บท 45: Hesitation is Defeat.
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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.
Wuji Glaze fest incoming, probably. Oh, and Nobara too ;p
700 Power Stones = Extra Chapter
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As Megumi crossed the intersection between the bridge and the river, he found himself entering through a barrier and appearing inside an Innate Domain.
It looked to be a normal cave system at first but then formed the curse, dozens if not hundreds of pillars made of pinkish growths sprouted from the walls and ceilings, connecting together the opposite ends of the cave.
Then countless holes, as if they were wide open ant hills, opened up throughout the cave system. And then from one of those holes emerged the curse of the Yasohachi Bridge. It was bulbose and almost mole-like, with 4 holes in its head that pass for eyes.
"So that's the Curse?" Itadori pointed out as he rolled his shoulders, although he already knew the answer he was trying to make sure that this is the curse that threatened to kill the people they were here to save.
"Well duh dumbass, obviously it is. This is gonna be fun, I've been meanin' to find something to hit." Kugisaki replied, pulling out her hammer and nail to start the hunt although her Naginata and Nail Gun were holstered and ready to be used whenever needed.
"Should be a quick 20 minute in and out mission, you'll be done just in time to make it to that dinner Satoru wanted me to come to." Megumi said, walking forwards to be a foot ahead of them.
"Something about a brand new type of Ramen he got his chef to make, although knowing him it'll probably be more sugar in weight than actual noodles." He then commented while casually ran a hand through his hair.
"Wait hold on, 'you'll'? You're not gonna be helping us?" Yuji questioned, catching on to his seemingly odd choice in wording.
"Nope! What use would having the two of you here be if I do all the work myself? You'll be taking care of the curse while I stand back and watch." The black haired sorcerer revealed, a shit eating grin covering his face as he did.
"Well that's just greaaat~! Fuckin' co-" Nobara groaned in annoyance but was stopped when she felt a sudden presence running up behind them, something that was picked up by both sorcerers on her side.
"Another curse?!" Yuji shouted, already moving forwards to defend the others even when not needed.
'Right on cue this one.' Megumi thought with a slight smirk, happy that things went just as he planned.
The curse is turquoise with a hunchback, claws, and two mouths with jagged teeth. It has a small face on the upper part of his head and a giant mouth just beneath it. Its eyes as well as both his mouth have dark blood dripping from it. It had what seemed to be a second smaller face where it's forehead was supposed to be.
"Guh? There's other people here too?" It spoke, its distorted voice sounding distincting like a human male's would.
"That's not the same curse, I'll take care of it! You guys deal with the first one."
That was all Yuji Itadori said before he threw himself at the 'curse' with full force, he sped forwards with immense speed before punching forwards with an unmatched ferocity.
The curse made a sound that could only be described as surprised curiosity, before it spat at him with a torrent of Blood straight from its mouth.
Yuji grunted in response to the unexpected move, choosing to weave to the side of the attack to avoid it before he swung backwards with his momentum and landed a roundhouse kick at the curse's second face, causing it to grunt in pain and jump back.
"Wah? You wanna play games with Kechizu?" The curse asked, the tone of its distorted voice implying a sort of innocent playfulness.
"Stand still and I'll show ya'!" Yuji shouted before shooting forwards towards the curse once more, this time more mindful of any Blood sprout as he assumed they would be poisonous in nature.
Megumi stood back with arms crossed while watching his orange haired classmate play 'Whack-a-Mole' with the curse, although his face held a small smile as he watched her struggle to kill the curse due to it's annoying habit of just running away which wasn't all that odd considering it's range of effect with it's cursed technique.
In reality, he was dead bored inside.
He had accepted that he would have to stand back and watch the two of his classmates fight but that hadn't prepared him for the boredom that would have to come with said fact.
And so he zoned out, choosing to try and think up of a combination of Shikigami that would make up a particularly strong Merged Beast, at the very least until Eso shows himself to begin the true battle – The one that actually matters at any rate.
