The restaurant’s entire first floor was engulfed in a powerful explosion caused by the flour dust cloud, amplified by the methane leaking from the gas pipes the sorcerer had deliberately broken earlier. The smell of chlorine had masked the gas, leading to a phenomenon known as a "dust explosion."

The shadow sorcerer wiped soot off his face and took a deep breath before shouting with all his strength:

“NOW, MAKI-SAN!”

His voice echoed between the buildings, bouncing off the streets and alleys until it reached the ears of the female sorcerer.

Maki had been holding her breath the entire time she hid in the alley, not because the chlorine had reached her position, but from the stress of praying her partner hadn’t died in the explosion.

Finally, she let out the air she had been holding.

“For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t make it… He’s such a reckless bastard,” she muttered with a worried smile.

Maki hadn’t agreed with the sorcerer’s plan to be the one to initiate the fight. Not only was he utterly exhausted after expanding his domain and taking a brutal beating from that psychopath, but this plan of his was a desperate gamble, risking everything.

The sorcerer had spent the last of his cursed energy to summon his final shikigami. The fact that he was still standing was a miracle in itself; that his mind remained functional was nothing short of unbelievable.

Now it was Maki’s turn, and she wasn’t going to mess it up.

“Alright, big guy, you better hold that wall tight,” she said in a hushed, strained voice.

The veins in her body began to bulge, and her face flushed red from the effort. Maki stood high on the restaurant wall, pressing against it with her legs while leaning back-to-back with El Caval, the fusion of the shadow sorcerer’s shikigami. This creature, a massive wolf-like humanoid, dug its claws into the opposite wall while holding Maki steady with its elbows, helping her maintain her position.

Little by little, the building’s foundation began to give way, weakened by the explosion on the lower floor. Maki growled, pushing her body to its limit.

“Let’s see if this is your size, you damned bastard,” she snarled through gritted teeth, channeling all her frustration, pain, and rage accumulated throughout the war.

With a guttural scream, she extended her legs forward.

Crack.

The building’s upper section finally gave way. The concrete connecting the first floor to the upper stories crumbled completely, and the entire weight of the condominium came crashing down in a cacophony of dust and flames.

The shadow sorcerer shielded his eyes for a few seconds. When the dust began to settle, he observed the scene before him: an apocalyptic landscape, with smoke, fire, and the persistent smell of chlorine and ash.

Megumi dropped to his knees, unable to hold himself up any longer. Exhaustion had finally caught up with him. He coughed violently, covering his mouth and nose with one hand, feeling the warmth of blood trickling onto his palm. His broken ribs pierced his insides like searing thorns, and every breath felt like a knife slicing through his chest.

“For now, it’s over… I thought I’d have to use Plan B, but… it seems it was just a waste of cursed energy,” he muttered, gasping in a calm tone that betrayed the chaos around him.

But that peace was short-lived.

Boom.

A rumble shook the remains of the building. Megumi felt the ground tremble beneath him, and a chill ran down his spine. Slowly, he lifted his gaze, terror beginning to swell in his chest. From the rubble, two hands emerged, stained with dust and blood but gripping the concrete with inhuman strength.

The fingers clawed at the debris with such force that the ground cracked beneath them. Then, Toji Fushiguro appeared. His figure rose slowly, as though the wreckage was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. His body was covered in burns and cuts, but they were insignificant compared to the dangerous aura that surrounded him. His eyes, vacant and bored as ever, scanned the scene until they landed on Megumi.

“No… It can’t be. There’s no way he’s still alive after all that…”

Megumi’s chest tightened in a mix of horror and despair. His mind raced, desperately searching for a solution, any solution, but the pain and fatigue had trapped him. He tried to move, but his legs trembled and gave out beneath him, forcing him to fall back to the ground.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!” The screams in his mind turned into a deafening echo, merging with the sound of Toji’s casual footsteps as they drew closer to him.

Each step was like a hammer striking the ground—unyielding and final. The air around him seemed to grow heavier with every inch that the assassin closed between them.

