"What exactly is going on, Senior!"
Nobara Kugisaki obediently turned and ran.
But the next second, the air seemed to turn into a current, sweeping everyone on the ground away.
Everyone who had heard the Crying Baby's cry inexplicably arrived in a dark red world filled with an unknown liquid.
"Ugh~!"
"Ugh ugh~!"
The two Divine Dogs instantly lost their power and dissipated before Fushiguro Megumi's eyes.
Fushiguro Megumi immediately formed a hand sign.
"Toad!"
Wait! Cursed Energy isn't working.
It seems to be restricted by this domain.
Fushiguro Megumi looked around and saw that Maki Zenin had already drawn her weapon, standing ready.
Nobara Kugisaki was beside her, trying to cover her mouth to prevent oxygen from being depleted too quickly.
They were underwater.
More precisely, it should be the amniotic fluid where the placenta resides.
Within this domain, no Cursed Energy-related abilities could be used.
It was as if they had returned to the starting point—everyone feeling like a fetus in their mother's womb.
Fushiguro Megumi frowned, looking at the pulsating mass of flesh in the center of the domain.
Now, tube-like, intestinal flesh extended from that placental mass like a giant net, shooting out toward everyone in the domain.
Some unlucky individuals who appeared near the placenta were immediately pierced in the stomach by the tubular objects.
The person struggled in agony, then their intestines burst—yet strangely, no blood was seen, as if everything inside their belly had been eaten by the Cursed Spirit.
"Ah~!"
The crying of a baby echoed directly in everyone's minds, making them dizzy and disoriented.
Nobara Kugisaki choked on water, already showing symptoms of oxygen deprivation.
It's over!
How could they possibly win this?
They were going to die without even seeing what the Cursed Spirit looked like.
But what was that place? It seemed to be glowing.
Was it because of oxygen deprivation, causing hallucinations?
Why did she see someone with three heads and six arms?
Maki Zenin also saw it.
Among the three, the domain's effect on her was arguably the least, but fighting in such an environment, she too was at an absolute disadvantage.
And at this moment, a ball of flame streaked across her vision like a meteor, heading straight for the placenta. The flesh that resembled tentacles was no match for the flame.
Boom!
Amidst the massive ripples,
the amniotic fluid quickly receded.
Everyone returned to their previous environment, looking bewildered.
"Cough, cough, cough~!"
Nobara Kugisaki spat out a mouthful of water, her brows furrowed. "Senpai, I think I saw something truly incredible."
Maki Zenin's expression was stern. "Want to go see?"
"Let's go!"
The two didn't wait for Fushiguro Megumi's response and directly rushed toward the underground parking lot.
Fushiguro Megumi was a bit speechless. "Divine Dog!"
"Follow our senpais."
——————
"Akira, this… is this the Cursed Spirit?"
Kirisu Mafuyu looked at the mass of flesh before her, covered with countless baby faces, her own face filled with fear.
Everything that had just happened was beyond her comprehension.
She also couldn't understand how they had clearly been standing still, yet their surroundings had suddenly changed.
It was as if they had gone to another world—returning to the beginning of life.
"Hmm~! I didn't expect this beast to have such abilities."
"It's a pity I'm too exhausted. Otherwise, I would have liked to play with it a bit more."
Nezha, the Third Lotus Prince, was far less powerful than Erlang Shen and still had a bit of a child's temperament.
Akira, when acting, naturally leaned a bit toward this.
However, this also perfectly suited Akira's intentions.
If he had instantly killed the monster in one move without any effort, it wouldn't have shown his strength.
It was like a locksmith coming to open a lock and opening the door with a template in one swipe—the client then complains it's too simple, lacking skill, and refuses to pay as agreed.
Now, Kirisu Mafuyu had truly seen and experienced it, knowing that her situation was very critical.
Akira then pulled out the Fire-tipped Spear and thrust it toward the Crying Baby.
"Wait~!"
Maki Zenin suddenly entered Akira's radar range.
But the Fire-tipped Spear had already passed through the Crying Baby's body, and a ball of flame immediately burned fiercely.
