A special degree. Sukuna's estimated ten-fingered strength. There was no chance of victory.

Megumi's arm suddenly wrapped around his waist, firm and swift, while Nue—the bird of his Ten Shadows technique—grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling them both away from danger by a hair's breadth.

"We need to get out of here." Megumi's voice came out low, rough, almost a groan.

Nue carried them to the top of a building, and when they landed, exhaustion came all at once, their bodies finally allowing the pain to exist. Both were at their limit. Blood flowed relentlessly, their uniforms were already torn in several places, and the cursed energy had been consumed to the last drop.

But that moment of relief was short-lived.

The curse appeared in the blink of an eye.

Megumi barely had time to react. Did she manage to keep up with Nue? The thought crossed his mind the same second he tried to dodge the attack. But the curse surprised him with a different jujutsu, catching him off guard and violently throwing his body away.

He only stopped because the protection surrounding the terrace withstood the impact.

It was then, when he raised his eyes, that he saw you.

And the scene before him made his stomach clench.

You were exactly in that position he knew all too well.

That technique.

Your Jujutsu technique was rare, ancient, powerful—inherited by your family as a burden and a responsibility. There was, however, a single spell that only members of your clan could perform. And the few who tried to use it... did not survive to tell the tale.

Was it strong? Yes. Strong enough to destroy that curse easily? Also yes.

But the price could be your life.

Megumi knew your technique better than she cared to admit. Not out of obsession, not out of empty curiosity, but out of concern. Because he studied every detail of her like someone trying to find a way to prevent a tragedy. And, deep down, because he was afraid of the day you would decide to use her.

And that day had arrived.

"No." The word came out before he even realized it.

Megumi forced herself to stand, staggering, her whole body protesting the movement.

"Stop it." He advanced toward her, ignoring the pain that burned in every muscle.

"Don't use it." His voice no longer sounded just firm. It sounded desperate.

The curse took a few steps back, intelligent enough to recognize the abnormal concentration of cursed energy around it.

The air seemed heavy.

The energy began to accumulate around you in a strange, violent, almost suffocating way. The cracks in the terrace slowly spread beneath your feet. The wind, previously dispersed, changed direction, as if it too were being pulled toward the center of that power.

The curse watched. Megumi watched too. And, for the first time, it seemed genuinely frightened.

"I told you to stop." Its voice rose a tone. Harder. More tense. More desperate.

The curse took another step back, purely out of instinct.

It was then, as blood began to trickle down its lips, that Megumi recognized the same signal recorded in all her clan's files.

And the fear it felt transformed into something worse.

Rage.

"Are you listening to me?" It finally reached you and closed its hand around your wrist. Tightly. Too tightly.

For a brief moment, the spell ceased.