As the countless droplets of crimson radiance struck the cocoon of tentacles, the vile appendages of the curse were eviscerated instantly.
The beads that splashed against Geto and Gojo, instead of harming them, carried restorative warmth, rejuvenating their bodies and spirits.
In the blink of an eye, the entire area surrounding the trio was cleansed. The grotesque, writhing tentacles burst apart upon contact with the Purging Rain, leaving only fragments of cursed flesh scattered across the floor.
Reiji exhaled in relief.
'… How the hell did I even pull that off?' he thought as he slumped back, exhaustion weighing on him. Sprawling his legs across the blood-slick floor, he waited for Geto to carry out his part of the plan.
Right on cue, Geto unleashed a parade of low-level curses. They were numerous and flowed as a wave, crashing forward like a black tide instead of trickling one by one.
As the quasi-special grade curse quickly regenerated from the remnants of Reiji's devastating technique, it sprouted fresh arms. The new appendages lashed out with terrifying speed, colliding against the advancing swarm.
The vanguard of Geto's wave was annihilated in a single strike, but the horde pressed forward, forcing the creature's arms inward, straining its frame.
Reiji watched the clash with tired but sharp eyes. 'I was right to trust them… Geto's technique really is incredibly versatile.'
The cursed wave pinned down the abomination momentarily, Reiji tilted his head back, propping himself up with shaky arms. His lips parted in a faint murmur: "It won't last much longer… but it has bought us the time we needed." His gaze shifted toward Gojo. 'He's making hand signs and chanting. Whatever he's preparing, it's going to be devastating'
As Gojo almost finished charging, Reiji leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. His voice was calm despite his drained state.
"Geto… he's almost ready."
Suddenly, a massive surge of cursed energy erupted from the organ curse. Reiji's eyes widened. 'Shit… did it finish merging?'
The mountain of writhing organs had disappeared. In its place stood a towering, grotesquely humanoid figure. All the organoid curses had merged into a single body, their forms arranged roughly where human organs belonged… but twisted, distorted, and utterly skinless. It was a horrifying mimicry of the human form, its countless embedded eyes twitching and rattling with vile intent.
A single swing of its massive arm almost obliterated the remnants of Geto's wave. But just as it struck, Geto clapped his hands, and all of his summoned curses vanished… into an unknown, pitch-black void.
His expression tightened. "It's done merging… there is an actual special grade in front of us!"
Gojo smirked nervously at the sight. "That's impressive," he admitted, before grinning wider. "But not nearly enough to save you."
With a swift motion of his arm, Gojo unleashed his technique.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue; Maximum Output!"
The familiar azure vortex materialized, far larger and hungrier than before. Its gravitational pull churned the air as it expanded, howling like a storm.
Reiji's eyes narrowed, analyzing it instinctively. 'While its initial raw destructive power isn't the highest, Gojo amplified it to the point where nothing can resist… he's turning the weak 'pull' into a crushing force. Incredible.'
The battle's outcome had been decided the moment Gojo was given room to breathe.
The vortex roared forward, devouring the grotesque giant. The curse shrieked, its form tearing apart as several organs were ripped off, spiraling helplessly into the collapsing blue core.
"It's done for," Geto said flatly, his expression unreadable.
The abomination screamed one last time before being compacted into the singularity. Then, with a final crack of air imploding, it vanished. The special grade was no more.
Gojo exhaled and crouched down, sweat glistening on his forehead. "Haaah… now that was something else," he muttered, amusement flickering on his face.
Geto stuffed his hands into his pockets and frowned. "What's so funny? What if it had finished merging before we even got here?"
Reiji lowered himself onto the floor, lying flat on his back. His gaze wandered up at the ruined ceiling. "I think it was triggered… maybe its merging depended on the presence of enemies. If that's true; this was only its first stage. Given more time, the number of low-level curses would increase… it could have multiplied into something far worse."
Geto's silence was agreement enough.
Still gasping for breath, Gojo straightened and grinned. "Wouldn't have mattered. We'd just beat it up anyway, you guys are strong enough to keep up with me after all!" His tone was unusually warm, his smile almost genuine. Was that actual happiness? A sense of kinship?
Hearing this, Reiji simply stared at Gojo, his lips parted.
Before he could dwell, Geto turned toward him. "Reiji… you don't look right. What's wrong?"
Confused, Reiji followed his gaze. His skin had grown frighteningly pale. He forced a sheepish smile. "I might've overdone it. Help me up?"
