Chapter 208: A Meteor Falling from the Sky
"Come back quickly, Itadori!"
A new realm. Fear.
The very first instant Jogo angrily raised his palm, Fushiguro Megumi immediately called Itadori Yuji back to his side.
[Maximum Technique]—the other ultimate state of a cursed technique besides [Domain Expansion].
If a Domain is the ultimate move with the strongest practical combat utility once a cursed technique is combined with barrier techniques, then a [Maximum Technique] is the pinnacle state achieved when the essence of a cursed technique's inherent ability is developed to its absolute limit.
Because the abilities and effects of every [Innate Technique] are different, a Maximum Technique does not necessarily possess the same battle-deciding utility as a Domain. However, a jujutsu sorcerer with such mastery and depth in their technique is certainly not weak.
In the current jujutsu world, there are still over a dozen sorcerers who can master a Domain, but [Maximum Techniques] have long since vanished in a modern era that focuses only on raw combat efficiency. If it weren't for witnessing Eso's [Maximum] during the battle not long ago, the current Fushiguro Megumi might not even understand what this state truly meant.
After all, even if he researched it, it wouldn't be of any use...
His [Ten Shadows Technique], a technique used solely to summon fixed shadow shikigami, simply does not possess that kind of realm, nor does it require the study of such skills. As long as Fushiguro can defeat those shadow shikigami and complete the taming ritual, they are entirely at his disposal.
But Jogo's simple and crude technique was clearly different from Fushiguro's.
Ember Insects, lava eruptions, and even the explosive flames he wielded at will... their essence was all extreme high temperature, or rather, the human fear of all natural phenomena related to heat. To upgrade his technique, Jogo only needed to perform one simple action: continuously push the temperature limits of his technique.
As everyone knows, the lowest temperature in the universe is -273.15 degrees Celsius. At such extreme temperatures, all movement of molecules and atoms ceases, entering a state of absolute suspension. However, there is no way to directly infer the highest possible temperature. The only predictable point, based on the Big Bang theory, is the [Singularity] at the very birth of the universe.
As for how high the temperature was there? Even if the temperature of the sun's core were multiplied by several hundred million, it wouldn't even come close.
It could be said that Jogo's room for growth was essentially limitless; it only depended on whether he had the resolve to keep learning... A simple stacking of cursed energy would naturally never reach such extreme temperatures.
So, it wasn't that Fushiguro Megumi didn't want to interrupt Jogo's charging process immediately; it was that the moment the opponent began to circulate his [Maximum Technique], the air temperature within a dozen meters had already reached a range that no human could endure.
Without a special technique or [Reverse Cursed Technique] to maintain their vital signs, they would likely go into shock and die from extreme heat in moments.
Fushiguro didn't dare let Itadori Yuji gamble on the extremely low probability of physically tanking such heat.
Furthermore, Jogo was correct about one thing.
Itadori Yuji's body was indeed controlled by himself most of the time, and he could even actively seize control when Ryomen Sukuna took over—but the most fundamental condition for all of this was that Itadori himself had to remain conscious. If Itadori Yuji fell into a coma due to severe injury, or entered a state of dispersing consciousness on the brink of death, Ryomen Sukuna would likely take the opportunity to seize the body's sovereignty, just like that time at the detention center.
This was, of course, just a reasonable deduction on Fushiguro's part, but he didn't dare gamble.
They didn't have the luxury of space to take such a risk.
At this moment, they didn't have their two dependable teachers by their side, nor did they have any trustworthy elders.
Not only that, but the 200,000 lives trapped in Shibuya were also the responsibility of their actions... Fushiguro was absolutely unwilling to let himself make a mistake in such a matter. If he, who had always despised evildoers, became an evildoer himself, wouldn't that be far too ridiculous?
"Fushiguro, so we, how—"
Having obediently retreated to Fushiguro's side, Itadori wanted to ask something, only to sadly discover that after speaking just a few words, it was very difficult to make a sound. Itadori Yuji was still surprised by what was happening, but Fushiguro Megumi had already realized: this was a symptom of the moisture in their bodies being rapidly evaporated.
In just a few moments, the state of the two of them was already similar to travelers who had been exposed to the sun in the desert for an entire day. The most suitable temperature for human survival is only around twenty degrees Celsius; too high or too low will cause various negative effects on the body—this is the drawback of being a homeothermic animal. If the two
of them hadn't tried to use cursed energy to offset the direct influence of the technique, they would have probably been burned to charcoal the moment the enemy activated it.
