66 Shibuya II

"There is a barrier trapping civilians, its range is estimated to be 400 meter radius from the center which seems to be the train station. We have 4 teams each being led by a first grade Jujutsu sorcerer. Their role will be to take care of the revolving cursed spirits and sorcerers." Ijichi said as he reported to Arai.

They both stood outside the station for Ijichi to report everything they had found to Arai.

Arai put on his oni mask and asked. "What about Gojo?"

"He will go in alone, the higher-ups are sending him to minimize the least damage possible but since the civilians are trapped then it seems that casualties will be imminent." Ijichi said solemnly. "Your role will be the same as the others, taking care of any threats that go out. Your cursed technique is too destructive so the higher-ups don't want you to enter."

Arai sighed as he found Ijichi nervous. 'I bet that's not the only reason they won't let me get in.'

He had always found the higher-ups annoying, they had always tried to restrain his movements. In non-official movements, that wouldn't bind him but when an entire operation like this one was made. Than he could not just do what he wanted.

'Whatever, let's just get this over with.' He thought before sitting down knowing that there wouldn't be much to do. Gojo was here after all, even if the enemy demanded him here with the threat of the civilians, most sorcerers weren't worried. The civilians casualty count was more important than whether or not they would win.

"Isao, something came up!" Ijichi shouted at him as he was on the phone.

"What happened?" Arai said as he stood up. He could tell the distressed look on Ijichi's face, something was not right.

"A special-grade cursed spirit is running rampant!"

"What!"

"It's attacking a rural area where civilians are. It's not too far from here."

A special-grade cursed spirit were rare to begin with, and yet in the last year he had managed to encounter two of them, the school had managed to encounter 6. Before that, they were just legends, things that people hoped to never see in their lives.

'This is suspicious, a cursed spirit attacking just when a group of cursed spirits with sorcerers are planning an attack on Gojo... and it's nearby. Did they plan on making me go there so that I can't join the fight knowing that I would have to deal with the curse spirit?' Arai pondered but knew he didn't have time to waste.

"Send me the coordinates Ijichi. Keep contact with me on the phone and always tell me what's happening here, something isn't right." Arai said before he wrapped his lower body in wind and launched himself in the sky.

With his technique, he flew to the direction where Ijichi had sent him on the phone. Using his technique to fly, Arai was able to go at speeds unimaginable to an ordinary sorcerer. To the people below, it looked as if a tornado appeared and flew through the sky.

In 10 minutes, Arai reached his destination and hovered above it. It was where multiple apartments housing a lot of people. This would indeed be a great area to attack humans and cause chaos.

There he felt the presence of the curse spirit.

No... he felt three presences.

1 special grade and two first grade.

"So Ijichi was wrong." Arai concluded and landed in battlefield dispelling the wind.

He flared his cursed energy letting the cursed spirits feel it stopping the rampage going on.

"Emerge from the darkness, black than darkness. Purify that which is impure." With the chant said, a curtain was made enabling all people able to go out but not go in and also trapping the cursed spirit.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's start." He said as he turned his attention to the three towering monstrosity coming up on him. The three cursed spirits walked towards him on two feet almost human-like but hunched its back forward.

Their body covered in thick grey fur, possessing antlers and feral, dog-like faces covered in blood no doubt from the unfortunate souls that encountered them. Their skin tightly wrapped their rubs almost seeming malnourished and stomach sunken in. On each side, they had respectively a bigger arm differentiating themselves.

But the one in the middle, the special-grade, was covered in flames and each of its arms were the same as the larger one for the others.

*WWRRAAAHHH!!*

A shrill cry escaped their mouth as they let loose, the sound disturbingly like a combination of a wild animal howling and a human screaming in pain. It seemed so unnatural yet had the distinct effect that it was from this world.

Their distinct cry called him for a fight.

"I wish that Heavenly Pact made me deaf too." Arai commented before walking towards them.

With his arm wrapped in wind, he aimed it at one of the more 'normal' one and fired off. Letting the cyclone of wind go loose, the wind quickly engulfed the creature and before it could react, had been pushed away and crashed into the debris.

The other two let out a shrill cry before rushing towards him.

Arai quickly got into position and wrapped his body in wind. He jumped to them and laid down a kick to the head sending the first grade out. With the wind still going, he turned his attention to the fiery monstrosity.

It brought both of its arms and slammed it on Arai who produced a shield of wind.

"Hm?" Arai widened his eyes as he felt the wind that was in his control go rampant.

He jumped back right before a tornado made of fire exploded causing a sizeable chunk of a building being blown to smithereens. He could feel the heat caused by the explosion despite being far enough from it and clicked his tongue.

