saying something that it was a potential record-setter or something along those lines, not that Luz was paying attention.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Eda frowned, watching as Luz ran away from the massive abomination. The moment that thing showed up, Eda knew exactly how the fight was going to go. "The Blight's gonna win," Eda stated, earning Gojo's attention.

"Why's that?" He asked as Eda gave him the look before sighing.

"'Cause of the big stupid thing. Also, Amity's a Blight. They're renowned for their mastery of Abomination Magic, second only to Darius, the Abomination Coven Head. Not to mention, Bump has a special kind of bias toward Abomination magic since he's a part of the coven. I shoulda seen thing comin' a mile away," Eda spat as Gojo sported a contemplative frown.

So, essentially, the principal had stacked the deck against his student in favour for his quote-on-quote "favourite team" to win. He had to admit, the fact that Bump had been able to pull the wool over Gojo's eyes was impressive. Not many people can claim that they had been able to do that, so Principal Bump was now on the list of at least five people to have done the impossible.

Not to mention, from an outsider's perspective, had he not known a single thing about Luz or her capabilities from front to back, he'd probably have agreed with Eda. Not to mention the obvious bias the audience seemed to have against humans. Not that he blamed them, as humans didn't typically have supernatural abilities like witches did. Ergo, logic dictates that Luz had to lose.

However, he knew more about her than anyone else. He knew, fundamentally, that Luz would win. After all, Luz had more energy than Amity. Just by simply looking at the two with his Six Eyes, the yellow energy wafting off of Amity—her magic essence—paled in comparison to Luz's. Amity had a small pillar of energy, whereas Luz had a veritable skyscraper. And while yes, a lot of that magic had gone into creating the Abomination before them, which was probably why she had less magic than Luz's Cursed Energy, the point still stood.

And that wasn't to mention just how much of a horrible strategic blunder Amity had made. "She's throwing all of her power into a single summon. She's going for spectacle rather than practicality. If she had been smart, she would've made five individual smaller Abominations. Luz can handle a one-on-one fairly well, but she's weaker against groups because she's never fought a group before. Either Amity's stupid or she's simply blinded by her ego and basic understanding of humans to think strategically."

As soon as that thought ended, another random thought popped up in his head as he cupped his chin. "The Blights are renowned for their mastery of Abomination Magic, huh? A form of Magic that specializes in summoning creatures? It's obviously a coincidence, but they remind me of the Zen'in," Gojo thought, as a slow realization started to come to him, whilst the starting of a smirk made itself known.

"And if they're anything like the Zeni'in, then they probably got a troubled background, too, meaning Amity must have a confidence issue in regards to her capabilities, hence the massive Abomination rather than a group. And, just like the Zen'in, they're probably very demeaning to those who they view as beneath them, which often leads to a misjudgment of their opponents, much like this one right here." As soon as the thought completed itself, Gojo's half-smirk turned into a full one, leaning back in his seat.

"It's ironic, really, just how similar witches are to humans. They even fail to see their own hubris like us. And as in the tale of Icarus, Amity is going to have to learn the hard way that being prideful in one's abilities is a one-way ticket to falling back down to earth," Gojo thought, chuckling to himself, catching Eda's attention.

"What's with the smirk? And what's so funny, anyway? Did you figure something out?" Eda asked eyebrow raised as Gojo crossed his arms, his smirk turning into a confident grin.

"Because now I know Luz will win. If what I believe is true, then little Amity over here just made a massive blunder," Gojo replied, earning a confused look from Eda. However, rather than question Gojo, she decided to believe in his judgement, and therefore, believe in Luz. Gojo hadn't been wrong so far, and if that were to remain true as it had before, she saw no reason to stop believing in Gojo's word.

Whatever observation that Gojo had made allowed him to believe in Luz. And while she didn't see it, she'd much rather believe in the underdog rather than the one who had all the cards in her hands. If Luz could somehow win this, then she chose to believe in Luz.

Back down in the arena, Luz had come within a few inches of the Abomination's right leg. It swiped at her with its massive hand, generating a slight gust of wind in the process, only for Luz to backflip away from the strike, landing a bit further away, before lunging forward again toward the leg. She caught a glimpse of Amity as she lunged forward, who seemed frustrated. If Luz had to guess, it was because the fight wasn't already over.

