Olah

Yoshiwara was originally located in Nihonbashi Ningyocho, but after the Meireki Fire, it was moved to Nippori Tsutsumi in Taito Ward, Tokyo Metropolis.

During the great fire, large numbers of courtesans either burned to death or drowned after jumping into the water, leaving behind legends of female ghosts causing mischief. It was said that visiting Yoshiwara Shrine late at night could lead to some incredible experiences, making it a modestly famous "spiritual site" in Tokyo.

Those female ghosts were Cursed Spirits.

Cursed Spirits were special entities born from the accumulation and manifestation of humanity's negative emotions.

Negative emotions covered a wide range.

The resentment, confusion, fear, and unwillingness of those burned to death could form Cursed Spirits. Rumors, suspicion, and malice could likewise give birth to them.

The Cursed Spirits at Yoshiwara Shrine had initially originated from the former, but the fact that Cursed Spirits were still being born here a century later, even after the location had changed, was clearly due to the latter.

The reason was simple: as long as someone believed Yoshiwara Shrine was haunted, ghosts would be born.

"Cursed Spirits are just that idealistic."

The Akesato mother and son were currently standing on the embankment beside the shrine, enjoying the gentle evening breeze.

Though spring had arrived, the night wind still carried a chill. Fortunately, no one in the Akesato family was ordinary; they were protected by a "fiery heat" befitting Tokyo.

After listening to his mother's explanation, Akesato came to an understanding, but he also had a new question. "Since rumors can give birth to Cursed Spirits, why not find a way to debunk them and eradicate the Cursed Spirits here at their source?"

"Two reasons. Spreading rumors is easy; dispelling them is hard. Debunking a rumor can only eliminate the Cursed Spirits in one particular place—it can't eliminate all Cursed Spirits. As long as humanity exists and negative emotions continue to arise, Cursed Spirits will never go extinct. If they disappear here, they'll be born somewhere else."

"In other words, Jujutsu Sorcerers deliberately allow rumors to spread in order to stabilize the creation of Cursed Spirits."

"Correct. Rather than let Cursed Spirits emerge at random, it's better to keep them fixed in place and clear them out regularly. Most Jujutsu Sorcerers do this kind of work. It was no different when Mom was a student."

One person was responsible for a huge area, making regular patrols. There wasn't much difference from traffic cops or neighborhood police officers.

The work of a Jujutsu Sorcerer was just that plain, unglamorous, and tedious.

"I see."

Akesato understood.

The protagonists' lives were exciting because they happened to be at the center of events. That didn't mean it was the daily routine of every Jujutsu Sorcerer.

It might have been a little less thrilling, but that was actually better for Akesato. Pokémon training was the same way: grind, grind, grind—train, train, train.

Looks like even after coming to Tokyo, my life won't change much.

The plot hasn't started yet, and I'm not Special Grade yet either. Better keep lying low and keep leveling up.

"Little Sa, did you find anything?"

"Sha~"

The sound was the word for "kill." Its meaning was obvious.

Gardevoir was naturally sensitive to emotions. To her, Cursed Spirits—aggregates of negative emotions—were like fireflies in the night, and she hated them more than anything.

Having received her master's permission, Gardevoir raised a small hand, ready to unleash her power.

"Wait." Akemi hurriedly stopped her. "You'll draw too much attention like this. The first rule of Jujutsu Sorcerers is concealment. Ordinary people must not learn of the existence of jujutsu, lest it cause chaos and panic and encourage curses to multiply. So before officially taking action, Jujutsu Sorcerers need to put up a Curtain first."

As she spoke, Akemi formed hand seals and began to chant.

"From the darkness, born darker than black, cleanse the impure and defiled."

The clear moonlight was steeped in gloom, like ink dissolving into water and spreading a murky haze.

Bounded by the riverbank, the murk separated the inside from the outside. The barrier known as a "Curtain," which isolated ordinary people, had been completed.

The moment she lowered her hands, Akemi puffed out her chest and lifted her chin, as though saying—See? Mom's pretty amazing too.

Akesato barely managed not to laugh. He said to Gardevoir, "All right. Do whatever you like. Wipe out all those eyesores of Cursed Spirits."

"Sha~"

Gardevoir lifted her snow-white neck as though singing out at full voice.

One second, ripples shimmered across the river, reflecting the moon in twin images.

The next, the moon in the water shattered into fragments.

A blast of Psychic struck down, and Mukogawa froze.

Then, the river flowed backward.

In the blink of an eye, the endlessly flowing water split apart from the center, exposing a riverbed several meters long, thick with aquatic plants.

