Chapter 110 : My Name Is
"......"
Under the powerful cursed energy pressure, everything became quiet in an instant.
Jiang Lai didn't speak first, just stood on the ruins in the illusion, his expression indifferent with some unclear smile mixed in, looking down at the people on the ground.
That 'navy blue figure' wasn't stupid. Upon sensing power higher than his own, he immediately tried to escape. But Jiang Lai didn't give it a chance.
True, seamless spatial techniques descended, wrapping that false projection tightly without giving it any possibility of escape.
Jiang Lai had already seen that the caster of this incomplete domain was precisely this false projection before him. The other's technique seemed related to simulation, so the domain was a memory illusion, while it could impersonate others and mimic abilities to some extent.
But fakes were ultimately fakes. Crude imitations in front of the genuine article were merely playful tricks.
Jiang Lai's gaze fell on that projection. As a cursed spirit at this moment, he was more sensitive. With just one glance, he could sense the unusual faint evil and cold power swirling around the cursed spirit.
Ryomen Sukuna's finger! Jiang Lai immediately guessed.
He suddenly understood: No wonder this cursed spirit could support such a massive illusory domain. It had devoured Ryomen Sukuna's finger, absorbing massive power that didn't belong to it.
But Ryomen Sukuna's fingers weren't common cabbage found everywhere. For this cursed spirit to coincidentally devour one for upgrading was probably someone's deliberate arrangement.
Jiang Lai pondered in his heart. Probably another character who set up this situation had brought the finger.
No matter what, since he happened to encounter it, this finger would belong to him.
It came without any effort at all.
Coincidentally, Ryomen Sukuna held a divine status fragment, while he now had one of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. It was roughly equivalent to a bargaining chip they could trade with each other.
From this perspective, whoever suffered the most from this illusory domain setup was unknown, but the one who gained the most was definitely him.
Jiang Lai's eyes showed some amusement, his lips curving slightly.
Below, Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara witnessed the light smile appearing on the black-haired, brown-eyed person's face. Both tensed up like taut strings.
They didn't understand why the other was smiling, their hair standing on end under the powerful cursed energy pressure.
Jiang Lai's emerging smile was only momentary. He quickly restrained his expression, returning to his usual indifferent attitude. His form lightly leaped down from the ruins, landing on the nearby ground.
Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara instinctively took battle stances but cautiously didn't launch attacks.
Both had impressions of the black-haired, brown-eyed youth before them. The 'gift' from the sukiyaki restaurant had left them with a deep impression.
Not long ago, Itadori Yuji had also mentioned the Satozakura School incident to them once or twice.
However, because daily jujutsu sorcerer missions were numerous and heavy, they usually preferred chatting about happy things and rarely mentioned mission-related topics.
Therefore, when Itadori Yuji returned last time, he had only chatted briefly about it without detailed elaboration.
Fushiguro Megumi's memory imprint of the person before him was deeper. After all, this person was his neighbor in Tokyo and had once saved him in an alley. But he still didn't understand why the other had intervened.
At this moment, meeting at close range, both Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara detected something strange about the black-haired, brown-eyed youth that was different from before...
Their sensing and observation was only momentary. The two quickly realized that the black-haired youth before them wasn't human but in cursed spirit form!
But how could this be...? Clearly, in their previous encounters, the other had been human. After not seeing him for a while, he had actually...
This realization made them instantly tense!
Cursed spirits were enemies of humans. Could the black-haired youth before them be in league with the illusion cursed spirit? That would be very troublesome. They were completely outmatched.
But the other had extended help to them several times before. Maybe this time too...? But why?
Speaking of which, the black-haired youth before them felt inexplicably familiar.
Various thoughts swirled in their minds. Fushiguro Megumi felt somewhat dizzy. He bit the soft flesh inside his mouth to stimulate himself to stay alert.
Before him, the black-haired youth in a tailored windbreaker didn't look at the two technical college students but focused his gaze on that 'navy blue figure.'
Just then, Kugisaki Nobara suddenly reached out, grabbed Fushiguro Megumi's arm, and pulled him back slightly.
Fushiguro Megumi glanced over, seeing Kugisaki Nobara's expression tense but her eyes calm and resolute. She mouthed to him, suggesting they retreat together while the unexpected figure's attention was on that projection.
Temporarily retreating was the correct choice. Even if they couldn't completely withdraw, distancing themselves from the battle situation was a rational decision for both.
Fushiguro Megumi recalled his shikigami, following the girl's slow backward steps while keeping his eyes on the front.
The black-haired, brown-eyed youth's indifferent brown eyes glanced over. The false projection, sensing killing intent, flickered.
Unable to escape, it simply adopted a desperate attitude, carrying cursed energy as it attacked first!
The black-haired youth didn't even move his feet. He slightly raised his hand, and an arc-shaped spatial barrier blocked the attack while covering the projection!
The projection tried to mimic the black-haired youth's counterattack but didn't have time to set up defenses before being suddenly controlled by the surrounding contracting air!
Dense air wrapped around that projection like living serpents coiling around it, giving the other no opportunity to exploit.
The black-haired person's fingertips moved, lightly controlling the situation. Even within the opponent's domain, he remained unaffected.
His eyebrows slightly raised, his expression unrestrained, his attitude showing powerful confidence. Yet he somehow had an inexplicable inclusiveness that didn't make him seem arrogant, like a bright moon in the sky, its radiance flowing for thousands of miles without being blinding.
With the turn of his wrist, he seemed to hold the entire space between his fingers.
Such powerful spatial control...
Witnessing the scene's situation, Fushiguro Megumi's blue-green eyes widened slightly. At a certain heartbeat moment, something flashed through his mind like lightning!
Could the black-haired youth before him be...
