Jumping back as a burst of cursed energy exploded in front of him, Itadori was caught off guard when the special grade curse suddenly appeared beside him. His eyes widened as he lowered his arms to block a slap that sent him flying across the pool.

Boom!

"Itadori!"

Seeing his companion collide with the wall, Megumi immediately signaled with his hands, summoning a black shadow near the curse. A gigantic snake emerged, biting once, crushing the curse against the wall while trying to contain it.

"Kugisaki! We need to get Itadori and escape as quickly as possible!"

Nobara, witnessing the chaotic situation unfold so suddenly, frowned at Megumi's words, her teeth clenching as she started running toward Itadori.

"What a shitty situation!"

Just as she was about to reach the spot where Itadori had been thrown, Nobara's eyes widened as a presence appeared beside her. She turned her head to find the strange curse staring at her with a huge smile.

"Dodge, Kugisaki!"

Megumi tried to summon another shikigami, but his hands weren't faster than the curse's attack, which slapped Nobara's face.

Boom!

With the attack about to hit her, the curse was taken by surprise when its face was suddenly struck by a fist, its body pushed back a few meters as its smile disappeared.

"Damn! I blacked out for a few seconds after that slap."

Standing in front of Nobara, a wounded Itadori had blood streaming from his forehead, an irritated smile on his lips as he raised his fists.

"Megumi, Kugisaki!"

Calling his two companions, Itadori quickly crouched and picked up the blade that had fallen from his hands, a vein appearing on his forehead as his face filled with irritation.

"Let's kill this curse!"

.

Throwing a rock at the curse, Itadori rolled to escape a burst of cursed energy, immediately getting up and running toward Megumi, who had just summoned a black wolf.

"We need to escape! We're facing a special grade curse!"

Nobara, who was keeping her distance, tried to hit the curse with her nails, but they were deflected with mere slaps.

"To escape, one of us needs to stay behind, and that means certain death."

Itadori said while picking up another rock from the ground, using his physical prowess to hurl it at extreme speed toward the curse.

"We can win, I'm sure of it. We just need to work together."

Seeing the curse destroy the rock with a slap, Itadori frowned as he prepared.

"Kugisaki needs to keep her distance and take any opportunity to attack with her nails. Your shikigami will be of great help, Megumi. I'm sure if you weren't here, we'd already be dead by now."

Eyes widening as the curse's cheeks puffed up, Itadori and Megumi jumped away, narrowly escaping what was about to be pure cursed power.

"I'm by far the most physically proficient here! I need any distraction to get close and attack with my knife!"

Sweat trickled down Megumi's forehead, his face full of indecision as they watched the curse, which was laughing at them as if they were mere toys.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"He's underestimating us! We'll have a chance if we attack with everything we've got!"

Megumi, fully understanding the situation they were in, swallowed hard as he positioned himself, his teeth clenched as he made a sign with his hands.

"Damn it! Fine!"

Summoning the enormous serpent once more, which, though injured, was still alive, Megumi ordered it to attack the curse. The shikigami appeared from the enemy's back and bit it again.

"Now, Kugisaki!"

Nobara, hearing the signal, immediately struck some nails imbued with cursed energy with her hammer, sending them toward the curse.

But as Megumi prepared to dismiss the serpent, his eyes widened when the enormous shikigami's mouth was opened all at once, blood gushing from its lips as the curse revealed itself completely.

'What was that?! A barrier?!'

The nails, hitting the curse's head, ricocheted away, demonstrating its terrifying durability.

"Son of a bitch." Nobara cursed.

The curse, with a huge smile on its lips, turned toward Nobara, a laugh escaping its throat as it prepared to advance toward her.

"Kugisaki, run!"

Megumi warned her, but Nobara already knew what to do the moment the curse stared at her, nervous sweat running down her neck as she began to run away.

But her speed couldn't compare to the curse's, which reached her in an instant.

Realizing she would be hit, the woman turned and raised her arms to defend herself.

