The two sisters had never paid much attention to the politics and power struggles between sorcerers and non-sorcerers before. At most, they'd heard rumors or occasional gossip while with their forr companions.
"A consortium that ca from the underworld?" Ryuji muttered, putting the pieces together. "No wonder they had the guts to pull sothing like this."
Without any hesitation, he looked at the two sisters, Mimiko and Nanako, and gave a direct order.
"Find the Black Dog family's location. And leave no one alive."
"...???"
The two sisters were montarily surprised. Ryuji rarely gave such absolute orders, especially with such a cold tone. But as they looked at his steely, resolute expression, any doubts they might have had quickly faded.
"Understood!" they replied in unison, without a hint of hesitation.
They didn't ask Ryuji why he suddenly wanted to wipe out the Black Dog family. For them, it was enough to know that this was his command.
---
That night, the head of the Black Dog family was sleeping soundly in his grand bedroom. But suddenly, his face twisted, turning red as if he couldn't breathe. He clawed at his throat, struggling desperately, but there was no one around him. His breathing beca more ragged, his struggles weaker, until finally… he suffocated to death, alone in his room.
The sa fate befell the rest of the Black Dog family mbers. One by one, they showed identical symptoms, as if sothing invisible was choking the life out of them. Each mber gasped, struggled, and then died, leaving a strange and eerie silence in the mansion.
Outside the Black Dog family estate, Mimiko relaxed her grip on a small Sunny Doll she held by a rope around its neck, exhaling in satisfaction.
"It's done," she murmured.
This was Mimiko's Curse technique, a unique sorcery that allowed her to project effects onto her targets through the doll. Whatever happened to the doll was reflected in the person cursed by it.
"Your abilities have gotten so much stronger," Nanako said with admiration, watching her sister's handiwork.
Ever since Ryuji had removed the curse that had once bound the twins, both Mimiko and Nanako's powers had advanced rapidly. Mimiko's Binding Curse, once limited to affecting only a single target within her line of sight, now could impact multiple targets within a given range.
"I just hope one day my technique can be used without needing photos," Nanako sighed, a hint of envy in her voice.
Her own technique required a photograph of the target, saved or taken in real-ti, to activate her curse. Without it, her powers were useless.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself!" Mimiko replied, reassuring her sister with a smile. "Rember, you used to need to take photos on the spot. Now you can use saved images whenever you want. That's huge progress!"
Indeed, Nanako's technique had evolved. Originally, she had to capture her target's image in real-ti. But now, she could cast her curse using photos stored on her phone, significantly increasing her flexibility.
"Besides," Mimiko added, "maybe when you awaken your Domain soday, you won't need photos at all."
The concept of Domains had once felt impossibly distant for the twins. But with Ryuji's guidance, they'd started to believe that maybe, soday, they could achieve it.
Nanako laughed, though it was a bit self-conscious. "A Domain, huh? That still feels pretty far away."
But she didn't dwell on it, knowing they'd done what they ca to do. "Anyway, let's head back. Our job's done."
Leaving behind the scene of their work, the two sisters made their way back, unbothered. They had done similar things before under the orders of the Star Religious Group. For Mimiko and Nanako, taking lives when necessary was just part of the job.
Cruel? Maybe. But in the world of sorcery, few hands were truly clean.
"By the way, why did Ryuji suddenly target the Black Dog family?" Mimiko asked as they walked.
Nanako smirked. "Isn't it obvious? The Black Dog family must have been stupid enough to threaten him sohow. Probably tried to use soone close to him as leverage."
The twins had spent enough ti with Ryuji to understand his character. He was usually calm and easygoing, not soone to seek conflict lightly. If he'd wiped out an entire family, there had to be a serious reason.
"Idiots…" Mimiko scoffed. "They really thought they could threaten Ryuji?"
"Looks like they learned the hard way," Nanako replied with a chuckle.
---
Back at Ryuji's house, he welcod the twins back. Seeing them return safely, he wasn't particularly concerned. After all, Mimiko and Nanako were now first-grade sorcerers. Against ordinary humans even those from a third-rate cri family like the Black Dog, they'd been more than equipped to handle things.
