Chapter 221: The Demon Crawling from the Lava
The scene of the earth collapsing and lava overflowing truly looked like a fitting depiction of the apocalypse.
If an unconscious civilian were to suddenly wake up, they would likely doubt their own senses upon seeing this sight and force themselves back into sleep.
But in Fushiguro Megumi's eyes, this was merely Jogo's desperate final struggle before death.
However, it was precisely at a time like this that one had to remain on high alert. Hadn't history—and countless films—taught enough lessons about "failing at the final moment" due to carelessness?
Furthermore, fighting Jogo was the task Emiya-sensei had left for them; Fushiguro was unwilling to disappoint his teacher under any circumstances.
"Eso, Kechizu, please watch over the defenseless civilians at the edge of the battlefield.
And Itadori, Kugisaki... it's time for us to fight as a team!"
After instructing the two brothers and gaining their consent, Fushiguro Megumi quickly locked eyes with Itadori and Kugisaki, instantly setting the tone for the upcoming battle.
Poor Jogo likely hadn't realized that its previous skirmish with Itadori and Fushiguro was merely "Easy Mode." Now that the three first-years stood together, the coordination they had practiced for so long could be perfectly unleashed.
As Eso began using his [Wing King] as a rescue tool—scooping up civilians near the battlefield and tossing them to safety—the second phase of the battle ignited.
"You actually dared to ambush us at the start... I've wanted to give you a lesson since then, you shorty cursed spirit!"
Regardless of how the actual fight was going, Kugisaki Nobara certainly didn't know the meaning of "mercy." From the moment she faced Jogo, she launched a verbal assault.
"What did you say, you brat?!"
Jogo, who had never suffered such humiliation, was about to snap when the Black Keys in Kugisaki's hand flew toward its face first!
CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!
Several Black Keys grazed Jogo's body. They didn't break its defense, but they succeeded in making the insulted spirit even more furious.
"What is wrong with you people? Humans these days have absolutely no respect!!!"
BOOM!
Scorching lava erupted from the crater in front of Jogo, surging toward Kugisaki, but it was easily intercepted by Itadori Yuji, who raised his shield-axe. It must be said that with this indestructible weapon, Itadori was terrifyingly strong this season.
"Don't act like I'm not here... As long as I'm standing, you won't touch my friends!"
As he shouted this, Itadori charged out from beside his teammates. As the only front-line tank of the group, he proactively took on the responsibility of drawing aggro.
Even though the ground beneath him was molten enough to roast him alive at any moment, Itadori showed no fear. He concentrated all his cursed energy into his lower body, allowing his frame to withstand the high-temperature burns for short bursts of time.
While Itadori and Fushiguro had previously forced Jogo to use [Maximum: Meteor], it wasn't because their individual combat power had reached an untouchable level; it was simply because Mahoraga was too much of an "unfair" variable.
Upon reaching Jogo, Itadori swung his shield-axe in a diagonal slash, but Jogo easily leaped over it. Even though Itadori used his refined techniques to spin his body with the remaining momentum, his follow-up was blocked by Jogo's hand.
As for Jogo's other palm, it pressed lightly against Itadori's abdomen.
At this moment, if Jogo wished, it could use its technique to burn Itadori to cinders from head to toe—unless the boy possessed some strange ability to tank fire like Fushiguro.
"Your time for arrogance ends here, brat.
But don't worry, you won't die directly. Ryomen Sukuna will take over your flesh and use your own body to kill everyone you care about..."
Jogo didn't even need to guess Sukuna's mindset. A powerhouse who once ruled an era would never let himself be mistreated.
To a guy like that, being trapped in a human body was an insult; even if no one asked him, he would surely commit such atrocities. Strength defined the rules in his time—did anyone really expect him to follow the complex rules of modern society?
"Now, I should say goodbye to you forever..."
While speaking, Jogo firmly pinned down the shield-axe Itadori was gripping and rapidly channeled the power of its technique into its palm.
But the moment it thought it had succeeded, its right hand—the one clamping onto the shield-axe blade—suddenly lost all sensation.
"Huh...?"
SQUELCH!
In the split second before it could react, its right arm—now devoid of strength—was severed at the elbow by the shield-axe in Itadori's hands. Again.
Purple blood poured from the wound, but Jogo had no time to worry about that. It immediately retreated to find the cause of this anomaly. If it didn't figure it out, its head might be the next thing to be "relocated."
Glancing around, Jogo's eyes locked onto Kugisaki Nobara. She was provocatively waving a straw doll that was missing an arm.
"Did you forget? When your arm was cut off by Itadori last time, quite a lot of blood was left on it. That's excellent material for activating a technique.
With that medium, my [Straw Doll Technique] can interfere with your movements at any time... So, how do you plan to win in this situation?"
Kugisaki, of course, wouldn't admit that because the gap in cursed energy quality was so large, every use of her technique drained her immensely.
She might not even be able to replicate that effect many more times. But isn't a battle between sorcerers a psychological game? She wanted to use this pressure to ensure Jogo wouldn't dare to concentrate fully on the fight.
"Talking so big... but I can just kill you first, can't I!"
Bellowing in rage, Jogo pivoted to launch an attack at Kugisaki. At this moment, it was positioned exactly between Itadori and Kugisaki, preventing Itadori from acting as her shield.
Seeing the crisis approaching, and knowing there was no time to delay, Kugisaki pushed her technique to its limit. Using the Black Key in her hand, she slammed it into the doll, severing its legs.
Originally, her [Straw Doll Technique] didn't have the power to sever an enemy's sensory connection so completely. It was only thanks to the magical properties of the Black Keys forged by Emiya that her technique could achieve this new level of effect.
The moment the doll's legs were cut, Jogo's own legs lost sensation. Despite being prepared for something, it stumbled and nearly fell.
This pathetic display fueled Jogo's rage further. But just as it was about to explode, a broad, heavy palm suddenly erupted from the lava beneath its feet, firmly grabbing its ankle.
SLAM—!
The next second, Jogo was yanked to the ground by a sudden, gargantuan force. The figure beneath the lava took the opportunity to crawl out from the earth—
It was Mahoraga, who had been buried under the molten rock by Jogo a long time ago.
As it climbed out, thick lava dripped from its entire body, making it look exactly like a demon crawling out of the depths of hell.
"How... How can it still be...??!"
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