Kashimo barged in without warning, looking for Sukuna.
"Sukuna?"
"I want to fight that bastard. That’s part of why I joined this game in the first place."
He bared his teeth in a savage grin and pointed the [Jutai Kyosodo] he was holding at Megumi.
"If you know where he is, tell me. Then I won’t kill you."
"So you’re not saying you won’t fight us...."
"I want to get my senses cranked all the way up before I fight Sukuna. It’d be a nice way to kill time, too."
There was no way to settle this with words, and no way to avoid a clash.
At the speed he’d just shown, even if they ran, he’d catch up in no time.
Megumi’s mind raced as he thought over what to do.
"It can’t come out now that Itadori is Sukuna."
The contract with the Angel was premised on the secret of Sukuna being inside Yuji remaining undisclosed.
If that was broken now, the other side might refuse to cooperate altogether.
Besides, Kashimo wanted a life-or-death duel from the start, so revealing the truth wasn’t even an option.
"But.... fighting here is a bad move too."
The last score Kashimo had shown was 405 points.
He was absolutely necessary for Junpei’s goal of reaching 1,000 points.
Megumi had no intention of dying, but if they killed Kashimo, things would get complicated. Whether they could even kill him was another question entirely.
There was no convenient path.
Once the situation had tangled itself up this badly, they had no choice but to pick the lesser evil.
"Who is that?"
"You’re dragging your feet, so I take it you know. You planning to keep quiet to the end?"
As Megumi answered with feigned nonchalance, Kashimo let out a long sigh.
In the split second Megumi was tensing up for whatever came next, Kashimo vanished from sight.
"Then die."
Bang!
A punch packed with terrifying acceleration shot toward Megumi from his blind spot.
Megumi barely reacted in time to block it, then went flying backward through the door.
Rubbing his numb arm as he got back up, he grimaced at the stinging pain radiating from the point of impact.
"Fast and heavy. But that’s not all. Is this a property of his cursed energy?"
It was definitely carrying an electric quality, like Nue.
Even so, it seemed heavier and far more versatile than that.
"Fushiguro!"
"Kugisaki! Get Kurusu and fall back!"
"Got it!"
At Megumi’s order, Nobara wordlessly grabbed Kurusu by the hand and pulled her away.
Right now, Kurusu’s life had to come first.
If she died in some ridiculous place, he wouldn’t be able to face the comrades who had trusted them with this plan.
"I can’t let you do that."
Just as Kashimo was about to accelerate toward Nobara and Kurusu, who were trying to escape through the broken window, Yuji stepped in front of him.
"Your opponent is us. Don’t go after noncombatants."
"Oh?"
Even with the opponent he had been desperately searching for right in front of him, Kashimo still failed to recognize him. He clicked his tongue, excitement surging through him.
Megumi, who had been sent flying by the blow, had already recovered and was back in a fighting stance.
"These brats.... young as they are, they’re pretty...."
Facing a sorcerer who had once defined an era, neither of them showed the slightest bit of fear.
Both of them had the right attitude, and both had talent.
At this rate, maybe he could actually enjoy himself before the final fight.
"That depends on how much fun you two can give me."
"Let’s go!"
Itadori Yuji & Fushiguro Megumi versus Kashimo Hajime.
The bell rang for the Culling Game, overflowing with chaos.
---------------------------------------
Bang!
Yuji kicked the sofa in the room straight at Kashimo, then charged in after it.
As the enemy’s vision was disrupted, Megumi, who had been waiting for a chance to coordinate, sank into the shadows.
Kashimo split the sofa in half with [Jutai Kyosodo], and Megumi burst out from the shadow beneath him to seize him. At the same time, the Divine Dogs that came with him lunged at Kashimo alongside Yuji.
The instant the claws behind him and the fist in front of him were about to cross, cursed energy burst from Kashimo’s body.
Bzzzzzt!
"Gahh!"
Because he was in direct contact with Kashimo, Megumi took the hit head-on, was electrocuted, and collapsed to the floor.
Yuji and the Divine Dogs, who had been attacking as well, had their movements dulled by the current. Kashimo stabbed the Divine Dog behind him with [Jutai Kyosodo] and shoved it away, then used the recoil to spring toward Yuji.
Yuji, who had kept his eyes on Kashimo the whole time, barely managed to dodge his fist by a hair.
"You dodged that?"
It had been a blow he’d thrown with a little real intent, and yet Yuji had slipped past it like nothing.
As Kashimo’s excitement began to rise, Yuji twisted his body and drove a counter into Kashimo’s abdomen.
Thud!
"Hngh!"
Unable to defend himself, Kashimo was knocked back. Yuji moved to pursue him, but his hand clenched.
"Damn it, so even when I hit him, I still take damage!"
Bang!
Yuji slapped his uncooperative hand down, forcibly snapping his nerves back into place, and his eyes caught the broken chair leg from the earlier fight.
He wasn’t used to using weapons, but he had no choice.
If they kept trading blows like this, he’d be the first to get shocked and go down.
"Fushiguro! We need a weapon that doesn’t conduct electricity!"
"I... know that!"
"You’re using cheap tricks!"
Kashimo kicked off the ground again, and [Jutai Kyosodo] swept wide.
It was a broad, fast attack, but if you faced it head-on, it wasn’t that frightening.
Yuji ducked quickly to avoid it, then poured cursed energy into the chair leg he’d just picked up and smashed it full force into Kashimo’s face.
Thud!
The chair leg shattered under power beyond human limits, and Kashimo’s head snapped to the side.
Behind the staggering Kashimo, Megumi rushed in with a long staff and slammed it into his back.
The moment Kashimo’s body floated upward, the two of them did not miss their chance.
Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
Fushiguro Megumi and Itadori Yuji.
Ever since they began their lives as sorcerers, the two of them had matched up together quite a few times.
There had even been a time when they thought they were awkward to coordinate with, but after going through many battles and building experience, their movements had become surprisingly polished.
Rapid strikes came flying in from different angles, making them hard to react to. Their timing was subtly offset, cutting off any chance to read the flow.
It was a multi-pronged style that forced the enemy into a situation where even focusing on defense was a struggle.
Once the momentum shifted, Kashimo was driven back by a relentless assault that gave him no opening, yet even as he bled, he laughed with delight.
"Those physical abilities, that technique! Everything about this is fascinating!"
Excluding the rankers, they were the best opponents he had met so far.
Originally, he had planned to clean them all up and then, once the Culling Game was left with just the two of them, leisurely fight Sukuna. But this was a little dangerous.
So,
"Maybe I should get serious!"
For now, he’d enjoy this fight.
He’d throw away all worries and concerns about the future and let his body follow its inner rhythm.
Just like always, just as he had 400 years ago!
Thoom!
Manipulating his cursed energy, Kashimo twisted his body in a bizarre angle in midair and deflected the joint attack with [Jutai Kyosodo].
For a brief instant, it was as if the space around him fell under his control, and his hand, carrying just the right amount of force, moved with blinding speed.
It was supreme hand-to-hand combat born from battle experience that dwarfed even the combined experience of Megumi and Yuji.
The profundity of a martial art honed over the ages shattered the balance of power, and the two attackers’ stances collapsed in turn.
"Huh?"
Yuji and Megumi both looked completely lost, their openings laid bare.
Before they could react, Kashimo’s lightning-fast thrust struck them.
Thud! Thwack!
"You first."
Itadori Yuji had been pressing in with absurd physical ability from the start.
The shikigami user seemed comparatively cautious, likely wary of destruction, so Kashimo decided to deal with Yuji first.
Yuji’s body pitched forward after taking a hit to the abdomen, and Kashimo’s rising kick landed under his chin.
Bang!
The impact rattled Yuji’s brain, and his focus vanished for a moment from his eyes.
As he dropped to his knees like a puppet with its strings cut, Kashimo was about to bring [Jutai Kyosodo] down on him when a sudden swarm of rabbits filled the entire room.
"A new shikigami?"
Megumi’s figure was hidden behind the mass of rabbits before Kashimo knew it.
There was no way to tell whether his vision was being blocked, or whether he had slipped into the shadows.
"The guy who was so wary of destruction letting this many out so openly is a little unusual."
It probably couldn’t be destroyed by normal means.
On the other hand, that likely meant its other abilities were weak.
Whoosh!
As Kashimo swung [Jutai Kyosodo] with cursed energy poured into it, the surrounding rabbit swarm was swept away in a single blow.
Blood, fur, and skin scattered, instantly making the room a mess, and through that gap Megumi’s figure moved back and forth.
Just as he seemed about to sink fully into the shadows, gauging his distance, he vanished again.
"You’re moving between the shadows of your shikigami?"
Thwack!
A textbook hit-and-run.
Hovering just at the edge of range, Megumi kept springing out only from the shadows in Kashimo’s blind spots, launching one-sided attacks with dogged persistence.
They were blocked every time and failed to land a decisive hit, but that wasn’t the real aim.
Bang!
While Kashimo’s attention was drawn to Megumi darting around everywhere, a kick shot through the rabbits and slammed into the back of his head.
First, wear him down with small attacks. Then land one big one.
They were buying time so Yuji could recover his stamina.
"Now!"
The rabbits’ chaotic movement aligned, and one by one they clung to Kashimo’s body.
No matter how small and light they were, when that many gathered together, they had to slow him down.
The rabbits would serve as a barrier, so they should be able to endure the same kind of discharge attack as before and keep striking.
Or so they thought—
"By now, there should be enough gathered."
Crackle!
Lightning burst from Kashimo’s body as he flicked his finger.
This was why Kashimo had been called the strongest 400 years ago even without using a technique.
A sure-kill attack that separated and fired his own cursed energy, which was identical to electricity.
Even without a Domain Expansion, it always hit, and if you didn’t understand its principle, you were guaranteed to be caught by it at least once—
A bolt that split the air.
Boom!
A strike that traveled at the literal speed of light.
Completely unprepared for the hidden move, Yuji and Megumi coughed blood and collapsed.
Cough
Both of them had the area around their sides, where they’d been stabbed and marked earlier, torn wide open.
The flesh had blown apart entirely, exposing organs and bone in a gruesome sight.
They were still twitching, still moving a little, so they looked alive, but with injuries like that, they’d die if left alone.
"So this is the end."
Wiping the blood from his nose with his hand, Kashimo silently thanked the two boys for entertaining him.
"I guess I shouldn’t touch those two."
He was thinking he should leave the two women who had escaped the building earlier as promised, when his eyes widened.
The two boys he thought had been finished had already gotten back up.
White lilies bloomed across their bodies, restoring the missing flesh and sealing it smoothly back into place.
"Reverse cursed technique...!"
"I thought... I was... dead....!"
As if answering Megumi’s feral grin, Kashimo wore a twisted smile of his own.
What an unexpected second round.
It felt like getting a present.
"This time for sure, I’ll make sure you can’t get back up...."
The moment he said he would kill them for certain, Kashimo felt a sinister presence.
He hurriedly turned toward the window where the energy was coming from, and there he saw it.
A sacred white light blanketing the sky.
Light.
Light that purifies everything.
Drive away sin, fault, and worry, and guide that one onward.
"No way....!"
"Jacob’s Ladder."
Judgment fell upon the wraith that had defied divine providence.
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