Capítulo 24: A promise kept.
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Glory to my chief Proofreader; Solare for he is the one who points out mistakes and acts as my favourite wall to bounce ideas off of.
My GOAT Himadori Wuji just told Fraudkuna that he's his bitch and that if he wants to live he will release Bumgumi, Shit was so magnificent I swear.
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A few days later.
1st of January, 2018.
Megumi sat in the front passenger seat of a black sudan, in his lap was a file listing the recorded locations of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers. Currently the file was displaying information on one of the Special Grade cursed objects that was located in a shrine.
The shrine was in Yokohama, a city south of Tokyo which is why he assumed he was given the task of retrieving it. As Satoru was currently in China, apparently some local warlord had lost his shit and was terrorising the countryside with a pair of contracted Special Grade curses so they sent him to crush him, which left him as the only one they could rely on to retrieve the finger without any incident.
As to why they couldn't have sent some random 2nd grade, it was because of the location itself. The finger was supposed to be sealed away and protected by the monks at the Taoist Temple, but Jujutsu Headquarters had lost contact with the temple a few weeks ago and needed someone capable to double check.
They couldn't send anyone sooner because of the whole Geto debacle which now only left him as a reliable tactical nuke as it were to maintain the tenuous balance that kept the world of Jujutsu afloat.
He was fully aware that they were intending to make him their new 'Guard Dog' or replacement for Satoru, considering that Tsukumo Yuki had long since abandoned them and Yuta had lost his special grade status after the loss of Rika, not mentioning the fact that he's going off to Africa for a year.
'Yeah, I am currently the only person they can rely on to keep this broken frame together, so they better not think I'll tolerate such obvious disrespect even if I plan to wait a bit longer for my plan to come together. Not that their control will last much longer, sooner or later I'll snatch their control from under their noses.'
Megumi had already started spreading out his roots into their bases, sending out support and giving help to the middle managers. Just as he had expected, they were severely understaffed and underpaid; something that was easily fixed with the help of his saved up funds and some help from Satoru's card.
'I'm sure he doesn't mind, dumbass has full access to the Gojo treasury and uses it on the most stupid things.' He thought with a smile, remembering the time when he had reserved him and Tsumiki a section of a park when they were kids just because his sister had made an off hand comment about how annoying lines for attractions were.
Bringing the middle men and women to his side was the first step, if he wants a clean transition when the time comes; he needs as much influence and sway on those that grease the wheels of this society as he can get.
He had also met up with Izumi Hanako the other day, the sorcerer that helped him with the Sukuna cult a few years back. He had taken him up on his offer of leaving the countryside for a better life, unfortunately though times had changed and he needed him to go back.
Recruiting Izumi to his cause wasn't all that difficult, he had chosen to follow him and his plan rather easily now that he thinks about it. He had Izumi go back and try to bring as many fellow sorcerers in the countryside to his goal as well as find any worthwhile allies sympathetic to his cause, sorcerer or not, he wasn't picky.
With the recruitment of managers, some sorcerers and other allies started, it was time to bide his time and gather more and more power; either physical or monetary. It took a huge amount of cash to keep the world of Jujutsu running afterall and he couldn't hope to keep all of the established connections so he needed something to fall back on.
"How are things with your family Nijimura-san, you mentioned needing to take leave soon the other day, everything ok back at home?" Megumi asked as he flipped through the file to the next page of the file.
Nijimura Takahiro was a middle aged Window he had saved during a mission once, a careless Kamo clan sorcerer had fucked up by letting a curse go wild, almost allowing it to kill him Nijimura and the civilians caught up in the middle of the altercation.
Thankfully, he was in the area and was called in as back up but there's no knowing how the altercation would have ended if not for his involvement. To apologise for his fellow sorcerer's misplay, he had given out a sizable sum of cash to those affected; of course he made the Kamo clan pay him back for it but there's no need for them to know that.
"Ah, nothing to worry about Zen'in-sama, it's just… My wife and I are expecting a child soon so I wanted to take some time off to spend with her and my baby boy for a little while." Nijimura confessed with a bashful smile as he drove them to their location.
"Oh, is that so? Congratulations are in order then my friend. Here, take this." Megumi said as he reached into his Hakama and pulled out an envelope, placing it in the windows lap with a smile.