Fushiguro raised a finger to make a "hush" gesture toward Itadori Yuji, signaling him to immediately stop all useless actions to conserve strength.
He himself quickly changed his hand gestures, switching to hand seals to control Mahoraga's actions.
Fortunately, the Shadow Technique had such a convenient method of driving; otherwise, even Mahoraga wouldn't be able to turn the current situation around.
But the moment Mahoraga took a step, its body suddenly sank, with more than half of it falling into the ground... more accurately, into the ground that had been turned into lava.
"Since this shikigami's ability is so simple, I will solve it in the simplest way.
Without its operator, it's nothing more than a giant target—be grateful, I will soon make your lives end in a painless instant."
Mahoraga's abilities, in the final analysis, consisted only of its powerful body and the Sword of Extermination that countered cursed spirits. Beyond that, all its actions had to follow physical rules.
As long as Jogo could continuously melt the ground beneath Mahoraga's feet into a lava-like liquid, there was no way for it to break free, at least not in a short amount of time.
Such a method was indeed a temporary fix, as the heat-adapted Mahoraga wouldn't be harmed in the slightest, but all Jogo wanted was a little bit of time. It had always been confident in its own strength and full of faith in its strongest technique, because it was indeed that unimaginably powerful.
As Jogo continued to drive its strongest technique, a blazing sphere began to expand at a rapid speed above its head, surpassing the height of the underground tunnel in just a few seconds. As for whether this would cause the technique to collide with the walls and lead to unimaginable consequences? It certainly didn't have that concern.
Because before the fireball could even truly touch the walls, the originally hard soil and surfaces simply dissolved under the roasting of the extreme heat, dripping down like melting ice.
After realizing that the two of them likely no longer had a way to directly stop Jogo, Fushiguro Megumi pulled Itadori Yuji and hid at the furthest end of the tunnel possible, yet they were still severely affected by the high temperature. If possible, trying to dodge the enemy's attack would be a valid way to solve the problem.
But what was truly important now was not that, but the giant fireball in Jogo's hand that was still continuously expanding. Its size had now completely surpassed the limit of what the
tunnel could contain; most of its form was above the ceiling where it couldn't be seen, and only a small visible portion of the bottom remained above Jogo.
Conservatively estimated, its size had expanded to over ten meters in these few short seconds. Fushiguro Megumi could not imagine what kind of horrifying disaster would occur if such an attack were to explode completely.
"If you only want to run because you're scared now, it's already too late, brats.
I am not like you humans, so I don't care at all to what extent this place is destroyed, much less how many crawling humans die by my hand!
If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for choosing to anger me!"
When Jogo finally exerted the technique to its limit, the tunnel was completely unrecognizable, looking more like a cavern inside a volcano.
Never mind Fushiguro and Itadori, who were in the same space—even Kugisaki and the others, who were on the floor above and had been anxiously searching for a way down, clearly saw the massive fireball rising from the center of the ground and occupying most of the space.
"What... what is that, Big Sis?!"
Upon seeing such a terrifying thing appear before him, Kechizu, acting as the younger brother, didn't hide behind his older brother Eso, but instead shrank half his body behind Kugisaki. Even though they had been arguing and were incompatible when they arrived, Itadori hadn't been gone for long and Kugisaki had already been promoted to "Big Sis."
"How would I know, you idiot!"
Despite her words, Kugisaki's attitude toward Kechizu was still not very good.
"Um... how about we run away quickly?" suggested Kechizu, whose head had mysteriously suffered a heavy blow earlier.
"Run? Impossible. At least until I get those two guys out, I absolutely won't do that."
Kugisaki Nobara shook her head firmly, and then immediately prepared to try and breach the lower level through the melting ground, only to be held back firmly by Eso. His expression was now exceptionally grave, and his eyes, staring straight at the position of the fireball, didn't dare to move even a fraction.
"Perhaps we should run, Miss... even if we all stood together, we couldn't withstand this technique."
"This is..."
Before Eso could finish speaking, they saw the fireball slowly rising upward. In moments, they successfully made eye contact with Jogo, who was rising while supporting the technique. The
opponent definitely saw them, but only bared a mouthful of black steel teeth before continuing to rise to the sky outside the tunnel.
"It seems even if we start running now, it's too late. It has made up its mind to destroy everything nearby. That is..."
From high up in the distance, Jogo's extremely excited shout rang out.
"[Maximum Technique]—[Meteor]!!!!!!"
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