The swing connected, but it was too late.
Mahito's grin split wide—unnaturally wide. The bastard let the fork hit. His body snapped in half like a wet breadstick, cursed blood spraying across the domain, but there was no scream. No flinch.
Just a whisper.
"You'll see me again."
His lower half evaporated. His upper body collapsed into shadow, twisting into a whirlpool of cursed rot and vapor.
Then he was gone.Just like that.
The domain groaned, cursed energy imploding on itself as the anchor point vanished. Pipes burst. Mirrors cracked. The saxophone shrieked a final note and combusted.
Silence.
Yuji fell to his knees. Juno sat down and immediately started braiding her own cursed burns into a charm string. Flint vomited into his hands and gave himself a high-five. Spillglass passed out hugging the cursed tuning fork like it owed him child support.
And Junpei?
Junpei was just standing there.
Still twitching. Still cursed-touched. Still alive.
"…so, uh," he mumbled, blinking at the chaos. "What the hell was that?"
Fifteen minutes later, they were in a half-burnt café somewhere near Shibuya's sewer access. The owner had been paid off with three healing charms and a coupon for one spiritual exorcism, no expiration date.
Juno poured tea. Thorne stared into it like it might talk back. Junpei sat across the table, wrapped in a scorched hoodie, a headband made of gauze, and emotional whiplash.
Yuji tried to explain it all with a smile. He failed halfway through and ended up saying, "They're not actually a cult. I think."
"They act like a cult," Junpei muttered.
"Yeah," Thorne said, sipping something probably alcoholic, "but we're self-aware."
Flint slapped down a cursed pancake. "Eat. You almost died, which means it's your turn to cook next time."
Spillglass raised a glass of what looked like glowing regret. "To the boy who survived emotional lobotomy via sewage wizard!"
They all clinked. Juno clinked with a healing charm. It sparked.
Junpei didn't eat. He just stared. "You guys actually fight curses like this?"
"Like what?" Juno asked innocently.
"Like drunk raccoons with trauma issues."
Yuji nodded solemnly. "Yeah. Welcome to the Crimson Communion."
Junpei blinked. "I never joined."
Spillglass slapped a paper in front of him. "You're already in. We signed you up when you passed out. There's a soul-vow and everything."
"You soul-bound me unconscious?!"
"You think we wait for consent?" Flint asked, mouth full of pancake.
"Yes!?"
Thorne finally spoke, voice low but firm. "You're here now. You fought through Mahito. That's more than most. So yeah—you're one of us now."
Junpei wanted to argue.
But the tea was warm. The curses were gone. And for the first time in weeks, he didn't feel like a walking corpse.
"…fine."
Juno clapped. "Great! We're making jackets."
"Do not put my name on a jacket—"
"Too late."
Outside, the city moved on like nothing had happened.But deep underground, somewhere beyond the reach of laughter and pancakes, Mahito reformed with a cracked jaw and smiling eyes.
"Let them have their fun," he whispered."They'll cry again soon enough."
Back at the café, Junpei finally took a bite of the pancake.
It was cursed.
He choked.
Spillglass gave him a thumbs-up.