Even though Shun had not activated his Six Eyes right now, he was not so blind that he could not tell whether something was a curse or not.
And even if he somehow failed to notice, there was no way the special grade system inside his body would miss it.
There was no doubt about it, the girl in front of him being strangled by that hideous curse was a pure human. The kind of naïve girl Shun could probably chat up without much effort.
That said, Shun was a man who followed his instincts.
Even if all the evidence pointed to "just an ordinary girl", did you really think he would ignore the problem of her identity?
No chance.
Every possibility was still bound by objective conditions. Even Satoru would be constrained by that reality, let alone him.
"But I will think about that later."
Shun lifted his gaze to the curse in front of him.
This one was not very high level, only Grade 3. Even an ordinary person, as long as they had a gun in their hand, would have a pretty good shot at killing it.
Which was why curses were not always so terrifying. Even special grades could be suppressed by modern weaponry. You might have to sacrifice a few cities in the process, but still.
The monster tightened its grip on the girl and roared at him.
It could smell it. That disgusting scent it hated so much was pouring off this man.
The scent of a jujutsu sorcerer.
"Go... die!"
It swung a massive fist straight at Shun.
There was a sharp crack as the blow came in, but right before it landed, Shun's figure flickered. It was like a TV screen glitching into static for an instant. For that moment, he seemed to fall out of sync with the original space.
Naturally, the curse's attack hit nothing at all.
"Curses should crawl in some sewer and live quietly instead of coming out here to bother me."
Shun reached out and grabbed the curse.
In the next second, an overwhelming surge of cursed energy exploded from his body. There was nothing refined or elegant about it. It was straightforward, brutal force.
The cursed energy raced along his arm into the curse's body.
Its swollen mass began to bulge and distend.
"Ah... ahhh..."
Lumps like bubbles kept rising on its head as it howled in agony.
A being born from cursed energy was now having its very form shredded by cursed energy. It was almost ironic.
To a creature like this, Shun's cursed energy might as well be poison.
The girl in its grasp was released at last, tumbling to the ground. She sat there dazed, blinking up at Shun.
There was a wet pop.
Unable to withstand Shun's power, the curse burst apart.
"It is... gone?"
The girl collapsed where she was, staring in shock at the pile of mangled flesh in front of her that was already starting to evaporate into nothing.
Then she lifted her head again, really looking at Shun for the first time.
He was annoyingly handsome.
Silver white, slightly messy hair. Sword straight brows, eyes bright like shattered moonlight scattered across a clear lake. There was a quiet arrogance about him, as if there was a blade singing softly somewhere behind the sound of wind and rain.
While she was looking at him, he was also scrutinizing her.
Long black hair tied into two braids that hung gently over her shoulders. Her limbs were slender, the type that looked as if a careless grip might snap them. Her bangs fell like a waterfall, covering the left half of a startlingly beautiful face, revealing only the wine red right eye on the other side.
Her lips were soft and pink like cherry blossom petals, carrying a devilish charm that could probably capture a man with a single exchanged glance. Her skin was smooth and pale, like polished pearl.
He had to admit, the girl in front of him was very beautiful.
Shun could not find any obvious flaw on her. Even in this embarrassed, disheveled state, there was nothing out of place.
Maybe because his gaze was too direct, a faint blush crept across her cheeks.
"Um... thank you, for just now."
Shun shook his head and held a hand out to her.
"Think nothing of it. This is just my job."
She took his hand and stood up, a little unsteady.
"I am Tokisaki Kurumi," the girl said, introducing herself. "I am a student at Sugisawa Third High nearby. What about you?"
Tokisaki Kurumi, huh.
Shun's eyes flickered with a hint of understanding. He answered casually,
"Gojo Shun, just a guy who takes out the trash."
"Trash...?"
Kurumi blinked, curiosity shining in her eyes.
Did he mean those monsters from just now were the trash he cleaned up?
That is so cool.
"Yeah. I clean up garbage like that."
As he spoke, Shun suddenly turned, his hand chopping out like a blade.
There was a sharp clang.
His hand struck something made of metal.
A gun.
At some point, a girl in gothic lolita clothing had appeared behind them.
Her face was almost exactly the same as the Kurumi standing beside Shun.
"Ara ara, so you noticed me, Shun."
"Tokisaki Kurumi" looked genuinely regretful.
"But you are really too cruel. You killed me before, and now you want me to go live in a sewer on top of that."
"What a heartless man."
She put on a perfectly wounded expression, like a lover who had been wronged.