Megumi Fushiguro's body slammed heavily against the rock wall.
Fragments of stone flew everywhere.
Before he could even slide down, that Special Grade Cursed Spirit had already teleported in front of him.
There were no fancy techniques.
Just a pure explosion of Cursed Energy.
BANG!
Another heavy blow.
Megumi Fushiguro was kicked flying like a ragdoll, blood tracing a red line through the air.
"Cough, cough..."
Megumi Fushiguro lay on the ground, his vision starting to blur.
Three broken ribs.
Internal bleeding.
Almost no Cursed Energy left.
"Is this... the power of a Special Grade?"
He struggled to stand, but his body felt as heavy as lead.
Divine Dog: Totality had already been dispelled.
His other Shikigami couldn't even last a single round against this pure violence.
Despair.
"Mr. Lynn..."
Junpei stood on a high rock, looking down at the blood-soaked figure below.
"Are we really not going to save him? He's about to die!"
Junpei's hand pressed against the Cursed Tool at his waist. If Lynn hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed down long ago.
"He won't die."
Lynn leaned on the black golden law, eating potato chips while watching the tragic scene below.
Lynn naturally knew that Fushiguro would have a breakthrough in this battle.
"Junpei, look closely."
"He's hesitating."
"Hesitating?" Junpei was taken aback.
"He's thinking about whether he should use that 'mutual destruction' move."
Lynn gave a cold laugh.
This kid's trump card was a Subjugation ritual—summoning that Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga that no one could defeat, then taking the enemy down with him.
It was the most foolish "suicide soldier" tactic.
"Megumi Fushiguro!!"
Lynn's voice suddenly boomed through the cave, drowning out the roar of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Megumi Fushiguro's movements froze, and he lifted his blood-covered face.
"Don't even think about that crappy mutual destruction move!"
Lynn looked down from above, his voice full of mockery.
"You want to die? Fine."
"But if you die, what happens to your sister?"
"Sukuna inside Yuji Itadori could come out at any time. Who will be there to keep him in check then?"
Every word cut deep.
Megumi Fushiguro's pupils constricted sharply.
That's right.
I can't die.
What kind of victory is mutual destruction?
That's just running away!
Satoru Gojo's words and Lynn's words intertwined in his mind.
"Winning by dying and winning even if it kills you are two completely different things."
"In the world of Jujutsu Sorcerers, only 'greed' leads to the pinnacle of strength."
Greed... I want to win.
I want to live.
I want to save my sister, save Itadori, save everyone!
What's wrong with that?
ROAR—!!!
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit seemed to sense the change in its prey and let out a tyrannical roar, its massive body charging forward once again.
This time, it was a killing blow.
Phew...
Megumi Fushiguro closed his eyes.
Since there was no way out.
Since conventional means wouldn't win.
Then... break it!
Break this damn limit!
"No longer confined by 'form'..."
"No longer restricted by 'reason'..."
"Extend the imagination... to the very edge of the shadows!"
Megumi Fushiguro snapped his eyes open.
Those deep green eyes, once calm, were now filled with a crazed smile.
It was the wild laugh of a gambler going all-in.
His hands formed a seal never seen before.
Domain Expansion—
Hum—
The air in the entire cave instantly froze.
Even the charging Special Grade Cursed Spirit's movements lagged for a split second.
Boundless darkness centered on Megumi Fushiguro, like ink dripping into clear water, instantly corroding everything around it.
The rocks vanished.
The skeletons vanished.
In their place was a bottomless, liquid-like flow of black shadows.
Chimera Shadow Garden!!
"That's..."
On the rock, Junpei's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape.
He felt his very soul trembling.
This is... a Domain?!
Though it looked incomplete, lacking a closed barrier, the qualitative change in this Cursed Energy was suffocating.
"Finally... he's figured it out."
Lynn pushed up his glasses, his cane lightly tapping the ground.
In the center of the battlefield.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit was trapped in a quagmire of shadows.
It discovered with horror that its feet could not be pulled out, and in the surrounding darkness, countless pairs of crimson eyes were lighting up.
"In here..."
Megumi Fushiguro knelt on one knee, blood gushing from his nose, but the smile on his face only grew wider.
"I am the rules!"
"Now... die!!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Countless black frogs, giant snakes, and monstrous birds surged from the shadows—no longer single entities, but a beast tide like a tsunami!
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit resisted desperately, but within the Domain, the Shikigami were infinite.
For every one it tore apart, two more would emerge.
Finally.
Divine Dog: Totality!!
A black-and-white giant wolf, several times larger than before, silently emerged from the shadow behind the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Sharp claws swept through.
Squelch—!!
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's iron-hard body was torn in half like paper.
Purple blood erupted.
With a final, unwilling wail, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's body began to disintegrate, turning into ash.
Only a dark red finger remained, hitting the ground with a "clink."
The Domain deactivated.
The darkness receded.
"I... I won..."
Megumi Fushiguro looked at the finger on the ground, and his taut nerves snapped instantly.
An intense wave of dizziness hit him.
His body swayed, and he fell straight backward.
Thud.
He didn't hit the ground.
A hand steadily supported his back.
Lynn had appeared behind him at some unknown moment.
"Well done."
Lynn looked at the unconscious Megumi Fushiguro in his arms, a rare hint of praise in his tone.
He leaned down and picked up Sukuna's Finger from the ground.
It was cold to the touch, radiating a nauseatingly evil aura.
But in Lynn's eyes, it was the most wonderful thing in the world.
Recycled High-Value Cursed Object: Ryomen Sukuna's Finger.
Valuation: 50,000 points.
"This deal has paid for itself."
Lynn put the finger into a specially made sealing box and tucked it into his robe.
Then, he pulled a bottle of expensive high-grade healing potion from his pocket and poured it into Megumi Fushiguro's mouth like water.
Gulp.
As the potion entered his stomach, Megumi Fushiguro's pale face regained some color, and his breathing stabilized.
"Boss, is he okay?"
Junpei finally snapped out of his shock and jumped down from the rock, looking worried.
"He won't die."
Lynn stood up and straightened his clothes.
"He's just overextended. He'll be fine after a sleep."
"Then we should..."
Junpei was about to say "probably leave."
Suddenly.
Clap, clap, clap.
A slow, rhythmic sound of clapping came abruptly from the deepest darkness of the cave.
Junpei's voice stopped dead.
Lynn's movements also froze instantly.
"Splendid."
"That was truly splendid."
A man wearing a Gojos Kasaya walked out of the shadows with a smile.
The stitched line on his forehead looked particularly gruesome in the dim light.
Lynn's pupils shrank violently.
Why?
Why was Kenjaku here?
"How interesting."
Kenjaku narrowed his long, thin eyes, his gaze sweeping over Lynn and Junpei.
Finally, it fixed on the pocket on Lynn's chest.
"Mr. Lynn."
"It's almost as if you knew beforehand that the finger would be here."