The Cursed Spirits froze mid-step.
Then they surged even more frantically:
"Kill you…"
"I can see her... eat her... she smells delicious..."
"Kill her…"
"Tch." In this eerie place, Akuto's voice cut like a blade. "Disgusting."
"A bunch of trash."
"Then let me show you the power of the true King of Curses."
Inside the domain space, Akuto raised a hand, the corner of his mouth curving in mockery.
"Dismantle."
Whoosh.
With a sharp whistle, the world fell silent; every Cursed Spirit looked as though someone had hit pause.
They stood rooted to the spot.
Miko cracked her eyes open a bit and peered ahead.
The next second—
Shrrrk!!!
Black blood erupted like a burst high-pressure pipe.
It shot four or five metres into the air.
The two cursed spirits became fountains.
Miko's pupils shrank to pinpricks as she stared at the rain of gore.
Pfft, pfft... With wet, strange sounds the cursed spirits were sliced lengthwise into dozens of pieces.
They slumped to the ground like bags of rotten meat and dissolved into black smoke.
"I-i'm..sa... saved..."
Tears burst from Miko's eyes; she dropped to her hands and knees, sobbing.
"Hey, brat, don't leave me lying on the ground!"
"Since you're now fine, Good. Eat me and I'll give you power beyond imagination!"
Akuto still refused to abandon his main goal, that is to possess this girl!
"Miko!" A familiar voice echoed in the alley.
"Miko? Why are you sitting there?"
Just then an orange-haired bombshell jogged over, her terrifying proportions bouncing.
Miko hastily wiped her tears and stuffed the finger sealing Akuto into her shoulder bag.
"N-nothing! You okay? Let's get out of here."
Miko didn't want to stay a second longer; she grabbed her bestie Hana and ran away from the dark alley.
And she saw that not just the two but every Cursed Spirit in the alley had been wiped out by that mysterious finger.
Who knows if more would show up?
All the way home Hana chattered happily, used to Miko's silence.
She could hold a conversation with herself and enjoy it.
Miko's mind was on the mysterious finger.
Almost without thinking she had kept the grotesque thing with her!
No matter how she looked at it... that finger was far more terrifying than the Cursed Spirits—yet it had obliterated them so easily. "Miko? Miko, are you all right?"
"Huh?"
"I'm off! See you tomorrow, bye-bye!"
"Charge, charge!"
Hana looked full of energy as she trotted toward the crossing.
Miko blinked, then turned toward home. Her hand slipped into her pocket, brushed the thing inside, and gooseflesh raced from her arm to her scalp.
Her scalp prickled!
She yanked her hand away as if electrocuted.
Right now Akuto had no time for Miko.
He was staring blankly at his system panel.
[Host: Akuto
Role being played: Sukuna
Degree of portrayal: 2%
Current world main quest: collect other fingers – Progress 0%]
A month had passed since Akuto transmigrated.
After four weeks of probing, he had a basic grasp of the system.
The so-called portrayal degree was linked to the power he could obtain—but only loosely.
No matter how he acted, once it hit 2% it refused to rise further.
If he did anything out-of-character—like belting out a song from boredom and scaring passers-by—the percentage would drop.
And his strength would diminish along with it.
Two percent gave him no truly formidable abilities.
Sukuna's Domain or Reverse Cursed Technique remained unusable.
All he could manage was simple hand-to-hand and the basic "Dismantle" and "Cleaving."
These monsters, on the other hand...
He glanced at the Cursed Spirit-like things roaming the street.
They had no Cursed Energy, yet devouring them granted a sliver of extra power—pitifully little.
Far inferior to raising his portrayal.
And they tasted like a rag used to wipe vomit.
Coming back to himself, Akuto sat on a throne of bones, chin in hand, watching the outside world.
Come to think of it, this woman was the only human who had seen him in the entire month.
That was why he wanted to possess her.
The system told him to gather fingers and unlock more power, and he wanted power.
But the stubborn woman hadn't taken the bait.
His gaze was calm as he looked out.
Before transmigrating he had merely wanted to ditch his shut-in image and cosplayed Sukuna.
Then he blacked out and woke up as a finger.
Finding the other fingers was impossible; he existed in the same state as the Cursed Spirits.
He couldn't affect the real world.
He stretched lazily.
No matter—he knew the plot. Miko was powerless against Cursed Spirits.
To exorcise them she'd even provoked a few fox-spirits in a rural shrine.
Things far worse than common ghosts.
When that happened, even if she feared him she would swallow the finger.
Once he had her body he could hunt Sukuna's Fingers and leave this world.
"A stronger world..." Akuto bared a cruel grin. "Can't wait."
"Miko... as compensation, I'll kill a few extra Cursed Spirits for you."
This world was more twisted than Jujutsu society.
There, Cursed Spirits and sorcerers were evenly matched.
Here, ghosts infested every corner, yet almost no one could fight them.
The story had featured a medium who could only see weak spirits.
The truly horrifying ones only Miko could see.
Take Akuto; for a month he had roamed temples and shrines in finger form, and no one noticed him.
He had, however, seen plenty of warped Cursed Spirits.
"I'm home."
Miko sat in the genkan (traditional Japanese entryway where you put your shoes and slippers at the corner)
changing her shoes; a beautiful woman who looked about ninety percent like her peeked from the kitchen.
"Miko? Welcome back—why are you so late today?"
"I walked home with Hana, we took our time..."
"Sis, sis, did you bring snacks!" a little boy dashed out, eyes shining.
"It's not always snacks…" The moment she said it her mother's voice rang from the kitchen.
"Kyosuke, stop pestering your sister!"
"Okaaay~"
Kyosuke turned away disappointed. Just then a transparent man stepped out:
"Welcome home, Miko."
As usual, Miko ignored him.
"Hey, brat, you poor thing—your house is full of cursed spirits."
"So? Want my power? I will get rid of them if you agree."
Akuto's tempting voice came from the bag; Miko's muscles locked as she glanced toward the living room.
Her little brother seemed not to hear, still watching TV.
Before she could breathe out, the transparent man barked as he saw a disfigured finger on Miko's shoulder bag.
"Miko, what did you bring home? Throw it out—now!"