The amount of Cursed Energy it was emitting was palpable. A normal person would faint and an average sorcerer would be shit scared.

It was no wonder Megumi and Yuuji couldn't even move when they first felt its presence.

The moment it appeared, Mai threw away the gun and took a defensive posture.

From this moment on, he had to put utmost concentration. Unlike Megumi, he didn't have the Cursed Energy needed to pull off a Domain Expansion nor does he have versatile Shikigami that would help.

The Curse spit out a ball of Cursed Energy at Mai who instantly leaped forward while ducking the attack.

Reaching into its personal space, he punched its face with a reasonable amount of Cursed Energy.

It skidded a few metres back due to the force but there wasn't even a scratch.

'Oh boy. This time, I'm in real danger.'

The only ways he could land a decent attack was by using Black Flash or by conjuring super sharp weapons that could cut through his tough defense.

But there was a problem with the skill [Conjuration]. When he conjures something, the object that has been conjured is in a state of semi-physical existence.

Mai designed it so that he can convert the object back into Cursed Energy. But here, the Cursed Energy around the Curse was dense enough to disrupt the conjured object.

To not let the conjured object go 'poof', he had to add a bit more Cursed Energy than usual. It would also strengthen the object.

By no means did Mai consider himself a talented person when it comes to Martial arts or Closed Quarters combat. So, he was compensating it by making blades, needles, or anything that could damage it.

The Curse kept punching, kicking, and throwing Cursed Energy blasts and Mai was dodging them.

With his complete focus on his senses, he was able to evade most of the attacks and defended against what he couldn't. But little by little, even with an Expert level Control, his Cursed Energy was being chipped away.

These few minutes were enough to get Mai forced into his 'Zone'. And then,

*BOOM* he landed a Black Flash kick on its shoulder. Without hesitating, he moved on with the momentum not giving the Curse any chance.

*punch*punch*slash*kick*rubber band of doom*punch*

Within the barrage of punches, there were two or three Black Flashes that put serious damage.

*SLAASH*

A big slash with a conjured blade cut off the Curse body in half from side to side.

"*heavy breathing* Haa. That should keep you quiet for -"

BOOM

The Curse blasted a bunch of Cursed Energy at him which he dodged but didn't account that it condensed more energy into the blast.

The impact threw him back with enough force.

That single impact was strong enough to give him a mild concussion for a few seconds. That time was enough for the Curse to regenerate its lower half.

'At least that reduced its Cursed Energy by a bit. Still, it's not the bigger problem.'

The main problem was that, unlike other Special Grades, this one's core had a regenerator, the Sukuna's finger. Even if its Cursed Energy is reduced, it'll regenerate far quicker.

Mai needed to make an attack that would directly kill it or this fight will end up in him dying.

'But... it's fucking hard.' The defense around the Curse's chest was far tougher than he imagined.

Its core was in its chest where the finger was also present.

He was yet to punch the chest with a Black Flash but he knew that won't be enough.

Yet he wasn't much worried. The more Black Flashes he used, the more he could feel the Essence of Cursed Energy.

As if he was getting closer to something.

Being cut in half certainly made the Curse more serious as its attacks were now focused on killing rather than playing around.

It was getting harder and harder to defend from the Cursed Energy-enhanced punches and kicks.

And unsurprisingly, it was able to make that decisive hit. A single kick near his right lung, definitely broke three or four ribs while damaging the liver at the same time.

"Gah." That was probably the first time he felt such pain in this body.

The Curse took it as an advantage it gave another punch in the stomach.

*skid*thud*thud*

He was thrown away tens of meters like a sack of bags.

*blergh* Coughing out blood, he stood up wobbly.

'Darn. If I didn't reinforce my stomach, that punch would've torn through my insides. It's do or die now.'

Any minute, he would fall down unconscious. He had to risk it by going all out.

The Curse appeared instantly in front of him but instead of moving back, he went forward and hugged it tightly.

Using Conjuration, he formed tight ropes wound around both of them and also tied its legs.

