Inside the monitoring room, the higher-ups stared intently at the large screen.
With the Six Eyes' perception, Souma's team found the Grade 2 curse hiding in the competition area almost instantly.
Then, Satoru obliterated it with a single Blue. It took zero effort.
Yuki Tsukumo watched with interest. "That technique is fascinating. Is it an extension of the Limitless?"
The Gojo clan members puffed out their chests, excitedly explaining the mechanics of Blue.
They really weren't showing off. Someone asked, and in the spirit of academic exchange, they were patiently answering.
Really. Not showing off at all.
"Since the Grade 2 curse has been exorcised, the match is decided!"
Yoshinobu Gakuganji tapped his cane twice on the floor. The whistle signaling the end of the match blared over the speakers.
The remaining Kyoto students, who were still struggling against Grade 3 curses, froze.
The Grade 2 curse is already gone?
Did our classmates do it? Or the Tokyo trio?
When they returned to the starting point, they were shocked to see over twenty of their classmates being carried away on stretchers.
"Winner: Tokyo Jujutsu High!"
Gakuganji's raspy voice sounded like a dying duck.
But as soon as he finished speaking, he froze. "Where are Souma and the others?"
The Kyoto students looked at each other. "We don't know. We haven't seen them since the start."
The Gojo executives panicked. "Where did the Young Masters go?"
"Did the cameras catch anything?"
"The last footage is them exorcising the Grade 2 curse!"
"Yuki!"
Gakuganji looked at Yuki Tsukumo. She shrugged. "I'll take a look. With their strength, they shouldn't be in any danger."
Beep beep beep...
Just then, Masamichi Yaga's phone rang.
Yaga checked the message and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Principal Gakuganji... they're already back at Tokyo High."
He turned his phone screen toward everyone. It showed a photo of the three boys, arms around each other's shoulders, grinning stupidly at the camera with the Tokyo Jujutsu High campus in the background.
"...Those three brats are truly rebellious," Yuki Tsukumo facepalmed.
"This isn't rebellion! This is a lack of discipline! As scions of the Gojo clan..."
Ogi Zenin started his endless lecture again.
...
Inside a sinister haunted mansion.
Utahime Iori, dressed in her shrine maiden outfit, held a flashlight with trembling hands, searching the darkness.
Suddenly, she felt a hand land on her shoulder.
"KYAAAAAAA—!"
Utahime nearly died of fright.
She whipped around and realized it was just her partner, Mei Mei.
Mei Mei hadn't adopted her signature braided hairstyle yet. She wore a simple ponytail with two strands framing her face. Her fitted outfit highlighted her impressive figure, and her white hair—a rarity outside the Gojo clan—made people wonder about her lineage.
She was currently tapping her chin with purple-nailed fingers, deep in thought.
"Mei Mei-san! Aren't you supposed to be on the first floor?"
Mei Mei pointed at the debris around them—soda cans, broken chairs, shattered vases. "This is the first floor."
Utahime finally noticed the marks Mei Mei had made on the wall.
"We've been walking for thirty minutes, but we haven't left this hallway. Is this a looped barrier?"
Mei Mei analyzed calmly. "Unlikely. Even the walls are unbreakable. The curse haunting this mansion probably stitches the hallway together based on our movement. When we finish a section, it pastes the previous section in front of us. An infinite loop."
Utahime had a bright idea. "Then, if we run in opposite directions at the same time, the curse won't be able to stitch both ends! One of us is bound to break out!"
"Whether it's breaking the barrier from the outside or calling for help, that might be our best bet."
"Let's do it!"
"Ready... Go!"
The two of them sprinted in opposite directions.
However, Utahime suddenly felt the floor beneath her crumbling. The entire hallway began to disintegrate, and gravity seemed to reverse as she floated into the sky.
"Eh?"
BOOM—
With a deafening crash, sunlight flooded in. The gloomy mansion had been reduced to rubble in an instant.
Utahime poked her head out of the debris, looked up, and saw the most annoying face in the world.
"Satoru Gojo!!!"
Satoru stood on a tree branch, lowering his sunglasses to reveal a cheeky grin. "I'm here to save you, Utahime! Are you crying?"
Utahime snapped instantly, hair bristling like an angry cat. "I'm not crying!"
Mei Mei smiled and walked over. "Thank you very much."
Satoru waved his hand dismissively. He figured Mei Mei would have solved it eventually anyway. Even with a deadweight like Utahime.
Noticing Satoru's disgusted expression, Utahime roared, pointing a shaking finger at him.
"You bastard Gojo! I didn't need your help!"
RUMBLE!!!
Suddenly, a massive curse burst out of the ground behind Utahime.
But before it could exist for even a second, a gigantic worm curse surged up and swallowed it whole.
Suguru Geto, riding his manta ray curse, floated out of the shadows with a squinty-eyed smile. "Satoru, bullying the weak isn't nice."
Satoru looked genuinely confused. "Where would I find an idiot who bullies the strong?"
"That's not necessarily true."
Souma descended from the sky, wearing matching sunglasses and a matching grin. Truly brothers.
"Isn't Utahime-senpai one? A Grade 2 sorcerer taking on a Grade 1 mission without knowing her limits. Quite brave!"
"You... you Gojo brothers are scum!"
Utahime ground her teeth.
Not far away, Shoko waved at them. "Utahime-senpai! Are you okay?"
"Shoko~ Sho~ko~"
Utahime saw her savior. She ran down the stairs and hugged Shoko tightly.
"Shoko! Promise me you won't become trash like those three!"
Shoko smiled helplessly. "Don't worry, I won't become trash."
"Suguru! The path Utahime walked on is collapsing!"
"Shut up!"
The art style shifted to gag manga mode.
Souma secretly twitched his finger.
Blue.
The stairs under Utahime collapsed instantly.
Geto, sitting on his manta ray, looked at Souma with dead eyes. "Souma, don't play dumb. I saw that."
"Ehehe~"
"By the way," Mei Mei interrupted, checking her watch. "You two have been missing for two days."
"Two days?"
Souma spread his hands. "Correct. The curse's barrier distorted time. It's rare, but it happens."
Mei Mei nodded. "I see. In other words, I worked for two days straight. I'll need to negotiate additional payment for this."
Utahime looked at her in disbelief. "That's extortion, isn't it? It definitely is!"
Mei Mei smiled serenely. "Back to the topic. Did you guys... put up a Curtain?"
"Eh?"
The three boys froze.
An ominous feeling washed over them.
They looked at the shattered remains of the mansion, exposed to the open sky.
Ah. We're dead.