Chapter 2: Discovery
Kyoto City
Kyoto was a city where tradition and modern life stood side by side like old friends who refused to part ways.
Ancient temples and quiet shrines were scattered between busy streets and glowing storefronts. The air carried the faint scent of incense and street food, while crowds of people flowed through the sidewalks like a river that never stopped moving.
Most of those people lived their lives completely unaware of the hidden world surrounding them.
A world of curses.
A world of sorcerers.
A world where monsters born from human fear lurked just beyond the edge of normal perception.
And walking through those lively streets were four individuals who belonged to that hidden world.
Well… three sorcerers.
And one extremely bored child.
---
"Ughhhh… how much longer do we have to walk?"
The complaint came from a tall teenager with messy white hair and black sunglasses resting on his nose. His hands were shoved lazily into his pockets as he dragged his feet dramatically across the pavement.
Gojo Satoru.
The self-proclaimed future strongest sorcerer.
And currently the loudest person on the street.
Beside him walked another boy of similar age with long black hair tied neatly behind his head. His posture was straight, his expression calm, and his patience was visibly thinning.
Suguru Geto.
"Quit being such a baby," Geto replied, his voice even but clearly irritated. "We're almost there. The report from the Kyoto institution said a large concentration of cursed spirits appeared near an abandoned hospital around here."
Satoru groaned loudly.
"A hospital? Seriously? Of course it's a hospital. Why can't curses ever appear somewhere fun, like a ramen shop?"
"You would still complain."
"I would complain less."
Behind the two older students walked the final members of the group.
Shoko Ieri.
And Sanjiro Gojo.
Both of them watched the bickering duo ahead with identical blank expressions.
Shoko slowly exhaled a thin stream of smoke from the cigarette between her fingers.
"Your brother is exhausting," she muttered.
Sanjiro shrugged.
"Yeah. Living with him is a full-time job."
Despite the chaos ahead of them, Sanjiro's eyes quietly scanned the streets around them.
Kyoto was not an ordinary city.
It served as one of the primary centers of jujutsu society. Numerous sorcerer families lived here, and powerful barriers protected many parts of the city.
Because of that, very few curses roamed freely.
During their entire walk through the city, Sanjiro hadn't sensed a single cursed spirit.
Not even a weak Grade 4.
For a place supposedly infested with them… that might seem strange. But, it wasn't. As, sorcerers from the clans would occasionally exercise any curse on sight.
After a few more minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at their destination.
An abandoned hospital.
The building loomed over the street like a forgotten monument to decay. Its windows were broken, vines crawled across the walls, and the entrance doors hung slightly open as if inviting something unwelcome inside.
Satoru tilted his head.
"So… this is the place?"
Geto nodded slowly as he stared at the building.
"Yeah. I can feel a strong concentration of cursed energy coming from inside."
He paused.
"Possibly a Grade 1 curse."
Satoru grinned.
"Ooooh."
Geto continued calmly.
"Special grade is unlikely… but it's not impossible."
Satoru cracked his neck with excitement.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Without another word—
He walked straight into the building.
Shoko sighed.
Geto rubbed his temple.
Sanjiro stuffed his hands deeper into his hoodie pocket.
"Man… this is gonna be a long day. Or should i say night."
And the three of them followed.
---
The inside of the hospital was exactly what one would expect.
Dark.
Dusty.
Broken tiles littered the floor while thick vines and moss crawled along the walls. The faint smell of mold hung in the air, mixed with something far more unpleasant.
Residual cursed energy.
Their footsteps echoed down the long hallway.
Drip.
Drip.
Somewhere in the distance, water fell from a leaking pipe.
Shoko walked beside Sanjiro, taking another slow drag from her cigarette.
"You know," she said casually, "your brother is a pain in the ass."
Sanjiro nodded seriously.
"Yeah. He's always been a real bone in my life."
Shoko blinked.
Then chuckled quietly.
"You know your jokes are terrible, right?"
Sanjiro placed a hand over his chest.
"That hurts."
"Good."
"Well, I gotta keep trying," he said. "Practice makes perfect. Eventually one of these jokes is gonna kill somebody."
"That might be your most dangerous ability."
As they walked and talked, something suddenly felt… off.
Sanjiro frowned.
The hallway ahead was empty.
Too empty.
He stopped walking.
"…hey."
Shoko also stopped.
They both looked forward.
Geto and Satoru were gone.
The hallway stretched ahead of them in eerie silence.
"…where did they go?" Sanjiro asked.
Shoko stepped forward cautiously, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the surroundings.
"I didn't hear footsteps," she muttered.
She reached out trying to find them.
Nothing.
"Where did they—"
Suddenly—
A screech erupted from the shadows.
A grotesque shape lunged from the side of the hallway, its claws reaching directly for Shoko's throat.
But before the creature could touch her—
THWIP THWIP THWIP!
A barrage of bone spears exploded through the air.
The cursed spirit was slammed violently against the wall.
