Chapter Fifteen: Speedrunning

Shibuya had turned into a living hell.

Not only the subway station, but the cursed spirits, unleashed after Satoru Gojo’s downfall, were scattered throughout the streets, killing indiscriminately. Cursed spirits kill without reason; they are born from human fear and malice, existing in a state of chaos.

Under the flickering neon lights, blood sprayed like fountains. Grotesque cursed spirits crawled into the harbor and invaded shopping malls. Ordinary people couldn’t see them, but cursed spirits could harm humans.

Yuji Itadori leapt onto a billboard, punching through a green, ruffian-like cursed spirit. Before the green blood could spray, he landed and dashed away.

He needed to meet up with Master Nanami and then rescue Master Gojo. As long as Satoru Gojo could be freed from his seal, everything would be alright!

“Itadori!”

“Megumi, you came!”

Crossing an intersection, Yuji bumped into Megumi Fushiguro, who had also come rushing to help after hearing the commotion.

Bang!

A thunderous crash echoed as a concrete pillar fell from the sky. Yuji and Megumi jumped in surprise and looked up. Standing on the pillar was a shirtless, thick-haired, bearded man who looked somewhat greasy.

“Yo, yo, yo~ where are you two headed...”

Before the hairy man could finish, a blue-black figure suddenly appeared behind him and delivered a double strike to his head.

The double strike broke through the hairy man’s “Non-Limit Transformation” technique’s damage threshold, slapping him to death instantly.

“This is the first threat your son faces. Now it’s dead.”

“Hmm, continue.”

Replacing the hairy man atop the lamppost, Chen Lai glanced calmly at the dumbfounded Yuji Itadori and Megumi Fushiguro below, smiled slightly, then vanished.

“Who was that? He looks strong,” Yuji asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

“No idea, never seen him before. Probably a sorcerer from somewhere else... Let’s move, Master Gojo is still waiting for us.”

Megumi originally thought Chen Lai looked somewhat familiar, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

Perched on a building beside the road, Chen Lai curiously asked Megumi Fushiguro Senior, “Don’t you want to recognize your son? At least let him know you saved him.”

The usually defiant man showed a rare trace of loneliness in the expression on the right side of his face: “I’m already dead.”

“That’s perfect. Once you’re dead, your merits and faults balance out. If you tell him now, he’d cherish your memory even more. He might even set up a memorial for you.”

Chen Lai shrugged. Megumi Senior was just stubborn—he was happy to see his son share his name but refused to admit it aloud.

Even now, after being possessed, he was reluctant to give up control to Chen Lai, only relenting when the matter involved saving his son.

East Asian men really are some of the most stubborn people.

“Enough chatter. Where’s the next enemy?”

Megumi Senior’s words were tinged with annoyance. How could someone who hadn’t lived his life possibly understand him?

Chen Lai said nothing further and sprang nimbly between the skyscrapers like a skilled monkey. With his current physical prowess, he could easily leap hundreds of meters between buildings, keeping pace with Megumi Fushiguro Junior without effort.

...

“No way, Juexiong Hu, how did you lose them? You’re really something.”

“Here’s what you do: get up, take bus 35, transfer twice on the subway, take Line 4 to a place called AAA Pig Wholesale Market. Bring that pig back, and you can eat the feed there.”

“Seems like the players’ commentary nowadays isn’t very friendly. Unlike me, Juexiong Hu, Ni Ge Mint.”

Juexiong Hu of the Empire sighed helplessly. He wanted to keep up with Chen Lai, but after Megumi Senior was possessed, he ran so fast he disappeared in the blink of an eye. What could he do?

“Hey, human.”

Suddenly, at the subway stairway corner appeared several grotesque cursed spirits. Standing among them was a blue-haired man with a stitched face, smiling as he addressed Juexiong Hu.

A chill ran down Juexiong Hu’s spine; the strange figure who had been at the corner was now right before him.

“Damn, I’m dead.” Juexiong Hu was anxious; he recognized this cursed spirit—it had been notorious on the forums for ages.

—A cursed spirit born from human hatred towards humans: Mahito!

He was a special-grade cursed spirit whose technique was “Idle Transformation,” and all the cursed spirits surrounding him had been transformed from humans.

Mahito grinned and reached out, aiming to touch Juexiong Hu’s body. Contact would mean certain death.

“Mahito!!!”

A furious roar erupted from behind Juexiong Hu, filled with youthful vigor.

A fist the size of a sandbag slammed into Mahito’s face, knocking out several teeth, yet he still smiled.

“Itadori Yuji~ we meet again. I never properly thanked you before—you helped me master Domain Expansion!”

Mahito laughed madly. Even though his mouth leaked blood, his hands closed as his fingers pointed toward the just-arrived Megumi Fushiguro.

“Domain Expansion: Self-Closure Circle!”

Boom!

Countless black hands sprouted from Mahito’s body, forming a sealed sphere to swallow Megumi Fushiguro.

Domain Expansion is the ultimate stage of sorcerer and cursed spirit techniques. At this stage, the technique reaches its pinnacle, equivalent to an instant-kill ultimate move. In the undersea game world, such an ability would be extremely rare and valuable.

However, Chen Lai—or rather, Megumi Fushiguro Senior, Megumi’s father—had arrived.

“Here, this guy B, and later there’s another one with colored stripes on his face. Kill these two, and your son will be safe.”

“I’ll rest for a moment. You take over. After Megumi is safe, return control to me.”

Chen Lai transferred control of the body. After all, he had promised. A father saving his son while doing a good deed on the side—what could be wrong with that?

The moment he took control, Megumi Senior cracked his neck and stretched.

The next second, before the Self-Closure Circle could fully close, he slipped through a gap and approached Mahito stealthily, almost invisible to the naked eye.

Crack!

Mahito’s fingers, performing his technique, were twisted off. Terrified, Mahito tried to use Idle Transformation to alter Megumi Senior’s soul.

This move drew the dormant laughter of Chen Lai inside.

Heaven and Curse Binding—this technique locks body and soul firmly together, like blue and red health bars merged as one. If Idle Transformation could affect Megumi Senior’s soul, it should be able to affect his body too.

Unfortunately for Mahito, it was impossible.

Mahito realized his technique was failing; the smile vanished from his face as he tried to flee.

But Megumi Senior would not let him escape. Grabbing Mahito’s blue hair, he slammed him repeatedly like the Hulk throwing Loki—not inflicting much damage but delivering a severe insult!

Mahito was utterly terrified. This man was beyond what he could handle now!

Stripping away his outer layer, Mahito shrank one size and tried to slip into the sewer.

“Hey, Mahito.”

Yuji Itadori, prepared in advance, blocked the sewer exit. His hands gathered an enormous amount of cursed energy, even flashing black-red light.

“This punch is for my friend Junpei!!!”

The black flash struck critically, and the special-grade cursed spirit Mahito was eradicated!