'Hmm.. What if I put Baku, Orochi and Yoichi? Would that make a Ginormous Elephant-Serpent hybrid capable of copying itself or would it make tiny multiplying snakes that can shoot venom like a gun?' Megumi considered, rubbing his chin in thought.
He watched as Nobara made a noise of great annoyance at missing the curse once again before she pulled out her Nail gun and started shooting at the curse with great abandon, each nail crushing another hole for the curse but not hitting directly, it seems like his presence had made the curse stronger than before once again.
'Ohh, what about both Divine Dogs, Nue, Max Elephant and Funeral Tiger? Could even throw Great Serpent in there for its armour and extra physical strength! I know just what to call him, I'll call him Seros-' Megumi's line of thought was cut off by a sudden sound and a hole opening up in the Domain.
He wasn't the only one who noticed the sudden sound and shift in the Domain, Nobara looked behind her and watched as a dark yet small hole opened up in the Domain. From the hole emerged two human looking hands, they reached forwards to try and grab the young sorceress.
And perhaps they may have met their target in a different universe, but in this reality?
That was not the case.
Nobara Kugisaki twisted her body with incredible grace, grasping her Naginata as she did so as she filled it to the brim with Cursed Energy. Then with a practised and honed form, she swung her Polearm at her attacker, slicing off one of his arms in a single move.
"DAMN!"
They heard a loud grunt of pain echo through the hole in the barrier before the blood spurting from the severed limb straightened and connected together, linking both sides of the limb before the hand was pulled towards the stump.
Both arms immediately retreated back out of the Domain, indicating that their owner didn't wish to test his luck again.
"Big Bro Eso!" Kechizu screamed, he had recognised the arm and immediately ran towards the opened hole in the barrier to check on his brother.
"Should we go after them?" Yuji asked as he ran towards his two classmates, although he wanted to follow the curse he wanted to make sure that they were all on the same page first.
"Yeah, you two go after them. This won't take too long to finish on my side, the real problem is those two." Megumi agreed, unfolding his hands from their crossed state as he did so.
He quietly started channelling his cursed energy, trying to create a Merged Beast unlike any other he had created thus far. Specifically taking care to manifest him within his own shadow so as to not alarm the others.
He had even made a quiet Incantation of his Maximum Technique, willingly weakening the Merged Beast in the process in order to hide it even further.
"I'll take care of the bridge curse while the two of you kill the other two, they look to be the biggest problems. Watch out for the human looking one, from what I just saw, he might be able to connect his limbs together with some kind of Technique." He then explained, noting that using Blood Manipulation to link together your limbs was something Choso and Yuji had done before in his previous life.
'Another consequence of me shifting the balance I suppose, seeing more and more of those as of late. Sounds like the next few months are gonna be a pain in the ass.' The black haired man thought as he watched his two comrades nod to his words and moved to the hole in the barrier.
"Before the two of you go, you remember my last lesson right?" Megumi questioned, causing them to pause and look back to him for a moment before they nodded again and repeated it to him.
""Hesitation is Defeat!""
With that, the two of them jumped through the gap in the barrier and out of the Domain.
He sighed in satisfaction, glad that they had remembered it, since he knew it would be important soon. And so he turned his attention back to the matter at hand, it was an important task after all.
"I wonder, should I get Rin something for when she comes back from holiday? Perhaps maybe some wine, a gift basket? Or maybe a gift basket with wine?" Megumi thought aloud, all the while casually pointing a finger behind himself.
At the tip of his finger formed a small yet bright Bluish Black orb of Pure Cursed Energy, a gain from his use of his Funeral Tiger Incarnation which helped him refine his Cursed Energy Manipulation enough to be able to output it at will.
The small orb of energy then shot forwards with speeds that surpassed Hypersonic, landing right in the middle of the Yasohachi Bridge Curse's head; killing it instantly.
He felt the cursed energy of the Innate Domain around him writhe for a moment as it shifted around with malevolent intent. Instead of being spread around the entire cave system, it all coalesced together in a single spot before shredding apart and revealing a brand new yet still familiar curse.
