In the shattered courtyard.
Hearing Araki Itsuki's words, Megumi Fushiguro smiled ruefully. He really did overthink things, dwelling on all sorts of problems every day.
You're not a philosopher. Enjoy the fight!
A glint of madness flashed in his eyes as he brazenly sized up the special grade cursed spirit before him, his mind racing:
Tama's claws left marks on its arm just now. They could break through its cursed energy defenses. That means I have a chance.
"I'll kill you!"
With that shout, Megumi Fushiguro charged straight at the special grade cursed spirit.
Cursed energy poured from him, boosting his speed as he burst into striking range.
He pushed off with both feet and twisted at the waist, spinning through the air to build momentum before bringing a whirling double kick down on its head.
Bam!
Putting his entire body's strength into the attack paid off. Even the special grade cursed spirit staggered back two steps.
Before it could regain its footing, a strange eagle cry rang out.
Lightning shrouded Nue's wings as it swooped in from behind.
Its sharp, jet-black talons tore bloody wounds across the special grade cursed spirit's back.
The Finger Cursed Spirit twisted furiously and grabbed Nue's talons before it could take flight again.
It swung Nue up, intending to smash the irritating shikigami into the ground and put it out of action.
But Megumi Fushiguro was faster. Seizing the opening as it reached for Nue, he drove a cursed energy-infused fist into its unguarded chest.
Bam!
A shock wave burst from the Finger Cursed Spirit's back. Taking Fushiguro's heavy punch head-on, it couldn't stop a mouthful of blood from spurting out.
The screeching Nue seized the chance to beat its wings and break free.
Megumi Fushiguro moved with quick, light steps, darting around it. He struck and retreated immediately, never meeting it head-on or giving it a chance to grab him.
Meanwhile, his cursed energy-coated fists hammered its abdomen and flanks from both sides.
He thrust his hands forward, turning both palms upward at chest height, the fronts of his palms touching and his elbows tucked close to his chest.
Megumi Fushiguro brought his wrists together, tucked his hips, lowered his shoulders, and drew his elbows inward before thrusting sharply upward.
White Ape Offers Fruit slammed viciously into its unguarded chin.
Blood gushed uncontrollably. The Finger Cursed Spirit's jaw shattered as its body flew upward, its neck nearly snapping.
Even its almond-sized brain finally caught on.
I can't compete with them in hand-to-hand combat. I have to overwhelm them with cursed energy.
With that thought, it flung its arms outward. Dense cursed energy erupted instantly, blasting in every direction.
Megumi Fushiguro and Nue were both thrown back, unable to get close.
Yet Fushiguro was delighted rather than alarmed. As he leaped backward to widen the distance, his hands formed the signs for a cursed technique, his eyes fixed on the Finger Cursed Spirit as it unleashed its cursed energy.
At last.
The violent eruption of cursed energy ended. The special grade cursed spirit formed a mass of cursed energy in its hand, ready to blast them to death from afar!
Suddenly, a low shout rang out.
"Great Serpent!"
An enormous serpentine shikigami burst through the ground. Amid flying rubble, it ambushed the Finger Cursed Spirit and pinned it in place.
Clamping its jaws around the spirit, it savagely rammed it toward the building.
The Finger Cursed Spirit was driven backward at tremendous speed, unable to find any leverage to pry open Great Serpent's terrifying, bloody maw.
The crash of shattering floors rang out without pause as countless chunks of rubble rained down.
Araki Itsuki casually obliterated the debris flying toward him and murmured in admiration:
"Was he waiting all along for the opening after the special grade cursed spirit unleashed its cursed energy?
He really is a gifted jujutsu sorcerer."
"In the anime, he was always either getting beaten up or on his way to getting beaten up, but his talent really is impressive. No wonder Satoru Gojo thought his potential rivaled Yuji Itadori's."
Back when he watched the anime, Araki Itsuki had always wondered what was going on with Fushiguro.
He wasn't weak, yet he got beaten by low-level cursed spirits at school, by the Finger Cursed Spirit at the detention center, by Ryomen Sukuna outside, and by Todo at the Goodwill Event.
Wasn't that just too tragic?
Meanwhile.
Megumi Fushiguro pressed his advantage. The lightning around Nue's wings grew denser and more dangerous as it worked with Great Serpent, repeatedly lashing the special grade cursed spirit from the air and paralyzing its body.
Then Great Serpent curved its massive, muscular body into a crescent in midair to gather strength before viciously smashing the paralyzed Finger Cursed Spirit in its mouth into the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The force unleashed by that enormous body was terrifying.
The Finger Cursed Spirit couldn't resist at all. It smashed through several floors, then gouged a trench over a dozen meters long in the ground before finally coming to a stop.
Totality, who had been waiting nearby, leaped down from above with cold light gleaming on its claws, pouncing on the fallen Finger Cursed Spirit.
Slash!
Blood sprayed, and two severed arms fell to the ground.