The truth was, ordinary people stood no chance against a trained sorcerer. Even lower-level sorcerers, depending on their technique, could easily take down entire groups without breaking a sweat. This imbalance was why sorcerers rarely saw ordinary people as equals. Whether they acknowledged it openly or not, most sorcerers carried a sense of superiority over non-sorcerers.
Ryuji looked at the twins thoughtfully, rembering his recent conversation with Gojo Satoru. After witnessing the decay of the Jujutsu administration firsthand, Gojo had wanted soone reliable to eventually take over. That thought lingered in Ryuji's mind as he gazed at the two girls.
"What if I asked you to help manage the jujutsu world soday? Would that be a problem?"
Mimiko and Nanako blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback. They hadn't expected Ryuji to ask such a question.
Nanako's eyes lit up with excitent, clearly thrilled at the prospect. "Are you saying you're planning to take down the higher-ups?" she asked, grinning. She was already imagining the chaos that would ensue.
Mimiko, however, looked at her sister with exasperation before turning back to Ryuji, her expression more serious.
"Did they do sothing to provoke you, Ryuji? You know, if you go after the higher-ups, you'd probably end up facing the entire jujutsu world," she said with concern. Mimiko was well aware of Ryuji's strength, but the thought of him being hunted by every sorcerer made her worry.
"Tch. Big deal," Nanako interjected, crossing her arms. "Once I beco a special-grade sorcerer, I'll do it myself if I have to. That rotten group at the top deserves it."
Mimiko rolled her eyes, but Ryuji just chuckled, finding her enthusiasm amusing.
"Don't worry," he reassured them, patting Mimiko on the head. "If I say I'll do sothing, it's because I'm ready for it. Besides, if it ever cos down to that, I probably wouldn't even need to make a move myself."
"...What do you an?" the twins asked, curious.
Ryuji explained his recent conversation with Gojo, telling them about Gojo's desire to change the system and eliminate the corrupt higher-ups.
"Wait, so Gojo Satoru wants to take down the higher-ups too?" Nanako asked, surprised. She'd known Gojo as the strongest sorcerer and a bit of a troublemaker, but hearing he wanted to topple the establishnt was sothing else entirely.
Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, and he's serious about it. I know he can be a bit chaotic, but he has a reason. The current system is rotten, and he's tired of seeing it get in the way of what really matters."
"But can we really trust him?" Mimiko asked, still hesitant. She trusted Ryuji implicitly, but Gojo was another story.
"Relax," Ryuji said with a confident smile. "Even if things go sideways, don't forget—I'm still here. If Gojo ever tries to pull anything, I can handle him."
Ryuji's unwavering confidence made both sisters feel more at ease. He didn't need to boast or make threats; his strength spoke for itself. And if it ca to it, they had no doubt he could stand toe-to-toe with even Gojo.
"Over the next few months, I want you both to start learning more about the world of sorcery and how it's organized," Ryuji instructed. "And eventually, we'll need more people. Just the two of you won't be enough."
The twins nodded, determined. They'd follow Ryuji's lead, and if that ant preparing for a new era of sorcery, they'd be ready.
---
The next day, for ordinary people, everything seed calm. But for certain powerful families, it was anything but.
News had spread that the entire Black Dog family had been wiped out overnight.
The Black Dog family wasn't the most powerful, but they were a well-known cri syndicate, a third-rate consortium with deep underworld connections. The fact that they were eliminated overnight sent a chilling ssage through the ranks of high society.
Even more disturbing was the nature of their deaths. Every family mber appeared to have died the sa way, as if they had all been strangled at once. Security footage showed nothing unusual, as if the deaths had happened without anyone entering the estate.
For so in the world of wealth and influence, the ssage was clear. The Black Dog family had crossed a line. And now, they were gone.
In the days prior, there had been whispers among several consortiums about using unconventional thods to bring Ryuji to their side. Many of them saw sorcerers as tools, powerful weapons that, if controlled, could elevate their influence and ensure dominance over rival families. But they hadn't yet dared to act, waiting instead to see if using those close to him as leverage would work.
The Black Dog family had been the first to make a move, and they had paid the price.
Now, with the entire family wiped out in a single night, any plans the other consortiums might have been quietly discussing ca to an abrupt halt. The ssage was loud and clear: crossing Ryuji ant courting death.
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