Jujutsu Kaisen: Wheel Of Time

Chapter 8: Black Flash

"Is this the mission location?"

Kamihara Hajime looked at the empty, somewhat eerie Hospital ahead. He and Maki stood in front of it, each with a long cloth bag on their backs.

Maki adjusted her glasses: "The Window has confirmed it. It's a Second Grade Curse in the Hospital. It was discovered a bit late, and it has also spawned some low-level Cursed Spirits."

( A Window is a professional non-Jujutsu Sorcerer who can observe Cursed Spirits and is responsible for regional monitoring.)

"After clearing out the people in the Hospital, it was reported. Speaking of which, that bandage idiot really thinks highly of us, sending us to deal with a Second Grade Curse right from the start."

The grades of Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcerers are generally divided from the lowest Fourth Grade to First Grade, and then Special Grade, which surpasses First Grade.

Under normal circumstances, below Special Grade, a Cursed Spirit of the same grade is not a match for a Jujutsu Sorcerer of the same grade. That's why Maki said that. Although she was quite confident in herself, shouldn't things normally progress step by step?

"I'll set up the Curtain."

"Born from darkness, darker than darkness. All defilements and impurities, be purged."

As Kamihara Hajime spoke, he formed a hand sign and chanted the incantation. A grayish-black "curtain" descended from above the Hospital, blocking the entry and sight of ordinary people.

This would conceal any abnormal phenomena that might arise from the battle, preventing ordinary people from potentially witnessing them and developing unnecessary negative emotions, which could then give rise to Curses.

Not long after Kamihara Hajime and Maki walked in, they saw several Cursed Spirits with limbs like blades or needles. Seeing these Miscellaneous fish Cursed Spirits notice them and charge over, Maki pulled open her cloth bag to reveal the naginata inside. As she gripped it and twirled it behind her, she sneered with disdain: "Hah! These Curses, the weaker they are, the more they like to gather together!"

Maki stomped on the ground, and her entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, charging towards those Cursed Spirits that were unconsciously shouting repetitive words like "pain" and "don't want to die."

Just as they were about to collide, she exerted force throughout her body, her waist bursting with powerful strength that twisted her entire body. Her feet continuously stepped on the ground, and in an instant, she swept past those Cursed Spirits.

And the naginata she held behind her had already danced with her body as she spun, carving circular slashes in the air.

When Maki stopped, those abruptly frozen Cursed Spirits ceased their cries, emitting low, hoarse "ho ho" sounds. Then, purple-black blood suddenly burst from their necks, waists, limbs, and other areas, after which their entire bodies scattered on the ground, unable to be reassembled.

And just as Maki stood firm, she heard a crisp clapping sound coming from Kamihara Hajime, which almost made her lose her balance.

Maki, with a black line on her face, turned her head to see Kamihara Hajime holding Extermination under his arm, clapping with a serious expression. When he saw her looking, he even praised her: "Wow! Maki's slash was really amazing, clean and precise, hitting all the vital points…"

"Shut up! Hurry up and find the Cursed Spirit."

Maki, who thought she had only killed a few Miscellaneous fish Cursed Spirits, felt a bit embarrassed and annoyed by Kamihara Hajime's praise. And because the latter seemed to be praising her sincerely, this feeling became even stronger!

Heaven help her! Kamihara Hajime truly thought that slash was cool. A sudden dash, using her spin to drive the blade and sever all the vital points of those Cursed Spirits—that's high-level technique, isn't it? The key thing was… it was cool!

Maki, not knowing what expression to make, walked ahead with a cold face, holding her naginata. Seeing this, Kamihara Hajime waved his hand: "I'm going to search from the rooftop. Call me if anything happens!"

After receiving Maki's unreturned response, Kamihara Hajime easily climbed the outer wall of the Hospital to the five-story rooftop. The view immediately opened up. Watching Maki charge into the dark building with her sword, Kamihara Hajime also turned and entered the rooftop door.

These Cursed Spirits were very weak. Kamihara Hajime barely exerted himself when using Extermination; most of the Miscellaneous fish he encountered couldn't withstand a single arrow. Kamihara Hajime even had enough Cursed Energy to control the power so as not to blast large holes in the corridors and walls.

