Late at night, Tokyo, Toshima Ward, near Asakusa Station.
It was already past the last subway, and the station sat in darkness, completely deserted.
A modified black stretch sedan was driving through the area.
Six people sat inside the car, facing each other in pairs, all dressed in dark combat uniforms.
This was the [Type I Cursed Spirit Response Combat Suit]. Its outer layer was made from a material developed by the "Zenin Cursed Energy Research Institute" with extremely high Cursed Energy capacity.
It could buffer Cursed Energy attacks by raising the material's phase when struck. The middle layer contained a small amount of Reverse Cursed Technique energy. The inner layer was engraved with a Barrier that reduced Cursed Energy leakage.
Not long ago, the "Zenin Cursed Energy Research Institute" and "Kokichi Cursed Energy Equipment" had developed mass-producible, standardized Cursed Tools that even ordinary people could use.
The jujutsu world had already partnered with the authorities to establish a Cursed Spirit handling division made up entirely of "Windows" and ordinary people. GDU.
Inside the car, Kengo Ishio, who had already taken part in two Cursed Spirit suppression operations, watched the rookie across from him nervously wiping down his equipment again and again, and could not help smiling.
"Makoto-kun, first mission. Scared?"
The youthful-looking Makoto Haruyama jolted upright the moment he heard his name and stared straight ahead.
"Yes! No... uh... yes!"
"Haha! Don't worry... with Captain Takana here, any problem can be solved!"
"I... is that so..."
"Of course. The captain was in the very first batch to go through special training. He's led six Cursed Spirit suppression operations already. Not only did he complete every mission, his teams all came back with zero casualties."
Off to the side, Daito Yamano, who had a slightly rough edge to him, chimed in.
"Of course the captain's amazing. He was invited to the Zenin Research Institute, and the Zenin Clan Head personally awarded him the Exorcist Medal. Otherwise, why would the higher-ups poach him into our Second Squad~~"
Wearing tactical goggles, Osamu Ichii lowered the drone in his hand and shot him a glance.
"Quit acting bitter. Even if Captain Takana hadn't come, you still wouldn't be able to command the whole team."
Daito Yamano smacked his forehead.
"What kind of person do you take me for? Why would I fight over a job that exhausting..."
Then he changed the subject and looked at Kengo Ishio.
"I heard old Kengo finally had a breakthrough. Which girl is it?"
Kengo Ishio leaned back and let out a breath, a blissful smile spreading across his face.
"Kimizuki from the Equipment Division...
...Once we get back this time..."
Just then,Kenshi Takanashi, who had been sitting to the side with his head lowered and eyes closed, reviewing the previous battle in his mind, seemed to finish sorting out his thoughts. He gave a slight nod, then looked at the rookie.
"If you're nervous, try to keep your movements under control. Cursed Spirits are very sensitive to behavior tied to negative emotions."
"Understood!"
Kenshi Takanashi seemed to have no awareness at all that he had just cut off his team's conversation...
He turned to the young man who had been silent the whole time.
"Kisei, repeat the mission objective."
Kisei nodded. His eyes seemed to be forcibly suppressing a look of despair. At the same time, the inside of the car suddenly fell silent, as if all the noise from a moment ago had only been an illusion.
"The target is the special grade illusory Cursed Spirit listed in the Cursed Spirit Compendium. Dodomeki.
According to the records, Dodomeki is extremely sensitive to sightlines. Anyone caught in its gaze will have body tissue stolen... At the same time, it can stuff its eyes into the gaps inside a target's body, eventually causing death through suffocation, blocked blood flow, organ damage, and so on..."
Osamu Ichii let out a sigh.
"Special grade... something beyond common sense. Why are they sending a department that was only just established to deal with this..."
When they first joined GDU, they had been briefed through animated training materials. The monsters classified as special grade were clearly not the kind of thing that numbers alone could handle, especially not with only a six-man squad... not counting the driver.
Daito Yamano pulled on his combat mask and checked the blades strapped to his suit.
"Because those jujutsu sorcerer big shots don't have the time to spare... Heh. You can't exactly say they're using our lives as test data..."
...
