The two sisters had never paid much attention to the politid power struggles between sorcerers and non-sorcerers before. At most, they'd heard rumors or occasional gossip while with their former panions.

  "A sortium that came from the underworld?" Ryuji muttered, putting the pieces together. "No wohey had the guts to pull something like this."

  Without aation, he looked at the two sisters, Mimiko and Nanako, and gave a direct order.

  "Find the Bck Dog family's location. And leave no one alive."

  "...???"

  The two sisters were momentarily 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.

  "Uood!" they replied in unison, without a hint of hesitation.

  They didn't ask Ryuji why he suddenly wao wipe out the Bck Dog family. For them, it was enough to know that this was his and.

  ---

  That night, the head of the Bck Dog family was sleeping soundly in his grand bedroom. But suddenly, his face twisted, turning red as if he couldn't breathe. He cwed at his throat, struggling desperately, but there was no one around him. His breathing became med, his struggles weaker, until finally… he suffocated to death, alone in his room.

  The same fate befell the rest of the Bck Dog family members. One by ohey showed identical symptoms, as if something invisible was choking the life out of them. Each member gasped, struggled, and then died, leaving a strange and eerie silen the mansion.

  Outside the Bck Dog family estate, Mimiko rexed her grip on a small Sunny Doll she held by a rope around its neck, exhaling in satisfa.

  "It's done," she murmured.

  This was Mimiko's Curse teique, a unique sorcery that allowed her to project effects onto her targets through the doll. Whatever happeo the doll was reflected in the person cursed by it.

  "Your abilities have gotten so much stronger," Nanako said with admiration, watg 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 affeg only a siarget within her line of sight, now could impact multiple targets within a given range.

  "I just hope one day my teique be used without needing photos," Nanako sighed, a hint of envy in her voice.

  Her own teique required a photograph of the target, saved or taken iime, 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. "Remember, you used to o take photos on the spot. Now you use saved images whenever you want. That's huge progress!"

  Indeed, Nanako's teique had evolved. inally, she had to capture her target's image iime. But now, she could cast her curse using photos stored on her phone, signifitly increasing her flexibility.

  "Besides," Mimiko added, "maybe when you awaken your Domain someday, you won't need photos at all."

  The cept of Domains had once felt impossibly distant for the twins. But with Ryuji's guidahey'd started to believe that maybe, someday, they could achieve it.

  Nanako ughed, though it was a bit self-scious. "A Domain, huh? That still feels pretty far away."

  But she didn't dwell on it, knowing they'd done what they came to do. "Anyway, let's head back. Our job's done."

  Leaving behind the se of their work, the two sisters made their way back, unbothered. They had done simir things before uhe 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 .

  "By the way, why did Ryuji suddenly target the Bck Dog family?" Mimiko asked as they walked.

  Nanako smirked. "Isn't it obvious? The Bck Dog family must have been stupid enough to threaten him somehow. Probably tried to use someone close to him as leverage."

  The twins had spent enough time with Ryuji to uand his character. He was usually calm and easygoing, not someoo seek flict lightly. If he'd wiped out aire family, there had to be a serious reason.

  "Idiots…" Mimiko scoffed. "They really thought they could threaten Ryuji?"

  "Looks like they learhe hard way," Nanako replied with a chuckle.

  ---

  Back at Ryuji's house, he weled the twins back. Seeing them return safely, he wasn't particurly ed. After all, Mimiko and Nanako were now first-grade sorcerers. Against ordinary humans even those from a third-rate crime family like the Bck Dog, they'd been more than equipped to hahings.

  The truth was, ordinary people stood no ce against a trained sorcerer. Even lower-level sorcerers, depending oeique, could easily take dowire groups without breaking a sweat. This imbance was why sorcerers rarely saw ordinary people as equals. Whether they aowledged it openly or not, most sorcerers carried a sense of superiority over non-sorcerers.

  Ryuji looked at the twins thoughtfully, remembering his ret versation with Gojo Satoru. After witnessing the decay of the Jujutsu administration firsthand, Gojo had wanted someone 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 mahe jujutsu world someday? 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 excitement, clearly thrilled at the prospect. "Are you saying you're pnning 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 something to provoke you, Ryuji? You know, if you go after the higher-ups, you'd probably end up fag the entire jujutsu world," she said with . 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 bee 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 something, it's because I'm ready for it. Besides, if it ever es down to that, I probably wouldn't eveo make a move myself."

  "...What do you mean?" the twins asked, curious.

  Ryuji expined his ret versation with Gojo, telling them about Gojo's desire to ge the system and elimihe corrupt higher-ups.

  "Wait, so Gojo Satoru wants to take down the higher-ups too?" Nanako asked, surprised. She'd known Gojo as the stro sorcerer and a bit of a troublemaker, but hearing he wao topple the establishment was something else entirely.

  Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, and he's serious about it. I know he be a bit chaotic, but he has a reason. The current system is rotten, aired of seeing it get in the way of what really matters."

  "But we really trust him?" Mimiko asked, still hesitant. She trusted Ryuji implicitly, but Gojo was aory.

  "Rex," Ryuji said with a fident smile. "Even if things go sideways, don't fet—I'm still here. If Gojo ever tries to pull anything, I handle him."

  Ryuji's unwavering fidence made both sisters feel more at ease. He didn't o boast or make threats; his strength spoke for itself. And if it came to it, they had no doubt he could stand toe-to-toe with even Gojo.

  "Over the few months, I want you both to start learning more about the world of sorcery and how it's anized," Ryuji instructed. "Aually, we'll need more people. Just the two of you won't be enough."

  The twins nodded, determihey'd follow Ryuji's lead, and if that meant preparing for a new era of sorcery, they'd be ready.

  ---

  The day, for ordinary people, everything seemed calm. But for certain powerful families, it was anything but.

  Neread that the entire Bck Dog family had been wiped out ht.

  The Bck Dog family wasn't the most powerful, but they were a well-known crime syndicate, a third-rate sortium with deep underworld es. The fact that they were eliminated ht sent a chilling message through the ranks of high society.

  Even more disturbing was the nature of their deaths. Every family member appeared to have died the same way, as if they had all been stra once. Security footage showed nothing unusual, as if the deaths had happened without aering the estate.

  For some in the world of wealth and influehe message was clear. The Bck Dog family had crossed a line. And now, they were gone.

  In the days prior, there had been whispers among several sortiums about using unventional methods t Ryuji to their side. Many of them saw sorcerers as tools, powerful ons that, if trolled, could elevate their influend ensure dominance over rival families. But they hadn't yet dared to act, waiting io see if using those close to him as leverage would work.

  The Bck 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 pns the other sortiums might have been quietly discussing came to an abrupt halt. The message was loud and clear: crossing Ryuji meant c death.