Akira's Divinity Mask now had only a trace of power left—so thin that it seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
[Character: Maki Zenin]
[Potential: S]
[Affection: 65]
[Status: Anxious, Curious]
Huh. I didn't notice just now.
Maki Zenin is here too.
Akira didn't waste words. With a flash, he appeared in front of her and snatched Maki Zenin's glasses.
The Divinity Mask completely dissipated, and the Cursed Tool glasses—which could be used as spirit vision—were now perched on Akira's nose.
"Hmm~! That's better now."
And it was true.
With these glasses, Akira's demeanor suddenly gained a scholarly air.
"Maki-senpai!"
Nobara Kugisaki followed from behind and immediately saw the uniform on Akira.
An expression of disbelief instantly appeared on her face. "It's… it's you. You're actually so young!"
[Character: Nobara Kugisaki]
[Potential: A]
[Affection: 68]
[Status: Surprised, Curious]
At this moment, Fushiguro Megumi arrived with the Divine Dog. Seeing the Cursed Spirit that had already been burned to ashes, he breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze shifting to Akira.
A high school student?
And handsome.
And so strong!?
Moreover, he was a completely unfamiliar face.
"My name is Akira, a first-year high school student. I know a little about exorcism, so I accepted my teacher's request to help her deal with the Crying Baby Cursed Spirit."
Akira said lightly, with a gentle smile on his face.
"You few must be from the Jujutsu Association, right? I apologize for making you come all this way for nothing."
"However, for such a small Cursed Spirit, why did so many people from the Jujutsu Association come?"
"Ah, you're all so young—you must be here to gain experience, right?"
"But this Cursed Spirit has some power. If you had come, you might have been completely wiped out."
Maki Zenin nodded. "The call I received earlier was from my teacher telling us to evacuate quickly, saying that the Crying Baby Cursed Spirit had reached Special Grade."
"Special Grade? This is a Special Grade Cursed Spirit?"
Nobara Kugisaki was so scared her hammer dropped to the ground, feeling completely unreal.
That was a legendary existence—an entity with thoughts, capable of deploying a domain just like talented Sorcerers.
"So, that earlier was a domain?"
"So dangerous. I almost died just now."
"Thank you so much, Akira-kun. To thank you for saving my life, I'll treat you to ramen."
"Oh, right, let's exchange email addresses."
Nobara Kugisaki somewhat boldly took out her phone and approached Akira.
For target characters appearing in his catalog, Akira was always up to no good.
As the two exchanged phones, their fingers lightly brushed, and in just an instant, a blush appeared on Nobara Kugisaki's face.
What's going on?
Why did such a light touch… make her feel something?
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Akira politely took the phone, turned off the Hand of Greed, and began typing in his email address.
"Ah, according to the young lady just now—"
"My name is Maki Zenin."
"Ah, according to Maki-san, that means I just dealt with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
"Mm. That should be it."
"Special Grade Cursed Spirits aren't that simple, are they? I felt it was only a little stronger than usual."
Maki Zenin saw that Akira didn't believe her, so she took out her phone and started dialing.
"I just got a call from our teacher, saying there are hundreds of Crying Baby Cursed Spirits nationwide."
"Isn't that normal? There are so many schools recorded in that article, and everyone attends a different school."
"However, based on the data collected these past two days, the Jujutsu Association has discovered that these Crying Babies are connected to each other."
"They will kill every cursed person, regardless of which Crying Baby's sound the cursed person heard."
"And every time a Crying Baby is killed, the overall strength of the remaining Crying Babies will increase."
"Now, their strength has risen another level."
Hearing this, Akira also understood why there had been no notification of the mission's completion yet.
It turned out that unless all the Crying Babies were killed—or the time ran out—the mission would not end.
He had thought this thing also had a protagonist's aura and would break through in battle, but he didn't expect it was because someone else had dealt with a Crying Baby on the other side, causing its strength to skyrocket and reach Special Grade.
"So, after we clear this Crying Baby here, the Crying Babies that others have to face will become even stronger?"
"That's too terrifying!"
"Cursed Spirits in big cities are indeed incomparable to those in our small place."
Nobara Kugisaki stood aside and complained, "But Akira-kun, how are you so strong?"
Patreon Shadyblack