Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

The light from the fire truck's roof cast a long, narrow shadow on the ruins.

Yi Gu stood at the boundary between light and darkness, his white college uniform swaying gently in the night breeze.

His right hand rested on the hilt of the katana, showing no sign of wavering.

Li Ren's gaze met Yi Gu's in mid-air.

In that instant, he read a complex emotion in those eyes.

Apology, hesitation, and a sense of helplessness from being bound.

"Senior Otsuku, are you here to help us?" Itadori peeked out from behind Rito, his voice filled with anticipation.

"That's great. With you here, those higher-ups..."

"Itadori," Rito interrupted him, his voice unusually calm, "He's not here to help us."

Itadori paused for a moment, then turned to look at Rito: "Huh?"

Li Ren offered no explanation, but simply stared intently into Yi Gu's eyes.

He did not deny it.

Silence spread across the ruins, each second feeling like it had been stretched out for a hundred years.

"I'm sorry." Yigu finally spoke, his voice low and carrying a weariness that Rito had never heard in this boy before.

"I'm here to carry out orders from higher up."

The air suddenly froze.

Under the light of the fire truck's headlights, Itachi's face turned deathly pale, and his eyes changed from anticipation to disbelief.

A surge of crimson curse power flashed at his fingertips, but Li Ren raised his hand to stop him.

"Where is Principal Nightmoth?" Rito asked, his voice still calm, but the light in his eyes had turned icy cold.

Yi Gu was silent for a moment, then said a number: "Three."

"What?" Itachi asked, puzzled.

"The higher-ups' orders are to bring back Yagami Masamichi before 3 o'clock and kill Itadori Yuujin on the spot." Otsuko's voice was completely flat, as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"There are still two hours left."

Rin's pupils contracted slightly.

He didn't ask pointless questions like, "Are you really going to do this?"

Because he knew that Yi Gu had no choice at all.

This young man understood better than anyone the consequences of disobeying orders from higher-ups.

That's something a top-tier sorcerer couldn't withstand.

Gojo Satoru is an exception, but Otokotsu is not Gojo Satoru. He is not even a product of the Jujutsu system. He is a "potential threat" who was forcibly recruited by the higher-ups.

Since the Shinjuku Incident, Otoko has been kept under surveillance.

He had no other choice.

"So you know that even if you kill Itadori, the higher-ups won't let the seal on Gojo-sensei go, nor will they let us, the remnants of Gojo's faction, go?"

The rational person took a step forward.

"I know," Yi Gu's voice remained calm.

"So, do you want to continue?"

"That's an order."

Li Ren fell silent.

He lowered his head, looking at his blood-stained hands. After a moment, he raised his head and stared directly at Yi Gu.

"You call this an order? Then let me ask you, do you think this order is correct?"

Yi Gu remained silent.

But the finger holding the knife twitched slightly.

"So, what is your choice?" Rito continued to ask.

Yi Gu remained silent for a long time.

Then, he sighed and looked up at Rito.

"I'm sorry, Rito-kun, even if you're right, I still can't let you leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying aura erupted from Yi Gu's body.

It was a kind of oppressive feeling that made it hard to breathe, and even the lights on the fire truck roof started to flicker.

As Rihito felt that power, his body instinctively tensed up.

This is the power of a master sorcerer.

Moreover, he is one of the strongest Special Grade practitioners in the world of sorcery.

"Riri-kun, I don't want to hurt you." Otsukotsu's voice came from that oppressive aura.

"So, please cooperate."

"What if you don't cooperate?" Rito asked, stepping forward with his feet spread apart, assuming a fighting stance.

"Then I'll have no choice but to keep you here by force."

Yi Gu's hand gripped the hilt of the knife.

The movement of drawing the sword was so fast that even Li Ren's dynamic vision could only catch a blurry arc of light.

The blade flashed, tearing through the air, aiming straight for Li Ren's face.

Just as the blade grazed his nose at the last second, it left a five-meter-long gash in the ruins behind him.

Immediately afterward, without stopping, Yigu flipped his wrist and slashed horizontally, aiming for Rito's waist and abdomen.

too fast.

