The early morning mist, like a veil of gauze, clung to the forest surrounding the Jujutsu High training grounds, not yet dispersed by the sun. The air was filled with the crisp scent of grass and trees, interwoven with the faint, burning smell of colliding Cursed Energy, and the crunch crunch noise of Gojo Satoru chewing potato chips.
Gojo sat carelessly on the steps nearby, stuffing chips into his mouth while offering his critique.
"Hey, hey, Nagi! The exertion of 'Shun' needs to be smoother! You're reducing resistance, not pushing a grindstone! Imagine the feeling of going with the flow!"
"Suguru! Can't the control range of your Cursed Spirits be a little bigger? Being so conservative won't do! Be more domineering! Put some pressure on him!"
Geto Suguru sighed with slight helplessness, a sheen of sweat appearing on his forehead. It wasn't due to physical exhaustion, but rather high mental concentration.
He controlled a manta ray-shaped Grade 2 Cursed Spirit, "Grey Stingray," making it glide as deftly as a real aquatic creature, attempting to bypass the layers of invisible force fields set up by Nagi.
Geto could feel that Nagi's control was improving at an astonishing speed. The force field of "Xu" was no longer a large-scale obstruction but had become like an invisible spider web, precisely predicting and entangling the key nodes of the Cursed Spirit's exertion.
Nagi remained silent, completely immersed in the confrontation. The faint light of his Crimson Eyes flowed, and the world transformed into clear trajectory lines and flows of Cursed Energy in his vision.
He no longer relied solely on visual prediction but began to use the subtle changes in the "Xu" force field to "sense" the vortexes created by the Grey Stingray's wing membranes stirring the air, thereby predicting its next move. His footwork changed constantly, sometimes steady as a rock, other times utilizing the derivative footwork of "Shun," "Flash," for short-distance dashes to close the gap and apply pressure, forcing Geto to perform more complex maneuvers.
"Satoru, stop standing there talking without doing anything. Not everyone possesses your near-infinite Cursed Energy."
Geto retorted through gritted teeth, though his manipulation became even more refined.
The Grey Stingray Cursed Spirit made a sharp turn of nearly ninety degrees, the edge of its wing membrane dangerously grazing an area of suddenly increased resistance.
Just as Mujin Nagi was about to use his newly comprehended "Condense" for point control, Yaga Masamichi's serious figure appeared on the sidelines, interrupting their practice. "Gojo, Geto, Mujin. A mission has come in."
The three immediately stopped. Gojo pursed his lips and clapped the crumbs off his hands.
Location: Shopping district and residential area around Tokyo Metropolitan Blue Mystery Middle School.
Objective: Confirm and exorcise the Cursed Spirit causing consecutive disappearances and abnormal injury incidents (Estimated Grade: 1).
Executors: Geto Suguru, Mujin Nagi.
Assistant Director: Iori Takasuke.
"Oh? Partnered with Nagi?"
Geto recalled his Cursed Spirit and looked smilingly at the black-haired boy beside him. "Please take care of me."
The light in Mujin Nagi's Crimson Eyes faded, returning to their normal color. He nodded. "Please take care of me, Suguru."
Gojo leaned over, forcibly draping his arms over both their shoulders and putting his weight on them, grinning.
"Wow! The Honor Student Duo! Your coordination is looking decent, but don't be too rigid on the mission! Remember to check if there are any good dessert shops near Blue Mystery and lead the way!"
"Satoru, not all missions can turn into gourmet tours like yours."
Geto smiled helplessly, skillfully breaking free from the heavy embrace.
On the way to the mission location in Iori Takasuke's inconspicuous black sedan, the interior was quiet.
Iori drove with focus, occasionally observing the two Sorcerers carefully through the rearview mirror.
Geto flipped through the supplementary pages of the mission data. Nagi, however, kept looking out the window. As the street scenery became more familiar, his silence grew longer.
Those familiar convenience stores, bookstores, and the corner bakery all silently pointed to the everyday world he had been a part of not long ago.
"What's wrong, Nagi?"
Geto closed the file, keenly noticing his longer-than-usual silence, and asked gently.
"You seem a bit distracted since earlier."
"It's nothing."
Nagi's voice remained steady, betraying no emotional fluctuation, but his gaze did not withdraw from the window.
"It's just the mission location... it's near my old middle school."
Geto understood. "I see. It doesn't matter; just focus and handle it according to protocol. Maybe we can take a look around after it's over."
"Mm."
Nagi responded quietly, finally withdrawing his gaze and sitting up straight, completely retracting all exposed emotions.
Arriving near the destination, Iori Takasuke skillfully parked the car in a secluded spot.
"Then, I'll go set up the 'Curtain' first." He took out the relevant equipment, his tone carrying a hint of nervousness as always.
"Mm, please do. Set the 'Curtain' to 'Invisible from the outside, prohibiting entry of ordinary people'," Geto instructed.
"Yes! Please be careful!" Iori bowed and walked quickly toward the designated spot.
The black curtain slowly descended, shrouding several blocks around Blue Mystery Middle School, cutting off the sight and intervention of ordinary people.
Inside the curtain, the environment immediately became strange and oppressive. The hustle and bustle of ordinary streets was replaced by dead silence. The air was filled with faint Cursed Energy residuals that smelled like rust mixed with rotten sweetness, causing instinctive discomfort.
