Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

The Japanese-style gardens built against the mountainside have connected to form what is now a city of considerable size.

The palace-style architecture inherited from the Heian period is being gradually recreated atop this green mountain.

Xuan Yi stood on the sickle, hovering about thirty meters above the building.

Before the morning mist had completely dissipated, from a high vantage point, the entire mountaintop appeared to have been carved into a massive platform.

The unfinished scaffolding crisscrosses, with metal frames pressed against the ancient beams and pillars. Modern and classical elements are awkwardly spliced ​​together, creating an indescribable sense of disharmony.

His gaze passed over the busy workers and landed on a tall building in the center of the city.

A woman draped only in a thin veil was leisurely reclining on a cool mat, gazing contentedly at the city below.

Then her gaze lifted slightly, carrying a lazy, predatory air.

Whoosh-!

A sudden whooshing sound rang out!

Xuan Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and he abruptly lowered his body. Several arrows grazed his hair, creating a sharp gust of wind.

He quickly turned in the air and flew rapidly away from that area.

Only after landing in some unseen corner did the lurking killing intent recede like the tide.

"There are six guards in heavy armor outside the city wall. I can't see the specific layout in the courtyard, but someone shot an arrow at me. There should be hidden sentries and traps as well."

Inside their temporary base, Xuan Yi showed the photos he had taken to everyone, circling the tallest building in the center of the image with his fingertip.

"Fushiguro Miki should be in one of these already built side courtyards." He moved his finger to the other side, "As for Man himself... he's in this pavilion in the center of the castle."

Hisahito Itadori frowned, staring at the ordinary people in the photo who were carrying giant logs: "That woman, did she control a group of ordinary people to help her build the city?"

Kugizaki Nobara leaned over for a look, then immediately gave an expression of extreme disgust.

"With so many people surrounding her, and that's all she's wearing? What a shameless pervert."

Xuan Yi had some doubts.

His gaze fell on the workers in the photo.

"I can understand simply controlling the behavior of ordinary people, just like what Lu Suo did in Kyoto before." He paused, his voice deepening, "but those people don't seem to be puppets completely controlled by magic."

They actively use modern engineering machinery, which means they have at least retained their own knowledge and skills.

He looked up at Yuta Otsukoshi.

"As an architect, could Wan possibly possess the ability to control other people's minds?"

Yi Gu You Tai shook his head, his expression obscured by his scarf: "Logically speaking, it should be unlikely. The essence of constructing spells is creating physical entities, not interfering with the spirit, but just to be on the safe side—"

"Let me go first. Xuan Yi, you stay in the shadows and launch a surprise attack. If you encounter the kind of mind control technique you described, immediately activate your domain to dispel it."

"Understood."

"Itadori, Kugizaki, you two go to the city gate. Just lure those armored guards away; there's no need for a fight to the death."

Yi Gu's gaze shifted to the tallest pavilion in the center of the city.

"I'll go directly to Wan."

Xuan Yi, you are responsible for clearing out the remaining defenses in the courtyard and evacuating the ordinary people—prioritize finding Fushiguro Miki.

After completing the mission, we will regroup here to participate in the encirclement and suppression of Wan. Everyone must be careful.

The mission has begun.

Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki strolled leisurely to the city gate.

Six guards, clad in heavy armor and wearing samurai visors, stood in neat rows on either side of the entrance, motionless like statues. Even as the two approached, the guards merely turned their helmets slightly, fixing their gazes on them, but neither drew their swords nor gave chase.

"Hey, you bunch of tin cans," Itajimaru waved tentatively at one of the guards, "Aren't you going to do anything?"

Kugisaki Nobara narrowed her eyes, keenly sensing the abnormality. She deliberately took a step forward, almost touching the visor of one of the guards, but the guard simply blocked her way without any intention of attacking.

"Not a living person."

She sneered, took a few steps back, and suddenly swung the iron hammer in her hand, smashing a nail hard into the gap of the armored soldier's mask in front of her!

"The 'Soul-Slaying Incantation'!"

As he channeled his magical energy into his fingertips, the nails emitted a teeth-grinding grinding sound inside the armor. Raising his fingertip, Kugizaki clearly sensed it from the resulting fluctuations in magical energy—

"These are all curses!"

