However, just as Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki were about to turn back, an extremely faint, intermittent sobbing sound came from a deeper cubicle.
"Huh?" Itadori's ears twitched, and he immediately stopped, "Did you hear that? It sounds like a child crying?"
Nobara Kugisaki also frowned, listening intently: "It sounds like it... but why would there be a child in a place like this?"
"In there," Allen calmly pointed to a door.
Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki's expressions immediately turned serious. A normal person had been caught up in this!
"Be careful, there might still be Cursed Spirits!" Nobara Kugisaki drew her weapon again, gestured for Itadori to cover her rear, and cautiously approached the iron door, gently pushing it open with the tip of her hammer.
Behind the door, a small boy, about seven or eight years old, trembled with fright and looked up in terror, his face streaked with tears.
The Cursed Spirit behind him seemed to be startled, letting out a sharp shriek and suddenly expanding, its twisted limbs wrapping around the boy's neck, lifting him off the ground, and turning him to face the three intruders, emitting emotions of threat and fear.
This was a Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, slightly stronger than the previous one, but only marginally so. Its entire body was covered in messy, dark brown long fur, like a patch of overgrown, dirty weeds.
It had a terrifying face, with a huge mouth agape, revealing disorderly, pale, and sharp teeth, as if it could bite the boy to pieces at any moment.
There were also several strange protrusions on its head, shaped like frog-like organs, exuding an indescribable strangeness and evil, and its two eyeballs darted around, a cunning smile on its face.
"Let him go!" Itadori immediately roared, about to rush forward.
"Don't be rash!" Nobara Kugisaki quickly stopped him, "It will hurt the child!" She stared intently at the Cursed Spirit, trying to find a gap for attack, but the Cursed Spirit firmly shielded the boy in front of it, leaving almost no opening.
The boy was struggling to breathe, his face beginning to turn blue, and his feet kicked helplessly.
"Tsk!" Nobara Kugisaki spat, the situation was a bit troublesome. This Cursed Spirit was a bit stronger than the one she had just exorcised, probably a Grade 3, and very cunning.
Itadori was anxious but dared not rush forward.
Just then, Allen moved.
He didn't try to charge like Itadori, nor did he look for an angle like Nobara Kugisaki; he simply took a normal step forward.
However, the moment his foot landed, the Cursed Spirit, which had been arrogantly shrieking and holding the hostage, suddenly froze.
Its shapeless, twisted body seemed to be instantly pierced and locked by some invisible, extremely terrifying force, and even the resentment and cursed energy that constituted its existence seemed to solidify.
Its limb that was strangling the boy unconsciously loosened a bit.
The boy fell to the ground, coughing violently.
Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki were both stunned, not understanding what had happened. Why did that Cursed Spirit suddenly freeze?
Allen didn't make any exaggerated movements; he didn't even look at the Cursed Spirit. His gaze fell on the coughing little boy, and he spoke in a calm tone, as if stating an established fact: "Stay away from him."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange, undeniable penetrative power.
The Cursed Spirit seemed to be startled, suddenly letting out an extremely shrill shriek, full of primal fear, not a threat, but a desperate wail as if it had encountered a natural enemy!
It didn't even bother to grab the boy again, its entire body frantically shrinking backward, trying to escape from here.
But it was too late.
The moment it retreated in extreme fear, revealing a flaw.
Allen had appeared in front of the boy at some point, his back to them, blocking their view.
Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki only saw him raise a hand seemingly casually, the movement so fast it was almost imperceptible, and then he withdrew it.
There were no cursed energy fluctuations, no technique light, and not even any sound.
The Grade 3 Cursed Spirit, which had been so arrogant and held a hostage just moments before, vanished without a trace, as if erased from the world by an eraser, leaving not even a speck of residue.
The entire dark, damp underground cubicle suddenly became much cleaner, and even the uncomfortable cold aura completely dissipated.
Itadori Yuji / Yuji Itadori: "???"
Nobara Kugisaki: "!!!"
The two stared dumbfounded at the empty space in front of them, then at Allen, who had calmly turned around, their brains temporarily unable to process what had happened.
Wha, what happened?
Where did that Cursed Spirit go?
What did Allen just do?
He seemed to just... raise his hand? And then it was gone?
"It's alright now," Allen said to the still-dazed little boy, then looked at his two stunned teammates, "It's resolved."
His tone was as calm as if he had just squashed an ant.
Itadori blinked hard, then quickly approached the spot where the Cursed Spirit had disappeared, looking left and right, even waving his hand through the air: "Di-disappeared? It really disappeared! Allen, how did you do that?! So fast! I didn't even see it!"
Nobara Kugisaki also recovered. She put away her hammer and walked in front of Allen, examining him up and down, her eyes filled with surprise and inquiry: "Your... your Cursed Technique isn't body enhancement, is it? What was that just now...? I didn't feel any cursed energy at all!"
That method of instantly freezing a Cursed Spirit with fear, then silently exorcising it, didn't look like simple physical enhancement at all, did it?
Allen glanced at her and simply explained: "Just a bit faster."
"A bit faster?!" Nobara Kugisaki's tone couldn't help but rise, "That was a tangible Grade 3 Cursed Spirit! Can being a bit faster just make it disappear completely?! Leaving nothing behind?!"
This explanation was too perfunctory!
Itadori, however, looked impressed: "Wow! Allen, are you that fast? That's amazing!" He clearly fully believed Allen's explanation.
Allen didn't continue the topic, turning his gaze to the little boy who had finally stopped coughing and was looking at them timidly: "Let's deal with him first."
The little boy looked at them timidly, tears still in his big eyes, his body trembling slightly.
"Hey, kid, how did you end up here?" Nobara Kugisaki put away her weapon, crouched down, trying to make her tone sound as gentle as possible, "This place is very dangerous, you know?"
The little boy sobbed, answering intermittently: "I... I was playing hide-and-seek with my friend, and I ran, ran in here and got lost, and then, and then I suddenly felt a lot of pain."
"Alright, alright, it's okay now, it doesn't hurt anymore," Itadori also crouched down, showing a bright smile, trying to comfort him, "Do you live nearby? We'll take you home."
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"