Megumi struggled to move his arms, to summon one last shikigami, but his body refused to respond. His fingers barely managed to twitch, trembling with exhaustion. Blood continued to drip from his nose as a black haze began to cloud his vision.

“Come on, Megumi… Get up!” he growled through clenched teeth, though his voice was little more than a strained whisper.

Toji’s face remained impassive, as though bored by how easy it was to finish him off. He raised his fist, intent on crushing Megumi in one decisive blow.

In that moment, Megumi felt something he had never experienced before: an absolute certainty that this was the end.

“Damn iiiiiiit!” he screamed with all the strength he had left, though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Hey, idiot!”

A shout rang out behind Toji, snapping his attention away. The assassin turned quickly, only to be struck head-on by a speeding car that slammed into him with tremendous force, sending him flying several meters away from Megumi.

Toji skidded across the ground but did not fall. Demonstrating superhuman strength, he managed to catch the car with both hands before it could crash into the ground. Letting out a low growl, he flexed his arms and hurled the vehicle into the air with a calculated throw. Using the momentum, he delivered a powerful kick to its side, sending it hurtling back toward his attacker.

The car smashed into another building, shattering walls and windows.

Toji scanned the surroundings, searching for his adversary. His nose tried to pick up scents, but the ash and chemicals in the air hindered him, and the echo of the explosion still rang in his ears, drowning him in an irritating tinnitus.

“BEHIND YOU!”

The voice came too late. Toji attempted to defend himself, but the attack was already on its way.

BAM!

Maki landed behind him with a punch aimed straight at his stomach. The impact was strong enough to knock him off balance, sending him flying once again and away from the vulnerable Megumi.

Maki straightened up, gasping for air. Sweat streamed down her face as she backed up to stand beside the Shadow Sorcerer, who was still on his knees, struggling to remain conscious.

“Fushiguro, can you move?”

Megumi slowly raised his head. Blood continued to drip from his nose and mouth, but he managed to murmur in a raspy voice:

“No… I still have a few shikigami active.”

Maki clenched her fists, casting a fleeting glance at the place where Toji had fallen. In the distance, the rubble began to shift. He’s not going to stop, she thought, her jaw tightening as her mind raced to find a way to keep them alive.

“Then stay here. I’ll handle him.”

Maki took a step forward, bending her knees and adjusting her stance. Her body screamed in pain, but her determination burned stronger than her exhaustion.

Megumi tried to raise a hand to stop her, but his arm trembled too much to move.

“No… You can’t face him alone. He’s not… HUMAN…” he murmured, his voice barely audible, filled with desperation.

“I just need a few minutes to let my brain cool down,” Megumi said through strained breaths, blinking slowly.

Maki began to sweat. Her fists trembled in anticipation, tightening to keep her nerves in check.

“I… I understand,” she replied haltingly.

“Don’t worry. He’s still poisoned, and his senses are clouded,” Megumi continued, his voice faint. “Besides, we still have PLAN B. I’ll keep the remaining shikigami active.”

He lifted his head with effort, focusing on a specific point in the sky.

“Nue is already in position. You just need to hold him off long enough.”

BOOM!

The concrete exploded again as the Assassin Sorcerer accelerated toward them.

Maki reacted instantly, charging toward him with all her strength. They met in the center of the street, their forearms clashing with enough force to create a shockwave that made the ground quake and cracked the pavement beneath their feet.

“Ha, seems like you’re not so tough anymore, huh?” Maki said through gritted teeth, observing the burns on the mercenary’s body.

She let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Hurts, doesn’t it? But don’t worry… The good thing about third-degree burns is they destroy your nerve endings.”

Toji remained silent, his teeth clenched as he applied more force. Slowly, he began to gain the upper hand, his muscles tensing like steel cables.

Maki growled from the effort, but she refused to back down. Planting her legs firmly, she gave one final push, managing to regain her position.

For the first time, Toji’s eyes widened in surprise. How was it possible for this woman to match his strength?

The mercenary’s body was perfect, designed for battle. His advanced regeneration and resistance to poison made him a monster in combat. But like any human body, it had limits.