Under Itajō's astonished gaze, the helmets of the armored soldiers in front of him suddenly exploded! Twisted, inhuman faces flashed through the gaps in the armor, then turned to ashes in the burst of magical power, leaving only the eerie, frog-like croaking echoing in the air.

""hairpin"!"

Kugizaki swung her hammer, and several guards fell to the ground. She kicked open the visor of one of them, revealing a hideous, grotesque face that was gradually fading away.

"really."

However, the earth suddenly trembled. The two men's "declaration of war" seemed to have triggered some kind of mechanism. Inside the city gate, a dense sound of footsteps rang out like thunder, and dozens of guards rushed towards the two men in an instant.

"How come there are so many?!" Itachi looked at the armored soldiers surging out like a tide, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"You take the left, I'll take the right!" Kugizaki shoved Itajimaru hard into the distance. "Run! Draw them away!"

"I...I understand!"

Yuta Etsu, who had been watching from a distance, slowly stood up.

He gripped the hilt of the knife, and in the instant he activated his incantation, a suffocating sense of oppression erupted from him. The sheer volume of incantation power was almost tangible, enveloping him like a mountain.

Xuan Yi stood beside him, feeling a sudden choking sensation.

That total amount of curse power, surpassing that of the Five Masters... just looking at it evokes a primal tremor.

"I'm in."

Yi Gu's voice fell calmly. The next second, his figure suddenly shot out!

boom--!!

The city gates collapsed like paper before him, sending rubble flying. The figure surged unstoppably into the depths of the city, leaving only a furrow carved by the power of the curse in its wake.

Xuan Yi took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

"Well... I should get moving too."

His task was relatively easy—eliminate the remaining defenses within the compound, evacuate the civilians caught in the crossfire, and locate Fushiguro Miki.

There were indeed quite a few guards blocking the way.

Those armored curses are much more troublesome than ordinary curse spirits. They move stiffly but are incredibly strong. In particular, their armor is so tough that ordinary weapons cannot even penetrate it.

"Tsukumogami Technique - 'Kama-i-dan'!"

A jet-black wind blade tore through the air, cleaving the armored soldier blocking his path in two, armor and all. Xuan Yi crouched down, picked up a fragment of the fallen breastplate, and frowned slightly.

It's very light.

The cuts are thin and smooth, unlike the texture of traditional armor. Instead, they look like some kind of modern industrial fiber composite board.

Xuan Yi tapped the nail plate with his finger, producing a dull sound.

"Is it an insect armor constructed using a universal spell formula...?"

Why did she make so much armor in the past few days? Was she building an army? But what Xuan Yi cared about more was why she could make these cursed spirits obey her commands.

With questions in mind, he walked through the corridor, only to see an even stranger sight in the side courtyard.

A dozen or so men were carrying huge logs, marching in unison and chanting. They were dressed in rags, their hands covered in blisters, but their faces were flushed with an almost frenzied excitement.

"Lord Wan looked this way today!"

"For Lord Wan, what's carrying ten more poles!"

"Once the city is built, Lord Wan will surely smile at me!"

Xuan Yi was stunned.

It wasn't because of the spell, nor because of the curse. A familiar light burned in their eyes—the gaze of a fanatical believer, like a star-struck fan.

"Do you... know what you're doing?" Xuan Yi couldn't help but ask.

A middle-aged man with a face covered in mud stopped what he was doing, turned around, and his eyes were frighteningly bright.

"To serve Lord Wan is the greatest honor of our lives!"

Amidst the rising and falling responses, Xuan Yi fell silent.

It turned out to be the case.

It is not a spell or manipulation, nor is it mental interference.

Wan simply stood there, displaying a beauty, temperament, and power that belonged to a different era, as well as an unquestionable arrogance, and these perverted guys would willingly be driven by her like moths to a flame.

"All right."

Looking at these fanatical faces, Xuan Yi suddenly felt a little tired. He slowly raised his hand, and the scythe that he had deliberately hidden to prevent panic materialized in his hand once again.

"You have three seconds, now get out of here—"

The sound was soft, yet it clearly cut through the noise in the courtyard.

"Or should we die together with your 'Lord Wan'?"