Mid-Level of the Department Store
Megumi Fushiguro heard the brief sounds of combat above, followed by the dull impact of something heavy crashing down from the rooftop. His heart sank, but he couldn't afford to look back.
Ahead, the Divine Dogs barked furiously as they tracked their target.
Kurisaka was close.
Rounding a corner, Megumi spotted him struggling to force open a security door.
"Stop!" Megumi formed a hand sign. "Nue!"
With a sharp cry, the lightning-wreathed shikigami dove from above.
Kurisaka immediately abandoned the door and rolled across the floor to avoid the strike, but Nue's claws still raked across his back, tearing several bloody gashes.
"Damn brat!" Kurisaka snarled, flicking several poisoned needles toward him.
Megumi directed the Divine Dogs to intercept them while advancing at the same time.
"Hand over the nails."
"In your dreams!"
A manic gleam flashed through Kurisaka's eyes. Instead of retreating, he rushed forward, gripping the cursed nail like a dagger and thrusting it directly at Megumi.
Megumi met the attack head-on.
But just as his fist connected, a strange sense of wrongness struck him.
Bang!
His punch landed squarely on Kurisaka's chest.
Yet the damage was far less than it should have been. Much of the force seemed to vanish upon impact.
Kurisaka merely grunted as the cursed nail continued toward him without losing momentum.
Megumi twisted aside.
The nail grazed his ribs, drawing a thin line of blood. A chilling surge of cursed energy attempted to invade his body, only to be repelled by his own.
What's happening?
Alarm bells rang in Megumi's mind.
His attacks were nowhere near as effective as they should have been.
Kurisaka immediately took advantage of the opening, retreating several steps with a triumphant grin.
"It's useless, kid! Your attacks don't work on me!"
He charged again.
Megumi avoided a direct clash, moving nimbly while directing the Divine Dogs and Nue to harass Kurisaka from the flanks.
After several exchanges, he noticed a pattern.
The harder he struck, the less damage he dealt.
Meanwhile, Kurisaka's seemingly light attacks carried abnormal force, leaving his arms numb whenever they connected.
"A cursed technique that reverses damage..."
Megumi quickly grasped the mechanism.
"The stronger the attack, the weaker the effect. The lighter the attack, the greater the damage."
He adjusted his strategy immediately.
Rather than using powerful blows, he relied on quick palm strikes and light jabs while his shikigami maintained pressure.
As expected, Kurisaka's expression changed.
His defense became noticeably more frantic.
A light chop from Megumi struck his wrist.
Kurisaka winced in pain, nearly dropping the cursed nail.
"You figured it out?!"
His voice was filled with both shock and anger.
At that moment, Itadori finally caught up.
Seeing the two locked in combat, he shouted, "Megumi! I'll help you!"
Without hesitation, he launched a full-power punch at Kurisaka's back.
"Don't! Use light attacks!"
Megumi's warning came too late.
Bang!
The punch landed.
As expected, it dealt little damage.
"Bastard!"
Faced with both of them at once, Kurisaka completely snapped.
He hurled the cursed nail at Itadori and immediately lunged toward Megumi, clearly intending to take one of them down with him.
The cursed nail shot through the air with terrifying speed.
Instinctively, Itadori raised a hand to block it.
"Don't touch it!"
Megumi's voice rang out sharply.
His shadow expanded beneath them.
A wall of darkness surged upward and intercepted the nail.
Pfft!
The cursed nail embedded itself deep within the shadow as cursed energy spread from its surface.
At the same moment, Kurisaka's desperate charge was interrupted by a kick from Itadori, sending him stumbling sideways.
Megumi seized the opening.
A light strike landed on Kurisaka's body.
His eyes rolled back.
He collapsed unconscious.
Itadori exhaled heavily and looked between the fallen curse user and Megumi.
"Light attacks? What was that about?"
Megumi briefly explained the nature of Kurisaka's cursed technique before walking over to the shadow and carefully retrieving the cursed nail.
A sigh of relief escaped him.
"I've got both of them. We need to destroy them immediately."
He took out the second cursed nail recovered from Kurisaka.
Just as they prepared to eliminate the anchors, an overwhelming sense of danger descended upon them.
Bang!
The ceiling exploded.
Chunks of concrete rained down as a figure crashed into the floor like a meteor, landing directly between them and the unconscious Kurisaka.
Dust billowed outward.
Within the cloud, a pair of hollow yet razor-sharp eyes slowly lifted and settled on the cursed nails in Megumi's hands.
Toji Fushiguro.
He had arrived.
The force of his landing sent tremors through the entire floor.
Slowly, Toji straightened.
His gaze lingered on the two black cursed nails before shifting to Megumi himself.
For an instant, something subtle flickered within those otherwise emotionless eyes, as though a deeply buried memory had surfaced.
Then it vanished.
His expression returned to its usual indifference.
Tilting his head slightly, Toji's gaze moved past the wary Itadori and Megumi.
It settled on a figure standing silently in the shadows near the corridor entrance.
Sol.
He stood there as though he had been present the entire time.
Silent.
Motionless.
Watching.
His dark red eyes calmly observed everyone present, particularly Toji Fushiguro.
Only then did Itadori and Megumi notice him.
"Sol!"
Itadori's voice was filled with shock, confusion, and restrained anger.
Instinctively, he stepped in front of Megumi and clenched his fists as cursed energy surged around him.
"Why did you do that?! Gojo-sensei..."
Megumi's face was equally grim.
Tightening his grip on the cursed nails, he fixed Sol with a wary stare.
The news that Sol had sealed Gojo Satoru still weighed heavily on him, and Sol's sudden appearance only made the situation more dangerous.
Yet Sol paid neither of them any attention.
His eyes never left Toji.
It was as though everyone else present, including the cursed nails sustaining the Curtain, had become completely irrelevant.
His focus remained fixed solely on the man standing before him.
Toji regarded that unwavering attention in silence.
To him, it looked unmistakably like a challenge.
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