Multiple bones pierced through its body, pinning it in place like a grotesque insect on display.
The creature shrieked in agony.
Shoko glanced behind her.
Sanjiro stood there calmly.
His usual lazy expression had vanished.
In its place was something far sharper.
"Be careful," he said quietly.
"Next time don't get distracted."
Shoko blinked once.
"…noted."
Sanjiro walked forward toward the pinned curse.
"So this is what a real curse looks like."
The creature squirmed against the bones holding it.
It was small.
Green.
With a single oversized eye and a massive crooked mouth. Two arms and four legs sprouted awkwardly from its dough-like body.
It looked like a child had sculpted a monster out of clay.
Sanjiro tilted his head.
"Wow."
He conjured another bone.
This one had a sharp tip like a blade.
"What a pitiful creature."
He crouched slightly.
"Low intelligence. Ugly design. Terrible personality."
He raised the bone blade.
"Honestly… you're kind of an eyesore."
The cursed spirit shrieked again.
Sanjiro thrust forward.
CRACK.
The bone spear pierced straight through the creature's head.
The curse dissolved instantly into drifting black particles.
Sanjiro stood still.
Watching.
Observing.
Then a familiar screen appeared in front of him.
---
[System Notification]
[-Grade 3 Cursed Spirit Eliminated
Reward: 50 Fusion Points]
---
Sanjiro blinked.
"…wait."
He stared at the screen.
"…with what?"
Realization slowly spread across his face.
"Don't tell me…"
His eyes widened.
"I can farm points by killing curses?!"
A slow grin crept onto his face.
This changed everything.
Inside the Gojo compound, powerful barriers prevented curses from entering.
Kyoto itself rarely had weak spirits because so many sorcerers lived nearby.
Which meant Sanjiro had never encountered one before.
But now?
Now he had discovered something incredible.
A perfect way to grind Fusion Points.
Sanjiro felt a wave of excitement he hadn't experienced since arriving in this world.
Before he could celebrate—
"Hey. Sanjiro."
No response.
"Sanjiro."
Still nothing.
"Earth to Sanjiro."
He blinked.
Shoko was crouched directly in front of his face, studying him curiously.
Sanjiro scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Uh… Ieri-nee-san. Sorry. I zoned out."
Shoko hummed thoughtfully.
"First time seeing a curse?"
"…yeah."
"First time killing one too?"
Sanjiro nodded slowly.
"I guess you could say that."
Shoko studied his expression.
"You looked pretty shaken."
Sanjiro waved his hand.
"Nah, I was just observing it."
He glanced at the spot where the curse had vanished.
"I wanted to understand what they were. Watching it disappear was… interesting."
Shoko nodded slightly.
"Well, you handled it pretty well for a kid."
Sanjiro shrugged.
"I try."
Shoko stood up and glanced down the hallway again.
"So…"
"Where do you think those two idiots went?"
Sanjiro sighed.
"No idea."
Then he added casually,
"But wherever they are…"
He shoved his hands back into his pockets.
"…I feel bad for whatever was dumb enough to pick a fight with them."
Shoko chuckled.
"Fair point."
---
Meanwhile…
Far away from the hospital.
In the middle of a dense forest.
Two figures stood in a quiet clearing.
Satoru scratched his head.
"…weren't we just in a hospital?"
Geto looked around slowly.
Towering trees surrounded them.
Not a single building in sight.
"…yes," Geto said calmly.
"So how did we get here?"
Geto closed his eyes briefly.
"I felt a spike of cursed energy right before we were transported."
Satoru nodded.
"Same."
He stretched lazily.
"So… some curse kidnapped us."
Geto shrugged.
"Seems likely."
Satoru grinned.
"Rude."
He raised his voice.
"HEY!"
"WHOEVER DRAGGED US OUT HERE!"
"COME OUT ALREADY!"
The forest fell silent.
Then—
The air warped.
A black vortex formed in the center of the clearing.
From within it stepped something… unnatural.
The creature was tall and thin, its gray skin stretched tightly across its body like dried parchment. Its limbs were unnaturally long, ending in jagged black claws that scraped across the ground.
Where its face should have been…
There was nothing.
Only a hollow obsidian void.
An endless darkness that pulsed with hunger.
The moment it appeared—
The atmosphere changed.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Its cursed energy flooded the clearing like thick fog.
"Grrrrh… aghhh…"
The monster growled.
Satoru grinned widely.
"So you're the one who dragged us out here."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Well."
He started walking toward it.
"Guess it's your funeral."
Behind him, Geto stepped into a martial stance, blue cursed energy coating his fists.
The cursed spirit lunged.
Satoru clapped his hands together.
A swirling sphere of blue energy formed between his palms.
"Eager little guy, aren't you?"
He smirked.
"Alright then."
"Let's play."
The energy sphere brightened.
The ground beneath his feet trembled.
Satoru spoke calmly.
"Cursed Technique: Lapse — Blue."
And the world bent toward the power gathering in his hands.
---
To Be Continued…