Its hands were stuck but he knew that it can blast a Cursed Energy barrier outwards.

So, without wasting a moment, using the maximum Cursed Energy he could, he headbutted it.

Normally, that would put just a scratch. But here, on the instant their heads collided, sparks of black flashed and the Curse's head shattered.

But Mai didn't stop.

*BAM*BAM*BAM*

He kept headbutting it consecutively. That Curse's flesh turned into mush and its whole head was gone.

Yet it was not exorcised. He let go of the hug the instant it fell to its knees.

Slowly, its head started to regenerate but Mai didn't give it a chance.

He was in a state of Nirvana like Gojo was. His liver was half crushed, his right lung was punctured with two ribs, some internal bleeding, and a lot of blood loss.

Yet none of that mattered.

'How did that feel again? As if two blobs collided into each other and became completely different.'

Mai was imagining how the positive energy felt yesterday when he consumed those Reverse Cursed Energy pills.

He imagined himself doing it. Multiplying the Cursed Energy with itself, he felt a spark of energy in his head.

Recreating that same energy by mixing the Cursed Energy with itself, he pumped all of it into his hand.

He plunged his hand into its neck from the part where it was regenerating.

Unlike the other times, his hand dug into its throat like a knife through a vegetable. Reaching to the chest, he plucked out the finger.

The Curse's whole body lit up in flames and it was completely extinguished.

"FUGH." He muttered and collapsed on the floor. The whole barrier dissipated and looking above, Gojo was sitting on the railing without his blindfold.

Slowly, Gojo descended down to the bottom,

"Congratulations. That was amazing. You even used Reverse Cursed Technique at the end." he said while clapping.

"Shudub(Shut up). Gib be da ling(Give me the ring.)"

Apparently, the Curse did release a Cursed Energy Barrier blast but Mai stubbornly hug onto it tightly. Only the thing was that his neck wasn't reinforced much. The impact felt like a punch in the neck which was now showing the result.

"Man, you're completely roughed up. If I don't take you to Shouko in a few minutes, you'll die." Gojo said while taking photos.

"Just in case, for the future." he said and even took a selfie.

"You old fugger. Give me my ring." he finally said in an audible tone.

"Hey. Hey. Language." he said while giving Mai back his ring.

Mai instantly took out a Senzu Bean and ate it.

"Alright. Let's go to her." He stood up and spit some blood.

"Was that a Senzu Bean? I heard you gave that to Yuuji and Aoi. You look completely healed."

"No, I'm not healed. The kick punctured my liver. My organs might've been poisoned even if my body is healed." he said while taking out protective charms and masking talisman.

"Are you going to wrap the finger in them? You did come prepared. Oh well. Let's go."

"No. Not yet."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Could you remove all the traces of the fight? I could throw a lot of bombs or pour a ton of gasoline and fire up this place to destroy any traces but my Cursed Energy residuals might be left out." he said with an expressionless face.

"You know, when you talk like that with a straight face, I'm starting to get a bit scared about what else you think about. But fine. I'll do it. On one condition."

"What's it?"

"Only if you promise me a MetalGreymon," he said.

Mai sighed at his actions.

"I'll try but it's not guaranteed. If it ends up some other Digimon, you'll have to settle with it. I can't control what I get."

"Alright. Just wait up there. It'll take a minute."

Mai slowly walked upwards while taking a look at his Status which improved a lot.

