Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

Kamihara Hajime kicked open the wooden door, splinters scattering around him as he strode down the corridor. The terrified screams ahead aligned with the Curse's aura, which had spiked to its peak.

He broke through another door and entered a gruesome scene. A tattooed man knelt before two fresh corpses, clutching a bloodied knife, his expression a twisted mix of ecstasy and dread.

At the center of the room loomed a grotesque Curse. It resembled a massive block of flesh with a single, vertical eye—black and red, like an insect trapped in amber—staring directly at Hajime. No limbs, just two oversized human-like arms supporting its squarish mass. A gaping, toothless maw stretched across its underside, and its six grotesque faces were riddled with twitching eyes, resembling a monstrous die.

It was devouring half a corpse, blood suspended in the air mid-spray, frozen in a nightmarish tableau.

Without hesitation, Hajime released his current Technique and infused it with energy from his Reverse Cursed Technique.

Time Wheel – Reversal.

His focus: the victims. Channeling his Cursed Energy, Hajime cast Technique Reversal on the recently slain civilians. Resistance struck him like a wall—the Curse's presence, likely Special Grade, blocked his reversal. His cursed energy drained rapidly, and pain throbbed in his skull.

A sudden trickle of warmth slid down his lip—blood. The technique cut off, forcibly interrupted. The four civilians blinked, stunned and still etched with fear. They looked around in confusion, only to collapse in terror once they saw the tattooed man still clutching his knife.

"W-What happened...?"

The man's memory remained fixed on the offering he had just performed. But now four sacrifices were alive. Trembling, he turned to Hajime.

"It was you! You ruined the offering to the High God! You'll be the next sacrifice!"

He charged, knife raised. But Hajime, eyes still locked on the Curse, barely acknowledged him. When the man reached for Hajime's neck, a kick sent him flying into the wall with bone-crunching force. He coughed a spray of blood mid-air before crumpling to the ground—alive, but barely.

"Hajime!"

Nanami Kento appeared in the doorway, eyes narrowing as he sensed the Curse's overwhelming presence. He instinctively reached for his weapon.

"Nanami-senpai," Hajime said without turning, "please get those four out of here."

Nanami nodded, pulling a trembling woman to her feet. "Move, all of you. Now!"

Time Wheel Spin.

Godspeed Slash.

Blades of cursed energy cleaved through the Curse's bloated form. Black blood sprayed across Hajime's uniform. In his hand, the cursed tool shattered—the strain of infused energy and rapid strikes proving too much.

With a shriek, the Curse responded. Its main eye gleamed ominously, firing a beam of black-gray light. The attack scorched the air but missed Hajime.

The Curse's other eyes swiveled—another threat had appeared behind it.

A raised fist glowed with Cursed Energy.

One punch. Then another.

Black Flash.

Then: Technique Reversal.

Hajime froze time in his mind and hit again.

Pseudo-Black Flash: Double.

The black, chaotic energy cracked through the Curse's main eye, rupturing it.

But Hajime wasn't done.

His fist surged again with roaring black light.

Pseudo-Black Flash: Triple.

He punched straight into the ruined eye socket. The Cursed Spirit howled as its form shattered and flung through the back wall, punching a gory exit from the building.

Behind Hajime, the tattooed man stirred, dazed. "Th-that… was the High God… I saw Him…"

A shadow loomed. Hajime, soaked in blood, lifted him effortlessly. The man's joy turned to horror as Hajime carried him toward the demolished wall.

The Cursed Spirit had already begun regenerating. Its twisted body knit itself back together, the smashed eye regrowing rapidly.

"Hmm?" Hajime muttered. "Its recovery just sped up."

Nanami stepped beside him. "It's fear."

Hajime glanced down at the tattooed man—no longer terrified, but eerily calm. His gaze toward the Curse was full of awe, not dread.

"You're saying the Curse feeds on fear?"

Nanami nodded. "The more fear it absorbs, the stronger it becomes."

Understanding dawned. If this Special Grade Curse thrived on fear, it could snowball in power—fear leading to growth, which would fuel even more fear.

Perhaps that's how it grew so strong in this hellhole. Endless fear, generation after generation, feeding it.

Without hesitation, Hajime hooked the tattooed man with his foot and hurled him at the Curse. As expected, it didn't hesitate—it crushed him into a pulp.

Nanami loosened his tie, watching silently. Killing civilians was forbidden… but if the Curse had done it, there was no breach of the code.

As he readied to attack, Hajime stopped him.

"Nanami-senpai, let me handle this. Their leader's still on the rooftop. The rest of the victims are inside. Please manage the situation here. If this thing stays, it'll keep growing stronger."

The cursed building echoed with fresh sounds of terror. Victims, unaware of the battle but haunted by past horrors, unknowingly fed the Curse.

In an instant, its regeneration accelerated. More eyes glowed—then beams of black energy shot forth again.

The blasts carved deep craters through the building behind them.

There wasn't time.

Hajime activated his Technique and vanished, taking the Cursed Spirit with him. The building shook, only a gaping hole left behind where they once stood.

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