[You instantly realize things have taken a turn for the worse.] [Though you have no idea whether the crazed curse user standing before you is actually Tsumiki Fushiguro herself, it’s glaringly obvious that she is completely out of her mind.] [A moment ago, she refrained from triggering her domain’s guaranteed-hit effect for some unknown reason, but that was when she was still maintaining a shred of composure…
Now that this lunatic has completely blown her top, will she still continue to hold back?] [Your Simple Domain has been utterly stripped away.
Holding your breath, you focus entirely on channeling your cursed energy into a defensive guard, bracing for the oncoming strike.] [Suddenly, a wave of warmth envelops your knuckles.
Turning your head, you see Miss Okotsu firmly grasping your wrist, actively channeling her Reverse Cursed Technique to mend the wounds you sustained during the clash.] [“…It’s going to be okay.”] [You apply a bit of pressure to squeeze her hand in return, your fingers tightly interlocking with hers.] [Witnessing your little display of affection, Yorozu, standing opposite you, inexplicably blows her top even further.
Spreading her arms wide, she violently brings them crashing down.] [“—!”] [*Something massive is coming.* As a fellow user of the Construction Technique, your intuition screams at you.] [A domain’s guaranteed-hit effect…
is almost certainly an absolute one-shot kill.
Without the sanctuary of a Simple Domain to protect you, a single microsecond is all it will take to decide whether you live or die.] [However, right before that fatal microsecond could bridge the gap–] [“GYAAAHHHHHHHHH SISSSSSSSSSSSTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!”] [The exterior shell of the domain violently shatters into splinters.] [A colossal, snow-white shikigami–sporting a wheel floating directly above its head and wielding the Sword of Extermination–brutally tears a massive fissure into the outer wall of Yorozu’s domain with a single swipe of its palm.
Charged with the frantic, unhinged roar of a desperate sister-con, it lets out a piercing screech and charges straight inside.] [*It’s this goddamn strong?!*] [A flash of inspiration strikes you as you suddenly recall a bit of casual banter Ms.
Gojo shared with you in the past:] [“No, stop laughing, I’m being completely serious here…
Tucked inside Megumi’s Ten Shadows Technique is the absolute pinnacle of Zen’in clan shikigami–Mahoraga.
It possesses the capability to adapt to any and all phenomena, serving as the ultimate symbol of perfect balance and harmony.
Historically speaking, there was actually a Six Eyes, Limitless sorcerer exactly like me who got completely taken out by that very monster, you know?”] [Could this towering, white leviathan standing right before your eyes actually be that very same Mahoraga?] [But wait…
does Megumi even possess the raw prowess required to tame a shikigami this strong?
No, that doesn’t seem right.
To begin with, that girl is a textbook sister-con.
The exact microsecond she saw her own beloved sister standing in the enemy vanguard, the sheer psychological trauma should have driven her to immediately trigger a mutual suicide pact alongside the foe.
Could it be?] [There is zero time to overthink this.
You quickly pull Yuna Okotsu along, scrambling out through the ruptured boundary of the domain.
Senior Keiko Nanami and the rest of Squad Two are still waiting on the outside for your reinforcement–] […Wait, hold on a second.
Why the hell is everyone out here completely wiped out?] [Whether it was the impeccably reliable adult Keiko Nanami, or Megumi Fushiguro–who lay flat with her hands still frozen in a clasped, overlapping fist gesture–or even the woman with the horizontal stitches running across her forehead…
every single one of them was strewn across the ground in a chaotic heap, their vitals entirely uncertain.] [“I…
I thoroughly underestimated you…
To think you could actually push it to this extreme, Megumi Fushiguro…!”] [No, wait, the stitched-forehead woman is still clinging to life.
She squirm-crawls a couple of inches across the dirt, her intentions unclear as to whether she’s trying to tuck tail and run or drag herself back into the fray–but by the looks of her catastrophic injuries, she’s utterly incapable of achieving either.] [Maintaining a strict guard, you approach her slowly, straining to catch whatever words are filtering through her lips.] [“Tengen…
in the end, what was it that I truly desired to achieve…?
Haha, it’s no use, Tengen.
I mustn’t utter those words.
Those words would become an absolute curse upon her…”] [The stitched-forehead woman mutters incoherently to herself, before seemingly arriving at some final epiphany.
Her lips twitch faintly.] [“…Yorozu, I leave the rest in your hands.”] [You reach down to check her vitals.
This time, she is factually and completely dead.] [A deafening explosion erupts right behind you.
Whirling around in sheer horror, you discover that the outer shell of Yorozu’s domain has been blasted into absolute oblivion.] [Amidst the downpour of glittering shards, Yorozu collapses heavily onto the dirt, looking exactly like every other unconscious sorcerer you just saw, her protective insect carapace already completely stripped from her body.] [“Cough…
as much as I despise admitting it…
it appears that, at the end of the day, the one destined to stand by Sukuna’s side isn’t going to be me…”] [“Sukuna…
in the end, what was it that I truly desired to achieve…?