After another arrow turned a Cursed Spirit, which looked like it was draped in a white sheet, into dust, you have to admit this Cursed Spirit at least didn't have that bizarre appearance; it looked a bit like a dark version of a teru teru bozu. It was quite cute after looking at it for a while.

Kamihara Hajime, who was lost in thought, suddenly cast his gaze out the window. The annex building next to this main building had just erupted with intense Cursed Energy fluctuations, and he could vaguely hear noisy sounds coming from that direction.

It seemed Maki was in trouble. Kamihara Hajime dared not delay. He tore through the corridor, leaving a blur, but even faster than him was a blue blur, instantly destroying the half-height window at the end of the corridor.

Then Kamihara Hajime leaped out, surging Cursed Energy flowing throughout his body, instantly crossing a distance of nearly ten meters. Still in mid-air, Kamihara Hajime once again condensed an arrow, breaking the window of the annex building opposite where he was landing.

After landing steadily, Kamihara Hajime adjusted his posture. After careful perception, he found that the fluctuations and tremors were coming from below. He was currently on the fourth floor, and based on the sound and other initial judgments, the battlefield should be on the second floor.

Taking the stairs would be too slow. Kamihara Hajime silently apologized in his heart, then placed his right hand on Extermination's bowstring. A deep blue arrow pointed distantly at the floor, piercing through layers of stone architecture to lock onto the intense Cursed Energy fluctuations he perceived.

Maki's Cursed Energy was below the level of a typical Jujutsu Sorcerer, roughly at the level of an ordinary person. So, that large mass of surging Cursed Energy below must be that Cursed Spirit! However, he also had to be careful that the aftershocks wouldn't affect Maki. After concentrating and aiming for a while, Kamihara Hajime finally seized a fleeting opportunity.

As he released his finger, a large hole instantly appeared on the ground, penetrating downwards at a slight angle, and the floor immediately gave way, beginning to crack.

…

After entering the main door, Maki appeared to be moving recklessly, but in reality, she was observing her surroundings very meticulously. She couldn't directly observe Cursed Spirits with her own body, so she usually relied on Cursed Tools, specifically the glasses she wore,一切 see the figures of Cursed Spirits.

Maki had no Technique, and her Cursed Energy was insufficient to Exterminate Cursed Spirits. So, she exchanged this for powerful physical abilities, thus using Cursed Tools to Exterminate Cursed Spirits.

The so-called Heavenly Restriction in the Jujutsu World is to exchange certain costs for other "things." If these are executed and concluded according to a person's will, then there is also a rare kind of Heavenly Restriction that is innate. Regardless of whether the person involved is willing or not, this innate Heavenly Restriction will forcibly take away some things from you and then bestow upon you talents in another area. Therefore, it is called "Heavenly Restriction."

It's hard to say whether this "Heavenly Restriction" brings pain or blessing to people, but the former is probably more common, after all, it is also a "Curse"…

After easily dealing with the few Cursed Spirits she encountered, Maki, upon reaching the second floor, once again encountered a group of Cursed Spirits. Most of these Cursed Spirits had bodies composed of grayish-black rags, some tall and slender, others wide and stout… They surged out from the patient rooms on both sides of the corridor, uttering meaningless roars as they rushed towards Maki, vying for the front.

Believing it to be another group of Miscellaneous fish, Maki once again met them. In this not-so-spacious corridor, Maki also utilized her footwork and the cooperation of her naginata, unleashing whirlwind-like sword light in the corridor.

Scattered, broken Cursed Spirits were distributed in the places Maki had passed. Just as she was about to pursue and slay the last two ragged Cursed Spirits, she suddenly became alert and held her sword facing the left, only barely managing to make a defensive move.

Then the left wall shattered with a roar, and several black shadows burst through the dust. Maki only saw a few tentacle-like black objects strike the naginata she held in front of her. Immediately, the naginata was pressed hard against her by this immense force, and her entire body flew backward into the air.

"Cough…"

Maki, who had crashed through the wall behind her and fallen into a patient room, picked herself up. Though she looked a bit disheveled, she wasn't seriously injured. Before she could even catch her breath, she quickly rolled over to dodge another incoming attack. Using the ground and walls for leverage, Maki ran out of the patient room and finally got a clear look at the Cursed Spirit.

