Chapter 67: Special Grade Mission
A few days later, in the early morning, the gates to the Star Plasma Cult courtyard were gently pushed open.
Miguel walked in, looking travel-worn and carrying an old canvas bag. He had just finished a Cursed Spirit investigation mission; exhaustion still lingered on his face, but he couldn't hide the relief of returning to the team.
He first headed to the living room, but upon pushing the door open, he only saw Nanako and Mimiko sitting on the carpet, chirping away as they discussed a pile of Cursed Tool blueprints.
"Yo, you two little ones, where's Suguru?" Miguel put down his canvas bag and smiled as he rubbed their hair.
"Brother Miguel is back!" Mimiko immediately looked up, her eyes lighting up.
"Lord Geto and Rin are at the training ground; they've been there since early this morning!"
Nanako also nodded and pointed toward the backyard.
"It looks like they're practicing 'Simple Domain.' I heard the sound of Cursed Energy exploding just now."
Hearing this, a smile curled at the corner of Miguel's mouth as he patted their shoulders.
"Alright, I'll go check on them then." He turned toward the training ground, just as he rounded the corridor...
...
At this time, Geto Suguru was teaching Rin how to learn the Simple Domain.
After all, Rin wanted to open his own Domain, and Geto Suguru couldn't really help with that; he didn't have a Domain himself, let alone being able to assist Rin in expanding one.
However, for Cursed Techniques like the Simple Domain, Geto Suguru could provide guidance.
Although a Simple Domain was far inferior to a true Domain Expansion, it could still help Rin better understand knowledge related to Domains.
Geto Suguru demonstrated it once for Rin, and Rin immediately used his Sharingan to complete the copy.
For this type of jujutsu that can be mastered through learning, the difficulty for the Sharingan to copy was even lower. Almost while Geto Suguru was performing it, Rin could simultaneously memorize the method and, after the demonstration ended, directly copy and perform it.
Seeing Miguel enter the training ground, Geto Suguru and Rin withdrew their Cursed Energy and ended their training.
The three of them walked side-by-side toward the reception room, their footsteps on the courtyard's stone path carrying the relaxation of being back with the team.
Rin actually already knew the reason for Miguel's return. Geto Suguru had mentioned it to him privately before—once Miguel finished his investigation mission and returned, an important task would be given to the two of them. Now was the right time to talk business.
As soon as the three sat down in the reception room, Geto Suguru pushed a map marked with a red dot to the center of the table, his fingertip pointing at the red dot's location.
"According to the news Miguel just brought back, fluctuations of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit have appeared here. Moreover, it's a Natural-born Special Grade, unlike the Goblin that advanced using Sukuna's Finger last time. This guy is a true Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and it's not one of the sixteen registered ones; it should be a newly born Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Miguel pulled a stack of photos from his canvas bag. The photos showed strange statues, some in the shape of humans and others in the shape of animals, all made of stone.
"I went to the perimeter to investigate. Its attack method leans toward 'Erosion.' Any living creature it touches seems to turn directly into stone."
Rin picked up the photos, his fingertips brushing over the distorted stone carvings in the images, and looked up at Geto Suguru.
"Did you originally plan to go yourself?"
Geto Suguru leaned back in his chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.
"That was the original plan, but I have other things to do recently and can't get away, so I'm leaving it to you two."
He looked at them, his gaze becoming serious.
"The core of this mission is to capture it. Having a new Special Grade Cursed Spirit will be of great help for what we need to do next."
Miguel nodded in agreement and added, "I've brought a Cursed Tool specifically for detecting Cursed Energy fluctuations, so we can track its location in real-time on the way. With Rin's help and the two of us cooperating, there shouldn't be any problems."
Rin put away the photos, blackish-red Cursed Energy flickering slightly at his fingertips.
"I'm fine with it. After the last mission, I've actually been feeling a bit restless."
Sunlight from outside filtered through the blinds, casting fragmented shadows on the map. An investigation mission targeting a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was thus decided.
Just after sitting down in the reception room, Miguel pulled a palm-sized wooden box from the bottom of his canvas bag. The box was engraved with a shimmering cursed talisman, as if suppressing something inside.
"While I was out this time, I picked up an interesting little fellow."
He lightly brushed his fingertip over the cursed talisman, and the wooden box clicked open. Three faint, nearly transparent wisps of black mist immediately drifted out, taking shape as they hit the ground—they were actually three identical Cursed Spirits.
Rin narrowed his eyes to look closely. The appearance of these Triplet Cursed Spirits was truly bizarre. Their bodies looked like black dough flattened by a rolling pin, standing flat on the ground and making up more than ninety percent of their form.
At the edges, four limbs as thin as cotton threads were tucked in. When they moved, they almost merged with the shadows; if not for the occasional flash of cursed markings, it would be impossible to tell they were limbs.
Even stranger, the Cursed Energy around them seemed twisted into a single rope, and even the frequency of its pulsing was identical, as if the three heads shared a single heart.
"Don't look at them being all limp; they are proper Grade 1 Cursed Spirits."
Miguel lightly touched one of them with the tip of his toe. That Cursed Spirit immediately shrank into a black disc and then quickly stretched back out.
"What's impressive is their Cursed Technique: the three bodies share a single stomach. For example, if the one on the left swallows a pebble in Tokyo, the one on the right in Osaka can spit it out at any time. They're essentially natural long-range teleporters."
As soon as these words were spoken, Rin immediately reacted, his gaze circling the three Cursed Spirits.
"They can transmit no matter the distance? That would certainly save a lot of trouble."
"Exactly." Miguel smiled and pushed the wooden box toward Geto Suguru.
"This thing will surely be useful at some point; I'll leave it with you for now."
Geto Suguru's fingertip traced the edge of the wooden box as he tucked it into his robes, but his expression darkened slightly.
"The matter with the Special Grade Cursed Spirit can't wait. You two head out now."
That thing's movements are unpredictable. If it wanders into the city and causes trouble, and the people from Jujutsu High catch its scent, things will only become more difficult later."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, his tone adding a layer of solemnity. "Remember, no Special Grade Cursed Spirit is easy to deal with. Even those that look clumsy hide lethal tricks. First, figure out its attack patterns and weaknesses; don't rush into a head-on fight."
Rin nodded in agreement. With a flick of his wrist, the White Snake Cursed Spirit crawled out from his sleeve, wrapping around his forearm and flicking its tongue.
Miguel also shouldered the backpack containing the Cursed Energy detection tool, pulling the zipper halfway to reveal the device.
Without another word, the two of them quickly walked out of the reception room, their footsteps making crisp sounds on the courtyard's stone path.
The wind swirled fallen leaves from the corner of the courtyard past the hems of their clothes. A confrontation with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit had quietly begun in the shadows ahead.
....
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