Returning her attention back to what she was doing, Luz reared her right first back, Cursed Energy flowing through her body like an electrical current, Luz's fist made contact with the Abomination's right leg. Cursed Energy met Magic, the two energies mingling before bursting as it seemingly caused the part of the leg that Luz punched to boil and sloth off to the ground.

Amity stared, eyes wide at what she witnessed, her jaw slightly slacked. No one else noticed, but Amity did. She saw what happened, as the Abomination grumbled in what seemed like pain. "Did her punch…. Cause the abomination matter to fall off and die?" Amity thought, shaking her head in disbelief. It wasn't as if it mattered. It was a far too insignificant amount to care about, but the fact remained that she saw that, and had felt the magic in that moment seemingly vanish.

"It worked! Now I just have to—" Before Luz could finish that thought, the massive Abomination punched in between its legs, reaching from behind and hitting Luz dead on but not before Luz could cover her body in Cursed Energy, absorbing most of the force of the attack that would have otherwise pulverized her.

Upon the fist making contact with her, Luz was sent flying through the arena, pain washing over her body as she shouted in pain, hitting the ground and tumbling to the edge of the arena, a small cloud of dust kicking up in the process.

Amity stared, a triumphant smirk taking up her visage. "I told you, human! You won't win!" Amity called out, smugness oozing off her as she stared at the dust cloud. "There's no way that she'll get up from that. I'll admit that my summon is a bit larger than I intended, but I can still control it, and it's stronger than anything I've ever summoned before! If this doesn't get me into the Abominations Coven at an early age, then I don't know what will! Lilith will have to recommend me to Darius, and I can finally prove to my mother that I'm not a failure like my siblings!"

It was plain to see for anyone with common sense. After a hit like that, no one, not even a witch learning barrier magic would be able to defend against something like that. That was why Amity believed she had won. That was why Amity knew she had won. And she was getting ready to dispel the Abomination, too, showing that she had won just like she was supposed to.

That was, until, the announcer spoke.

"Did you see THAT, folks?! Seems like the human's down for the count—wait what?" Before the announcer could finish, he interrupted himself as Amity stared with disbelief. Why? Well, to put it simply, what she was seeing before her should have been impossible.

For as the dust cloud cleared, a silhouette could be made. One that Amity was able to make out with full clarity, and it made Amity furious. Because right there, in place of where she should have been on the floor and unconscious, stood her human opponent.

A proud aura bloomed around Luz, who, despite having blood trailing down the left side of her forehead, neck, and into her strange hooded shirt thing, as well as down her nose, and from the right corner of her mouth from what Amity assumed was from bloodied gums, she stood tall with a confident toothy smirk on her face whilst retaining her stance from the beginning of the fight.

Amity couldn't believe what she was seeing. The human, Luz Noceda, was still standing. Not only that, but she looked more than ready to continue. A mix of fury and annoyance flared in Amity's chest. This was not supposed to be how this fight played out! It was supposed to end there! That much force would knock someone out at best, and outright kill them at worst. And that was applying that kind of force to a witch, not a human!

A roar of surprised applause echoed throughout the arena. When the fight began, a lot of the audience members did not believe that the fight would be anywhere near entertaining, despite the announcer's best efforts. After all, it was a human and a witch fighting. The outcome should have been obvious.

And yet, despite that, the human was standing her ground. And not only was she standing her ground, she was making a valiant effort. In the world of witches and demons, it was prudent that one proved oneself to show their worth and potential. And it was clear to anyone without a clouded sense of judgement that this human, despite the extreme disadvantage that she had, had more than proved to them that she could truly fight a witch with the same determination as a witch.

And no one else in the crowd, except for maybe Gojo, was prouder than one Willow Park. Why? Because the human that was down there, Luz Noceda, had been the one who had saved her life from that strange monster in the woods. And now, even though she hadn't known it, she was fighting someone who used to be her friend turned bully.

It was obvious that it had been a coincidence, there was no denying that, but it was both funny and refreshing to see Amity be the one on the backfoot rather than someone else, or even herself.