Speculations surged like springs. Fushiguro Megumi's attention focused as he looked intently.
The standing brown-eyed youth had neat short hair, his clothing wasn't navy blue kimono, and there were no floating ancient books beside him.
But that powerful yet inclusive aura, even mixed with some inexplicable dark chaotic atmosphere, remained remarkably striking.
That was a quality the false projection could never imitate.
After reacting for some time, Fushiguro Megumi finally connected the black-haired youth with the navy blue figure whose face was shrouded in mist from his memories.
After this conclusion emerged, torrents surged in his heart!
But how could this be possible?! Was it him? Or wasn't it?
He hoped the person before him was the figure from his thousand-year-old memories, yet he also hoped it wasn't. Because what had changed about the figure before him wasn't just appearance, but also...
The recognition that 'the black-haired youth is currently a cursed spirit' struck him like another heavy blow. Fushiguro Megumi's backward retreat became more pronounced. Kugisaki Nobara beside him immediately looked at him.
"......" Fushiguro Megumi took a deep breath, looking back at Kugisaki Nobara. Though he said nothing, his classmate read his expression.
Kugisaki Nobara was first stunned, then disbelieving. She had impressions of a brief encounter from a thousand years ago. Now she turned toward the battle situation, instinctively murmuring: "But, a cursed spirit?"
When they had seen the other before, he was human. Now he had become a cursed spirit. But they both remembered that a thousand years ago, the other seemed to have been an existence comparable to gods.
Before them, the cursed spirit bound tightly by Jiang Lai's spatial techniques could no longer maintain its disguise. The 'navy blue figure' skin peeled away, revealing its true cursed spirit form: a grotesquely twisted giant crow with dark red eyes like rotting meat.
It opened its mouth and made strange cries. Its ferocious face accompanied by surging cursed energy caused the entire illusory domain to begin fluctuating!
Turbulent cursed energy came wave after wave. Kugisaki Nobara raised her arm to block the dust and wind. Fushiguro Megumi also squinted his eyes.
However, Jiang Lai remained composed, calmly stepping forward several paces, easily breaking through the malevolent cursed energy that rushed at him with bared fangs and claws.
With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the incoming attacks, then used a cursed blade to cut open the crow cursed spirit's belly.
Spatial techniques isolated his hands as he extracted a dark finger from the other's abdomen.
It was Ryomen Sukuna's finger!
Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara in the distance immediately recognized it, instantly understanding.
No wonder this cursed spirit was so powerful. It had devoured Ryomen Sukuna's finger!
After Jiang Lai extracted the finger, the cursed spirit visibly deflated, its power plummeting several levels, no longer able to struggle.
The black-haired, brown-eyed youth ignored the cursed spirit, spatial techniques covering Ryomen Sukuna's finger as he gathered it in his palm.
Then he lifted his eyes, calmly glancing at Fushiguro Megumi and Kugisaki Nobara in the distance.
Fushiguro Megumi looked over, his mind rolling with complex thoughts.
If it really was that person, why hadn't he come to find him or Gojo-sensei during this time? Why had he changed from the god-like figure of years past to the current cursed spirit?
The other's aura seemed somewhat strange, mixed with chaos. But he had helped him before... He remembered the thousand years past, right?
These thoughts seemed frozen and stagnant when the black-haired youth's brown eyes looked over.
The other's gaze was too calm and too unfamiliar.
Indifferent and distant, separated by an unmistakably obvious barrier. Though it didn't seem like looking at a stranger, the remaining trace of familiarity was only due to their few modern encounters.
The other had not only lost his former identity but seemed to have forgotten his memories as well.
The false projection in the illusion would show concern for him, while the real person had long since forgotten.
Fushiguro Megumi's lowered fingertips trembled imperceptibly. His brow furrowed as he stubbornly met that scrutinizing gaze.
The black-haired, brown-eyed youth didn't linger long, nor did he continue looking at Fushiguro Megumi. He lowered his eyelids slightly, tilting his head to play with Ryomen Sukuna's finger, about to turn and leave.
The surrounding turbulent illusion became increasingly shattered. The thousand-year-old attire on Fushiguro Megumi created by the illusion began to dissipate.
In the remnants of the collapsing Heian-kyo City ruins illusion, that person stepped away without nostalgia.
Fushiguro Megumi instinctively stepped forward. He still had many questions he wanted to ask, many issues that couldn't simply be concluded with 'things and people have changed.'
Kugisaki Nobara reached out and pulled him back again. Fushiguro Megumi also instantly regained his rationality.
The other was currently a dangerous cursed spirit. He shouldn't approach. The black-haired youth taking the finger and leaving was actually a favorable situation for them. They could take this opportunity to exorcise that weakened cursed spirit.
Fushiguro Megumi's thousand-year-old long hair disappeared with the illusion. The Heian-kyo clothing on his body also swayed in the wind, gradually fading and transforming back to technical college student uniform style.
The distant figure walked far into the unknown distance. Indescribable emotions stuck in his throat.
He recalled past regrets, the name he hadn't had time to tell. But he also calmly knew he shouldn't attract the other's attention, shouldn't call back the threat that was about to leave.
He couldn't shout loudly. Remaining silent was the best response.
The youth opened his mouth. Reason suppressed his emotions, keeping him quiet, yet ultimately a trace of stubbornness emerged. Toward that departing back, he squeezed out a weak, low voice:
"...My real name is Fushiguro Megumi."
The last Heian-kyo illusion collapsed and disintegrated as cursed energy withdrew. That black-haired youth's back also disappeared in the distance.
But in the very end, that person seemed to turn his head back slightly.
Perhaps he heard something, perhaps he didn't. Or maybe there was no difference, because the result was the same empty bewilderment.