"Another Finger Bearer? God, it's like Gege ran out of ideas." Megumi commented with a raised eyebrow, vaguely remembering the name of the author that had made the original Manga he had read so many years ago.
The Finger Bearer watched on with a mixture of Curiosity and Indignation as its prey just turned away from it and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small rectangular brick which he then started tapping away at.
"Well whatever, I'm not interested in you in the slightest. Dealing with you personally would be like bullying a baby." Megumi said, scrolling through his phone and reading some messages from his people telling him about a meeting with a Higher Manager in Jujutsu HQ that wanted to meet him personally.
"I have better things to do, Die."
As if on cue, the Finger Bearer felt a pain unlike any other spike through its body. Looking down towards itself, it gaped in horror as it saw a Huge Clawed yet Armoured arm covered with fur piercing through its body.
And then, before the Special Grade Curse could even grunt or gasp in pain, it Died.
The Finger Bearer faded away into dust, the Innate Domain around Megumi already falling apart and fading away, revealing a forest which held the scars of a hard fought battle.
"Good Work, Beast Reagent." Megumi commented, not turning around to face his creation but looking forwards towards where he sensed a tense battle going on, probably where the fight between his classmates and the Death Paintings was taking place.
"It is my Honour, Shade Lord." A deafening voice responded to him, it sounded gruff as if it came from a Proud King of Old or from a Warrior of Great Renown.
Megumi watched a giant clawed hand move to his side, its hand which was clenched into a fist opened up to reveal a lone Purple Waxy finger inside its armoured, blood-ridden claws.
It stood as a testament to the overwhelming power of this Merged Beast that despite being severely weakened due to its summoning conditions, it still killed the Special Grade Curse in one hit.
"Thanks, you may leave." He ordered, walking off towards his friends without turning around as tendrils of shadows formed from his back, they shot forwards before latching onto the lone Finger from the Beast's claw and absorbing it into his Abyss for later use.
"Very well, I shall eagerly await thy call, Shade Lord."
With that, the Maximum Merged Beast, for now only known as the 'Beast Reagent' faded away.
…
When Megumi arrived at the location of the battle, he looked to have only caught the tail end of it. Battles are usually decided rather quickly after all, all it took was one or two missteps to decide who would live or who would die.
Sorcerers can never afford to make mistakes, after all; Hesitation is Defeat.
Kugisaki Nobara and Itadori Yuji stood side by side, with the twin curses surrounding them at both sides. Their faces and bodies were marred with a crimson floral pattern that burned with Cursed Energy that signified the activation of a Cursed Technique.
Megumi chose to sit down upon a nearby boulder to have a Birds eye view of the battlefield and observe their fight properly. He watched as Nobara laughed with malice, drawing the attention of the Death Painting named 'Eso' as far as he remembered.
"Heh, a technique where you win if it hits once huh? You guys sure are strong. But it's just too bad…" She chuckled, reaching into her belt pouch and pulling out a nail all the while raising her other arm, the one that was afflicted with the Death Painting's Rot.
"I'm a Bad Match for you!"
Sparing no time for thought or delay, she then spiked herself with her nail and activated her Cursed Technique Extension:
"Straw Doll technique: Resonance!"
With her call came a pulse from her soul, which connected and intertwined with the twin Cursed Wombs, causing the pulse to shoot through their interlinked souls thanks to the 'Supreme Rot' technique which was previously implanted into both Nobara and Yuji.
Spikes shot out of Eso's and Kechizu's bodies in response to the effect of Nobara's 'Resonance' Technique, pain shooting into them through the deepest parts of their souls. Leaving them completely open to a counterattack as the pain utterly paralysed their bodies.
Both Death Paintings lurched over in agony, yet they were still assured that no further attack could be done since while they were paralysed in pain, so too were their opponents.
However, that was not the case for the Vessel of the Strongest, who despite feeling his body go through unimaginable pain from the effect of Eso's 'Rot', marched ahead with absolute ironclad will.
