Yoshiwara was originally located in Nihonbashi Ningyocho, and after the Great Fire of Meireki it was moved to the Japan embankment in Taito Ward, Tokyo. When the great fire happened, many courtesans were burned to death or jumped into the water and drowned, leaving behind stories of female ghosts. It is said that going to Yoshiwara Shrine late at night can bring strange experiences, and it has become a small but known "spiritual site" in the Tokyo area.
Those female ghosts are Cursed Spirit. Cursed Spirit are special beings born from the gathering and manifestation of human negative emotions. The range of negative emotions is very wide.
Resentment, confusion, fear, and unwillingness from dying in a fire can form Cursed Spirit. Rumors, suspicion, and malice can also give birth to Cursed Spirit. The earliest Cursed Spirit at Yoshiwara Shrine came from the former cause, but a hundred years later, with even the location changed, their continued birth clearly comes from the latter.
The reason is simple. As long as people believe there are ghosts at Yoshiwara Shrine, ghosts will be born. "Cursed Spirit are things that work like this, driven by belief."
The mother and son of the Ake Clan were standing on the embankment next to the shrine, enjoying the evening breeze. Although it was already early spring, the wind still carried a chill, but the family were not ordinary people and could endure it with ease. It fit the fiery nature people associated with Tokyo.
After listening to his mother's explanation, Akira understood, but a new question came to mind. "If rumors can create Cursed Spirit, why not spread the truth and wipe out the Cursed Spirit here at the root?"
"Two reasons," Akemi Aki replied. "It is easy to start rumors and hard to dispel them. Even if you clear out the Cursed Spirit in one place, you cannot erase all Cursed Spirit. As long as humans exist and negative emotions keep appearing, Cursed Spirit will never disappear. If they are gone here, they will be born elsewhere."
"So the Jujutsu Sorcerer deliberately allow rumors to spread, to stabilize the creation of Cursed Spirit?"
"Correct. It is better to fix them in place and clear them regularly than let them appear at random. Most Jujutsu Sorcerer do exactly this, and it was the same when I was a student."
One person was responsible for a large area, patrolling it on a schedule, not much different from traffic police or neighborhood officers. The work of a Jujutsu Sorcerer was plain and repetitive. It was steady rather than exciting.
"I see," Akira said. He understood that the exciting lives of protagonists only happen because they stand at the center of events, not because all Jujutsu Sorcerer live that way. For him, a quieter routine was better, and raising Pokémon was much the same, grinding and training day after day.
It seemed that even after coming to Tokyo, his life would not change much. The story had not truly begun, and his strength was far from special grade, so he would lie low and keep leveling. That was enough for now.
"Little Sha, did you notice anything?" Akira asked.
"Sha~"
The sharp sound made the meaning obvious. Gardevoir was naturally sensitive to emotions, and to her, Cursed Spirit were like bright marks in the dark that she hated more than anything. With her master's permission, she raised a small hand, ready to release her power.
"Wait," Akemi Aki stopped them quickly. "This would draw too much attention. Rule one for Jujutsu Sorcerer is concealment. The existence of Jujutsu must not be known to ordinary people, to avoid panic and the growth of curses. Before any formal action, a 'curtain' must be set."
As she spoke, Akemi Aki formed hand seals and began to chant. "Born from the dark, darker than black, filthy and impure, all be cleansed." The clear moonlight was stained by dimness, spreading like ink in water.
The murkiness spread along the embankment as a boundary, cutting off the inside from the outside. The barrier known as a "curtain," which isolated ordinary people, was complete. When she lowered her hands, Akemi Aki lifted her chest slightly, as if to say that she was capable too.
Akira barely managed not to laugh. He said to Gardevoir, "All right. Do whatever you like and wipe out all those ugly Cursed Spirit."
"Sha~"
Gardevoir lifted her snow white neck as if singing. One moment, the water reflected the moon in calm ripples, and the next, the reflection shattered.
A strike of Psychic Power came down, and the river stalled for an instant. Then the water flowed backward. In the blink of an eye, the river split apart, revealing a stretch of riverbed covered in weeds.
Some unlucky fish and shrimp were suddenly exposed to the air, staring around in confusion. Kind-hearted Gardevoir quickly sent them back into the water, and a few seconds later they swam away as if nothing had happened. The Cursed Spirit hidden at the bottom were not so lucky, dragged into midair by the raging Psychic Power.
She wore white, with long black hair spread loose and a slender figure swaying with the water's light. Faint sobbing reached the ears, sad and lingering. "I am so lonely. I feel so empty. I am so alone. Why does no one come to keep me company?"
The scene was ruined by the face under the black hair. The swollen cheeks showed signs of drowning, mixed with dark red burn scars, and her mouth hung open with a long tongue drooping out. Compared to the Gardevoir floating nearby, the difference was clear at a glance.
Then the one above crushed the one below, smashing her directly with Psychic Power. She lasted longer than the rural Cursed Spirit, but it changed nothing. From the moment she was pulled from the water, the outcome was decided.
She shattered into nothing, leaving no trace. That, however, was only the beginning. After the water ghost was destroyed, the river surface churned again.
At the boundary between water and sky, a white tide surged forward. It was a tide formed by white-clad female ghosts, all Cursed Spirit. The scene echoed the tragedies of the great fire long ago and could drive an onlooker mad.
Neither Akira nor Akemi Aki felt surprised. One rule of Cursed Spirit was that the weaker they were, the more they gathered together. A single water ghost was not enough to match the legends of Yoshiwara Shrine.
Gardevoir remained calm as well, as this level of fodder was meaningless no matter how many came. The psychic queen floated gracefully in the air, extending a slender finger to poke at empty space again and again. Each motion made a water ghost vanish with a soft pop, like a child popping bubbles.
She needed no other skill, one move was enough everywhere. Psychic Power kept falling, and before the tide could reach the shore, half of the ghosts were already gone. The rest tried to flee but could not break free from Gardevoir's control.
Though she was gentle by nature, following a master like Akira meant she understood tactics well. Psychic Power worked best at close range, so she picked them off first, drew the rest in, and wiped them out in one sweep.
Akira chuckled, then stopped midway. "The situation is under control… no, not yet. Now it finally looks like a century-old spiritual site." Among the shattered ghosts was one higher-level Cursed Spirit that survived the first wave of Psychic Power and rushed toward the shore while Gardevoir was controlling the others.