Time quickly passed into the dead of night, and Suguru Geto and Eiji had long been prepared to exorcise the Cursed Spirit.
"It's almost time."
Watching the hour hand on the alarm clock go around, Suguru Geto stood up and walked over to Eiji.
Knowing they had to exorcise a Cursed Spirit late at night, Suguru Geto had informed his parents in advance that he would be staying at Eiji's house that night. His parents, who were used to this by now, readily agreed to Suguru Geto's request.
"Yeah."
Eiji put the Tang Dao-style Cursed Tool in his hand into his shadow and began to be vigilant of his surroundings.
"How do you think that Cursed Spirit will bring us to the school?"
"It'll probably just come and grab us."
Suguru Geto said, stroking his chin.
"But that wouldn't match the timing. Every midnight, the Crimson Figure appears in Ise Takahiro and the others' rooms and takes them to the school."
"But there's something strange about it. They were all captured at the same time and woke up at the same time."
Eiji voiced his confusion.
"So, does the Crimson Figure have some kind of ability like cloning or teleportation?"
"Mm, that girl Asuka mentioned that the Crimson Figure seems to have a Cursed Technique that allows it to teleport if certain conditions are met."
Suddenly, the bright lights in the room dimmed to a dim yellow.
"Is it here?"
The two of them stood up and looked at the door.
"Eiji, have you ever bought a stuffed toy?"
"No, why?"
"Look at this."
Following Suguru Geto's gaze, a cute, slightly ugly rabbit stuffed toy appeared on the table.
"It seems the Cursed Spirit has already entered the house."
The moment Eiji saw the rabbit stuffed toy, he recognized its true form as the doll the Crimson Figure held, as described by Ise Takahiro and the others.
Click.
The sound of the doorknob turning echoed.
They both kept their eyes on the door while remaining wary of the stuffed toy on the table.
Through the gap in the door, a girl appeared, covered in blood, with dark eyes and a creepy smile on her face.
This eerie sight sent a shiver down Eiji's spine.
"Divine Dogs."
Two Divine Dogs appeared. One stared at the rabbit stuffed toy, while the other lunged straight at the Crimson Figure.
Geto didn't hesitate. A dark rift appeared behind him, and a small, squid-like Cursed Spirit was shot out like a bullet.
Splat.
Dodging the Divine Dog's lunge, the Crimson Figure was hit in the head.
The impact of the Cursed Spirit bullet made the Crimson Figure's head snap back violently. Then, with a look of confusion, it took the squid-like Cursed Spirit from its forehead and stared at it curiously for a moment before suddenly throwing it into its mouth.
As the Crimson Figure savored the taste of the squid-like Cursed Spirit, a towering figure appeared behind it.
It was a Cursed Spirit wearing armor, an Oni Warrior, standing over two meters tall.
As soon as the Oni Warrior appeared, it swung its blade, and the slow-to-react Crimson Figure sustained a massive wound.
The Crimson Figure was forced to retreat into the room to avoid the samurai sword's slash.
The Divine Dogs also seized the opportunity, biting down hard on the Crimson Figure.
"Ah!"
Unable to break free from the Divine Dog's bite, the Crimson Figure was hit by several more blows.
Just as the Crimson Figure was about to retaliate, a powerful suction force pulled from behind it.
Suguru Geto aimed his right hand at the Crimson Figure and activated his Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
The Crimson Figure ran forward, pushing off with its feet and then landing on all fours, trying to break free from Suguru Geto's Cursed Technique.
In just a few seconds, the Crimson Figure was captured by Suguru Geto, but something unexpected happened.
As the Crimson Figure was pulled into Suguru Geto's hand, his hand was repelled by an immense force.
"Huh?"
Rubbing his right hand, Suguru Geto looked at the Crimson Figure in surprise.
Just now, Suguru Geto had confirmed one thing: the Crimson Figure was a "possessed" Cursed Spirit.
Eiji, standing nearby, also understood this.
The Crimson Figure's gaze, now devoid of its earlier mockery, shed its red exterior, instantly blanketing the entire room like fresh blood.
"Nue, Toad."
Though they didn't know what was happening, it was definitely not good.
