Monday morning arrived too fast.Tonji stood at the train station with his mission equipment. Denizen at his side. Backpack with supplies. Train ticket to Kyoto.Nanami was there to see him off."Remember the mission parameters," Nanami said. "Enter the underground storage site. Retrieve the cursed tool. Exit immediately. Don't engage curses unless necessary.""What if engagement is necessary?""Then use Denizen and finish it fast. The barrier kills anyone with cursed energy, but ancient curses inside won't be affected by it. They'll attack you.""Encouraging.""You'll be fine. You have Heavenly Restriction. Toji's knowledge. And Denizen's rejection property. That's more than most sorcerers have."The train arrived. Tonji boarded. Found his seat.Two hour ride to Kyoto. He spent it reviewing the mission file.The cursed tool was called "Hollow Fang." An ancient blade that could cut through any cursed technique. Incredibly powerful. Incredibly dangerous.It had been buried three hundre

Midnight at the shrine. Tonji arrived early. Waited in the darkness.The Purger manifested ten minutes later. Its blue flames flickered softly. Less aggressive than before. More controlled."You came," The Purger said."You said it was important.""It is. I've discovered something. About myself. About my purpose. I need perspective."They sat on the shrine steps. An odd pair. Human and curse. Both anomalies. Both searching for meaning."What did you discover?" Tonji asked."I've been preventing curse formation. Helping humans before they spawn curses. It works. Better than just elimination. More efficient.""That's good, right?""Yes. But it's changing me. Making me more... human. I'm developing empathy. Understanding. Care about individual humans, not just the mission.""Why is that bad?""Because I'm a curse. Curses don't care. Don't empathize. Don't help. They destroy. Consume. Kill. That's their nature.""But you're not like other curses.""Am I still a curse at all?" The Purger's

The emergency alert came at three AM.Tonji's phone screamed. Loud. Urgent. Impossible to ignore.He grabbed it. Read the message."All available sorcerers report immediately. Multiple Special Grade curses. Shibuya district. Mass casualty event in progress."This was bad. Really bad.Tonji dressed in under two minutes. Grabbed Denizen. Ran to the assembly point.Other students were already there. Itadori. Fushiguro. Nobara. Maki. Even Mai, looking terrified but determined.Gojo stood at the front. His usual playful expression was gone. Replaced by cold focus."Situation is critical," he said. "Three Special Grade curses appeared simultaneously in Shibuya. They're coordinated. Organized. This is planned.""Planned by who?" Nanami asked."Unknown. But they're targeting civilians. Maximum casualties. Maximum chaos. We need to stop them now."Teams were assigned quickly. Gojo would handle one curse. Nanami's team another. A third team led by another teacher would take the last one.Tonji

Tonji didn't sleep that night.He kept thinking about the trap. The parasitic curse. The document with Zenin clan signatures.His own family tried to control him. Turn him into a puppet.And jujutsu society headquarters helped them. Sent him into a trap. Betrayed him.Who could he trust? Who was safe?At three AM, someone knocked on his door.Tonji grabbed Denizen. Ready for anything. "Who is it?""It's me. Maki. Let me in."He opened the door. Maki stood there with Mai. Both looked worried."We heard what happened," Maki said. "The trap. The parasitic curse. The clan's plan.""How did you.""Nanami told Gojo. Gojo told everyone who needed to know. We needed to know."They came inside. Sat on his bed. All three together."I'm sorry," Mai said quietly. "The clan... they're worse than I thought. I mean,, I knew they were asses but trying to control you with a curse. That's evil.""They're scared," Maki said. "Tonji proves their entire worldview is wrong. That zero cursed energy isn't wo

The call came at two AM.Hospital. Tonji's mother. Emergency.He was dressed and running within sixty seconds. Hana met him at the door. Already dressed. Both had been expecting this call. Dreading it."How bad?" Tonji asked as they ran."They didn't say. Just said to come immediately."The hospital was twenty minutes away. They made it in twelve. Running. Not caring about being tired. Not caring about anything except getting there.The emergency room nurse recognized them. "She's in room 347. Third floor. Doctor Yamada is with her now."They took the stairs. Faster than waiting for elevators.Room 347. Their mother lay in the hospital bed. Pale. Weak. Barely conscious.Dr. Yamada stood beside her. His expression was serious. Grave."What happened?" Tonji asked."Alcohol poisoning. Severe. Her liver is failing. Blood toxicity is critical. We're doing everything we can, but...""But what?""She might not survive the night. I'm sorry. You should prepare yourselves."Hana started crying.