The night wind howled beneath Yasohachi Bridge.
The abandoned riverbed had long since dried up, leaving only a few murky trickles winding through the jagged rocks.
"Are you ready?"
Hayashi En stood atop the bridge railing, his black gentleman's cane lightly tapping against the rusted steel beam with a rhythmic clack, clack.
Behind him, Fushiguro Megumi, Itadori Yuji, Kugisaki Nobara, and Yoshino Junpei—wearing tactical sunglasses—stood in a line.
"Are we really jumping down there?"
Itadori peered over the edge into the pitch-black, bottomless abyss.
"Of course, Itadori-kun."
Hayashi En adjusted his glasses.
Before the words had even settled...
Hayashi En leaned back.
He plummeted elegantly into the endless darkness.
"Boss! Wait for me!"
Junpei didn't hesitate for a second, jumping right after him.
As an employee, he followed the boss wherever he went; it was a matter of professional ethics.
"Madmen..."
Fushiguro Megumi sighed, yet he could only steel himself and follow.
"Yahoo!!" Itadori let out an excited shout, grabbing the complaining Kugisaki and leaping down together.
The sensation of weightlessness enveloped them.
The wind shrieked past their ears.
Just as they were about to hit the riverbed, the world... inverted.
Whoosh—
With the sound of clothes snapping against the air, five figures passed through the viscous black barrier membrane and landed firmly on the damp floor of a subterranean cavern.
"It's so dark..." Itadori Yuji started to remark.
"Quiet."
Fushiguro Megumi immediately summoned Divine Dog, scanning the surroundings warily.
This was a massive underground cavern, the ground riddled with pits of varying sizes, resembling a vastly magnified honeycomb.
"What is this? The surface of the moon?" Kugisaki Nobara frowned, kicking a nearby pit with the tip of her boot.
Right then.
"Screee!"
A sharp, shrill cry rang out without warning.
A dark shadow suddenly burst from the pit at Kugisaki's feet!
It was a Curse with sharp claws and a wrinkled face, looking like a mole.
It didn't fully emerge; instead, it popped up like a game of whack-a-mole, its upper body lunging out. Its murky eyes glared at Kugisaki, baring a mouth full of fangs to bite!
"Nobara! Under you!" Itadori yelled.
"Tch!"
Kugisaki reacted instantly, leaping back while swinging her hammer down with brute force.
Bang!
Soil sprayed from the pit as it was smashed, but the mole had already retreated into the hole, vanishing without a trace.
"So fast..." A bead of cold sweat formed on Kugisaki's forehead.
"It isn't just fast."
Hayashi En stood at the rear of the group, leaning on his black cane named [Golden Rule], lightly tapping the ground.
"There are quite a lot of them, too."
No sooner had he spoken.
"Screee screee screee!!!"
Piercing cries erupted simultaneously from the hundreds of dense pits surrounding them.
Countless identical mole Curses poked their heads out. Though small, each one radiated a heart-stopping surge of Cursed Energy.
In the deepest depths of the cavern, an even larger, more viscous Cursed Energy was connecting all these clones through underground tunnels.
"Is this the true face of the Yasohachi Bridge curse?"
Junpei swallowed hard, staring at the overwhelming swarm of moles.
"It's... a composite barrier," Fushiguro Megumi deduced. "The main body is hidden underground, using these holes for high-speed movement and ambushes. Killing these clones is useless unless we drag the main body out!"
"Then we'll just smash everything!"
Itadori took a combat stance, the light of Divergent Fist glowing on his knuckles.
Battle was imminent.
However.
Before they could even begin this deadly game of whack-a-mole...
"Hehehe..."
A chilling, ominous laugh drifted down from the stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling.
"So many moles... looks like fun."
Everyone snapped their heads up.
Clinging to the inverted stalactites were two grotesque figures.
One was a man with a hideous ghost face on his back, wearing strange strapped attire.
The other was a small, bloated infant-like creature covered in bloodstains.
Special Grade Cursed Objects—[Cursed Womb: Death Paintings].
Incarnations.
"Brother, those humans look even tastier." Kechizu drooled, pointing at Itadori and the others below.
"We are looking for Sukuna's vessel," Eso's voice was cold. "But... since they're all gathered here, let's just kill them all."
"Are those... new enemies?!" Kugisaki spat. "Where are all these freaks coming from?"
The situation became chaotic instantly.
On the ground were the elusive Special Grade moles, and overhead were the two prowling Special Grade incarnations.
They were caught in a pincer attack.
"Hayashi-san!" Fushiguro Megumi instinctively looked toward Hayashi En.
"Don't panic."
Hayashi En straightened his slightly disheveled collar, raising his [Golden Rule] and pointing it directly at the two Death Paintings above.
"There are a few too many guests, but it's not a problem if we divide the work properly."
"Itadori-kun, Kugisaki-san."
Hayashi En's voice was calm and powerful, cutting through the noise of the battlefield.
"The Consultant is issuing a temporary mission."
"The two guys overhead who look like perverts—I'm leaving them to you."
Hayashi En pointed toward a dense underground forest on the outer edge of the cavern.
"Lure them over there. This terrain favors them, just as it favors these moles. Divide and conquer, understood?"
"Huh?! You want us to deal with those two who look incredibly strong?!" Though Kugisaki complained, her body was already prepared.
"Because it's too crowded here."
Hayashi En swung his cane forcefully.
Even though he didn't unsheathe a blade, the heavy scabbard—backed by his Special Grade monstrous strength—instantly whipped up a terrifying shockwave, crushing a group of moles attempting to ambush Itadori into paste.
"Go!"
At Hayashi En's command, a gentle but irresistible force of Cursed Energy pushed Itadori and Kugisaki toward Eso and Kechizu.
"Hey! You pervert in the loincloth!"
Kugisaki Nobara knew how to play along. Using the momentum from Hayashi En's push, she fired her nails directly at Eso.
"Where are you looking? I'm your opponent!!"
"Damn woman!!"
As expected, Eso was provoked. He roared and gave chase with Kechizu, charging out of the cavern and into the forest.
In the blink of an eye.
Only three people remained in the previously chaotic cavern.
Along with the ground full of pits and the hidden Special Grade mole beneath.
"Are they gone?"
Fushiguro Megumi glanced at his companions vanishing into the forest and took a deep breath.
"Hayashi-san, then this one..."
"This one's yours."
Leaning on his cane, Hayashi En took a few steps back with Junpei and stood on a rock with a clear view.
Then, he casually pulled a bag of potato chips from his bag and started eating.
Crunch, crunch.
Yoshino Junpei immediately summoned [Moon Dregs]. The massive jellyfish enveloped him and Hayashi En, forming an absolutely safe viewing zone.
Then, he started eating too.
"You're just going to watch me fight?" Fushiguro Megumi asked in disbelief.
"What else?"
Hayashi En replied while munching away.
"You didn't pay."
"Besides, a Curse of this level doesn't even require my intervention."
"Screee screee screee!!!"
As if it understood Hayashi En's mockery, the main body underground flew into a rage.
The ground shook violently, and Cursed Energy erupted from every pit simultaneously.
A massive mole covered in sharp spikes finally emerged halfway from the largest hole.
Special Grade Curse, revealed.
Fushiguro Megumi clenched his fists, his eyes gradually becoming frantic.
No retreat.
No backup.
"Fine."
Fushiguro Megumi took his starting stance, shadows boiling beneath his feet.
"Then... I'll just beat it out of the ground!"
"Divine Dog: Totality!!"
The black-and-white great wolf roared forth, charging at the behemoth emerging from the earth.
The battle erupted.
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