DxD: I'm Surrounded by Big Sister Devils!

The Domain Expansion, known as a technique that only the most elite sorcerers could master, shattered like a bubble in less than a second before Fukuki. It was as simple as trapping a flightless fly under a disposable paper cup.

With the Domain's collapse, the distorted sense of space caused by the overwhelming cursed energy returned to normal.

Fukuki lightly tapped on the black coffin's outer surface, not particularly concerned whether the Sukuna inside could hear him.

"Just calm down in there for now, okay?"

With that, he turned away, directing his gaze elsewhere.

At the far end of the indoor pool, a girl wielding a katana was still locked in battle with a four-eyed special-grade cursed spirit.

Clang!

A resounding clash of metal echoed through the open space as the cursed spirit, Cursed Womb: Finger Bearer, slammed a fist onto her blade, forcing Saeko Busujima to retreat several meters.

"Huff... huff..."

Landing firmly, the kendo girl reset her stance, breathing heavily in short bursts. Cold sweat trickled down her face.

As a Grade 1 sorcerer, Saeko Busujima wasn't as overwhelmed as Yuji Itadori or Megumi Fushiguro might have been, but the battle was far from easy. The struggle between humans and cursed spirits was inherently a life-or-death scenario. She knew she wasn't strong enough to compare with someone like Gojo Satoru, who existed on a completely different level. Dealing with a newly born special-grade cursed spirit was already pushing her to risk her life.

If she had to gamble her life, then she'd have to increase her cursed energy output.

But doing so would inevitably—

Her grip tightened on the hilt of her unsheathed katana as she bit her lip.

"How's it going, Senpai? Almost done? It's about time we left, don't you think?"

The inner turmoil in Saeko's heart had barely begun when a boyish voice interrupted her thoughts.

Fukuki, who had easily subdued Sukuna, strolled leisurely toward her with his hands in his pockets. Stopping beside Saeko, he ignored the cursed spirit exuding an oppressive aura of cursed energy not far away.

"Oh, by the way, Senpai, do you have a ride back? If it's inconvenient, I can give you a lift."

"Uh, no need for that. I still have to return to Jujutsu High to report in, so a car will come to pick me up..."

Saeko instinctively replied.

However, cursed spirits had their pride too. Seeing the pair blatantly ignore it and chat away, Cursed Womb: Finger Bearer's grotesque face twisted, its expression shifting from glee to shock, and finally, to pure rage.

"RAAAAHHH!"

With an inhuman screech, it lunged at Fukuki and Saeko, claws outstretched.

Its fate was already sealed.

Boom!

With an impact so powerful the ground trembled, the cursed spirit, which had been charging forward at high speed, flew back even faster. Its chest was blown open, leaving a gaping hole, as purple-black cursed blood scattered through the air like wilting reeds.

Fukuki stood with his left fist extended, maintaining the finishing punch's pose. In his hand was an object he had just pulled from the cursed spirit's chest.

It was Sukuna's finger—the cursed spirit's "heart."

The kendo girl's lips parted slightly.

No cursed energy—no, to use the terminology of onmyōji, no sign of spiritual energy fluctuation. A special-grade cursed spirit had been defeated in one strike with sheer physical strength?!

Before Saeko could say anything, Fukuki casually tossed the finger aside.

"All done. Let the car come pick us up now."

Although flying directly back would have been the simplest and most convenient mode of transportation, Fukuki didn't mind occasionally indulging in the Jujutsu Society's car service.

Two minutes later, the three of them sat side by side on the steps of the juvenile detention center's front entrance—one lying flat.

Fukuki and Saeko Busujima sat together, while Yuji Itadori, who had handed over control of his body to Sukuna earlier, was unconscious from exhaustion. Megumi Fushiguro was taking care of him.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky darkened, and a pleasant evening breeze brushed past.

Fukuki glanced at Yuji, whose eyes remained tightly shut.

"I originally planned to leave him in the Black Coffin a bit longer, but it looks like the absence of those marks on his face means Sukuna's possession has ended, right?"

"Yeah, that's correct," Megumi replied flatly.

His plan had been to hand the severely injured Nobara Kugisaki over to Ijichi before sending a signal to Yuji and rushing back to the battlefield. But upon returning to the juvenile detention center, he found the Domain gone, with Saeko, Fukuki, and a massive Black Coffin emerging from within.

They also brought out an unconscious Yuji Itadori and Sukuna's finger.

Although it was still unclear what this guy's true origins were, it was obvious that the large black coffin was his cursed technique.

