Gojo Satoru: The Strongest Sorcerer Among Exorcists

"Oh~ You don't look too bad after all."

Gojo Satoru smiled lightly as he looked at the girl in front of him, her disheveled appearance resembling a stray kitten on the street.

"You're tougher than you look, aren't you?"

Though she was dirty from head to toe, with her pajamas covered in grime and her pale face smudged with dust, there were no serious injuries on her body. Only a few minor scrapes from her desperate attempts to escape—a bit of disinfectant would fix those up.

What impressed Gojo the most was that, even while being hunted by a True Snake-Class Kegare, she hadn't given up hope of survival.

That was unexpected.

Most ordinary people would have been paralyzed with fear at the first sight of such a monster, let alone manage to run away.

Tough…

Hearing that word, Nino Nakano pressed her lips together, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

She wasn't sure how she had managed to endure it all.

Her only thought had been to return home, to her sisters' embrace.

"I…"

She was about to speak when a guttural, inhuman voice interrupted her.

"Evolve… curse energy… I want… to evolve."

Behind them, the True Snake-Class Kegare growled, its speech halting and distorted.

As it spoke, its previously obliterated arm began to regenerate at a visible pace.

"Roar—"

The surrounding lesser Kegare also roared, their eyes gleaming with palpable greed.

They were devoid of emotion, driven only by an insatiable hunger for curse energy.

If not for the dominant presence of the True Snake-Class Kegare, they would have attacked immediately.

"Such a racket," Gojo sighed, brushing off the noise. "Well, I guess this isn't exactly the best place for a chat."

With that, he reached down and scooped Nino up in a princess carry.

Here, fighting the Kegare could result in flying debris and dust injuring the girl. The best option was to relocate somewhere safe before deciding whether to toy with the monsters or simply obliterate them.

After all, Gojo was in a foul mood.

It wasn't just because these creatures were harming innocent people late at night.

They had interrupted his plans to take a relaxing bath.

Letting them off easily would be too generous.

"Eh—eh—?!"

Feeling her feet leave the ground and the warmth of Gojo's arms, Nino let out a startled yelp, her face turning red.

But she didn't resist. Instead, she unconsciously rested her head against his chest, comforted by the steady warmth.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she felt safe.

A blink later, the world shifted.

When Nino reopened her eyes, she found herself standing on the rooftop of a tall building.

Looking down, she could see the frenzied Kegare still roaming far below.

Teleportation?

Her heart raced with shock.

She had suspected it earlier, but now she was certain.

This man—

He must be a legendary Onmyoji.

After setting her down gently, Gojo ruffled her hair and said, "Wait here for a moment. I'll deal with these Kegare, and then I'll send you back to the real world."

The real world?!

Nino's mind latched onto those words, ignoring everything else he said. Her eyes lit up with hope.

Finally, she could go home.

"Then… please be caref—"

Nino began to speak earnestly, but her expression changed mid-sentence.

"Watch out!!"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the True Snake-Class Kegare leaping toward them, a five-meter-long metal rod clutched in its grotesque hand.

It had locked onto their position and pounced, aiming to skewer Gojo and her in one strike.

Frozen in terror, Nino squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating the worst.

But instead of pain, she heard a calm voice beside her.

"Now that's just rude."

Confused, Nino cautiously opened her eyes.

Her pupils widened as she took in the scene before her.

Gojo stood nonchalantly, one hand in his pocket, the other casually holding the metal rod that had been aimed at them.

His expression was one of utter boredom, as if dealing with an unruly child.

"Roar—"

The True Snake-Class Kegare roared furiously, straining its massive arms in an attempt to drive the rod forward.

No matter how hard it tried, the rod wouldn't budge—not even by a millimeter.

The monster didn't understand how strong Gojo was.

It only knew one thing: it was hungry. It needed to devour this human to absorb his curse energy and evolve further.

Realizing its efforts were futile, the Kegare released the rod and twisted its body to retreat.

But before it could reach the ground—

Limitless Technique · Precision Application · Palm Strike.

Bang—!

The Kegare's body exploded instantly.

The resulting shockwave blasted through the nearby apartment building, leaving a massive hole in its structure.

The impact even created a vacuum effect, causing a high-pitched ringing to fill the air.

The remnants of the Kegare's body disintegrated, its cursed energy dissipating into the sky.

Only its head remained intact, tumbling lifelessly to the ground.

Standing atop the severed head, Gojo looked down at the horde of lesser Kegare still swarming below.

With a faint sigh, he raised his index finger.

"It's decided. I'm finishing this quickly—I've got a bath waiting for me."

Limitless · Reversal Technique · Red.

A crimson glow formed at the tip of Gojo's finger, manifesting as a perfectly round black sphere.

The Kegare below froze in place, their frenzied movements halting as if they had suddenly realized the end of their existence was near.

The swirling red energy intensified, causing the black sphere to pulse and expand.

Boom—!

A scarlet shockwave erupted, tearing through the ground and reducing everything in its path to ashes.

Buildings crumbled into dust, and not a single trace of the Kegare remained.

As the glowing pentagram marking Gojo's technique appeared below, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Gotta admit, that looked pretty cool."