Dispute

"Be careful." Jutochi Kiyo watched the three figures from behind. Only after they had gone some distance did he raise a hand in a gesture. "Lower the Curtain now. Emerge from darkness, darker than darkness. Purify all that is impure..."

A ripple of black instantly appeared above the Juvenile Detention Center. As it spread, it seemed to cover the sky, and the daylight dimmed with it.

"Huh, it got dark!" Yuji Itadori had never seen such a technique before and looked up at the sky in surprise.

Fushiguro Megumi said calmly, "It's a Curtain. Since this is close to a residential area, we need a barrier to conceal us from the outside."

"That's amazing..." Yuji Itadori realized that the sky, and everything around them, had gone completely dark.

"You're so ignorant." Nobara Kugisaki looked at Yuji Itadori as if he were an idiot. Was it really okay to go on a mission with someone like this?

"Everyone, be careful. The thing inside could very well be a Special Grade Cursed Spirit." Lin Ran looked at them. He did not say with certainty that it was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, or the psychological pressure on them would be too great.

Fushiguro Megumi nodded, brought his palms together, formed the hand sign for "dog," and said, "Divine Dogs."

As soon as the words fell, a mass of black substance emerged from Fushiguro Megumi's shadow. It quickly took the shape of a white dog, which howled at the sky the moment it appeared.

"Awoooooo—"

"Once a curse gets close, it'll alert us." Fushiguro Megumi's gaze settled on the door leading into the pitch-black corridor ahead.

"I see, I see." Yuji Itadori squatted in front of the Divine Dog with a grin and stroked its pristine white fur. "Good boy, we're counting on you."

"Fushiguro, this dog of yours looks more like a wolf." After observing the Divine Dog up close, Lin Ran found that both its cry and appearance were extremely similar to a wolf's.

"We can talk about that after we get out. Let's save time." Fushiguro Megumi spoke seriously.

Lin Ran shrugged. "All right, let's go in."

After the four pushed open the door, the scene inside was completely different. Steel pipes crisscrossed everywhere, making it look like some kind of factory.

"What's going on? This is supposed to be a two-story dormitory, right?" Yuji Itadori could not make sense of it.

"Calm down, it's a duplex..." Nobara Kugisaki told him to calm down, but she was actually getting nervous herself.

"No, it isn't..." Fushiguro Megumi's expression darkened. "This is an Innate Domain created by Cursed Energy. I've never seen one this big before..."

"Wait!" Fushiguro Megumi suddenly turned around. "Where's the door?"

Only after turning around did Lin Ran realize that the door had vanished. Behind them, there were nothing but enormous steel pipes.

"The door's gone..." Both Nobara Kugisaki and Yuji Itadori found it unbelievable.

Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought they had run into a ghostly maze. It was simply too bizarre.

"Why? We came in through here just now, didn't we?" Nobara Kugisaki could not figure out what was happening either. It was her first time encountering something like this, and she was not much better informed than Yuji Itadori.

"Mm-hmm." Yuji Itadori immediately nodded in agreement.

"What do we do?" "Oh no, what do we do?"

Lin Ran looked at the two of them and laughed. "Are you two nervous or happy?"

The way they were talking, they had almost started singing.

"It's fine. It remembers the scent of the entrance." Fushiguro Megumi indicated that his Divine Dog was up to the task.

"Oh my~"

Nobara Kugisaki and Yuji Itadori immediately jogged over and began petting the Divine Dog. "Good boy, we'll give you jerky. Bring me all the jerky."

The Divine Dog looked thoroughly pleased, wagging its tail nonstop with its tongue hanging out.

"Would you two start taking this seriously?!" Fushiguro Megumi was practically rolling his eyes. They still had the mood to joke around in a situation like this.

But perhaps Lin Ran was the only one here who knew what they would be facing next, so he could not laugh at all.

"Don't be so serious, Fushiguro, Lin Ran. We just need to bring the people out." Nobara Kugisaki spoke as if she were not nervous. Lin Ran and Fushiguro both seemed relatively calm, but they were probably just pretending. Yes, they had to be pretending, right?

"I have to say, Fushiguro, you're really reliable. With you here, the survivors can be saved, and so can I." Yuji Itadori smiled as he praised him. "Don't you think so, Lin Ran?"

"Yeah. Let's get moving." Lin Ran smiled and walked ahead. Fushiguro Megumi wanted to say something, but when he saw Lin Ran had already gone on ahead, he immediately followed.

Cursed Energy Output.

Lin Ran activated Cursed Energy Output. He could observe everything within thirty meters of himself, and there was nothing unusual for the time being.

Before long, the four arrived at a relatively open area. The light here was not as dark red as elsewhere, but dim and gloomy instead.

"Th..." Yuji Itadori immediately spotted several corpses leaning against a wall in the distance. One had already been reduced to bones, while another was missing its lower half. Their deaths had been gruesome.

"That's horrible." Yuji Itadori slowly approached and raised a hand to straighten the clothes on the half-corpse leaning against the wall. The name "Masashi Okazaki" was clearly written on the clothes, instantly reminding him of what that woman had said before. So this was her son.

"I'm taking this body back..." Yuji Itadori's words confused Nobara Kugisaki, and he continued, "He's that person's son."

"But..." Nobara Kugisaki did not think there was any need to bring him back. He was already like this.

"His face is still recognizable. If they tell his mother he's dead without a body, she won't be able to accept it." Yuji Itadori spoke as he prepared to pick up the corpse.

But Fushiguro Megumi grabbed him by the hood from behind. "We still need to confirm whether the other two are alive. Leave the body here."

"Don't joke around. The path we took here disappears the moment we turn around. We won't have a chance to come back, right?" Yuji Itadori thought that would not work at all. They had to take him away now.

"I didn't say we'd come back for it. Leave it here. We weren't planning to save anyone in the first place, and now you want to haul a corpse back too? I have no intention of doing that!" Fushiguro Megumi raised his voice. He truly did not want to be distracted by a corpse at a time like this.

"We weren't planning to save anyone?" Yuji Itadori stood up, grabbed Fushiguro Megumi by the collar, and said, "What do you mean?"

"This is a Juvenile Detention Center. Jujutsu Sorcerers learn all the information about this place beforehand." Fushiguro Megumi had no choice but to explain. "Masashi Okazaki was driving without a license when he hit a little girl on her way home from school. And it was his second time driving without a license. You always want to save people and guide them toward the right death, don't you? But what if the person you save goes on to take someone else's life?"

Lin Ran frowned slightly as he walked over to Masashi Okazaki's corpse. He was not frowning because of the body; that sort of emotion had long been worn away at the crematorium.

What he found strange was that these corpses seemed to have been here for quite a while—definitely more than a day or two.