Inside the abandoned building.
Dim light seeped through shattered windows, illuminating dust floating in the stale air.
The entire structure smelled of mildew, rust, and something far worse—
The lingering stench of cursed energy.
"So filthy…" Nobara Kugisaki muttered, covering her nose in disgust while gripping her hammer and nails.
"Is that disgusting curse really hiding somewhere in here?"
"Stay alert," Yuji Itadori said cautiously as he scanned the corridor.
"I can feel it too. That unpleasant smell."
The two advanced carefully down the hallway.
About ten meters behind them—
Yagami Sora followed leisurely, hands in his pockets as if he were sightseeing.
"Hey! You—Yagami!"
Nobara turned around and glared at him.
"You're really just going to watch?"
"That's annoying!"
"This is your test," Sora replied lazily.
"Not mine."
"Besides… I want to see how strong you actually are."
"If you can't even deal with something like this, you'll just become dead weight later."
"Who are you calling dead weight?!" Nobara snapped.
"Just wait! I'll show you what I can do!"
At that moment—
Something changed.
A massive silhouette appeared at the far end of the corridor.
It wasn't human.
It was a grotesque cursed spirit, its twisted body covered in distorted human faces.
"Hehehe…"
"A guest…"
The curse laughed shrillly as the mouths across its body opened simultaneously, spewing thick black slime.
"It's here!" Yuji reacted instantly.
He slid sideways to avoid the slime and rushed forward.
The cursed tool Gojo had given him—Slaughter Demon—flashed in his hand.
"Take this!"
The blade pierced into the curse's leg.
The spirit screamed as its body lurched violently.
"Perfect!"
A fierce smile appeared on Nobara's face.
"Straw Doll Technique — Resonance!"
She pulled out a straw doll and stuffed a strand of hair from the cursed spirit into it.
Then she drove a nail into the doll.
CLANG!
The hammer struck hard.
Her cursed energy flowed through the nail and transmitted directly into the curse's body.
"AAAAAH—!"
The curse shrieked as if countless needles were stabbing through its insides.
Black blood sprayed from its wounds.
"Nice!" Yuji shouted.
"Not finished yet!" Nobara raised her hammer again.
But suddenly—
The cursed spirit's body burst apart.
Its massive form split into dozens of small rat-like cursed spirits that scattered in all directions.
"What?!"
Nobara stared in disbelief.
"It can split like that?!"
"Don't let them escape!" Yuji shouted as he chased after them.
But there were too many.
The rat curses darted across the floor and walls with incredible speed.
Even working together, Yuji and Nobara couldn't catch them all.
"Tch… annoying."
At that moment—
Sora finally moved.
He didn't rush forward.
Instead he simply raised his foot.
And stomped.
STOMP.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave rippled through the floor.
The entire corridor shook violently.
The fleeing rat curses were thrown into the air by the sudden vibration, losing their balance mid-escape.
"Now!"
Even though Yuji and Nobara staggered slightly from the tremor, they instantly seized the opportunity.
Yuji launched forward.
"Just a normal punch!"
One rat curse exploded with each strike.
Nobara fired nails rapidly like bullets.
Each nail pinned a curse to the floor before detonating with cursed energy.
Within seconds—
Dozens of rat-like curses were destroyed.
"Ugh… gross."
Nobara wiped sweat from her forehead.
"These things are disgusting."
"But that teamwork was pretty good," Yuji said with a grin.
"That's because I'm strong!" Nobara replied proudly.
Then she looked at Sora.
"Hey."
"That tremor just now… that was you, right?"
The shockwave had been extremely precise.
It knocked the curses off balance without damaging the building.
Even the vibration beneath their feet had been subtly controlled.
The level of control was terrifying.
"So-so," Sora shrugged.
"But don't celebrate yet."
He raised his finger and pointed upward.
"The real one…"
"…is still up there."
The moment he finished speaking—
CRACK.
The ceiling split open.
A massive cursed spirit several times larger than the previous one crashed down from above.
Its target—
Nobara.
Unlike the previous curse, this one possessed a degree of intelligence.
It had already analyzed the battlefield.
Among the three sorcerers present—
The girl with the hammer had the weakest physical defense.
And she had just spent a large amount of cursed energy.
"Kugisaki! Look out!" Yuji shouted as he tried to rush toward her.
But he was too far away.
Nobara's face went pale.
Too fast.
She couldn't react in time.
The enormous claw, dripping with foul slime, descended toward her face.
Was she really going to die like this—
Right after enrolling in Jujutsu High?
Then—
A figure suddenly appeared in front of her.
A black silhouette.
Calm.
Unmoving.
Yagami Sora raised one hand.
"Reflect."
CLANG!
The cursed spirit's claws—strong enough to tear apart concrete—struck an invisible wall the moment they touched Sora's hand.
But the attack didn't simply stop.
A terrifying rebound force erupted instantly.
CRACK!
The curse's claw snapped violently.
Bone tore through flesh.
"GRAAAAH—!"
The spirit screamed as the recoil hurled its massive body backward.
It smashed into the wall with a deafening crash.
Dust exploded into the air.
Yagami Sora stood quietly in front of Nobara.
His posture straight.
Unshaken.
He glanced back at her and smiled faintly.
"This…"
"…is what people mean by a professional guiding a rookie."
"Watch carefully."
"This is how a Special Grade fights."