"That's a human?!" The person next to Willow, a classmate and friend of hers, Augustus Porter, exclaimed with excitement. He was a prodigy in illusion magic, seeing as at his young age he was already on par with most people Willow's age, that being 14. Augustus was 2 years younger than her, so that was saying something.

Augustus had dark skin, mud brown to be exact, with chocolate brown eyes and black hair. He was dressed like Willow in the Hexside school uniform, though unlike Willow he had blue sleeves on to represent the fact that he was in the illusion track.

"Willow, you saw that, right!?" Augustus said, an excited gleam in his eyes as he repressed a squeal of joy. "The others in the H.A.S. are going to absolutely flip out when they hear this! A human being able to survive a punch from an oversized Abomination!"

Willow couldn't help but giggle to herself at his antics. She knew that he'd want to see this, seeing as he was utterly obsessed with finding out more about humans. She knew of this duel because Amity wouldn't stop talking about it at school. She constantly kept bragging about how it would be yet another easy win for her. But now, it was clear, that had been a lie.

"Let's see how you like it, Amity. How it feels to be humiliated by someone, and maybe then you'll know why I avoid you like the plague… and maybe then you'll apologize to me for constantly underestimating me, that even people who seem weak can actually be strong," Willow thought. While she wanted to be friends with Amity again, she needed her to apologize first. Otherwise, she would refuse any sort of attempts to be friends again.

Meanwhile, back in the stadium, Amity was fuming—and rightfully so! This little twerp… this human had the utter gall the try and get into Hexside, with no magic of her own, accepted a Witches duel to prove her worth, and then insulted Amity by raising her fists?!

It would be one thing if the human was using Glyphs. But instead, she was running in with her fists and nothing else! It was an insult, and one that she had once brushed off. But now, it was starting to get annoying! And while yes, she wasn't ignoring the fact that her punch was somehow able to kill off a portion of abomination matter in her summon, it was only a negligible amount—so inferior that Amity didn't really care all too much—and so it didn't matter.

And what was worse was that this human was humiliating her. She glanced up at the stands, and she spotted her mother, and her mother saw her, a scathing look in her eyes, almost as if to tell her that she was incredibly disappointed that she hadn't dispatched this lesser being before her yet.

Never once in her life had something made Amity this angry before. She had never been met with this kind of pushback before, because she was a Titans damned Blight. She was practically royalty! And this human was making her look like a joke in front of her mother, father, siblings, and Lilith Clawthorne! And worst of all, she was making her look like a fool to her friends, her classmates, her peers!

It was an insult of the highest degree, and she would not stand for it! "Are you kidding me!?" Amity thought, a snarl coming to her lips as she clenched her right hand into a fist. "NO! I will NOT allow this pathetic waste of space to beat me!" Amity thought as she shouted at the abomination, words dripping in hate and rage, "Abomination! End it! I don't care how you do it, just do it!"

As those words echoed throughout the stadium, followed by the loud uproarious cheers from the other audience members, in the nosebleeds, Eda looked on with worry, whereas Gojo did not feel bothered in the slightest. "That's a lot of blood…." King remarked as Gojo shrugged.

"She'll be fine, I've seen more from less," Gojo replied, earning a glance from Eda. She didn't know whether to chew him out or ignore him. Either way, that same protective urge from before when she saw Luz covered in blood washed over her again. She wanted to leap into the arena to protect Luz, but she was reminded of what Gojo had said the last time Luz was covered in blood and injured.

And so, reluctantly, she calmed herself, closed her eyes, and attentively watched the fight, knowing full well that Luz could not be coddled, even if it went against everything that Eda stood for. "C'mon, kiddo… you got this! I believe in you, show that snooty Blight who's the boss!" Eda thought, a small smile taking up her visage as King cheered for Luz in her stead.

Back in the Arena, Luz charged forward, heedless of the pain that she was feeling, adrenaline pumping through her veins as her Cursed Energy swelled. As she ran, she could feel the wind blow through her hair and brush past her skin.

It was a hard feeling to describe, the feeling swelling in her chest. Was it fatigue? No, because she was feeling better than ever before! Was it fear? No, because even though she had barely been able to cover herself in her Cursed Energy to survive that blow, she felt utterly fearless. Was it doubt? Absolutely not! Especially after noticing that her Cursed Energy had actually damaged the creature, as she watched it adjust itself to make up for the small fist-sized hole in its leg.