It was somewhat similar to the previous ragged Cursed Spirits; most of its body was also composed of grayish-black, dirty, tattered rags. Beneath it was a black, mist-like substance, within which faintly wriggled a fleshy body. Its size was also quite large, with no limbs or facial features, or perhaps the gaps where the rags separated were its "mouth"?

This Cursed Spirit almost filled the corridor. Its fluttering rags struck the walls and ground like tentacles, leaving behind numerous craters. Maki gripped her naginata, a smile appearing on her battle-ready face: "It seems to be a Cursed Spirit with some intelligence, even knowing how to hide and ambush… But this makes it a bit more challenging!"

Maki, dragging her sword, suddenly rushed forward, then abruptly ducked to avoid the flying attack. Then, bracing herself, she sprang from the ground and swung her sword, severing the coiling rags. Those rags, upon falling to the ground, gradually dissipated into ash as if burned.

Under the Cursed Spirit's frenzied attacks, Maki moved like a fish in a turbulent stream, weaving through the crisscrossing assaults. Then, she forced her way to its front and fiercely slashed her naginata across the Cursed Spirit's body.

The blade cut through the Cursed Spirit's body with no resistance. Several sizable wounds oozed black, unknown liquid and emitted black smoke, but Maki, forced back again, frowned: "Why does it feel like this Cursed Spirit wasn't affected much? Did I not hit its vital point?"

The black rags crawled like living snakes, wrapping around the wounds on the Cursed Spirit's body. In an instant, it looked as if nothing had happened. A cold glint flashed across Maki's glasses as various details from before quickly crossed her mind.

"Weakness! This Cursed Spirit seems to lack the common weaknesses of flesh and blood, limbs, heart, or head, but it must have a vulnerable spot. Continue to probe and attack, find its weakness, and then kill it with one blow!"

Then Maki used the terrain of the corridor and the surrounding patient rooms to engage in a struggle with this Cursed Spirit. At this moment, the not-so-wide terrain was, in a sense, an advantage. The Cursed Spirit's single attacks were not very strong; apart from a few occasional noticeably thick rag attacks, Maki could cut most of them down with a casual swing of her sword.

The troublesome part was its body, wrapped in layers of rags. After being cut, it would quickly repair itself, and judging by its attack method, it seemed to want to trap enemies and then drag them back to be devoured by the black smoke beneath the rags. Presumably, that was the dangerous place.

Just after dodging a dense attack from the Cursed Spirit, Maki suddenly detected a rumbling sound. The direction was… above her head! Then, in her astonishing dynamic vision, the ceiling near the Cursed Spirit's head suddenly shattered, and a blue, condensed Cursed Energy arrow flew out from it.

The Cursed Spirit also seemed to have detected something abnormal; the rags waving around its body were already preparing to defend. However, the arrow disappeared in the next instant, and simultaneously, a large hole broke open in the Cursed Spirit's body.

Just as the Cursed Spirit's roar began, its body trembled, and then it bizarrely broke open two more regular circular holes. Maki only vaguely saw a trace remaining in her memory; the only thing she could truly capture was the residual Cursed Energy.

However, after being wounded, the Cursed Spirit's body began to repair itself rapidly. Perhaps seeing that these few arrows were not very effective, no more Cursed Energy arrows fell afterward. Instead, a figure suddenly broke through the ceiling above and crashed down onto the Cursed Spirit.

"Woohoo~"

A black Cursed Energy fluctuation twisted and burst forth with light. This fist, descending from the sky, slammed heavily onto the Cursed Spirit's body. The surging Cursed Energy falling with it seemed to momentarily pause in an illusion, and the terrifying power that erupted subsequently blew away all surrounding dust and debris.

Half of the Cursed Spirit's body had turned to dust, revealing the nauseating sight beneath the rags. The Cursed Spirit's true body beneath the rags was a twisted, tangled mass of tentacle-like flesh, with several strange eyes of various sizes growing on it.

"Weakness!"

Maki, who was about to rush into battle, saw Kamihara Hajime, who had landed, reveal a smile. His left hand was already clenched into a fist, striking the Cursed Spirit. The black light flashed again. The Cursed Spirit, whose wails of pain were dispersed, had no time to react. The wriggling ball of flesh floating in mid-air shattered into pieces within this twisted black light.

"Huh? I didn't even use much force, and you're already down?"