JJK Jogoat 73 (Patreon)

The moment Jogo saw Megumi, an idea instantly formed in his mind.

Since he had given up on stopping the resurrection of Sukuna, why not just take a hostage?

He naturally knew that Sukuna had long coveted Megumi's body, or perhaps more accurately, he had long coveted the Ten Shadows Technique.

What he truly wanted was that terrifying monster contained within the Ten Shadows Technique, the strongest shikigami in history capable of adapting to all attacks: Mahoraga.

To obtain Megumi's body, Sukuna had begun plotting from within Yuji's body, ready to take over at any moment.

If Megumi were to die right here, Sukuna's long-laid plans would come to nothing, and he would be forced to continue living within Yuji's body.

After all, even Sukuna could not just possess anyone he pleased. It depended on the vessel's physical tolerance.

Megumi was still immersed in the shock of seeing Maki's headless corpse, his hands attempting to form the signs to summon a shikigami.

But the shikigami he could easily summon in the past refused to appear because his hands were trembling uncontrollably, and he couldn't form a correct hand sign no matter how hard he tried.

Why... why are there still two Special Grade Cursed Spirits outside? And the Cursed Energy one of them possesses is even greater than the Special Grade Cursed Spirit inside the Domain.

Megumi took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

I probably can't escape right now. If I continue like this, I'll only follow in Maki-senpai's footsteps. It seems I have no choice but to give it my all.

In any case, his life was worth little. Rather than dying alone, he might as well take the enemy down with him.

Just as he was about to make a desperate gamble and summon Mahoraga, he saw a hand strike down with lightning speed, knocking him unconscious.

At the same time Jogo captured Megumi, Mahito had already darted into the large hole in the Domain at high speed, witnessing the scene unfolding within.

A man with short black hair wearing a white shirt was holding a red three-section staff, furiously bombarding Dagon, who was being pinned underneath.

Dagon struggled to resist, but it was to no avail. Whether it was the schools of fish, sea serpents, or even all the shikigami he could bring out, none could block the man's frantic onslaught.

His pride-and-joy defense was being constantly shattered. His red skin was incredibly smooth, almost deflecting most of the force from Playful Cloud, but the internal injuries were already clearly visible.

Toji wore a crazed smile, his pitch-black pupils constantly contracting, and his movements never ceased, swinging Playful Cloud into a blur of afterimages as he continuously smashed it against Dagon's body.

Dagon's Cursed Energy grew increasingly faint, and his regenerative abilities were rapidly weakening.

It was at this moment that a cold wave of Cursed Energy emanated.

Toji ceased his attack, looking toward the hole in the Domain with a face full of surprise and delight.

Dagon also sensed this Cursed Energy fluctuation that he knew to his very bones and hurriedly turned his head, his previously despairing eyes revealing a glimmer of hope.

"Mahito? Why are you here? Come and help me deal with this human!"

Toji watched Mahito, who had suddenly barged in, and excitedly brandished Playful Cloud. He could sense a powerful Cursed Energy fluctuation from the newcomer, even more than the octopus-shaped guy beneath his feet.

Because Dagon had been beaten relentlessly, his Cursed Energy was severely weakened at this point, falling even below Mahito's level, making his appeal to Toji minimal.

Mahito looked at the human with no Cursed Energy fluctuation in front of him and curled his lip in disdain.

"Just a savage who only relies on his physical body. I could let him stand there and hit me, and he still couldn't kill me."

Toji seemed to feel provoked or perhaps his instinct could no longer suppress the craving for a strong opponent, and he charged straight at Mahito, carving trails into the surface of the sea beneath his feet.

Taking advantage of the gap while Toji charged at Mahito, Dagon, who had been pinned down and beaten, finally had a chance to roll over. He scrambled to his feet, using this brief moment to recover his body.

Watching the man with an excited smile on his face charge before him, Mahito didn't waste any words and immediately threw a punch imbued with Cursed Energy.

This punch, even without the boost from Idle Transfiguration due to Cursed Technique burnout, was enough to kill most Grade 2 Sorcerers.

However, using one's physical body to resist this Sorcerer Killer was akin to throwing an egg against a rock.

Playful Cloud carved a trail through the air, easily shattering Mahito's arm, and then struck again in rapid succession. In less than half a second, Mahito was beaten into a pile of minced meat scattered on the ground.

Due to the fact that he couldn't die as long as his soul remained intact, Mahito's consciousness still existed even though he had been reduced to minced meat.

However, he had completely lost all combat ability because Idle Transfiguration could not be used, which made it difficult for his body to fuse back together.

Toji, seeing Mahito instantly beaten into minced meat, showed a look of disgust on his face, then swung Playful Cloud again, pounding the meat into a pulp.

Mahito: "..."

Just then, the originally blue sky suddenly manifested strange phenomena. Thick, dark clouds rolled, lightning and flames flashed in succession, and light pierced through the clouds, shining upon the earth.

Even though Toji was left with only instinct, he was momentarily stunned by this shocking scene. Not knowing what had happened, he just stared blankly toward the sky.

A good opportunity!

Dagon's body had already mostly recovered. Seeing Toji distracted, he launched a sneak attack, forming a sea serpent from his abdomen and lunging it toward Toji's head.

Bang!

That sea serpent was beaten into purple minced meat.

A few seconds later, the strange phenomena in the sky dissipated, and a humanoid creature with flame-like long hair stepped onto the battlefield, carrying a boy with a sea-urchin-like hairstyle on its back.

When he saw the unconscious boy, Toji, whose eyes had been flashing with excitement and bloodlust, suddenly froze, his chaotic gaze seemingly becoming clear in that moment.

"Megumi? Is that Megumi?"