Kenzo spoke calmly, eyes steady. "Rias, Can you show me some real magic. Or better yet—fight me. That would be more sincere."
Rias blinked in mild surprise, then gave a quiet sigh.
"...Alright."
She accepted his request without protest. Kenzo's reaction was more composed than she expected, yet it only confirmed how different he truly was.
From the basics of mana control to the principles behind devil magic, Rias personally walked him through it all.
And Kenzo devoured it like a starved predator.
...
One week later, on the outskirts of Kuoh Town.
A deafening roar filled the air as searing flames engulfed a two-meter-tall yellow cursed spirit, reducing it to ash in seconds.
"Rias, how was that?" Kenzo turned to her, panting lightly. "Anything that needs work?"
"...You've surpassed me," Rias said softly.
She brushed a strand of crimson hair behind her ear, her expression helpless.
It had only been a week.
And in that time, Kenzo had extracted nearly every spell and technique she knew—except for her most destructive ones. And even those, he was beginning to reconstruct on his own.
He wasn't just learning. He was optimizing.
He adjusted mana efficiency. Refined spell structure. Increased damage output.
He was a freak.
Swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, sorcery—he was mastering all of them. No blind spots. No gaps in technique.
"You've lasted a week as my teacher, Rias. That means you knew a lot."
Kenzo offered a grin.
"That's supposed to be comforting, but it really stings."
Rias forced a smile, then turned. "We've cleared the cursed spirits. Let's head back. The reinforcements from Tokyo Jujutsu High should be arriving soon to reapply the seal."
Kenzo nodded and opened his system panel.
The recent surge of cursed spirits drawn by the weakened seal on Sukuna's finger had been a gold mine. The cursed spirits ranged from weak to moderate in power, but they dropped entries with surprising consistency.
Kenzo had been on a rampage all week—gym duels by day, cursed spirit hunts by night. The result was a massive pile of common and uncommon entries.
He used them all to unlock two more entry slots.
[Status: Kanzaki Kenzo]
Race: Devil
Level: 2
Entries:
Magic Sword Creation – Rare
Soul Healing Bracelet – Rare
Pawn Conversion – Epic
Youjutsu – Epic
Boosted Gear – Legendary
Destruction Magic – Legendary
Endless Potential – Divine
Destruction Magic (Legendary): Infuses spells with catastrophic destructive force. Enhances destructive-type magic by a significant margin.
He'd acquired the legendary-tier destruction magic entry during a sparring match with Rias. She had been holding back, out of guilt perhaps.
Kenzo hadn't.
With four stacks of Boosted Gear, he struck with sixteen times his base power and flattened her.
He closed the panel and walked beside Rias back to the Occult Research Club.
The others had already returned—Akeno, Koneko, and the rest who were also handling cursed spirit clean-up around town. But when they stepped into the room, a girl with glasses and long dark hair was speaking with Akeno.
Rias narrowed her eyes. "Sona. What are you doing here?"
Sona Sitri—known more formally as Souna Shitori—looked over calmly.
"Sukuna's finger is missing."
"...What?"
The abrupt statement made Rias's expression tighten.
"Explain. Everything."
"Did you notice the cursed spirit activity around Kuoh Town recently?"
"I did. Are you saying... someone orchestrated it?"
Sona nodded.
"While everyone was out fighting the surge of cursed spirits, someone infiltrated Kuoh Academy and stole the finger."
"And what about Professor Nayuki?"
"She received an urgent mission this morning. She's currently overseas."
"...That's not a coincidence."
Rias's tone dropped.
A strategic diversion. The cursed spirits were bait. The absence of their primary guardian, perfectly timed.
The one who planned this had a deep understanding of Kuoh Academy's internal forces.
But there was a problem.
Kenzo had only become Rias's devil a week ago. Very few people even knew of his existence.
Which meant the enemy was probing.
"This whole week wasn't just cursed spirits reacting to Sukuna's finger," Rias said. "It was a tactical pressure test."
"Exactly."
Sona's voice was sharp. "The cursed spirits were used to gauge our response patterns and test the strength of our defense."
"Do you know who did it?"
"Not yet. But I recovered residual cursed energy left behind by the thief."
"Can I see it?" Kenzo asked.
Sona raised an eyebrow, then nodded.
She handed him a green crystal, glowing faintly with cursed energy.
Kenzo pressed his hand against it and activated a detection spell, feeding the cursed signature into his internal archive.
"Do you know any tracking magic?" Sona asked.
"Enough."
As he analyzed the aura, Rias and Sona resumed their intel exchange. But before they could finish, someone knocked.
The club room door creaked open.
A tall boy with spiked black hair stepped inside.
"Good evening. I'm Megumi Fushiguro, from Kyoto Jujutsu High. I was sent to reinforce the seal."
"...Bad timing."
Rias pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fushiguro-kun, I'm sorry. The finger's already been stolen."
Fushiguro blinked. "...What?"
***
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