[Mission: No Escape]
[Mission Content: Due to the recent urban legend of the "Crying Baby in the Garage" becoming a viral hit online, a Cursed Spirit has appeared in the faculty dormitory parking lot—the very location that served as the inspiration for the story. This Cursed Spirit is formed from human fear.
[This Cursed Spirit marks those who hear its infant cries. No matter where they go, they will be disemboweled and die in the street. No escape.]
[Mission Success Condition: Ensure Kirisu Mafuyu's safety]
[Failure Penalty: None]
[Mission Reward: Platinum Capture Ball ×1]
Looking at the mission details, Akira felt a headache.
Because this time he was facing a Cursed Spirit. Unless he had a Cursed Tool, his swordsmanship would be completely unable to harm it.
The reason why Public Safety—related to the Jujutsu Association—had not merged with the Jujutsu Association was that, although the formation of Devils and Cursed Spirits could be said to be the same thing, Devils could be dealt with by relatively ordinary means.
But Cursed Spirits could not.
Even if the power of Devils was used—unless it was a Devil's main body acting, like the Fox Devil or Ghost Devil—it wouldn't cause any harm to Cursed Spirits.
Therefore, Public Safety personnel could occasionally help the Jujutsu Association, but most of the time, the Sorcerers of the Jujutsu Association exorcised Cursed Spirits themselves. Later, if Public Safety discovered a Cursed Spirit, they would only report it and not intervene further.
As for the Hero Association, only a few Heroes who possessed Psychokinesis could effectively kill Cursed Spirits.
According to research, Psychokinesis, to some extent, was considered human will.
Devils and Cursed Spirits were both aggregates of a certain "will," so Psychokinesis had the same effect on these special existences.
Besides Psychokinesis, other forms of attack were all ineffective.
Moreover, Cursed Spirits could not be seen by ordinary people—except for Sorcerers and those with innate Yin-Yang Eyes.
Therefore, the Jujutsu Association had little interaction with the other two departments.
And the other two departments, due to various issues such as personnel and background, each performed their own duties, with clear distinctions.
Or… get some Cursed Tools?
The moment this thought emerged, Akira suppressed it.
While talismans were common and could be obtained by people with certain abilities, Cursed Tools were not so simple.
They were basically priceless and rare—not even collected by the Souo Family.
Where could he get one in such a short time?
Suddenly, Akira remembered the Divinity Mask.
The Divinity Mask played the role of a god.
And "gods" were also "will" aggregates—similar to Cursed Spirits.
With the Divinity Mask, he already had a means to deal with Cursed Spirits.
Akira was delighted, but he also understood that before putting on the Divinity Mask, he did not have the innate talent of a Sorcerer to see Cursed Spirits.
However, Akira already knew that the Cursed Spirit would definitely appear in the parking lot below the faculty dormitory. So this seemingly problematic issue actually had no impact.
Thinking of this, Akira directly accepted the temporary mission.
[Ding! Character temporary mission: No Escape, accepted]
[Mission countdown: 78:45:39]
Three days?
The time span was a bit long.
However, the most crucial thing now was to first let the person involved know the seriousness of the matter, so that subsequent developments could proceed smoothly.
Taking a deep breath, Akira took out his phone and searched online for the story of the "Crying Baby in the Garage."
The story was simple: a student at the school fell in love with a teacher, became pregnant out of wedlock, but the teacher was a scumbag and refused to acknowledge it. So the student forcibly aborted in the garage.
The several-month-old placenta—still an indistinct mass of flesh and blood—already had a will and formed a grudge.
It resented not only its birth mother but also its irresponsible father.
Therefore, its curse equally fell upon everyone who appeared in the garage and heard its "cries."
Because it was only a several-month-old placenta and did not have vocal cords, these "cries" were its means of influencing and cursing people.
Those who heard the "cries" would be targeted by it and eventually killed.
Akira looked at the screen.
The expression on his face could be summed up in a few words: subway, old man, phone.
An old-fashioned story, exaggerated plot, and not a shred of logic.
Yet, such a story—combined with the words "adapted from real events" and old photos of the specific teacher's dormitory—could cause countless people to panic.
If I were to write it, the effect would definitely be a hundred times better than this ghost story.
What trash.
Da da da da.
High heels clicked on the ground.
Unbeknownst to him, Akira had already followed Kirisu Mafuyu to the empty office.
"Please sit, Akira-san."
Akira obediently sat down, and Kirisu Mafuyu sat opposite him.
But before Kirisu Mafuyu could speak, Akira preempted her: "Teacher Mafuyu, have you heard a baby's cry recently? Like, when you were in the faculty dormitory garage?"
Kirisu Mafuyu frowned, a little surprised.
Because last night, she had indeed heard a baby crying in the garage downstairs of the dormitory building.
However, at the time, she thought there were other people in the garage, so she didn't pay attention.
Now that Akira brought it up, she felt that something was wrong.
"How do you know? Have you been to the faculty dormitory building?"
"I don't even have the address. How could I have been there?"
Akira picked up his phone and handed it to Kirisu Mafuyu. She glanced at it, then looked up.
"You shouldn't look at things like this. Once bad emotions are generated, these emotions will gather in places with similar characteristics."
"Over time, a Cursed Spirit will be born."
These things were information that the Jujutsu Association had released long ago.
As a teacher, Kirisu Mafuyu had diligently studied them—and then never browsed such things again, nor did she ever mention them.
Akira nodded. "Teacher Mafuyu, you can do it. But others don't have the self-control you do."
"I just asked if you heard a baby crying to test if you had been targeted by the Cursed Spirit formed from this urban legend."
"From your reaction, Teacher, you've won the lottery."
"Ah?"
Kirisu Mafuyu was struck as if by lightning, even forgetting why she had called Akira over to talk.
Her gaze refocused on the screen, and she read the entire urban legend in one go.
Now, she felt like the sky had fallen.
Because the events described in it were eighty percent similar to the details of what she had experienced last night.
"How can such an article be online? This is legally actionable!"
Before Kirisu Mafuyu could finish speaking, the screen displayed a numerical prompt: 404.
Clearly, the authorities had already intervened and started to control the internet.
This also indirectly proved that Akira's reminder was not made up.
Kirisu Mafuyu was stunned.
In her decades of life, she had always done what she was supposed to do at each age.
Even now, she had never been in a relationship.
Yet today, she suddenly received terrible news: she had been cursed by a Cursed Spirit.
According to the story's description, the baby's voice would get closer and closer to her, then suddenly appear and burrow into her stomach, causing her to be disemboweled and finally die in the garage.
What should I do?
At her wits' end, Kirisu Mafuyu suddenly remembered the Jujutsu Association.
She quickly picked up her phone and dialed the emergency hotline.
"Hello~?"