Reading the next page of the document Megumi's smile deepened, the name of the location listed on the file was a very familiar one.
'Sugisawa High, huh? Looks like you're not too far away, Yuji Itadori. I wonder if you'll be the same man I remember from so many years ago.'
"T-This is too much Zen'in-sama! I can't in good conscience take so much after everything you've done for me and my family!" Nijimura cried out after he opened the envelope at a red light, within it was a large sum of cash.
"Nonsense, we're friends aren't we Nijimura-san? Friends help friends when needed." Megumi stated as he flipped to the next page of the document.
'I don't enjoy manipulating a kind and honest man like this, but I need as much influence as possible and if this is going to get the wheels going as it were then so be it.'
The gesture had an immediate effect just as he expected, the Window's eyes welled up with tears as he tried to wipe them away while driving.
"I- Thank you Zen'in-sama, I will never forget this." Nijimura gave his deepest gratitudes as they reached their destination.
Megumi closed the file and placed it into his Haori, feeling it disappear and fade into his abyss as he got out of the car, Nijimura following him right after hiding the envelope within his car for safekeeping.
The shrine was beautiful from the outside, utterly serene and without faults. However, a sorcerer's eye would reveal a whole new world, the building was steeped in cursed energy from top to bottom.
"Hm, yes without a doubt Zen'in-sama, it looks like you were the right choice for this assignment. From just my feeble measurements, there must be a first grade curse within that building right now; a Special Grade might not even be unlikely." Nijimura deduced as he made some notes on a clipboard.
"Looks like it, I should probably get to work soon then. Who knows what kinda shit is happening in there." Megumi asserted as he closed the car's door and walked towards the shrine with his hands in his pockets.
"Of course Zen'in-sama, I'll take care of the curtain. We have already given an order to clear the shrine of any civilians and it has been taken care of by a Lesser sorcerer who came to look over things, so there's no need to worry about that. Please come back safe and sound." The Window said with a bow.
Megumi simply raised his hand in reply as he entered the shrine, not looking back as the curtain fell around it.
Contrary to the outside, the inside of the shrine is filthy and untamed. The plants were growing out of control, dust and grime covered every inch of the place. Most evident was the presence of cursed spirits, they were infesting the holy grounds and desecrating the very ideals that it was built upon.
"Ugh, I can't be arsed to go one by one and kill all of them. I'll just make a Merger that can clear everything out for me till I find the finger." Megumi groaned out in annoyance, his shadows morphing and increasing in size as his body lit up in an inferno of cursed energy.
'I need something fast and can take out as many curses as possible, firepower is nice but not completely necessary. Have Nyx and Blizzard's essence as the base, throw in Nue for speed and electric damage and finally Rabbit Escape to cover as much ground as possible.'
Megumi thought, considering all his options as he then started chanting to support the summoning of a new merged beast.
'I'm not the most creative or original man, I suck at naming things so I knew I had to get some inspiration to think of new shikigami combinations. Thankfully, it wasn't too hard to access the Jujutsu HQ library and read up on mythology, either from Japan or otherwise. In the end, perhaps using the name of a mythological beast would enhance my own because of the ritualistic aspect? Who knows.'
"Umbra. Amalgam. Reforge. Phoenix Heart."
"Maximum Technique, Merged Beast; Hainu."
From his shadows formed a large white wolf, it had large pure white wings. Juxtaposed to the rest of its body the wolf's head, paws and tip of their tail held a sort of ethereal Blue galactic form that glowed softly in the dim atmosphere of the abandoned shrine.
On the wolf's face were pure white eyes, under them were stars; 3 under each eye to be specific and most curiously there was one large orb of light on the top of its head.
[Image (In Discord)]
"Huh, wonder where the blue parts come from. Oh well, I suppose it doesn't really matter does it? Hainu, weed out the pests and track down the finger." Megumi ordered, his hands still in his pockets.
And so the Divine Beast did, the orb of Divine light shined as did one of the stars on the curse's face and from that light formed an exact copy of the Beast. Then another and another, till the number of copies totalled 6, each copy forming from the light of one of the stars till none remained.
The copies moved out immediately, each one going off in a separate direction and beginning the slaughter, curses were purged and exorcised one after another in a shocking display of speed and grace. Whether it be by a bite, a slash or being struck down by the Hainu's Divine lightning, they all stood no chance.
