"Sluuurp..."
In Shibuya, Shinsuke Zenin and Kusakabe were slurping noodles at a ramen shop.
"Three days have passed, and there's still been no sign of anything. Could that Cursed Spirit have already left?"
Kusakabe complained as he ate.
They'd spent three days combing the area, and hadn't found a Special Grade—or even a Cursed Spirit worth mentioning.
Nothing much was happening elsewhere, either.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Why not treat it like a few days of fun on the company's dime?"
Shinsuke Zenin slurped away happily. After all, he could expense all of their spending these past few days, so he wasn't in a rush at all.
In fact, if Kusakabe hadn't been tagging along the whole time, he would've definitely used the expense account to visit some high-end establishments.
"Fair enough. I figure if we don't find it soon, the higher-ups will call off the mission. We might as well relax while we can."
"By the way, Mr. Shinsuke, I heard you're really interested in powerful Cursed Spirits. You must want to find this Special Grade, right?"
Kusakabe suddenly remembered a rumor he'd heard at school.
When it came to Shinsuke Zenin, the thing everyone at Jujutsu High remembered most was...how eager he was to exorcise powerful Cursed Spirits.
The rumor was that Mr. Shinsuke Zenin had no Cursed Energy, so he desperately wanted to prove himself by defeating powerful Cursed Spirits—to show that even without Cursed Energy, he was no weaker than other Jujutsu Sorcerers!
"Not really. I'm just a little curious about how strong a Special Grade Cursed Spirit is."
Shinsuke Zenin replied casually.
He knew of plenty of Special Grade Cursed Spirits, but so far, aside from Geto Suguru's Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnation and Rika, whom he'd seen recently, he hadn't actually seen any others in person, let alone fought one.
"Hey, hey, can all the teachers hear me? Meimei and I found that Special Grade Cursed Spirit. We've already put up a Curtain, so could all the teachers... Ah! No! Meimei! Crackle..."
A voice came through the special walkie-talkie on the table. The two had only heard half the message when a roar came from the other end, cutting it off.
"Hey! Utahime!?"
Kusakabe's expression instantly turned grave. They'd just been saying they hadn't found anything in so long, and now they'd immediately received "good news."
"Mr. Shinsuke, we have to go! Hm? Mr. Shinsuke?"
By the time Kusakabe reacted, the person beside him had already vanished.
"Holy crap, and you call that 'a little curious'?" Kusakabe exclaimed.
But there was no time to dwell on it. He immediately headed toward the area where Utahime and Meimei had been patrolling.
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere in Shibuya, Satoru Gojo also received the message over his walkie-talkie.
But he didn't head over right away. Instead, he watched the man before him, a trace of nostalgia in his eyes. "Are you really going to keep going down this road?"
"There's still hope if you turn back now."
"Gojo, what are you talking about? My path is the one that leads to a brighter future."
Geto Suguru wore a faint smile.
Ever since he'd gotten busy with his own cause, life had become easier and easier. Each day, his goal was perfectly clear.
Expand his forces. Expand his forces. And expand his forces some more.
Once he had enough power, he could wipe out every non-sorcerer in the world in one fell swoop.
Then he would have truly fulfilled his wish for a world where Cursed Spirits could never appear again. He believed Satoru Gojo would eventually understand.
"All right, Gojo. Enough chatting. I'm going to absorb that Cursed Spirit."
Geto Suguru had naturally heard the message from the walkie-talkie in Satoru Gojo's hand.
That Cursed Spirit was his main target.
He didn't have many Special Grade Cursed Spirits. He had to get his hands on this one, which could grow stronger quickly. It was crucial to his plans.
"Geto, do you think I'm going to let you pass?"
Satoru Gojo blocked Geto Suguru's way, watching him.
Whatever their relationship had been, they were on opposite sides now.
Geto Suguru refused to turn back, and Satoru Gojo couldn't just let him keep making the same mistake.
Snap!
Geto Suguru snapped his fingers, and several figures appeared around them. They were all members of the Geto Faction.
He knew Satoru Gojo wouldn't let him leave without a fight, so he'd prepared for this long ago.
"Just hold him off."
With that, Geto Suguru's figure blurred as he sped toward the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Satoru Gojo's eyes narrowed. He tried to pursue, but the next instant, an attack interrupted him.
The members of the Geto Faction spread out and harassed Satoru Gojo from a distance.
They didn't need to defeat him—and couldn't. All they had to do was hold him off for a little while.
Seeing this, Satoru Gojo briefly felt the urge to kill.
He wanted to unleash his full power, kill these people, and then catch up to Geto Suguru.
But the thought vanished almost as soon as it appeared.
Watching the grave expressions on their faces, Satoru Gojo suddenly relaxed. "Geto... Did you really plan for every possible move I could make?"
"Still, I'm afraid you won't get that Cursed Spirit."
Geto Suguru had already anticipated Satoru Gojo's every move, and Satoru Gojo chose to trust the others.
Jujutsu High didn't have only one sorcerer, after all...
A massive Curtain covered part of Shibuya, keeping ordinary people out while also helping prevent panic.
BOOM!!
A tremendous burst of fire erupted inside the Curtain.
Meimei was hurled out from the center of the explosion, but steadied herself with a backflip.
"Meimei!"
Utahime Iori's face tightened with worry. She hurried forward, wanting to check whether Meimei was hurt.
"Don't come over! Everyone, fall back!"
Meimei frowned and shouted.
She gripped a massive axe in one hand, her gaze fixed on the tall figure barely visible within the flames.
"Humans, you're too weak."
A humanoid Cursed Spirit at least three meters tall emerged from the flames. Black scales covered its firm muscles, and blue molten metal flowed through the gaps between them, occasionally crackling with electricity. A long tail dragged behind it.
Black horns that curved upward from its head sat where its eyes should have been. Just its appearance alone made the creature seem terrifyingly powerful.
"Even that guy would be no match for me now."
The Cursed Spirit sensed the people around it. They felt pathetically weak.
It had already evolved once. Even if the man from last time showed up, it had nothing to fear.
All it wanted now was to fight that man, defeat him, and evolve to the next stage.
This was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with extraordinary talent and a single-minded desire to grow stronger.
Meimei was already tempted to throw in the towel. It was obvious they couldn't handle this thing.
With only her, a Grade 1 Sorcerer, Utahime, a support-type Quasi-Grade 1 Sorcerer, and a few Grade 2 Sorcerers, they probably couldn't hold it off for more than a few minutes.
She'd seen more than one Special Grade Cursed Spirit, but none had been as powerful as this one.
A Cursed Spirit of this caliber would take at least a Special Grade Sorcerer to deal with.
"Utahime, get ready to retreat."
Meimei had made up her mind. She'd stall for a few minutes, and if the others didn't arrive in time, she'd forfeit her fee for this job. She could earn more money if she lost it, but if she lost her life, what good would her money be? Who would spend it?
Hearing Meimei's tone, Utahime Iori also realized how powerful the creature before them was.
From the moment they encountered the Cursed Spirit, she'd been using her Cursed Technique, "Solo Forbidden Zone." It could increase the total amount and output of Cursed Energy for any Sorcerers within a certain area for a limited time.
Even so, they were still completely outmatched.
She could even tell that the creature wasn't taking the fight seriously. It was just toying with them.
"Understood!" Utahime nodded.
If things turned bad, they'd have no choice but to retreat first.
Before you continue