"The Cursed Energy residue is thick. Feels like a big one."
Geto frowned slightly. With a flick of his finger, a reconnaissance Cursed Spirit only the size of a palm and shaped like a dragonfly flew out silently, merging into the dim street.
Nagi's eyes glowed with magnificent red once again; the Crimson Eyes were activated.
The world presented another scene in his eyes—the flow of Cursed Energy was like twisted colored threads, and the air was filled with ominous filth. His enhanced perception captured the slightest energy fluctuations.
"Over there, behind the old school building."
He pointed southeast, where the Cursed Energy was unusually thick and chaotic, like a vortex.
The two maintained a vigilant formation, advancing cautiously. The streets were eerily empty, with only their footsteps echoing. Rounding the corner of the old school building, they hadn't walked far when—
A sharp screech, piercing enough to almost tear eardrums, exploded suddenly! A massive figure shimmering with iridescent colors soared into the sky from the open space behind the old school building!
It was a giant dragon-shaped Cursed Spirit with a slender body covered in hard, glass-like scales—the Rainbow Dragon! Its body refracted a strange luster in the dim curtain, emitting the undeniable pressure of a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
"Target sighted!"
Geto shouted low, reacting extremely fast. Several hideous Cursed Spirits emitting ominous auras instantly materialized from the shadows behind him, roaring as they pounced on the Rainbow Dragon in the air!
The Rainbow Dragon let out a deafening roar. Facing the siege, it didn't dodge or evade, but boldly smashed into them with its hard-scaled head and body!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
With several muffled sounds, the Grade 2 Cursed Spirits sent by Geto were smashed to pieces like fragile glass products, dissipating into black smoke! The hardness of its scales was beyond imagination!
"Tch, what a tough guy!"
Geto clicked his tongue, his eyes turning serious. He immediately changed tactics, controlling more Cursed Spirits that were agile or possessed ranged attack methods to engage in a dogfight, attempting to find its weakness.
Nagi acted like a calm sniper, standing in place, his Crimson Eyes locked tightly on the Rainbow Dragon's flight trajectory and points of exertion.
He occasionally raised his hand, moving his fingertips slightly. The force field of "Xu" was precisely applied to the joints of the Rainbow Dragon's wings or the path of its swinging tail, causing extremely brief delays.
This tiny interference was just right, instantly disrupting the Rainbow Dragon's balance and causing it to fall from the sky.
This also created excellent attack opportunities for Geto's Cursed Spirits.
Mujin Nagi's control over the technique's resistance was already very proficient; each time, he could compress the force field range to the limit without ever affecting friendly units.
Just as the battle situation was gradually coming under their control, a panicked female voice suddenly came from the street corner: "Hey! Is anyone there? What happened? Why did the sky suddenly turn dark?!"
A girl wearing the Blue Mystery Middle School uniform with a ponytail was stumbling out. Her face was bloodless, her eyes red rimmed; she was obviously terrified by the phenomenon of the "Curtain" and the subsequent appearance of the terrifying monster.
"Kobayashi?"
"What's going on? How could someone still be inside?!"
The Rainbow Dragon was immediately attracted, emitting a greedy and excited screech. Its massive tail swept out violently, knocking away the Cursed Spirits entangled with it!
Its iridescent vertical pupils locked dead onto the terrified girl. Its enormous body dove down with astonishing speed that belied its size!
"Not good!"
Geto exclaimed. His main Cursed Spirits had been swept to a distance by that blow just now and couldn't defend in time!
In the nick of time!
"Condense!"
Mujin Nagi's voice was calm without a single tremor, even lower than usual.
He raised his hand abruptly, fingers splayed, aiming at the end of the Rainbow Dragon's thick tail that was sweeping toward the girl with the force of a thunderbolt! An extremely compressed invisible force field, only the size of a tennis ball, was instantly generated and precisely anchored!
The rapidly swinging dragon tail seemed to be suddenly bound tight by countless invisible high-strength carbon fiber cables, stagnating abruptly!
The terrifying kinetic energy contained within even caused the Rainbow Dragon's entire diving body to twist off balance, letting out a sky-shaking roar of both pain and anger!
Nagi's arm muscles tensed instantly, veins showing faintly. The solid concrete ground beneath his feet cracked slightly with him as the center. It was as if he had truly grabbed a mad giant dragon in the void, forcibly halting this berserk Grade 1 Cursed Spirit!
"Suguru!"
Nagi shouted low, maintaining the output of "Condense," fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.
"Got it!"
Geto immediately understood. A vulture-like, agile flying Cursed Spirit swooped down rapidly from high altitude, extending its claws to grab the shoulder of Kobayashi, who was about to collapse on the ground, attempting to carry her away from this zone of death.
However, just as Geto's attention was fully focused on the rescue and preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the immobilized Rainbow Dragon—
An extremely cold, ominous Cursed Energy surged without warning extremely close behind Mujin Nagi.
A cold, pale hand with sharp, dirt-encrusted nails gently, almost "tenderly," placed itself on Nagi's left shoulder.
A cold wind carrying the smell of old rust, rotting blood, and cheap perfume blew onto his defenseless ear. A hoarse, distorted female voice, seemingly a blend of countless women's painful moans, pressed against his ear and whispered with a creepy intimacy:
"Am I... beautiful?"