Haha, it’s no use, Sukuna.
I mustn’t utter those words.
Those words would become an absolute curse upon her…”] [“…Uraume, I leave the rest in your hands.”] [*Who the hell is Uraume supposed to be?!*] [To be perfectly honest, you are actively dying to throw out a sarcastic comment…
but the exact microsecond Yorozu draws her final breath, a suffocating dread–resembling a helpless frog pinned beneath the predatory glare of a venomous viper–wraps itself securely around your spine.] [Mahoraga slowly pivots its massive frame.
Tilting its head to evaluate you and Yuna Okotsu, the wheel floating above its head lets out a distinct *clack* as it completes a full rotation.] [“…Okotsu-san, get ready.
We need to haul ass right now.”] [Before the words can even clear your teeth, your pupils sharply contract in pure panic.] [The air violently fractures with a sonic boom, moving at a velocity far outstripping your retinas’ ability to track–within the mere span of a single blink, that colossal white silhouette had already materialized directly behind Yuna Okotsu’s back.] […] [Today, Sugumi Geto was feeling exceptionally pleased with herself.] [Taking light, elegant strides forward, her pristine white kosode and vibrant crimson hakama fluttered gracefully in the wind.
The billowing, traditional shrine maiden vestments did absolutely nothing to conceal the breathtaking contours of her figure, and they did even less to hide the sheer bounce in her step.] [*My, my, Satomi.
What on earth happened to you?* Getting bamboozled into rushing off to Kyoto this easily–honestly, carrying the mantle of “The Strongest” must be an absolute drag, shouldn’t it?
The second someone throws a light bluff your way, you’re forced to run around like a chicken with its head cut off, and at the end of the day, you still might not even manage to save everyone.] [But she was entirely different.
She acted purely on whim, completely untethered and free.
And now, she had made her grand return to this very Jujutsu High campus, resembling Lord Voldemort arriving at his fiercely loyal Hogwarts.] [Furthermore, she had her beloved companions right by her side–well, to be fair, the vast majority of her forces had been dispatched to Kyoto solely to bottleneck Satomi Gojo.
The only ones accompanying her right now were the two young sorcerer girls she had rescued over a decade ago: Mimiko Hasaba and Nanako Hasaba.] [“Mami…
is that Cursed Spirit named Rika really that terrifying?” Mimiko muttered, looking a tiny bit uneasy.] [“Duh, obviously!
Since Mami said so herself, the exact second we manage to tame that Rika thing, we are absolutely going to beat Satomi Gojo to a bloody pulp!
Total one-shot!” Nanako chimed in, practically vibrating with hype.] [Sugumi Geto didn’t offer a spoken reply, merely maintaining a soft, elegant smile as she watched her girls bicker back and forth.] [Truth be told, even if she did successfully pull off the absorption of Rika, she harbored serious doubts as to whether she could actually best Satomi Gojo in a straight fight.
After all, a chasm exists even among Special Grades, and Satomi Gojo’s classification was a premium, top-tier Special Grade–one capable of outclassing six ordinary Special Grades combined…
But of course, there was absolutely no need to voice these internal doubts to her precious “family.”] [Suddenly, she felt the sunlight glare intensely against her eyes.
It seemed as though something had just streaked across the sky, blurring past at a velocity far exceeding any ordinary sorcerer’s capabilities…
looking remarkably like…
two massive, humanoid insects?] [Before she could even manage to get a clear look, a towering monstrosity sporting a wheel atop its head crashed directly into her field of vision.] [“…A shikigami, is it?
It appears the opposition operates under the delusion that launching a swift decapitation strike against my main body guarantees an instant victory.
A pity, really.
I don’t recall ever claiming that I am inept at close-quarters brawling.”] [Sugumi Geto let out a cold, chilling laugh.
Cursed energy as pitch-black as ink erupted from behind her silhouette as one spirit after another…
a literally unquantifiable swarm of Cursed Spirits rapidly coalesced around her flank, manifesting a literal Night Parade of a Hundred Demons.] [“I am a Special Grade Sorcerer!
Who would dare execute me?
Who could possibly hope to kill me?!”] [“Exactly!
Mami hasn’t even unleashed a fraction of her true strength yet!
If anything–” by Nanako.] [“You lot ought to feel utterly humiliated for failing to deploy a combat force capable of outclassing a common white shikigami!” by Mimiko.] [Sugumi Geto:] (Image) [Mahoraga:] (Image) [*I’m so sorry, Lord Mahoraga, for failing to make you give it your all…*] —