[Construction has leveled from Amateur to Intermediate]

[Conjuration has leveled from Advanced to Adept]

[C.E Reinforcement has leveled from Intermediate to Advanced]

[Black Flash has leveled from Novice to Intermediate]

[Skill Reverse Cursed Technique has been created]

[C.E Capacity has changed from Mid-Grade 2 to High-Grade 2]

[Quest 'Kill a Special Grade Cursed Spirit' has been completed]

[You have received 5 Gacha Rolls as reward]

[Name: Zenin Mai

Physique: Mid-Grade 3

C.E Capacity: High-Grade 2

C.E Output: Immeasurable

Traits:

[Superior Psyche] [Godly Soul] [Danger Sense] [Exceptional Memory] [Strong Will] [Ultracognitive Mind] [Immense Luck] [Reality Sense] [Meta Sense] [Curse Bound]

Skills/Abilities:

[Observe] - None

[Construction] - Advanced

[Conjuration] - Adept

[Shooting] - Adept

[Homing] - Amateur

[C.E Control] - Expert

[C.E Enhancement] - Advanced

[C.E Reinforcement] - Advanced

[Delayed Fist] – Advanced

[Black Flash] - Intermediate

[Focus] - Grandmaster

[Acting] - Advanced

[Hand-to-Hand Combat] - Advanced

[Barrier Techniques] - Beginner

[Meditation] - Novice

[Spirit Manifestation] - Beginner

[Domain Manipulation] - Novice]

---------------

From now on, he'll probably have to focus more on his mental and spiritual abilities. And maybe grind those Barrier Techniques.

"I'm done. Let's go." Gojo said while giving back the pistol Mai forgot.

"Shouldn't we call her first?" Mai asked.

"I already called her when you were being beaten around."

"That's efficient."

Gojo put his hand on Mai's shoulder and they both disappeared from the spot.

They appeared at a different shrine other than the school.

'It was a good thing I chose to use my inner senses instead of physical ones.' Mai wanted to properly feel Gojo's usage of Limitless but Gojo was extremely efficient and used at most 4 to 5 times to get to this place.

"35 kilometers in... 1.5 seconds. Not bad," he muttered.

Listening to those words, Gojo's eyes widened although it wasn't visible from the blindfold.

"Ne~ Mai. How about a spar once we get back to school?" Gojo suddenly asked.

"Wha- Hell no. I'm not a battle maniac like you." Mai instantly rejected him.

"Don't say that. You can learn a lot, you know? You can't get chances like this all the time." Gojo said while they both were walking.

After entering the room, the doctor, Ieiri Shoko was seated looking through some files.

"Heya Shouko! I brought him to you."

"What happened today? I took care of those kids just yesterday. And he looks fine to me." she complained.

"Excuse me, Ieiri-sensei. I just want to have a simple checkup." Mai raised his hand.

"*sigh*. Alright, tell me what happened."

----

After the whole checkup, she said that there wasn't any problem with him. That relieved him.

Before going back, Gojo asked him to show the finger.

"You really put these many charms on it? Even I can't see through this."

Mai decided to put about 100 masking charms on the finger. It became the size of a rugby ball.

Mai was skeptical of how much Sukuna could actually sense around when a part of its soul was inside the finger. There was no need to take any chances.

"Then that's good," he replied while thinking about what he got to know about Cursed Objects.

[Cursed Object Ryomen Sukuna's Finger:

C.E Capacity: Low-Special Grade

Description: A nigh indestructible object that contains a part of Sukuna's soul. Its indestructibility is balanced by the risk of being consumed by another being whether that being is a curse or a human.]

'So, if I can actually win against its soul, at least a part of it, I can get to absorb whatever energy is in the finger. This is the disadvantage of a Cursed Object.' But till now, no one was ever able to do it because of how strong Sukuna was.

His spirit or soul is on a completely different level. Not to mention that he has an Innate Domain that he forms within the vessel's body. The person's mind also must be on a different level.

'I want to try my chances at it but unlike others my body's growth to getting accustomed to Cursed Energy is subpar.' Mai hoped that the next Gacha would give him some proper physical growth.

The Power Stealer Card could also be used to get a nice ability. Honestly, he wanted the Limitless technique but what's the point of stealing from your own team?

And not to mention, the enemies had some abilities that were comparable to Limitless. Cursed Spirit Manipulation and Idle Transfiguration were his main targets.

Especially, the Idle Transfiguration, it had potential that could change the whole concept of Jujutsu.

Other ones like Jogo's and that octopus might have offensive ones but he didn't care for those ones.

*******************