Since the battle began, his energy expenditure had been immense.
The amount used in close combat was relatively small—the greatest drain had come from earlier, when he cleaved through Jogo's meteor head-on. To achieve that, he had employed the Sword of the Black Furnace's Meteor Strike technique, forcibly extending the blade to twenty meters in an instant.
The Sword of the Black Furnace was already a notorious energy guzzler, and activating the Meteor Strike had drained more than half his reserves in one go!
Moreover, compressing cursed energy was no small feat—while it doubled his offensive and defensive capabilities, it also doubled the cost.
Roy assessed his remaining energy.
Less than 30% of his peak reserves remained.
At his current level, another Meteor Strike extending the Sword of the Black Furnace to twenty meters was out of the question. Even for him, that technique could only be used once per battle.
"HAHAHAHA! You cursed spirit—you're downright sweet!"
Suddenly, Ryu Ishigori threw his head back and laughed, his booming voice drawing all eyes to him.
"Fine, fine! To dismiss you as just another cursed spirit was arrogance on my part. You're a damn tasty dessert yourself! And you, Jogo—if you survive this, I'll savor you properly too!"
"Now then—let's fight back with everything we've got!"
With a roar, Ryu's eyes widened.
Cursed energy erupted from his entire body like a bursting dam.
"You, Roy! My technique isn't flashy like theirs. Mine is pure 'Cursed Energy Discharge'—a technique that massively amplifies my output and explosive force! Nothing but raw power! Let's see whose energy reigns supreme—your compression or my discharge!"
This was... a Technique Revelation!
Roy's gaze sharpened.
A Binding had been formed!
By revealing the secret of his technique, Ryu had gained a boost in its effectiveness!
"Take this—Granita Blast!"
Ryu laughed, slicking back his gleaming pompadour.
The cannon-like aperture at his forehead erupted like a volcano, unleashing an overwhelming surge of cursed energy—a colossal beam of pure destructive force, hurtling straight toward Roy!
"Not bad!"
Jogo shot Ryu a surprised glance before coolly offering praise.
Then, he too attacked at full strength.
In an instant, eight volcanic craters materialized midair, their flames intertwining as they roared toward Roy.
Roy's eyes narrowed, a fearless grin spreading across his face.
His body shimmered with crystalline cursed energy armor—no other defenses, no evasive maneuvers. He charged headlong into Ryu's cursed energy cannon!
But before that, Jogo's concentrated flames reached him first.
Enhanced by the domain's effect, the eight fiery streams packed 30% more power than usual, merging into a single inferno capable of melting steel in an instant.
Guaranteed to hit, the combined flames struck Roy before anything else.
The superheated flames blasted forward, crashing against the crystalline cursed energy armor with a roaring blaze, turning it crimson red in an instant.
Yet, in the next moment, Roy broke through the fiery blockade, charging unscathed toward the massive cursed energy cannon.
"Tch! Hard as a damn turtle shell!"
Jogo gritted his teeth, glaring at Roy with sheer frustration.
Even his full-powered attacks, amplified by his domain, couldn't leave a single scratch on him!
But Ryu Ishigori's cursed energy cannon packed even more firepower than his flames. Even that guy wouldn't be able to block it as effortlessly as he had with Jogo's inferno!
The sheer force contained within Ryu's cursed energy cannon was staggering.
Enhanced by the simple yet flawless technique of cursed energy discharge and further amplified by binding effects, the power of this cannon even surpassed Jogo's ultimate technique, Meteor!
Unfazed, Roy charged straight in, slamming his body against the cursed energy cannon head-on!
An overwhelming force surged toward him like a tidal wave, making Roy feel as though he was wrestling with a natural disaster—a tsunami or an earthquake.
His feet felt glued to the ground, unable to advance. His eyes sharpened, and without hesitation, he raised his fist. Compressed cursed energy, nearly solidified, wrapped around his knuckles as he threw a punch capable of shattering mountains and splitting rivers.
BOOM!
Under the tremendous impact, the cursed energy cannon twisted like light being sucked into a black hole.