!

But to her relief, the white wolf, which had been hit by the curse, suddenly leaped off the curse's back and bit it directly on the neck, distracting the curse enough for Nobara to pull away.

'Thanks, puppy!'

The curse, seeing that shikigami as just an annoyance, grabbed it by the neck and crushed it to the ground, its smile never leaving its lips.

"I've got you!"

But while the curse seemed distracted by killing the wolf, Itadori suddenly appeared above it, his teeth clenched as he descended, slicing.

"..."

*Crack

But to everyone's surprise except Itadori's, the blade not only failed to inflict any damage on the curse's skin but also shattered into several pieces.

'I knew this would happen.'

Turning to the curse, Itadori saw it rise with a commanding presence, its smile widening.

'I was foolish to think otherwise.'

Boom!

Thrown back by a barrier that exploded from the curse's body, Itadori hit the ground with enough force to crack it.

"Itadori!"

Megumi and Nobara approached, Itadori spitting a mouthful of blood as he sat, his expression dark as he rested his arm on his knee.

"Run, I'll give control to Sukuna when you're safe."

He wanted to do things differently, but it was obvious that even together, they didn't have enough power to fight a curse of this level.

The best thing to do was to let Sukuna take control and try to resolve things from there.

Fighting this curse would only lead to Megumi and Nobara's deaths, as even if he were in danger, he could always hand control to Sukuna, and he didn't want that.

For now, it was the best course of action.

"What? What are you saying? We're not leaving you behind." Even though Nobara wasn't the friendliest member of the group, she wasn't someone to abandon a companion, so it was natural for her to be against the idea.

"You understand, don't you?" Addressing Megumi, Itadori stood up, wiping the blood from his lips. "This is the best thing to do right now."

Megumi bit his lips. He didn't want to abandon Itadori, but he knew that with Sukuna, it was unlikely Yuji would die.

In the end, he didn't have enough power to change the situation, and for now, there was nothing he could do about it.

The most he could do was survive and become strong enough in the future so that this wouldn't happen again.

"Let's go, Kugisaki. The faster we go, the better the chances for Itadori."

Nobara was silent for a moment but soon nodded reluctantly. She understood the gravity of the situation, and even if she didn't agree, she had to accept the facts.

"Survive, you idiot!"

As the two turned and began to run, Nobara shouted to Itadori one last time.

Seeing them move away, Itadori turned to the curse, which watched them with its eyes as if considering what to do.

!

But Itadori didn't give it time to think as he closed the distance between them.

"Focus here, dickhead!"

Striking the curse with a precise punch, Itadori immediately jumped and kicked with both feet, pushing it back.

But his attacks were clearly ineffective, the curse smiling as it hit him with a punch coated in cursed energy.

Boom!

Itadori flew and slammed into a wall, his body collapsing to the ground as he couldn't hold back the vomit of blood.

'This hurts like hell.'

Struggling to get up, Itadori wiped his lips, his face filled with exhaustion as he slowly brought his hands together in front of his abdomen.

'To be honest, even in this situation, I'm not afraid.'

With his breathing slowly returning to normal, Itadori looked at the curse with caution.

'Being on the brink of death like this doesn't really make me feel the fear I should be feeling.'

Placing his fists at his sides, Itadori took a deep breath, his eyes filling with fiery determination.

'In fact, it's even making me happy.'

The curse, which had been looking at the young sorcerer with a contemptuous laugh, suddenly fell silent as a strong surge of cursed energy erupted from the boy, its smile disappearing completely.

'Because it made me find something I've been searching for a while.'

Itadori, with his body emitting cursed energy uncontrollably, smiled as he placed his fist in front of his face, the cursed energy concentrating mainly in his hands.

"I have to thank you. Seeing you use your energy so recklessly made me understand how to do it!"

The curse growled in irritation, Itadori laughing at it before his expression hardened.

"Anyway, let's continue."