JJK: Wheel of Time

After leading the curse away from the area filled with fear, the bad news was that Shin Shuichi had now left the boundary of the barrier. This barrier was mainly meant to affect ordinary people, and its limitations on jujutsu sorcerers were minimal.

While pulling the curse out, he inevitably caused a tear in the barrier. It seemed that the barrier wouldn't last much longer before collapsing.

Fortunately, the battle was now taking place in a remote wilderness, surrounded by forests with no roads in sight, making it unlikely for any regular person to witness what was happening.

"Absorbing fear makes you pretty strong, huh? Too bad there's no fear here for you to feed on. If you absorbed anger instead... oh well, it doesn't matter. You're dead today, no one can save you now—not even gods, I swear..."

Shin's right hand clenched in midair, pale blue cursed energy swirling around his palm. In a moment, it formed a short spear, which began to twist and shift. The once-blue glow quickly transitioned into a bright white.

It looked like a cloud or a thin mist, constantly moving in his grasp.

This technique was another of Shin's attempts to refine his cursed technique. Normally, accelerating time with his technique simply made it harder for opponents to defend against, but the real power depended on how much cursed energy he put into his strikes.

But what if, instead of just using his technique to accelerate, he directly "launched" it at the enemy? This wasn't about applying the time acceleration to the enemy itself, which would put them in an accelerated time state.

While accelerating an enemy could cause some damage—because the technique would accelerate their lifespan—it wasn't yet a practical offensive tool for Shin at his current level.

So, Shin came up with another idea: what if he combined his attacks with his technique, speeding up the damage spread or the destruction of the enemy's body as soon as his attack connected?

This indirect application of his technique had been something he pondered for a long time, even consulting Gojo Satoru about it. With Gojo's Six Eyes, Shin had been able to work out many of the kinks.

While Shin wasn't yet fully proficient with this technique, using it repeatedly would help him refine it.

Holding the cursed energy-formed spear as if he were about to throw it, Shin leaped through space in an instant. The spear transcended time's constraints and struck the cursed spirit's body, causing it to stumble.

Chunks of flesh exploded and fell to the ground, already dry and rotting. The attack had caused more damage than Shin had anticipated. The cursed spirit's wound was nearly a meter long.

Under normal circumstances, the curse's energy should have begun healing the wound immediately. But that didn't happen. In its panic, the curse's flesh twitched around the wound, but its regenerative abilities weren't kicking in. For curses, as long as they weren't completely destroyed, they could usually restore their bodies.

However, not only was its body wounded, but an unknown cursed energy had also invaded its body, wreaking havoc from within. Like pulling the bottom stone from a tower of blocks, the chain reaction caused destruction to spread uncontrollably. The curse's body couldn't respond in time, and the damage snowballed, stopping only when the curse's strength was exhausted.

Shin watched as the curse's body swelled and split open. Through the cracks, numerous eyes could be seen shifting within, and the black beams it fired continued to shoot toward Shin.

Blocking the first beam drained a significant amount of Shin's cursed energy. He flashed away, disappearing into the dust cloud stirred up by the impact. Gathering his cursed energy once more, he fused it with his technique.

As the next attack struck the curse, Shin thought to himself: 'This technique is pretty good. In essence, it targets a specific concept or entity, applying my technique to cause only negative effects for the enemy.'

'Let's call it "Arrow of Time."' And as for why it's called an arrow and not a spear—Shin shrugged. It didn't matter. He could just as easily form it into the shape of an arrow. Spears or other shapes weren't as effective, and he wasn't sure if he could control his cursed energy to that level of detail yet.

With his left hand, Shin formed three long arrows. With a single thought, the arrows pierced into the curse's flesh.

Before the curse could explode again, two more attacks struck in rapid succession. The curse's beams of light scattered wildly in all directions, lacking any precision or focus.

Unable to trace the attacks, the curse lashed out in blind, indiscriminate rage, but Shin's attacks consistently hit their mark, leaving it with no sense of direction.

A few more waves of "Arrows of Time" left the curse's body in tatters. Without access to the fear it fed on, the curse couldn't regain its strength. Whenever it tried to flee, its efforts were in vain.

Though Shin's cursed energy was still abundant, his mental state was exhausted, and his face was stained with blood—though he couldn't tell if it was his own or the curse's.

"It's time to finish this..." Shin muttered, looking at the curse, which had lost three of its limb-like arms. He activated his Wheel of Time once again, unleashing a flurry of punches on the curse's exposed cluster of eyeballs. It felt like crushing a jar of grapes.

