While Jogo was fighting Yuta, he showed how strong he could become in a fight. When Jogo saw Yuta defeat the special Curse after he conjured the full power of his own curse, Jogo wanted to know how far he could go.
Because of that, Jogo injured Maki, who looked like Yuta favored her a lot, to enrage him to go all out. Because Jogo believed that Maki could be useful for the future, and 'Geto' also only told him to watch Maki fight a strong curse, he didn't burn her to the point it would kill her; it was enough to agitate Yuta into going all out.
And just like he expected, Yuta was strong, but he believed if it were a one-on-one match, he could defeat Yuta, just like right now. Since Yuta can also have usefulness in the future, like the curse spirit he possesses, Geto can absorb it, but if Jogo killed Yuta here, that curse will lose its anchor and disappear. So he decided against killing Yuta.
Is he the reason why 'Geto' changed his plan? Jogo thought to himself. His strength and technique are good, but that didn't warrant enough for 'Geto' to act. Is there something I am not seeing here?
It was then Jogo noticed another presence in the field, and he seemed to be kneeling in front of Maki and was healing her. The boy has blonde hair and an ordinary face; from the looks of it, he seems to know Maki, but even after seeing the charred skin, excluding the initial panic, the boy's face remained calm.
A reverse curse technique, huh? Jogo thought to himself, since he was not interested in causing unnecessary torture, he simply ignored the boy, who was healing the girl, and looked at Yuta, who was at the end of his rope. Jogo knew that Yuta still hadn't tapped into the full use of the curse spirit since it was just now he awakened it; it was praiseworthy for Yuta to give a face-to-face battle to Jogo, who had much more experience.
I need to finish this and deal with Geto Suguru's subordinate; I've already wasted enough time today.
Just as Jogo prepared to deliver a finishing blow to render Yuta unconscious, the boy who had been healing Maki vanished from his side, reappearing instantly before him with a swift, powerful dropkick.
"Yuta, rest now. I'll handle things from here." Hearing the calm authority in the boy's voice, Yuta glanced at him for a moment before his legs finally gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.
Jogo's single eye remained fixed on the newcomer.
The kick hadn't caused him any real damage; a curse of his caliber was far too resilient to be wounded by a basic physical strike. What truly unnerved him, however, was the display of raw speed. One moment, the boy had been kneeling beside the charred girl, yet in the blink of an eye, he had crossed the distance to deliver a blow with unnerving precision. Jogo narrowed his eyes, the initial arrogance in his expression shifting into a flicker of genuine intrigue.
"Who are you, Boy?"
"Your enemy."
---
"Your enemy."
The answer seemed to amuse him, a twisted grin stretching across his volcanic features.
"Enemy? Bold words for a human."
Without warning, Jogo raised a hand, and a massive fireball erupted into existence, hurtling toward me with blistering intensity. The temperature spiked instantly, turning the surrounding asphalt into slag before the attack even reached me.
I didn't move. Instead, I activated my Karmic Override technique, my voice steady amidst the roar of incoming heat. "The result is minor burns."
The fireball collided with me a fraction of a second later.
BOOM!
Flames engulfed my entire body, yet as they dispersed, I remained standing, smoke rising from my uniform. My sleeves were slightly singed, and a few patches of skin on my arms were reddened, but nothing more. Jogo's singular eye widened in disbelief; the attack that should have vaporized a Grade 1 sorcerer had produced little more than superficial damage.
"What?"
I didn't waste time explaining as projection sorcery surged and the world fragmented into frames. My body accelerated, closing the gap in a blur of motion before Jogo could even process the shift. His instincts shrieked in warning, but he barely managed to twist his torso before my fist was already upon him. I drew my arm back, channeling every ounce of intent into the strike.
"The result is a penetrating punch." My fist drove directly through Jogo's torso.
The impact generated a shockwave powerful enough to shatter windows across the surrounding blocks. Jogo's body folded around the strike.
The curse was launched through multiple buildings before finally crashing into the ruins of a department store. For several seconds, nothing happened.
"Did he die?" I mushed to myself as laughter echoed from the rubble.
"Hahahaha." Jogo slowly stood up. A massive hole existed in the center of his chest, but the molten flesh regenerated rapidly. "You really are troublesome. *Murmuring,* I finally understand why Geto decided to change the plans." I didn't hear the second half, but I noticed his voice had lost all amusement now.
"Are you as powerful as Satoru Gojo?" Jogo asked me.
I shook my head. "He and I haven't fought, so I don't know. I also didn't see him fight any powerful opponent, so I can't make a comparison either."
Now then, let's finish this. I thought to myself, but with the current extent of the exchange between Jogo and me, I can safely say I can kill him off.
And he also seems to understand that. "Can you protect your friends while you're fighting me?" Jogo asked.
The answer is no. My blinding vow makes me unable to predict surprise attacks not just on me but also on my surroundings. So when I am fighting him and he decides to throw a fireball at them, I can't do anything, and currently my blinding vow is active unless I defeat him and he admits any forms of surrender; only then can I deactivate my blinding vow.
"Let's put that to the test, shall we?" Jogo's gaze shifted toward the unconscious Maki.
I realized his intent the moment his eyes moved, and I lunged forward instantly. But Jogo was already ahead of me. A concentrated blast of volcanic fire erupted, surging toward Maki's position. He didn't fire it to kill her; he did it because he knew I would have no choice but to intercept it.
To put it bluntly it was a distraction.
"Tch!"
Projection Sorcery roared to life. My body blurred into motion, crossing the distance in a fraction of a heartbeat to throw myself directly into the path of the flames.
"The result is superficial damage."
Fire washed over me in a blinding, blistering wave, charring my skin. Though I activated my Karmic Override, the command was a second delayed, so I still felt the pain and damage of the first few seconds.
While the pain was white-hot, my reverse-curse technique activated instinctively, stitching my wounds shut almost as soon as they appeared.
As the embers faded and the air cleared, I scanned the area, but there was nothing left to see. Jogo had fled. The volcanic curse had exploited that momentary opening to escape, leaving behind only the pungent smell of sulfur and the faint, restless vibration of his receding cursed energy.
I clenched my fist. "Damn it, He escaped."
~~~