Jujutsu Kaisen: I have everything I need now!

"Cough cough..."

Mayi coughed violently, feeling as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

"What... what the hell is this?" She looked at the empty alley in front of her, the ground that was originally covered with snow had now been burned into a charred ravine.

"This is our combination move!"

On the first day of the twelfth month, Zhenyi was officially recognized as his wife, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

It worked!

If the power of the talisman is released through Mayi, the world will only recognize Mayi herself.

"Although it's not as powerful as releasing it yourself, it's very tiring." December glanced at Mayu's pale face. "The power is passable."

The current situation is already quite good. He now has the means to strengthen his intervention in the world. Although this time he has only improved his strength by one level, it is still a huge step forward.

The surviving shadow soldiers seemed startled, or perhaps they had received some kind of order. They did not attack again, but instead let out a strange hiss, slowly retreating and disappearing back into the shadows of the corner.

"Don't let them get away!" Zhenyi shouted.

No, there's no need to chase after them.

December 1st crouched where the shadow soldiers had vanished, picking up a wisp of black dust with his fingers. The instant his fingertips touched it, the dust seemed to have a mind of its own, rapidly weathering away and melting into the snowmelt in the blink of an eye, disappearing without a trace.

"It's been cut off?"

December frowned. The aura from just now was clearly being manipulated, but now it felt as if it had been abruptly cut off by someone.

"How is it?" Zhenyi walked over, the gun in her hand still warm.

"He ran away. Or rather, he went into hiding." December stood up, patted the snow water off his hands, his eyes somewhat unfathomable. "He's very cautious. After realizing his probe had failed, he immediately cut off all contact."

Zhenyi looked around, and the lingering sense of being watched had indeed vanished. The alley was quiet, as if the battle just now had been an illusion.

"So what do we do now? Now that these guys have found this place, they're definitely not going to let this go." Zhenyi put away her gun, her brows furrowed.

"Let's treat the person on the ground first and then take them to the hospital." December sighed, pointing to the person lying on the ground. "We'll talk about what happens next later."

......

In the following days, Furano returned to its usual tranquility.

After much deliberation, on the first day of December, he told Mako about Lu Suo. Mako simply said that she would leave it to him, which made it really difficult for him to make a decision.

However, there was some good news. He had been worried that a large-scale attack would break out immediately, but things did not turn out as he expected. The past few days have been unusually calm, and nothing has happened.

The flower shop remains open as usual.

December 1st, wearing a slightly tight apron, helped out at the shop. Sometimes he would sit on the bench by the door, staring blankly at the street; other times he would help Zhenyi carry the incredibly heavy fresh flower paste into the storeroom.

Life went on uneventfully.

But this calmness was unsettling.

Although Zhenyi didn't say it, the revolver under the counter was always fully loaded. As for December 1st, he had been absent-minded these past few days. He wanted to stop Lu Suo, but he had to take Zhenyi with him, even though she said she could.

This state continued until the evening of the fourth day.

It should have been school dismissal time, but the streets were unusually deserted.

"jingle."

The flower shop door was pushed open.

The person who came in wasn't a customer buying flowers, but a pale-faced boy carrying a schoolbag.

She recognized him on the first day of December. He was the young high school boy who had come to the store to buy flowers a while ago, trying to chat up Mai, but had been tripped by her using telekinesis.

"Um... Sister Zhenyi..."

"Don't rush, have a sip of water."

Without asking any further questions, Zhenyi turned around, poured a glass of warm water, and handed it to him. Her movements were steady; she didn't lose her composure despite the boy's panic. This calmness seemed to infect Kenta as well; he held the paper cup with both hands, his teeth still chattering, but his breathing had become slightly more even.

On the first day of the twelfth month, he sat on a high stool behind the counter, arms crossed, squinting as he sized up the boy.

To ordinary people, Kenta was simply terrified. But in December's perception, the boy was enveloped in an extremely obscure aura. It wasn't the filth unique to cursed spirits; it was more like a kind of...absence.

"Looks like trouble is on our doorstep," December said softly.

Of course, Kenta couldn't hear his voice.

"What happened?" Shin leaned against the counter, his fingers casually resting on the grip of the revolver below, but his eyes were gentle as he looked at the boy.

"Hikaru... Mitsuo... he..." Kenta suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply, as if he had seen some horrifying scene again, "Mitsuo was eaten by his shadow!"

"Shadow?" Zhenyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Really! I'm not kidding!" Kenta stood up excitedly, spilling water from his cup all over the floor. "We were exploring near the old cannery when Mitsuo said he needed to pee, and then... then I heard him scream. I ran over to see... and I saw Mitsuo pressed against the wall, desperately trying to run away, but his shadow... the shadow on the ground suddenly stood up!"

At this point, the boy's fear reached its peak; he gripped his collar tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"That shadow grew hands, grabbed Mitsuo by the neck, and dragged him...dragged him into the wall! It was like...like the wall turned into water! Sister Zhenyi, you have to believe me, even the police don't believe me, they say I'm under too much pressure..."

"I believe you," Zhenyi interrupted him, her voice firm.

Kenta was stunned, seemingly not expecting that Mai would so easily believe such absurd claims.

"Mai," December 1st suddenly spoke, her tone turning serious, "look at his feet."

Zhenyi lowered her eyes without making a sound.

The flower shop lights were bright, casting Kenta's shadow clearly onto the wooden floor. However, the shadow, which should have swayed with Kenta's trembling, was now as still as a stagnant pool.

The next second, the stagnant water stirred.

Without any warning, the dark shadow suddenly split open, as if opening a scarlet eye. Immediately afterwards, a dark claw shot out from the shadow, heading straight for Kenta's ankle!

"Ah—!" Kenta seemed to sense something and let out a terrified scream.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed through the small space of the flower shop.

It is the first day of the twelfth month.

He leaped down from the bar stool, forming a knife shape with his fingers in mid-air. A faint yet extremely pure white psychic energy swirled around his fingertips as he slashed at the claw that emerged from the shadow.

"Sizzle—!"

The black claw instantly evaporated into the air with a piercing hiss before quickly retreating into the shadows of the floor and disappearing from sight.

Kenta's legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, completely unaware of what had just happened. From his perspective, he only felt a warm breeze sweep across his ankles before the chilling sensation vanished.

"It's alright." Mayi walked around the counter, helped the boy, whose legs were weak, to his feet, and said in an unquestionable tone, "Kenta, go home now. No matter what noise you hear, don't go outside. Turn off all the lights in the house. Understand?"

"But...but Mitsuo..."

"We'll go find him." Zhenyi pushed him towards the door. "Go back now."

After seeing off the still-shaken boy, Zhenyi hung up the "Temporarily Closed" sign and pulled down the roller shutter.

The flower shop was shrouded in darkness, with only a faint light coming from the second floor.