Maki also possessed a Heavenly Restriction, but unlike Toji, she could still use her full strength without fear of breaking.

Maki attempted to break free with a kick to Toji’s stomach, but he grabbed her ankle with brutal force and hurled her against a nearby wall.

CRASH!

The sorcerer slammed into the concrete, but she tilted her head just in time to dodge the punch Toji threw immediately after. Taking advantage of the opening, she grabbed her opponent’s arm and headbutted him square in the face.

CRACK!

Both staggered back, blood dripping from their broken noses. Toji touched his face and stared at the blood on his fingers.

“Don’t think that gives you an advantage, BASTARD!” he growled through clenched teeth, bending his legs before leaping into the air with overwhelming force.

He soared more than ten meters, drawing his fist back and arching his body. The blow he was preparing would be devastating.

Maki knew she couldn’t let him recover.

“Let’s kick up the dust again!” she shouted, slamming her fist into the ground.

Once again, the entire street was engulfed in a cloud of dust and ash, blocking Toji’s vision and senses.

For the first time, Toji felt stress creeping in. His senses were completely impaired—he couldn’t see, couldn’t smell, and could barely hear.

To his left, he felt a faint breeze. He turned quickly, but there was nothing there. Then, a direct hit to his kidney made him stagger.

Another breeze passed to his left, but this time it was a feint. When he turned, a powerful blow landed directly on his cheek.

BAM!

Toji’s face smashed into the concrete, and he skidded violently down the street, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. When he finally stopped, he remained motionless, his body unusually still as his mind processed what had just happened.

For the first time in this battle, Toji felt he was being dominated. It wasn’t due to a lack of strength or skill, but the state of his own body: the burns, the blows, the poison. Worse still, he couldn’t understand how this woman—the very one he had dismissed as insignificant—had brought him to his knees… metaphorically.

Toji took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling heavily. In his mind, the purpose for which he had returned to this world became clearer with every passing moment: to kill the strongest, to defy the natural order, and now, to find something in this battle that finally excited him.

She had forced him to feel something.

At last, he rested an arm on his knee and began to rise, slowly and deliberately. His movements were measured, almost ceremonial. Wiping the sweat and blood from his face with the back of his hand, he caught the metallic scent of his own blood filling his nose.

He observed the drops of blood falling to the ground and let out a low, deep, and chilling laugh. Slowly, that laugh turned into a savage grin, baring his bloodstained teeth.

At the other end of the dust cloud, Maki was preparing to charge again, but something changed.

Suddenly, her body shuddered, and the suffocating sensation of pure killing intent struck her like a wave.

“He’s becoming… more unstable,” she murmured, her arms trembling.

Toji finally stood up completely, his head tilted slightly to one side and his expression exuding something far more dangerous than mere boredom: a perverse enjoyment.

Meanwhile, outside the curtain of smoke, Megumi steadied his breathing. Despite his condition, his eyes never left the enormous cloud that concealed the combatants. The sounds of flesh striking flesh and concrete shattering were all that filled the ruined streets.

BOOM!

Megumi turned his gaze away when an orange and yellow flash illuminated the sky in the distance. The explosion sent a hot breeze his way, more suffocating than the dust and ash already thick in the air.

“Could it be the Volcano Curse?” he wondered, looking toward the horizon. “Who could they be fighting now to cause such destruction?”

There was very little time left. Maki only needed to hold on for a few more seconds so that Megumi could stand and his shikigami could reach the desired position.

FUM!

A final blow cleared all the dust from the area. When the street became visible again, Megumi frantically searched with his eyes. What he saw made his heart stop for a moment.

Maki was grappling with Toji, but what filled him with fear was the metal rod the mercenary had retrieved and was now slowly driving into the sorcerer’s abdomen.

“Maki-senpai!”

The sorcerer coughed up blood but forced her body to its limits, trying to stop the assassin’s movement. One hand gripped the arm wielding the metal rod, while the other attempted to immobilize his opposite wrist. She was holding her ground admirably, but her strength was rapidly fading.

Megumi knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Even though the plan wasn’t perfectly aligned, he had to act.

“Sapo, go help her!”

