Yuji seemed to have had his spine ripped out.
He knelt on the ground, his eyes gradually becoming hollow, devoid of their usual spark.
[Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has dropped to 59%] [Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has dropped to 48%] [Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has dropped to 32%] Yuji’s anger level plummeted at a terrifying speed.
He could no longer muster any anger in his heart, his entire spirit ruthlessly crushed by the two’s laughter.
Jogo’s laughter came to an abrupt halt, the expression on his face freezing, his pupils widening in disbelief.
Oh no!
I went too far!
Yuji has broken down!
Sukuna continued to laugh wildly, but as he laughed, he realized something was wrong and stopped.
After all, if that Special Grade Cursed Spirit had stopped laughing, and only he was still at it, he would look like an idiot with a missing cerebellum.
With the laughter gone, the sound of Nobara’s groans grew ever louder in Yuji’s ears.
The “sizzling” sound of Megumi’s flesh being burned by the chains of fire also erupted at this moment.
Now, whenever he closed his eyes, the mocking faces of Jogo and Sukuna would appear in his mind, along with the agonizing expressions of Nobara and Megumi.
Two lines of clear tears flowed down his face.
“I’m sorry…
I am just too weak…
I can’t even defeat this Curse in front of me…
let alone save my friends…” Somehow, Yuji suddenly felt nothing but bitterness in his heart.
He had always been ashamed of being the vessel for the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.
But faced with the current predicament, if the so-called King of Curses chose to refuse help, he would fall into an endless abyss and become nothing more than a piece of trash.
Watching Yuji’s anger level plummet at a visible rate, about to hit zero, Jogo was not overly panicked.
He still had one last trump card.
Meanwhile, the bystanders nearby were completely bewildered.
The pink-haired boy had first floated into the air, shouting at empty space.
Then the orange-haired girl floated into the air, and her fingers began to snap in a grotesque way, one by one.
Afterwards, all her fingers broke at once, and the shrill screams made everyone’s scalp tingle.
The boy with the black sea urchin-like hair was doing slightly better than the other two, but smoke was constantly rising from his body, and his clothes were gradually being damaged.
From the perspective of the bystanders, Megumi’s body had inexplicably caught fire.
Immediately after, the most terrifying scene occurred: an eye and a mouth appeared on the face of the pink-haired boy.
Sukuna’s manifestation was corporeal, which meant that even the civilians who couldn’t see Cursed Spirits could see the eye and mouth that he had manifested.
Right now, the entire restaurant entrance was surrounded by flames, and the brave soul who had just tried to rush out was now filling the whole restaurant with the smell of roasting meat.
Watching the trio of protagonists being savagely tormented by something invisible, the customers hiding in the corner felt a sense of shared grief, terrified that they would be next.
Some couldn’t handle the immense mental pressure and bent over, vomiting repeatedly.
Some huddled in a corner, weeping silently, their hands tightly covering their mouths for fear that their sobbing would attract the attention of the bizarre entity.
Jogo grabbed Yuji by the hair, forced him to look forward, and whispered in his ear, “Itadori, if I remember correctly, you still have a grandfather, right?
Judging by his personality, he would probably tell you to protect the weak, wouldn’t he?” Then, he pointed to the group of customers hiding in the corner, the smile on his face becoming more pronounced.
“I’ll give you another chance.
Every five seconds, I will burn one human here to death.
I counted, there are 21 of them in total.
That means you have a full 105 seconds.
If you fail to summon Ryomen Sukuna within these 105 seconds, they will all die.” “Are you ready?
Why aren’t you answering me?
Then I’ll assume you’re ready.
Begin.” Jogo adjusted Yuji’s head so he could clearly see the customers huddled in the corner, then snapped his fingers.
Boom!
Surging flames roared across a male customer, who immediately began to flail about, letting out shrill, agonizing screams.
But because his mouth was open too wide, some of the high-temperature air generated by the flames entered his windpipe, scalding his throat and making him unable to scream another sound.
His pupils were already bloodshot, and the skin on his body began to fuse with his clothes, burning him into a humanoid piece of charcoal.
“That’s the first one.
See?
You have 100 seconds left.” An old voice began to echo in his ears, and the image of his grandfather before he passed away suddenly appeared in Yuji’s sealed heart.
“Itadori, you are strong.
So you must protect the weak.
You must die surrounded by others.” Yes, I must protect the weak.
Although I am not as strong as Grandpa thought, I must still protect the weak.
Flames rekindled in Yuji’s eyes.
He screamed at the top of his lungs in his heart, trying to urge Sukuna to come out.
Unfortunately, some things cannot be solved by passion alone.
At critical moments, without the help of others, one’s own efforts easily become an isolated island in the ocean, swallowed by the waves.
Sukuna playfully rolled his eyeball, speaking as nonchalantly as ever, “What does that have to do with me, brat?
Don’t forget, these people are being burned to death because you failed to meet that Cursed Spirit’s conditions.
In other words, you are the one who killed them.” “Come out!
I am willing to fulfill any condition!
Even if you want to take over this body, that’s fine!
Come out, hurry!” Jogo scratched the back of his head and said unhurriedly, “You still can’t summon Sukuna?
As expected, you still lack the resolve to protect the weak.” “I think that grandfather of yours was just a dull-witted fool.
What kind of useless, garbage philosophy is ‘protect the weak’?
Just how pathetic was that old geezer to raise someone as cowardly, weak, and worthless as you?” Yuji froze in place.
[Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has reached 43%] [Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has reached 64%] [Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has reached 79%] [Ding!
Itadori Yuji’s anger level has reached 94%] “You can call me worthless, you can mock me all you want, because I truly failed to protect my friends.
But how dare you insult my grandfather?!
My grandfather is not worthless!
I’ll kill you!” Something seemed to have unlocked within Yuji.
A surge of Cursed Energy, even more powerful than before, erupted as he raised his right fist and smashed it toward Jogo’s face.