Sayuri continued to explain, her narrative more systematic and calm than Sukuna's, carrying the insight of an insider, "Behind the facade of our seemingly peaceful and orderly daily lives, there have always existed cursed entities born from human negative emotions, such as fear, hatred, jealousy, and despair, which are Cursed Spirits."
"And the group of special people who fight these curses, responsible for exorcising them and barely maintaining the surface balance, are called Jujutsu Sorcerers."
She adjusted her sitting posture slightly and continued, "Our Sawamura family, as a family with certain influence in the financial and business circles, has been passed down for many years and knows more or less about the existence of the Jujutsu World."
"We have even had some extremely shallow contact, kept at a safe distance, with individual families or factions in certain very limited fields involving supernatural phenomena. But it was limited to only that."
Sayuri's expression became very serious. "That is a closed, ancient, and extremely dangerous world, completely different from our everyday society. It is full of powers we cannot understand and cruel rules."
"For an ordinary family like ours, getting deeply involved is no different from playing with fire. Therefore, we chose to keep a respectful distance and protect our family from those shadows as much as possible."
She looked at Eriri with affection and distress. "I truly hoped that you would never need to know this and could live in the sunlight forever. But since you have already seen it, it means that layer of protection may have already failed for you."
"According to the rules of the Jujutsu World, for ordinary people who accidentally glimpse the truth, they usually have their own way of handling things."
Sayuri didn't explicitly state what the 'way of handling things' was, but combined with Sukuna's previous words, Utaha, Eriri, and Megumi could all guess it was either erasing memories to return them to ignorance or being absorbed into that dangerous world due to their uniqueness.
"Mom... you... you already knew this?" Eriri's voice carried an unbelievable sense of grievance and a lingering fear of being kept in the dark.
"Why... why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Yes, I knew. Your father knew as well." Sayuri admitted frankly, a look of helplessness in her eyes.
"But knowing doesn't mean we have the ability to change or easily solve it. The existence of Cursed Spirits is a chronic illness rooted deep in human nature. As long as humans have negative emotions, curses will not disappear. What the Jujutsu Sorcerers do is merely treat the symptoms."
"Letting you come into contact with this darkness too early would bring nothing but endless fear and a sense of powerless despair. Your father and I only wanted to hold up as clean a sky as possible for you."
She sighed deeply, a trace of fatigue creeping onto her face. "But now... you've encountered this, and we can no longer pretend to ignore it. We must face this reality together."
Just then, a deep, magnetic male voice that was out of place in the cozy living room abruptly rang out in the air, carrying a hint of lazy banter and condescending amusement.
"Heh, it seems I have been spared some breath. Since the parent has chosen to lay their cards on the table, that's just perfect."
In the reflection of Eriri and Sayuri's suddenly contracting pupils, and under Megumi's slightly frozen gaze, the skin on Utaha's left cheek once again underwent a hair-raising squirm.
Those two faint scars clearly emerged and expanded, and a bloodshot eye with a crimson pupil, along with a mouth with a mocking curve at the corner, appeared abruptly.
"Mon... Monster! It's out!"
Sayuri's face turned pale instantly, and she reflexively shielded her daughter firmly behind her. But she was, after all, a high-society matriarch who had seen much.
She suppressed her inner horror and struggled to maintain her composure, though her voice inevitably carried a hint of trembling. "You... what kind of... existence are you? Why... are you on Kasumigaoka-san?"
"Mom! Don't... don't be too afraid."
Although Eriri was scared to death herself, she hurriedly stammered an explanation. "Even though he looks very... scary, at Tomoya's house, he... saved us. He... his name is Sukuna."
"Sukuna?" Sayuri murmured, repeating the name.
A flicker of extreme suspicion and realization flashed in her beautiful eyes, as if she were rapidly searching for some vague information hidden deep within family secrets or ancient records. Her expression became even more grim.
"Precisely this great one." Sukuna's lips split into a curve full of malicious fun, and that eyeball sized up the forcedly calm Sayuri with great interest.
"To make a long story short, madam of the Sawamura Family, your daughter, and these two little friends of hers, already have one foot in what you call the Hidden World. Relying on those Jujutsu Sorcerers who'll show up who knows when to 'handle' things—the outcome is hard to say."
"If you're lucky, your memories are wiped, and you turn back into an ignorant fool. If you're unlucky, you might be sucked into an even more troublesome vortex."
His tone carried a seductive mockery. "Rather than handing your children's fate over to a group of so-called professionals whose backgrounds are unknown, it's better to let them grasp power in their own hands."
He changed the subject, controlling Utaha's face to turn toward the three girls, "Hey, little girls, rather than being on edge all day waiting for an arrangement that might be a blessing or a curse, how about you learn how to become Jujutsu Sorcerers yourselves?"
"Can... can we do it too?"
Eriri forgot part of her fear. The massive shock made the words slip out, her eyes flashing with unbelievable light.
Even the usually calm Megumi showed a look of surprise, her mouth slightly agape.
Although Utaha had been mentally prepared, hearing this proposal with her own ears still made her heart race. Curiosity and desire sprouted in her heart.
To become a Jujutsu Sorcerer? To control that transcendent power capable of resisting terror?
"Why not?"
Sukuna's tone carried a natural arrogance, as if stating a simple fact, "Generally speaking, eighty percent of being a Jujutsu Sorcerer depends on talent, which is the naturally awakened Cursed Technique."
"That is an innate talent passed down through bloodlines, almost impossible to acquire later. This is the chasm that separates top-tier Jujutsu Sorcerers from ordinary people."
The famous Gojo Satoru once stated the above conclusion.
He changed his tone. "However, as long as a person is alive, they possess more or less the foundation of Cursed Energy. It's simply a matter of quantity, and the difference between being able to sense and control it."
"The vast majority of ordinary people cannot become Jujutsu Sorcerers because the total amount of Cursed Energy in their bodies is too meager. They don't even have the qualification to use it, let alone enhance it through training."
Sukuna's sinister eyeball swept over Eriri and Megumi in turn, finally stopping on Utaha. "But I sensed it before, the total amount of Cursed Energy contained within you three girls is quite considerable, far exceeding the level of ordinary people."
He explained further, his voice carrying a hint of indescribable allure, "In other words, you possess the potential and foundation to become Jujutsu Sorcerers. You might lack an innate, powerful, and unique Cursed Technique, meaning the upper limit of your ultimate achievement won't be very high—at most reaching the level of a Grade 3 or 4 Jujutsu Sorcerer, which are just small fry in the eyes of the truly strong."
"But—"
Sukuna deliberately elongated his tone, emphasizing, "Dealing with over ninety percent of the low-level Cursed Spirits you might encounter in your daily lives, like the trash I casually shredded at Aki Tomoya's house today, or even weaker ones, is simply a breeze."
"As long as you learn how to perceive your own Cursed Energy, how to refine and condense it, and apply it to simple defense and offense, you'll never have to helplessly watch terror descend like you did today, with nothing to do but scream and wait for death."
"As long as you don't go looking for death yourselves with excess curiosity by running into those ominous places, old school buildings, or suicide forests where resentment is high and Cursed Energy is too thick to disperse, self-preservation is more than enough."
Grade 3 or 4 Jujutsu Sorcerers?
It didn't sound like an impressive rank, but as long as they could deal with common Cursed Spirits, for the girls who had just personally experienced a death threat and extreme terror, this was already the dream-like power they sought, like a life-saving straw.
It meant they would no longer be lambs to the slaughter, no longer burdens needing protection, but would have the ability to take up weapons and guard their own lives and daily routines.
***
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