For if there is only Pain, Itadori Yuji will never stop.
His fists shot forwards towards Kechizu like vipers, each punch shattering bone and cartilage alike with disturbing ease, the sorcerer's eyes burned with purpose and betrayed an inextinguishable flame of Unshakeable Resolve.
"KECHIZU!" Eso cried out for his brother, abandoning all offence to try and intercept the sorcerers and protect his twin Death Painting, it was as if he felt the pain his brother did.
"SHADDUP!"
That was all Nobara shouted in response before piercing herself with another Nail, activating yet another 'Resonance' all the while she swapped places with her partner, no words were needed between the two of them as they fought with unparalleled synergy.
The sorcerers didn't dare to pause, moving forwards while their opponents were stunned by another Resonance. They had swapped targets, with Yuji readying up a Haymaker for Eso and Nobara withdrawing her Naginata with intent to finish off the weakened curse in Kechizu.
In his hurry, he had deactivated his 'Supreme Rot' Technique as he deemed it a liability and instead utilised a halo of Blood that surged out of his back to try and spear through the orange haired sorcerer and save his brother.
But it was all too late, his Blood Spears will never reach their target.
And although both sorcerers still felt the immense Agony left behind by the twin Death Painting's 'Rot', all it did was hone their wills into razor sharp edges.
In a different world, Itadori Yuji may have even faltered at the sight of a curse worrying for what it considered a brother, but that was not the case anymore. For a simple, yet powerful lesson had been ingrained into his soul for the past several Months.
"Jujutsu Sorcerers can not afford to make Mistakes. Hesitation is Defeat."
Black Sparks flowed throughout the Bodies of both sorcerers; for Itadori Yuji, they flowed into his fist from the deepest reaches of his soul. And for Kugisaki Nobara, they formed right at the edge of her Naginata's Blade, painting its once pale white hues a dull black.
""BLACK FLASH!""
Kechizu's Turquoise body was first to be eviscerated, it was torn apart right down the middle with a single swipe of her Blade. The Death Painting had nary a time to even think before he died, a fitting end to a tortured soul.
Yuji Itadori watched on as tears formed in Eso's eyes even before his brother died, and although he was not going to allow himself to falter, the pink haired sorcerer's innate kindness was something he could never suppress.
And so he had chosen to Grant the Cursed Womb a Mercy, a Quick and Painless ending. One without any unneeded suffering.
A Proper Death for one born to be Cursed such as He.
SPLAT
The battle had ended, almost as quickly as it had started. Both Nobara Kugisaki and Yuji Itadori greedily took in breath after breath to regain their composure after the battle, and after a few minutes they both looked at their unfading former opponent with a slight tinge of Dread.
For the two Death Paintings did not fade away as Curses did when they died, their brutalised Corpses remained where they laid.
'Looks like it's finally over, they both managed to hit a Black Flash with Yuji even listening to the advice I gave him when subjugating Tranquil Deer. Hm, good for them.' Megumi thought, he then jumped down from his place on the boulder where he waited for the battle to end.
'Must be Nobara's first, no? I bet she's feeling like she's in a whole new world right about now, the difference in your Jujutsu before and after a Black Flash is no small thing after all. What I would give to feel that high again~.' He reminisced with a sigh while walking towards the two of them to congratulate them on their successful mission.
However…
Fushiguro Megumi need not long for that rush again, nor should he Envy his comrades for touching upon the Nirvana of Black Sparks.
As in less than Two Months, on the night of what would later be named as the 'Shibuya Eclipse', he too would undergo his own True Awakening.
The likes of which could be considered a Second Rebirth.
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700 Power Stones = Extra Chapter
Author's Note:
Itadori Yuji grows as a Sorcerer, but does that mean he will also choose to change as a Human as well?
And I'm TOTALLY NOT HINTING at anything with those last few lines :3
Shibuya is reaching near its peak soon over in the Patreon, Hint hint, wink wink
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Next Chapter Title: The Calm Before the Storm.
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