Roy threw another punch. A colossal shockwave, carrying raw destructive force, surged forward. The cursed energy cannon writhed violently like a python before shattering completely in an instant!
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
Ryu's face twisted in disbelief.
His pride and joy, the Granite Blast, had been shattered by just two punches?!
This was a cannon!
A freaking cannon!
How could it be destroyed by bare fists?!
Was this guy truly invincible?!
"Strong, but too scattered!"
While Ryu was stunned, Roy saw things with crystal clarity.
Ryu's Granite Blast—that massive cannon beam was nearly as wide as a building, its power spread far too thin.
Against Jogo's Meteor, Roy would have to withstand the full weight of the falling rock, the flames, and the kinetic energy of the descent. But against Ryu's Granite Blast, all he had to do was break one critical point, and the entire beam would collapse.
If Ryu had compressed his cursed energy further, firing the beam in a thinner, denser form, even Roy wouldn't dare take it head-on.
"Don't stop now!"
Jogo roared, summoning another swarm of volcanic heads. The flames converged into a single concentrated beam and, with the guaranteed-hit effect of his domain, instantly teleported right in front of Roy, blasting toward him.
"My Granite Blast eats up way too much cursed energy!"
Cold sweat dripped down Ryu's face as the barrel of his pompadour-shaped cannon glowed once more. The cursed energy beam fired again, splitting midair like fireworks into over a dozen smaller beams, raining down on Roy from all directions.
"My cursed energy's almost dry!"
Jogo sneered, yet his hands never stopped moving, relentlessly squeezing out every last drop of cursed energy to unleash the most ferocious assault of his life.
The consumption of a domain was monstrous—even someone with Yuta Okkotsu's reserves could only use it once at most. That alone spoke volumes about just how terrifying the cost was.
Having previously used the highly taxing Extreme Technique: Meteor and repeatedly engaged in brief clashes with Roy, his cursed energy reserves had now dwindled to less than ten percent.
Under normal circumstances, having exhausted his cursed energy to this extent, he should have fled long ago. Once depleted, even healing would be impossible. The fact that he could still fight now was purely due to his overwhelming negative emotions driving and pushing his body to its limits.
"...You're still the tougher one!"
Ishigori Ryu let out a bitter laugh, at a loss for words.
But.
More importantly than that—
"We can't stop him at all!"
Under the watchful eyes of Ishigori Ryu and Jogo.
Roy faced their relentless assaults without a trace of fear, charging straight toward them.
His advance was like a steamroller, crushing everything in his path with just a few punches and kicks. Whether it was Jogo's flames or Ishigori Ryu's cursed energy beams, nothing could halt his momentum.
He was like an invincible god of war, his overwhelming presence effortlessly shattering every attack. The compressed cursed energy armor draped over him resembled divine armor fallen from the heavens, wielding power enough to sweep aside all foes—no one in this world could stand against him.
In the blink of an eye, Roy had already closed the distance between them with his unstoppable momentum.
Jogo's domain might as well have not existed.
"No wonder he didn't even bother acknowledging my domain."
Jogo sighed inwardly.
As Roy charged toward him, Jogo felt an eerie calm settle over him.
He had known from the very beginning that there was no escaping this fate.
He had long understood that, like Dagon, he would die within his own domain.
"But this is fine... This is just fine..."
A relieved smile spread across Jogo's face as he pushed his body to its limit, unleashing one final attack.
Countless glowing insects appeared within the domain, their bodies covered in sharp spines, wings buzzing incessantly, and tails flickering with dazzling firefly-like light.
Roy locked onto Jogo, kicked off the ground, and charged straight at him.
"Ora!"
At that moment, Ishigori Ryu suddenly roared, throwing a punch at Roy from the side.
Jogo turned to him in surprise.
"I won't get in your way!"
Ishigori Ryu grinned.
Jogo understood.
So that was it. He had indeed said, "Don't get in my way," earlier.
It seemed his words hadn't been entirely accurate.
Ishigori Ryu's punch was powerful.
Far more than Roy had anticipated.
