Fushiguro Megumi's Shock

"How could that be possible? You're going to take on a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with only one hand?" Fushiguro Megumi absolutely refused to let Yuji Itadori do this. Lin Ran had already taken enough of a risk; he could not stand by and watch Yuji do the same.

"Take a closer look..." Yuji Itadori's gaze settled on Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction. "It's enjoying itself. It's completely looking down on us. I can still buy us some time."

Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction really was dancing about as it mocked Yuji Itadori and Fushiguro Megumi. It was like a cat looking down from above at a little mouse.

"No!"

"Fushiguro, please."

At that moment, Yuji Itadori revealed a relieved smile. After giving him a long look, Fushiguro Megumi finally made up his mind, turned, and left. As he went, he shouted, "Don't you dare die!"

Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction acted as if it had not seen Fushiguro Megumi leave. In its gleeful mind, no one would be leaving this place today. They would all have to play with it.

Meanwhile, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit facing Lin Ran was not as powerful as Heavenly Restriction, but it was not much weaker either. Though injured, it had grown even more frenzied, almost directly unleashing cursed energy attacks at Lin Ran.

A green cursed energy shockwave blasted toward Lin Ran. He could not possibly take it head-on with his body; he was not strong enough to go toe-to-toe with a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

It seemed this Special Grade Cursed Spirit was not stupid either. Knowing it was at a disadvantage in close combat, it pulled away to fight from a distance. This put Lin Ran at a disadvantage.

But Lin Ran was not without a way to deal with it. The Special Grade Cursed Spirit was not particularly fast, so after dodging its attacks, Lin Ran could close the distance between them.

And Lin Ran's current Cursed Energy Output had afterimages. With a punch, his cursed energy could form a phantom fist, extending his attack range by at least another meter.

"Have a taste of my 'long-range' attack." Lin Ran grinned. After dodging the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's attack, he closed the distance between them and threw a punch. Empowered by Cursed Energy Output, the punch crossed a distance of 1.6 meters and struck the Special Grade Cursed Spirit directly in the face.

That punch was also a Black Flash. Having been struck by Black Flash again, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit began to feel fear. But it grew even more enraged, raising a hand and swinging out a powerful burst of cursed energy that slammed Lin Ran into the wall.

Fortunately, the thing had suffered serious injuries, and its cursed energy was depleted. This blow did not cause Lin Ran too much damage, though it still did not feel good.

A hole had already been punched through the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's face by Lin Ran. Its teeth were visible inside, with blood flowing out.

"Although I don't know how something that shouldn't exist like you ended up here, since you've come, don't even think about leaving. More importantly, you might be the weakest of all Special Grades, right?" Lin Ran finally vented some of his frustration. He had nearly been beaten to death by that purple Special Grade Cursed Spirit before. This one was also Special Grade, but it was far inferior—just right for letting off some steam.

The green-skinned Special Grade Cursed Spirit roughly understood what Lin Ran meant. Though furious, it was also somewhat afraid. This human was not someone it could knead and crush as it pleased, as it had imagined. Instead, he had beaten it into this state.

It had not been a Special Grade for long, but it had never suffered such severe injuries during that time. Today was the worst it had ever experienced.

"Since you're not moving, then I'm coming at you!" Lin Ran shifted his feet and rapidly closed in on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Going soft? Your attacks are all missing." Lin Ran dodged its attacks as he approached. The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's attack power had dropped significantly, and its reactions had slowed considerably as well.

"Blue-Black Flash!"

Lin Ran swept out a long-range kick. Though this kind of attack expanded his range, it also reduced its power. Still, it was the safest method—he could strike his opponent without fully closing in.

The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's physical strength was extremely formidable. Lin Ran would not take the risk of getting grabbed by it, especially since it had four arms.

Yuji Itadori, on the other hand, was not having such an easy time. The Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction he faced was even stronger.

As Yuji Itadori was considering how to stall for time, Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction suddenly raised its hand and fired an orange blast of cursed energy, sending Yuji flying into the wall.

From that ordinary strike alone, Yuji Itadori spat out a mouthful of blood. The wall behind him caved in as well. Without Cursed Energy Armor, how could he resist such an attack with nothing but his physically powerful body?

"So strong..." Yuji Itadori tried to focus on facing this terrifying opponent, but the next moment, Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction gave him no time to react. It had already appeared before him, and a fist filled with cursed energy smashed directly into Yuji Itadori's body.

"Bang!"

"Crash!"

The wall behind him shattered, blasted open into a huge hole. Yuji Itadori fell like a kite with its string cut onto a distant platform. On either side of the platform lay bottomless black abysses, with dark blue water flowing below.

Yuji Itadori lost consciousness for a short while. Even with his abnormal physique, he could not withstand such devastating damage. At that moment, he wondered whether Lin Ran was also facing such a one-sided battle. Could any of them still make it out alive?

Cursed Womb: Heavenly Restriction walked step by step through the hole, staring excitedly at Yuji Itadori lying on the ground. It spread its hands, and powerful cursed energy surged forth. An even stronger attack was about to come.

Relying on his powerful willpower, Yuji Itadori forcibly regained consciousness. After getting up, he stretched both arms out in front of himself, trying to block the coming attack. He knew very well that he could not withstand this kind of damage, but he had no other choice. Escape was impossible.

"Lin Ran!"

"What's going on here?"

After rescuing Nobara Kugisaki, Fushiguro Megumi returned to where Lin Ran had been. But they found neither Lin Ran nor the Special Grade Cursed Spirit there.

Only the pockmarked walls and ground proved that an intense battle had taken place here.

"What's that..." Nobara Kugisaki spotted a pile of something in the corner. The two immediately rushed over, their pupils widening in an instant.

"That Special Grade Cursed Spirit..." Fushiguro Megumi stared at the scene before him in disbelief. The incomparably powerful Special Grade Cursed Spirit from before had now become chunks of flesh scattered across the ground. If half its head had not remained on the floor, Fushiguro Megumi would not even have recognized what it was.

"It's dead? Could Lin Ran have done this?" Nobara Kugisaki looked around, but there was no sign of Lin Ran or his body. "How could he be this strong? That's a Special Grade Cursed Spirit."

"No, this doesn't count as a Cursed Spirit anymore. It has a physical body and didn't disappear after being exorcised. This is a Cursed Spirit Incarnation." Amid his shock, Fushiguro Megumi relaxed considerably. As long as Lin Ran was alive, that was enough. "Looks like Teacher Gojo was right..."

"Then where is he? Did he go to support Yuji?" Nobara Kugisaki turned to look at the passage behind them.

"I don't think so. If he managed to kill a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, he must have suffered serious injuries himself. Perhaps Lin Ran has already left this place." Fushiguro Megumi took a breath. "We should leave quickly too, so Yuji can focus on fighting."

"Okay!" There was no other option. Injured Nobara Kugisaki nodded, and the two quickly began searching for a way out.