Chapter 137: Faced with Another Choice
Jogo was under immense pressure.
Not because of the battle itself.
The real pressure came from Yuji Itadori.
More precisely, from his growth.
Compared to their last encounter, Yuji had changed too much. Even after Jogo expanded his Domain, he could no longer crush the boy in a short time. If Yuji continued improving at this rate, then even if they succeeded in gathering all of Sukuna's Fingers, a more terrifying problem would appear.
How were they supposed to make him eat them?
Time was running out.
If this continued, Yuji Itadori might climb to Satoru Gojo's level within an absurdly short period.
So this is Asuramaru's power?
Those who gained the divine sword's recognition were destined to become the strongest across the ages.
Jogo had heard the words before.
Only now did he truly understand their weight.
Even so, if this plan succeeded, their time to act would not be far away.
Inside Coffin of the Iron Mountain, the battle remained deadlocked for several minutes.
Yuji maintained his Demon Power barrier while enduring the volcanic Domain's relentless pressure. Magma burst from the ground. Obsidian pillars shot through the air. Heat gnawed at every inch of space.
Todo held his Simple Domain, sweat running down his face.
Yuji could not help but ask in his mind, "Asuramaru, can't you let me expand a Domain too?"
Asuramaru answered irritably, "I haven't fully acknowledged you yet. You're not qualified to use my Domain."
Yuji's expression stiffened.
"And instead of asking for shortcuts, can't you practice your sword forms more?"
The words were harsh, but Yuji knew they were true.
He did not argue.
That was not his style.
Besides, for now, the situation was still manageable.
Barely.
Time passed.
At last, Jogo released his Domain.
The volcanic world collapsed. The forest returned around them, scorched and scarred from the battle.
According to the time Suguru Geto had given him, it should be close to the agreed moment.
And almost as if responding to that thought, a deafening roar echoed from deeper within the Curtain.
The moment Jogo heard it, his single eye sharpened.
That was the signal.
The mission had succeeded.
It was time to retreat.
"Let's go, Hanami!"
Hanami answered in those obscure, difficult-to-understand sounds.
Roots erupted from beneath Jogo and Hanami's feet, curling around them and preparing to pull them away.
Yuji tightened his grip on both swords.
His eyes burned with killing intent.
"You think I'll let you escape that easily?"
Beside him, Todo grinned.
"My best friend! Then let us use our full strength together and exorcise them!"
The clap sounded before his words had fully faded.
Clap.
Jogo's position changed instantly.
Yuji had already been waiting for that exact moment.
The twin swords in his hands ignited with flame.
"Hinokami Kagura: Flame Chariot!"
He leaped into the air, body spinning, both swords whirling around him like burning wheels.
Jogo reacted in time.
He crouched and retreated, narrowly avoiding the fiery blades as they swept past his neck.
But he could not escape completely.
A brutal gash was carved across his face.
"Damn it..."
Jogo's expression twisted.
With that troublesome human here, leaving would not be easy.
Why had Geto's next step not started yet?
Yuji landed and immediately closed in again.
Jogo saw him coming and shouted, "Are you still going to waste time with us?"
Yuji's steps paused slightly.
Jogo's grin turned vicious.
"In a little while, all your friends will be dead."
Yuji's pupils contracted.
"What do you mean?"
A loud explosion erupted from deeper inside the Curtain, answering him before Jogo did.
Boom!
The shockwave rolled through the forest.
Yuji turned toward the sound. He could sense thick Cursed Energy from that direction. It was not as strong as Jogo's, but it was unmistakably Special Grade.
Jogo laughed maliciously.
"We have comrades over there too."
Yuji's face darkened.
Jogo continued, pressing the blade deeper.
"So what will you choose, Yuji Itadori? Keep fighting us and wait for your friends to die, or let us leave so you can go save them?"
His smile widened.
"Time is running out."
The Curtain still covered the area.
Satoru Gojo was sealed outside.
And once again, Yuji found himself forced to choose.
But this time, he did not blindly trust the enemy's words.
"Asuramaru," he asked inwardly, "is he telling the truth?"
Asuramaru answered calmly, "Mostly."
Yuji's heart sank.
"There is indeed a Special Grade Cursed Spirit over there capable of using a Domain. Judging from the situation, your friends probably won't last much longer."
Then Asuramaru added with deliberate clarity.
"If that Special Grade opens its Domain, it will be a massacre."
The meaning was clear.
Yuji had to go.
At the same time, Megumi Fushiguro and the others had discovered the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
It floated behind them like a swollen, densely hairy maggot.
Its curled body clung around a spherical core. Thin arms grew from both sides, and dense Cursed Energy seeped from it in waves.
This was the Special Grade disease-type Cursed Spirit Kenjaku had released to draw attention.
The Pox God.
Fortunately, its speed was not high.
That alone allowed Megumi, Kamo, and Inumaki to keep their distance for the moment.
As they cleared the Cursed Spirits blocking their path, they discussed countermeasures while fleeing.
"That Special Grade behind us is getting closer," Kamo said, glancing back from the corner of his eye.
His brow furrowed.
Megumi's expression was grim.
"We can only hold out until Gojo-sensei arrives. That Cursed Spirit might be able to expand a Domain. We absolutely cannot fight it head-on."
He could see the difference clearly.
The Cursed Energy coming from that thing was on an entirely different level from the weak curses they had exorcised so far.
"Bonito flakes!"
Inumaki immediately agreed.
The three of them continued running, not daring to stop for even a moment.
But even so, they were gradually forced into the Pox God's range.
Behind them, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit raised its head.
"Aaaaaah..."
A piercing shriek tore through the forest.
Its Cursed Energy output climbed to the limit, gushing outward and forming a Domain that dragged the three students, along with the nearby Cursed Spirits, into its territory.
The scenery changed.
A disorderly burial ground spread beneath a night sky. Tombstones leaned at strange angles. The ground was damp and dark. Pale moonlight shone through a haze, casting everything in a sickly glow.
Megumi's expression changed instantly.
"Domain Expansion?!"
"Not good!" Kamo reacted at once. "Open Simple Domain!"
"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"
All three activated their Simple Domains at the same time, forming defensive spaces to neutralize the sure-hit effect.
But immediately after, a coffin appeared above Megumi's head.
It dropped straight down.
Megumi reacted quickly and dodged aside, narrowly avoiding being crushed beneath it.
The sight made all three of them even more tense.
They could not maintain Simple Domain indefinitely.
If they did nothing, sooner or later the Domain's effect would catch them.
They had to break this Domain by any means possible.
Otherwise, all three of them would die here.
Megumi, Kamo, and Inumaki exchanged glances.
Kamo moved first.
He crushed a blood pack in his hand and pressed his palms together.
"Hundred Convergence: Piercing Blood!"
A compressed beam of blood shot from his fingertips like a laser.
It struck the Pox God's palm in an instant, piercing straight through and leaving a wound.
The injury began healing almost immediately.
Even so, the impact forced the Cursed Spirit to stagger backward. Its body slipped into the darkness of the burial ground and disappeared from view.
Then the Cursed Spirits that had been dragged into the Domain along with them began surging forward.
More and more of them emerged from the shadows.
Megumi's jaw tightened.
Kamo's hand moved toward another blood pack.
Inumaki's collar shifted as he prepared to speak.
The same thought flashed through all three of their minds.
Damn it.
If there had been any hope of victory before, that hope had now been stretched thin enough to snap.
.....
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