CCG, the Commission of Counter Ghoul, is the official organization established to deal with Ghouls, a species that preys on humans.
"Report, report! Multiple Cursed Spirits detected on Rokumei Street, requesting backup!"
"Report! Multiple Cursed Spirits detected on Mitsui Street, requesting backup!"
"Report, report! Special Grade Cursed Spirit detected at Lafan Square, requesting Special Class Investigator backup!"
Simultaneously, inside the CCG Headquarters' communication room, countless staff members received a flood of information, all without exception requests for assistance.
The numerous red danger signals instantly covered the entire map of Tokyo.
"Detected a massive number of Cursed Spirits. This quantity... Don't joke around, are there really this many Cursed Spirits?"
As one of the world's four major organizations based in Tokyo, the CCG stands alongside the Mages' Association, the Jujutsu Headquarters, and the Shinsengumi, primarily responsible for Ghoul eradication, they sometimes cooperate with Jujutsu Sorcerers, helping each other deal with Ghouls or Cursed Spirits.
After all, they all belong to the righteous, good-aligned faction.
But today was different from the past.
The massive appearance of Cursed Spirits completely overturned the investigators' imagination.
Looking at the Cursed Spirits filling the sky and ground, they even wondered if the world's end had come.
"Special Class Investigator Arima, over 100,000 Cursed Spirits have been detected. Among them are a few powerful ones, including seven Special Grade Cursed Spirits. What should we do?"
Inside the CCG Headquarters, looking at the blaring alarms, staff members looked towards the strongest Special Class Investigator in the CCG, the man known as the strongest human, the 'Reaper' Arima Kishou.
"What should we do? Send all investigators to official institutions to protect important government personnel."
Realizing this massive catastrophe was a tragedy he alone couldn't stop, Arima didn't want to abandon any human he could protect. But he understood priorities.
When the Cursed Spirits began attacking, Tokyo's order would instantly collapse. At that time, government personnel would be needed for organization.
Although some among them were scum who didn't do real work, given the current situation, he temporarily couldn't think of a better solution.
"Also, contact the Shinsengumi's leader, and get in touch with the Jujutsu Headquarters. Ask them if they know who did this."
Sighing, given the circumstances, Arima chose to seek any help available.
A moment later, the response from his subordinate investigator came back, "We've followed your orders and sent all investigators out. We've also contacted the Jujutsu Headquarters. They said they don't know the enemy's identity."
"And the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, Gojo Satoru, sent a message saying he might be able to find the suspect and has already set out."
"Gojo Satoru? He might be able to..." Nodding, although Arima was called the strongest human, he understood that was just CCG and most people's boasting.
Having met Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerers before, he considered his strength not inferior to theirs or Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
But facing Gojo, even Arima felt he might not be a match.
There was no helping it. It wasn't a gap in skill or physique, but something called bloodline suppression.
The Cursed Energy mastered by Jujutsu Sorcerers was simply much more convenient than the physical training and Quinque weapons used by investigators.
Hearing Gojo was already out, his initially anxious heart relaxed slightly.
"By the way, what did the Shinsengumi's leader say?"
Compared to Gojo, Arima actually held absolute respect for Souji. It can't be helped.
That woman had looked the same since he could remember. Over the years, he gradually began to believe the legend that the Shinsengumi's leader hadn't changed for two hundred years.
Every time he went to the Shinsengumi, he was always on edge. What he understood least was why those youkai would obediently gather around that woman.
With that number of great youkai, if they united, probably the combined forces of the CCG and Jujutsu Headquarters couldn't win.
He didn't bother with the Mages' Association, as he knew those self-proclaimed noble guys wouldn't care about this matter.
"Special Class Investigator Arima, the message from the Shinsengumi... their response was to tell us not to worry, the matter will be resolved soon."
The office worker's expression became strange when whether to report what he heard, and after hesitating for a moment, he decided to tell the truth.
"Resolved soon? The Shinsengumi said that?"
Stunned, Arima looked out the window. From the highest point of the CCG Headquarters, just within his field of vision, he could see thousands upon thousands of Cursed Spirits spread throughout the city.
The soaring malevolent energy and Cursed Energy had dyed Tokyo's sky a deep blood red.
"Yes, that was their answer."
"That's impossible! With this many Cursed Spirits, even the Shinsengumi guys can't handle it."
Before Arima could speak, another Special Class Investigator in the base spoke up.
"Right! Youkai are ultimately youkai. Why would they care about human lives?"
Having quite strong opinions about the Shinsengumi's youkai, the other investigators in the base chimed in one after another.
"Is that so? I don't think that one is like that, but..."
Believing Souji wasn't the type to watch humans perish, Arima also understood that expelling these terrifying Cursed Spirits was an almost impossible task.
Hesitating slightly, just as he was about to call Souji personally...
"What is that?"
"Look quickly, who are those people?"
Radiance like the sun blazed forth at this moment. As even more massive figures appeared, armored soldiers instantly materialized around the Cursed Spirits.
These soldiers fought bravely, wielding their weapons, each fighting valiantly to kill Cursed Spirits.
When encountering powerful Cursed Spirits, several would form battle formations, making those Cursed Spirits die by their blades.
As for the particularly powerful Cursed Spirits, individuals with youkai features dealt with them. In just moments, the vast Tokyo actually returned to peace.
Those terrifying Cursed Spirits were slaughtered one after another.
"Unforgotten Resolve, the Sun is Eternal!"
As the golden figures faded into illusion, the legends from history completely became dust and smoke.
