Jujutsu Kaisen: Purple

Chapter 19: The Shinjuku Slaughter

"What's happening?!" asked a salaryman, pressing his palms against the barrier. "Why can't I pass through?!"

The woman glanced at the man and reached towards the curtain; her left hand vanished into the unknown.

I see now.

She retracted her hand before dialling a phone number. "I've arrived outside the curtain, Mrs Yokiuji." The sorcerer tightened her grip on the scythe's handle. "It seems to have been imbued with a condition that prevents anyone other than me from crossing its barrier."

The principal sat in the passenger seat of a black vehicle — Ms Yamakado driving beside her.

"There's so much traffic!" exclaimed the auxiliary manager, furrowing her eyebrows.

Mrs Yokiuji grimaced slightly. "We'll be there soon! Prioritise saving the lives of civilians!"

Itsuka Shinidare brandished the scythe — a cold-blooded expression covering her face. "As you wish."

Back at Shinjuku Station East Exit, Sayume watched from afar as the purple curtain gradually turned black.

"Just like a moth to the flame," he whispered, smirking. "Time for phase two!"

The curse user formed a basic mudra with his left hand.

"Emerge from the darkness, blacker than darkness. Purify that which is impure."

A turquoise cloud materialised high up in the sky, slowly stretching into a dome-like shape around the area; several people raised their heads before gasping.

"I finally get..."

The curse user rested his parasol against the wall and took a black and purple box resembling a wedding ring case out of his pocket. His hands quivered with excitement.

"...To open Pandora's Box!"

Not long after, Yukari, Mizuki and Hinotori rushed through the streets of Nishi-Shinjuku — the blackened curtain visible in the near distance.

"Look!" yelled the blue-haired sorcerer while pointing at the turquoise dome.

The sharp-toothed sorcerer's phone started ringing.

"A secondary curtain has been lowered over Shinjuku Station East Exit," notified Mrs Yokiuji, her voice noticeably strained. "Head there instead! Protect any civilians present and take out the caster!"

The three sorcerers gave each other a determined glare before nodding in sync.

In the meantime, within the turquoise curtain, manifold monsters rampaged through the city. Crowds of crying civilians dashed in different directions, desperate to flee the surrounding bloodbath. Humans hanging from streetlights adorned Shinjuku-Dori Avenue. Outside of LUMINE EST Shopping Centre, a fifteen-metre skeleton resembling a Gashadokuro crawled along the road, its black eyeballs scouring the area.

The colossal cursed spirit swatted an elderly man against the asphalt. Blood splattered a nearby wall. The skeletal creature then snatched a couple of teenagers and brought them to its mouth. Red fluid spewed out from the gaps between the monster's teeth — creating a gruesome cascade. The Gashadokuro's jaw formed a macabre smile.

Ayato stared at the skeleton, paralysed.

"Semi-first-grade sorcerer or not, you are, and will always be, nothing more than a pathetic coward."

The crimson-haired boy clenched his fists. He took a deep breath before stepping forward.

"Wait."