October 31, 2018, 20:38.
Over Shibuya, a curtain with a radius of 400 meters has descended.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one.
Satoru Gojo entered the curtain at Shibuya Hills alone, his back looking particularly straight and lonely in the night.
He knew it was a trap.
But he had to go, because only with him there would the others have a chance to break through from the perimeter.
Meanwhile, at Meiji-jingumae Station.
A team consisting of Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Takuma Ino was rushing into the underground as the vanguard.
"The curtain's base is underground."
Takuma Ino lowered his voice.
He was an admirer of Kento Nanami, and his conduct was similarly rigorous.
"We need to find and destroy it as quickly as possible to rescue the trapped civilians."
As soon as they entered the subway station, a nauseating stench hit them.
The sound of high-frequency wing vibrations from some kind of insect echoed across the empty platform.
"It's here."
Megumi Fushiguro's eyes narrowed as Divine Dog: Totality emerged from the shadows.
"Guhehe... Humans... tasty."
A massive cursed spirit with locust features blocked the ticket gates.
It had compound eyes, powerful hind legs, and a cursed energy signature no weaker than a Grade 1 cursed spirit.
The Grasshopper Curse, Ko-guy.
"Which one of you is in charge here?"
Yuji Itadori stepped forward, cracking his knuckles with a determined gaze.
After Yoru's hellish training, he had already undergone a complete transformation.
"I am... the smart... Lord Grasshopper."
The Grasshopper Curse tilted its head, its mouthparts clicking.
"Are you... food?"
"Ino-san, Fushiguro, you guys go on ahead."
Yuji took a stance, the glow of Divergent Fist's cursed energy flickering on his fists.
"I'll handle this guy."
"Itadori, don't overdo it."
Megumi Fushiguro frowned.
"Don't worry, I'm not who I used to be."
Yuji flashed a confident grin.
"Besides, Senior Yoru said to make it quick."
Megumi gave him a deep look and nodded.
"Let's go!"
He and Ino quickly bypassed the battlefield and ran deeper inside.
The Grasshopper Curse tried to block them but was hit squarely in the abdomen by Yuji's heavy flying kick.
Its massive body was sent reeling back several meters, smashing a ticket machine.
"That hurts... You're... not a normal human!"
Enraged, the Grasshopper Curse sprayed acid from the mouthparts on its abdomen.
Yuji dodged to the side, his movements as agile as a cheetah's.
Yoru's teachings from the special training echoed in his mind:
'Yuji, your advantage is your superhuman physical ability and pain tolerance.'
'But don't just rely on brute force. Learn to observe the flow of cursed energy and concentrate every bit of power into a single point for an explosion.'
"Concentrate... explode..."
Yuji took a deep breath, cursed energy compressing intensely at his knuckles.
The moment the Grasshopper Curse lunged, he didn't retreat. Instead, he lunged forward and threw a punch!
Black Flash!
Although it wasn't the effortless Black Flash that Yoru could pull off,
even this low-probability critical hit was starting to become controllable in Yuji's hands.
Space seemed to warp for a split second.
Black lightning crackled, and the Grasshopper Curse's hard exoskeleton shattered instantly.
Half of its body was pulverized by the punch.
"So... strong..."
The Grasshopper Curse collapsed in disbelief.
Meanwhile, on the second basement floor.
Mei Mei walked through the dark corridor, carrying her massive axe with a swaying gait.
Her younger brother, Ui Ui, followed close behind.
Despite his young age, his eyes held a coldness that didn't match his years, along with a fanatical admiration for his sister.
"Honestly, making me do this kind of dirty work."
Mei Mei brushed back her long hair, her tone languid.
"If Satoru Gojo hadn't paid enough, I wouldn't have bothered working overtime on Halloween."
"Sister, you look most beautiful when you're working."
Ui Ui praised her from the side.
Suddenly, the air grew viscous, and the familiar subway station scene began to warp.
Rotten pus seeped from the walls, the floor turned into damp earth, and tombstones rose abruptly from the ground.
"Oh?"
Mei Mei stopped, her eyes sharpening.
"A Special Grade cursed spirit? And... it's deployed its domain immediately?"
Before them, an old woman cursed spirit dressed in ancient mourning clothes and covered in pustules slowly emerged.
Special Grade Specific Disease Cursed Spirit: Smallpox Deity.
"Domain Expansion: Graveyard."
With the curse's whisper, the entire space transformed into a grim and terrifying mass grave.
Before Mei Mei could even swing her axe, the soil beneath her feet split open.
A massive coffin burst from the earth, swallowing her whole!
"Sister!"
Ui Ui cried out.
The coffin lid slammed shut instantly.
Then, a massive tombstone fell from the sky, crushing down heavily onto the coffin.
[PHASE 1: CONFINED IN COFFIN]
[PHASE 2: TOMBSTONE SUPPRESSION]
[PHASE 3: COUNT THREE SECONDS]
[PHASE 4: DEATH]
This was a sure-hit technique, a rule-based killing method.
Once the tombstone crushed the coffin and the three-second count finished, the person inside would contract severe smallpox and die instantly.
"Three..."
The dull countdown echoed within the domain.
Inside the coffin, Mei Mei calmly swung her axe, trying to split the lid.
But since this was the domain's sure-hit effect, physical destruction was extremely difficult.
'This seems a bit troublesome,' Mei Mei thought to herself.
Although she had Ui Ui's technique as a trump card.
(By swapping positions with Ui Ui or utilizing his Simple Domain).
But against a rule-based certain-kill move, any mistake would be fatal.
"I was hoping to save some energy for a vacation in Singapore..."
Mei Mei's fingers gripped the talisman Ui Ui had given her, preparing to activate the technique to escape.
To her, while money was important, her life was more so.
If the risk outweighed the reward, she wouldn't hesitate to cut her losses.
Just as the countdown was about to end and the reaper's scythe was about to fall.
BOOM!
The ceiling of the domain—the subway station's ceiling—was suddenly pierced by a brilliant red light.
Intense heat instantly evaporated the chilling dampness of the graveyard.
Amidst flying debris, a figure plummeted like a meteorite, landing right on top of the tombstone pinning Mei Mei's coffin.
Crack!
The indestructible tombstone shattered instantly under the heat and impact.
The coffin lid was blown away by the sheer force. Mei Mei, axe in hand, looked up in slight shock at the figure standing before her.
He wore the black Jujutsu High uniform and held a Nichirin Sword radiating a brilliant red light.
A fighting spirit as blazing as the sun swirled around him.
Simply by standing there, the surrounding graves began to char and collapse.
"Sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry."
Yoru turned his head slightly.
His eyes, reflecting the flames, looked at Mei Mei as she sat up in the coffin, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I imagine the bounty on this Special Grade is quite high, right, Mei Mei-san?"
Looking at the boy who had suddenly intruded into this certain-death situation.
In Mei Mei's eyes, which were usually only sensitive to money, there appeared for the first time a look of wonder toward strength—the ultimate currency.
"Indeed... it's worth a fortune."