A sense of unease hung heavy in the air as we arrived at the Eishu Juvenile Detention Center. The imposing concrete structure, surrounded by a high fence topped with razor wire, radiated an aura of confinement and despair.
The mission briefing, delivered by a bulky and heavily muscled stern-faced Jujutsu Tech administrator rather than the usual carefree Gojo, had been suspiciously vague.
It simply stated there was a possible Special Grade curse womb sighting within the facility.
The official narrative painted a picture of a serial killer on the loose, using the detention center as a temporary hideout.
This was the cover-up method to conceal the presence of cursed spirits from the public eye and prevent the mass panic that could fuel their growth.
As we approached the cordoned-off area, and flashed our 'Specialist Enforcement Division' badges, a woman with tear-streaked cheeks and frantic eyes rushed towards us, her voice cracking with desperation. "Please,"
she pleaded, grasping my sleeve. "You have to save him! Save Tedashi!" The officers tried to pull her away. "My son, Tadashi... he's inside. They say a killer is in there, please help him!"
Yuji, ever the compassionate(and naive) soul, stepped forward, his expression hardening "We'll save hi-"
Miu grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back before he could promise something he would regret lying about, even if unintentionally.
I definitely remember this scene happening differently in the anime.
There was no senior agent to drive us here and I was the one to drive the government sedan.
A flicker of doubt crossed my mind.
The whole situation felt off, even more than it should.
like a carefully orchestrated trap that was increased in intensity.
Kenjaku's insidious influence seemed to linger in the shadows, his machinations always one step ahead.
But without concrete proof, I couldn't voice my suspicions without risking sowing discord with the jujutsu higher ups.
Why was he being more obvious this time though?
"Ma'am we will do everything in our power. Please remain behind the police cordon for your own safety. The Tokyo Special Enforcement division will solve the case, please don't worry."
Miu still had her hand over Yuji's mouth.
We arrived further in the facility, and stood in front of the entrance door.
"HEY! What's the big idea?!" Yuji shouted.
I frowned at him, but Nobara was the one to speak up. "Because you would be lying to a lady who had no hope of seeing her son, and giving her false hope. When we returned with his corpse or less, her hope would be shattered again? Do you want that?"
Yuji deflated but nodded.
Megumi summoned his Divine Dogs, the spectral hounds materializing from the shadows with low growls. We entered the detention center, "Keep an eye out for the curse," he instructed them, his voice a low murmur. "Alert us the moment it gets close."
The black and white dogs ran off, their senses attuned to the presence of cursed energy.
I noticed that the scenery changed when we entered.
I looked back to notice the entrance had been replaced by large pipes.
looking upwards, it seemed like pipes and ducts went all the way to the top of the ceiling which was much higher than it should be.
The air inside the detention center was thick with the metallic tang of blood and a cloying, unnatural stillness.
The sterile white walls of the entryway had been replaced with rusted, industrial pipes, snaking across the floor and climbing towards a impossibly high ceiling lost in shadow.
The sterile fluorescent lights flickered erratically, casting an unsettling strobe effect across the warped environment.
"What the..." Yuji trailed off, confusion in his voice. "This place... it's not right."
Miu's hand clenched into a fist, her knuckles turning white as her eyes scanned the altered surroundings. "A Domain," she stated, her voice quiet. "We've stepped into a trap."
Nobara's straw doll materialized in her hand, its form shifting and contorting as she channeled her cursed energy.
The apparent material shifted between silver and copper as it started to float beside her.
Her face was a mix between a snarl and a battle-hungry grin. "Then let's find the source and crush it," she declared. "No curse is going to mess with us and get away with it."
Megumi's white divine dog reappeared, their spectral forms flickering anxiously. One whined, pawing at the ground near a particularly large pipe.
"The curse is close," Megumi translated, his expression grim. The black dog came back, and we followed it deeper in.
"It's hiding somewhere within this Domain, waiting for us." I said.
I took a deep breath. I looked around and noticed that there was a mix of the domain and the facility.
We came upon the half- destroyed body of an inmate. His tag read, Tedashi.
I recognised this scene from the anime.
"NOW! It's HERE!" I shouted as Miu used her cursed energy to drag the white divine dog away from the wall.
