Inside the cave barrier, Itadori Yuji and the third of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings were locked in battle.
The creature's wide mouth, full of sharp teeth, continuously spat out streams of blood toward Itadori Yuji. The corrosive liquid sizzled upon contact with the cave walls, white smoke rising from the affected areas.
Itadori Yuji took in the scene before him.
"Getting hit by that stuff looks like a really bad idea," he muttered to himself, unsure if his body could withstand the corrosion.
But no matter how strong that blood was, as long as it didn't hit him, it didn't matter!
In the spacious cave, the pink-haired boy moved swiftly, dodging with ease while closing the distance between him and the creature.
Their fists collided with a heavy impact, sending both of them sliding backward.
The creature's cheeks bulged again before another stream of blood shot out like a flying blade toward Itadori Yuji.
His pupils shrank as he instinctively ducked, spinning his body to avoid the attack while rushing forward.
He leaped into the air, delivering a clean, sharp spinning kick that struck the creature's large, neckless head, sending it flying.
Its round body bounced a few times upon hitting the ground. The moment its feet touched down, Itadori Yuji was already upon it, grabbing hold of the creature and slamming it back onto the ground.
Pinning it down, he threw punch after punch at its overlapping heads.
With a sudden *whoosh*, another stream of blood sprayed out. Itadori Yuji quickly flipped backward, dodging cleanly before landing and steadying himself.
His rapid attacks had drained some of his stamina. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath.
Yet, despite taking his relentless hits, the creature stood up as if completely unharmed.
"Damn… it's tough," Itadori Yuji muttered.
Judging by its wide, upturned grin, the creature was laughing. "This isn't fun anymore."
Itadori Yuji let out a short laugh, annoyed. So all that effort… and this thing thought they were just playing?
Taking a deep breath, he dashed forward, swinging his fist straight at its grinning face.
If one hit didn't work, then ten! If ten wasn't enough, then a hundred!
There was no way this thing could keep taking hits forever!
...
Compared to the intense battle on Itadori Yuji's side, the fight on Yukinoshita Yukino and Fushiguro Megumi's side was much more relaxed.
The long, baguette-shaped cursed spirits emerging from the holes in the cave walls were instantly sliced in half by an invisible blade the moment they appeared.
Fushiguro Megumi's black curved blade cut through the air with precision. Every swing left behind flashes of light, reducing several cursed spirits to pieces in an instant.
It was like playing whack-a-mole.
"These cursed spirits are really weak," Yukinoshita Yukino said.
"But there are so many… Just how many of them are there?" Fushiguro Megumi clicked his tongue in frustration.
Their efficiency in taking them down was already high, yet the cursed spirits kept emerging one after another, seemingly endless.
"Stay calm. Look closely—they're almost all gone," Yukinoshita Yukino said.
At first, every hole in the rock wall had a dark yellow baguette inside, but now, looking around, many of them were empty.
Fushiguro Megumi knew he was getting anxious. He took a deep breath, trying to refocus.
Just then, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.
He turned around sharply and saw the rock wall behind him ripple like a dark shadow. Thick arms reached out from within and grabbed his shoulder.
A powerful force yanked him backward, pulling him into the black shadow.
It all happened too fast. Yukinoshita Yukino barely managed to dodge Fushiguro Megumi before slashing at the black ripples. From the feel of the strike, she had definitely hit the enemy, but it probably wasn't enough to cause serious damage.
"What? My brother is here too!?"
On the other side, the blood-covered figure fighting Itadori Yuji suddenly stopped, as if sensing something. Excited, he dashed toward Yukinoshita Yukino and Fushiguro Megumi.
"Huh?" Itadori Yuji was stunned for a moment before realizing his opponent was running away. He quickly chased after him. "Hey! Where do you think you're going!?"
He watched as the green figure charged straight into the shadow like a wild boar and disappeared from sight.
Itadori Yuji hesitated for a moment before anxiously shouting to the black-haired girl, "Yukinoshita-senpai! What do we do? Should we go after them!?"
"Go! Fushiguro was taken outside the barrier. That guy is probably working with the green one. You two should be able to handle it. I'll take care of things here," Yukinoshita Yukino said quickly.
"Alright! Be careful!" Itadori Yuji nodded and rushed into the ripples, disappearing from the barrier as well.
The shadows faded away. Yukinoshita Yukino withdrew her gaze and refocused on the remaining creatures in front of her.
Judging by the situation, it seemed like her side was relatively easier. After all, she was only dealing with a bunch of baguette-like creatures that couldn't fight back—basically just playing whack-a-mole. Meanwhile, Itadori Yuji and Fushiguro Megumi seemed to be in far more danger.
But that was only on the surface.
Now that her teammates were gone, Yukinoshita Yukino no longer had to hold back out of concern for them. She unleashed her full power, activating her technique (Okuzushi).
Blades of energy shot from her hands, far surpassing her previous attacks in both range and power.
Her precision dropped slightly, but since only she and the enemy remained in the barrier, accuracy was no longer a concern.
The sealed cavern trembled violently. Deep slash marks carved into the rock walls, and chunks of stone rained down from the ceiling, as if the entire cave was about to collapse under the barrage. The remaining baguette-like curses were all shredded into pieces.
Her long black hair, wild from the fight, slowly settled. She reached up, tucking a few stray strands behind her ear.
"Come out. Stop hiding."
Her voice was icy and calm.
As soon as she finished speaking, a massive, eerie flower bud emerged from the rock wall in front of her. The bud opened, and a figure dropped from within.
It was a humanoid curse. A pitch-black hand was pressed over its head, and four eyes stared out from between the fingers.
The curse grinned, its expression full of wild arrogance.
It was identical to the one that Hayashizaki had effortlessly killed at the juvenile detention center—the Special Grade Curse, Cursed Womb: Death Painting.
Yukinoshita Yukino's expression remained unchanged. Her face, stunningly beautiful, was as calm as ever.
"I've been waiting for you."
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…
(End of Chapter)
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