"Dead apostle?" Yuji repeated, him and Megumi taken aback by the news. A vampire's lair. Here?
"No one told us that!" Nobara clasped her neck in protection. For all they knew, the beast could be hiding in the shadows behind them. She couldn't have her virgin blood be sucked. That was not how she wanted to stay young!
"I'm not surprised. I myself wasn't certain until I decided to investigate this facility," Ciel said in an even tone, but never failing to accentuate the seriousness of the matter - if it wasn't obvious enough. "There had been numerous disappearances nearby, and the detention center was one of the most prominent places within the area. I was undercover when I came across two fledglings - servants for the vampire lord. They were going to take me to their lair. However..."
"The curse womb appeared," Megumi's brows rose. "And you got caught in its domain."
"Yes. I was too deep underground to notice its existence. By then, it was already too late. The fledglings I was with were overrun by curses, and I've been searching for survivors since."
It was prevalent that the curse womb must be exterminated in order to put an end to its domain. The issue was reaching the curse. No matter how far or how quickly Ciel moved, every time she believed to have pinpointed the curse womb, the curse womb's presence would slink back and emerge elsewhere. It became obvious in the second hour that the curse womb was actively trying to avoid her, a familiar tactic many dead apostles have used.
When it came to enemies that knew they were being hunted, patience and timing were key factors in this. She could mask her own presence and wait until the curse womb lowered its guard, then strike as soon as Ciel was close. However, it was impossible to hide herself as she was forced to exorcise every terrible curse and dead she stumbled across - too many to ignore, in addition to sending out her black keys earlier. Without a doubt, the curse womb knew an exorcist was here. The element of surprise had already been spent.
But there was still a chance Ciel could catch the curse womb by surprise. She could perhaps use the survivors as bait to draw it out, but that was not necessary, nor would it guarantee the intended results. At the very least, she was able to clear out most obstacles that would have otherwise impeded her, even if it did took another hour to do so. Though many curses still remained, there was enough room for shamans to come through and retrieve the survivors should they have the means to. If there truly hadn't been any sorcerer available, Ciel would have stayed for an indefinite amount of time until she exorcised the curse womb herself.
She never thought all of Satoru's first year students would be sent here to die, however. Yuji, perhaps. But to sacrifice Megumi and Nobara as well? Ciel underestimated just how intolerable jujutsu higher ups were of Satoru's actions. Even the Mage Association would have simply put out a Sealing Designation than this.
If the jujutsu elders were already aware of the danger, then it's likely they never expected, or cared, for there to be any survivors. Could they have also been aware of the dead apostle? She'd hate to consider that. It's pure negligence at this point.
"Do you understand? This isn't a rescue mission anymore. It's a necessary purge." Ciel paused when the white Divine Dog approached her, its nose raised at her and its tail wagged with recognition. She leaned over slightly and petted the dog's head. "It's not just curses involved. At this state, even the Church will have to intervene."
"Then we definitely should work together."
It was a repeated proposition from the pink-haired boy. One who was still oblivious to it all. "We can look for the survivors, get them out, and then warn everybody about what's going on here."
It was a reasonable suggestion. Ciel actually considered it as she stood up.
"We'll help you find that vampire's lair too. If anymore people are trapped down here, we got to rescue them."
Upon hearing that, Ciel immediately responded. "Absolutely not. Searching for the lair is too dangerous. You'll risk confronting the dead apostle, or more of those flaming dead. They're an ilk I have never encountered before, and I can't be sure if they're the only ones."
She reaffirmed with a turn of her shoulder. "What you need to do is report back to your superiors. If the vampire lord is still here, there needs to be a blockade set up. Just sealing all the doors won't be enough to keep it contained."
Whether the dead apostle was strong or not, Ciel was more concerned about the flaming dead it was producing. The corpses seemed to have an infectious ability. If something were to endure their flame and remain intact, they too would become flaming dead. It's even able to affect curses, with Ciel having to exorcise several "burning" spirits already. She was only thankful that, due to the curses' intangible forms, they could not produce enough build-up to cause an explosion. If the dead broke out, however, and reach a populated area, it'd be a catastrophe.
Furthermore, they've already overstayed their welcome here. Ciel's sacraments that protected the students from the fire have undoubtedly alerted several other entities, including those that were bound to be the most troublesome. It's only a matter of time before they would arrive to this location.