As black light flickered and the sound of squishing echoed, the curse's cries finally began to fade.

Its mangled, barely recognizable body collapsed and turned to ash. Once Shin confirmed that it was completely exorcised, he sighed in relief.

The battle itself had been relatively short, and Shin's most significant injury was from his attempt to reverse the deaths of the people swallowed by the curse—an effort that had slightly exceeded his limits. The rest of his discomfort came from repeatedly using the reverse technique to practice his new move.

Looking back at the main building, Shin noticed that the barrier had almost fully dissipated. With his remaining cursed energy, he used his technique to return to the building, where the survivors had been released. Their faces were filled with confusion, a mixture of disbelief and joy as they realized they had narrowly escaped death.

Shin didn't stop to acknowledge the scene. He made his way to the rooftop, where Nanami Kento was standing alongside a group of people tied up—twelve men and one woman in total.

Shin deactivated his technique and appeared suddenly in the room. The captives facing the door were about to shout in surprise, but Nanami, who sensed someone behind him, instinctively raised his blade in defense. When he saw Shin, he lowered his weapon.

"You took care of the curse? I was just about to head out and assist you," Nanami said.

Shin nodded. "Yeah, I exorcised it. My technique is speed-based, after all. Thanks for your concern, Nanami-senpai."

Nanami's eyes, behind his glasses, were full of admiration. "Well done. After this mission, your promotion to first-grade sorcerer should be secured."

Shin didn't seem too excited about the news. Instead, he pointed to the tied-up criminals. "Senpai, what's going to happen to them?"

Nanami, recalling the horrific scenes they had witnessed earlier, loosened his tie slightly and remained silent for a moment. "Once the police arrest them, I'm sure they'll gather enough evidence. The main perpetrators may even face the death penalty. The others... well, that depends on the courts."

Shin, his expression cold, looked like a demon fresh from a murder scene, with dark, dried blood smeared across his face.

Nanami, with a stern tone, added, "You can't kill them, Shin. The courts will decide their fate..." He didn't say it, but he knew that if Shin were to kill them, the traces of cursed energy left behind would be easy for the higher-ups to identify. The more conservative factions would certainly take advantage of such a situation.

After all, Shin was deeply tied to Gojo Satoru's faction. If he broke the rules, those who clung to regulations like scavengers would pounce on the opportunity.

Shin smiled. "Don't worry, Senpai. I'm not that stupid. Let's just get them out of here and let the police handle the rest."

Shin grabbed the rope tying the criminals together and began dragging them toward the stairs.

The tied-up captives were pulled to the ground, helpless as Shin hauled them down the stairs, their bodies bouncing off the steps, leaving them bloodied and battered as they cried out in pain. Despite their attempts to stand, Shin's strength prevented them from doing so.

When they reached the main hall, the survivors who had been freed by Nanami were still there. They had tried to leave earlier, but were stopped by an invisible barrier, so they had returned to the hall in confusion.

As weak, pitiful groans echoed through the air, Shin descended the stairs with the criminals in tow. The survivors whispered amongst themselves as they saw the condition of the people Shin was dragging.

After dumping the criminals in the center of the room, Shin stretched and turned to Nanami. "Senpai, this place is too filthy. Let's wait outside. Our job is done, right? What happens next isn't our concern, is it?"

Nanami glanced at the survivors, whose fear and astonishment had turned into seething anger. Without saying much, he followed Shin. "That's right, our shift is over. Let's go. I already notified the police, so they should be here in about three minutes."

As they walked out of the building, the pleas and cries for help from the tied-up criminals echoed behind them. Shin closed the door behind him, blocking out the sound of their desperate screams. The chaotic emotions of the survivors—fear, anger, and shock—were palpable, but Shin and Nanami moved on, leaving the scene behind.

Nanami sighed softly as they stepped outside into the cool night air. "Even though we're not directly responsible, this situation will likely still cause some trouble down the line."

Shin shrugged, wiping away some of the dried blood on his face. "Let Gojo-sensei deal with the fallout. That's part of his job, right? Besides, I'm starving, Nanami-senpai. Let's grab some food and maybe a drink."

Nanami raised an eyebrow, his expression stern but with a hint of amusement. "You're still underage, Shin. You can have juice—nothing stronger."

°°°

If you want to read ahead and access 20 advanced chapters, check the patreon

Link: Patreon/Moziel