"What do you mean they're not here? Don't make me go on a mission alone."
Iori Utahime, currently riding in a Tokyo Jujutsu High special vehicle to the site of a sudden Cursed Spirit incident, recalled the sarcastic remarks those two made before their business trip.
"Utahime, take good care of the house. Geto and I are off on a business trip."
"Oh, and whatever you do, don't take on a mission alone. I really don't want Geto and I to come back and hear that you've been eaten by a Cursed Spirit."
"Gojo, isn't that a bit harsh to say to Utahime?"
"If she can't beat the Cursed Spirit, she can always run! After all, no one at Tokyo Jujutsu High runs faster than her."
"Geto, I think what you said was even more hurtful than mine, hahahaha."
Iori Utahime was so angry her teeth ached, so when she heard that a high-grade Cursed Spirit had appeared in the abandoned chemical plant in Kita-Ikebukuro, she immediately went there.
"Damn you, Gojo and Geto! Without the two of you, I can still do it alone!"
As Iori Utahime clumsily climbed over the police line set up by the Metropolitan Police Department and walked inside, she was still muttering curses.
"Watch me! This time, I, Lady Utahime, will exorcise this Cursed Spirit!"
But as she proudly strode with big steps, full of vigor, through the 'Curtain' that other Jujutsu Sorcerers had erected, she realized she might have spoken too soon.
"What is this?!"
As soon as Iori Utahime entered, her eyes widened. All that met her gaze were dazzling, towering flames, their light illuminating her face.
The entire industrial area was engulfed in terrifying, orange-red flames, making the night as bright as day. It truly felt like another world; completely different from the outside, it was like a high-temperature steel furnace inside.
This was not an illusion; the heatwaves from the high temperature rushed towards her, and Iori Utahime could feel the moisture in her body rapidly evaporating.
"Damn it, it's toxic gas."
With the burning and enclosed space, a large amount of toxic gas had already accumulated here.
The concentration was so high that as soon as Iori Utahime arrived, her vision began to blur and double. She immediately felt something was wrong, but she had absorbed too much and no longer had time to counteract it with Cursed Energy.
"Sigh, I'm really defeated by you."
At that moment, another Jujutsu Sorcerer, who had noticed her entry, caught Iori Utahime before she swayed and fell. He then put a gas mask on her and used Cursed Energy to alleviate her symptoms.
"Thank you."
Iori Utahime felt much better after putting on the gas mask. At the same time, she recognized the person who had supported her and expressed her gratitude.
"If you really want to say thank you, then give me 500,000 yen."
Noticing that Iori Utahime was fine, the person who saved her made a small joke.
"Miss Mei!"
The person who prevented the scenario where Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto would only find a box upon seeing Iori Utahime again was Miss Mei, a senior from Tokyo Jujutsu High who was a few grades ahead of Iori Utahime and two others.
Mei Mei is a tall woman who always wears a fitted black suit with a cinched waist, year-round. Her high ponytail makes her appear exceptionally capable.
Also a graduate, she is already a powerful First Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer and an Assistant Manager for Tokyo Jujutsu High, making her quite reliable.
"Miss Mei, why are you here today?"
Iori Utahime asked.
"Hmm?"
Mei Mei took out her phone, quickly replied to a few messages, and then put her phone back in her pocket. After all, what if her phone exploded in this high temperature?
"Oh, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association paid a hefty appearance fee for me to deal with this."
Mei Mei's tone showed no ripples; she was simply doing her job for the money.
"But you've seen the situation."
From Iori Utahime's conversation with her, it should have been revealed that Mei Mei is a pure money-first individual, doing as much work as she's paid for.
Although it was a large sum of money, it wasn't enough for her to go through hell and high water.
"I'm preparing to withdraw."
"How can you say that?"
Iori Utahime's first reaction was to try and persuade her to stay, but then she remembered Miss Mei's personality and decided against it.
"Utahime, you should also retreat as soon as possible. Although I don't know what's going on with this Cursed Spirit inside."
Mei Mei gave Iori Utahime advice; this was her judgment as a First Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.
"But it's definitely very bad, this Cursed Energy fluctuation."
Not quite Special Grade, but extremely close to Special Grade, almost reaching Quasi-Special Grade level.
