Gojo Shun and Fushiguro Megumi soon reached the area around Sugisawa High.
"That is…"
Shun frowned.
This level of cursed energy, and he had not sensed anything like it at Sugisawa High during the day.
And by rights, that cursed spirit Kurumi would never allow something like this to exist on her turf either.
"Senpai, is it over there?"
Megumi's expression grew tense.
This was a little beyond what he had been expecting.
Had the cursed object already had its seal undone?
Shun said, "Either way, stay alert."
"Yes, sir."
Megumi gave a sharp nod.
He quickly formed the hand seals he was so familiar with.
Two black and white dog-like figures burst up from his shadow and landed silently in front of them.
One of the Zenin clan's inherited techniques, the Ten Shadows Technique.
By forming specific hand shadows, the sorcerer summoned corresponding shikigami from within his own shadow.
Right now, Megumi had called forth the very first shikigami the technique offered, the pair known as Divine Dogs.
One black, one white, born to hunt and devour curses.
Shun had once taken a little time to study the Zenin clan's technique, out of pure curiosity.
On the surface he had never dug too deeply, out of respect for clan politics, but what he did privately was another matter entirely.
"Go."
Megumi sent the two Divine Dogs ahead, letting them slip into the school grounds to scout and track.
Shun and Megumi were about to follow when…
Boom, boom.
Several massive cursed spirits suddenly dropped from the sky, crashing into the street and blocking their path.
Not only that, more curses began to crawl out from alleys, walls and the darkness all around, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, they were completely surrounded.
Megumi's eyes widened. "Why are there so many curses?"
The sheer number in front of him shattered everything he thought he knew.
And it was not just quantity.
Most of the curses here were above third grade and just slightly below second grade.
Some had already broken through that level, pressing up toward first grade in presence alone.
You have got to be kidding me.
Megumi felt like he had to be dreaming.
Otherwise, how could this many curses of this caliber suddenly appear here at once?
With a swarm like this manifesting, there was no way Jujutsu Headquarters would not have picked up even a hint of it.
Cold sweat slid down Megumi's back, his composure collapsing.
Facing this many curses, his instincts screamed at him to run.
"Calm down, Megumi."
A hand clapped firmly onto his shoulder.
That single pat from Shun snapped him back as if from a nightmare.
"Senpai…"
Megumi looked at Shun, still unable to keep the tremor out of his voice.
Shun narrowed his eyes, scanning the ring of curses.
His expression went a little strange.
Or rather, there was a faint anger in it now.
Obviously, he had already figured out what he was looking at.
The things surrounding them were less "cursed spirits" and more like altered humans who happened to wield cursed energy.
Their souls had been twisted, and their bodies changed to reflect that, leaving them looking like cursed spirits.
"As interested as I am in techniques that meddle with souls, this way of using them is honestly disgusting."
Shun's tone stayed perfectly flat.
He knew exactly whose work this was.
One of the four special grade curses, born from humanity's hatred and fear of humanity itself.
Mahito.
"Ah la la, I come out here and the first thing I hear from you lovely sorcerers is how much you hate me."
A human figure stepped lightly off the head of the largest altered human towering over them.
Mahito.
"…!"
Megumi stared up at him, shock hitting him like a wave.
The pressure rolling off that body, that soul.
This was a special grade cursed spirit.
Mahito smiled down at the two sorcerers in the circle of his army, his gaze settling on Shun.
"So you are the one trailing after Gojo Satoru, hm? I did not expect to run into you this soon."
When he had first come to Sendai City, Mahito had already taken an interest in Shun.
The nephew of the strongest sorcerer alive, Gojo Satoru.
What kind of soul did he have?
And what connections did his soul share with Satoru's?
Shun narrowed his eyes and said, "Instead of talking about me like that, I would much rather you just pretended I was not here at all."
In the eyes of curses, Gojo Satoru was overwhelming.
Standing in that light, someone like Gojo Shun became easy to overlook.
And Shun was perfectly happy with that.
If they all ignored him, his life became a lot easier.
"Oh? Really?" Mahito tilted his head, voice dripping with malice. "Could it be that you are unhappy about being overshadowed by your dear uncle?"
"When it comes to Gojo Satoru, do you have some nasty little feelings buried in there?"
"Hmph."
Shun gave a short, cold laugh.
It was obvious what this curse was trying to do, which buttons he wanted to press, how he hoped Shun would snap.
Shun did not care in the slightest.
He looked away from Mahito and said to Megumi, "Head to the school first. I will handle things here."
"Senpai, can you do it?"
Megumi's gaze swept over the wall of curses, then back up to Mahito.
He could not help worrying if Shun really could deal with all this on his own.
Shun's lips curled in a faint, contemptuous smile.
"Relax."
He casually swung his fist.
The air cracked.
Black Flash.
Cursed energy exploded in perfect timing with the impact, gouging a corridor straight through the crowd of curses.
A path to the school opened up in an instant.
With his back to Megumi, Shun looked up at Mahito.
"These are just a bunch of small fry," he said, voice calm. "They are not worth worrying about."
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