A muffled, suppressed cough echoed across the empty rooftop.
Toge Inumaki clutched his mouth tightly, but he still couldn't stop the streak of crimson blood from seeping through his fingers and dripping onto the cold concrete floor.
His throat felt as if he had swallowed a burning blade; every breath brought a searing, tearing pain.
'The numbers... there are still too many.'
Toge gasped for air, his eyes—usually half-lidded and lethargic—now sharp with a heart-wrenching gravity.
He stared over the edge of the roof, his gaze fixed on the essential path leading toward Shibuya Station.
Though Yuji Itadori had already broken through the encirclement at the previous intersection...
On this several-hundred-meter-long street, a never-ending stream of Transfigured Humans continued to pour out from alleys and shops, attempting to drown Yuji completely.
If there were only dozens or even a hundred, Toge was confident he could resolve it all at once with Cursed Speech.
But looking out, the number of Transfigured Humans on this street was like a plague of locusts—impossible to count!
Using large-scale Cursed Speech on such a massive number of targets consecutively was resulting in a backlash that was mercilessly ravaging his vocal cords and cursed energy circuits.
But he knew he couldn't fall now.
'If I stop here, Yuji won't make it through...'
Toge bit the tip of his tongue hard, using the sharp sting of pain to force himself to stay conscious.
He raised the blood-stained megaphone once more, aiming it down at Yuji, who was being flanked by a group of Transfigured Humans.
"Begone!"
Along with a raspy roar that was almost unrecognizable, a powerful wave of cursed energy swept across the battlefield!
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
The dozens of Transfigured Humans lunging at Yuji hit an invisible wall of air, their bodies sent flying backward to crash heavily against the walls on both sides.
"Cough—agh!"
At the same moment, Toge spat out a mouthful of blood. His body staggered uncontrollably, nearly tumbling off the rooftop.
The agony in his throat had reached the absolute limit of human endurance.
Yet, he remained fixated on the situation below, refusing to miss a single detail that might threaten Yuji.
"Inumaki-senpai!"
Running below, Yuji Itadori naturally noticed something was wrong.
He could clearly sense that Toge's usually authoritative voice had become intermittent and carried a heavy scent of blood.
'Don't worry about me! Go!'
Toge didn't use the megaphone; instead, enduring the excruciating pain, he silently mouthed the words to urge Yuji forward.
His throat could no longer sustain another large-scale command.
"Damn it...!"
Yuji's eyes turned red instantly. He snapped his head forward, channeling all his anger and worry into the strength in his legs.
'I absolutely cannot let my senior's efforts go to waste!'
Blue cursed energy erupted from Yuji's legs, his speed shattering his previous limits.
He transformed into a streak of black lightning, surging forward frantically before the Transfigured Humans could close the gap again!
Ten meters!
Fifty meters!
One hundred meters!
Less than thirty meters remained until the underground entrance of Shibuya Station!
However, at the final moment, two colossal Transfigured Humans—three stories tall and covered in bone spikes—burst out from a large department store at the end of the street!
They stood like two insurmountable mountains, deadlocking the entrance to the subway station.
"ROAR!!"
The giant Transfigured Humans let out deafening roars. Massive bone blades swung down like guillotines, carrying whistling gales toward the sprinting Yuji!
"Get out of the way!"
Yuji roared, preparing to clash head-on with the monsters using Divergent Fist.
But then...
"Bypass... surround..."
An extremely weak, raspy voice—sounding as if the vocal cords had been completely shredded—rang in Yuji's ears.
It was Toge, squeezing out the very last drop of cursed energy in his body to issue a final command!
*Vwoom!*
The power of Cursed Speech descended once again.
The bone blades held high by the two giant Transfigured Humans deviated bizarrely from their original trajectory, slamming into the ground and narrowly missing Yuji!
*BOOM!*
The ground collapsed instantly, sending debris flying.
Seizing this split-second opportunity, Yuji twisted his body mid-air with impossible agility, slipping through the gap between the two behemoths like an eel!
He made it!
The dark, gaping maw of the subway entrance finally lay fully exposed before him.
A second before diving in, Yuji whipped his head back toward the distant rooftop.
On the edge of the roof bathed in blood-red moonlight...
The silver-haired boy who had silently supported his advance offered a faint smile.
In that smile, there was no fear, no pain—only the relief of a mission accomplished.
The next moment.
Toge's body went limp like a puppet with its strings cut, falling straight backward.
His vision faded into endless darkness as his consciousness sank into the abyss.
"INUMAKI-SENPAI!!!"
Yuji's eyes nearly split from the strain as he instinctively tried to rush back.
*Swish!*
Just as Toge was about to hit the roof, a ripple of spatial energy flickered.
A powerful hand steadily caught Toge's falling body.
"You did well, Jujutsu High brat."
Mei Mei shouldered her massive black battle-axe, her other hand supporting the unconscious Toge. A rare flash of admiration flickered in her exposed eye.
Beside her, Ui Ui was already prepared for another teleportation.
"Dear Sister, his throat is severely damaged. His vocal cords are almost completely shredded. If he doesn't receive treatment from a Reverse Cursed Technique immediately, he might never be able to speak again for the rest of his life."
Ui Ui quickly checked Toge's injuries and reported with a heavy tone.
"I know."
Mei Mei nodded.
"Take him to a safe zone. The battle ahead is no longer something he can participate in."
Mei Mei looked up at Yuji in the distance and shouted in an unquestionable tone:
"He won't die! Keep doing what you're supposed to do!"
Hearing Mei Mei's words, Yuji's clenched fists finally slowly relaxed.
He knew that returning now would serve no purpose.
'Everyone... please stay alive!'
Yuji spun around and plunged into the subway entrance that seemed ready to swallow everything.
Deep within the station.
Dim lights cast mottled shadows on the walls, and the air was thick with the nauseating stench of blood.
Yuji sprinted down the stairs and burst into a massive underground transfer hall.
The hall was littered with mangled corpses and dark red bloodstains.
In the center of the hall stood a man with long hair, wearing a kimono and a horizontal bloodstain across his face.
Hearing footsteps, the man slowly turned his head.
In that instant, their gazes collided mid-air.
The eldest of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Choso.
Yuji Itadori.
At this moment, the blood within their bodies seemed to resonate with a bizarre frequency.
A battle concerning life and death—yet filled with an absurd sense of destiny—was about to explode within this blood-soaked underground space!