The damp air was mixed with the smell of rust and dust.
The gates of the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center exuded an ominous aura, like the maw of a silent behemoth.
Megumi Fushiguro, Yuji Itadori, and Nobara Kugisaki stood before these doors.
According to the intel provided by the Auxiliary Manager, a Grade A Cursed Spirit might have been born here. Their mission was to confirm the presence of survivors and rescue them.
"Honestly, why did they have to send us three rookies?" Nobara Kugisaki complained, crossing her arms with a look of impatience on her face.
Megumi Fushiguro's expression was much more solemn. Looking at the building before them, he felt an indescribable sense of impending danger.
Yuji Itadori, on the other hand, looked rather eager to get started.
"Anyway, let's hurry up and get inside to save them!" he urged.
The moment the three of them stepped into the detention center, the iron doors behind them slammed shut with a loud clang.
The surrounding scenery began to undergo a bizarre transformation.
The originally straight hallway twisted and turned like a labyrinth.
Liquid-filled pipes crisscrossed across the ceiling, resembling the blood vessels and nerves of a monster.
"Is this... an Innate Domain?" Megumi's face instantly turned deathly pale.
They had been pulled inside!
This wasn't an ordinary cursed spirit. This was a Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had already deployed an incomplete domain!
The situation had deteriorated far beyond anyone's expectations.
"Hey! Fushiguro! What is that?!" Nobara's scream rang out.
At the end of the hallway, a well-built cursed spirit was staring at them with keen interest.
The disparity in strength became apparent the moment they clashed.
Megumi's [Divine Dogs] were swatted into black shadows by the cursed spirit, dissipating into the air.
Nobara's nails struck the cursed spirit's thick layer of fat, failing to leave even a single scratch.
"Damn it!" Nobara cursed.
She tried to attack again, but the cursed spirit shot out a tentacle.
Moving at an unavoidable speed, the tentacle wrapped around Nobara's ankle, hoisting her upside down into the air.
"Let me go! You ugly freak!" Nobara struggled violently, but it was to no avail.
"Kugisaki!" Yuji roared. He was about to charge forward, but Megumi held him back tightly.
"Don't go! You'll die!" Megumi warned.
"Then what are we supposed to do?! Just watch her get eaten?!" Yuji's eyes instantly turned red.
He remembered his grandfather's dying words.
"You are strong, so help others."
"Die surrounded by people."
Protect his comrades.
Save others.
A crazy idea formed in his mind.
In just a single second, Yuji's gaze shifted from anxiety to absolute resolve.
He said one last thing to Megumi.
"I'm sorry."
The next second, he voluntarily relinquished control of his body.
"Bwahahahahaha!"
That utterly arrogant laughter echoed once again throughout the enclosed domain.
Ryomen Sukuna had descended once more after several days.
He opened those malicious crimson eyes and glanced at the Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had been throwing its weight around in front of the freshmen.
His face displayed undisguised contempt and annoyance.
"Boring trash."
He didn't even make any unnecessary movements.
He simply raised his hand and casually swiped at the air.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had pushed Megumi and Nobara to the brink of despair was instantly torn to pieces, turning into a shower of minced meat as it was exorcised on the spot.
Nobara fell from midair and was caught by Megumi, who reacted just in time.
Having dealt with the cursed spirit, Sukuna couldn't even be bothered to look at them.
He walked over to the cursed spirit's remains, seemingly searching for something.
Suddenly, his movements stopped.
To his surprise, he found one of his own fingers amidst the pile of shredded flesh.
It was the second finger.
So it had been swallowed by this cursed spirit.
Sukuna picked up the pitch-black finger without hesitation and casually swallowed it.
Boom!
A surge of cursed energy, several times stronger than before, erupted from his body.
The entire Innate Domain trembled violently under the sheer force, nearing the point of collapse.
Feeling the explosive growth of power within him, Sukuna revealed a savage yet satisfied smile.
He slowly turned around, his crimson eyes landing on Megumi Fushiguro.
Yuji Itadori's consciousness screamed frantically within Sukuna, preparing to take back control of the body.
But in that very instant.
Sukuna's movements were faster than thought.
His hand plunged into his own chest like lightning.
With a sickening squelch.
He ripped out his still-beating heart alive.
Blood gushed down his arm.
"Want to switch back, brat?" Sukuna squeezed his own heart, a demonic smile on his face.
"The moment you switch back, you'll die instantly."
Yuji's consciousness froze.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations.
Sukuna, the King of Curses, actually had no interest in killing Megumi Fushiguro at this moment.
He had more important things to do.
Ever since that man named Ian had slapped his soul out of the body in a way he completely failed to comprehend...
...an unprecedented sense of crisis and humiliation had constantly lingered in his mind.
He needed power.
He needed to restore his power to its peak, or even surpass it.
And then, he would wash away that disgrace.
He had to take advantage of this precious time before that white-haired Satoru Gojo and the mysterious Ian could find him.
To gather all the fingers he could sense!
Sukuna closed his eyes.
The massive cursed energy of two fingers spread outward frantically like an invisible net.
Soon, he sensed them.
Three fingers.
Three fingers that hadn't been sealed by Jujutsu High, held by other cursed spirits and scattered across Japan.
He also vaguely sensed the locations of the fingers sealed behind heavy barriers inside Jujutsu High.
Sukuna opened his eyes and gave a terrified, guarded Megumi Fushiguro an incredibly disdainful smile.
He didn't kill him.
He merely left behind a single sentence, like a god declaring to an ant.
"Watch closely, brat."
As his words fell.
His figure instantly vanished from the spot, shattering the walls of the domain as he embarked on his own journey to recover his fingers.