Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

The morning mountain breeze swept over the layers of torii gates of the college, bringing a touch of dry coolness.

The gray-blue light of the sky had not completely faded, and the air still retained the moisture from last night's dew.

It was a rare morning without training or missions.

Fushiguro Megumi sat on a bench downstairs in the dormitory building, holding a hardcover book she had just borrowed, but her gaze was fixed on the ginkgo tree canopy in the distance, which was swaying slightly in the wind.

Kugizaki Nobara had an unlit lollipop in her mouth as she critically browsed through the latest Harajuku autumn clothes on her phone screen.

Rito leaned against a vending machine not far away, holding a can of room-temperature black coffee in his hand, but he didn't open it.

Itaruma said he had something to take care of and had to leave the school temporarily, so he wasn't here.

"Beep—Buzz!!!"

A sharp, wide-area alarm abruptly shattered the tranquility above the college, startling flocks of birds into flight that scattered across the sky like black debris.

Fushiguro's fingers tightened suddenly, and with a "snap," she closed the book and stood up.

Kugizaki Nobara ripped the lollipop out of her mouth, her eyes instantly darkening, and her fingers instinctively reached for the leather case at her waist.

Rito didn't move; he simply raised his head and looked in the direction the wind was blowing.

At the edge of the horizon, southwest of Tokyo.

The once clear horizon has been broken.

A massive, upside-down hemisphere, visible to the naked eye, is expanding aggressively, completely engulfing the heart of Shinjuku.

Even from such a distance, the murky, lingering curse energy still drifted into the college in wisps along the wind.

"What the hell is that?" Kugizaki frowned.

"It's a tent, and a very high-class one at that." Fukuro Megumi's voice was cold and hard, his gaze fixed on the black hemisphere.

"Oh, it seems those old orange-loving folks can't even enjoy their morning tea in peace anymore."

A frivolous voice sounded behind the three of them; Gojo Satoru had somehow appeared behind the bench.

He wasn't wearing an eye patch today; instead, he was wrapped in white bandages.

Although his tone remained upturned, the lines of the lower half of his face were taut.

He didn't look at them, but simply tilted his head back, his six eyes peering through the bandages towards Shinjuku.

"Does the teacher want to come over?" Fushiguro Megumi asked.

"A forced transfer order was issued directly from higher-ups. An ancient barrier that cannot be deciphered has appeared in Shinjuku, and the reaction of the cursed spirits inside is in an unknown state."

Gojo Satoru casually tugged at his collar, his movement revealing a rare hint of irritation.

"I was specifically asked to enter the core area for investigation immediately."

Rito's fingers, which were holding the coffee can, paused slightly.

Gojo Satoru lowered his head, patted Fushiguro Megumi on the shoulder, and then glanced at Kugizaki Kazuto.

"You guys, stay at school today and don't go anywhere."

No further information was provided, nor were any backup arrangements made.

As soon as he finished speaking, a slight popping sound emanated from the air around him.

The next second, the strongest figure from the college had vanished into thin air, leaving only a few fallen ginkgo leaves swirling in mid-air.

Fushiguro silently stuffed the book into the storage box beside him. His shadow moved silently at his feet, swallowing several commonly used magical tools for later use.

Kugizaki slapped his cheeks hard and took a deep breath.

However, before the leaves had even fallen to the ground, hurried footsteps came from below the steps.

Assistant supervisor Kiyotaka Ijichi ran up, covered in sweat, clutching a document stamped with a red seal tightly in his hand, his face as pale as paper.

"First-year students... Huff... First-year students, please assemble immediately!" Ijichi gasped for breath, not even having time to push up his glasses that had slipped down to the tip of his nose.

"Mr. Gojo just left." Fushiguro Megumi looked at him. "If it's a mission in Shinjuku, our orders are to stand by."

"No... not Shinjuku." Ijitoki swallowed hard and handed over the documents in his hand.

"It was an emergency order issued directly from higher authorities. A cluster of cursed spirits at the Shinagawa Ward wastewater treatment plant has shown signs of being at level two or higher, and there may be a super-grade mutation."

"A large number of civilians have not been evacuated in the surrounding area. The first-year team is required to immediately proceed to carry out purification and rescue missions."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Shinagawa?" Kugizaki raised an eyebrow. "After causing such a commotion in Shinjuku, they're sending us to Shinagawa now?"

"The higher-ups mean that Mr. Gojo is enough for Shinjuku, and any emergencies in other areas need to be addressed immediately to fill the gaps in combat capabilities."

Fushiguro Megumi didn't say anything, but reached out and took the transfer order.

He didn't look at the person, but his fingertips paused for a moment, as if waiting for some kind of confirmation.

Rito remained leaning against the vending machine, head down, her gaze fixed on the coffee can she was holding.

In the silence, only the hum of the vending machine's compressor could be heard.

"...It's too clean."

Rito looked at his fingertips, his lips moved slightly, and he uttered a very soft whisper that only he could hear.

"If it were a normal deployment, no matter how much we trusted Gojo-sensei's combat strength, the headquarters would never leave no direct support outside the special-grade barrier of unknown nature."

"They throw the strongest into a bottomless black box, then use the excuse of rescuing civilians to send us far away..."

He twitched the corner of his mouth, his eyes cold.

"It seems there's a mole within the higher-ups colluding with them, and their authority is so great that they can arbitrarily divide up combat forces, using irresistible rescue missions as bait. It's truly an unsolvable conspiracy!"

Rito straightened up and casually tossed the unopened coffee can into the nearby trash can with a dull thud.

"Let's go."

He walked up to Ijichi and calmly accepted the other copy.

"Since it's an order from higher-ups, the vehicle for the assistant supervisor should already be ready, right?" Rito's voice was devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

Kugizaki, with one hand on his hip, clicked his tongue and said, "He really knows how to order people around. After we finish dealing with those scraps, I'm going to make Gojo-sensei treat us to the most expensive sushi."

"The car is at the school gate." Ijichi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly turned around to lead the way.

The three followed Ijichi down the steps.

As Fushiguro Megumi walked beside Rito, and once they were out of Ijichi's sight, he tilted his head very slightly and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Is there a problem?"

Li Ren looked straight ahead and gently shook his head.

"I'm just worried about Mr. Gojo."

"The white-haired monster is so powerful, why worry about him? Let's think about ourselves instead," Kugizaki interjected.

Fu Hei remained silent, as if tacitly agreeing.

"I hope I'm just overthinking it." Rito suppressed his chaotic thoughts and quickened his pace.

The heavy wooden gate of the vocational college was right in front of us, and the black official car had already started its engine.

As Li Ren stepped out of the school gate, he paused for a moment.

He turned around and looked in the direction of Shinjuku one last time.

The pure black tent looked extremely glaring under the gray-blue skylight.