Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

The return trip was cancelled at the last minute.

In the vicinity of Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, eleven cursed murders occurred in just one week. Due to a shortage of manpower, the Kyoto branch had to request assistance from Tokyo. As a result, three people who were supposed to pack their bags and return to Tokyo were instead sent directly to the scene of the incidents in Higashiyama Ward by a transfer order.

"There has never been a shortage of sorcerers, and your Tokyo campus should be well aware of that."

The person who came to meet him was a young man with dyed blond hair, who looked only a few years older than Genichiro. He was holding the mission documents, and his eyes were somewhat evasive, as if he was not used to dealing with unfamiliar sorcerers.

"The evacuation of ordinary citizens is basically complete, and the affected areas have all been sealed off." Nitta Shin opened the folder, his voice weak. "Based on the current concentration of residual cursed power... this mission is at least at the level of a Level 1 cursed spirit."

The panda crossed its arms, a hint of helplessness on its furry face: "Level one? But Dog Roll is the only level one sorcerer here."

It is common knowledge in the world of sorcerers that sorcerers of the same level perform tasks corresponding to their level.

Dog-Turtle tugged at the hem of his high-collared uniform and uttered a brief, somewhat protesting statement: "Tuna."

Nitta Shin scratched his head, clearly unsure of himself: "Well... I'm not entirely sure either! That's how it's arranged. But this is just an investigation mission after all. If we encounter any level one or higher cursed spirits, we should all just run!"

Xuan Yi remained silent.

He looked around and realized that this place was only two streets away from the cake shop where Kobayashi worked. The afternoon sun shone on the empty alley. What should have been a bustling commercial area was now so quiet that only the sound of the wind rustling through the fallen leaves could be heard.

He recalled the faint trace of filth he had caught from that woman in the cake shop.

Now it seems that she was indeed caught up in this curse.

"We can't ignore this..." Xuan Yi muttered to himself, then looked up. "Let's go."

After crossing the cordon, you'll find yourself in a typical old-style residential area of ​​Kyoto.

The first floor consists of shops and narrow alleys, with signs and wires crisscrossing in mid-air. The second floor is an old wooden house with balconies that jut out into the distance. There is not a single person in sight, only clothes hanging out to dry swaying gently in the wind.

The panda looked around, its tone tinged with doubt: "This is strange... It's rare to see a high-level curse born in a place like this."

Dog-Turtle nodded: "Salmon roe."

Xuan Yi also frowned slightly.

Generally speaking, cursed spirits need to absorb negative emotions to grow. The birth of high-level cursed spirits often requires a large amount of fear, resentment, or the aura of death, so they mostly reside in cemeteries, hospitals, schools, or accident-prone areas. In residential areas full of life, even if low-level cursed spirits occasionally emerge, there should be abnormal reports months before they upgrade to level one or even special level.

and so--

"It's highly likely that a curse master was involved," Xuan Yi said in a deep voice.

Before he finished speaking, the air in front of him suddenly distorted.

The black curtains, like ink, poured down from the sky, enveloping the entire block.

The moment he stepped into the tent, a heavy sense of oppression enveloped him, as if the density of the surrounding air had suddenly increased several times. Xuan Yi felt a weight on his shoulders, and his breathing became labored.

Immediately afterwards, black bubbles began to rise from the ground of the street, from which low-level cursed spirits of various shapes crawled out.

"You're here."

The panda grinned, put on cute panda-patterned boxing gloves, and assumed a fighting stance.

Dog Curly didn't pull down his collar.

After all, if you expend your precious magical power to use spells in a place like this, you'll be truly helpless if you encounter an unexpected situation.

"Let's finish this quickly," Xuan Yi said in a low voice, his hand surging with magical power, and a scythe formed from the magical power slowly took shape in his palm.

The outcome of the battle that followed was a foregone conclusion.

With the combined efforts of Xuan Yi and the panda, the low-level cursed spirits were wiped out in droves. The shrill whistling of the scythes cutting through the air mingled with the muffled thud of the panda's iron fists smashing bones, and the cursed spirits dissipated into black smoke, leaving a faint, foul stench in the air.

"Now that we've finished this, we can go back!" The panda smashed the head of the last cursed spirit with a punch and clapped his hands.

Xuan Yi was about to nod—

"Xuan Yi."

Suddenly, the sound of the dog, thorny and spiky, came from behind.