Amplified by his cursed energy technique, Ishigori Ryu's strength wasn't limited to his cursed energy beams—his reinforcement technique was shockingly potent. The force behind this punch was nearly on par with Uraume's from back then!
Roy halted mid-step, his expression unchanging. He pivoted slightly and met Ishigori Ryu's fist head-on with a punch like a cannon blast.
"Crunch!"
Ishigori Ryu felt an excruciating pain in his fist.
The next moment, he watched as his right arm shattered piece by piece, muscles and bones tearing apart as if made of cotton, exploding into fragments!
"Burst!"
In that instant, Jogo bellowed.
With the brief moment Ishigori Ryu had bought him, the firefly-like insects gathered around him suddenly erupted with blinding crimson light.
For a split second, it was as though countless fireworks had gone off simultaneously, filling the entire domain with searing flames. Waves of scorching heat surged forth, accompanied by the insects' deafening shrieks.
The firefly insects were one of Jogo's most basic techniques, producing both sound and flame upon detonation.
The number of stacked Fire Scale Bugs was useless in battles between the strong, but under the influence of a domain, all the flames and sound produced by their explosions would strike the enemy simultaneously.
Against Roy's compressed cursed energy, as hard as a turtle's shell, it should be meaningless—definitely impossible to breach.
The only effect was to further deplete his cursed energy through sheer volume of attacks.
The next moment, Roy emerged unscathed from the blaze.
With a punch that shattered the atmosphere, he struck Jogo's chest with an unstoppable force.
"Mahito, Hanami, Dagon... I'm sorry, I couldn't defeat this guy..."
Jogo helplessly closed his eyes.
His expression carried a hint of loneliness, yet also a sense of relief.
By now, his cursed energy must be nearly depleted.
As long as Sukuna revives, he'll surely be able to kill him.
By then, the ideal of curses replacing humans might finally be realized.
It's a shame he won't live to see the moment they've staked their lives to achieve.
How I wish, a hundred years from now, a version of me that isn't me could meet versions of you that aren't you on that wilderness again—
"Boom!"
The fist descended like lightning.
Too fast to react, too strong to resist.
Not even a flicker of pain was felt before Jogo's body was obliterated, shattered into pieces that scattered in all directions.
Roy grabbed Jogo's head, opened a void pocket, and tossed it inside.
The domain shattered.
Once again, the black sphere standing in the street cracked apart, drifting away like autumn leaves before dissolving into clumps of cursed energy.
The street was now uneven, flames rising everywhere.
Roy stood there.
His posture remained upright, unyielding as a mountain peak.
Not a speck of dust marred his white shirt, fluttering gently in the evening breeze.
As if he hadn't come to fight, but to stroll.
"Only you left now."
Roy turned, his expression indifferent as he looked at the man with the pompadour a few steps away.
"Haha... this battle has been way too sweet!"
Ryu Ishigori laughed weakly, his face pale as paper.
His right arm was severed at the elbow, blood gushing out—a sight painful to behold.
At his peak, he was no match for Roy, let alone now, grievously wounded.
"Such immense cursed energy... seems Sukuna has revived."
Ryu Ishigori glanced into the distance, his lips trembling, drained of color.
"The binding must have lifted. What a shame, just a step too late—"
Even if he fled now, Roy wouldn't spare him.
Though his expression was calm, his gaze was that of a man looking at a corpse.
In his eyes, Ryu Ishigori was already dead.
"This fight has been exhilarating. Let's end it with my final Granite Blast!"
Ryu Ishigori took a deep breath, his lips stretching into a wide grin, madness flooding his face once more.
"Take this—my last and strongest Granite Blast—!"
With a roar.
A massive beam of cursed energy surged forth, thick as a skyscraper, hurtling toward Roy.
The ancient sorcerer's final aria.
Roy didn't dodge. Instead, he strode forward.
One punch—the atmosphere trembled, the beam warped.
Another punch—the light shattered.
With the final punch thrown, the man with the pompadour collapsed with a bitter smile.
Before long, he fell completely silent.
Roy crouched down and recorded his DNA pattern.
Then he thoroughly destroyed the remains.