There was no explosion this time.
Instead, an extremely powerful electromagnetic wave continuously shot out from Kashimo's cannon and struck Sukuna directly.
The body of the King of Curses began to give off waves of heat, while marks appeared on his face as if they had been scorched by flames. Even the clothes wrapped in cursed energy were growing hot, as though they could be burned to ashes at any moment under the constant bombardment.
"It's getting a bit too warm for my liking. I still prefer a colder sensation."
Although these electromagnetic waves were capable of vaporizing a regular human in an instant, they only managed to draw a teasing compliment from Sukuna.
Bang!
The next moment, with both of Sukuna's arms still held tightly by Kashimo, a mocking smile appeared on his face. He merely gave a slight hop with both feet before driving his knee hard into Kashimo's chin.
The cannon muzzle that had been continuously firing was forcibly closed by the impact. Blood immediately gushed from Kashimo's mouth and nose. The powerful force also made him release Sukuna's arms, and his entire body seemed to be lifted into the air.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Sukuna raised his foot again and spun once in midair before kicking Kashimo in the abdomen, sending him flying.
His body rolled and bounced across the ground, rising and crashing back down again and again. He was sent flying dozens of meters before finally crashing through the wall of a building.
"You shouldn't be some nobody who can be defeated by an attack like that, right? How about trying a little harder? Are you really satisfied with this level of guidance?"
Sukuna looked through the dust and rubble toward the building. When he could not sense any other movement, his tone became heavier.
Bzzzt...
The moment he heard the sound coming from inside the building, an unusual feeling suddenly rose in his heart.
Combined with Yuta's memories, Sukuna knew exactly what was about to happen. "Is it coming?"
Boom!
A thunderbolt tore through the dust-filled building and shot toward him with enough force to rip through the air. It moved like a starving serpent, swift and violent.
This attack carried Kashimo's "guaranteed-hit" effect. Until it hit its target or was neutralized, it would never stop.
At the same time, the glass on the first floor of the building shattered completely, and Kashimo's figure followed closely behind the thunderbolt as he charged toward Sukuna.
"After staying inside that brat's body for so long, I remember it should be like this, right?"
Sukuna extended a hand. Under Kashimo's astonished gaze, he simply turned his body slightly and used his cursed-energy-reinforced left arm to intercept the terrifying bolt of lightning.
His entire arm was instantly burned black. After avoiding Kashimo's attack that followed, Sukuna swung his right fist into his opponent's abdomen.
"Black Flash!"
Just as Sukuna's technique had been engraved into Yuji's body, Sukuna had also inherited the memory of using "Black Flash" as part of his normal combat techniques.
Black and red cursed energy flashed like lightning. The space around the point of impact twisted, and the powerful force instantly spread throughout Kashimo's entire body.
"Pfft!"
A large mouthful of blood suddenly sprayed from his lips, nearly causing him to lose consciousness.
Kashimo's waist had already been almost pierced through by Sukuna's slashing attack. Although he had immediately used his Mythical Beast ability to close the wound and prevent excessive blood loss, it was ultimately not Reverse Cursed Technique.
Under this heavy blow, the wound split open again, and even his internal organs began to bleed from the impact.
* * *
At that moment, Miwa raised a question from the viewing area at Jujutsu High.
"I have a question. If a monster like Sukuna can keep using Cursed Speech, wouldn't no one except someone at the same level be able to last more than a few rounds?"
Her brows were tightly furrowed. After more than half a month, she knew very well just how strong Kashimo was. He was probably the strongest person at Jujutsu High aside from the special grade sorcerers.
Yet even someone at his level could be restrained by Sukuna's Cursed Speech. If Sukuna could keep using it like this, how were they supposed to fight him?
"Bonito Flakes!"
Toge, as the heir to a family of Cursed Speech users, immediately raised both hands and crossed them in front of his chest to form an "X."