Xuan Yi was startled and turned around abruptly.

There was no one behind.

There was only one empty street shrouded in black curtains.

"...Oh no."

The moment he realized something was wrong, the atmosphere around him completely changed.

The panda and dog-like creature that had been standing beside him vanished without a trace, along with the remnants of the cursed spirits. In their place came a chillingly powerful pressure emanating from behind.

The cursed power was extremely close to him.

They were so close that it felt as if they could touch each other's noses with just a wave of their hand.

Without hesitation, Xuan Yi unleashed a surge of magical power from his scythe and swung it horizontally behind him!

"whee……"

A strange laugh exploded in my ears.

The sickle missed its target.

Xuan Yi's pupils contracted sharply as he saw a dark shadow teleport dozens of meters away at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. When he clearly saw what it looked like, a chill ran down his spine—

Crimson lines covered his entire body, and his two arms cradled his slightly tilted face. The hideous face, identical to the one in the juvenile academy, was grinning wildly at him.

Cursing the fetus against heaven.

No, it's no longer a cursed fetus.

That thing has fully hatched and become a true top-tier cursed spirit.

A top-tier cursed spirit, exactly like the monster in the juvenile academy, transformed from Sukuna's finger!

Xuan Yi quickly looked around.

The blue sky was gone, the streets were gone, and even the panda and dog who had been fighting side by side had vanished without a trace. He was now standing in a dilapidated underground maze, with a cracked concrete ceiling above him and a pungent smell of decay and rust filling the air.

On that street, was there a barrier set up that would pull you into a domain if you turned your head?

Although Shinichi Nitta said that we can run away if we encounter danger.

But since we've already been dragged into the realm of survival...

There was no way out.

"We have no choice but to fight."

Xuan Yi took a deep breath and gripped the scythe tightly. The next second, he shot out like an arrow, the scythe aimed straight for the head of the top-grade cursed spirit!

The demon's face contorted with even greater elation. It spread its arms and somersaulted in a bizarre motion to dodge. At the same time, a ball of extremely dense demonic energy condensed in its palm, its light so blinding it was impossible to look directly at, and slammed down towards Xuan Yi's back!

boom--!

The high-density spell power transformed into a dazzling beam of light that erupted with a deafening roar. The blinding light engulfed Xuan Yi's back, and the violent explosion sent rubble from the surrounding ground flying into the air.

Smoke and dust billowed, obscuring the view.

"Hehe..." The top-grade cursed spirit let out a smug, strange laugh.

But the next second—

Swish!

A figure tore through the smoke, and Xuan Yi actually rushed out from the lingering dust!

Are you looking for me?

Xuan Yi's eyes were cold, and the scythe in his hand drew a sharp arc. Several wind blades from "Scythe of the Strange" flew rapidly toward the body of the cursed spirit!

The cursed spirit clearly hadn't expected him to emerge unscathed from such a direct attack. He hastily took two steps back, spread his arms, and used the intense release of curse power to block all the wind blades.

Immediately, the smile on the cursed spirit's lips widened, and the barrier of cursed power suddenly expanded outward, transforming into a visible shockwave that slammed into his chest!

boom--!

Xuan Yi's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, his back slamming heavily against the mottled wall behind him. Cracks spread wildly from him, the entire wall groaned under the weight, and debris fell in a flurry.

"cough……"

Xuan Yi groaned, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

Even though he managed to protect his vital organs with his magic at the last moment, the brute force of the impact still made his internal organs feel dislocated, and his back was numb with pain.

He knelt on the ground, using his scythe to support his body, his eyes fixed on the twisted, scarlet figure through his disheveled hair.

There are no complicated procedures.

It lacks the ability to be unpredictable.

This guy is overwhelming everyone by sheer volume and output of his spell power; his speed is so fast that even fellow Special Grade True Persons can't keep up.

But it was merely... just one of Su Nuo's fingers.

"It's definitely very difficult to fight without using techniques!"

Xuan Yi twitched the corner of his mouth and slowly stepped out of the recess in the wall.

He casually brushed the dust off his shoulders, held the scythe horizontally in front of him, and distanced himself from the top-tier cursed spirit once again.

There's nothing I can do!

He gripped the sickle handle tightly, and a near-mad smile slowly crept onto his lips.

"Let's use each other as practice targets."