Two days later, it was time for Haibara's sister to wake up, just as Sōjun Minamoto had predicted.
The group gathered early around the hospital bed, watching the girl nervously.
Sōjun Minamoto, who was stationed in the medical department, was also present.
Yu Haibara's palms were sweaty. Now that he knew his sister wasn't in any life-threatening condition, his anxiety became even more obvious.
Everyone was preparing to witness a miracle.
Although Haibara's sister had already shown signs of life—like breathing and a heartbeat—the fact that she hadn't regained consciousness had kept the emotional impact at bay.
Now they were ready to be truly moved by the miracle.
Right on time, Haibara's sister's eyelids began to twitch.
The room fell silent immediately. Some even held their breath.
The tremors grew stronger. Soon, her brow furrowed, her eyelids fluttered open, and a pair of clear, dazed eyes stared up at the ceiling. Her expression twisted briefly with pain, but after a few seconds, her brows relaxed, and a trace of awareness returned. She slowly scanned the group... and then her gaze landed on Yu Haibara.
Huh?
So she really did forget?
"Brother..."
Her soft murmur shattered the tension. Yu Haibara stepped forward quickly, grabbing her hand.
"Hm!"
"I'm your sister."
She frowned, shook her head slightly, and looked timidly around the group again.
"But who am I?"
She clung tightly to Yu Haibara's hands.
Judging from her reaction, she remembered the pain from the flames, but had forgotten who or what caused it. She couldn't recall her home or most of her personal information. Only the sibling bond remained vividly intact.
Sōjun Minamoto took note of this, mentally assessing the situation. Half a day was likely the limit—any longer and there would've been even less memory left. At that point, reviving her would've been no different from replacing her entirely. If it had gone past a full day, saving her might not have been possible at all.
He stepped forward to examine her. She sat there blankly, allowing him to check her condition without resistance, still gripping Yu Haibara's hand.
"There's nothing wrong."
Sōjun Minamoto finished quickly. With just a glance through his Star Eyes, he could tell everything was stable.
But...
He stared at the region of her brain, frowning slightly.
"Hmm—her Cursed Technique has been affected. I'm not sure whether it's good or bad, but most likely... it's a negative change."
Sōjun Minamoto stated it plainly. Yu Haibara had never wanted his sister to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer, so he figured this wouldn't matter much to him.
To his surprise, Yu Haibara froze, then asked urgently,
"Is there any chance it can recover?"
He had changed his thinking. Someone born with the talent to be a sorcerer would inevitably be drawn into the Jujutsu World. In that case, it would be better to guide her himself—to help her actively pursue strength. At least then, she wouldn't be bullied by ordinary people. With enough power, she could protect herself.
His sister's natural talent was stronger than his. She had a Cursed Technique. And now, suddenly hearing it had been damaged...
His heart tightened.
Sōjun Minamoto couldn't give a definite answer. He had never encountered a case where a born technique could be altered like this. It was far too rare.
After thinking for a moment, he said,
"Let's observe for now. Once the technique stabilizes completely, we'll assess the situation again."
Yu Haibara didn't press further. The technique was still there. At the very least, they could train together in physical combat.
He turned to his sister, gently tucking her bangs behind her ears to reveal her eyes. As for the memories she'd lost—he wasn't that concerned. Most of them were painful anyway. Starting fresh from today didn't sound so bad...
With that, the matter was more or less settled.
The change in her Cursed Technique was something to be studied gradually. There was no need to rush.
And it looked like Jujutsu High would be welcoming a new student soon. For now, there was only one first-year—Kiyotaka Ijichi—so this would give him a companion.
Everyone left the care room, giving the Haibara siblings some space.
Sōjun Minamoto also returned to his office. Suguru Geto followed behind him—he had something to discuss.
"I'll be going on a long trip in a few days to investigate a curse," he said, summoning the Bloated Human Face Cursed Spirit.
"Not sure when I'll be back, so let's extract the captured Cursed Spirits first."
It had only been eight or nine days since the Broken Thorn Sword was handed over, right?
Sōjun Minamoto watched as the Storage Cursed Spirit spat out one broken sword after another—most of them already more than half black.
That fast?
Noticing how exhausted the other looked, he couldn't help but ask,
"What's wrong? Worn out from capturing Cursed Spirits?"
No need to push yourself so hard.
Suguru Geto didn't say anything, just shook his head.
Sōjun Minamoto focused on the connection with the broken swords. Eyeballs suddenly bulged from them, blood vessels crawling out and spreading across the blade, staining them a vivid red.
Soon, the ground was piled with Cursed Spirit Orbs.
Without bothering to check their Grades, Sōjun casually waved his hand, and the Orbs split into two piles.
He pointed and said to Suguru Geto,
"You pick first."
Suguru Geto didn't stand on ceremony and casually chose one pile. The Storage Cursed Spirit began devouring that batch of Orbs.
He didn't use Cursed Spirit Manipulation—just stored them for now. There were too many; taming them would take some time.
"The Orbs will hold their form for about seven days," Sōjun reminded him.
Suguru Geto nodded in acknowledgment.
He was well-versed in Cursed Spirit Orbs—just a glance at their appearance told him what he needed to know.
Sōjun Minamoto's right hand expanded, a giant mouth opening in his palm. With one gulp, he swallowed the other pile, his hand bulging with the effort.
A moment later, a crunching sound echoed, like beans being chewed.
Crunch, crunch.
Even the mouth on his face mimicked the chewing motions.
Ever since he learned to compress Cursed Spirits into orbs, he'd come to enjoy eating them directly. He'd gotten used to the taste too—honestly, after eating enough, it was no big deal.
First he chewed them up, then swallowed them into his stomach. The digestion rate was top-grade. In no time, they were converted and absorbed into his own Cursed Energy.
He felt the massive surge of energy. All four of his Cursed Energy Sources were brushing against their bottlenecks—but he wasn't worried. In fact, he was in a great mood.
This was the first step toward fusing with a new energy source.
And with so many Orbs still in his stomach, they were more than enough to dissolve any resistance during the fusion.
Getting stronger? It's really not that hard.
In the end, it all comes down to how much Cursed Energy you've got.
If you have an overwhelming amount—enough to crush the entire Jujutsu world—then you're truly powerful. No tricks. Just raw strength.
With this new batch of curses, Sōjun Minamoto didn't need techniques or anything else to be a Special Grade.
He'd experienced hitting the ceiling of his energy before—it left a mark. Now, his hunger for Cursed Energy had only intensified.
Strangely enough, his body and soul hadn't hit their limits yet. Were his upper limits really that high?
He pushed the thought aside for now and focused on sorting through the newly absorbed curses. There were a lot, and the mix was messy—he'd need to spend some time purifying them.
Once this fusion succeeded, his Cursed Energy would sit at the top of the Jujutsu world.
But that wasn't even the most important part.
The real prize was the chance to develop a Cursed form to complement his Flesh form. Not just a half-Cursed version, but a full-body transformation made entirely of Cursed Energy.
One that could shift back to normal at will—transformation guided purely by intent...
If his Flesh side symbolized brute offense, then his Cursed side embodied enigma. Even among Cursed Spirits, he would go undetected—fully inheriting all their traits.
In this form, to some extent, his very race would change.
He'd become something akin to a Cursed Spirit—a Spirit-Type one.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake