The train slowed as it pulled into Sendai.
Doors slid open.
Passengers stepped out in an orderly flow.
Among them—
Sora and Satoru Gojo.
The air felt colder than Kyoto.
Clean.
Sora adjusted his bag slightly as he stepped onto the platform.
"…So this is Sendai."
Gojo stretched his arms.
"Welcome to the field trip."
Sora ignored the comment and began walking.
They exited the station without much delay, moving through the streets at a steady pace.
The city was… normal.
People walked, talked, laughed.
Completely unaware of what lay hidden within it.
Sora's eyes scanned the surroundings automatically.
Nothing unusual.
At least—
Not yet.
---
Then—
Something shifted.
For just a moment.
A presence.
Heavy.
Malevolent.
Like a shadow brushing against reality itself.
Gojo's steps paused slightly.
Just for a fraction of a second.
His smile didn't fade—
But his head tilted ever so slightly.
"…Hm."
Sora kept walking.
"…What?"
Gojo glanced at him.
"…Nothing."
Sora frowned faintly.
"You reacted."
"Did I?"
"Yes."
Gojo smiled again.
"Must've been your imagination."
Sora stared at him for a second.
Then looked ahead again.
"…Lies."
But he said nothing more.
Because he hadn't felt anything.
Not even a trace.
---
They continued walking.
The streets grew quieter.
Buildings thinned.
Until—
The school came into view.
Tall gates.
Wide grounds.
Silent.
Sora stopped walking.
"…This is it."
Gojo nodded casually.
"Yep."
The gate was locked.
Naturally.
Gojo stepped over it without hesitation.
Sora followed.
Landing lightly inside the school grounds.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
He could feel it now.
Residual cursed energy.
Lingering.
Disturbed.
"…Someone's been here."
Gojo didn't reply.
Instead—
He looked up.
Sora followed his gaze.
And saw it.
On the rooftop.
A curse.
Large.
Distorted.
Its form twisted unnaturally, like a mass of dark flesh barely holding itself together. Its presence pressed down on the surroundings.
Heavy.
Unpleasant.
But it was dead.
Why?
Because a burst of cursed energy was through it.
Sora's eyes sharpened instantly.
"…Grade 2 killed instantly."
Before he could say anything else—
Gojo moved.
No warning.
No signal.
One moment he was beside Sora—
The next—
Gone.
A blur.
Air shifted violently as Gojo launched upward toward the rooftop.
"…!"
Sora clicked his tongue.
"Shit just hit the fan."
Not wasting a second—
His cursed energy surged.
Liquid metal flowed instantly around his legs.
Thick.
Dense.
Reinforcing.
His stance lowered slightly.
Then—
He kicked off the ground.
The stone beneath his feet cracked lightly as he shot upward.
Faster than a normal jump.
Faster than most sorcerers.
His body cleared the height of the building in seconds.
Landing sharply near the edge of the rooftop.
---
Sora and Gojo both arrived at the scene.
A dead curse, a almost dead kid and a evil looking kid were present there.
Well, it was obviously Yuji and Megumi.