The middle level of the department store echoed with the sounds of battle.
Megumi Fushiguro heard the brief clash of combat, followed by the heavy thud of something crashing down from the rooftop. His heart sank, but he couldn't afford to turn back.
The Divine Dogs barked furiously ahead, tracking their target. Kurisaka was just around the corner.
As Megumi rounded the corridor, he saw Kurisaka trying to force open a security door.
"Stop!"
Megumi formed a hand sign.
"Nue!"
The lightning-wreathed shikigami let out a piercing cry as it dove toward its target.
Kurisaka immediately abandoned the door, throwing himself into a roll to evade the lightning. Even so, Nue's razor-sharp claws raked across his back, tearing several deep gashes.
"Damn brat!"
He retaliated with a backhand motion, launching several poisoned needles.
Megumi calmly directed the Divine Dogs to intercept the projectiles while closing the distance himself.
"Hand over the nails."
"Dream on!"
A crazed grin spread across Kurisaka's face. Instead of retreating, he rushed straight at Megumi, gripping a cursed nail like a dagger and thrusting it forward.
Close combat?
Megumi narrowed his eyes and met the charge head-on.
Just as his fist was about to connect, however, a strange sense of unease flashed through his mind.
Bang!
His punch struck Kurisaka square in the chest.
Something was wrong.
The impact felt unnaturally weak, as though most of the force had simply disappeared.
Kurisaka merely grunted. His stab never slowed.
Megumi twisted aside at the last second. The cursed nail scraped across his ribs, drawing blood as chilling cursed energy tried to invade his body. His own cursed energy immediately forced it back.
What's happening?
Alarm bells rang in his mind.
His attacks were dealing far less damage than they should.
Taking advantage of the opening, Kurisaka leaped backward with a sinister grin.
"It's useless, kid! Your attacks don't work on me!"
He lunged once more.
Megumi avoided confronting him directly, weaving around his opponent while the Divine Dogs and Nue harassed him from both sides.
After several exchanges, he noticed a clear pattern.
The harder he attacked, the less damage he inflicted.
Meanwhile, Kurisaka's seemingly casual strikes and parries carried overwhelming force, leaving Megumi's arms numb every time they connected.
"Is it a Cursed Technique that reverses damage?" Megumi muttered.
"The stronger the attack, the weaker the effect... and the lighter the attack, the greater the damage."
He immediately adjusted his approach.
Instead of throwing powerful blows, he allowed his shikigami to pressure Kurisaka while using quick, light palm strikes and precise finger attacks.
As expected, Kurisaka's expression changed.
His defenses suddenly became frantic.
A light chop landed against his wrist.
He winced, nearly dropping the cursed nail.
"You figured it out?!"
His voice was filled with disbelief and anger.
At that moment, Yuji Itadori finally caught up.
Seeing the two locked in combat, he shouted,
"Megumi! I'll help!"
Without hesitation, Yuji drove a full-powered punch toward Kurisaka's back.
"Don't! Use light attacks!"
Megumi's warning came too late.
Bang!
The punch landed cleanly.
As expected, it accomplished almost nothing.
"Bastard!"
Seeing himself surrounded, Kurisaka completely lost control.
He hurled the cursed nail at Yuji with incredible speed while simultaneously throwing himself toward Megumi, intending to take them both down.
The nail shot forward like a bullet.
Yuji instinctively raised his hand to block it.
"Don't touch it!"
Megumi's shout echoed through the corridor.
His shadow surged upward, forming a protective barrier in front of Yuji.
Pfft!
The cursed nail buried itself deep within the shadow as its cursed aura spread outward.
At the same moment, Yuji rushed in from the side and kicked Kurisaka away.
Megumi seized the opening.
A light tap landed against Kurisaka's body.
His eyes rolled back.
He collapsed unconscious.
Yuji let out a heavy breath before looking between Kurisaka and Megumi.
"Light attacks? What was that about?"
Megumi briefly explained the nature of Kurisaka's Cursed Technique before walking over to retrieve the cursed nail from his shadow.
After carefully pulling it free, he released a relieved sigh.
"I've got both of them."
He held up the second cursed nail taken from Kurisaka.
"We need to destroy them immediately."
Just as the two prepared to destroy the Curtain's anchor points, an overwhelming presence descended from above.
Bang!
The ceiling exploded.
Concrete rained down in every direction.
A figure crashed into the floor like a meteor, landing between them and the unconscious Kurisaka.
As the dust slowly settled, a pair of hollow yet razor-sharp eyes rose and locked onto the two cursed nails in Megumi's hand.
Toji Fushiguro.
He had arrived.
The force of his landing made the entire floor tremble.
Toji slowly straightened.
His gaze first settled on the cursed nails before shifting to Megumi.
For the briefest instant, an almost imperceptible ripple passed through his otherwise emotionless eyes, as though some deeply buried memory had been stirred.
Just as quickly, the feeling vanished.
His expression returned to its usual composed indifference.
Tilting his head slightly, his eyes drifted past Yuji and Megumi before stopping at the end of the corridor.
A lone figure stood quietly within the shadows.
Sol Mirek.
He stood silently, as though he had been there all along.
His crimson eyes calmly observed everyone present, lingering on Toji.
Yuji and Megumi finally noticed him.
"Sol!"
Yuji's voice carried shock, confusion, and restrained anger.
He instinctively stepped in front of Megumi, fists clenched as cursed energy surged around him.
"Why did you do that? Gojo Satoru-sensei..."
Megumi's expression was equally grim.
He tightened his grip on the cursed nails, never taking his eyes off Sol.
The news that Sol had sealed Gojo Satoru had already shaken him. Sol's sudden appearance only made the situation far more dangerous.
Yet Sol paid neither of them any attention.
His eyes remained fixed solely on Toji Fushiguro.
Everyone else, including the cursed nails that sustained the Curtain, seemed completely irrelevant.
Toji regarded that unwavering focus in silence.
To him, it was an unmistakable challenge.