At this moment, a boy and a girl were walking through the grounds of Jujutsu High.
"Ming, you trapped Satoru and Suguru in the Kamui dimension, didn't you?" Shoko said.
Ming looked at Shoko in surprise. He hadn't expected his "acting skills" to fail so easily against her.
"I didn't plan on hiding it anyway. Yeah, I'll let them stay trapped in there for a night," Ming replied with a grin.
Suddenly, Ming's phone buzzed with a notification.
"What's wrong, Ming?" Shoko asked, noticing his change in expression.
"It's nothing. An alert from the Window. They say a Cursed Spirit has appeared at an elementary school in Shinjuku. It was initially flagged as Grade 2, but its energy might be reaching Grade 1. They can't get close enough to confirm it due to certain conditions," Ming explained.
"Can I come with you?" Shoko asked.
"Sure, let's check it out together," Ming agreed. He used his teleportation to bring Shoko to the site, where he met the man in charge of the situation.
"Hello. Are you the sorcerer Asano-senpai mentioned? You're quite young," a man in a suit and glasses said respectfully.
"Cut the chatter and give me the details," Ming said coldly. His expression was blank and detached. Looking at him now, Shoko could hardly believe this was the same Ming she had been joking with moments ago.
"Well, several colleagues went in for a routine investigation. We thought it was just a Grade 3, but the environment suddenly warped. The curse intensified, and our investigators haven't come out," the man explained.
"Got it. Let's go, Shoko." Ming turned and headed toward the school.
As they entered, the atmosphere grew heavy with cursed energy. They soon stumbled upon the corpses of the investigators.
"It seems the Window's info was off. This isn't just a strong spirit; this is at least a Semi-Special Grade," Ming said calmly.
"I see," Shoko replied, equally calm. She had grown accustomed to being surrounded by "monsters" like Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, both of whom could handle such threats with ease.
"Sharingan." Ming opened his eyes, activating his ocular power.
"Interesting... this cursed energy isn't normal. A Special Grade?" Ming murmured before shaking his head. "No, it hasn't reached Special Grade yet. Even if it had, as long as it doesn't manifest a Domain, I'm not worried."
They reached the heart of the curse.
"What is this... and what happened to this place?" Shoko felt a cold sweat. She instinctively grabbed Ming's arm and hid behind him.
"Hurry up and get to class, you naughty children!" a horrifying, distorted voice echoed through the hallway.
"An incomplete Innate Domain... it's not just a regular spirit," Ming frowned.
"Is it a Special Grade?" Shoko asked.
"No, not yet, but it's getting close," Ming said. "Shoko, stay back."
Shoko didn't wait for him to finish; she was already retreating to a safe distance.
"One Thousand Volts: Lightning Beast!" A wolf made of crackling electricity lunged at the spirit.
The spirit swiped its hands, dispersing the lightning, but the shock left its body momentarily paralyzed.
"Two Thousand Volts: Lightning Spear!"
Ming condensed the electricity in his hand into a glowing javelin and hurled it at the spirit. An explosion of smoke followed, and the spirit let out an enraged roar.
"Lightning Fist!" Ming wrapped his hands in electricity, reinforcing his physical strength with cursed energy, and struck the spirit.
The spirit was sent flying, but its rage only intensified. It spat a concentrated beam of cursed energy toward Ming. Ming reacted instantly to dodge, but his feet were suddenly snared by the spirit's shadows.
"Bad child! No moving! Stand in the corner!" the spirit shrieked in a dual-toned voice.
"Is this your technique?" Ming smirked. The beam of energy slammed into him—but it passed straight through his body thanks to his intangibility.
"Pugh!" Suddenly, Ming's face went pale, and he spat out bile as if he had been struck by a physical blow.
"Are you okay, Ming?" Shoko shouted, running toward him. She was confused; she had clearly seen the attack pass through him.
"Damn it... Satoru and Suguru! Those two bastards actually hit me!" Ming snarled in anger.
"What? Those two?" Shoko looked around in shock, then remembered the two trapped in the Kamui dimension.
Inside the Kamui Dimension:
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto were lying on the stone pillars, complaining about Ming. Suddenly, Gojo sat up straight.
"Let's go, Suguru!" Before Geto could react, Gojo grabbed him and they blurred across the space.
"What is it, Satoru?" Geto asked, confused.
"I felt a spatial ripple," Gojo said. The part of Ming's body that had "slipped" into the dimension to avoid the spirit's attack had been detected by the Six Eyes.
"Hehehe," both boys shared a wicked grin.
"Suguru, keep tracking it," Gojo said, nodding.
They timed it perfectly and threw a synchronized punch at the "ghost" of Ming's torso inside the dimension.
Back in the Real World:
Ming pulled Shoko away from the spirit's follow-up attack.
"Susanoo!" A skeletal arm manifested, shielding the two of them.
"You two... just you wait," Ming muttered. He looked at the spirit and decided to use a different strategy.
The spirit was furious, charging up its energy for a massive blast.
"Now... Kamui: Summoning Technique!" Ming's face lit up with a vengeful smile.
"Bastard Ming! You finally let us out!" Gojo was the first to shout as he appeared.
Suguru Geto stood beside him, looking grim. "Wait..." Geto looked at the surroundings and sensed the massive cursed energy behind them.
Gojo noticed it too. Both boys turned around.
"Whoa!"
Gojo activated his Infinity while Geto immediately summoned a protective spirit. The spirit's massive attack collided with them, creating a giant cloud of dust.
When the smoke cleared, Geto looked a bit disheveled. Gojo, despite being stronger, was also a bit ruffled because he had reacted a fraction of a second late.
Both turned their glares toward Ming, then looked back at the Cursed Spirit.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!" Gojo pointed his hand at the spirit, generating a terrifying vacuum that sucked in the surrounding structures and crushed them against the creature.
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation!" Geto released a swarm of spirits that condensed their energy into a beam, firing it point-blank.
Watching the two go on a rampage, Ming and Shoko could only offer their "condolences" to the spirit.
The creature was instantly brought to the brink of death.
"He's all yours, Suguru," Gojo said. Geto nodded. A Semi-Special Grade was a valuable addition to his collection. Even though he could beat one, taming it was usually difficult—it's always easier to kill than to capture.
Geto reached out his hand to absorb the spirit. Then, his expression changed.