"Teacher Zenin, you don't need to get involved in this mission. Leave it to us."
On the way there, Kinji Hakari clasped his hands behind his head, looking completely relaxed, as though this so-called Grade 2 Sorcerer assessment were just a formality.
Kirara Hoshi looked just as unconcerned.
After months of training, they'd dealt with Cursed Spirits plenty of times.
With their strength and teamwork, they shouldn't need a teacher accompanying them for a Grade 2 assessment.
"Pretty confident, huh?"
Teacher Zenin looked at the two acting so casually and said nothing more. "My rule for missions with students is simple: as long as you're still breathing, I won't step in."
"That's even better."
Kinji Hakari was even happier to hear that.
He was still highly enthusiastic about exorcising Cursed Spirits, and when he was passionate about something, he always gave it his all.
"According to the report, the curse is a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, several dozen kilometers from here," Kirara Hoshi said.
"Once we take it out, the mission will be complete."
The three drove to their destination. An hour later, they arrived at the entrance to a cave in a secluded corner of a mountainside on the outskirts of the bustling district.
A foul stench wafted from the entrance. A garbage truck was parked nearby, and a sanitation worker, wearing a mask and full protective gear, was clearing away the trash.
"You sure it's here? This damn place looks like a sewer entrance."
Kinji Hakari stared at the black water flowing out of the opening and could barely keep a straight face.
"Definitely. This is the sewer entrance."
Kirara Hoshi took out three masks and handed one each to Teacher Zenin and Kinji Hakari.
"Unless something unexpected happens, the Cursed Spirit is hiding inside."
"Whoosh!"
Just as Kirara Hoshi finished speaking, a white thread shot out from deep inside the sewer, instantly wrapping around the sanitation worker and yanking him into the tunnel.
The three exchanged glances. That settled it: this was the place.
"Let's go. We need to save him, fast!"
Kinji Hakari ran into the sewer, with Kirara Hoshi close behind.
Teacher Zenin stood at the entrance, hesitating over whether to go in.
The thought of a Cursed Spirit living in a place like this made him feel sick.
"Boom!"
A powerful surge of Cursed Energy soon erupted from the entrance. The two sides had already started fighting.
He could tell from the surge that it really was a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. That made him even less interested. He'd wait for them outside.
Having made up his mind, Teacher Zenin promptly moved farther away.
The air around the sewer entrance was more than he could stand.
Meanwhile, inside the sewer,
Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi followed the white thread deeper in and, sure enough, found the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit.
"So it's just a little spider."
Kinji Hakari looked at the half-human-sized spider before them with disdain.
"Let's finish it quickly."
Kirara Hoshi saw that the sanitation worker had been wrapped up in spider silk like a mummy and hurried him along.
"Then let's get started."
Kinji Hakari snapped his fingers. A train appeared out of thin air inside the sewer and barreled straight toward the spider Cursed Spirit.
"Rooooar!"
With a deafening rumble, the train slammed into the Cursed Spirit and sent it flying, then vanished into Cursed Energy.
A moment later, a mark appeared on the spider. An identical mark appeared on the sewer wall.
A powerful pull dragged the spider back toward the wall.
"Bang!"
It smashed into the wall, blood spraying everywhere. The spider let out a terrible shriek, then used its eight legs to wrench itself free. Its green eyes glared fiercely at the two attackers.
"Whoosh!"
White threads shot from its rear toward them. At the same time, it sprayed dark green liquid from its mouth—obviously poisonous.
Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi hurriedly dodged to the side. The dark green venom struck the sanitation worker, who was still wrapped up like a mummy.
"Ahhh!!"
The worker, who might still have had a chance of survival, let out a series of heart-wrenching screams and writhed on the ground. Within seconds, the venom had eaten away at him until only a pile of bones remained.
"Yikes..."
That was one hell of a tragedy.
Kinji Hakari sucked in a sharp breath. This Grade 2 Cursed Spirit had some strength after all.
"Kinji, don't give it another chance to attack. Let's finish it in one go!"
Kirara Hoshi moved swiftly, placing marks on the walls in every direction. He also marked himself and Kinji Hakari differently to keep them from getting hit in the face.
"Okay! Now for the exciting part!"
Kinji Hakari's enthusiasm kicked in, and he went all out against the Cursed Spirit.
With Kirara Hoshi's support, he could summon trains, dump trucks, and hundred-ton trucks to ram into his opponent to his heart's content.
He kept drawing from Gacha, unleashing one heavyweight after another. They were all made of Cursed Energy, but each hit with a different force.
After more than ten minutes of nonstop collisions, the half-human-sized spider finally ran out of Cursed Energy. Unable to withstand the relentless attacks, it turned into a pile of mush, then came apart and vanished.
"Done!"
Kinji Hakari raised both hands, tilted his head slightly, and closed his eyes, savoring the thrill of defeating an enemy through one Gacha pull after another.
"Phew... Too bad we couldn't save him."
Kirara Hoshi wiped away his sweat and glanced at the bones on the ground.
"Let's go. There was nothing we could do."
During the fight, they couldn't afford to worry about anyone else.
After all, they were only Grade 3 Sorcerers so far—barely worth mentioning.
Once this mission was over, they'd be promoted to Grade 2. That would at least make them somewhat capable.
Of course, with their Cursed Techniques, if they kept training steadily, they'd surely reach Grade 1 Sorcerer level before graduation. At the very least, they'd become Quasi-Grade 1.
With the Cursed Spirit dealt with, both of them relaxed. They were about to head outside when, from deeper in the sewer, a thick strand of spider silk shot toward them like a white bullet, piercing through their abdomens!
"Pfft!"
They both spat out blood, confusion in their eyes. Then they were dragged deeper in like prey.
Only then did they realize: there wasn't necessarily just one spider. There could be a whole nest!
Damn it, Jujutsu High's intel had screwed them over!
They hadn't been on many missions and didn't know how often Jujutsu High's mission reports got things wrong.
Otherwise, they would've been far more careful.
At that moment, they had just one thought: Where the hell was their teacher???
Outside, Teacher Zenin ran into someone who was both unexpected and, somehow, entirely predictable.
"Are you picking a fight with me or something?"
"Why are you everywhere I go?!"
Geto Suguru glared at Teacher Zenin, a sense of grievance rising inexplicably in his heart. Was it really so hard to find a good Cursed Spirit?
Ever since he'd defected from Jujutsu High for the sake of the Jujutsu World's future, whenever he set his sights on a promising Cursed Spirit, he kept running into this guy for no apparent reason.
And every time, this guy would mercilessly kill the Cursed Spirit right in front of him, without leaving him so much as a scrap!
"Looks like we're fated to keep running into each other, Geto."
Teacher Zenin was a little surprised to see Geto Suguru here. Since when had the kid started settling for Grade 2 Cursed Spirits?
No.
The next moment, Teacher Zenin realized that there was no way the kid would settle for a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit.
Whatever was inside was probably stronger than Grade 2.
"Let's talk later. I need to check whether my two students are still alive."
With that, he flashed out of sight.
Geto Suguru's presence had distracted him. Only now did he realize that Kinji Hakari and Kirara Hoshi's auras had vanished.
"You bastard!"
Angrily, Geto Suguru chased after him, hoping to snatch his prey away from the other man this time!
Before you continue