For a moment, his vision was blocked. When he came to his senses, Fushiguro Megumi realized he was no longer inside the barrier. He had returned to the ravine beneath the Yasohachi Bridge.
"Hmm, looks like there's someone pretty strong inside that barrier."
A deep voice sounded behind him. Fushiguro Megumi quickly turned around, instinctively taking a defensive stance.
Standing there was a tall, muscular man with tanned skin. His hairstyle was bizarre, and his outfit was even stranger—he wore a tight black leather suspender vest, something that looked completely out of place on a man with such a bulky frame.
The spiky-haired boy's serious expression instantly crumbled.
Disgusting. It made him want to puke.
What the hell is this guy? A curse? A sorcerer?
Fushiguro Megumi took a slow breath, keeping his eyes locked on the man. The man removed his hand from his well-built chest, revealing a deep wound stretching across his torso.
It was the result of a slash from Yukinoshita Yukino.
Scarlet blood oozed from the wound, dripping onto the dry riverbed stones with a sizzling sound. White smoke rose from where the blood landed.
Fushiguro Megumi took in the sight carefully.
Poisonous blood? Red blood—so, a sorcerer? Corrosive properties… is that part of his technique?
Cursed Womb: Death Paintings No. 2—The Twisted Face.
Despite the injury on his chest, the man didn't seem to care. He ran a hand through his mohawk in an exaggerated manner, speaking again in his deep, smooth voice.
"My brother and I were given a task, and it doesn't involve killing sorcerers. Young sorcerer, if you leave now, I'll spare your life."
"A task?" Fushiguro Megumi frowned. "What kind of task?"
"You think I'd tell you?" The Twisted Face flipped his hair back with a smirk. "You're not my opponent. If you know what's good for you, you'll walk away."
The spiky-haired boy suddenly grinned. "I wouldn't be so sure about that."
He quickly formed a hand sign, and shadows spread outward from his feet, rushing toward The Twisted Face.
Not knowing the effects of the technique, The Twisted Face cautiously jumped backward, keeping his distance to avoid letting the shadows touch him.
A thick Great Serpent slithered out from the shadows, its massive body carving a deep trench into the dried riverbed as it moved.
"A shikigami user, huh?"
The Twisted Face's vision was blocked by the enormous serpent. Just as he was about to attack, the creature suddenly vanished, melting into a pool of shadow that seeped into the ground.
At the same time, Fushiguro Megumi was nowhere to be seen.
"What!?"
The Twisted Face's expression changed. He frantically searched for Megumi when a sharp screech echoed from above. He snapped his head up just in time to see an owl shikigami diving down at him, its wings spread wide as purple lightning crackled around it.
A surge of electricity struck The Twisted Face, scorching his skin and numbing his body. But Fushiguro Megumi wasn't on the owl.
"Where are you looking?"
A sly voice came from behind.
Shadows stretched out beneath The Twisted Face's feet. The spiky-haired boy emerged from the darkness, his fist glowing with intense blue cursed energy, burning like a raging fire.
On The Twisted Face's back, a section of white bone extended along his spine. A grotesque, abstract face was embedded there, its wide mouth twisted into a disturbing grin.
Fushiguro Megumi's fist slammed into the white bone, releasing an explosion of layered cursed energy that sent The Twisted Face flying.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his face contorted in fury. His eyes burned with killing intent as he growled in a chilling voice:
"You saw it, didn't you?"
"You saw my back. Now you're dead!"
"Yeah."
"Big bro!"
Just as Choso was about to unleash his killing intent, two voices suddenly rang out from behind him.
Blood-Painted and Itadori Yuji rushed out of the barrier one after the other, arriving just in time to witness the scene.
"Big bro is mad... so scary!"
"What the hell did Fushiguro do to piss him off this much?"
Choso had just turned around to face Fushiguro Megumi, but before he could process it, two more people suddenly appeared behind him. His voice turned sharp, almost breaking in frustration.
"You—you—you guys saw that too, right!?"
"Waaah! Big bro! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Who are you? Uh—sorry!"
Both of them scrambled to apologize.
"I'll kill you!"
Choso spun around again, aiming to strike at the suddenly appearing Itadori Yuji. But Fushiguro Megumi, who had been watching him closely, wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by.
"Divine Dog!"
The spiky-haired boy swiftly formed a hand sign, and from the shadows at his feet, a massive black wolf—almost werewolf-like—leaped out. It shot toward Choso like a dark whirlwind.
Hearing the sharp sound of something slicing through the air behind him, Choso's lips curled into a slight smirk.
"Wing King!"
The crimson eyes on his back suddenly lit up, and multiple streams of blood shot out like ribbons. Though they looked fluid, they were as hard as steel, capable of slicing through metal and stone like tofu.
Divine Dog: Totality was mid-air and had no way to dodge. It let out a painful cry as the ribbon-like blood streams struck it, pinning it to the ground.
As the blood receded, it wove together behind Choso, forming a pair of blood-red wings. He floated high in the air, striking a bizarre pose—one hand on his forehead, the other covering his crotch.
"You thought I didn't notice you, boya?"
His deep, magnetic voice was back, his earlier outburst merely an act to bait Fushiguro Megumi into attacking.
"Tch!"
Fushiguro Megumi looked annoyed. He had been too naive.
Still, since Divine Dog had evolved into Totality, its individual strength had increased dramatically. That attack shouldn't have done too much damage…
Wait, what?
His eyes suddenly widened.
Although Divine Dog didn't seem to be physically injured, something about it was clearly off.
Its fur bristled, its body trembled as it struggled to get up—but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't move.
"Is there poison in the blood?"
Fushiguro quickly figured out why Divine Dog had lost mobility and had no choice but to deactivate the technique for now.
"So, how do you plan to deal with this next?"
Choso hovered in midair, while Blood-Painted moved to stand beside his brother, facing off against Itadori Yuji.
The fight was back to a 2v2 standoff.
Two…
…
(End of Chapter)
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