The helpless Finger Cursed Spirit had shielded its neck with its arms, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
Its cheeks swelled, and it violently spat out a ball of cursed energy.
Boom!
A huge explosion erupted. Megumi Fushiguro, who had been about to close in and finish it off, had no choice but to retreat with Tama.
He could only watch as the Finger Cursed Spirit repaired its body and stood up again.
"Damn it, I'm almost out of cursed energy!"
Fushiguro panted heavily. His mind felt utterly exhausted, and his physical strength was beginning to fail.
Controlling three shikigami at once had taken a heavy toll on him mentally.
A figure appeared beside him. Araki Itsuki reassured him, "It's all right. You've already done very well."
"Itadori, come look after Fushiguro."
Yuji Itadori, who hadn't found a chance to join the fight, hurried over to help the exhausted Megumi Fushiguro.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The Finger Cursed Spirit had only just gotten up when it saw Araki Itsuki approaching again, before it could even vent its anger.
Its legs trembled, and it turned tail and ran.
Seeing this, Araki Itsuki asked curiously, "Don't cursed spirits usually like to linger where they were born?"
"What are you running for?"
But the Finger Cursed Spirit didn't look back. It hurled several waves of cursed energy at Araki Itsuki to keep him from approaching and continued fleeing for its life.
Thud!
Just as it was about to escape, it suddenly collided with a chest as hard as solid rock.
Araki Itsuki had appeared without a sound, completely blocking the exit.
He reached forward and effortlessly forced apart the Finger Cursed Spirit's arms as it struggled to fend him off.
Clamping a hand around its grotesque head, he hauled it into the air.
The Finger Cursed Spirit felt as though its head was about to be crushed. It kicked and struggled frantically, trying to break free.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Finding itself utterly unable to pry away Araki Itsuki's iron grip, it could only bombard him with all its rampaging cursed energy.
It no longer cared whether attacking at such close range would hurt it too.
Yet Araki Itsuki merely wore a mocking smile as he took the cursed energy blasts of its dying struggle head-on.
His fingers tightened, and the Finger Cursed Spirit's ugly head trembled violently.
"I will not tolerate cowardice!"
Splat!
With a strange sound like a watermelon bursting, foul blood mixed with minced flesh dripped between Araki Itsuki's fingers.
Purple-black Death Omen Star energy surfaced around him, eagerly vying to devour the hatred and curses the cursed spirit released before death.
"It only just reached special grade, but it's still edible."
After savoring the Finger Cursed Spirit's fear, Araki Itsuki beckoned to the other two. "It's over. Let's go."
Megumi Fushiguro watched as the special grade cursed spirit he had failed to defeat after such a long, bitter battle awaited death before Araki Itsuki, as helpless as a crawling insect.
The gap between their strength left him shaken.
More importantly, Araki Itsuki's methods bore no resemblance to what a jujutsu sorcerer's should have been.
That terrifying, dark aura would probably have left even a curse user wondering who the real villain was.
"He's terrifying. He might be another upperclassman like Okkotsu."
Araki Itsuki waved to them. "We've confirmed there are no survivors, and the special grade cursed spirit has been exorcised. Let's go."
Fushiguro nodded, dismissed his summoned shikigami, and wearily followed behind Yuji Itadori.
Araki Itsuki summed things up:
"You both did very well this time. You can already face a special grade cursed spirit without being frozen in terror by its pressure."
"You might not be able to kill one yet, but you can at least escape."
"But don't get careless."
At that, Araki Itsuki gave Yuji Itadori a serious look:
"Ryomen Sukuna and that cursed spirit just now are both classified as special grade."
"But there's a world of difference between them. Ryomen Sukuna could slaughter that cursed spirit with ease."
Having said that, Araki Itsuki took out a horrifying, shriveled finger.
Yuji Itadori immediately recognized it and was startled.
"Why is Ryomen Sukuna's finger here?!"
"It was inside that cursed spirit. It's the reason it became a special grade cursed spirit."
Cold sweat trickled down Fushiguro's forehead as he asked in disbelief:
"So that special grade cursed spirit was just the result of a single finger empowering it?!"
Even though he kept revising his estimate of Ryomen Sukuna's strength upward, Fushiguro was still shocked to hear this.
Araki Itsuki nodded. "That's right. So you both have a long way to go. Keep working hard. Itadori, make sure you practice using cursed energy when we get back."
"And I imagine Satoru Gojo will be pretty unhappy. He'd barely left on a business trip before a bunch of maggots assigned his beloved students such a terrifying mission."
Araki Itsuki smiled with amusement. "Things are going to get interesting."
"Let's go."
Each lost in his own thoughts, the three turned and left.
As they neared the entrance, Araki Itsuki suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Uh... aren't we forgetting someone?"
Megumi Fushiguro and Yuji Itadori stared at each other. Suddenly remembering, they both jumped and cried out:
"Kugisaki?!!!"
Before you continue