Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer vs. Grade 2 Cursed Spirit

"What do I do? Attack... right here?!"

In the morning light, the Grade 2 Cursed Spirit could already feel its end approaching. It had never been in such a sorry state.

It didn't even get to choose its opponent.

Even if it ran, even if it desperately threw everything it had into fleeing, it would still get caught, wouldn't it?

And that was despite being over ten times smarter than its own kind.

Behind it were those two guys whose stances alone showed how terrifyingly strong they were...

Then there was only one last option...

It just had to get that black-haired sea urchin under its control!

Then it would definitely win!!

"We should still get him to a hospital, though. How about this... since we were the two who did most of the beating, we'll take him to the nearest hospital first..."

"Fushi, can you wait here for a while?"

Megumi Fushiguro stared at their backs, his temples throbbing.

"Make it quick! We still have a mission, remember?! Stop pulling this kind of crap!"

Long Xi waved a hand, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Itadori, wait a second. I've got something important to take care of..."

Itadori looked bewildered, but after seeing Long Xi's expression practically saying, "Trust me," he chose to believe him.

"Then hurry up. I can take him by myself, too..."

"No need. Just wait a second..."

Megumi Fushiguro held his forehead.

They were supposed to be out on a mission. How had these two made it feel like a shopping trip for bubble tea?

"We'll carry the cursed guy." Long Xi shoved the man into Itadori's arms, then turned back to Megumi Fushiguro.

"Sorry for the trouble, but keep watch for a bit..."

"Got it," Megumi Fushiguro replied irritably.

Long Xi turned into an alley beside the road.

The alley was narrow, flanked by moldy concrete walls, with puddles still lingering on the ground. Sunlight left only a bright strip at its entrance; farther in, everything went dark.

[Seriously? We get this kind of fan service, too?]

[That's our streamer! I knew I was right about you!]

[Is Riko-chan watching, too? Shouldn't this kind of thing be censored?]

Long Xi ignored the barrage of comments exploding in his head.

He stopped at the deepest point of the alley, his eyelids half lowered.

There had been a faint trace of cursed energy on that cursed middle-aged man, trailing all the way here.

Its source huddled against the corner of the wall, a palm-sized lump peeking outside with two beady eyes.

It was a little scout split off from that Grade 2 Cursed Spirit.

It probably thought it was perfectly hidden.

Long Xi scoffed.

What an ugly little thing...

He raised his hand, and a nearly invisible spark flickered to life at his fingertip.

How boring. It hadn't even made a sound.

Before that lump of shadow could so much as shrink back, it was burned to ash bit by bit, barely leaking any cursed energy.

[Oh, it was a cursed spirit? (Disappointed)]

[Even a censoring glow would've been fine...]

[Nice, the Long Xi bullying section is here.]

Long Xi flicked his hand. When he looked at the comments again, his face had gone completely dark.

If only there were a blacklist option.

He wouldn't spare a single one of those people begging for porn in the comments!!!

But... he couldn't delay the real business...

When he emerged from the alley again, he looked almost exactly as he had going in.

Only the red in his eyes had deepened a little.

"Done!"

Long Xi emerged from the alley and casually patted Itadori's shoulder, while Itadori looked as though he'd seen something filthy.

"At least wash your hands!"

"You're so fussy! Come on, a life is at stake!"

"You're washing my clothes when we get back!" Itadori hoisted the man onto his back and strode off.

Megumi Fushiguro stared at Long Xi for two seconds. Something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it, so he finally pushed that unease aside.

"I'll wait here, then."

"Don't worry. We gave him a little extra life after he got cursed. Round it off, and we're his saviors." Long Xi made an OK sign.

The two of them, one ahead of the other, carried the unfortunate man around the corner and out of sight.

Several hundred meters away, on the second floor of an abandoned factory.

The Grade 2 Cursed Spirit clung to the shadow of a window frame, its entire mass of cursed energy trembling.

My scout... it's gone.

It was there just a moment ago, right in that alley. That brown-haired guy only raised his hand, didn't he?

There wasn't even a sound.

