I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [46]

"Baobhan Sith… Sister…"

Utterly exhausted, Jasmine lay sprawled on the ground, her gaze fixed in horror on the small, blood-red cube before her.

Just moments ago, she'd watched as that blood-crying eye—suddenly emerging from the corpse of the Special Grade curse—had "swallowed" her sister whole. It had then transformed into this tiny, fist-sized cube.

The cube resembled a dice, except that instead of red dots, each side had a single rolling eyeball, with its red, uneven, almost organic surface making it look like a living thing.

"Ahh… it seems it worked. I had to burn through quite a few trump cards just to deal with her."

The voice from earlier echoed out of the shadows. Jasmine looked toward it, her eyes blazing with anger. It was obvious this person was the mastermind behind everything that had happened today.

A figure emerged from the shadows, an ordinary-looking man with a stitched line across his forehead and a too-perfect smile, so flawless it felt eerie.

The corpse of the white curse had vanished entirely, not even a speck of dust remaining. Only a twisted, black-purple finger and the Prison Realm cube sealing Baobhan Sith remained, which the man stooped to pick up.

He pocketed the finger and held the cube in his hand, then, as he adjusted his mask, it shattered, revealing a face split in a grotesque grin, wide as a snake's jaw, eyes narrowed in manic glee.

"You were strong—remarkably strong, perhaps on par with Sukuna in his prime a thousand years ago. But what does that matter? I'm the one who gets the last laugh."

A cursed object of the highest grade—the Prison Realm.

Originally, this was a trump card meant for Gojo Satoru. But the urgency Baobhan Sith inspired had forced him to use it early.

The Prison Realm was the mummified body of a legendary monk, Genshin, who became a Special Grade cursed object upon his death. Its power was terrifying: "Nothing exists that cannot be sealed by the Prison Realm."

Of course, this fearsome power came with strict limitations.

The target must be within four meters of the Prison Realm, and it required a full minute to activate.

The four-meter range was manageable, but for targets like Gojo or Baobhan Sith, a minute was plenty of time for them to utterly destroy the caster.

Fortunately for him, the "one minute" referred to was mental, not physical, time.

Thus, to ensure absolute success, he had prepared an additional Special Grade cursed tool—the "Eye of Reflection."

Its effect was to trap the target within an illusion of their most painful memories, something he'd acquired from a foreign sorcerer.

The only drawback? It could be used only once and had disintegrated into dust in his hands after use.

Two Special Grade cursed objects, a failed prototype of a Special Grade curse, and four Special Grade curses he'd painstakingly strengthened. Even after living a thousand years, he couldn't help but feel a sting of regret at the cost.

But it didn't matter. If his plan succeeded, everything would be worth it.

Once sealed by the Prison Realm, no one—no matter how powerful—could break free from within.

Still, from the outside, it wasn't entirely invulnerable. To guarantee success, he would need to retrieve the only two tools that could break it from the outside.

But there was still one thing left to do…

Wiping the crazed smile from his face, he donned a gentle, eerily perfect smile as he looked at the girl on the ground, Jasmine.

"You have quite a rare innate technique, young lady."

Looking at him, Jasmine felt as though she were staring into chaos itself, an indescribably twisted and monstrous entity lurking within.

What she sensed wasn't malice. Malice and kindness were human attributes, and this creature before her was neither human nor alive, possessing only the madness and distortion of something purely unnatural.

"My great plan requires Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique," he said, a chilling pleasure in his tone. "But fortunately, I just so happen to have one more spot… let's save it for you, shall we?"

"I can tell that you haven't yet unlocked the full potential of your technique. No worries… I'll handle that for you. The older I get, the fewer surprises I come across."

He approached Jasmine, savoring each step and the desperate look in her eyes.

Jasmine wanted to stand, to bat away his outstretched hand, to get her sister back.

But her body felt like a rusted machine, refusing to move and giving her only more pain in return.

"Sister…"

She closed her eyes.

To steal an innate technique, he would have to target the core of her technique, embedded in her brain—a process he'd perfected over a millennium.

Yet for some reason, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably, surprising him.

…Wait, it wasn't his hand that was trembling. It was…

He glanced at the Prison Realm in his hand, utterly stunned.

