West Tokyo City, Ei-Shu Juvenile Detention Center.
A black veil descended, shrouding the facility and its surroundings.
Inside, Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro faced a white-upper-bodied cursed spirit, expressions grim.
"Hey, Fushiguro."
Down to one hand, Yuji took a deep breath, addressing his friend.
"I'll hold it off. You get out and find Nobara."
"Huh? This ain't the time for heroics."
Megumi clasped his hands, summoning ominous cursed energy.
In one move, he shattered a special-grade cursed tool—and took Yuji's right hand with it.
No doubt—this was a special-grade cursed spirit.
As sorcerers, neither he nor Yuji could win head-on.
So… only one option left.
"Yuji, three seconds—run back as far as you can."
"Just told me not to play hero, and now you're doing it?"
"I'm not playing hero. I've got a shot at this guy, but…"
"Jie jie jie~!"
As Megumi tried to explain, a malicious cackle erupted behind him.
His pupils shrank, realizing what was happening, and he dove aside.
Too late—a curse-infused fist slammed down.
Boom! Megumi vanished, embedded in a nearby wall.
"Fushiguro!"
Yuji snapped to, swinging a fist at the spirit that had flanked them.
His force-packed punch landed, paired with slashing strikes.
But the spirit, tanking the hit, didn't flinch—its laughter only grew louder.
It raised a palm, aiming for Yuji's head.
"Damn it!"
Staring at the attack inches away, despair flooded Yuji's eyes.
The power gap was crushing.
One hit, and he was done.
As his life flashed before him, a magic circle bloomed in front.
Boom—!
A deafening roar shook the air, wild winds whipping past Yuji.
When he came to, the special-grade spirit was gone.
In its place—a familiar figure.
"Roy?"
"That's me."
Roy replied casually, eyeing the special-grade spirit crawling from the rubble.
Fueled by endless cursed energy, its wounds had fully healed.
Tilting its head at Roy for two seconds, it charged.
"Jie jie jie~"
"Annoying laugh."
Roy flicked his palm.
A torrent of frost surged, swallowing the oncoming spirit.
Seconds later, a lifelike ice sculpture stood meters ahead.
Roy strolled over, tapping it.
Crack! The ice shattered, scattering as dust.
"So… strong."
Yuji gaped, stunned that the enemy that nearly killed him was dispatched so easily.
He'd known Roy was powerful, but last time Roy fought, Yuji didn't grasp what a special-grade spirit meant.
After a month at Jujutsu High and this near-death clash, the gap between them hit home.
"Not me being strong—you guys are just weak."
Checking a new blue entry, Roy crouched to pick up Sukuna's finger from the ground.
"By special-grade standards, that one was bottom-tier."
"Huh? Really?"
Yuji's eyes widened.
That spirit, bottom-tier among special-grades?
"He's right. It wasn't that strong—we're the weak ones."
Megumi limped over. "Roy, thanks. You saved our skins."
"If you hadn't shown up, we'd all be toast."
Yuji nodded. "Yeah, Roy, your timing's insane. Did Gojo-sensei tip you off?"
"If he'd tipped me, you wouldn't be on this mission."
Roy telekinetically grabbed Yuji's severed hand, using a Spirit Healing Bracelet to reattach it.
As he prepped to heal their wounds, Megumi spoke up.
"Roy, can you find Nobara?"
"She got ambushed and taken by other spirits on the way."
"Nobara? Let me check."
Roy spread his Immortal Art senses outward.
A second later, he picked up Nobara Kugisaki's aura, plus several spirits.
"Got her."
"Where? We'll go save her."
"No need for the hassle."
Demonic power rippled, fist-sized magic bolts forming around Roy, then shooting underground.
Confirming the spirits' auras vanished, Roy pocketed a few green entries.
"She's safe."
"You can snipe that precisely from this far?"
Megumi's jaw dropped.
"Not bad, right? Small fry like those—no special-grades—I could drop from three kilometers."
Roy shrugged, ready to heal them again.
But then, a volcanic-hot aura blipped into his senses.
"Hm?"
"What's up?"
Yuji frowned, seeing Roy glance upward.
"Another cursed spirit showed up."
Roy focused his senses. "By aura scale, it's nine or ten times stronger than the last one."
Yuji blinked. "Shouldn't it be ten times, maybe nine?"
"Idiot, that's not the point right now."
Megumi's face turned deadly serious.
If Roy wasn't exaggerating, this new spirit was ten times a normal special-grade.
Was that even still a special-grade?
He'd never heard of such a massive power gap.
"Roy, where's the new spirit?"
"Up there."
"Huh?"
Boom—!
As Megumi froze, the ceiling exploded.
A spirit in human clothes, with a volcano for a head, dropped through the gap.
"Just as he predicted—you did leave a failsafe on Yuji Itadori."
Jogo scanned the room, locking onto Roy.
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