Chapter 53: A Question

100 PS

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Several minutes had passed since they had arrived at the shopping street. They were now close to the source of all the cursed energy emanating from the area. The path had been filled with minor curses, but Inumaki and Makima dealt with them easily. Meanwhile, Yuta had yet to recover from the previous encounter.

"We're almost there. It's inside that building," Makima said, pointing to a worn-out structure with broken windows and stained walls. "Looks like a liquor store... but that doesn't explain this anomalous energy," she thought, observing intently. Her face remained expressionless, though her gaze seemed to analyze every detail.

"Inumaki, stay outside. Okkotsu, you're coming with me," she ordered.

Yuta swallowed hard. He knew arguing with Makima was useless, so he nodded, though he felt uneasy. Inumaki said nothing, but his expression revealed his displeasure; he didn't like Yuta going alone with her, but he knew he had no choice.

Inside the building, the atmosphere was heavy, laden with an oppressive energy that made it hard to breathe. Everything seemed disordered, but nothing particularly strange at first glance. After searching for a few minutes, they found a hidden staircase leading to a basement. Descending it only increased the oppressive feeling in the air.

At the bottom, the first thing they saw was a room filled with broken beds and scattered clothes. Makima, meticulous as always, inspected the area. She found rusty syringes, opened condom packets, and a rancid stench. "I see... this was an illegal brothel," she said without flinching.

Yuta looked around, horrified. His attention stopped on some tiny clothes in a corner. His expression twisted in pain. "N-no way..." he murmured, his voice trembling.

Makima glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "It seems they also trafficked children. No wonder there's so much cursed energy accumulated here," she remarked, her tone unchanged. Before she could say more, she reacted quickly, pulling Yuta and throwing him to the ground.

A moment later, a figure dropped from the ceiling, striking where Yuta had been standing. It was a young woman with a face obscured by tangled hair, skin pale as a corpse, and long black claws gleaming menacingly in the dim basement light.

"I-I'm worthless..." the creature muttered in a tone filled with despair.

Makima observed her without any emotion. "Grade one... almost special," she said, her mind analyzing the threat.

Yuta, still on the ground, froze at the words. He barely managed to stand when the female curse lunged at Makima, her claws aiming for her face. But Makima didn't move. Her eyes glowed intensely as she calmly said, "STOP."

The curse froze mid-air, writhing in a mixture of pain and resistance. It didn't want to obey, but its will was crushed by Makima's technique. She raised a finger, ready to finish the creature, when a new enemy appeared.

It was a grotesque figure, a being morbidly obese to the extreme, its skin resembling a mass of translucent fat. It moved with surprising speed, lunging toward her.

Makima barely managed to shield herself with her arms. "Another grade one... and it appeared out of nowhere too," she thought, frustrated. She quickly glanced at Yuta, who was still frozen on the ground. With an internal sigh, Makima shifted her attention back to the two enemies.

The female curse, recovered from the command, attacked again, but Makima simply tilted her head, dodging the claws with ease. With a wave of her hand, she generated slashes that tore through the air, injuring the creature. However, before she could focus on finishing it, the fat mass attacked her again. Makima formed a metal plate on her forearm, blocking the blow.

"Slashes won't work against this thing... I'll need something to disintegrate it," she thought, quickly assessing the situation. Before she could launch the attack, another curse appeared: a small deformed being, goblin-like. It attacked Makima from behind. She clicked her tongue in irritation, concentrating as she unleashed an explosion of cursed energy, channeling her connection with Rika. The energy took on a bright pink hue, destroying part of the basement and hurling the three curses against the walls.

Makima moved with overwhelming speed. "There you are," she murmured, activating her projection technique at full power. In an instant, she shot out of the basement, slicing through the air with precision and landing several meters away. Her sharp gaze detected the disturbance in the cursed energy: someone was manipulating these curses.

Without worrying about Yuta, she assumed the "ball of cholesterol" and the female curse had been eliminated or were too weakened to pose an immediate threat. Within seconds, Makima appeared on the roof of a nearby building, standing before a figure that seemed startled by her speed.

It was a man with long hair, dressed in a black haori. His surprised expression gave him away: he hadn't anticipated Makima tracking and reaching him so quickly. Makima stared at him intently, her eyes like daggers pointing directly at him.

"Anything to say to avoid your death?" she asked coldly, making it clear she wasn't interested in games or preambles.

The man raised his hands nervously, a tense smile forming on his face. "Ehh... hi, my name is Suguru Geto..." he said, trying to improvise as his plan fell apart before his eyes.

"Shit, now what do I do..." Geto thought, trying to maintain his composure. "The idea was to gather some information before introducing myself to her. I didn't think her sensory abilities were this sharp." From the rooftop, Makima observed him closely, her eyes analyzing the man before her.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on her lips. "Suguru Geto, special grade sorcerer, what are you doing harassing teenagers? Don't you have better things to do?" she said sarcastically. Her voice was as icy as it was precise, making it clear she wasn't taking the situation lightly.

Geto smiled, trying to maintain his calm demeanor. "Well, it seems my reputation has reached you, Makima Zenin. Or... what are they starting to call you? The Sorceress of Control..."

Makima raised an eyebrow, visibly indifferent to the nickname. She had never heard it before, but it wasn't something that interested her. "As I said, what reason will you give me not to attack you right now?" she asked in a tone so cold it could freeze the air.

Geto kept his hands raised, showing he had no intention of fighting. Although confident in his abilities, he wasn't willing to test whether Makima had limitations in her technique. He preferred to avoid any mistakes.

"I just wanted to talk to you," he replied, with a nervous smile contrasting with the tension of the moment. "Although I think I overdid it."

"Talk? About what?" Makima asked, barely furrowing her brow. She wasn't used to someone confronting her with such vague intentions.

Geto lowered his hands slightly but maintained his relaxed posture. "I wanted to ask you something..." he began, taking a moment before completing his thought. "What do you think of the sorcerer society?"

Makima looked at him curiously. The question was unexpected, but no less dangerous. She crossed her arms, not letting her guard down. "That depends," she responded in a tone that revealed nothing but her intention to control the situation. "Why do you care about my opinion, Geto?"

He smiled, more confident now that he had caught her attention. "Because I think you and I... might have more in common than you imagine."

Yuki walked calmly through the area, keeping her senses alert as she waited for the opportunity. As Gojo had said, Makima would separate from the group, which would make any move easier. Despite her patience, a loud crash shook the environment, interrupting her focus. Quickly, her gaze turned to the source of the sound and saw Makima shooting toward a nearby rooftop with almost calculated precision.

"Is that the signal?" Yuki thought as her body instinctively began to move. She wasn't one to hesitate much, and she knew any delay could complicate the situation. She climbed onto a nearby rooftop for a better view and then stopped in her tracks.

In the distance, she spotted Makima, who stood firm as usual. In front of her was someone Yuki never expected to see under any circumstances: Suguru Geto. "Geto?" she murmured to herself, her eyes widening slightly.

The former sorcerer and Gojo's friend, now known as a dangerous enemy, seemed to be in some kind of negotiation with Makima. From her position, Yuki couldn't hear what they were saying, but the tension was evident even from that distance.

"What the hell is he doing here?" she thought, clenching her fists as she tried to decide her next move. Makima wasn't someone easy to deal with, but with Geto also on the scene, things could become even more complicated than Gojo had anticipated. "I don't like this at all..."

Yuki remained still, assessing whether to intervene or wait. She knew any mistake could be catastrophic. And as she did, she couldn't help but wonder what Geto's true goal was in all of this.