The crimson-red cube had turned silver after sealing Baobhan Sith, but it was glowing red-hot again—not the blood-red of flesh, but a molten, overloaded red, radiating heat and pulsing in his hand.

The eyes on its six faces were rolling wildly, cracks splitting open on its surface and sealing up again in a cycle.

The first thought that struck him was, "Impossible!"

As far as he knew, breaking the Prison Realm from within was absolutely impossible.

The Prison Realm's interior was a chaotic, twisted space where time and space were utterly distorted—an outside minute could be an instant or an eternity within.

Those who live the longest, who know the most, often become prisoners of their own knowledge.

The wise are bound by wisdom, while the foolish walk freely.

The depth of his understanding of the Prison Realm's power made the sight before him even more incomprehensible.

"You… you dare…"

A howl tore from the depths of hell, a roar like an ancient beast awakening from primordial rage.

Fury, bloodlust, and cruelty, malice beyond measure.

The sheer violence emanated from within the Prison Realm, a wrath capable of tearing the world asunder.

He'd thought Baobhan Sith's power rivaled that of Sukuna in his prime—but he hadn't anticipated that she had been holding back ever since arriving in this world.

After all, within her resided the Holy Grail. Though fragile, it was an impeccable power source.

And now, with her restraint shattered by fury, Baobhan Sith's burning anger unleashed a curse potent enough to scorch the world.

---

"Baobhan Sith… Sister…"

Kneeling on the ground, Jasmine cradled the cracked Prison Realm cube in her hands, not caring that her clothes were dirtied.

"Ah, sorry… I must've scared you, Jasmine."

The cube was covered in deep cracks, Baobhan Sith's voice emerging from within, slightly strained.

"I'm fine. Are you alright, Sister?"

Jasmine shook her head, worry plain on her face as she asked.

"…I'm managing. I couldn't break the seal, but I can speak with you now."

"Then, how can I free you, Sister?"

The malevolent aura that had radiated from Baobhan Sith didn't matter to Jasmine. No matter how frightening her sister's energy had seemed, Jasmine would never fear her.

All she wanted was to know how to free her.

"There are three ways to unlock the Prison Realm. The simplest would be the Inverted Spear of Heaven I left at home. Thankfully, I didn't destroy it when I came across it."

Aside from that blade, which could sever any technique, the only other known methods were the Angel's nullification of all techniques and the Black Rope, which could neutralize and disrupt cursed energy.

Whether the Angel had awakened was unknown, and the Black Rope was currently in the possession of a foreign jujutsu sorcerer.

"In that case, I'll go home and bring you out at once," Jasmine said, now on her feet with enough energy to make the journey.

"Wait! Don't be so quick to release me… let me stay in here a few more days."

"Hmm?"

Jasmine hesitated, then nodded obediently, asking no questions.

If her sister had a reason for this, she would trust it.

Baobhan Sith, relieved Jasmine hadn't inquired further, sighed quietly from within the Prison Realm.

She couldn't very well explain that her current state wasn't exactly suitable for public viewing.

Jasmine left with the Prison Realm, but she left the country's jujutsu sorcerers with a monumental problem.

A towering tree of white bone, stretching tens of meters high and covered with thorn-like branches. Massive cracks ran through its trunk, seeping a bloody, ominous light.

While the size alone was striking, the tree's aura was its true menace. Its cursed energy overflowed ceaselessly, enough to spawn dozens, perhaps hundreds of Special Grade curses.

Even Baobhan Sith, confined within the Prison Realm, sensed the danger of leaving such a thing behind.

She had destroyed that man, but the tree had absorbed his life and spirit, growing into a new calamity. Though she'd defeated a massive villain, she seemed to have created an even worse disaster. If the malice within the tree were to escape, it could destroy the world.

"When I'm freed, I'll use the Holy Grail to suppress it."

Though it would weaken her, she couldn't allow this threat to go unchecked.

Fortunately, the tree only passively released cursed energy. It would take days to manifest even one Special Grade curse.

And since ordinary people couldn't see the tree, it wouldn't cause a panic…

The jujutsu sorcerers, though… well, they probably wouldn't panic, right?