It replayed the scene three times in its mind. With every replay, its cursed energy shook even harder.

There were several hundred meters between this place and the street where the incident had occurred. Even at this distance, it didn't dare take a close look at the white-haired guy.

Just standing there.

The mere sight of him standing there made it feel as though someone had grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and suspended it over a pot of boiling oil.

That's not Grade 2. That's not Grade 1, either.

That's the most terrifying thing I've seen in my life... no, in my two months and thirteen days.

It knew all too well how humans ranked these things.

It had even secretly scored the three of them.

The brown-haired one got full marks.

The pink-haired boy who could punch its puppet hard enough to make it cough up blood got ninety! Ninety at the very least!

As for the black-haired sea urchin.

...He's okay.

Its beady eyes lit up.

An idea was taking shape in that head of its, over ten times sharper than those of its own kind.

Those two monsters left.

Now there's only that sea urchin on the street. He's alone.

It hadn't become a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit through strength and other things alone!

It had brains!

If I can just get that sea urchin under my control and hold him hostage...

Won't those two monsters have to do what I say when they come back?

Yes. That's the plan.

The more it thought about it, the more it felt like a genius. Even the terror that had nearly made it wet itself was half smothered by its newfound enthusiasm.

It pressed its body into the shadows and silently slid back toward that street along drainpipes and cracks in the walls.

Megumi Fushiguro leaned against a utility pole, idly counting the paving stones.

At his feet, two hounds, one black and one white, lay quietly, occasionally raising their eyeless heads to sniff in every direction.

Those two had been gone for almost ten minutes.

What happened to "just a few steps away"?

He was wondering whether to message them to hurry up when the white dog suddenly sprang from the ground, a growl rumbling in its throat as it bared its fangs toward the other end of the street.

Megumi Fushiguro's drowsiness vanished instantly.

It was here.

The scent of cursed energy was faint, so faint that the city's everyday bustle almost masked it, but the Divine Dogs wouldn't make a mistake!

This scent came from the same source as the one on that cursed man.

Found you...

He kept quiet, slowly straightened up, and slipped his hands into his pockets, pretending to be taking an aimless stroll.

The scent was retreating.

That thing was fleeing, and doing it methodically. It picked narrow roads without cameras or pedestrians, leading him toward the edge of the city.

Megumi Fushiguro understood its purpose, too. It was luring him in...

It knew it was being followed, so it deliberately headed toward less populated places, choosing a battlefield to its liking.

Clever.

Clever cursed spirits are the hardest to deal with.

He quickly ran through what Satoru Gojo had told him: this thing could disguise itself as a human, spread curses, and possibly possess intelligence.

Disguise, infection, brains.

Any one of those would be troublesome. All three together already put it beyond what a Grade 2 should be capable of.

But he was a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer!

It was just one Grade 2 Cursed Spirit! If it escaped, some unsuspecting passerby would be its next victim.

The scent faded completely in front of an abandoned factory. The Divine Dogs sniffed for a long time, but ultimately picked up nothing.

The rusty red sheet-metal doors stood half open. It was pitch-black inside, and even the wind blowing out carried a strange smell.

Megumi Fushiguro stopped at the entrance.

The Divine Dogs slipped into the darkness one after the other. Black cursed energy spread beneath Megumi's feet, tracing intricate patterns across the ground.

"Come out. I know you're in there."

From deep inside the factory came a sticky sound, like chunks of flesh shifting around.

Then came a voice so thin it made his skin crawl.

"I didn't expect... you're far too arrogant..."

"Brat..."

Megumi Fushiguro raised his foot and stepped through the entrance. Behind him, the sheet-metal doors slammed shut on their own with a clang.

(The five-star ratings have already passed 100, which means I probably owe you over ninety chapters now. From here on, I'll post three updates a day, and four a day on Saturdays and Sundays.)

(I'll work hard to make up all those chapters, so if you've read this far, you could leave me another five-star rating or something. I don't know why, but among works of the same type, mine seems to have the fewest viewers.)

(Is my writing still not unhinged enough...)