"Nobara, watch out!"
Rabbit Escape and Divine Dogs immediately gave a warning when the mushroom man Cursed Spirit was teleported behind Nobara by Daiten.
'The aura of a curse, so close?'
Nobara did not have time to think and immediately tried to create distance.
"Hmph!"
At this moment, Yuji fully displayed the qualities of a strong athletic student.
In his haste, he even punched the Cursed Spirit, which was four or five meters tall, without using Cursed Energy.
"Thanks."
Noticing Yuji's action, Nobara stopped and immediately took out her small hammer and nails.
Nobara threw three nails into the air, and under the influence of Cursed Energy, the nails did not fall, but remained steadily in front of her.
Cling, cling, cling.
Three nails were shot out by Nobara, causing the mushroom man Cursed Spirit to retreat repeatedly.
Divine Dogs also took the opportunity to leap up, biting the mushroom man Cursed Spirit's knee and severing one of its legs.
The two of them dealt with the suddenly appearing Cursed Spirit without much alarm.
But in the next second, an aura that made them tremble with fear appeared behind them.
A unique, large white face, like some kind of marine creature, appeared next to them, its round eyes wide and revealing a brilliant smile.
If one ignored the shock and terror on their faces, someone might even think the three of them were very close...
"Damn it, I fell for it. Can an Innate Domain be used like this?!"
Falling into a dark underground room, Megumi gritted his teeth and punched the ground.
He blamed himself for carelessly falling for the Cursed Spirit's trick, which forced them into a situation where they had to face a Special Grade Cursed Spirit directly.
'They're no match for a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. I have to provide support as quickly as possible.'
Megumi felt the connection between himself, Rabbit Escape, and Divine Dogs, quickly pinpointing their location.
But in the next moment, countless masks suspended in the air blocked Megumi's path.
"Annoying!"
Megumi roared in anger.
Seeing the large number of Cursed Spirits appearing in the air, Megumi immediately thought of summoning Nue.
But he hesitated. If he canceled the Shikigami around them now, could they survive the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's attack until he arrived?
Although Divine Dogs was no match for a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, with Rabbit Escape helping to distract it, it should be able to hold on for a while.
'Yuji, Nobara, don't forget what Ieiri Kiyotaka-senpai said. You absolutely have to run away.'
Thinking this, Megumi stopped forming hand seals and reached into his shadow.
He pulled a rifle for Cursed Spirits out of his shadow.
'My body won't move. Why? Am I trembling?'
Nobara looked at the Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had appeared beside her in disbelief.
Cursed Spirits born in sparsely populated rural areas could not be compared to Cursed Spirits born in a metropolis like Tokyo, with a population of tens of millions.
Let alone a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
'Move, move, move quickly!'
Yuji also screamed frantically in his heart.
"Woof woof!"
Divine Dogs, having dealt with the mushroom man Cursed Spirit, also noticed this formidable enemy that had suddenly appeared.
Divine Dogs launched an attack on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit that was toying with the two of them.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit looked impatiently at Divine Dogs pouncing toward it.
It had thought that the spiky-haired one would recall his Shikigami to protect himself after being surrounded, but it did not expect him to leave the Shikigami here.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit waved its large hand, and a terrifying force smashed toward Divine Dogs' head.
Dozens of Rabbit Escape gathered in front of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, forming a fluffy white wall.
Bang, bang, bang.
A large number of Rabbit Escape were instantly shattered by the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's casual strike, but their objective had been achieved.
While Rabbit Escape blocked the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's vision and resisted its attack, Divine Dogs circled to the other side and leaped up.
Divine Dogs opened its mouth wide and bit toward the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's throat, but the opponent shifted its body, causing it to bite only its shoulder.
Splish.
"Yuji, run!"
"Oh!"
Freed from the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's oppressive aura, the two immediately fled in the direction they had come from.
Before they entered, Ieiri Kiyotaka had repeatedly warned them that if they encountered a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, their choice was simple.
Run, or die.
Divine Dogs spat out the chunk of flesh from its mouth. It was the meat it had just torn from the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's shoulder.
The chunk of meat quickly began to dissipate after falling to the ground.
Its toys had been allowed to escape by Divine Dogs, and anger burned in the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's heart. It looked at Divine Dogs with a cruel expression.
One by one, Rabbit Escape began to gather around the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
The battle began again.
Over a hundred Rabbit Escape filled all the space around the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, and a few Rabbit Escape led the way beside Divine Dogs, constantly pointing out the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's location.
Dark golden Cursed Energy began to surge, and the Special Grade Cursed Spirit directly released its massive Cursed Energy outward, forming a wide-range Cursed Energy impact.
The individually weak Rabbit Escape, which could be called fodder, were instantly defeated in large numbers.
"Woof!"
Divine Dogs attacked again, and the Special Grade Cursed Spirit did not dodge, directly raising its hand to block its bite.
To Divine Dogs' shocked gaze.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's cheeks suddenly puffed out, and it spat out a highly compressed Cursed Energy bullet like a wad of spit.
Bang.
Divine Dogs was unable to evade and was directly hit by the Cursed Energy bullet, suffering heavy injuries.
On the other side, Yuji and Nobara reached the vicinity of the exit at top speed, but they still could not get out.
"There are pipes everywhere, where's the exit?!"
"It would be great if Divine Dogs had come with us."
"Don't be stupid. If Divine Dogs came, wouldn't the Special Grade Cursed Spirit follow too..."
Nobara, who was searching for an exit and bickering with Itadori Yuji to relieve stress, felt a familiar aura.
"Yuji, behind you!"
Hearing this, Yuji subconsciously drew his slayer demon and slashed behind him.
Unable to properly control his Cursed Energy, he had to rely on cursed tools to exorcise Cursed Spirits.
Crack.
"Eh?"
Yuji looked in surprise at the broken slayer demon and the thing flying over his head.
'Is that... my hand?'
Yuji had missed.
Enduring the intense pain, Yuji untied the sheath of the slayer demon and wrapped a bandage around his wrist to stop the continuous bleeding.
Cling, cling.
Two nails flew out, but the Special Grade Cursed Spirit simply tilted its head and successfully dodged them.
Nobara immediately stood in front of Yuji, who had lost a hand.
"Hey, Yuji, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Itadori Yuji displayed a strong endurance for pain. The pain of a severed arm, which would cause many people to faint, did not even make him let out a sound.
'At least I have to let Nobara leave.'
Yuji looked at Nobara, who was standing in front of him, much smaller than himself, and he could vaguely see her slightly trembling legs.
Even though her heart was filled with fear, Nobara still stood in front of her companion the moment he was injured.
'Nobara shouldn't die here, at least...'
(To be continued.)