Nobara walked straight down the fifth floor corridor. Suddenly, she noticed a sound coming from one of the rooms. Without hesitation, she kicked the door open.
Inside the room stood several mannequins, the kind you'd normally see in department stores.
"The one in the center—quit pretending. I saw you."
The room was silent. Nothing moved.
"If you won't make a move, then I will."
A hammer and several nails appeared in her hands.
The nails looked like ordinary iron ones, but once imbued with Nobara's cursed energy, they transformed completely.
They floated mid-air. With a sharp shout, Nobara slammed her hammer down onto one of the nails.
Carrying immense power and killing intent, the cursed nail flew straight toward the mannequin in the center.
It pierced right through the mannequin's head.
"Tch, so the curse here was this weak, huh? If I'd known, I would've searched the lower floors instead."
A gaping hole exploded in the mannequin's head, and its body collapsed to the floor.
After confirming the curse's aura had disappeared, Nobara stretched lazily.
But suddenly—something changed.
A strange black shadow spread across the room, slithering toward Nobara and merging into her own shadow.
"I… can't move… What's going on!?"
Nobara was shocked—there was no doubt the curse's aura had vanished. How could this be happening?
Creak… Creak…
The mannequin twisted unnaturally as it stood up from the floor.
"No way… I pierced your skull… You should be dead!"
But what the mannequin did next cleared up her confusion.
It slowly raised both hands to its head—
—and gently removed it.
Nobara's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
The headless mannequin stood awkwardly for a moment, then walked over to another mannequin, removed that one's head, and placed it on its own body.
A moment later, it seemed dissatisfied and tossed that head aside.
Again and again, it tried new ones, each time seeming unhappy—
until finally, its gaze settled on Nobara.
"D-Damn it…"
She clenched her teeth. "I was too arrogant."
Am I… going to die?
"Ah… don't come near me… don't come any closer…"
"There's someone here!?"
Nobara turned to the voice. "A child? Damn it, why is there a kid here!?"
The mannequin seemed to notice the child too—and slowly turned to approach them.
"Hey, kid! Run!"
"I… my legs gave out… I can't stand…"
"Damn it! You little brat! Don't even know how to run away properly!?"
Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!
Am I… Are both of us going to die here!?
"Hey! You cursed spirit over there! Let the kid go! You want a head, right? Come for mine if you've got the guts!"
The mannequin didn't seem to understand Nobara's words, but after standing in front of the child and sizing them up, it appeared dissatisfied.
Then its gaze shifted back to Nobara, step by step moving toward her, its grotesquely twisted arm reaching out…
"You've impressed me."
Gust Surge!
A massive burst of wind was unleashed, sweeping up over a dozen mannequins in the room, crashing through the reinforced concrete walls, and blasting them outwards with overwhelming destructive force.
Outside, Gojo Satoru rubbed his nose and muttered, "Whew, looks like our little lady isn't so simple after all… But hey, wasn't that a bit too destructive? You even damaged the building next door! You're paying for repairs, you hear me!?"
Paimon blinked. "Huh? Paimon think Paimon just heard Gojo-sensei's voice."
Zephyr replied calmly, "You're hearing things."
He turned to look at Nobara. "The cursed spirit is dead. Can you still stand?"
"…"
Paimon tilted her head. "Hey, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Are you hurt?"
"So… so amazing…"
Thump, thump.
Nobara ran up to Zephyr, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Big Sis! You were so cool!"
"What kind of cursed technique was that just now? So strong! So beautiful!"
This… This was the very ideal she'd pursued all her life!
At that moment, not only Zephyr, but even Lumine twitched and took a cautious step back.
From outside the room came Yuji Itadori's voice.
"Big Sis, slow down! We can't keep up— Wait, hey! You! Why are you standing so close to Big Sis? Are you planning something!?"
"Hah? Big Sis is the person I'll follow for life. Why would I have any ulterior motives?"
"Oh, really? …Wait a sec. Big Sis? You call her that too!?"
"Hmph. From today on, I'm Big Sis's number one fangirl! She doesn't need you anymore, so why don't you run along back to wherever you came from?"
"You—! Big Sis would never accept someone like you! I'm her forever little bro!"
"I am!"
Megumi Fushiguro let out a sigh, a drop of sweat trickling down.
Even this can become an argument?
Should I be impressed… or concerned?
"Speaking of which, what's the deal with this kid? Huh, why did he pass out?"
Paimon said, "Maybe he was just too scared earlier, and now that it's all over, it's a delayed reaction."
"I see. Then let's take him to the police station later."
And so, this trial finally came to an end. Seeing the sunlight again felt absolutely wonderful.
Gojo Satoru grinned, "Congratulations, everyone. You've successfully completed your teacher's test. And now… before the police arrive, let's run for it."
"Huh?"
"Why are we running?"
"Don't ask so many questions, I can already hear the sirens."
Ignoring their confused and frustrated protests, Gojo Satoru grabbed Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, and Kugisaki Nobara by the armpits and whisked them away.
"Hey! Why are you even running!?"
Paimon muttered, "So weird. What's with all this running? Right, Traveler—huh? Where'd you go? Huh!??"
The sound of sirens wailed in the distance as the police arrived.
An officer barked, "So it was you who destroyed the building and kidnapped this boy? Take her away!"
"Eh???"
Poor Paimon.
Hiding behind the corner, Lumine wiped away a tear that wasn't even there.
Zephyr, sweating, asked, "Lumine, why do I feel like you're turning evil?"
"Am I?"
In any case, Paimon was eventually rescued.
"Hmph! Paimon is mad now! Paimon is seriously mad!"
But in the face of a luxurious five-star meal, Paimon eventually forgave the Traveler.
Paimon — the best companion.
...
After completing the mission, everyone returned to the school, where they gave Nobara a tour of the various facilities and rooms.
Then, Gojo Satoru found Zephyr.
"I'll be heading out of town for a bit."
"How long?"
"Hard to say, really."
"Oh? Then why are you telling me this?"
"Well, I was hoping you could keep an eye on my adorable students while I'm gone."
"Ask the principal for that. Besides, this is your base of operations. You think it's going to get attacked by cursed spirits?"
"It's not that I'm worried about that. I want you to supervise them. If they skip class while I'm away, I want you to beat them up. Hard."
//END
❇❇❇
Support me on Patreon - Read Up to 45+ Advanced Chapters There!
patreon.com/RedX43
❇❇❇