"Even though this is GDU's first time dealing with a special grade, headquarters did provide the proper equipment. Didn't they?"
Unlike the others, Kenshi Takanashia's tone was completely calm.
"Kengo Ishio."
Kengo Ishio immediately sat up straight.
"Use the [Anti-Cursed Spirit M21] for long-range sniping."
"Understood!"
"Makoto Haruyama."
"Here!"
"You'll handle mid-range suppression with me."
"Mm..."
"Ichii Osamu."
"Here!"
"Use the drone together with the [Anti-Cursed Spirit Individual Telescope] to monitor the target and coordinate with Kengo Ishio's actions."
"Understood!"
"Kisei... work with Daito. Keep calculating at all times, and use the Barrier interference device whenever necessary to disrupt Cursed Energy fluctuations and interrupt the Cursed Spirit's Domain...
This is the first time this equipment has ever been used in live combat... We need to record its operating condition whenever possible.
Don't worry. Continuous fluctuations in Cursed Energy density have a huge impact on Cursed Spirits, especially ones that rely on instinct to deploy Domains."
"Got it."
"Daito Yamano... you... tangle with the Cursed Spirit at close range when necessary..."
"Understood! Leave it to me."
...
Tokyo was a little chilly in the middle of the night...
The squad had already been staking out the area for two days, but they still had not seen so much as a trace of Hyakumegami.
The mood over the radio had gone from tense, to lively, and finally to silence.
"Here."
On the roof of a twelve-story apartment building, Kengo Ishio handed a bottle of milk to Ichii Osamu, who was observing through the drone.
Ichii Osamu took the bottle, looking surprised.
"It's warm... where'd you get this?"
"I went to a convenience store during the day, then kept it in the temperature control case."
"You've got to be kidding me. That thing is meant to keep special bullet materials active, not keep food warm..."
He shook his head, then downed the hot drink in one go.
"And Cursed Spirits aren't ghosts that only come out at night... If you miss the timing for long-range support, let's see whether the captain says anything to you."
"It's fine. You're an accomplice now too~~"
"Heh..."
"This is the Support Team. No abnormalities so far. All teams, report your status."
Kenshi Takanashi's voice came through the comms, cutting off their conversation.
"Engagement Team, no abnormalities."
"Reconnaissance Team, no abnormalities."
"Good. All teams, remain on alert and proceed according to the original plan."
"Roger!"
"Understood."
"Wait... Reconnaissance Team, the drone has detected something abnormal."
Once he shifted into work mode, Ichii Osamu reported with machine-like efficiency.
"Using Point Two as the reference, target at the twelve o'clock direction, distance 1.5 kilometers."
From the perspective of the specially made Cursed Energy reconnaissance drone, it was a bloated humanoid shape.
Its entire body was packed with eyes. Its bizarre legs moved in constant alternation, while eight arms flailed wildly in front of it with no pattern at all.
Perhaps because there was no one else nearby besides them, the Cursed Spirit was moving straight toward their position. It also left behind something like slime wherever it passed.
The channel instantly erupted into chaos as the captain fired off orders one after another.
Kengo Ishio set up a massive black sniper rifle, then opened the temperature-controlled case beside him. Inside were three slender silver bullets.
This was [Kokichi Cursed Energy Equipment], a firearm developed specifically for agile Cursed Spirits.
It did not emphasize caliber. Instead, it focused on muzzle velocity and penetration, which made the whole weapon unusually slim.
Following the designated bearing, Kengo Ishio looked through the specially made scope and caught sight of the target's true form.
"Tch, that's disgusting."
The moment Kengo Ishio was in position, Ichii Osamu immediately called out the data.
"Target at ten o'clock, distance 1.2 kilometers, wind speed seven."
As soon as he heard the report, Kengo Ishio pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The shot went straight for Dodomeki's "head."
Because the Zenin Clan's Guide to Exorcising Cursed Spirits stated that Cursed Spirits of Semi-Grade 1 and above, once they possessed a Cursed Technique, would develop an area similar to the "Cursed Technique Motor" in the human brain, used to control that Cursed Technique. That region was called the "Cursed Spirit Cerebrum."
