Yoru gripped Shiranui tightly, resolve flickering in his crimson eyes like never before.
However, just as he prepared to force his energy to follow the faint residual dregs of Kenjaku's cursed energy and give chase.
From the other side of the ruins, a suppressed gasp of extreme agony suddenly rang out.
Yoru whipped his head around.
Yuji Itadori, who had been unconscious just moments ago, had woken up.
Now, Yuji was clutching his head with both hands, curled up on the blood-stained, scorched earth, his body trembling violently.
"Khu... guh..."
A wail like that of a dying beast escaped Yuji's throat.
In his mind, memories of Sukuna controlling his body flashed like a revolving lantern.
The sky-filling invisible slashes.
The towering pillar of fire that turned everything to ash.
And the ordinary civilians who had screamed in despair, sliced into mincemeat instantly within the domain.
Even though Suguru Geto had risked his life to save tens of thousands, those at the edge of the domain who couldn't be protected when Sukuna first awoke still ended up as a field of severed limbs.
"It was me... it's all because of me..."
"If only I hadn't eaten the finger, if only I could have controlled him..."
Yuji's tears mixed with the blood on his face, dripping onto the parched ground.
That bone-deep guilt was like countless sharp blades, slowly flaying his soul.
He looked up through blurred, teary eyes and saw Yoru in the distance—covered in blood and nearly exhausted from protecting everyone.
He saw Suguru Geto and Toji Fushiguro lying on the ground, their fates unknown.
'I don't have the right... I don't have the right to stand beside them anymore.'
Yuji bit his lip hard, the sharp pain granting him a moment of clarity.
He didn't even dare look Yoru in the eye.
Because Yoru was the savior who had rescued him, yet the monster inside him had nearly destroyed everything his benefactor had fought so hard to protect.
Just then.
A nauseating sense of malice flickered from the direction of the Shibuya subway station.
That was Mahito's presence!
That Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from the malice humans held for one another—the bastard who had turned Junpei Yoshino into a monster right before his eyes!
'Is this... my fate?'
A resolve to die suddenly ignited in Yuji's hollow eyes.
Taking advantage of Shoko Ieiri being focused on treating Suguru Geto and Yoru briefly catching his breath.
Yuji forced his crumbling, heavily injured body up and stumbled from the edge of the ruins.
He didn't say a word to anyone, nor did he make a sound.
Like a ghost eager for death, he ran alone and without hesitation toward the deep, dark entrance of the subway station!
He would use his own life to end the monster born from the same malice!
To wash away the sins he had committed!
"Hmm?"
Yoru, who was focusing on sensing Kenjaku's location, suddenly frowned.
Although the Transparent World was closed due to his lack of stamina, his sensitivity to presence still far exceeded that of ordinary people.
He noticed the anomaly almost the instant Yuji left.
"Yuji?"
Yoru turned his head, only to see a back disappearing into the thick fog.
Simultaneously.
That foul presence belonging to Mahito, which had initially been directed only at Yuji, also seeped unreservedly into Yoru's perception.
"A diversion?"
Yoru realized it instantly.
Kenjaku had already escaped with the Prison Realm and couldn't be tracked in the short term.
And that fellow Mahito was definitely emitting his presence on purpose at this moment to lure a mentally broken Yuji to his death!
"Damn it!"
Yoru cursed inwardly and immediately abandoned the idea of pursuing Kenjaku.
He tightened his grip on Shiranui's hilt, wanting to give chase, but as soon as he took a step, his legs felt as heavy as lead, and his vision even went dark for a moment.
Having fought Special Grade Cursed Spirits and the 15-finger Sukuna consecutively, his current physical condition was arguably worse than Yuji's.
'I have to stop him...'
Just as Yoru gritted his teeth, preparing to force his life force out.
On the other side of the Shibuya streets.
Amidst the thick smoke, a bizarre figure wove through the ruins like liquid.
"Hehehe... Hook, line, and sinker, you stupid vessel."
Mahito's true body was hiding deep within the subway station, while the one wandering on the surface was a clone he had just split off.
He understood human weaknesses all too well.
Especially a brat like Yuji Itadori, who was filled with a laughable sense of justice. As long as he poked at that fragile guilt just a little bit, the boy would come flying in like a moth to a flame.
"Since the main body is going to deal with that crumbling vessel, I'll play with these leftovers."
An extremely cruel and excited smile appeared on the stitched face of Mahito's clone.
His gaze pierced through layers of ruins, locking onto a solitary figure.
It was an orange-haired girl wearing a Jujutsu High uniform.
Nobara Kugisaki.
Nobara was currently swinging her hammer, driving several nails infused with cursed energy deep into a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit that was trying to ambush the wounded.
"Straw Doll Technique: Hairpin!"
Bang!
The cursed spirit instantly exploded into a cloud of purple-black blood in mid-air.
Nobara wiped the sweat from her forehead, panting heavily.
Although she hadn't participated in the core battle against Sukuna, cleaning up the stragglers on the outskirts had also taken a massive toll on her.
"Phew... these disgusting bugs just keep coming no matter how many I kill."
Nobara shook her aching wrist and prepared to move toward the medical point.
Suddenly.
A familiar malice that sent chills down her spine spread without warning from the shadows behind her.
It felt like a cold viper slowly crawling up her neck.
Nobara's pupils constricted to pinpricks.
Almost instinctively, she turned around and held her hammer across her chest.
"Yo, long time no see, Nobara."
From the shadows.
Mahito's clone stepped out with a light, airy gait.
On his pale, twisted face was a playful smile, as if he were looking at a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
"You...!"
Nobara gritted her teeth, the veins on the back of her hand gripping the hammer bulging.
How could she ever forget that face!
Back at Satozakura High School, this was the bastard who had nearly turned Junpei into one of those disgusting monsters right in front of her!
If Yoru hadn't arrived just in time, Junpei would have died!
"Don't look at me with such scary eyes."
Mahito's clone spread his hands, shrugging with mock helplessness.
"That vessel named Yuji is currently being driven mad by his own guilt. He's running around like a headless chicken in the subway looking for me."
"So that he doesn't feel too lonely..."
The clone's eyes instantly turned extremely venomous, his mouth splitting into an exaggerated arc.
"Next, it's your turn!"
"I'll turn you into the most hideous monster and send you to that vessel, just to see what kind of despairing expression he'll make. Hehehe!"
Boom!
Hearing those words, the rage in Nobara's heart ignited like dry wood soaked in gasoline!
Old and new grudges erupted completely at this moment!
"You bastard..."
Nobara's eyes became cold and sharp as three glinting nails were gripped between her fingers.
"I'm going to exorcise every bit of your disgusting, rotten flesh right here!"
"With just you?"
Mahito's clone laughed uproariously.
He suddenly raised his right hand, and the twisted cursed energy of Idle Transfiguration began to gather wildly in his palm!
The surrounding air groaned under the weight of this malice.
A true fight to the death was on the verge of breaking out!