"Is this Roppongi? No matter how you look at it, it just looks like a haunted house."
Nobara Kugisaki fanned away the dust in front of her with a look of disgust as she stared at the abandoned building cordoned off by police tape.
Even though it was located in the heart of bustling Roppongi...
The building gave off a nauseating stench of mold, like a piece of rotting flesh growing on the face of this glitzy city.
"Due to constant noise complaints from local residents and a recent spike in missing persons cases, the Window has determined that a large number of low-level curses have gathered here."
Assistant Supervisor Kiyotaka Ijichi adjusted his glasses, repeatedly wiping the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.
He felt an immense amount of pressure facing these four problem children from the first-year class.
Especially the boy carrying the long cloth-wrapped bundle; he seemed quiet enough, but he was rumored to be a monster personally recruited by Satoru Gojo.
"So, our mission is just to exorcise all the curses here, right?"
Yuji Itadori was actually quite excited. This was his first official mission since enrolling.
"Yes, but please be careful. Although most are judged as Grade 4 or Grade 3 curses, there are quite a lot of them," Ijichi advised.
Ijichi added.
"Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Satoru Gojo wasn't present. For a mission of this level, he usually took a completely hands-off approach.
"Hey, you, the transfer student."
Nobara Kugisaki suddenly turned her head, her gaze landing on Yoru's waist.
Hanging there was an old sword with a battered scabbard, looking like it had been salvaged from a scrap heap.
"You're planning to use that piece of junk to exorcise curses?"
"I heard you did well in the entrance exam, but curses aren't the same as humans who only know martial arts."
"Without cursed energy, that scrap metal won't even be able to scratch a curse's skin."
Nobara's words were thorny, but they were the truth.
In the common sense of the jujutsu world, only cursed energy can exorcise curses.
Ordinary physical attacks—even a nuclear bomb—are useless against a curse.
Megumi Fushiguro frowned, wanting to say a few words in Yoru's defense, but he saw Yoru simply offer a gentle smile.
"It's fine. As long as the blade is fast enough, it can cut through anything."
"Huh? What kind of joke are you—"
Nobara wanted to keep complaining, but Yoru cut her off.
"Going in."
Yoru didn't offer any further explanation as he stepped over the police tape.
His steps were light, but the moment he stepped into the building's shadow, his entire presence shifted instantly.
If he had seemed like a mild-mannered high schooler just a moment ago, now he was a sharp blade about to be unsheathed.
"Tsk, just showing off."
Nobara clicked her tongue and followed him.
Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji Itadori exchanged a look before following suit.
The interior of the building was pitch black, the air thick with the smell of dust and a faint, lingering stench.
"Watch out, they're coming."
Megumi whispered as his hands quickly formed a seal.
"Divine Dog!"
The black and white Divine Dogs emerged from the shadows, warily scanning the surroundings.
Scuttle, scuttle...
A dense scuttling sound echoed from the darkness, enough to make one's skin crawl.
Then, countless crimson eyes lit up in the gloom.
They were curses.
Hundreds of low-level curses surged from all directions like a tide.
Some had multiple limbs, others were like bloated balls of flesh, and their mouths let out irritating screeches.
"This many?!"
Startled, Yuji Itadori fell into a combat stance.
"This is what they call a 'large number'? That guy Ijichi's intel is way off!"
Nobara gripped several nails, her expression grave.
With these numbers, they could be drained of their cursed energy through sheer attrition.
Just as the three were preparing for a bitter struggle...
A figure did not retreat but instead walked straight toward the group of hideous monsters.
"Hey! Yoru! Don't be reckless!"
Megumi shouted. Charging into a swarm of curses without the protection of cursed energy was practically a death wish!
However, Yoru acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, his hand lightly resting on the hilt of his sword.
In that moment, his breathing changed.
It wasn't an intentional deep breath, but a peculiar rhythm.
Massive amounts of oxygen were inhaled into his lungs, racing through his blood to every cell in his body.
His body temperature began to rise slightly.
His heart began to beat powerfully, like the thundering of war drums.
[CURRENT SYNCHRONIZATION: 2%... 3%...]
The numbers on the system panel began to tick upward.
Although he hadn't unlocked any forms of the Hinokami Kagura yet, the physical enhancement from the breathing technique alone was more than enough.
"Total Concentration,"
Yoru murmured, and in the next second.
Clang—
The crisp sound of a sword being drawn was exceptionally piercing in the confined space.
It wasn't the dragon-like roar of a divine weapon being unsheathed, just the sound of metal scraping.
But to the ears of those curses, the sound was like the tolling of a death knell.
Swish!
A flash of cold light streaked past.
The leading Fly Head curse didn't even have time to scream before it was dismantled in mid-air.
No residues of cursed energy, no glow of a technique.
Just a pure, blindingly fast strike.
But that was only the beginning. Yoru's figure blurred like a ghost as he charged into the swarm.
He didn't use any flashy moves, only the most basic slashes, cuts, parries, and thrusts.
Yet, backed by terrifying speed and precision, these basic actions transformed into a lethal dance of slaughter.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Black blood splattered, and severed limbs flew.
Everywhere Yoru passed, those hideous curses were carved apart like a hot knife through butter, dissipating instantly.
"This..."
Nobara Kugisaki, who was about to fire her nails, froze.
Her hammer was raised in mid-air, but she couldn't find the chance to strike.
Because there was no need for her to act at all.
The scene before her completely overturned her understanding of the world.
The "dead weight" transfer student who she thought had no cursed energy was currently butchering curses as if he were slicing vegetables.
Furthermore, the most terrifying thing to her was...
That the wounds on the slain curses were emitting faint wisps of white smoke, as if they had been scorched by an intense fire, making regeneration impossible!
"What kind of power is that?"
Megumi's Divine Dogs stopped growling as well, tucking their tails as they watched the back of the figure dancing among the monsters.
It wasn't cursed energy. Definitely not.
But that aura was even more domineering and more scorching than cursed energy.
It was like... the sun?
In just three minutes, a deathly silence returned to the hall.
Hundreds of low-level curses—wiped out.
Yoru stood amidst a sea of blood (though the curses disappeared after death, the grim atmosphere remained), lightly flicking away the non-existent blood on his blade.
Then, he sheathed the sword.
"It's settled."
He turned around to face the dumbfounded trio, his face returning to that harmless expression.
"Let's go. To the second floor."
Nobara Kugisaki opened her mouth, wanting to say something like 'You're so strong' or 'Sorry, I misjudged you.'
But the words that came out were:
"You... you freak!"
Who on earth exorcises curses with such terrifying fluidity?!
Yoru didn't mind her comment, but he looked up slightly, his gaze piercing through the layers of flooring toward the top of the building.
Deep within his dark red pupils, an unsettling black mist was reflected.
Those just now were merely the appetizers.
The real deal was upstairs.
"What's wrong?"
The observant Megumi Fushiguro noticed something off about Yoru.
"Nothing."
Yoru retracted his gaze, but his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened.
"I just feel like there's something very unpleasant up there."
"So unpleasant that I can't help but want to chop it into pieces."