A moment later, a large crater appeared in the wall it was in front of.
The large muscular cursed spirit, alabaster white with strange markings across it was wearing a pair of pants that looked like a burlap sack.
It took some time to try to be creepy by tearing off its pant-legs so it looked like a burlap superman.
This however, allowed Nobara to connect a silver-material straw doll to it while still across the room.
"Silver Resonance technique! SIlver-Drain Maiden!" she shouted as the silver containment device that had spikes inside started doing its job of giving her a boost of cursed energy and containing it for a few short moments.
Large dents of shrieking spectral metal were made from the inside.
A portal tried to grab Nobara from below, but with the extra training we've had with her, she was able to jump away without being pulled away.
"Plan guys?!" Megumi shouted, his eyes darting everywhere.
"Plan?!" I echoed, my voice sharp and focused as I assessed the situation and then grinned. "I don't think we need a-
"Zack and I will keep that overgrown muscle-head distracted. Nobara, keep draining its cursed energy and looks for an opportunity to land a decisive blow. Megumi, analyze the Domain and see if you can find the source or any weaknesses." Miu interrupted my bravado and cracked her knuckles, her eyes gleaming with a predatory glint.
"Let's show this overgrown freak what happens when you mess with us!"
The 'iron' maiden construct smashed open, revealing the hulking brute inside.
With a burst of speed, Miu darted forward, her movements a blur as she closed the distance between her and the cursed spirit.
She ducked under a clumsy yet powerful swipe of its massive arm, her fist connecting with a resounding thud against its abdomen.
The cursed spirit stumbled back, momentarily stunned by the force of the blow.
I followed close behind, my body flowing through a series of intricate moves as I weaved through the spirit's attacks.
I noticed the spikes were still inside of it and cursed energy was being drawn towards Nobara's cursed doll.
Each strike I landed was infused with Ki and cursed energy, sending shockwaves through its massive frame.
Nobara, meanwhile, continued to drain the cursed spirit's energy with her silver straw doll, her face contorted in concentration.
The doll pulsed with a malevolent silver light, the leffover spikes digging deeper into the spirit's flesh with every passing moment.
Megumi, his eyes narrowed in focus, observed the shifting landscape of the Domain, searching for any clues that might lead to its source or reveal a weakness.
"The structure of this Domain is complex," he muttered, his voice barely audible above the sounds of battle. "It's like a labyrinth of pipes constantly shifting and changing."
Suddenly, a series of portals materialized around us, their swirling vortexes threatening to pull us into the unknown.
Miu leaped back, narrowly avoiding being sucked into one, while I rolled to the side, my reflexes honed from years of martial arts training.
"Watch out for the portals!" I shouted, my voice echoing through the cavernous space. "They're trying to separate us!"
The cursed spirit was panting and fell to one knee.
Nobara grinned, and suddenly the spikes pulled themselves out of the spirit.
Purple ichor flowed from its wounds.
Nobara lifted her hand as a savage grin etched itself on her face.
The spikes that initially were part of the straw doll, and while full of the special grade curses energy, flew into the now massively sized cursed doll.
The doors of the 'iron' maiden flew back and created gnarly looking gauntlets on the cursed doll. The cursed doll shaped itself together into one massive golem shikigami.
"Pre-Resonance technique! Multi-Metal-Capture doll!"
The doll rushed forward surprisingly at a similar speed to myself.
It grabbed the special grade curse and held it close to it's chest.
"Now, remember this. My Multi-Metal-Capture doll is a Pre-Resonance technique!" she started, as the curse struggled.
As she spoke the capture doll began to glow.
"Do you want to know why it's a Pre-Resonance technique? It's because I can use resonance on it for a very special effect." Nobara grinned as she was finished using the revealing ones hand technique on top of her capture doll.
"Absolute Capture: Resonance technique. Incineration of trash!"
A fire lit from the top of the cursed spirits head and the bottom of its feet.
It was burnt to ash slowly, and two objects fell to the ground.
The domain dispersed.
Our attention was caught by a swarm of cursed spirits appearing around us now that the normal state of reality was back in place.
We took them out lightning quick.
I went to secure the cursed finger that Kenjaku must have placed for the cursed spirit.
Only there wasn't only one finger this time.
There were two.