"A talking cursed spirit?"
Megumi Fushiguro's pupils shrank, his face etched with shock.
"A talking spirit… do you know that guy called Hanami?" Yuji Itadori asked, as if recalling something.
"Hanami? Of course I know him. He's my comrade."
A loud bang echoed as a cloud of scalding white steam rose from Jogo's head.
His gaze locked onto Roy, his eyes burning with intense killing intent.
Roy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "You didn't come here just to avenge your buddy, did you?"
"The dead don't need to know much."
Jogo snorted coldly, his figure blurring as he appeared before Roy, a surge of blazing flames erupting from his palm.
Boom!
"Roy!!!"
Yuji, reacting to the flames roaring past, roared at Jogo in fury.
"You damned—!"
"Calm down!"
Megumi yanked Yuji back. "Don't underestimate Roy. There's no way he'd die like that."
"Exactly. You're underestimating me."
As if responding to Megumi, a calm voice emerged from the inferno.
"A measly attack like that? It can't even scratch me."
"No surprise there."
Unfazed, Jogo clasped his hands, aiming forward. Flames surged, compressing into a searing beam that shot out instantly.
But at that moment, a sword aura burst from the firestorm without warning.
Splitting the sea of flames, the Power of Destruction-coated sword aura clashed with the fiery beam.
Like a hot knife through butter, the beam sliced the sword aura in two, its momentum carrying it forward.
Boom!
…
Outside the detention center, on open ground.
"What the hell?!"
Kiyotaka Ijichi, responsible for maintaining the veil, gaped as the destruction-laced sword aura tore through a corner of the detention center, shredded the veil, and vanished into the horizon.
Aside from Satoru Gojo, he'd never seen such an outrageous attack.
Snapping out of his daze after several seconds, Ijichi fumbled for his phone.
Whatever was happening inside the detention center was clearly out of control.
To protect civilians, he needed someone who could handle the situation.
"Mr. Gojo! We've got a problem!"
…
"Yuji! Megumi!"
Inside the detention center, Nobara Kugisaki, having seen the terrifying sword aura, rushed to her destination and found her teammates.
"What's going on? Was that slash you guys?"
"No way."
"Yeah, you're giving us too much credit."
Yuji pointed ahead. "That slash was Roy's doing."
"Roy?"
Following Yuji's finger, Nobara spotted two figures faintly visible in the sea of flames.
One was Roy, who'd been frequenting the school for rewards recently.
The other… her pupils shrank as she saw the one-armed cursed spirit, her face paling in shock.
That aura was downright terrifying.
In all her time as a sorcerer, she'd never encountered such a powerful spirit.
"Where'd this monster come from?"
"No clue. It just dropped from the sky," Megumi replied.
Honestly, Jogo's strength had startled him at first.
Thankfully, Roy's power was greater, suppressing the spirit outright.
Boom!
Another roar echoed as Jogo, his arm regenerated, summoned a rain of fire to bombard Roy.
Facing the onslaught, Roy casually swung his sword, obliterating it all.
"Is that all you've got?"
Roy taunted. "If this is your limit, you're ready to join your friend."
"Tch. In just one month, you've grown this much stronger."
Jogo's expression turned grave.
Compared to when Roy killed Hanami, he was like a different person.
Jogo wasn't sure he could last ten moves now.
"Guess I've got no choice."
Jogo pulled a bottle from his cloak, uncorked it, and swallowed the black snake inside.
Instantly, his cursed energy skyrocketed, doubling several times over.
The steel and concrete ground crumbled, and raging flames spread wildly.
Caught off guard, Roy, about to finish Jogo, paused.
"Ophis's Snake?"
"Hm? You know what this is?"
In the roiling firestorm, Jogo, ready to boast, froze.
But he quickly dismissed it, his killing intent surging.
"No matter where you got that intel, it's irrelevant."
"With this power, even you can't stand against me."
As he spoke, Jogo positioned his hands forward, unleashing his final trump card.
"Domain Expansion—Coffin of the Iron Mountain!"
Boom!
A tidal wave of cursed energy erupted, spreading outward.
Standing directly in front of Jogo, Roy felt the scenery shift, finding himself inside an unfamiliar volcano.
Crimson lava churned beneath his feet, the air's heat rising visibly.
A hiss sounded as Roy's sleeve caught fire.
But the flames were snuffed out by his mana in an instant.
"So this is a domain. The boost to techniques is stronger than I expected."
"Stronger? You don't grasp a domain's true power."
Jogo summoned flames, forming a blazing arrow radiating terrifying heat.
"Let me enlighten you. Beyond amplifying techniques, a domain's greatest strength is… guaranteed hits!"
As he spoke, the arrow shot forward, appearing before Roy in a flash.
Boom! The full force of Jogo's attack struck Roy, incinerating his upper body in a blaze.
"It's over."
Jogo exhaled.
Roy's growth in a month had far exceeded his expectations.
Luckily, Kenjaku had anticipated this, providing the Ophis's Snake.
"Next is Yuji Itadori. Time to make him eat the finger."
"Why?"
"To—huh?"
Mid-sentence, Jogo sensed something wrong and turned.
Under his gaze, Roy, whose upper body had been incinerated, stood fully restored.
"Impossible! Why aren't you dead?!"
"Guess."
"Playing tricks!"
Jogo snorted, summoning another fire arrow.
"Resurrection or not, in this domain, I can kill you as many times as I want!"
"We'll see."
Roy activated his fifth Multiplier, blurring to Jogo's side.
Simultaneously, Jogo's arrow fired, piercing Roy's upper body.
But under Jogo's stunned gaze, Roy's body regenerated at visible speed.
"Game's over."
Roy grabbed Jogo's head, a cyan magic circle forming in his palm.
Soul Shock!
A terrifying mental wave struck, and Jogo lost consciousness without resistance.
With Jogo down, the scorching domain collapsed.
Carrying the unconscious spirit, Roy returned to the detention center.
But then, Yuji plummeted from above, crashing into the ground in a sprawl.
"What are you doing?"
Roy blinked at the unexpected sight.
"Cough, Megumi said attacking the domain's exterior might break it. I tried to see if I could get in to save you."
Yuji stood, rubbing his forehead, looking embarrassed.
Nearby, Megumi and Nobara, poised to attack, wore serious expressions.
But seeing Roy emerge with Jogo in tow, their eyes widened in disbelief.
What just happened?
Roy defeated that monster inside its own domain?!
"So that's what's going on."
As Megumi and the others reeled, their worldviews shaken, Roy pieced it together.
"I appreciate the intent, but don't pull such reckless stunts next time."
"My whole point in keeping you outside the domain was to keep you safe."
"Keeping us out?"
Megumi froze, finally realizing the truth.
"So we weren't pulled into the domain because you did something?"
"Call it an experiment. I used spatial magic to block the domain's expansion."
Roy replied casually.
In truth, the experiment's success—isolating Yuji, Megumi, and Nobara—let Roy fight so leisurely.
Had it failed, pulling the trio into the domain, Jogo wouldn't have had a chance to act.
Roy would've activated Balance Breaker, overwhelming Jogo instantly.
But that would've cost him the chance to gather intel.
Eyeing the unconscious Jogo, Roy summoned another magic circle.
In an instant, Jogo's memories lay bare before him.
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