While that allowed the Cursed Spirit to use a Cursed Technique, greatly increased its intelligence, and strengthened its control over Cursed Energy, it also created an additional weak point...
Far in the distance, a burst of dim blood mist exploded from Dodomeki's head as it sprinted forward. It was as if firecrackers had been stuffed into its skull, producing a series of muffled pops.
The silver bullet had lodged directly in its brain. The Barrier engraved on it continuously absorbed the surrounding Cursed Energy and used it to trigger explosions.
Heavily wounded, Dodomeki froze in place, then let out a shrill explosive scream.
The attack had come without any warning, and it could not understand what had happened... the people it sensed were clearly still some distance away...
Seeing the target rolling around on the ground, Kengo Ishio took out another bullet.
"This thing... really does work..."
Ichii Osamu nodded.
"Yeah. Forty million per round."
"Cough, cough..."
Watching through the drone feed, Ichii Osamu saw black smoke pouring from Dodomeki's head. In particular, the bullet hole was still absorbing that black smoke, preventing it from recovering. He could not help but think that Kokichi Cursed Energy Equipment really was reliable.
"At this rate, three shots should be enough to exorcise it outright..."
"Which just proves my aim is that good~~"
After seeing how effective the weapon was, Kengo Ishio finally shook off his fear of Special Grade and carefully but skillfully pushed the slender bullet into the chamber.
But when he looked through the scope again, his face turned deathly pale, and he could not get another word out.
"Eye..."
A ghastly white eyeball filled his entire field of vision. The crushing pressure coming from inside his body left him able to spit out only a fragment of speech.
"Eyes?"
Ichii Osamu tore his gaze away from the drone feed and turned to look. Several eyeballs of different sizes had appeared in Kengo Ishio's mouth, nostrils, and ear canals. He was desperately pounding at his own neck in agony, struggling to breathe. If not for the Cursed Energy protective layer in his combat suit, his whole body would probably already have been burst apart by those eyeballs.
Those eyes stared at the two of them with hatred, and a trace of contempt...
"The Reconnaissance Team is under attack by the enemy's Cursed Technique! The Reconnaissance Team is under attack by the enemy's Cursed Technique!"
Ichii Osamu hurriedly reported it over the comms, then immediately pulled a somewhat thick needle from the tactical medical kit. After feeling around beneath Kengo Ishio's jaw, he drove it in without hesitation.
Once he pulled the needle back out, Kengo Ishio, who had been on the verge of suffocating, stopped hammering at his neck, and the look on his face eased considerably...
But after doing all that, Ichii Osamu also began to feel it. Breathing was getting harder and harder.
Kenshi Takanashi, who was rushing toward the Cursed Spirit's location, froze the moment he heard the report. Trouble had started at the safest rear position first.
That was not right. According to the records in the Cursed Spirit compendium, Dodomeki's Cursed Technique had a range of one hundred meters. But the rear team was kilometers away from the Cursed Spirit...
He suddenly slapped his forehead, realizing the blind spot.
When Jujutsu Sorcerers exorcised Cursed Spirits in the past, they generally did not fight at ultra-long range. On top of that, the sorcerers who dealt with Special Grade Cursed Spirits were themselves extremely powerful, so the recorded range of a Cursed Technique was not always accurate...
But this was not the time to be thinking about that.
Based on an analysis of Dodomeki's Jutsu, both "stealing internal organs" and "stuffing eyeballs into the opponent's body" were actually spatial displacement-type techniques.
This kind of technique depended heavily on one condition. It had to accurately identify its target.
Kenshi Takanashi immediately shouted,
"Kengo, Ichii, lower the Cursed Energy protection on the outside of your suits to the minimum, now! Release the 'Reverse Cursed Technique' in the inner layer immediately, then get out of there!"
Makoto Haruyama, who was standing nearby, looked confused. The reconnaissance team had not died instantly to the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's technique precisely because of the Cursed Energy protective layer in their combat suits. If they lowered it...
Unlike the new recruit, the reconnaissance team did not hesitate for even a second. They carried out the captain's order at once.
Then...
