Dark corners

Satoru Gojo had only returned to his dorm to rest very late last night. The higher-ups had recently approved the use of his new cursed technique, so he could now teleport around freely and complete his exorcism missions faster.

Sakurada Niji got up before six that morning. After washing up, he tucked an ordinary straight sword at his waist and went to Suguru Geto's dorm next door. Just as he was about to knock, the door beside Geto's opened, and Satoru Gojo stepped out, stretching before the sun had even risen.

"Satoru... do you usually get up this early?" Sakurada Niji was stunned. He had thought Gojo always waited until they left before heading out.

So I'd been judging him unfairly all this time...

"I've been so busy lately~ All your missions have landed on my shoulders, Niji-chan~" Satoru Gojo suddenly leaned against the wall with an aggrieved expression and began pretending to wipe away tears.

"All right... thanks for all your hard work... my cursed tool will be repaired tomorrow." Seeing Gojo like that, Sakurada Niji could only console him. He knew it was an act, but Gojo really had been sharing his workload.

"Creak~" Suguru Geto's door opened.

"Satoru always used to get up late~ He's only been working harder these past few days." Suguru Geto exposed Gojo's lie about always being diligent. Their rooms were right beside each other, so Geto could still hear when Gojo got up.

Their rooms were arranged in the order of Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto, and Sakurada Niji, which was why Niji couldn't hear anything from Gojo's room.

"Well~ Off to work~" Satoru Gojo returned to normal and teleported straight out of the school.

"Sigh... I thought he'd gotten a little better, but that personality's not bad either. It's better than bottling everything up like you do, Geto." By the end, Sakurada Niji's words had turned into an attempt to reassure Suguru Geto.

"You look pretty good today. Seems like you got some proper sleep," Sakurada Niji concluded after studying Suguru Geto's face.

"Well..." Suguru Geto gave a wry chuckle and said nothing more.

"All right, we're going on missions together today. Let's go. Leave everything to me today, Geto. All you need to do is 'eat' the cursed spirits~" Sakurada Niji tugged at Suguru Geto's clothes as he spoke.

"Oh, right, Geto. Have you been adding 'seasoning' when you 'eat' cursed spirits lately?" Sakurada Niji remembered the advice he had given Geto earlier.

"Haha..." Suguru Geto rubbed the back of his head and laughed evasively.

"Sigh... you forgot after all... Let's buy some drinks first." Sakurada Niji and Suguru Geto went to the vending machines beside the dorms, dropped in a few coins, and began choosing drinks in different flavors.

The support staff at Jujutsu High regularly restocked these vending machines.

Up in the air, Sakurada Niji and Suguru Geto stood on Rainbow Dragon's tongue inside his mouth.

With missions becoming so frequent lately, Jujutsu High had approved this discreet method of rapid travel for Suguru Geto. He could communicate with the assistant supervisors by phone.

"How does this thing make us invisible? Even if we're standing inside a cursed spirit, ordinary people should still be able to see us, right?" Sakurada Niji was puzzled.

"That's not how it works~ Ordinary people can't see us inside a cursed spirit's mouth because, to their eyes, cursed spirits aren't transparent. It's more like optical camouflage." Suguru Geto began explaining some basic facts about cursed spirits.

"Oh~ I get it now~" Realization dawned on Sakurada Niji.

"Geto, we're almost there. Find somewhere deserted to land," Sakurada Niji said.

The two landed on the roof of an abandoned apartment building beside their mission site.

This mission was in Tokyo's San'ya district, which was considered the city's slum. Riots had often broken out there in the past, and it had once become a convenient destination for the government to drive homeless people into.

"Mission report: bodies have frequently been discovered in an alley in the San'ya district. Despite repeatedly sending officers to investigate, the police have failed to identify the killer. A subsequent inspection by Window found cursed energy residue at the scene." Sakurada Niji smoothly read the mission report on Suguru Geto's phone.

They sorted through the information as they walked and soon reached the mission site: a narrow, gloomy alley. Even in broad daylight, it looked pitch-black inside.

"This needs a special grade sorcerer too? Are special grade cursed spirits really that hard to find?" Sakurada Niji grumbled. He felt Kenjaku wasn't even trying to keep up the act anymore, though that was partly because he knew the plot.

"If I knew nothing, it would be perfectly normal for me to fall into a psychological trap like this," Suguru Geto remarked beside him.

"All right, Geto, I'm going in first. Wait out here." With that, Sakurada Niji entered the alley alone.

"Sure. Don't bother with any that have mediocre abilities, unless they're good-looking." Suguru Geto urgently needed a few cursed spirits whose appearances were closer to human standards of beauty.

Sakurada Niji didn't reply. He merely waved with his back to Suguru Geto and slowly disappeared into the alley.

The instant Sakurada Niji stepped into the alley, a cold, damp presence enveloped him, seemingly trying to seep beneath his clothes. Cursed energy surged around him, preventing it from penetrating any further.

Sakurada Niji looked back and found that the alley behind him was pitch-black too, without a glimmer of light. Only a strip of dim gray sky remained between the two buildings.

The stench of rotting corpses... Looks like there are victims here. Or rather, bodies a cursed spirit has stockpiled. After attending Shoko's medical lessons, Sakurada Niji had learned plenty of medical basics, though they were closer to forensic knowledge.

Sakurada Niji continued forward, and the stench of decay grew stronger...

In a cramped space like this, it's probably a small, humanoid cursed spirit. Though I can't rule out one with spatial abilities.

Suddenly, Sakurada Niji stopped. His cursed energy perception had picked something up. The source was directly ahead, and it felt roughly as strong as a grade 1 cursed spirit.

Ah, exorcising cursed spirits always feels like opening blind boxes, except everything I get is ugly... Sakurada Niji silently grumbled to himself. As far as he was concerned, imaginary creatures like Rainbow Dragon were the pinnacle of cursed spirit looks. The ones born from human resentment were generally hideous beyond belief.

"Crunch, crunch..." Strange chewing sounds echoed through the silent alley.

Sakurada Niji hurried forward and spotted a small figure crouched beside a pile of corpses.

It seemed to hear the footsteps behind it. It stopped chewing and slowly turned its head...

...So ugly! Sakurada Niji couldn't help griping.

The cursed spirit before him was about a meter and a half tall, with red skin covered in white spots. Two small black holes served as its eyes, and its nose had sunk inward into a little pit. Unsurprisingly, its mouth was huge, packed with tiny teeth. Its limbs were thin, and its nails looked razor-sharp.