"It's not a good idea to handle this alone," Yuji said in an almost bewildering voice. "That curse womb is still hanging around somewhere."
He'd only just heard about it but it sounded seriously dangerous.
Ciel showed her back to them and surveyed her surroundings. "While I may not have that much experience against these types of curses, I have dealt several of them over the past few weeks. As a woman of the cloth, I am more than capable of performing this exorcism."
"I don't doubt your abilities, senpai," Megumi spoke up. "But I agree with Itadori. These curses are different from the ones you might find outside Japan. A curse womb is another level to that. You'll need someone to watch your back."
There was a winning look on Yuji as Ciel turned to Megumi.
"However, I do think we should leave."
"Huh?!" Yuji was shocked by Megumi's follow-up.
Nobara was also surprised. "Why? We already came this far." She'd hate to have her socks wet for nothing.
Megumi knelt down beside his wolf and rubbed its fur, prepping his shikigami to lead them back to the exit. "Ciel-senpai is right. The situation has changed. We're dealing with threats we know nothing about and aren't prepared to deal with."
An unfinished domain, curses, a curse womb, those flaming dead and now a vampire. Megumi would honestly be surprised if any of the guards or inmates survived at this point.
"I've nearly gotten us killed with that horde earlier," Megumi admitted his fault with an etch of guilt in his face. "There's no telling what else could be waiting for us. We might not be so lucky next time."
"But it's fine now, right? We're still alive, so it turned out okay," Yuji immediately deflected that self-deprecating talk. He then pointed his thumb at the blue-haired executor. "Plus, Ciel's with us, so things should go a lot smoother. We can't just abandon the mission."
That'll mean abandoning the people here to their doom. Yuji won't accept that.
"I'm not saying we abandon the mission," Megumi countered with a raise of his hand, pressing his fingers together. "If there are more people involved, then we need more hands in this. There's also that other group we still need to confirm the state of. I think what we should do is-"
Before Megumi would continue, there was a distant echo. A voice travelled through the dark tunnel.
"Hello! Is someone there?!"
It was a voice that was undoubtedly human. The group turned their head in alert.
"Hey! Get us out of here!"
"Oh God! Please help! Help!"
Several voices echoed from the dark. A mixture of men and women in one area.
Yuji instantly honed in on the yelling and sprinted towards it, breaking away from his class. "Hang on! We're coming!"
"Itadori-!" Megumi called out, standing up quick.
"Wait-!" Ciel was caught off guard by Yuji's speed and broke into a sprint after him. It was like watching someone hit the gas pedal of a motor vehicle. Could this be a side-effect from becoming half-cursed?
"Hey! Wait for us!" Nobara forced her feet through the murky water, following after Megumi who also gave chase. "Geez! Why are those guys so fast?! Did they have cheetahs for breakfast?!"
Megumi gritted his teeth as he already lost sight of both Yuji and Ciel, mentally swearing to knock Yuji over in the head as soon as they escape this place.
"What the hell is this...?" Yuji muttered out in aghast.
"This," Ciel answered monotonously, "Is what happens when a vampire enters human civilization."
It was as if they walked into hell itself.
The enclave was filled with a heavy stench of iron and the cries of the living. Blood and intestines hung up on the walls, compiling into masses of flesh. Victims by the dozen dangled from the ceiling, their limbs missing, their physiques unrecognizable, as if melted onto the surface.
"-letmeoutletmeoutletmeout-!"
"Hey! You guys are human, right?! Get us down from here!"
"Gnnnnnuuurrgh…."
The walls uttered with whatever remaining sanity they had left. Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara were stunned, standing in the water mixed with waste matter and blood.
Ciel stood ahead of them, examining the work of the dead apostle with the raise of her chin. She spoke without emotion, a composure separating herself from the spilled guts and anguish all around her, as if reading off a report.
"The fledglings must have gathered inmates and visitors to this place to store blood for their master. Most wouldn't bat an eye where the troublemakers would go. If anyone asked, the guards' position would allow them to make up a story. And if anyone persists, they would be sent here."
"This many people…" Megumi was shocked. For so many to have been missing this entire time, even after his school was warned of a vampire in the city, how could no one have noticed?
No. Not no one.
Ciel noticed. A foreigner who was able to note a pattern of odd disappearances. Yet she was the only one who bothered to investigate. Even if there hadn't been a shaman available, it should have never taken them this long to find out.