The original Hainu stayed by Megumi's side, its orb still shone with its brilliant aura as after a few minutes of walking around by his side as they searched for the finger, a star on its face shone with brilliance once more.
Shortly after that, the Merged Beast channelled its ability once more which created a 7th clone. The clone immediately ran off to one of its brethren who was struggling with a Semi-Grade 1 curse and helped them by tackling the curse from behind and biting a chunk of its neck out. The curse died shortly after that as they dispersed to take care of any and all cursed remnants.
After a while of searching, Megumi stopped and looked ahead at a Torii gate that led to the very top of the shrine. It was there where he knew he found the finger, not because he saw it but because he felt an enormous amount of cursed energy gathered around it.
"Hm, passing through that gate will definitely be entering through a barrier. If I had to guess from everything that happened in this shrine, the finger somehow ended up being swallowed by a curse that became a finger holder curse or a 'Finger Bearer' and slaughtered everyone within. And then it formed its own Innate Domain much like the one from canon." He deduced as he surveyed the entire compound.
"Looks like the Hainu have taken care of all the curses… Eh, whatever. I'll play your game curse, I'll enter your Domain and slaughter you. I've got better things to do than hang out here, maybe Mei's in Japan. It's been a while, it would be fun to catch up." Megumi said with a sly smile as he walked through the Torii gate and entered the Innate Domain of the 'Finger Bearer' curse.
The world shifted and changed, becoming a nonsensical jumble of geometry, the sky painted a deep crimson red. The main motif was that of a shrine, Torii gates were placed around with wanton abandon as paths built of blood and broken bodies paved the way.
It was truly a horrific sight, a perversion of the doctrine of Taoism that originated the world around him.
And in its centre was one being, the Finger Bearer. It had pale white skin and a muscular body, its legs were covered with a Black carapace-like robe. Its head had 4 lines running from its mouth to the back of its head and had 4 eyes spotted along its two middle lines.
Most importantly, in the middle of the core of its body was a hole. Within that hole lies the source of all the madness; a Special Grade Cursed Object, Ryomen Sukuna's cursed finger.
"There you are." Megumi called out with a smirk.
The curse turned to look at him, it froze for a moment before jumping back completely alert. Everyone of its senses told it one thing; if it fought the one that came before it, all that awaited it was one single future.
Death.
"Truth be told, I can't be bothered to expand my own Domain to overpower yours right now. Or even delegate it to my Shikigami, no I think I have a better idea for you…" Megumi stated as a cold sadistic grin came to him.
Megumi desummoned all his Shikigami and took off his Haori and inner shirt, not wanting them to get dirty, then took out his old notebook. In this notebook were all his notes that he took about Jujutsu throughout his life. He went to the last page and started writing a bit.
"Ah~, feels kinda nostalgic. Been years since I wrote on this thing, almost like putting on an old suit I never had an occasion to wear."
The curse looked at him confused for a while but then its confusion turned into rage, even with its limited mental capacity, it could understand the insult being thrown at it.
The Finger Bearer ripped off its Carapace-like robe and held back its arm, within its hand built up an orb of condensed cursed energy. The Orange orb of malevolence then fired off at Megumi at insane speeds, however the target of the attack merely jumped to the side without even looking up at the attack.
"Ok, so this is gonna be a new section about Cursed Energy output, I've always wondered how you fuckers and Yuta were able to fire off Cursed Energy like Ki blasts straight outta Dragon Ball so this is gonna be a very good opportunity to learn." Megumi said as he started marking out his outline for his notes.
The curse growled at it being ignored and missing its attack, deciding to fire off multiple blasts of cursed energy.
Blasts of energy fired through the crimson sky, each and everyone being dodged with grace as Megumi landed on top of a Torii gate and sat down while starting to write down some notes.
"Looks like there isn't much of a limit on how many can be fired out at the same time. So why does it choose to only throw out orbs most of the time and others it fires off Ki beams?" He questioned as he tapped his head with the pen.
Deciding to try a different approach, the curse shot ahead at Megumi with fever and rage. It lashed out with its claw limb that was covered in a layer of the Ki-like cursed energy, Megumi looked up for a moment at the oncoming curse with a grin before proceeding to weave in and between each swipe.
