Exorcising the Slit-Mouthed Woman, Cursed Spirit Manipulation

"All four of you! The Mission Department has issued a new assignment!"

Masamichi Yaga, clutching the Mission Department's commission, strode into the classroom with a stern expression.

The moment he entered, Yaga froze.

There, Gojo Sawa and Suguru Geto had Gojo Satoru pinned between them on either side, while Ieiri Shoko was drawing little turtles on Satoru's face with a pen.

All three wore grins identical to Anya's, while Gojo Satoru's face was the picture of utter despair, like a bullied young bride.

"..."

Yaga's head throbbed.

After months of teaching, he'd thoroughly figured out the four of them.

Powerful, arrogant, gifted—and... problem children!

Gojo Sawa was the first to notice Yaga standing at the door. "Huh? When did Teacher Yaga get here?"

At that, Suguru Geto and Ieiri Shoko quickly sat up straight, putting on their best innocent faces.

Gojo Satoru grabbed a wet towel and wiped his face. "Dammit! How could I lose seven times in a row? You guys were cheating, weren't you?"

"Satoru!"

"Yes, sir!"

Satoru snapped to attention.

Yaga rubbed his forehead, took a deep breath, and wearily waved the commission paper in his hand.

"New mission. A grade-one cursed spirit, the Slit-Mouthed Woman. Intelligence says her strength far exceeds the average grade-one."

Satoru took the commission, brimming with confidence. "Don't worry, Teacher! Leave it to us!"

"Worry?"

Yaga paused, then spoke flatly. "The explosion in the Shinjuku Ward sewers a year ago—that was your handiwork, wasn't it, Satoru?"

"Uh..."

Satoru was at a loss for words.

Yaga shifted his gaze. "Ten months ago, the collapse of the abandoned toy factory in Tokyo—that was you, Sawa, right?"

Gojo Sawa smiled sheepishly. "Uh... well, it was already abandoned, so I figured I'd help tear it down."

"Six months ago, the commotion you caused releasing a cursed spirit, Suguru, was spotted by a passing police officer. Afterwards, he insisted he'd seen an invisible ghost and was written off as mentally ill."

Suguru Geto offered an awkward but polite smile.

Finally, Yaga's eyes landed on Ieiri Shoko.

Shoko raised both hands. "Sensei! I'm a non-combatant! None of that stuff had anything to do with me!"

"I know that."

Yaga's forehead veins bulged. "But who stole my three treasured bottles of sake?"

Shoko froze, then scratched her head with a sheepish grin.

Yaga took a long breath. "I've figured it out—every single one of you has your own special talent!"

Satoru stared at the ceiling, Suguru looked at the floor, Sawa gazed out the window at a forty-five-degree angle, and Shoko stood there with vacant eyes.

The four played dumb...

"Sigh~"

Yaga let out a helpless sigh, like a weary father.

"Do the job properly. Don't cause any extra trouble!"

"Yes, Sensei!" ×4

In front of the apartment building, Sawa, Satoru, and Suguru were doing stretching exercises.

"One grade-one cursed spirit—you three can handle it. I can't be bothered to go in."

Ieiri Shoko lit a cigarette, looking a bit wistful.

Her technique was the rare Reverse Cursed Technique, capable of healing others—even saving someone on the brink of death.

But the frustrating part was that her three partners were each stronger than the last.

Every mission ended with them not even injured, their clothes barely dusty.

Maybe they'd scrape a bit of skin, but before she could use her Reverse Cursed Technique, it would probably heal on its own.

Still, she didn't mind the easy ride.

Shoko pressed her fingers together. "From darkness, born darker still, filth and taint, all be purged!"

A substance like black mud surged from the ground, instantly forming a massive square box that enveloped the dormitory building.

"The Curtain is set. The rest is up to you!"

"Let's go!"

Gojo Sawa took the lead, striding into the dim dormitory building.

Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto followed close behind.

Upon entering the building, the intense resentment and cursed energy seemed to materialize, clinging to the surrounding walls.

Countless low-grade cursed spirits roamed within the building.

The three searched floor by floor, but even after reaching the top, they found no trace of the "Slit-Mouthed Woman" mentioned in the intelligence.

Gojo Satoru looked puzzled. "Huh? What's going on? Could the higher-ups have given us wrong intel?"

Suguru Geto shook his head. "The Slit-Mouthed Woman is a powerful cursed spirit far beyond an ordinary first-grade. The higher-ups wouldn't mess up intel this important. Is there anywhere we haven't searched?"

Gojo Sawa thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Right, doesn't this dorm building have a basement?"

The three exchanged glances, quickly made their way back from the top floor to the first, and found the basement door.

Creak—

Gojo Sawa stepped forward and opened the door.

In that instant, a powerful sense of dissonance washed over all three of them.

Their surroundings, even the very air, seemed to shift and transform entirely.

Their expressions changed.

"It's a domain!"

A domain wasn't necessarily a Domain Expansion.

Some powerful cursed spirits couldn't achieve a full Domain Expansion but could still manifest an incomplete domain.

For example, the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings that Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro would later encounter at the juvenile detention center.

Or, on a weaker level, some could use their own cursed energy to form a simple domain that amplified their technique.

Neither of these granted the special abilities or guaranteed-hit effects of a full Domain Expansion.

Right now, the entire basement was saturated with cursed energy, transformed into a private domain by the cursed spirit dwelling within it.

The moment Sawa opened the door, the three had already entered the spirit's domain.

"As long as it's not a Domain Expansion, we're fine!"

Gojo Sawa breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the Slit-Mouthed Woman appeared before them.

Beneath her disheveled hair, her face was covered in countless eyes.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman spoke in a bone-chilling, sinister voice. "Am... am... am I beautiful?"

"Ugly as hell!"

Gojo Sawa shot back without hesitation.

"Aaaaaaah—"

The Slit-Mouthed Woman's resentment surged, and she lunged at the three with her scissors in hand.

Being called ugly was an insult even a cursed spirit like her couldn't stomach.

The sharp blade swept through the air with a cold gleam.

But the attack slowed to a halt before Gojo Sawa and Gojo Satoru, unable to advance an inch.

Shiiing—

A gash opened behind Suguru Geto's ear, blood trickling down his neck.

"Tch~ The Limitless sure is convenient!"

Geto watched Sawa and Satoru block attacks without even moving, genuinely envious.

"Rainbow Dragon!"

Seeing the Slit-Mouthed Woman about to strike again, Geto waved his hand. The Rainbow Dragon roared as it shot forward, coiling tightly around her body.

"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"

"True Martial Style: Kotetsu Heart Piercer!"

The three began their righteous gang-beating.

Shocking! Three men do this to a weak woman in a basement!

After a long while, the Slit-Mouthed Woman, thoroughly ravaged by the trio, lay weakly on the ground, looking completely broken.

Suguru Geto rubbed his chin. "This cursed spirit's strength isn't bad. I can subdue it!"

"Cursed Spirit Manipulation!"

A black vortex appeared in Geto's palm, and the Slit-Mouthed Woman's body was sucked into it, condensing into an egg-sized, black orb that shimmered with inner light.

"Oh! So that's your technique!"

Gojo Satoru leaned in like a curious child.

Even though he had long known that Suguru Geto's technique was "Cursed Spirit Manipulation," Geto hadn't encountered any spirits worth subduing these past few days.

So this was the first time Gojo Satoru had seen Geto use this move.

Geto smiled. "It's just turning a cursed spirit into a ball and swallowing it."

Gojo Sawa suddenly spoke up. "How does it taste? It's a cursed spirit after all, so it must be pretty awful, right?"