A few unlucky fish and shrimp were inexplicably torn from their comfortable home and exposed to the air, staring wide-eyed at one another.

Kind-hearted Gardevoir quickly sent them back into the water. Seven seconds later, they swished away again as if nothing had happened.

The Cursed Spirit hiding beneath the water received no such kind treatment. Ravaging Psychic forcibly dragged it out of the river and into the air.

Dressed all in white, with long black hair hanging loose and a slender figure swaying gently with the rippling light.

Faint weeping reached their ears, mournful and plaintive, enough to make anyone who heard it feel sad.

"I'm so lonely..."

"I'm so empty..."

"I'm so alone..."

"Why is no one here to keep me company...?"

Unfortunately, the image of a beautiful woman mourning was utterly ruined by the face beneath her black hair.

Her swollen cheeks bore the features of someone who had drowned, yet their surface was covered in black-red scars from deep burns. Her mouth hung wide open, and her tongue dangled halfway down, as though someone had pulled it out.

Compared to Gardevoir, who was likewise floating in midair, they were worlds apart.

Then heaven crushed earth, pulverizing her directly with Psychic.

She lasted far longer than the cursed spirit in the countryside, but it was useless. From the moment the Water Ghost failed to resist Psychic and Gardevoir lifted her into the air, the outcome had already been decided.

Crushed to pieces, leaving no trace behind.

But this was only the beginning.

After Gardevoir crushed the Water Ghost, the river surface began to churn again.

At the boundary between water and sky, a white tide surged forth.

A tide formed by countless White-clad Female Ghosts—in other words, cursed spirits.

This scene was like a reenactment of the horrors suffered by those who had died in the Meiji Fire. It was enough to drive anyone who witnessed it mad; if things went badly, it might even bring back the tragedy of people jumping into the river one after another.

Yet neither Akesato nor Akemi found it surprising. One of the rules of cursed spirits was that the weaker they were, the more they clustered together.

A single Water Ghost simply did not match the legends of Yoshiwara Shrine.

Gardevoir's expression remained unchanged as well. Trash like this could come in any number—they were all just feeding themselves to her.

The Psychic Queen floated gracefully in the air, extending her slender fingers and poking at the air one after another. With every motion, a Water Ghost vanished with a pop. Like a child popping bubbles, she was having the time of her life.

She did not even need any other Skill. One move was enough to handle everything.

Psychic! Psychic! Psychic!

Before the tidal wave could even draw close, half the female ghosts had already disappeared.

The remaining half tried to flee, but they could not break free from Gardevoir's Psychic field control.

Though she was kind by nature, how could she not understand tactics after following a master like Akesato?

The closer Psychic was used, the more effective it became. Naturally, she would pick them off first, lure the enemy deeper in, then wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Akesato chuckled, then stopped midway through his laugh. "The overall situation has already... No, not yet. At least this finally looks a little like a Century-old Spirit Land."

It turned out that among the female ghosts Gardevoir had crushed was a high-Level cursed spirit unlike the others. She had actually endured a wave of Gardevoir's Psychic and charged toward the shore while Gardevoir was controlling the other female ghosts.

When she had blended into the ghostly crowd, she had not seemed particularly remarkable. But once she broke away from the group and fought alone, both her aura and presence rose by several levels.

Dark bluish-green mist swirled beneath her feet, while flames coiled around her body. The two great disasters humanity had feared since ancient times were both in her grasp.

"What's her Level? Grade 2? Semi-Grade 1?" Akesato asked with a slight frown.

"Semi-Grade 1. But after Little Sa beat her up like this, even a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer like me can try to exorcise her."

By the rules of the Jujutsu world, Jujutsu Sorcerers generally matched cursed spirits one grade above them. In other words, a Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer corresponded to a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. This was also the limit of what Akemi could handle.

Of course, that applied to an opponent in perfect condition. Gardevoir was comparable to a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer or a special-grade cursed spirit. One attack had already heavily wounded the female ghost, giving Akemi confidence.

"Come to think of it, I never told you—my jujutsu is 'Barrier—'"

Before she could finish, Akemi sensed an entirely new surge of cursed energy. It was not as vast as that of a cursed spirit, but it was more concentrated, more refined.

The source of that cursed energy was right in front of her—her child, Akesato.

One "Olah!" and one punch.

It looked utterly casual, yet Akemi seemed to see ripples spreading through the trembling air.

The female ghost, who had just reached the shore, fell to the ground at once. Her entire chest caved in, and even the ground beneath her was affected, splitting into spiderweb-like cracks.

Akemi: "..."