The eternal light was like brushed-away dust. The light shed its gold, becoming the afternoon sun. Everything seemed like an illusion.
All that remained were the incessantly ringing phones and the dumbfounded investigators.
"Jogo, how did you get so badly injured? Did that guy Geto Suguru attack you?"
"Damn it, sure enough, Geto Suguru is unreliable."
At the Headquarters of the Special Grade Cursed Spirits, seeing Jogo limp back, the other Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Hanami and Dagon came over to ask.
They represented the forest feared by humans and the ocean feared by humans, respectively.
"Jogo, looks like you didn't die. That's good."
The man speaking last with a teasing tone was the leader of these Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Mahito, the curse born from human hatred and fear of humans.
While his words were casual, saying it was good Jogo was okay, his fingers tightly gripped the armrest of his chair, showing his mood was also heavy.
"It wasn't Geto Suguru. We encountered a terrifying guy. If that Geto Suguru hadn't been unlucky, I probably would have died there too."
Having narrowly escaped with his life from Ryuya, feeling lucky, Jogo told his three companions everything he experienced.
"What? The person you described is really that strong?"
After hearing Jogo's description, Hanami was the first to speak. He truly couldn't comprehend someone being so strong as to beat Jogo like that.
"So according to you, Jogo, that person is no weaker than Gojo Satoru?"
Not having personally fought Gojo yet, rumors about the strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer were widely circulated in the Cursed Spirit World.
Frowning, the three Cursed Spirits turned their gaze towards their leader, Mahito.
"Hmm, according to your account, Jogo, that man couldn't possibly have failed to notice your escape. With his strength, he probably let you go intentionally."
Compared to Jogo and the others, Mahito's intelligence was much higher, which was why he was elected leader.
Pondering further, he said, "That being said, Jogo, are you really sure that man was human?"
"I don't know. But his companions included two humans. The other two felt like vampires to me."
"As for him personally, I couldn't see any trace of humanity, but I also couldn't perceive any other existence. Ultimately, the strength gap was too large."
Shaking his head, the big-eyed Jogo was truly traumatized by Ryuya's final blows. The experience of his proudest Domain Expansion being shattered like plastic was something he really didn't want to recall.
"No trace of humanity? Then he basically isn't human."
"Also, you said you found his scent familiar?"
Nodding, Mahito was now very certain Ryuya had intentionally let Jogo go.
"Oh right, that guy had a certain scent. Thinking back now, I found it quite familiar and comforting."
Adding another sentence, after Jogo finished speaking, he saw Mahito's expression tighten.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Mahito's changed expression, Jogo asked.
"Nothing, just suddenly remembered something the older Cursed Spirits used to say."
As a curse born from human fear of humans, Mahito knew much about human affairs.
He also knew many Cursed Spirits.
Although many of those Cursed Spirits had been killed by Jujutsu Sorcerers or others, he still remembered the words of some very old Cursed Spirits.
That was... once upon a time, Cursed Spirits didn't exist on Earth.
But over two hundred years ago, the Rashomon, where humans' evil souls were supposed to pass, was closed. Since then, the evil, fearful souls of humanity had nowhere to go, gradually turning into a special energy.
And Cursed Spirits were born from this special energy combined with human fear.
'Could the man Jogo encountered be related to the origin of Cursed Spirits?'
…
Inside Shinsengumi's Headquarters.
"Oh no, oh no! Grandpa Tengu, so many Cursed Spirits have appeared!"
"Grandpa Gyuki, it's so scary outside!"
Within the Shinsengumi's vast estate, a base located in central Tokyo funded by the Karasuma Group, the place was in chaos with small youkai running around panickily.
"Eh? Grandpa Tengu, why are all of you so calm?"
Running around, the small youkai noticed the older, great youkai were all sitting calmly, drinking tea or playing chess as usual. The small youkai didn't understand what was happening.
"Haha, Rouga, I win this game!"
With the final move of a chess piece, the Tengu looked at the Cursed Spirits outside without any sign of panic.
"Really, look at you youngsters. It shows how well-protected you are in today's world. What kind of crisis is this?"
"Back in the day, when Rashomon opened, that scene was truly terrifying. It was darkness sufficient to devour the world."
Reaching this point, the Tengu slowly took a sip of tea, looking completely leisurely.
"Rashomon? What's that? A legend?"
Influenced by the calm demeanor of the great youkai, the small youkai also quieted down.
Sitting around the Tengu, they opened their eyes wide, looking eager to hear a story.
"That's no legend, but solid fact."
Telling the young ones about the situation with Rashomon back then, previously, because Ryuya hadn't returned, the great youkai afraid of making Souji recall sad memories had tacitly avoided mentioning the past.
Now it was different. With Ryuya's return, clearly Souji had changed from the past.
Vividly describing the past, getting excited, Tengu even stood up, saying he wanted to go out and fight a Cursed Spirit.
"Wow, so Ryu-sama must be very strong then?"
Hearing the Tengu's tale of Rashomon, the small youkai expressed envy one after another.
"Of course! That Lord is the strongest in this world!"
Without hesitation expressing confidence in Ryuya, in the youkai's eyes, the CCG's Reaper, the Gojo Clan's strongest Jujutsu Sorcerer, the Mages' Association' leader… they were all weaklings.
In this world, the only true powerful being, the only one truly worth following forever, was...
"Unforgotten Resolve, the Sun is Eternal!"
With the Heroic Spirits' cry, that name resounded throughout Tokyo, spread across the world, reaching the very end.