And if he could effortlessly suppress Sukuna with two fingers' worth of power, his strength was undoubtedly at least Special Grade—if not beyond that.

"Still, there's no need to worry too much. For now, it seems that Itadori-kun has the ability to completely suppress Sukuna," Saeko Busujima explained, noticing the boy's concern.

However, as she continued, her voice dropped to a near whisper.

"So, the higher-ups in the Jujutsu Society plan to exploit Itadori-kun's unique constitution, using him as a vessel to collect all twenty of Sukuna's fingers. Once they've gathered them, they'll execute him to destroy Sukuna along with him."

"Huh? Why?"

Fukuki raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching with disbelief.

"I'm genuinely curious about what reasoning led them to this conclusion. Did they come up with it by slapping their heads? Or maybe their thighs?"

"…What do you mean?" Saeko hesitated, then asked.

"It's simple."

Fukuki pointed a thumb toward the juvenile detention center behind them.

"The bald Special Grade Cursed Spirit we just dealt with had one of Sukuna's fingers in its body. Not only was it able to suppress Sukuna's consciousness, but it could also actively utilize Sukuna's power. And now that it's dead, the finger remains perfectly intact, doesn't it?"

"…"

"…"

It was a sharp and straightforward argument that left no room for rebuttal.

While Itadori Yuuji could suppress Sukuna's consciousness, a Special Grade Cursed Spirit could do the same—and even go a step further by harnessing Sukuna's power. This alone was enough to prove that a cursed spirit was a more suitable vessel for Sukuna's fingers.

Ultimately, the Jujutsu Society chose Itadori as the vessel not because he was the best fit, but precisely because he couldn't use Sukuna's power. Even if he consumed one or twenty fingers, he would remain nothing more than a slightly stronger high school athlete, making him easy to execute without much resistance.

But who could guarantee that killing Itadori would also destroy Sukuna for good?

And this decision, made through the Society's top-level voting system, epitomized the saying, When everyone is responsible, no one is responsible. As former British Prime Minister Jim Hacker once said: That's democracy for you.

Both Saeko Busujima and Megumi Fushiguro seemed to come to the same realization and fell into silence.

Fukuki coughed lightly to change the topic.

"By the way, when I heard that guy Ijichi call you earlier, he mentioned the target was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. If they knew that, why didn't they assign a Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer? Where's the so-called 'strongest' from the Gojo clan?"

"Gojo-sensei is out on assignment," Megumi replied flatly.

"Normally, missions would include sorcerers of the same grade as the target cursed spirit. But this afternoon, Gojo-sensei was given an emergency task to assist in the search for a missing Grade 1 sorcerer. The Society sent him off to handle that."

A Grade 1 sorcerer goes missing, so they send a Special Grade sorcerer to assist? Meanwhile, a group of students is left to deal with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit?

Fukuki's head buzzed as he began to piece it all together.

"So, this is… a complete circus of incompetence."

It was a simple truth: there were only so many Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers, and even fewer like Gojo Satoru, whose expertise lay in combat.

Finding the missing Grade 1 sorcerer was undoubtedly important, but what about the students sent to handle the Special Grade spirit? Were their lives any less valuable?

Frankly, if Fukuki hadn't been here today, Gojo Satoru might have ended up searching for the bodies of three missing students after finishing his current task.

Failing to assign the right people for the right jobs, leaving the main force to patch up previous gaps—this sort of negligence was a breeding ground for a vicious cycle of failure.

And worse, they accepted such arrangements without question.

In that case, what was the point of Gojo Satoru being a Special Grade sorcerer? He might as well report to the morgue instead—he'd probably be promoted to Special Grade Corpse Handler within a year.

The only difference would be that the latter dealt with strangers' corpses, while the former would be handling the bodies of his own students and juniors.

Sending a bunch of rookies to undertake life-threatening missions under the command of a slapdash organization—what was the difference between this and strapping bombs to child soldiers and sending them to charge against enemy tanks?

It was utterly…

"That's why I can't stand Jujutsu Sorcerers"

Fukuki clicked his tongue softly under his breath, ensuring no one else could hear.

As the evening breeze swept by, the headlights of a car illuminated the iron gates at the front of the reformatory. A sleek black sedan rolled to a stop at the entrance. Through the driver's side window, a man with a gaunt figure, clad in the Jujutsu Society's uniform, could be seen. His weary expression screamed overwork.

"Looks like our ride's here. Let's go."

Fukuki stood, dusting himself off.

"By the way, a word of advice: once you finish this task, you might want to hand in your resignation and leave early. If you stick around much longer… well, let's just say you're bound to get screwed over eventually."