"Why didn't we hear about this?" Nobara shared the same disbelief as Megumi. It took a lot to horrify Nobara, and this was plenty. Some of these victims shouldn't still be alive in the state that they're in. The lives they could have saved if they had arrived a few days sooner.
"Unless a strong presence like the curse womb made enough noise, no one would have known what was going on," Ciel reasoned. "Vampires, on the other hand, are notoriously elusive. Their decades of experience allows them to evade even a veterans' tracking abilities. I suspect someone with higher authority was also able to suppress the news of the disappearances, under the dead apostle's influence."
She looked upon the accursed work, spotting the mangled exposed phalanges of someone's skeletons holding hands. Likely an inmate's parents that were misled after visiting their son.
A flicker of emotion escaped Ciel. The executor's jaw clenched. "How horrible..."
Yuji looked at Ciel. Though she had turned away from the class, he was able to see her face partially. Her teeth gritting with anger. The usually composed girl expressing her disturbance by the scene. Yuji's horror shifted at the sight, bringing him back to his senses.
"...We have to get them down."
Yuji voiced this as he walked across the blood waters. "I can cut them free with my sword and carry some of them out."
It was not a suggestion, but a resolve. He won't be able to take everyone at once, but he could do up to two or three people, maybe even four. He'll have to be careful rushing the victims in their current state to the exit, make sure he avoided any curses or living dead along the way.
"Itadori..." Nobara started, sweat building at the side of her temple from the humidity this place was producing. Megumi grimaced, lowering his gaze to the floor.
Ciel was the one to say it as she side-stepped in front of Yuji, stopping him in his tracks and held out her hand towards him. "It isn't that simple. Their bodies are fused together onto the surface. Removing them will kill them."
"There's got to be something we can do," Yuji showed his hands to her, his willingness to do whatever it took to accomplish this. "Tell us what we have to do. If there's someone who can help us, I can go get them. I'm the fastest. I'll-"
"Yuji-kun." Ciel cuts him off and looked at him directly in the eye. Her voice soft but firm. "We can't save them."
Her words were like a slap to the face. Yuji was taken aback, staring at her in reply, "Why not? We can't leave them like this."
"It's already too late. Some of them have degraded to a point where their brain functionality ceased. The only reason they're still alive is because the dead apostle wanted their blood to remain "fresh", and made sure they would never escape."
"There has to be a way." Yuji was unmoved.
"There is no other way." Ciel was unperturbed. "Neither magecraft nor cursed technique can help these people. Even if we defeat the curse womb and the dead apostle, it's hopeless."
She had seen it many times before. The many blood storages of dead apostles; imprisoning hundreds of innocents that were beyond recognition by the time Ciel found them. No amount of healing sacraments could ever hope to reverse the process. Even the use of prosthetic was pointless, as the victim would require an entirely new body. Such resources would be difficult to procure, especially in that instance, let alone there being enough to save perhaps ten people - regardless of the physical therapy required afterwards, if the human mind could still cope after that.
"Don't say that! We can't just give up!" Despite the reality of it, despite even his own classmates staying quiet, showing that they too were aware of the bitter truth, Yuji refused to accept it. He was shocked that Ciel would even say this, his frustration slipping out.
Megumi's tense expression lessened. He walked up to Yuji and Ciel. "Hey. That's enough."
Ciel was unphased by Yuji's protest and responded, "Even if we can get them down. It's impossible to carry this many people all at once. There isn't enough of us."
"Then we'll get backup! I can get us more help!" Yuji pressed, a slight tremble in his voice out of desperation.
Ciel's blue brows lowered, her eyes void. "Do you still not understand? You're not coming back here."
Yuji was astounded. He watched Ciel turned towards the tunnel. "The risk is too great. There's nothing more you can do here. The only thing left is to keep moving."
"Hold on-!" Yuji grabbed her hand and stopped her from walking away. What's with her?! She couldn't honestly be dismissing all these people?!
Megumi grabbed Yuji's shoulder and pulled him away. "I said that's enough."
Yuji's glare remained on Ciel as Megumi spoke, "She's right. We can't afford to come back. There's a curse womb on the loose, and we still don't know if that dead apostle's here. With the guards dead, that just leaves us the inmates."
Megumi tightened his grip over Yuji's shoulder. "There isn't anyone else who can help us either. If there were, we wouldn't be here."