"Reconnaissance Team reporting. Eyeball proliferation has stopped. We have now relocated..."
Kenshi Takanashi finally let out a breath of relief.
Since the enemy's technique relied on "identifying the target," then all he had to do was make it lose that target.
According to the records, after Toji swallowed a Cursed Spirit, the Cursed Spirit inside its body could no longer be detected. Because of that, Introduction to Cursed Energy stated:
An object wrapped in something with completely zero Cursed Energy can be shielded from Cursed Energy-related detection.
However, just as water in nature almost always contains impurities, any object that comes into contact with humans will inevitably accumulate Cursed Energy to some extent. It is only a matter of how much.
But based on the principle that Reverse Cursed Technique can cancel out Cursed Energy, as long as the amount is controlled properly, it becomes possible to create a dynamic "zero Cursed Energy object," much like directly using hydrogen and oxygen to create pure water.
In other words, when the Cursed Energy in the outer layer of the combat suit and the tiny amount of Reverse Cursed Technique in the inner layer canceled each other out, they created a shielding layer, making Dodomeki unable to continue sensing the reconnaissance team.
Once the reconnaissance team had successfully withdrawn, the diversion team also arrived near the Cursed Spirit.
Dodomeki was still dazed from suddenly losing its target when it saw a fully armed human charging at it with a long blade, all while making noises like a screeching monkey.
Dodomeki stretched out a hand and used its technique on this bizarre human.
But after a ripple passed through the air, what appeared in its hand was not the heart it had expected, but a piece of cloth glowing with white fluorescent light. That glow even carried a faint burning pain...
Daito Yamano bared his teeth in a savage grin as he wielded the [Anti-Cursed Spirit Blade Cutting Enhancement Type I]. The long blade vibrated constantly, and with one light slash, it cut off the hand Dodomeki had extended.
"Caught off guard, huh? Cursed Energy technology, kid..."
The moment Dodomeki realized its technique had failed, it tried to retaliate with its other seven hands. But before it could, Kenshi Takanashi interrupted it with a shot from the [Anti-Cursed Spirit Rifle].
And when it tried to deploy its Domain, it found that the Cursed Energy around it had become utterly unfamiliar. The usual "feeling" it relied on to expand its Domain was no longer usable. That was because Mizuki Shou, standing nearby, had already activated the [Barrier Interference Device]...
During that brief opening, Daito Yamano slashed again, cutting open a wound along the bullet hole in Dodomeki's head, which was still widening. Then he pulled two silver grenades from his waist, yanked out the pins, and stuffed them inside.
[Anti-Cursed Spirit Grenade Type I]. It inflicted massive damage on Cursed Spirits through an enormous amount of Cursed Energy and a built-in "Simple Domain."
After shoving the grenades into its head, Daito Yamano turned and ran, tackling the nearest Mizuki Shou to the ground and pinning him beneath his body.
Dodomeki was still standing there in a daze, unable to understand why its Domain had failed to activate, when its head suddenly swelled to an enormous size. Then a huge burst of pale blue fire erupted from inside its body...
...
After the deafening explosion, the target had vanished from the Cursed Spirit detection scope, and Kenshi Takanashi hurried over.
He found Mizuki Shou clutching the box-like [Barrier Interference Device] tightly. Aside from being a little blackened, he seemed mostly fine.
"Where's Daito?"
At that, Mizuki Shou looked just as blank.
Then the two of them spotted Daito Yamano lying unconscious in the mud nearby, apparently blown over by the blast.
"Daito, how are you?"
After being shaken awake, Daito Yamano weakly lifted a hand.
"Captain... did we win?"
Kenshi Takanashi nodded.
"We won. Ordinary people have exorcised a Special Grade Cursed Spirit for the first time. You'll be written into the history books..."
Daito Yamano gently shook his head.
"Can you hear my last words..."
Kenshi Takanashi and Mizuki Shou both leaned down.
"I... I... want to go to Yoshinoya later and get a king-size gyudon, then waste the whole day living it up at an internet café~~"
Kenshi Takanashi punched him on the head.
"You little punk."
"Damn, that hurt. Pay me compensation!"
"Hahaha..."