The giant shikigami obeyed immediately. It leapt swiftly toward Toji and shot out its long tongue, wrapping it around the mercenary’s abdomen. Using all its strength, the toad yanked him away from Maki.

Megumi raised his eyes to locate Nue, the airborne shikigami. It still wasn’t high enough, but there was no time left. Closing his eyes, he muttered a quick prayer, pleading with whatever force might hear him.

“Nue… let him go.”

With Toji removed from her, Maki seized the opportunity. Moving quickly, she ripped a piece of metal from some burning rubble and pressed it against her wounded abdomen. A guttural scream escaped her throat as she used the heat to seal her wound shut. The pain was unbearable, but she managed to stop the bleeding.

Not even a second passed before Megumi, his voice trembling, shouted:

“Zenin-senpai, do it now!”

Maki looked up at the sky, her eyes narrowing with determination shining within them.

“Alright. All or nothing,” she shouted with the last of her strength.

With a powerful leap, she lunged toward the toad’s tongue that was holding the assassin. Before Toji could free himself, Maki spun him around several times in midair before finally hurling him upward with a shockwave that shook the street.

Toji spun uncontrollably for a moment before he managed to stabilize himself. He looked down, trying to locate his prey. His vision, though still somewhat blurred, was beginning to recover.

He prepared to throw his metal rod, but then…

BARRITO!

A deafening sound, accompanied by a massive displacement of air, announced the arrival of an enormous shikigami descending from the heights.

ELEFANTE MÁXIMO.

Megumi’s final summon was, without a doubt, the most demanding in terms of cursed energy from his current arsenal. Elefante Máximo wasn’t the fastest or the most versatile, but it had a peculiar ability: the greater the height from which it fell, the more devastating the impact.

However, due to Megumi’s lack of cursed energy, the elephant was far from its maximum strength. Nue, the winged shikigami, had taken longer than expected to lift it to a significant height, and even then, they hadn’t reached the ideal position.

Despite this, the effect was catastrophic.

BOOM!

The impact was comparable to that of a meteorite. The elephant slammed into the ground, deforming the asphalt and generating waves of concrete that rippled outward, destroying the street around it. The explosion left a cloud of dust and debris that blanketed the area, plunging it into absolute chaos.

Maki, anticipating the destruction, reacted quickly. She grabbed Megumi and leapt away from the epicenter before the elephant hit the ground. Both landed a safe distance away, panting as they watched the spectacle unfold.

“That was… quite the show. I have to admit, Fushiguro, when you actually use that brain of yours, it might justify how arrogant you are,” Maki said, trying to catch her breath.

Maki whistled, impressed.

“Eeeh… yeah, well, we can talk about this later. For now, I’d appreciate it if you could put me down,” said Megumi, his voice strained.

“Huh?”

Maki looked at the sorcerer she was holding. He wore an embarrassed expression, which made sense, considering she was carrying him bridal style.

Despite her condition, Maki let out a soft, teasing laugh.

“Are you sure? Didn’t you say you couldn’t even stand? Come on, Fushiguro, don’t be such a baby.”

Megumi clenched his teeth and pushed her forehead with his palm.

“Just put me down already! Now that I’ve dispelled my shikigami, my brain isn’t under as much stress,” he growled irritably.

Maki rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

“Is that how you treat your superiors? I just saved you, you know.”

Carefully, she lowered the sorcerer to the ground. Then, Maki clutched her perforated abdomen while Megumi slowly dusted off his clothes.

“Okotsu-senpai is the only superior I respect,” Megumi said in a bored, tired tone.

“Sure, sure,” Maki replied indifferently.

Megumi remained silent, staring at the destruction caused by Elefante Máximo. His expression grew pensive as he reflected. Finally, he turned his head toward Maki and, for the first time, offered a faint smile.

“But I’ll admit… without you, I probably wouldn’t have made it.”

Maki looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Thank you, Maki-senpai.”

The sorcerer chuckled softly, letting out a faint, confused sigh.

“Fushiguro smiling… That’s not something you see every day. I guess they really hit you hard.”