Eiji immediately summoned Nue, and Suguru Geto, who had already formed a tacit understanding with Eiji, also summoned two shellfish-type Cursed Spirits to protect them.
As soon as the Toad appeared, it shot its tongue towards the Crimson Figure, and Suguru Geto readied himself to attack.
Just as the Toad's tongue wrapped around the Crimson Figure, the room was completely filled with a blood-red hue.
Both of them felt a momentary daze, and then they found themselves at the school entrance.
"Is this a Domain Expansion? The Crimson Figure's Domain Expansion is the school?"
Suguru Geto looked around in confusion.
"No, something's not right."
This feeling was strange, unlike the Domain Expansion of the Special Grade Imaginary Curse Spirit, Half-Body Vengeful Spirit, that he had encountered years ago.
Eiji clenched his fists, ready to summon Mahoraga immediately if the situation became critical.
"If this were a Domain Expansion, Ise Takahiro and the others wouldn't have been safe for several days. Unless this Domain Expansion has some special condition."
After speaking, Eiji turned to look behind them. The road was still there, brightly lit like a lamp.
After a moment of thought, Eiji took action.
"Divine Dogs."
The Divine Dogs emerged from Eiji's shadow and ran towards the outside of the school.
Soon, the Divine Dogs seemed to hit a transparent wall.
"As expected, we're back at the school."
"Asuka, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Ise-kun."
While Eiji was contemplating, the people who had collapsed on the ground also woke up.
"Who is he?"
Eiji's gaze swept over them and he noticed that in addition to the four people from the infirmary earlier, there was now a gloomy-looking person.
In a horror movie, this extra person would definitely be the source of trouble.
"Ah, his name is Kenji. He's usually very introverted. I invited him to join us before, but he refused."
"Are you sure he's okay?"
Eiji was still a little uneasy.
"Um, he should be fine, right?"
Ise Takahiro also seemed unsure, as he wasn't really familiar with Kenji.
Seeing this, Eiji maintained a degree of vigilance towards the boy named Kenji.
"Geto, please have your Cursed Spirits scout ahead."
After saying this, Eiji continued to study the transparent wall in front of him.
"I understand."
As soon as he spoke, hundreds of various Cursed Spirits headed towards different parts of the school.
"I wanted to ask earlier, what are these?"
Asuka pointed at Nue and the Divine Dogs, and then at the dense Cursed Spirits entering the campus.
"In your understanding, these are our Summoned Spirits. Geto and I are both Jujutsu Sorcerers who specialize in summoning them."
"Is that so."
Although they didn't know the specifics of the two, the current situation made Asuka, Ise Takahiro, and the others feel much more at ease.
After all, these two clearly had real skills.
"The range is huge; the entire school has been sealed off."
"The entire school? What about the sky?"
"It's sealed off too, about thirty meters high. We're like we're in a box right now."
"I see, it's a Barrier."
"A Barrier?"
Suguru Geto pondered. Not yet having entered Jujutsu High, he was unfamiliar with Barriers.
"Yes, I've felt a sense of unease ever since I entered the high school building during the day, but I couldn't pinpoint the source. Now I can finally confirm it: someone has set up a Barrier in the school."
"So, the Crimson Figure's actions were orchestrated by someone behind the scenes? No wonder my Cursed Spirit Manipulation couldn't track it. What is the motive of the person behind this? It can't just be to scare these few people, right?"
Suguru Geto turned to look at Ise Takahiro and the others.
"As for our objective, let's just grab someone and ask them directly."
Eiji breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming that the group was trapped in a barrier, not a Domain Expansion.
"The Crimson Figure has appeared in the gymnasium."
A sudden broadcast interrupted their thoughts.
"In that case, let's go deal with that Cursed Spirit first."
"Right, you guys stay close behind us."
Suguru Geto said, then turned to look at Eiji.
Compared to his own terrifying Cursed Spirits, Eiji's Summoned Spirits were better suited for protection duties.
Eiji nodded in understanding, and then two Divine Dogs appeared behind the group to protect the ordinary people.
Indeed, seeing the two fluffy big dogs wagging their tails beside them, the group's tension eased considerably.
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