I Hate Monkeys

A humanoid curse crawled out of the shadows.

Its face was covered in swollen pustules. Its teeth were black and yellow. Blood covered its upper body. Only when it fully emerged did Geto see that it had no lower half. It moved on two thick arms.

The curse looked up and found a human tilting his head to observe it.

"Only Grade 4," Geto said. "Fine. I will treat it as a walk."

The curse was not even Grade 3.

Geto wondered how Window had evaluated the scene.

"Stay with me. Stay. You stay with me."

It sensed Geto's contempt and crawled toward him in rage. Its arms struck the floor again and again until it reached his leg.

It opened its mouth to bite.

A heavy impact sent it flying into the wall.

"I will not waste time."

Geto formed a sign with one hand. Cursed energy gathered.

A mantis-like cursed spirit dropped from above.

After landing, it looked around as if newly freed, rubbing its head with scythe-shaped forelimbs.

"Kill it."

The mantis vanished.

One cut erased the crawling curse.

Geto looked at the scattered cursed energy with disgust. He did not want to return to the old routine so soon.

People from the village had gathered outside.

When Geto opened the door, they instinctively stepped back. Seeing that it was him, they forced smiles.

"Sir, did it work?"

The reception man stepped forward, fear and expectation twisted together on his face.

"It is done. There is no problem now."

"Wonderful. Thank you so much."

The man turned to the villagers.

"Everyone, do not worry. This house has been handled by the master."

"Really? Our village is safe now?"

"My neighbor died in there. I could not sleep every night."

"Good. Now we do not have to rent houses in the city."

"I do not believe it."

An elderly woman walked out.

"We cannot say it is fine just because he says so. We need to test it."

The villagers instantly backed away, leaving her standing alone.

"Your grandson died because he ignored warnings and went in," someone shouted. "Do not drag us down with you."

"If you want to test it, go yourself."

Their abuse did not make her retreat. She stared at Geto, waiting for an answer.

Geto frowned.

The curse had been exorcised. Even if someone entered now, nothing would happen.

"Fine. Choose the person yourself. I will watch nearby."

The surrounding villagers fled.

The elderly woman looked at them with contempt.

"Cowards."

Then she looked at the reception man.

"Bring those two unlucky girls. Let them go in first. If they live, that is their fortune."

The man looked embarrassed before Geto, but the woman's glare forced him to move.

For some reason, irritation rose in Geto.

He felt something bad was coming.

The three of them reached another house. It was slightly better than the cursed house, but not by much.

The door opened.

"No. Please. Do not hit us."

"It was not our fault. Why? Please do not hit us."

Two young voices reached Geto.

Inside, two small girls were locked in a wooden cage. Their bodies and expressions showed they had suffered inhuman treatment.

Geto froze.

"What is this?"

The man's flattering expression turned confused.

"What do you mean? These two are the main cause of this incident."

"Their heads are wrong. They have injured many villagers."

"My grandson was almost killed by them," the elderly woman said, her voice sharp with hatred. "Locking them here instead of killing them is already merciful."

"No," Geto said quietly. "The cause of the incident has already been removed."

His expression revealed nothing. Cursed energy began drifting around him.

The two girls sensed that energy and crawled toward the cage, seeing hope.

One pointed at the elderly woman.

"It was because he..."

"Shut up, monster."

The woman screamed.

"You are just like your parents. I should have killed you when you were still babies."

Black cursed energy gathered into a fly-head curse at Geto's fingertip.

"Do not be afraid."

The two girls froze, then huddled together.

Perhaps only that could give them a little warmth in this cold world.

Geto's face remained calm, but inside him a storm rose.

This curse had been born from ordinary people leaking cursed energy. Sorcerers risked their lives to protect ordinary people from it.

Yet young sorcerers who had not even grown up were persecuted by those same ignorant ordinary people.

Who was the one that needed protection?

If it were that man, what would he do?

Ren Zenin's figure appeared in Geto's mind.

If it were Ren, he would not think this much.

When Geto raised his head again, a gentle smile returned to his face.

"Everyone, please go outside first."

"No. I still need them to..."

"Good, good. We will go out first."

The man felt the pressure around Geto and quickly dragged the elderly woman away.

The wooden bars snapped.