When the battle first began, she didn't believe that she could beat Amity, doubly so after she had summoned the monster before her. But after seeing what she had done to it, and after surviving that attack, Luz felt more confident than ever!

That was what she was feeling. Confidence! And it was in that confidence that the smirk that she had on her face transformed into an unabashed, confident, and prideful toothy smile, as she pushed herself to run faster, leaning forward in the direction of where she was running strutting out her arms behind her to give herself a form of balance, mimicking the kind of run that one would see in Naruto.

The Abomination upon seeing Luz head in its direction attempted to punch her again, its fist coming down faster than the last time, only for it to miss as Luz dived forward and rolled underneath the massive fist, narrowly avoiding it as she sprung forward with the impact of the fist, flailing in the air for a split second before landing perfectly on her feet, skidding to a halt before turning sharply to face where its fist had landed.

The Abomination's fist was lodged into the ground, its body bent over with its arms as it tried to pull itself up, which had been the opening that Luz was looking for. "Now!" She thought, before running toward the lodged fist. Her Cursed Energy coursed throughout her body mixed with her adrenaline, her heart pumping as she practically leapt with each step she took.

When she reached the fist, the Abomination was just starting to stand up, and with all of her might, Luz jumped up into the air, clearing several feet in one go, earning shocked oohs and awes from the audience. "Did you all see that?! The human—No, Luz just leapt in the air as if guided by some sort of spell! How in the Titan did she do that!?" The announcer exclaimed as Amity was thinking the same thing.

"HOW?! HOW CAN SHE KEEP DOING THIS?!" Amity screamed in her head, her eyes borderline manic as she followed where Luz was going to land, that being the Abomination's fist. What was she planning to do? There was no way she was thinking about punching it in the face, did she? Did she really think that would do anything? "That's it! That's how I'll defeat her! I have it swat her out of the air like the little insect she is!" Amity thought, a devilish smirk taking up her visage, eyes narrowed as she waited for the perfect opening.

Just as her thought ended, Luz landed atop the Abomination's fist, and without missing a beat, she jumped again, aiming toward the Abomination's face. She didn't know why she was going toward its face, but she knew that hitting it there would at least disorientate it long enough for her to charge Amity and knock her out.

At least, that was the plan.

In that moment, time seemed to slow down. As Luz recoiled her arm, her Cursed Energy started to act funny. And she wasn't the only one to notice it, even if she didn't pay it any mind. When he felt the difference in how Luz's Cursed Energy was acting, Gojo abruptly stood up, Eda doing the same, thinking something was wrong. But, when she saw the wide seemingly excited expression he was making, she had been thoroughly confused.

This was what Gojo had been waiting for. Ever since Luz had defeated that Cursed Spirit back in the woods, he had waited for her to do this. It would be the final thing that he judged her on to fully determine her potential. And now, it was happening. The very thing he had been waiting for her to achieve, because it was what made the difference between an average Jujutsu Sorcerer, and one that had potential unlike any other.

"Do it, Luz! Land it!" Gojo thought as Amity shouted a command at the Abomination.

"Swat her away, Abomination!" She practically screamed, a sense of dread building up in her chest as Luz threw her punch just an arm's length away from the Abomination's face at the same time it began to raise its arm. However, by then, it was too late. It was far too late for the Abomination to defend itself, as Luz had already put Amity in a metaphorical checkmate.

Just as Gojo had hoped would happen, something weird happened with Luz's Cursed Energy. Rather than the Cursed Energy on her fist being the same blue and black Energy she was familiar with, it began to converge and spark like rampant electricity, resembling lightning as it gained a red colour with a black outline.

It sparked and zapped every which way, as Luz felt the raw power coming from her fists. Unbeknownst to her, she had successfully done something very few Jujutsu Sorcerers were able to do, as it was so rare, it had only been recorded to have happened 10,000 times over the last 100 years.

It was said, that if certain conditions were met, a Sorcerer could double the output of their attacks using Cursed Energy if they focused and concentrated on their Cursed Energy with a clear mind, the only thoughts with them being between themselves, their Cursed Energy, and the opponent that they were fighting with nothing else in between. But, the chances of it happening were 1 in 1,000,000, and it needed to happen within a fraction of a second of a hit landing.

