Rescue

Utahime Iori and the others entered the Curtain. The once-lush forest was completely gone.

Fragments of trees and buildings littered the ground.

"What on earth..." Utahime Iori murmured, staring at the competition grounds, which looked as though missiles had torn through them.

Gakuganji pulled his bass from its wooden case. "We need to find the students quickly. Utahime Iori, amplify my power."

Utahime Iori snapped out of her daze and immediately began to dance. With hand signs and the lilting sound of her singing, Solo Forbidden Zone activated.

The cursed energy rising from Gakuganji's body instantly surged.

Feeling the energy filling him, Gakuganji lightly plucked his bass. With his body serving as an amplifier, the music swept through their surroundings.

"Yaga, there's someone in the rubble ahead, but they don't seem to be a student." Gakuganji used the vibrations of his music passing through objects to locate the people inside the Curtain.

Without a word, Masamichi Yaga strode into the rubble, thrust his hand inside, and hauled Juzo out. "A curse user?"

Juzo seemed to retain a little consciousness after Yaga pulled him out. He was still muttering about turning Satoru Gojo into a coat rack.

Masamichi Yaga heard every word clearly and punched Juzo into a nearby mound of dirt.

"Yaga, that's enough. Leave him alive," Gakuganji reminded him.

"I know. Just that one punch." Masamichi Yaga bent down and checked Juzo's pulse. It was faint, but his heart was still beating.

"That's enough, Utahime Iori." Gakuganji stopped playing and slung the bass over his back.

"What did you find?" Utahime Iori asked, ending Solo Forbidden Zone.

"Thirteen students took part in the competition. There are ten people still aboveground, but two of them don't have the builds of students. One seems more like a cursed spirit," Gakuganji reported.

"That's enough. We'll start with the nearest," Masamichi Yaga said.

Haruta crawled out from between two huge boulders, trembling. "Haha, what's a miracle? This is a miracle. Natural disasters really are terrifying."

Haruta raised his head. Not a single mark remained beneath his eyes.

Looking around, Haruta exclaimed in delight, "Well, what do we have here? A dying jujutsu sorcerer, all alone."

The lone jujutsu sorcerer was Toge Inumaki.

To withstand Chiyo Shin's attack, Toge Inumaki had overused his Cursed Speech, but at least he had managed to hold it off.

He had never expected to run into Haruta, the worst kind of bully, right after regaining consciousness.

Toge Inumaki tried to get up, but he could not move a muscle.

Haruta had already walked up to him, sizing Toge Inumaki up with the blade in his hand. "How should I finish you off?"

Toge Inumaki raised his head, but before he could activate Cursed Speech, blood sprayed from his open mouth.

"For a weakling who keeps struggling, I'll use my favorite method-a stab straight through the chest."

As he spoke, Haruta aimed his blade at Toge Inumaki's chest.

Just then, a melody suddenly shot toward Haruta.

Unable to dodge in time, Haruta was sent flying.

"You're safe now." Masamichi Yaga came to Toge Inumaki's side, bent down, and lifted him into his arms.

Through his haze, Toge Inumaki saw Principal Yaga. The tension holding him together instantly eased, and he passed out again.

Haruta dragged his blade through the ground to stop himself and spat out a mouthful of blood. "Not good, not good. How did help get here so fast? I have to run."

Before Haruta could get up, Gakuganji's second melody struck, even more fiercely than the first.

Haruta could not withstand it at all and was knocked down again. This time, getting back up was nearly impossible.

Driven by his desperate will to live, Haruta slowly crawled forward. "I... have to..."

He had not crawled far before he passed out.

Gakuganji fired another melody into Haruta and told Masamichi Yaga, "A little farther ahead should be your school's Panda and that Zenin girl."

Before Masamichi Yaga could reply, Utahime Iori suddenly looked toward the distant sky and cried out, "That's Momo Nishimiya and Kugisaki!"

"Ms. Utahime!" Momo Nishimiya called.

Momo Nishimiya had heard Principal Gakuganji's bass from far away and flown toward the sound, carrying Kugisaki.

"Principal Yaga!" Looking over Momo Nishimiya's head, Kugisaki also spotted the people who had come to rescue them.

The two girls on the broom soon landed in front of the group.

"What exactly happened to Shin?" Masamichi Yaga asked Nobara Kugisaki.

With a pained expression, Nobara Kugisaki shook her head and replied, "I don't know what happened to Shin either. That surge of energy came so suddenly. If Momo Nishimiya couldn't fly, I would've been dragged underground and buried alive."

"This is no time to consider whether Chiyo Shin has betrayed us. More than half the students are still unaccounted for," Gakuganji said, interrupting their pointless conversation.

"Impossible! Chiyo would never betray us!" Nobara Kugisaki clenched her fists and stared at Gakuganji.

"I already said this isn't the time to discuss that. Rescuing the students comes first." Gakuganji paid Kugisaki no further attention and began searching for the next student.

Deep underground

"Mechamaru, what exactly is going on?" Mai Zenin asked.

"It was Chiyo Shin's cursed technique. He turned into a cursed spirit right before my eyes and unleashed it," Mechamaru said in his cold, mechanical voice.

He was the last person who wanted anything to happen to Chiyo Shin.

"How is that possible? Chiyo Shin is human. How could he turn into a cursed spirit?" Kasumi Miwa was utterly bewildered. What was all this? Hadn't Chiyo Shin only just finished fighting her?

"I saw it with my own eyes.

"You could call him a cursed spirit now, but he doesn't quite seem to be one either. I don't know what he is, but he definitely turned into a monster.

"And right now, he can't control his cursed technique." Mechamaru had wanted to speak with Chiyo Shin in person, but as soon as he found him,

he had witnessed what Chiyo Shin looked like after his soul fell into disarray.

"There's no telling when the next attack will come. For now, this cave is the only relatively safe place."

"How did this happen?" Mai Zenin leaned against the cave wall.

A melody suddenly reached Mechamaru's auditory recognition system. "Help is here. Principal Gakuganji is leading them."

Mechamaru shared the good news with the two girls.

Amid a pile of rubble

"This is Shin's cursed technique, but Shin would never do this." Yuji Itadori picked up a piece of rubble and clenched it in his hand.

"My best friend, if you have questions in your heart, you should seek answers instead of standing still. I'm willing to search with you." Aoi Todo held out his fist.

Yuji Itadori bumped it with his own. "Thanks, Todo."

"Haha, we're best friends! Nothing can sever our bond." Aoi Todo threw his head back and laughed.

"That music... it's the old man." Aoi Todo stopped laughing and tilted his head to listen.

A pool of shadow pulsed eerily over the ruins of a building.

Noritoshi Kamo was still recalling the sight of that earth-shattering wave blotting out the sky as it crashed toward him, and Megumi Fushiguro pulling him into his domain.

I couldn't resist at all. Have I really become this weak?

Shin, how could this happen? Megumi Fushiguro had racked his brains, but he still could not figure out why.

"Hey, when can we get out of here?" Noritoshi Kamo asked.

"Right now." Since he could not figure it out, he would go and see.

Megumi Fushiguro dispelled his domain.