Among Grade 1 Cursed Spirits, it was an exceptionally powerful individual.
However, the stubborn Iori Utahime was no longer listening, because they all kept denying her, saying she couldn't do it. So, she was determined to succeed this one time.
The angry Iori Utahime rolled up her sleeves, revealing two slender arms, and was about to rush into the flames.
"I'll show you!"
"Is this the time to play the hero? This idiot."
Mei Mei helplessly held her forehead. As an Assistant Manager for Tokyo Jujutsu High, could she just stand by and do nothing?
"What?"
But just as she was about to grab the idiot Utahime and pull her back, her heart convulsed violently for some unknown reason.
Mei Mei knew exactly what this was, because her intuition was exceptionally strong, so her body always warned her before danger arrived.
Without even time to be warned, Mei Mei disregarded her image and lunged forward abruptly, tackling Iori Utahime to the ground.
"What are you doing, Mei—"
Iori Utahime hadn't finished her sentence when a strong sense of crisis also appeared in her heart, making her swallow her words.
"Boom!"
Soon, an unimaginable thunderous roar came from afar, and the ground shook violently as if a rumbling had occurred.
Iori Utahime, prostrate on the ground, hit the ground twice. The first time was when Miss Mei tackled her, and the second was the rebound force after the ground was violently compressed by immense power and then sprang up.
"What is it this time?!"
It wasn't an explosion, but something created by a violent impact with the ground.
The ground shook so much she thought it was the end of the world. A terrifying shockwave erupted instantly from the center of the impact, sweeping in all directions. It actually extinguished all the burning flames in the entire chemical plant, and even the 'Curtain' Mei Mei had set up couldn't withstand the impact and shattered into countless fragments.
Soil from the surrounding green belt flew ten meters, completely burying Mei Mei and Iori Utahime. Fortunately, both of them had gas masks on, otherwise, they would have suffocated.
When they both emerged, covered in dust and dirt, from the mud, they saw it.
The very center of the chemical plant no longer existed; in its place was a giant crater nearly 150 meters in diameter, with chillingly thick blue electric arcs constantly spreading within it, crackling loudly.
It was truly an apocalyptic wasteland.
"We survived."
Iori Utahime, having survived the ordeal, was now so weak in the legs she couldn't stand up, completely devoid of her initial spirited appearance. She sat on the ground, her body utterly limp.
This was even grander than the time that bastard Gojo had made them experience an explosion almost at ground zero.
Unlike the unheroic Iori Utahime, Mei Mei shakily stood up, brushed off the dirt from her body, and activated her Cursed Technique by forming strange hand signs.
In the sky, dozens of crows immediately appeared from afar, dispersing in all directions and flying towards the center of the incident.
Soon, Mei Mei discovered the culprit.
In the center of the crater, a gigantic figure, wearing magnificent and exquisite sapphire-blue heavy full-body armor with gold trim, similar to what medieval nobles would wear, appeared before her eyes.
To be honest, she had never seen armor more intricate than a work of art, not even in national museums around the world.
And those wild, lightning-like blue electric currents originated from that magnificent 'armor,' full of power and beauty, and an intimidating majesty.
He raised a strange curved sword in his hand.
Pfft, the sword light flashed.
The Cursed Spirit, two-thirds of its body already smashed, completely dissipated into the air after this swift and decisive strike.
When the strange armor raised its head and glanced at the crows, Mei Mei cursed under her breath, realizing something was wrong, and immediately tried to sever her connection with the crows.
But it was too late. Mei Mei felt unable to move. When she came to her senses again, a colossal blue 'Divine General' appeared before her, looking down from the sky, watching her. Its terrifying majesty suffocated her.
She had never felt so insignificant.
Her mental defenses were easily shattered; terror, dread, fear—these words were no longer sufficient to describe it.
"Miss Mei?"
Iori Utahime just touched Mei Mei very carefully, but she reacted violently, as if she had been electrocuted.
"Demon God."
Mei Mei squatted on the ground, clutching her shoulders tightly, her expression terrified, repeating words like she was possessed.
"It's the blue Demon God."
This was the first time humans in this world had witnessed the cursed psychic power from the Thousand Sons Legion.