And, it just so happened, that Luz met those conditions.

The punch landed, and when it did, the space around Luz's hand seemed to bend, leaving a small indent in the air and in the Abomination's gooey skin. In the small space between Luz's fist and her target, her attack ruptured the sound barrier, and violated the laws of space, allowing Luz to deliver a blow two and a half times stronger than a regular Cursed Energy imbued punch.

In the blink of an eye, one moment, the top half of the Abomination was there, its head, torso, and arms intact. In the next, it was gone, popped like an overstuffed water balloon, as a thunderous bang echoed from the source of the impact, the Abomination matter splattering all over the walls of the pit, the magic inside those globs having been completely erased—as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

Silence overtook the stadium as Lilith stared with disbelief, Amity's mother felt a sense of shame, Willow and Augustus looked shocked, and the rest of Amity's family stared with the same disbelief that Lilith had, while the rest of the stadium roared in excitement as they witnessed something that they had once thought impossible.

Meanwhile Gojo, on the other side of the stadium cackled like a madman. His reasoning? Simple. His prodigious pupil had successfully, within less than a month of training, achieved the coveted Black Flash, fully cementing in her mind that Luz was, without a shadow of a doubt, a prodigy!

Luz landed on the ground with the gracefulness of a cat, Cursed Energy absorbing the impact. She stared down Amity with a smirk on her face, while Amity couldn't help but stare back utterly slack-jawed whilst the massive abomination's legs fell to the ground with a booming thug, a massive dust cloud kicking up behind Luz, blowing her hair and hood forward slightly.

"How…. Just, how…? How did she do that? She's just a human…! She's… she's just a human…" And it was in that train of thought the words of her mentor echoed in the back of her mind.

"Whatever you do, Amity. Do not let the fact that your opponent is a human clout your judgment. If you do that, you're guaranteed to lose to them. Their teacher is strong, dare I say stronger than me. A strong teacher always produces an equally as strong student. So use that wit I know you for and cunning that is fluent in your family to defeat them. Brute force will not be the thing that beats your enemy."

It was only now, after the human—no. After Luz had blown up the upper half of her tallest Abomination it finally clicked with Amity that what Lilith had said was the truth. She had let her pride and hubris get the better of her, and it was currently costing her.

Amity had been so used to viewing those around her as insignificant thanks to her mother's constant prattling that she was a Blight, and therefore was strong, that she had completely discounted her enemy. She had made a fool of herself in front of everyone and had completely embarrassed herself. She was expecting Luz to mock her, expecting her to make her appear to be a laughing stock. After all, she had the right to do so.

But, that's not what happened.

Rather than mocking Amity, or anything like the young witch had expected, Luz said something else that both confused her. But, in saying what she was about to say, a small shred of respect placed itself within Amity's heart for the human known as Luz Noceda.

"This isn't over, you know that?" Luz said, making Amity blink.

"What are you talking about?! You just destroyed my Abomination!" Amity spat, as Luz smirked.

"I'm fighting you, Amity. Not a puppet or a summon or anyone else but you," Luz replied, raising her fists again, her Cursed Energy flaring yet again, returning to its usual hue of blue with a black outline. "We're not done yet, I wanna see you in action! If you're the strongest Abomination Track Witch in the first year, then I want to see what that means! Give me everything you got!"

Amity didn't know why. But something struck a chord with her in what Luz had said. Maybe it was because she was desperate to prove her worth to her mother, or maybe it was because she wanted to defeat Luz now more than ever, but for entirely different reasons, Amity felt her blood pump and her heartbeat.

"Alright then…" Amity muttered, a fierce gleam in her eyes as she stared down Luz. She dismissed the rest of the Abomination she had made, the matter disappearing as she drew several circles before her, three to be exact. As a result, three regular-sized Abominations came out, standing in front of Amity like a wall. "Then let's finish this!"

[-To Be Continued-]

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

Alright, so, originally this was all one chapter, but due to the absurd word count, I've decided that this is going to be a two-parter. See you guys next week for the conclusion of the first major story arc!