Without hesitation, Geto pulled him to his feet. Reiji wobbled but managed to stand, meeting Gojo's eye level. After sparing him a mischievous glance, Gojo clapped his back hard enough to nearly topple him.
"Let's get outta here, then," he said with a smile.
Reiji nodded, still dazed.
' No matter how much I think about it, it doesn't make sense… infusing blood with positive energy? And why does it feel like I've done it before?'
The trio walked shoulder to shoulder, their silence heavy with exhaustion. Reiji, especially, looked half-dead… his skin pale, his clothes drenched in dried blood.
Soon, they stepped through the final door only to find Yaga pacing impatiently while Shoko leaned casually against the wall, cigarette in hand. The moment Yaga spotted his battered students, he rushed forward, wide-eyed.
"What the hell happened in there?! What did you do?!" His tone was sharp, but the concern bleeding through was unmistakable.
Geto answered plainly. "The grade fours combined into a special grade. And we exorcised it."
Yaga froze. His face went pale. The claim was absurd… three first-years exorcising a special grade on their very first day was beyond precedent. Shoko's eyes fixed on Reiji, who was clearly faring much worse than the others.
As Yaga struggled to process, Reiji slumped into a nearby waiting chair, his head tipping back. Shoko's cigarette nearly slipped from her lips as she rushed over, alarm breaking through her usual disinterested demeanor.
The world around Reiji blurred, his consciousness wavering. While Gojo and Geto explained the details of the battle to Yaga, their voices reached him like muffled echoes, distant and indistinct.
Shoko unbuttoned his shirt with brisk efficiency and pressed her hand against his chest. A steady flow of positive energy generated by her Reverse Cursed Technique coursed into him, knitting torn tissues, replenishing blood, and thereby stabilizing his body. For a moment, his skin flushed with a healthy color.
However, it faded back to its ghostly pallor almost immediately.
Reiji's lips parted, his vision unsteady, as the sterile corridor melted away into a haze of broken images and sounds from the past.
*****************************************************************************
An infant's cry had echoed. He somehow recognized it as his own, thin, and weak. It was not the robust wail of a healthy newborn… it was extremely fragile, barely audible.
"He's not breathing properly, get the oxygen ready!" A woman shouted frantically. Was she the midwife?
There was a flash. Soon large, cold hands lifted him. A man muttered, "…so pale…" then grimaced, "…there's not enough blood in him." The words lodged themselves deep within Reiji's mind, even though he had no memory of the man's face.
Another flash; The smell of iron. His mother's trembling fingers brushed gently against his feeble hand. That fleeting warmth had been permanently seared into him.
"…he won't last long unless…"
The rest dissolved into static.
He caught another fragment: a lullaby, trembling and sorrowful, sung in a voice heavy with exhaustion. It was his mother again, humming desperately as if sound alone could keep him anchored to the living world.
Then came the cold silence, along with the suffocating feeling of slipping away.
*****************************************************************************
Reiji gasped faintly, as a phantom ache tore through his chest. The corridor returned in a rush. Shoko's hand was still pressed lightly against him; her eyes determined.
His heart raced. He knew. Deep down, he had always known. From the moment of his birth, something had been wrong with him; no healing, no Reverse Cursed Technique, would ever be able to fix it.
Shoko frowned, her eyes narrowing.
She pushed more energy into him, her technique operating at its fullest. Yet again, the effect was fleeting. His body seemed to be rejecting a complete restoration.
She withdrew her hand slowly, suspicion flickering across her usually lazy gaze, followed by a hint of understanding.
Reiji turned his head toward her, still a little dizzy but aware. Their eyes met, and for a brief second his heart stumbled in his chest. 'She healed my injuries…'
They stared at each other in silence as if nothing else was happening around them.
Then it hit him; he had been staring for a bit too long. Heat rushed to his cheeks, and he quickly averted his gaze.
"Reiji…" Shoko's voice cut through the haze, softer than usual, yet grounded in certainty.
"You have some kind of severe anemia, don't you?"
The room seemed to quiet around the two of them. The atmosphere grew somber and heavy. Reiji's face clouded with a complicated expression as he turned away, avoiding her eyes.
"…I don't know about that."
Shoko continued to stare at his face. Despite the pale outline, he had sharp features and incredibly kind eyes. Gradually, her expression softened.
Soon Shoko also looked away. Her silence was a promise; the secret Reiji could not hide… would be safe with her.