"So it can use it as a buff for regular attacks, from the looks of it. This must be what Satoru talked about when he explained Black Flashes. Ugh, what was it? The second no? It must be the type of cursed energy that crashes into your opponent." He recalled before weaving to the side of a claw swipe.
He grabbed one of the curse's arms and pulled it back to the side and slammed his elbow into its face, the elbow then turned into a grip as he gripped the curse's face and threw it away without letting go of its arm.
The effect was immediate as the curse was separated from its limb which he held with his own and inspected as the curse screamed in pain. He observed as the leftover cursed energy layer stayed for a moment before it fizzled out, the limb turning to dust shortly after.
"That confirms that it relies on constant Cursed energy consumption, so my initial hypothesis must be correct! This ability to throw Ki blasts around with cursed energy is like a maximised use of the output of cursed energy, so theoretically everyone should be able to do it." Megumi deduced with a smile while continuing to write in his notebook.
The Finger Bearer collected itself with a scowl, Rage filling its veins as well as another emotion; Fear. It truly didn't know what would work but it seems its opponent wasn't doing anything so it chose to bide its time and wait for an opening, looking for any chance for survival.
"But they can't, which leads me to what the problem is, Pure Cursed Energy output. An Unleashed Rika was able to output that Ki-blast attack thanks to Yuta trading his hold over her to unlock all her limiters as well as during his 5 minutes with her unleashed later on and these Fingerers can do it 'cuz they're curses with no limiters on their output I suppose. There was another dude that could do it, no? Ishigori something… eh whatever, these are enough notes for now." The black haired man considered while tapping his forehead with his thumb.
Megumi then closed his book after finishing up his notes, turning to the Finger Bearer. He laughed a little bit, amused at the curse's expression.
"Ah, my bad little one. I was a bit engrossed in my notes, you'll have to forgive me, it's been a while since I've had to go and investigate something so it made me a little excited. I'll put you out of your misery now." Megumi announced, his smile returning to a sadistic grin.
"What was it that Satoru said? 'Tear a Special Grade to shreds with your bare hands' was it? I can do that! I won't use anything more than my cursed energy manipulation and biology to eviscerate you." Megumi declared as he raised his hand, closing it into a fist as he did, along it flowed sparks of golden electricity that promised a painful end.
In a second, Megumi was upon the curse, his arm pulled back sparking with cursed energy and electricity. The curse moved to protect itself with a shield of cursed energy and when the fist made impact with the barrier, the barrier shook as cracks flowed through it.
Megumi didn't stop there as he proceeded to bring his other arm down at the barrier, the sheer strength of the haymaker shattered the barrier into pieces. His fist didn't stop there however as it went on to slam into the curse's face and drove it into the ground.
He stomped down at the curse's abdomen and drove it down even further. He then dropped down and sat on its abdomen before grasping its neck and starting to Squeeze, arcs of lightning flowing down from his evolved form and starting to paralyse his victim's muscles.
"If 'ripping you to shreds' is what's required of me then I guess it's time to Rip. And. Tear!" He declared with a mad grin as he brought his right hand into the air and covered it with cursed energy.
'New Shadow Style: Reforged Moon.'
His hand became sharp armoured claws made of cursed energy in an instant as he brought them down at the struggling curse, one after another he started grasping at its flesh and pulling back, each attack dealing immense damage to the Special Grade curse.
"I mean honestly the balls you have, I have been training to be the best everyday for the past decade, what right does a worthless curse that can only piggyback off another curse's power have to challenge me?" He asked, each one of his words were emphasised with a spray of blood and viscera.
Blood covered his body as the curse spasmed and lashed out, trying to push him off but it was all in vain. Its fate was sealed the moment it ran into the Special Grade Sorcerer named Megumi Fushiguro.
Before long the curse stopped resisting and went limp, its body turned into dust moments later; leaving behind only one purple waxy finger.
The Innate Domain around him faded away and he returned to the real world, looking up into the moonlit skies as he felt a change within his being; his part of the Vow with Gojo Satoru had been completed.
He panted and regained his breath as he stood up, taking a moment to look down at his hands and body soaked completely in purplish blood and silently thanked himself for removing his clothes prior to the fight.
He stood there for a moment before letting out a huff with a small chuckle.
"Man, I am a deeply fucked up person aren't I?"
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