Cursed Corpses
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They are defined in jujutsu society as inanimate objects possessed by a curse.
This type of curse sometimes appears naturally, thanks to the cursed energy emitted by non-sorcerer humans.
In such cases, they are inherently hostile to humans.
However, there are also cursed corpses created intentionally by sorcerers.
These are known as artificial cursed corpses.
Artificial cursed corpses created by sorcerers possess a "core" that serves as their heart, allowing them to act independently of their creator.
The only real drawback of artificial cursed corpses is the limited cursed energy available in their core.
Thus, it is theoretically impossible to create a true army of autonomous cursed corpses.
"However, the man before my eyes breaks the common sense of this world," Jin thought as he crouched down to meet Yaga's gaze at eye level.
The moonlight reflected Jin's neutral expression on the blade of Chunchumaru as it slowly sank into his target's shoulder.
Jin wasn't bluffing.
Even though he had been a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen, he had no intention of acting like a stupid fanboy when meeting his favorite characters.
They were no longer fictional, and he was no longer a reader cozy in his room reading a manga.
Everything was real now.
So he was ready to be selfish—even cruel—to achieve his goals.
"A compromise?… Ridiculous. You kidnap me for a common innate technique of the cursed corpse creation type and you talk about—" Yaga declared before being interrupted by the blade in his flesh.
Chunchumaru had sunk deeper into the Grade 1 sorcerer's body.
"I don't like it when you try to lie to me, Yaga," Jin said as he slightly withdrew Chunchumaru without pulling it out completely.
"Your cursed technique for creating artificial cursed corpses isn't ordinary," Jin continued while observing Yaga's facial expression.
For a millisecond, a faint look of panic was readable on his face. However, he quickly hid it.
If Jin hadn't been paying close attention, he would have missed it.
"I need to make the mask fall. Otherwise, this conversation won't progress because of his stubbornness," he told himself before opening his mouth again.
"You can create autonomous ones. Isn't that right?" he asked suddenly.
"W-what?! H-how do you know— Haaa!" Yaga tried to question Jin, but the latter reminded him of his place.
The future principal of a sorcerer school was not in a position to ask questions.
Chunchumaru reminded him of that by twisting in his flesh.
Yaga grimaced in pain after letting out a barely suppressed grunt.
"Indeed, I'm aware of the secret behind your cursed technique. That's why I want to try learning it," Jin declared while maintaining eye contact with his prisoner.
A cold wind swept through the small pet cemetery as the two men faced each other in a brief duel of resolve.
Finally, Yaga broke the silence.
"T-this power isn't a gift, it's a curse," he said, averting his eyes from Jin to look at his arms damaged by Toji.
It was as if Yaga was remembering something his mind had tried to forget. But Jin decided to ignore it.
He wasn't Naruto, nor did he suffer from the protagonist syndrome that most isekai heroes seem to have for reasons that escaped him.
Jin wanted Yaga's power, and that was all.
He didn't care about his life, the loss of his children, or his pathetic attempt at consolation by creating Panda.
"A curse, you say? Haha, my dear Yaga, I don't know your past in detail. However, I'm going to give you a little advice."
Perhaps he felt an unfamiliar twinge of sympathy at that moment, but Jin pulled Chunchumaru out.
Yaga's wound wasn't fatal—Jin hadn't hit any major artery or vital point in his body.
He had only wanted to injure him to seem credible. The man had no real interest in killing Yaga.
"No one blames a blacksmith for creating a weapon, and no one blames a swordsman's blade for the carnage of its wielder. You have shown everyone the pinnacle of the art of cursed corpses, but—" Jin paused briefly as his eyes gazed at the night sky of the cemetery.
"You dared to blame the heavens for giving you your 'gift' and called it a curse? Ridiculous." Jin brought his attention back to Yaga.
"I'm telling you, Yaga… you're too kind. That's your curse. If I were you, I wouldn't curse Buddha for 'cursing' me—I would kill Buddha!" he said in a voice filled with determination.
Jin grabbed Yaga by the collar of his outfit and lifted him to face level.
The sorcerer couldn't resist—Toji had injured his limbs to ensure his cooperation during the kidnapping.
"You're a coward, Yaga, but I'm not. This curse you drag around—I want it." He continued without flinching, observing the silent man who clenched his teeth with a conflicted expression.
Yaga realized the immaturity of blaming his cursed technique and fate instead of truly mourning his children.
'M-maybe I should have questioned myself,' he thought as he reflected on his kidnapper's words.
It was clear that Jin's words had made the man realize he was simply running from his responsibilities toward his children.
He wasn't a good father.
If Jin was telling the truth, then Yaga had merely been playing the role of the good father toward young Panda.
His entire life was an illusion.
A grieving father's consolation.
Cowardice.
"I-I want you to make a vow… if by some unknown means you succeed in learning my cursed technique, then never use it against innocents," Yaga said in a slow voice.
Hearing him, Jin displayed a wide approving smile at the idea of executing a vow in exchange for a powerful cursed technique.
A vow
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It represents a pact made with oneself or a third party in exchange for a gain against a sacrifice.
Vows are an important element of exorcism, but they must be used with caution.
This caution stems from the consequences of breaking a vow.
