"Cursed Spirits can never be fully eradicated..."
This is the consensus among all Jujutsu Sorcerers.
As long as deception, murder, malice, and negative emotions exist among humans, these terrifying monsters will not disappear. Instead, their numbers will only increase.
They are more disgusting than viruses or bacteria—reproducing rapidly, with immense destructive power. They have become a part of human society, so numerous that for every human, there are roughly twenty to thirty of them lurking unseen.
"But it doesn't matter."
A pale, lizard-like Cursed Spirit coiled around the basketball hoop. One second it was lazily resting, the next it was smashed to pieces by an orange beam of light. Its pale fragments melted into a cluster of black light particles and were absorbed.
"I see one, I kill one!"
[Absorbed Cursed Energy. Points +6]
THUD.
The orange object, its momentum undiminished, bounced high into the air after hitting the ground.
It wasn't a beam of light at all, but a basketball that had bounced up after a violent slam dunk!
The figure wearing the #11 jersey hung from the rim. As the ball rolled away, everyone in the gym stood frozen, stunned by his performance.
He had effortlessly broken through a three-man defense as if toying with them. Facing an opponent who jumped to block him, using his body and outstretched arms as a last line of defense...
Kenmei met him in the air. Jumping from the paint, he soared completely over his opponent's head. Under the terrified gaze of the defender, Kenmei scraped the ball right over the guy's scalp and slammed it home with a thunderous poster dunk.
"The captain of the first string... got posterized...?"
"Oh my god, he's over two meters tall! Is that guy a monster?"
Haa...
The guy hanging on the rim took a short breath, then let go, landing steadily on the floor. He reached out and pulled up the stunned opponent who had collapsed on the ground.
"Kenmei, what the hell have you been doing while you were gone?"
"How did you get so unreasonably strong...?"
The #11 player who just displayed such shocking, violent beauty on the court was Kenmei Isayama. He was currently wiping the sweat from his face with the hem of his jersey.
"Captain, I've still got a long way to go."
Hearing this, Kenmei just smiled and replied:
"According to our agreement, I won."
"Captain, you can process my withdrawal now."
The captain of the basketball club looked unwilling. He opened his mouth, wanting to convince him to stay.
"Kenmei, you..."
But a deal was a deal.
"I understand."
Yes, the purpose of this game was simply because Kenmei Isayama wanted to quit the basketball club.
Kenmei had spent the morning clearing Aoyama Academy of every Cursed Spirit he could find. In the afternoon, he came to handle his personal affairs.
Kenmei used to be a first-string member—a regular starter for Aoyama Academy. Aside from a slight stamina issue, his ball handling, defense, and offense were flawless.
Although he often missed practice and games due to "various reasons," damaging his reputation, his withdrawal was still a massive loss for the team.
That was why the captain had proposed a harsh condition: Kenmei had to lead the second-string benchwarmers to defeat the first-string starters. The result was now clear.
[70 : 65]
Of those 70 points, Kenmei personally scored nearly 52. It was a one-man show.
Despite not training, he was even better than before. It was like he had been reborn.
What the basketball team didn't know was that Kenmei's stamina issue had been fixed by his stat points. And his Intelligence of 9 had elevated his ball-handling and game sense to a whole new level. He was a monster.
"Thank you for everything."
Kenmei took off the #11 jersey that represented his status and handed it to the captain. He bowed to the teammates he had fought alongside, their expressions complicated, and took one last look before leaving the place where he had trained for a year.
"Let's play together again sometime."
Kenmei knew this withdrawal was him saying goodbye to his past life.
Rather than dragging them down by holding onto a roster spot he couldn't commit to, it was better to give the chance to the younger players on the second string. Knowing when to step aside is what a good senior does.
As Kenmei buttoned up his white dress shirt and walked out of the gym doors, he suddenly heard a cool, crisp voice.
"Why did you give up basketball?"
Kenmei stopped buttoning his shirt and turned his head.
Standing there was a girl with silky grey hair tied up in a high ponytail. Her face was beautiful. Unlike Kenmei's memory of her always wearing a white lab coat and glasses, today she had contacts in and no coat.
Her figure was surprisingly voluptuous, completely overshadowing her peers. Underneath the appropriately light skirt were fair, soft legs in white socks, showing off perfect curves. Most importantly, she somehow managed to make the stiff Aoyama Academy uniform look both intellectual and undeniably sexy.
"Futaba?"
"Oi, oi, oi. Kenmei, you bastard, how did you only notice Futaba?"
"I'm standing right here, you know."
Only then did Kenmei notice a guy with brown hair standing next to her, wearing the same white shirt as him. He was of average height and spoke with a hint of resentment.
"Sorry, Sakuta. You're just too inconspicuous."
"Heh. Catch."
The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes at Kenmei and tossed a sports drink over.
"Thanks, Sakuta."
Kenmei didn't stand on ceremony. He cracked the cap and downed almost the entire bottle in one go.
"Don't thank me. Futaba bought it. I'm just the delivery boy."
"Stop saying unnecessary things."
Hearing this, the girl named Futaba blushed almost imperceptibly before quickly returning to normal.
The brown-haired boy glanced sideways at the girl, whose gaze was turning icy because he had exposed her.
He sighed internally.
She really is a dishonest person.
When Sakuta heard Kenmei was leading the benchwarmers against the starters, he rushed over as fast as he could.
But this "dishonest" girl? She was already there. Makeup done, sports drink in hand. She didn't even go inside; she just stood silently by the entrance, watching Kenmei play.
"Well, thank you, Futaba. This is my favorite flavor."
Hearing Kenmei's thanks, a faint smile appeared on Futaba's face, though she replied stiffly:
"Don't mention it. This isn't the place to talk."
Rio Futaba crossed her arms.
"Let's go somewhere else."