Beneath the Eighty-Eight Bridge, the night wind howled.
The abandoned riverbed had long been dry, with only a few murky trickles winding through the scattered rocks.
"Are you ready?"
Lynn stood on the bridge railing, his black gentleman's cane lightly tapping the rust-covered steel beam, making a crisp "clack, clack" sound.
Behind him, Megumi Fushiguro, Yuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, and Yoshino Junpei, wearing tactical sunglasses, lined up.
"Are we really jumping down?"
Itadori leaned over to look down; it was pitch black and seemingly bottomless.
"Of course, Itadori-kun."
Lynn adjusted his glasses.
Before his voice had even faded.
Lynn leaned backward.
He fell elegantly into that endless darkness.
"Boss! Wait for me!"
Junpei didn't hesitate for a second and jumped down right after him.
As an employee, he went wherever the boss went; it was a matter of professional ethics.
"Madman..."
Megumi Fushiguro sighed, but he could only steel himself and follow.
"Yahoo—!!" Itadori let out an excited shout, pulling the still-complaining Nobara down with him.
A feeling of weightlessness enveloped their bodies.
The wind whistled in their ears.
At the very moment their bodies were about to hit the riverbed, the world... flipped.
"Whoosh—"
Accompanied by the sound of clothes rustling against the air, five figures passed through a layer of viscous black barrier membrane and landed steadily on the damp floor of an underground cavern.
"It's so dark..." Yuji Itadori was about to remark.
"Quiet."
Megumi Fushiguro immediately summoned the Divine Dogs, warily scanning the surroundings.
This was a massive underground cavern, its floor covered with pits of various sizes, like a honeycomb magnified countless times.
"What is this? The surface of the moon?" Nobara Kugisaki frowned, kicking a nearby pit with her toe.
Just then.
"Screech—!"
A sharp, strange cry rang out without warning.
From the pit at Nobara's feet, a black shadow suddenly lunged out!
It was a Cursed Spirit with sharp claws, a wrinkled face, and the appearance of a mole.
It didn't fully emerge; instead, like a game of whack-a-mole, it poked its upper body out, its murky eyes fixed on Nobara, and opened its fanged maw to bite!
"Nobara! At your feet!" Itadori shouted.
"Tch!"
Nobara reacted instantly, leaping back while simultaneously slamming her hammer down.
"Bang!"
Dirt flew everywhere as the pit was struck, but the "mole" had already retreated into the hole, vanishing without a trace.
"So fast..." A bead of cold sweat formed on Nobara's forehead.
"It's not just fast."
Lynn leaned on his black cane named [golden law], standing at the back of the group, lightly tapping the ground.
"There are also many of them."
Before he finished speaking.
"Screech, screech, screech—!!!"
From the hundreds of dense pits around them, ear-piercing cries rang out simultaneously.
Then, countless identical "mole" Cursed Spirits poked their heads out of the holes. Though small in size, each one emitted heart-palpitating fluctuations of Cursed Energy.
In the deepest part of the cavern, a much larger, more viscous Cursed Energy was connecting all these clones through underground tunnels.
"Is this the true form of the Eighty-Eight Bridge curse?"
Junpei swallowed hard, looking at the overwhelming swarm of "moles."
"This is... a Composite Barrier," Megumi Fushiguro judged. "The main body is hidden underground, using these holes for high-speed movement and sneak attacks. If we don't drag the main body out, killing any number of these clones is useless!"
"Then we'll just smash them all!"
Itadori took a fighting stance, the glow of Divergent Fist lighting up his knuckles.
The battle was about to break out.
However.
Before they could even begin this deadly game of "whack-a-mole."
"Hee hee hee..."
A chillier, more ominous laugh suddenly echoed from the forest of stalactites above the cavern.
"So many moles... looks like fun."
Everyone looked up sharply.
Perched on the hanging stalactites were two bizarre figures.
One was a man with a hideous demon face on his back, wearing strange belted attire (Eso).
The other was a small, bloated infant-like figure covered in blood (Kechizu).
special grade cursed object—[Cursed Womb: Death Paintings].
Incarnated bodies.
"Big brother, those humans look even tastier," Kechizu drooled, pointing at Itadori and the others below.
"We're looking for Sukuna's vessel," Eso's voice was cold. "But... since they're all gathered here, let's just kill them all."
"Are those... new enemies?!" Nobara grit her teeth. "Why is every kind of monster showing up!"
The situation turned chaotic in an instant.
On the ground was the elusive swarm of "Special Grade moles," and above were two "Special Grade incarnated bodies" watching like hawks.
They were caught in a pincer attack.
"Lynn-san!" Megumi Fushiguro instinctively looked toward Lynn.
"Don't panic."
Lynn straightened his slightly disheveled collar and lightly raised the [golden law] in his hand, pointing directly at the two Death Paintings above.
"Though there are quite a few guests, it won't be difficult as long as we distribute them properly."
"Itadori-kun, Kugisaki-san."
Lynn's voice was calm and powerful, cutting through the noisy battlefield.
"The consultant is issuing a temporary mission."
"Those two perverted-looking guys above are yours."
Lynn pointed toward a dense underground forest outside the cavern.
"Lure them over there. The terrain here favors them, and it favors these moles. Divide and conquer, understood?"
"Huh?! You want us to deal with those two who look incredibly strong?!" Though Nobara complained, her body was already prepared.
"Because it's too crowded here."
The cane in Lynn's hand swung violently.
Although he didn't unsheathe the blade, the heavy scabbard, empowered by Special Grade monstrous strength, instantly whipped up a terrifying airwave, crushing a group of "moles" trying to ambush Itadori into mincemeat.
"Go!"
Along with Lynn's command, a gentle but irresistible Cursed Energy pushed Itadori and Nobara toward Eso and Kechizu.
"Hey! You pervert in the loincloth!"
Nobara Kugisaki knew how to cooperate; using the momentum from Lynn's push, she fired her nails directly at Eso.
"Where are you looking! I'm your opponent!!"
"You damn woman!!"
As expected, Eso was infuriated, and along with Kechizu, he roared and chased the two out of the cavern and into the forest outside.
In the blink of an eye.
The once incredibly chaotic cavern was left with only three people.
And the floor full of pits, and the... Special Grade mole hidden underground.
"Are they gone?"
Megumi Fushiguro glanced at his companions vanishing into the forest and took a deep breath.
"Lynn-san, then this one..."
"This one is yours."
Lynn leaned on his cane and led Junpei back a few steps, stepping onto a rock with a clear view.
Then he casually pulled a bag of potato chips from his bag and started eating.
"Crunch, crunch."
Yoshino Junpei immediately summoned [Yotsuki], and the giant jellyfish enveloped him and Lynn, forming an absolutely safe observation zone.
Then he started eating as well.
"You're just going to watch me fight?" Megumi Fushiguro was in disbelief.
"What else?"
Lynn replied while munching away.
"It's not like you paid me."
"Besides, a Cursed Spirit of this level doesn't require my intervention at all."
"Screech, screech, screech—!!!"
As if it understood Lynn's mockery, the main body underground flew into a rage.
The ground shook violently, and all the pits erupted with Cursed Energy simultaneously.
A massive mole, covered in sharp spikes, finally poked half its body out of the largest hole.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit, revealed.
Megumi Fushiguro clenched his fists, his gaze gradually turning frenzied.
There was no way back.
And no backup.
"Fine."
Megumi Fushiguro took a starting stance, shadows boiling beneath his feet.
"Then... I'll beat it out of there!"
"Divine Dog: Totality!!"
The black-and-white giant wolf roared as it lunged toward the behemoth emerging from the ground.
The battle erupted.