Unfortunately, Jin didn't know how to execute a vow toward himself or a third party.
"The word 'innocent' is vague, but I can commit to avoiding killing non-sorcerers with your cursed technique unless absolutely necessary. And otherwise… how does one execute a vow?" Jin asked in an embarrassed tone toward the end of his words.
Yaga stared at him with a look that could be translated as: are you serious right now?
"Sorry, but I only awakened my powers three weeks ago," Jin replied reflexively.
Hearing that, Yaga's eyes widened.
'T-this man… he awakened his powers recently, yet he possesses this much cursed energy?' he thought, reevaluating Jin.
Normally, sorcerers awaken their supernatural power around the age of 4 to 6.
However, there are exceptional cases due to complex factors that challenge this common sense.
For example, Higuruma and Junpei.
They awakened their power under the influence of a third party.
Yuji Itadori's case is more complex than the two previously mentioned men.
But he truly awakened his jujutsu talent thanks to a cursed object—namely, one of Sukuna's fingers.
Jin's situation was somewhat similar to Yuji's. It was thanks to Kazuma's guild card that he had been able to increase his cursed energy reserves and go from normal to sorcerer level.
He had even gained a fully paved path of evolution thanks to an otherworldly item.
All of this had led him to this moment.
Because of his desire for Yaga's power, Jin had hunted cursed spirits in his free time after work.
The only thing that had prevented him from reaching adventurer level 15 was the rarity of Grade 1 cursed spirits.
Despite this handicap, Jin emitted enough cursed energy to be classified as a Grade 2 sorcerer by the sorcerer school.
If a clan learned of his evolution speed, they would immediately try to integrate him through a political marriage.
He wasn't as monstrous as Higuruma, but Jin was undoubtedly a genius by the ordinary standards of this era of peace.
"Alright, I'll teach you that too," Yaga declared after recovering from the insane news of Jin's evolution level.
Fortunately, he had never met Higuruma or Yuta—otherwise this younger version of Yaga would have lost his common sense.
…
[Name: Vow – Lv. 1]
[Description: Ability to exchange a sacrifice for a gain.]
[Cost: 10 skill points]
'Tsk, good thing I could learn it without wasting my points,' Jin thought while looking at the guild card.
He had already hypothesized this after learning the cost of the Cursed Energy Control skill.
Every ordinary skill was worth 1 skill point, but all supernatural (powerful) ones were worth at least 10 points.
Jin had accumulated 14 skill points thanks to his habit of going to places surrounded by rumors about spirits.
He had reached adventurer level 14, but he worried that the guild card considered Yaga's cursed technique as an advanced spell from the Konosuba world.
Why this hypothesis? Basic spells in Konosuba cost 1 point, like ordinary skills, but intermediate spells cost 10.
The guild card had judged the vow as an intermediate spell based on its cost.
Jin had been lucky that the vow didn't need to be learned with points, but he remained a little shocked by the news.
He couldn't spend 30 points on the equivalent of an advanced Konosuba spell.
'It's too late to back out now, and worst case I can just set it aside to learn later,' he told himself while watching Yaga stagger to his feet.
Jin had released him after the vow was made.
"Indeed, you're a novice," Yaga declared while touching his wrist bruised by the removed ropes.
"Hm? What do you mean by that?" Jin asked in a surprised tone after hearing Yaga's words.
"You didn't think I could kill you after demonstrating my cursed technique?" Yaga questioned while looking at him.
Jin was slightly unsettled by the veteran sorcerer's remark, but he quickly regained his composure.
He knew Yaga was bluffing.
He wasn't the type to be despicable.
"And so? I'm confident in my ability to escape," he said while pointing to Yaga's damaged leg.
Yaga didn't reply, but turned his attention to a grave not far from their location.
He staggered toward it before reinforcing his movements with cursed energy to speed up a little.
[Here lies Rei, year ###]
Once in front of the tombstone, Yaga offered a short prayer before digging up the little cat's body from its grave.
He repeated the action three times until he had four deceased creatures at his feet.
"As you already know, to create an artificial cursed corpse, you need to create a core," he said while emitting a large amount of cursed energy as he gently picked up the mother cat's corpse.
"After using cursed energy to create it, it's possible to program a cursed corpse with information thanks to the cursed energy injected inside as an intermediary," he continued his explanation.
Jin watched attentively as the little cat nonchalantly rose from Yaga's arm, looked around, and affectionately rubbed its head against his bloodied hand.
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"That's not all, is it?" Jin asked in a slightly hurried tone due to excitement.
Yaga frowned slightly at Jin's tone of voice but nodded at the novice sorcerer's words.
"That's correct, because my cursed technique deviates from common sense due to a small particularity," he replied while affectionately setting the little cat down.
He grabbed the three other corpses to create similar cores to the cat's, then injected them with a visually brutal burst.
The cat arched its back and convulsed like a creature in the middle of an epileptic seizure.
"I don't program anything into the artificial cursed corpse…" he said in a neutral voice while looking at Jin.
…
Author's Note : I'm going to publish a second chapter today, since this one was supposed to come out yesterday (I was too busy to finalize the edits on my draft).
And sorry for the "cliffhanger" at the end.
Another note: please continue supporting this poor author who's trying to make a comeback on the rankings with their new fanfic.