Mahito clamped his other hand around Itadori's jaw again, squeezing hard enough to nearly crush the bone:
"Stop dragging your feet. Swallow it."
Itadori clenched his teeth and turned his head to dodge, but he was too drained to break free.
The cold fingertips drew closer. Just as they were about to touch his lips, a bloodstained hand suddenly reached in from the side and pressed heavily on Mahito's shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Mahito whipped his head around and met Choso's reddened eyes.
Choso still had a hand pressed to his forehead, blood seeping between his fingers, but the confusion in his eyes was gone, leaving only seriousness.
"Until I get to the bottom of this, no one touches him."
Choso withdrew his hand. Crimson Cursed Energy surged around his fingertips, and beads of blood slowly revolved around him.
Without looking at Mahito again, he bent down, reached out, and hauled Itadori up from the floor.
Itadori staggered to his feet. He froze for a moment, then shot a wary glance at the man beside him.
The enemy who had been trying to kill him a moment ago had actually reached out to help him up.
But he also understood their current predicament. This was no time to dwell on it, so he clenched his fists and silently took up a position to provide mutual support with Choso.
Mahito's voice was shaking, not with fear, but with anger.
The rage in his chest rose with all the pent-up resentment he had swallowed along the way, making his eyes sting.
"When Guyue Qingxiao was beating us into the ground in that tunnel, you were the first to pull out.
"When Jogo and the other two were risking their lives to hold the breach, you weren't there.
"Now that