Even with his Shikigamis it wouldn't be enough. Megumi had to stress this to himself - with difficulty - as he heard the victims utterance.
"Then one of us has to stay and look after the civilians," Yuji said without pause, volunteering himself.
"I will look after them," Ciel interjected, turning back to face the class. "However, I can't promise anything. I must also eliminate the main threats of this building. Right now, your priority is your class's survival. That should be your main focus."
"But is this really fine?" Nobara asked, joining the group from the back. Logically, she knew they were looking at a hopeless situation, but it was still hard to ignore this. She wouldn't feel right about it. And if there was no hope, then...
Shouldn't we put them out of their misery? Not that she would feel right about that either.
Ciel picked up on Nobara's silent inquiry in her expression. Truthfully, Ciel had the same idea. It was procedure, actually. But she would rather have Satoru's class avoid witnessing that. Once they leave, Ciel will do what she must. "It's the only way."
"I don't believe that."
Yuji's sudden declare made Ciel pause, and he went on, "We'll figure something out. It doesn't matter how. We have to find a way to get everyone out."
Ciel's patience was beginning to reach its limit at the face of Yuji's stubbornness. "You're being unrealistic. I've warned you before. If you keep at this, you'll only endanger everyone, including your classmates. Don't overestimate yourself, you're simply one person."
It was a harsh criticism aimed for the young man's self-righteousness. He wasn't Superman. He needed to accept that.
What would you do if you're the reason for their unnatural deaths? The words came back in full swing. Yuji's hands clenched into fists.
"Hey! That's-!" Before Nobara would jump to Yuji's defense, Yuji stepped towards Ciel.
Megumi reacted immediately. He came between Yuji and Ciel, wrapping his arms around Yuji's torso and pushed his body against him. Although there was no way that Megumi himself would ever contend against Yuji's strength, his intention was to impede the other student's pursuit, and he knew Yuji wouldn't just topple Megumi over carelessly. "Itadori! Don't-!"
Yuji shouted over Megumi's head. "Then help us! If you really believe there's no chance, that it's a lost cause no matter what, why did you bother to save me back then?!"
A huntress of the supernatural. His assigned executioner, saving what was essentially a dead-man-walking in the wake of the buried and unburied. There were other times she could have taken him out too. If someone was doomed no matter what, and all that could be done was to leave them behind, let them die in the end, why go out of her way to reveal herself and protect that person anyway?
Ciel did not answer. Or rather, she couldn't. Her attention elsewhere as she turned her head.
"We're being watched."
The class was startled by this announcement.
"H-Hey! You're not just gonna leave us here, right?!" One of the trapped people in the ceiling said, a young sounding voice that found discomfort in the hushed discussion below. "You're gonna save us, right-?!"
Ciel's hand swiped the air, and a black key emerged from under her sleeve. It shot past the group, faster than any of them could react.
The whine of a dog echoed within the tunnel, the sound broken free as if released by another's clutch. The black key pierced through the darkness, but the entity had already disappeared.
"It's found us," Ciel grimly revealed.
The white Divine Dog was tossed across the waters, its white fur splashed in red.
Divine Dog was attacked-?! Megumi released Yuji at the sight of his injured animal. He didn't sense anything, let alone hear his shikigami was grabbed.
"aaaaaaaahhhh...!" A woman in the ceiling cried out, her voice shaken with terror. "It's here...! Its here!"
The unit of flesh and organs started trembling on the stone.
"No! No! I don't want to die...! I don't want to die!"
The howls and shrills of many filled the darkness. Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara looked upon the distress in alarm as they felt the pressure of more curses around them.
Not good-! Megumi clasped his hands. He had his dog retreat back into his shadow and summoned his black Divine Dog, facing one end of the tunnel. The increasing source of negative thoughts and emotions were pulling other curses here. They'll be swarmed if they don't do something.
Ciel threw several more black keys. They embedded deep into the tunnel and a wall of blue light emerged, instantly severing and exorcising several curses that arrived. "We're out of time."
If she could set up a protective barrier around this section before more curses show up, that'll give her a chance to create an opening within the tunnel. She could have the students escape this way. But if her senses were correct, the entity that attacked the white Divine Dog just now...
"Yuji-kun, Fushiguro-kun, Kugisaki-san." In spite of their turbulent situation, Ciel never forgot her manners. "Stay together. The curse womb is-"
She turned around to warn them, but felt the earth under her feet vanish. "-?!"
