At this critical juncture, a violent surge of pale, icy-blue Cursed Energy erupted from the black Maybach, spreading like radiation at an imperceptibly fast speed, covering the entire area in front and extending outwards.
In less than a second, the mysterious steam train that had appeared out of nowhere from the other end of the tunnel, traveling in reverse, and the surrounding tunnel itself, instantly transformed as if they had entered a world of ice, frozen solid.
Moreover, if one were to look from outside the car, they would notice a black nun's phantom, with eight massive, pure wings fully spread, hands clasped together, hovering in the tunnel's mid-air above the Maybach.
Her eyes were covered by a white cloth, like an Ice Maiden, praying with her head bowed, before completely dissipating into the air.
The temperature inside the tunnel, which was originally around thirty degrees Celsius, plummeted to below negative ten degrees Celsius. The ceiling and the asphalt road were completely covered in hard ice crystals, creating a dazzling scene of a frozen world.
"Rin winter - Ice Age."
The Maybach was the only thing in the vicinity that only had frost on its tire surfaces. All this cold emanated from Kenmyo; the air he exhaled when breathing out was frozen white by the low temperature.
Everything happened in an instant. When she realized that all these anomalies originated from Kenmyo in the back seat, Mei Mei was completely stunned.
She slumped in her seat. Mei Mei was a Sorcerer who focused on intense physical training, a 'punching' Sorcerer. Yet, even her tempered body, clad in a thick, long-sleeved Jujutsu High uniform shirt, felt a bone-chilling cold in this low temperature.
"Are you alright, Sister Mei?"
Mei Mei shook her head.
"I'm fine."
She placed her hands on the steering wheel, looking at the icy landscape before her, and for the first time, wondered if she was falling behind.
"Are the new recruits nowadays all this terrifying?"
Gojo Satoru and Suguru Geto, according to the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association's higher-ups, were destined to become Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer if they didn't die prematurely.
Now, right before Mei Mei's eyes, she also felt that this 'rising star,' Kenmyo, possessed the potential of a Special Grade Sorcerer, just like her two juniors.
This mastery of ice-based Cursed Energy, both in destructive power and control, was astonishing, far surpassing even seasoned Jujutsu Sorcerer dedicated to this path. However, she couldn't have known that Kenmyo's terrifying Cursed Energy effects were purely due to a Cursed Spirit that wielded the authority of [Rin winter].
"I'll go take a look."
Mei Mei forcefully opened the car door, which was frozen shut, and stepped out. After all, this was too bizarre; how could a train appear in a highway tunnel on a winding mountain road?
"Screech."
The ice layer was much thicker than expected. Her boots felt like they were stepping on hard concrete, and the temperature outside was even lower than inside the car.
To be safe, Mei Mei also retrieved her double-headed axe from the trunk, reassembled it, and held it in her hand as a precaution.
The effect of the [Ice Age] Cursed Energy covered all areas within five hundred meters, but it still wasn't the end of this tunnel.
From the moment they entered this tunnel, Kenmyo felt something was off. The lights and equipment on the side were unusually old, and they hadn't encountered a single car along the way.
Kenmyo also opened the car door and stepped out. To be honest, even as the caster, he couldn't endure the cold and had to use spiritual energy to ward it off.
"What is this thing?"
He walked over to Mei Mei, looking at the frozen, medieval-style coal-fired steam train before them. It was entirely black and very vintage, and when frozen, it looked like an ice sculpture.
"K-2567 AW."
Because these were all covered by Ryu's Cursed Energy, Kenmyo, as the host, could easily see the full appearance of the train cars through the thick ice, even the serial number was perfectly clear.
This string of numbers seemed to possess an incredible power, compelling Kenmyo to unconsciously read it aloud.
But upon hearing the sequence of numbers uttered from Kenmyo's mouth...
"K-2567 AW?"
Mei Mei repeated it, then suddenly remembered something, and her expression changed instantly.
"Oh no, this is the July train that caused two Second-Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer and one Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer to go missing!"
And Mei Mei's change in expression indicated that the situation was far more complicated than that.
Sometimes, the outbreak of a curse isn't without warning, but rather its underlying trigger conditions have been met.
There are countless conditions that trigger curses, and their transmission through various mediums is the most insidious and difficult to guard against.
"Please remember, watch your mouth."
And the last words reported to the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association by this Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer before his disappearance, while he was exploring this July train alone, were:
"Never say the serial number of this train."
Here, Kenmyo unconsciously triggered the curse's outbreak condition, suffering from a 'lack of knowledge,' making it impossible to guard against.
Mei Mei also spoke the train's serial number, meaning both of them had simultaneously triggered this unknown curse.
"We've been cursed. The medium of the curse is the July train's serial number that we spoke aloud."
Mei Mei concisely explained the current situation.
"Huh?"
Kenmyo was stunned. Curses could work like this? But now was not the time for regret. He immediately gathered a large amount of spiritual energy to cover his body, guarding against potential attacks.