Megumi’s frown returned instantly, his expression turning grumpy again.

Maki attempted to take a step forward but groaned in pain, clutching her wounded abdomen tightly.

“Maki-senpai! That guy stabbed you in the abdomen. We need to leave now and find Shoko-san,” Megumi said urgently, placing a steadying hand on her shoulder.

“It’s… not that bad. I made sure he didn’t hit any vital organs. We need to keep looking for the others, like Nanami-san. Remember?” Maki replied between ragged breaths.

Her words reminded Megumi of what she had said about the critical state of the senior sorcerer. His mind also drifted to the battles still raging several streets away and his companion, Itadori.

There was still so much to do. They couldn’t afford to stop now.

“You’re right. We need to move again. Let’s head back underground. Nanami-san shouldn’t be too far from—”

The atmosphere shifted suddenly.

A cold chill ran through Megumi, freezing him in place. His eyes widened as he saw, almost in slow motion, a kick heading straight for Maki.

She noticed it too and barely managed to raise her arms in time to block it, but the impact was enough to send her flying through the air.

CRASH!

Her body slammed into the asphalt, rolling several times before smashing into a lamppost, bending the metal on impact. Maki coughed up blood, struggling to catch her breath.

Megumi froze, paralyzed. Standing before him, emerging from the rubble, was Toji. Bloodied, limping, and battered, but still alive.

A demon who refused to die.

Megumi’s body nearly collapsed under the overwhelming pressure of Toji’s killing intent.

“This can’t be human,” he thought in absolute terror.

Toji didn’t even glance at Megumi. His attention was entirely on Maki, who was still struggling to get up.

The mercenary had decided she would be his next prey.

Though his steps were unsteady and his condition critical, the air around him remained suffocating. The fractures across his body and the blood dripping from his forehead didn’t seem enough to stop him. His senses were back at their peak.

Maki opened her eyes with difficulty, staring at the man who seemed to have returned from hell itself.

“I-impossible… this has to be a lie,” she murmured, trembling as she tried to stand.

Each of Toji’s steps echoed like a hammer striking the sorcerer’s soul.

Megumi couldn’t stay still. In a desperate leap, he appeared behind the assassin, wielding a cursed weapon he had pulled from his shadow. He tried to stab Toji, but the mercenary disarmed him with a brutal strike to his wrist, as quickly as he had arrived.

Megumi staggered back, but the mercenary grabbed him by the neck and lifted him high above his head.

He’d had enough of interruptions.

With his free arm, Toji readied his metal rod, aiming to pierce Megumi’s skull. The young sorcerer struggled desperately to break free, kicking and punching in vain.

“HEY, YOU BASTARD! You’re fighting me! Let him go and come after me!” Maki shouted desperately, bracing one hand on her knee as she slowly rose into a pitiful fighting stance.

She raised her arms, adopting a combat pose while gasping for air.

Toji glanced at her indifferently, ignoring her words. His focus returned to Megumi, his next victim.

“MEGUMIIIIIIII!”

Maki’s scream echoed through the streets, a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable.

That scream, however, was the greatest stroke of luck they could have asked for.

The metal rod stopped inches from Megumi’s face.

Toji stared at the boy intently, his gaze tracing every feature of his face as if searching for something he couldn’t comprehend. For a moment, his body—always tense like a war machine—froze completely.

Then, something stirred deep within him.

A strange, overwhelming instinct eclipsed his bloodlust. That impulse, visceral and primal, forced him to leap backward, instinctively releasing Megumi.

Megumi fell to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. He looked up at Toji, utterly confused.

“Why… why did he let me go?” he thought, his body trembling with terror.

Toji himself didn’t understand what had stopped him. He, too, seemed confused. For the first time in a long while, his mind—trapped in an endless state of battle—faltered. Why hadn’t he finished off this annoying sorcerer, this obstacle in his way?

Inside his mind… images began to surface.

They were fleeting, like blurry glimpses of a life that no longer belonged to him. A small child.

In an impossible scene, the man began to remember.

Author's Note

Question: Do you prefer that I bold the dialogues or format them in a specific way?