Yuji reached for his dagger as he watched the curses burn against Ciel's barrier (she really knew how to pull off a special move when they needed it), he looked over to Ciel, and saw half her body sunk. "Huh-?"
His brown eyes met Ciel's light blue's briefly, her surprised reaction. Before his mind could register, Ciel disappeared into the blood water.
"Ciel?!" Yuji dove for the girl and threw his arms to catch her. His hands splashed through the water, but his palms only slammed onto the hard surface underneath.
Megumi and Nobara glanced over their shoulders and were shocked to see Ciel no longer there.
"W-What happened?! Where did she go?!" Nobara clutched her hammer and went to Yuji, watching his arms frantically search the water despite the blood and stench.
The people were still crying out, their horror and demands in union. One's voice was particularly more deep and robust than the others. "Why are you just standing around?! Get us down already-!"
"You be quiet!" Nobara threw her index finger up, completely at her wit's end here. Her appalling order did actually make the people stop yelling for a moment. "We're having some issues, okay?! You can just sit there and wait-!"
In the next moment, she too felt the floor underneath her vanish. Her angry expression fell, and the rest of her sunk into the water.
"Kugisaki-!" Megumi quickly ushered his shikigami to catch Nobara, but it was too late. The maw of his Divine Dog only bit the floor, as if a hole had opened up and closed once Nobara fell through.
"What's going on...?" Yuji unsheathed his dagger. If he could just find the hole where Ciel and Nobara fell through-
THUNK-!
The weapon in his hand was separated from his arm. "-eh?"
PLOP!
Yuji's limb that clutched the Slaughter Demon dropped into the water, instantly swallowed in the blood.
"Eh he he he he he...!"
Beside his growling Divine Dog, Megumi stood petrified, witnessing the ghostly pale, humanoid entity tower beside Yuji.
The curse womb had been approaching carefully. Its presence suppressed by its surrounding. In an instant, it would have utterly annihilated the shikigami before the white dog would warn its summoner.
But because she was here, the entity chose to act even more discreetly. Had it just been the three shamans, with their incomplete training and minimal experience, this would have been a game. Her senses were sharper than the curse womb could have imagined. But due to its own caution, it avoided being hurt by her blades again.
That alone gave it more confidence. Now the hurdle was out of the way, and with another girl pushed aside for later "entertainment" - if she stayed alive, the curse womb could indulge itself freely.
This was its tactic. To pick off survivors one by one. This could only be done by a curse of intelligence that resembled a human being. It was this that the first year students of Tokyo Jujutsu High realized the difference in power, and were utterly outclassed.
Nobara held her breath until she could no longer feel the muck and blood around her face. Despite her surprise, she landed securely on her feet, the remnants of warm water splashing against her back. "The floor gave out? No... Something moved me."
"Good catch. You'd be correct."
Drips of water fell from each brown strand of hair as Nobara lifted her head, and found Ciel standing beside her, vigilant. The blue nun had a black key in between every finger, even under the pinky.
"I miscalculated." Sewer water dripped from the ends of Ciel's nun habit, her wet hair becoming a darker blue, nearly black. "I never considered the curse womb would be capable of transporting others, not just the exits and itself."
This was a grievous error on her part as Ciel stared at the multitude of curses before them. Distorted white faces and curses aflame suspended in the air, no different from the melted victims that were perched like hanging meats at a meat market.
Nobara straightened her back and wiped the filth off her face. She did not panic at the number of curses there were. She merely reached into her pouch and pulled out her ammunition. "So we're dealing with a cowardly curse with all kinds of tricks. Great. I even bothered to bring more nails too."
Nobara should have gotten another pouch.
Ciel empathized with that feeling, plunging her black key into the first enemy.
Author's Note: I did it! The last chapter before New Years Eve! Finally! I've been working all week to get this done, struggling over a month to figure out how I can make this different from JJE. I considered having Megumi knocked out but I'm so tired. That'll be enough writing for today. Now, to get on with my other stories.
Here's to the end of JJK, with the epilogue chapter out and our note from Gege himself. While many people have their take, and I certainly would have loved to see more backstory or perhaps potential sequel for this series, I will forever be grateful of Gege who has been a serious inspiration to me in my recent writing. May he have further success in his writing career. For now, he deserves his break.
I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Onward to 2025!