"Scratch!"
Any small sound in the quiet tunnel became incredibly loud, especially when it reached Kenmyo and Mei Mei's ears, where it became extremely piercing.
"Above?"
But above was only the ice crystals from Kenmyo's Cursed Energy, completely unchanged.
Initially, it was just a small sound, but when the second cracking sound came, Kenmyo and Mei Mei didn't hesitate, immediately turning and heading back towards the tunnel they had just driven into.
At first, they were unsure, but the second sound confirmed that some unknown change was occurring.
If they were to stay put and wait for things to worsen, like people in some movies, it would clearly be waiting for death.
Kenmyo and Mei Mei wouldn't make such a low-level mistake. Turning and running immediately upon sensing something amiss was the correct judgment.
Both of their martial arts skills were exceptional; their full sprint was no less than a gasoline car accelerating. Yet, even so...
The road before them was still exactly like the tunnel Kenmyo had covered earlier, still a duplicate covered in ice and snow.
"Fifteen kilometers."
Mei Mei stopped running because there was no point in continuing.
"I calculated it. At our speed, we ran approximately fifteen kilometers just now."
This tunnel was only eight kilometers long in total. Kenmyo and the others had started running from halfway, meaning they had run roughly three round trips, but they still hadn't exited this area.
There was no point in continuing to run.
This place was like a maze, restricting Kenmyo and Mei Mei's movements.
"No, Sister Mei."
Kenmyo pointed to a suddenly appearing intersection not far away and asked, "Was there a road there when we came?"
"I don't think so."
Mei Mei, carrying her double-headed axe, agreed. Since they couldn't get out now, they might as well go and see.
"Go and see?"
"I'll go in first."
The so-called road was actually just a fork in the road, a closed iron gate.
Mei Mei grabbed the lock on the door and pulled back, and the finger-thick chain was cleanly snapped.
She looked at Kenmyo.
"Shall I go in first?"
To be honest, watching Mei Mei effortlessly carry a heavy double-headed axe on her shoulder, combined with her graceful and refined demeanor, presented Kenmyo with a fragmented beauty akin to "Lin Daiyu Uprooting a Weeping Willow." He moved aside.
He really should take a picture for Uncle Ishihara to see. This'skinny dog' uncle, this young lady isn't even tired carrying an axe twice the size of your broken hammer.
"Please."
Inside the door was pitch black, making it impossible to see the space before them. After Mei Mei walked in, Kenmyo followed.
The scene inside was actually a filthy-looking staircase, leading upwards.
Kenmyo and Mei Mei were seemingly underground, and above them, though also unclear, was filled with brightness.
Mei Mei's gaze gestured upwards, asking Kenmyo if they should go up. He nodded.
Having come this far, retreating back into the tunnel would mean a long session of 'ghost-hitting-the-wall.' Going up might be the way to get closer to escaping this eerie place.
"Let's go up together."
Kenmyo showed no signs of anything unusual, so he suggested.
Finally, the two arrived at the bright spot. As they stepped onto the last stair and returned to the ground...
The world before them seemed to have receded fifty years, presenting a scene from the last century.
"This is a platform?"
What now appeared before Kenmyo and Mei Mei was an almost entirely open-air, dilapidated platform. Everything was rusty, meant for waiting for trains. Only a pole with a sign reading "July Station Platform" hung above in the distance.
This platform seemed completely desolate and abandoned. The iron seats were corroded beyond recognition by wind and sun, and crimson rust covered every place Kenmyo could see.
Including the tracks beneath the platform; the steel rails on the ground were so rusted they had broken into segments. It was safe to say any train traveling on them would easily derail.
And whether in front of or behind the platform's tracks, as far as Kenmyo could see, the worlds they led to were all covered by a black mist.
The empty platform was deserted, with no train, only a single track leading into an unknown darkness. It looked incredibly eerie and terrifying, indescribable. The mist seemed alive, emitting an exceptionally terrifying aura.
"Wait!"
At this moment, Mei Mei thought of something. When he looked back at where he and Kenmyo had just come up, that spot had been replaced by a red brick wall, with no trace of a tunnel ever having existed there.
Their way back was blocked.
Suddenly, a broadcast from an unknown source, using a hoarse, aged voice, sounded, very unsettling to hear.
"Passengers, please note, the train will arrive shortly."
"Whoosh whoosh!"
Soon, Kenmyo and Mei Mei heard a very urgent and loud sound emanating from the thick fog. A dilapidated black steam train soon emerged from the mist and steadily stopped on the platform.
Kenmyo looked through the windows of the stopped train and saw that it seemed to be filled with people, packed tightly, unmoving.
"Is that Hattori Ryuji?"
Mei Mei's voice caught Kenmyo's attention. "Who is that?"
"The missing Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer."
Mei Mei looked at the short-haired man in a black Sorcerer's trench coat, standing tall among the group of 'ghosts' on the train, her expression complex.
And the open train door seemed to be welcoming the two of them aboard.