A Bizarre Adventure That Begins in Jujutsu Kaisen

An hour after Dio exorcised the monster, three figures appeared in the abandoned neighborhood.

"That level one cursed spirit is already dead~"

The speaker was a shirtless blond white man.

He covered his nipples with a pair of heart-shaped nipple covers, and was sitting leisurely with his legs crossed on a giant hand-shaped summon that was suspended about a meter off the ground, his body swaying with the slight rise and fall of the hand.

"The exorcist makes absolutely no attempt to hide the filth; it's practically saying, 'I did it, come find me!'"

Another young man, whose forehead and right eye were covered by bandages, stepped forward, squatted down, reached into the residual curse energy in the air, and closed his eyes to sense it.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes and said, "According to the smudged records, only one sorcerer—purely relying on hand-to-hand attacks enhanced by cursed power—exorcised it. The battle was very short, and the cursed spirit offered almost no real resistance."

"Neither a 'tent' was set up to block the view, nor was any residue disposed of to cover up the traces..." The blond man rested his chin on his hand, drawing out his words, "Could it be—"

"He's a wild sorcerer, and he's only recently awakened." The bandaged youth took over the conversation, stood up, and patted non-existent dust off his hands.

"To be able to exorcise a level-one cursed spirit with bare hands right after awakening?" The blond man whistled, his heart-shaped breast pad trembling slightly with the rise and fall of his chest. "Without even using any spells? That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it, Xia You?"

"Indeed... he's very talented." The young man known as "Xia You" laughed heartily upon hearing this. "Since we're already here, let's go and meet him."

The next afternoon.

Having just replenished his travel expenses at a gang stronghold, Theo, carrying an inconspicuous canvas bag full of cash, headed towards his temporary lodging—a cheap single apartment on the edge of an old residential area.

Then, downstairs at his apartment building, he encountered three uninvited visitors.

The leader was a handsome black-haired man wearing a dark five-striped kasaya and with his hair tied in a bun.

He looked very much like a Bodhisattva, with long, thin eyebrows, auspicious ears, large earrings, and a tuft of long bangs on his forehead.

Standing to his left was a shirtless, blond-haired, blue-eyed foreign man.

On the right stood a brown-haired youth whose right eye was tightly covered by a white bandage.

The three people were positioned in a way that subtly formed an encirclement, yet they maintained a delicate distance that wouldn't immediately arouse suspicion.

The leader stepped forward, offering a formulaic, gentle smile, and said, "Hello. Do you have time to talk?"

Theo's gaze lingered briefly on the three of them before he confidently closed his eyes, immersing himself in a sense of peace, as if pressing his ear to the earth to listen to the subtle pulse beneath the surface of the world.

Through his unique martial arts technique, "Mind's Eye," he could "see" the same special energy fluctuations surrounding these three people, distinct from ordinary people—the same as the monster he had killed yesterday, but more orderly and restrained, like the difference between livestock and wild beasts.

However, this energy did not seem overwhelming or intimidating, nor did it emanate any substantial threat to him. It seemed... not very strong?

Since that's the case—

He reopened his eyes, his expression returning to its usual calm and casualness, and nodded to the smiling, black-haired youth: "Sure, what can I do for you?"

The dark-haired youth stepped forward again, pushing the limits of social distancing:

"My name is Xia Youjie, and I am a sorcerer. We observed through the remnant records that you exorcised a level one cursed spirit with your bare hands yesterday—you possess truly remarkable power."

"I have always believed that great power should be used for equally great purposes to create things of greater value."

"Have you ever felt confused, dissatisfied, or... had some deeper question about this world where curses are rampant, ordinary people are ignorant, and many sorcerers are stuck in their ways?"

Before he finished speaking, Xia Youjie, with seemingly ordinary but actually swift small steps, instantly closed the last bit of distance, rushed in front of Theo, and very naturally stretched out his hands, grabbing Theo's right hand.

Theo frowned almost imperceptibly.

The next instant, he exerted force with his knuckles, making a slight "crack" sound, as if a precise mechanical lock had come off. With a skillful twist and pull, his wrist slipped out of Xia Youjie's clasped hands in an instant.

At the same time, he smoothly stepped back two steps, re-establishing a safe distance.

The hand that had been pulled back swung casually in the air, and the slight cracking sound had subsided, as if the struggle just now had been an illusion.

"Wait a minute, you're speaking a bit too fast, and there's a lot of information coming up."

Dio looked directly into Xia You's eyes, which were still smiling but showed a hint of surprise, and raised the more fundamental question that he was more concerned about at the moment.

"I actually encountered that kind of 'monster' for the first time just yesterday. So, according to you, the official scientific name for that thing is 'cursed spirit'?"

Xia Youjie withdrew his hand, his fingertips lightly stroking the cuff of his robe, his smile unchanged.

"Yes, energy life forms made of cursed power—cursed spirits—are born along with negative human emotions."

"Fear, anger, hatred, despair, jealousy, pride, regret, shame... these emotions that we cannot completely eliminate coalesce into life-devouring monsters in places unseen by humans."

He raised his hand and pointed to the distant skyline of towering skyscrapers.

"The number of people who die or go missing unnaturally worldwide exceeds one million every year. A large portion of them are victims of curses. That translates to thousands of people dying from curses every day. A truly staggering number, isn't it?"

"Those non-magician humans are like walking, unstable sources of emotional energy, constantly generating new curse spirits."

"In order to maintain order in the ordinary world, sorcerers who also wield the power of curses are always active in the shadows, playing the role of endless 'cleaners'."

"In other words, it's truly lamentable that the strong are forced to adapt to the weak in this world!"

Ignoring Dio's wariness, Xia Youjie took another half step forward to close the distance, his robe sleeves fluttering lightly.

"This is tantamount to the crown of creation killing its own pace of evolution. It's ridiculous, isn't it? Humanity, it's time to rethink our survival strategy. Therefore, I hope you can help."

"So how can I help?" Theo asked, feigning interest.

"It might scare you, right?"

"I'm all ears, please feel free to speak."

Xia Youjie's smile widened, but his tone remained steady: "Kill all non-magicians and create a world where only magicians exist."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment as the blond man and the bandaged youth anxiously awaited Theo's answer.

Theo's expression remained unchanged. He merely tilted his head slightly, as if he had discovered an interesting math problem.

"Oh, genocide—what good does that do?"

"If we can kill all non-magicians, then no new cursed spirits will ever be born again. The source of the curse will be completely severed. Pain, fear, pointless sacrifices—all the tragedies born of the curse will become history."

Xia Youjie said so.

A few seconds later, Theo slowly spoke: "...Because the negative emotions of ordinary people can give rise to monsters like cursed spirits, you decided to kill them all once and for all—such a radical idea must have a trigger, right? Has someone important to you been killed by a cursed spirit?"

"Yes, that's right. But more importantly, I think they're too useless and not worth protecting."