Panda, who had always served as his translator, quickly explained, "Cursed Speech becomes less effective against the same person when used repeatedly within a short period. It's a different kind of 'binding,' and that's also why Cursed Speech users rarely take on missions alone."
Cursed Speech was not, in essence, a technique that could directly be used to cause damage. Its effects came at the cost of cursed energy and self-harm.
Only when there was a huge difference in strength could it be used as a direct offensive method.
For example, Toge's strength with Cursed Speech was close to that of a grade 1 sorcerer. When dealing with grade 3 or grade 4 curses, he could simply tell them, "Die," and destroy them.
But if his opponent were a stronger grade 2 curse, or even a grade 1 curse with cursed energy comparable to his own, Cursed Speech would be extremely difficult to use as a direct offensive method. Because of this, Cursed Speech users usually acted as support when dealing with slightly more difficult missions.
The fundamental issue was whether the "words" and the cost they demanded could actually be fulfilled.
If Toge told a grade 1 curse to "Die," the amount of cursed energy he needed to put into the command would not match the requirements of Cursed Speech. As a result, he would have to pay an enormous price.
He might be able to kill the grade 1 curse, but at the same time, he would suffer a backlash from Cursed Speech and be severely injured or even killed himself.
However, this kind of exchange of costs only applied when the difference in strength was not too great.
Against an existence on Sukuna's level, even if Toge greatly lowered the requirements of Cursed Speech, he would very likely have to use a life-or-death binding vow to make it work.
Furthermore, if Cursed Speech was used on the same person repeatedly within a short period, it was essentially like increasing the requirements of the technique in stages. That was why its effectiveness would continue to decrease.
And when used against someone of the same level, the amount of cursed energy required to make Cursed Speech effective would inevitably be enormous. The duration and extent of its effects would also be impossible to predict.
Therefore, neither the original Yuta nor Sukuna now treated Cursed Speech as a true offensive method.
"I see now..." Miwa murmured, nodding in realization, while the Kyoto students let out a collective sigh of relief.
* * *
Back on the battlefield, Kashimo was sent flying through the air. His head was spinning, and he was already somewhat dazed from Sukuna's Black Flash.
Only the constant pain coming from his internal organs managed to bring him back to his senses.
As for Sukuna, the Black Flash had actually put him in an even better state. In the blink of an eye, he used Reverse Cursed Technique to repair his damaged left arm.
'There isn't much time left...'
Both the extent of the changes to his body and the injuries inside it were constantly reminding Kashimo of that fact.
He stretched both hands forward and took a deep breath, preparing to fire another electromagnetic wave.
"Dismantle."
But Sukuna's slash was faster.
Before Kashimo could finish charging, dozens of slashes came straight at him, forcing him to hurriedly dodge. Yet as he moved, he suddenly realized that Sukuna was already about to catch up to him.
Bzzzt...
Sparks of electricity flickered across Kashimo's body. He was repeating a strategy.
During his previous encounter with Yuta, Kashimo had stored a massive reserve of electrical charges inside his staff beforehand. But this time was different.
He had compressed every single ounce of electrical charge from the metal staff, concentrating it entirely into the very end of the handle he held. He had purposely let Sukuna slash the weapon to pieces earlier just to lower his guard against this specific setup.
This attack would be much stronger than the thunderbolt he had fired earlier. And it would be faster.
Boom!
At this distance, Sukuna could no longer dodge the attack by simply shifting his body and sacrificing only one arm to block it as he had before.
Within such a small range, no matter how he tried to evade, Kashimo would definitely be able to guide the lightning toward him.
Of course, Kashimo did not expect this attack alone to defeat Sukuna. What he wanted was to use this bolt of lightning to completely turn the situation around.
However, Sukuna's next move was something no one had expected.
Kashimo was in front of him, while the approaching thunderbolt was behind. Yet Sukuna simply extended both hands and grasped at the empty air on either side of him.
The moment he made this movement, Yuji and Todo both stood up in the Jujutsu High viewing room.
Yuji's lips trembled slightly as he stared at the screen. "That's…"
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!