The man had no choice but to leap backward to create distance.

The moment he landed, he had already condensed a spell energy bullet in his right hand and flung it toward Yi Gu.

Yi Gu didn't even glance at the cursed bullet.

He simply turned slightly to the side, letting the cursed energy graz his shoulder.

"It's useless." Yigu's voice came from the smoke. "Your spell power hasn't recovered yet; this level of attack is useless against me."

Li Ren gritted his teeth.

He knew that Yi Gu was telling the truth.

Having fought his way from the Shibuya battlefield to now, his magical power has been almost completely depleted. Although he has rested for a while, he is far from being at his peak.

Yi Gu was a top-tier sorcerer at his peak.

In a direct confrontation, the chances of winning are almost zero.

"Rito!" Itadori's voice came from the side, "I'll help you!"

"Don't come any closer!" Rito yelled. "You're responsible for protecting yourself!"

Itachi paused for a moment, but he could hear an undeniable determination in Rito's voice.

A surge of crimson cursed power condensed at his fingertips as he slowly walked towards the battlefield, his gaze fixed on Yi Gu: "I'll hold him off."

"No," Rito interrupted him. "You deal with the other one."

He took a deep breath, straightened his body, and looked directly at his sacrum.

"Senior Yigu, are you going to kill me?"

Yi Gu paused slightly in the hand holding the knife.

That's a very direct question.

This left Yi Gu momentarily speechless.

"If you want to kill me, then do it." Rito opened his arms. "I won't resist."

"I won't kill you." Yi Gu's voice became somewhat stiff. "The higher-ups didn't say they were going to kill you; they just told me to..."

"You're just asking me to execute Itajō, right?" Rito continued, "What if I said that even so, I would do everything in my power to save him?"

Bone remained silent.

"I will chase after you, I will save Itadori, I will liberate Gojo-sensei, and I will fight against everyone who tries to stop me." Rito's voice became calm, as if stating a fact that had already happened.

"You can't kill me, and you can't stop me."

"Then I'll have no choice but to knock you out." Yi Gu's voice turned cold.

"Then let's give it a try."

Rihito's magical power began to erupt, and azure light exploded in the night.

He lowered his body, shifted his center of gravity forward, and in the next instant, he became a blur, rushing straight towards Yigu.

This is an attack that defies common sense.

To a normal person, when facing a top-tier sorcerer at their peak, the best course of action for Rihito would be to keep his distance and maneuver around, rather than actively charging towards the opponent.

But the rational person had no choice.

Because he knew that any hesitation would be futile.

As Yigu watched the figure charging straight at him, the fingers gripping his knife loosened slightly.

He did not swing his knife.

Instead, he sheathed his sword, raised his left hand, and aimed his palm at Rihito.

"Urika."

As soon as he finished speaking, a huge figure emerged from behind Yi Gu.

It was a cursed spirit so large that it covered half the sky, its entire body covered in bluish-white armor, and its eyes burning with ghostly blue flames.

The Queen of Curses - Rika Kimoto.

Her appearance caused the air in the ruins to tremble, and the rubble on the ground began to crack under the pressure of the curse.

Li Ren abruptly stopped his momentum mid-air, but his intention to attack had already been revealed.

Rika's giant hand slammed down.

The palm strike was like Mount Tai pressing down, carrying enough power to smash an entire building into pieces.

At the last moment, Rito rolled to the side, and the giant hand grazed his back before slamming into the ground.

boom--!!

A palm print three meters in diameter was slammed into the ground, sending rubble flying and the shockwave sending Li Ren flying.

He rolled several times on the ground before stopping, a trickle of blood escaping from the corner of his mouth.

"Riri!" Itadori rushed forward to support him.

"I'm fine..." Rito supported herself on the ground and slowly stood up. "Erguchi-senpai, is this your answer?"

Bone did not reply.

He simply stared at Rito, his expression a complex mix of emotions.

"Ren-kun, that's enough," said Yi-gu. "You can't beat me."

"Is that so?" Rito wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"But, Senior Yigu, if I told you I know how to break the seal on the Prison Gate, would you help me?"