"Come out," Geto said. "From now on, if anyone asks who the sorcerer is, say Suguru Geto."

The two girls looked up at him.

I truly hate monkeys.

That was the truth in Geto's heart.

Geto led the girls out.

The villagers had returned and blocked the entrance. Their eyes burned with anger.

"They cannot come out. They will destroy the village."

"For the village, they must die."

"Protect the village. Kill those demons."

They raised hoes and rakes as if ready to attack, but not one person stepped forward.

"Useless cowards," the elderly woman shouted.

The villagers were angry, but no one argued with her. They slowly gave her space.

"Sir, what do you mean by this?"

Her eyes slid toward the girls behind Geto.

The two children retreated in fear.

Warm hands touched their backs.

"Do not be afraid," Geto said. "Cover your eyes. No matter what you hear, do not let go."

"Mm."

His gentle voice filled the girls with warmth. They covered their eyes with both hands.

When Geto confirmed they could not see, something in him loosened.

The villagers flinched under his gaze.

For one moment, it felt as if death's blade had touched their necks.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you going to kill people? Do not forget your identity."

"Master, there must be a misunderstanding. Those two monsters slandered us."

Threats and excuses slid past him.

He had been bound by his so-called righteousness for too long.

It was time to show his true self.

Wind rose. Dust and leaves flew through the air.

The villagers stared in shock as Geto lifted off the ground.

"He is a monster too."

"Run. The monster is eating people."

"If we knew he was a monster, we never would have invited him."

Geto smiled.

He laughed at himself for protecting these monkeys.

He laughed at the idea that sorcerers could be persecuted by monkeys like this.

The more he laughed, the brighter and freer his laughter became.

From today onward, he would not protect another monkey.

A massive cursed spirit appeared, pale and huge, mouth reeking as it rushed toward the villagers.

Countless other curses appeared in strange shapes and moved deeper into the village.

The moment they emerged, the order entered their minds.

Slaughter all of them.

Cruelty and violence wrapped around the curses. They grinned and moved through the village.

Screams and pleas filled the air.

The two girls trembled, but they kept their hands over their eyes.

Then they began singing together.

"Yes, how joyful. This is the joy of being alive, even if the wound in my chest still hurts."

Their childish voices went from shaking to firm, as if saying farewell to the fate that had trapped them.

That song had accompanied them through countless painful nights.

Today, it sent away their former suffering.

Geto stroked their heads gently.

Jujutsu High was no longer a place he could return to.

Before disappearing, however, there was one place he needed to visit.

Three hours later, evening had begun to fall.

Geto arrived at the agency with the two girls.

"Is your boss here?"

"The boss has not been available recently," Nanami said. "If you have business, you may speak with our second boss."

"Second boss?"

"That would be me," Toji said from the corridor. "What is it?"

He saw the girls.

"You have children now?"

Geto smiled and shook his head.

Toji's brows tightened when he saw their wounds.

"Did they get into trouble?"

"I wanted to ask Ren Zenin a question."

"What question?"

"If a group of monkeys offended him, what would he do?"

Toji laughed.

"You do not need to ask him. You know the answer, don't you?"

Geto saw Ren in his mind.

The man had once terrified an entire city to create two special-grade imaginary cursed spirits. Would someone like that care what monkeys thought?

"Yes," Geto said. "I know. I only wanted to hear it confirmed."

"Then there is nothing else. If you see him, greet him for me. For the next few years, I may not be able to meet him."

Toji understood roughly what had happened.

Since Geto was still a friend of Ren's, he gave one reminder.

"Whatever you plan to do, do not harm your parents. That is my advice."

Geto's steps stopped.

He understood why Toji warned him.

Was it because Ren might kill him if he did?

Geto looked at the sunset at the end of the street.

"Thank you for the reminder."

So I am still afraid of death.

That was also true.

Inside Ren's office, dense symbols filled the room. Cursed energy hung in the air like dew.

Symbols drifted toward the figure at the center and vanished into him.

Cracks sounded.

Fragments flaked down over Ren's body and disappeared on contact.

More cursed energy poured out.

Drops of condensed cursed energy fell to the floor.

This process would still repeat many times.

The next day, one message shook the jujutsu world.

Special Grade sorcerer Suguru Geto has defected.

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