Chapter 65: A New Special Grade Cursed Spirit?
The next day, a light rain was falling from the sky.
Due to an urgent notification of a commission, the three first-year students, including Yuji Itadori, arrived early at a certain juvenile detention center.
The area had already been sealed off by the police and Jujutsu High staff.
Ijichi, their assistant supervisor, stood before them and began explaining the current situation.
"Three hours ago, our 'Window' confirmed the presence of a Cursed Womb.
When 90% of the personnel evacuation was complete, the on-site supervisor ordered the facility sealed off. Residents within a five-hundred-meter radius have also been evacuated.
However, five inmates are still in the facility's Second Detention Ward, coexisting with the Cursed Womb.
If the Cursed Womb is the type that grows through metamorphosis, it is possible it could mature into a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Although it was only a possibility, the mere chance of a Cursed Spirit of that magnitude being born could greatly increase the casualties among both sorcerers and non-sorcerers, which was why Ijichi's expression was slightly grim.
"..."
Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki were both affected by the heavy atmosphere, but Yuji Itadori still looked completely confused.
"Hey, hey, I still don't get these grades and stuff."
Hearing this, Ijichi once again gave a brief explanation of the grading system for Cursed Spirits, similar to the one he'd given to Emiya previously.
He then emphasized, "In short, a Special Grade is a Cursed Spirit that would be a difficult match even for a cluster bomb carpet bombing."
And that was under the premise that physical attacks were quite effective.
"Isn't that absolutely terrifying!?"
Yuji Itadori had never seen a cluster bomb explode, but he had been hit by Emiya. Emiya, as a Grade 1 Sorcerer, could probably handle a hundred of him without issue, so didn't that mean a Special Grade could handle at least a thousand of him?!
"We should normally send a sorcerer of the same grade as the Cursed Spirit to handle the mission. A mission like this today should be handled by Gojo-sensei," Fushiguro explained.
"Oh really? Where is he?"
"He's away on a business trip."
Ijichi sighed, "Unfortunately, a lack of personnel is the norm in this industry. We often have to carry out missions that are beyond our capability."
When a powerful Cursed Spirit appears, and there's no corresponding Grade Sorcerer to take them on immediately, the higher-ups often temporarily assign a lower-grade sorcerer to step in. This is a very common occurrence.
After all, while lower-grade Cursed Spirits are unlikely to cause serious incidents, Cursed Spirits of Grade 1 or higher can easily cause major incidents that shake the entire country. The higher-ups will do this even if it is only to delay the outbreak of the situation.
However, this incident was genuinely sudden. By the time Ijichi received the notice, the scene had already become this way.
After a moment of contemplation, he reminded the group, "Still, this situation is urgent and unusual, so you absolutely must not fight.
Although it's only a probability, your options when encountering a Special Grade Cursed Spirit are only to flee or die.
Please obey your fear. Don't forget, your mission is merely to search for and rescue survivors."
Deaths among Jujutsu Sorcerers during exorcism, due to various accidents, happen almost every month.
Ijichi himself had witnessed it several times. No matter what, he was absolutely unwilling to see an accident happen to the few people he knew well.
However, he was merely the executor, not the decision-maker, and could only act according to the orders from above.
"Why can't we go in?"
"Ah Zheng, is my son Ah Zheng alright?"
Just as the group fell into silence, a shout suddenly came from beyond the cordon not far away.
It was a haggard-looking but anxious mother. Her clothes looked quite simple, and she was only speaking out because she was worried about her child. However, of the five trapped inmates, she was the only relative who came to the scene.
The kind-hearted Yuji Itadori could not stand this sort of thing. Just seeing the tragic lives of others made him empathize to the point of almost crying.
Fortunately, Ijichi stepped forward to block him, cautioning the relative, "Please go home. The facility might have been poisoned. That's all the information we can disclose for now."
"Why, why would something like this happen..."
Hearing those words, the mother immediately collapsed to the ground, sobbing quietly.
Seeing this scene, Yuji Itadori silently clenched his fists after a moment.
"Fushiguro, Kugisaki, we absolutely must save them."
"Of course."
Nobara Kugisaki immediately turned her head to respond, but Fushiguro remained silent.
Yuji Itadori, caught up in the moment, didn't notice this, and quickly entered the juvenile detention center.
Watching their figures disappear, and lowering a Curtain to conceal the area, Ijichi still felt uneasy and tried to dial a phone number.
.
.
.
" Triple-Linked Crane Wings"
Projecting Kanshou and Bakuya and flashing by at lightning speed, a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit was split and physically exorcised.
This was already the third Cursed Spirit Emiya had exorcised today. For some reason, the number of commissions assigned to him was extraordinarily high today. But even though the situation was a bit strange, Emiya obviously couldn't ignore Cursed Spirits causing trouble when he knew about them.
Ring-a-ling
Just as Emiya finished off the Cursed Spirit and was about to notify the assistant supervisor to come and handle the scene, a phone call suddenly came in.
"Mr. Ijichi, is something the matter?" Emiya asked after picking up the phone.
"Mr. Emiya, I remember, you seem to be a sensei at Jujutsu High now, right?"
"That's right, though it was Gojo-sensei who insisted."
"I see... Just now, three first-year students from Jujutsu High received a commission assigned by the higher-ups. They are to go into a juvenile detention center where a Cursed Womb has been born to rescue five trapped inmates."
"..."
"But according to our judgment, if that Cursed Womb undergoes metamorphosis, it's highly likely to mature into... a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
As he relayed this information, Ijichi was actually quite hesitant.
After all, on the surface, Emiya was only a Grade 1 Sorcerer. Even if his growth speed was fast, it didn't mean his strength had reached that level.
If the Cursed Spirit was truly Special Grade level, notifying others rashly might not result in a successful rescue, but rather another rise in the death toll.
But remembering the commotion when Emiya and Satoru Gojo sparred, which nearly leveled the entire Jujutsu High, Ijichi gritted his teeth and proceeded.
"I know you may still be busy with your own commissions, and that is a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. I was just thinking that if a Grade 1 Sorcerer were present, the casualty rate might..."
"Just tell me the address, Mr. Ijichi."
Emiya spoke before Ijichi could finish. His voice was not heavy, yet it was completely reassuring.
"Alright, I understand."