"So I can't use the wind against him, it'll just cause more chaos and drag on this fight."

The fire had made it so that the wind's direction got out of his control, and due to the unique fire of the spirit. It made the wind that Arai use highly explosible equivalent to propane. If Arai did not use it carefully, it might result in him getting caught in his own technique. In fact, the only reason he was able to dodge the attack was the result of his heavenly pact indicating a danger had come.

His eyes darted to the two first grade, they had come back and healed their injuries.

'Seems like only the fiery one has a technique, the other two only hold a high amount of endurance and vitality. I'll focus on the fiery one first and then take out the others with my wind technique.' Arai formulated his plan.

The cursed spirits didn't attack and waited for Arai to make a move which made him frown. 'Cursed spirits are destructive and have a strong sense of bloodlust in them making them want to kill humans. I can understand the special grade having a sense of self but it didn't look like it from earlier. It almost seems robotic from what I can see. Like it's been told to wait.'

Arai found it suspicious but couldn't act on it. He needed to attack now and not waste time.

Everything in this whole endeavor smelled fishy.

The cursed spirits watched as clay poured out of his ears dropping to the ground before rising and encompassing his body into clay.

The clay slowly formed into a suit of armor resembling that of medieval Europe soldier. It was a heavy iron suit of armor. In his hands was a halberd to which he pointed at them. "Let's get this over with."

He dashed to them in a burst of speed with the wind but due to the clay, his body was now heavier making it so that his enemies were able to react in time and faced him. The beast swiped its palm sideways and was blocked by Arai. The attack did not move him at all despite its enormous size difference due to how heavy he made himself.

Arai pushed away the palm before enveloping his fist in wind and uppercutting it to the jaw. Breaking its head in half and sending the corpse flying.

He blocked another blow behind him and looked back to see the other beast. He swung his halberd down and smashed the axe side to its head before stomping on the other side with his foot plunging the weapon inside its head killing it.

But before he could do anything more to it, Arai was grabbed away by the fiery monster. Its arms tightened around his body making it hard to move as it flared its fire at full force and smashed him into the rubble dragging his head on the ground like a toy.

Though despite this, Arai's armor did not break and only had small cracks.

Normally at this temperature, clay would melt. Even steel would melt at this temperature.

But due to Arai's clay made from Mai's technique, it was much more durable and could hold its form even in higher temperatures.

'Nice work, Mai. Your technique never ceases to amaze me.' Arai thought with a smile.

His body tensed up as he gathered as much clay from his ears and cursed energy from his stomach. And then at the right moment, expelled the clay from his body in the forms of spike piercing its body like a porcupine.

*WWRRAAHHH!!*

It screamed in pain and let go of him. That was the moment he waited before he kicked it in the stomach sending it flying to the air. Then with a burst of speed, appeared above with both arms winding back before smashing them to its head breaking off the antlers and sending it back below where it crashed through the floor and went underground.

Arai didn't stop his onslaught as he wrapped his whole body in wind and bursted himself at the curse spirit.

The creature shook its head dazed from the attack and damage it received. Its body slowly healed its wounds as chunks of flesh replaced the damaged one.

Though he wouldn't have the chance to recover, as Arai appeared before him with his feet aimed at his stomach and crashed into him causing a big explosion and destroying his surroundings. Luckily for Arai, they were both underground so no one else was hurt in the exchange. Well that was if someone was still in the veil.

Arai looked down at the creature completely bloodied as it coughed up purple blood.

The armor around him slowly went back into his ear but not before he made a spear. He lunged the spear in its neck and twisted making the creature scream in agony.

"I won't make the same mistake I did last time." Arai said as his eyes glowed green.

He grabbed its snout and began tearing off the neck, slowly the flesh and skin was being ripped off as it screamed in agony but Arai paid it no heed. With one last pull, he teered off its head from the body and slammed the head to the ground.

'I only need a head to control for a curse spirit. A special grade can survive having its entire body gone.' Arai thought before initiating his invading technique.

"*Bzztt* Arai! Something really bad happened. Arai, can you hear me?"

Arai heard Ijichi's voice on his phone, he picked it up and put it on his ear. "Ijichi, I'm busy. Say it quick."

Arai sounded ticked off and impatient, he was just about to get a special-grade cursed spirit as a slave. It was something he was excited for and wanted to make it happen now.

But Ijichi's words shook Arai to the core.

He unconsciously let go of his spear. His eyes widening at the news before becoming sharp and gritted teeth.

A news so preposterous yet he had to believe.

"Gojo's been sealed!"

The mark of a new age had begun.