Sendai City, rooftop of the tallest skyscraper.
Hundreds of meters above the ground, a single careless step here and the roaring wind could fling you straight into the abyss. It was the kind of place where death felt only half a misstep away. Normally, an area like this was strictly off limits to the public.
Yet today, two people who had no business being here were standing on this rooftop.
Both of them had white hair.
One of them wore a black blindfold, his hair tied back, a kind of playful, almost unserious handsomeness hanging off him like a bad habit. The other figure on the opposite side... well, "man" was not quite accurate. More precisely, he should be called a high schooler. Compared to a grown man, "boy" fit him better, his features still holding a trace of youthful softness.
Where the blindfolded man had that roguish, dangerous charm, the boy gave off something far more languid. He looked like the type who could not summon enthusiasm for anything. One hand propped against his cheek, his eyes, bright and deep like starry skies, were filled with boredom. Every now and then he seemed like he might yawn, radiating a complete lack of concern for the world.
Their names were Gojo Satoru and Gojo Shun.
To an ordinary person, "Gojo Satoru" was just another name, nothing special at all, the kind of name you might hear once and forget. But in another world, the world of jujutsu sorcerers, that name was legendary.
As for Gojo Shun, he was counted as Satoru's nephew.
Today, the two of them had appeared in Sendai City to investigate a cursed spirit that had already caused the deaths of tens of thousands.
A special grade curse with a strange, unique ability, capable of creating multiple different clones, extremely difficult to kill. Ever since this curse had appeared a few years ago, it had been killing non stop. It did not bother to conceal itself. Sometimes, hundreds of people died at the same time wherever it appeared.
For incidents this malicious, sorcerers would absolutely not stand idly by. In truth, what this curse had been doing was nothing short of a blatant provocation against the entire jujutsu world.
Sorcerers were dispatched again and again, launching large scale hunts.
Every single time, without exception, they were killed instead.
As the casualties piled up, the curse's threat level was pushed higher and higher, until it was finally classified as special grade. Even so, the sorcerers still had no idea what this particular curse actually looked like, nor its precise abilities.
A disgrace. A complete and utter embarrassment.
Of course, losing that many people had at least yielded a few scraps of information. Rumor had it that in the curse's pupils there was the imprint of a clock. The weapon "she" used also appeared to be clock themed and matched that motif.
A cursed spirit that can manipulate time?
If that were true, it would be terrifying in a way that made your skin crawl.
In order to salvage what was left of their reputation and stop the situation from spiraling any further out of control, the higher ups in the jujutsu world had sent out their trump card, the monster among sorcerers, Gojo Satoru.
As for why his nephew Gojo Shun was with him, that was, naturally, Satoru's arrangement.
Shun spoke in a flat, almost indifferent tone.
"Uncle, why did you drag me along on this mission?"
"And this is a special grade curse. What if I slip up and get taken out?"
His mouth was complaining about getting killed, but in those star bright eyes there was not the slightest trace of fear. Was it trust in Satoru, or confidence in his own strength?
" Shun, with your uncle here, how could you possibly be in danger?"
Satoru wore the kind of expression that said "there is literally nothing left in this world to be afraid of" as he gave Shun's shoulder a friendly slap.
"That's not what I meant. I'm asking why you had to call me out here at all."
Shun's head ached faintly. His uncle was ridiculously strong, strong to the point of absurdity. As a person, though, he was a bit of a mess.
Case in point, right now.
Shun had been tracking a curse on his own before this. If things had gone according to plan, he would have taken it out today, wrapped up the job, and gone home to rest. Instead, he had been grabbed by Satoru and hauled all the way to Sendai City.
So much for finishing work and relaxing. That plan had been blown away by his uncle's whims.
"Of course I brought you so you could broaden your horizons. The curse we're dealing with this time is not simple at all."
As he said this, Satoru's presence shifted subtly. A rare excitement leaked from him, sharp and electric, so different from his usual lazy cockiness.
Shun glanced sideways at his uncle.
OK. Judging from that face, he was not here to slack off at all this time. The man was serious.
If it was like that, then why did he have to come?
"Broaden my horizons," my ass, Shun thought. Even a dog wouldn't buy that line.
He lifted his head, letting the powerful wind buffet his white hair, and silently thought, The wind up here is awful. I want to go home.
Right at that moment, directly above the skyscraper in the sky ahead of them, the clouds began to twist. The center of the swirling mass slowly warped, forming what looked like a gigantic eye.
Both Satoru and Shun could clearly feel the space in front of them trembling.
Shun stared at the center of the clouds and spoke slowly.
"Uncle, why do I get the feeling this curse has a pretty flashy entrance?"
"It even comes with a built in spacequake."
To be honest, even he was a little shaken.
"Characters with entrance effects like this are either protagonists or final bosses. Maybe I should just bail now."
A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall.
If you can slack off, then slack off.
That was Gojo Shun's life philosophy.
Hearing that, Satoru's lips curled up in a faint smile. He glanced at Shun beside him.
"Shun, you sure about that?"
"What is there to be unsure about?"
Shun clicked his tongue and looked away.
At that instant, the clouds overhead suddenly blew apart, as if something had exploded. A violent tremor rippled through the sky above the city. Perhaps because they were far from the ground, it did not cause too much damage below.
The skyscraper they were on, however, began to shake as if it might snap at any moment. It gave people the illusion that the entire building could be shaken to pieces.
Even so, Shun and Satoru stood steadily where they were, as if their feet were nailed to the rooftop.
Uncle and nephew rose fully to their feet now, their bodies poised. Their eyes were fixed on the center of the clouds where a figure was about to appear.
The curse currently rated as the worst of them all.
The most evil cursed spirit.