On the other side.
"This operation is extremely urgent and abnormal. Your task is not to exorcise the curse, but to confirm the situation and rescue any survivors. Remember, at your current level, you absolutely must not engage it. If you encounter a special grade curse, your only options are to run or die."
Right in front of the destination, Ijichi was explaining the danger of the mission to the three first-year students from Tokyo Jujutsu High.
At the same time, he briefly explained the curse ranking system to the newcomer and vessel, Yuji.
"If that's the case, why not just send a special grade sorcerer to handle it? Wouldn't that be safer?"
Yuji raised his hand, sounding like an elementary student who did not quite understand the lesson.
"Do you think special grade sorcerers grow on trees? In the entire jujutsu world, there are only five sorcerers given the title of special grade. Right now, the only one who stays in Tokyo long-term is Teacher Gojo. And he was never the type to stay at the school doing idle teaching work anyway."
Megumi covered his forehead and explained with a tired look.
"This line of work is always short on manpower, so please remember my warning and do your best."
With time tight, Ijichi had no chance to explain further. He raised his right hand and prepared to deploy the barrier.
"Tadashi! Where is my Tadashi?!"
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman with tear-filled eyes was stopped by staff members in the distance. Even so, she kept shouting toward the building.
"She is…"
"A family member of the trapped."
Ijichi turned around, went over, and spoke in a formal tone. After that, he had someone lead the crying woman away.
"Fushiguro, Kugisaki, let's go! We're saving people!"
The woman's tears seemed to ignite Yuji's fighting spirit. He bumped his fists together and looked at his two teammates.
"Fushiguro, remember to be careful. If you sense danger, retreat immediately. Fushiguro-senpai is already on his way here."
Before they entered, Ijichi quietly leaned toward Megumi and gave his final warning.
To be honest, if the higher-ups had not labeled this as an emergency case, he would have tried to delay or stop the mission.
Satoru was absent. A special grade curse appeared. And somehow, all of Tokyo had no available grade 1 sorcerers. It all felt far too coincidental.
"Understood."
Megumi paused for a moment. Then the three of them walked inside together, and Ijichi lowered the curtain behind them.
* * *
After entering and walking a short distance, the scene before the trio became completely different from the outside.
It felt like they had entered a rundown old city district. Tall buildings surrounded them. But this was supposed to be just one floor of a dormitory.
"This place… is it a duplex?"
"It should be the second floor of a dorm, right…"
Even Nobara, who grew up in the countryside, had never seen anything like this. Yuji, who had only entered the jujutsu world a little over a month ago, was even more lost.
Their words sounded more like they were trying to comfort themselves.
"This is… an innate domain? But it's way too big."
Only Megumi realized it was a domain constructed with cursed energy. Fortunately, it did not seem complete.
He quickly turned around and found that the entrance door had already disappeared. He urged the other two forward.
"Let's move. Divine Dog has already memorized the scent of the entrance."
"As expected of Fushiguro. You're so reliable. Because you're here, I can be saved. And the trapped people will be saved too!"
Simple-minded as ever, Yuji rubbed Divine Dog's head and thanked him again.
"Keep moving."
Megumi looked away, and the three followed Divine Dog deeper inside.
Soon after, at the exit of one stairwell, they finally found several corpses lying quietly in the corner.
"There are… three people here…"
Yuji swallowed and rushed forward.
Among the three bodies, the only one whose face was still recognizable had a name tag on his chest. It was the "Tadashi" the woman had been calling for outside.
"I'm taking him back. Telling her he's dead without even letting her see the body would be too cruel."
Yuji reached out, trying to lift the man's corpse.
"Put the body down. We still need to check whether the other two are alive."
Right then, Megumi grabbed the hood of his jacket.
"Are you kidding me?! Once we move on, there won't be a way back. We won't get another chance!"
Yuji turned his head, but his hand was still gripping the corpse.
"Someone we never planned to save in the first place, and you still want to carry his body out? I have no intention of doing that."
Megumi spoke plainly. Before entering, he already knew the full situation inside.
Even though this was a juvenile detention center, this man was the one person he never intended to save from the start.
A man who, due to "driving without a license for the second time," had hit and killed a young girl. If this were said by his father or uncle, such a person would be called a "monkey."
Megumi simply chose not to use that word.
"What if the person you save goes on to hurt someone else later?"
Born into the Fushiguro family, and raised under their teachings, he firmly believed that not everyone deserved kindness.
"Then what about me? Why did you save me?!"
Yuji's voice trembled as he grabbed Megumi by the collar.
"Hey, you two! Are you idiots? If you're going to argue, at least pick the right time and place!"
Nobara finally snapped. She cursed and stepped forward, trying to pull them apart.
"Something's wrong."
Megumi suddenly sensed it.
He turned his head sharply. Right in front of them, the ground gave way, and the girl fell straight into a suddenly opened hole.
"Itadori, run! We'll look for Kugisaki later…"
Megumi saw the severed remains of Divine Dog and shouted at Yuji.
Both of them froze.
Beside them, a curse with a grotesque face and four eyes had appeared at some point. It was observing them.
"Max Elephant!"
Megumi formed hand seals at once. From the shadow beneath him, a massive pink elephant burst out and slammed into the curse, knocking it flying.
A powerful jet of water then shot from its trunk and smashed the curse into the wall.
"There's no doubt. It's a special grade curse!"
Without hesitation, Megumi grabbed Yuji's hand and ran at full speed.
That feeling of dread earlier had not been wrong. He had thought that even if a special grade was strong, escaping should not be too hard.
Only now did he truly understand the gap in strength.
Those two men had been able to exorcise special grade curses on their own at this age.
**
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