Chapter 68 Friends, Enemies, and Fragments

The atmosphere was gloomy and strange, and each character present had his own thoughts.

After the air was quiet for a second, Nanami Kento attacked first, aiming his blade at the real person who had already revealed his intention to attack!

The real person nimbly dodged the cursed short machete and raised his hand to touch Nanami Kento who was nearby. However, the reliable adult had already guessed something from his observation just now. He turned his wrist and used the back of the knife to repel the opponent, preventing the real person from having a chance to touch him!

The sounds of clanging and banging rose and fell one after another, and Kento Nanami and the Special Curse Spirit Master fought back and forth.

Yuji Itadori faced the black-haired young man standing on the other side, and punched through the air without any hesitation -

Jiang Lai did not move. He used the cursed power code to build a barrier in front of him and blocked Yuji Itadori's attack!

It was like a punch hitting a copper wall or an iron wall, and Yuji Itadori's hand bones immediately sent out pain signals.

The next second, the invisible barrier in front of him loosened a little, wrapping his hand like a cotton ball and pushing it back with a soft yet irresistible force.

Yuji Itadori took a few steps back, looking a little surprised.

The black-haired young man in front of him did not show any signs of fighting back. He just stood there very calmly, with a hint of doubt on his face:

"Why did you attack me?"

“…Ah?” Yuji Itadori was a little confused by this question, and his eyes turned into small eyes in an instant.

"Why did you attack me?" the black-haired young man repeated in a flat tone.

"…Uh, because, um, you are a cursed spirit?" Yuji Itadori blinked, and actually began to concentrate and think, and answered seriously, "And I am a sorcerer. So I have to attack you."

"Although our identities are different, I am just standing here, that's all." The black-haired young man raised his brown eyes and said calmly, "If you want to pass by, you can just go around me. There is no need to be so rude."

"Ah," Yuji Itadori stood there for a second, then replied subconsciously, "Then I'm sorry?"

"Yeah. I accept it." Jiang Lai nodded slightly, with the corners of his lips curled up slightly.

After a few tenths of a second, Yuji Itadori reacted and he once again assumed a vigilant posture:

"How could you really not be involved? I can't believe you. Cursed spirits have an instinctive desire to kill humans."

Then, when the topic came to this, he seemed to recall something and his expression suddenly froze.

"No - you weren't like this when I saw you before! Weren't you a human before!?"

The cherry-pink-haired boy recalled the help given by the black-haired young man on the road last winter, the unexpected "gift" from the sukiyaki restaurant, and the voice transmission on the phone in the distant alley.

——In his impression, the other party was a human being whose identity was unknown and whose aura was dangerous but who always unexpectedly lent a helping hand, rather than a group of cursed special-grade spirits.

Hearing Yuji Itadori's voice, Kento Nanami on the other side paid a little attention and glanced over from a distance.

After hearing the reminder about the change of identity in Yuji Itadori's words, Nanami Kento looked again and found that the standing black-haired young man looked slightly familiar.

That memory was so old that it took him some time to dig it out from the long river of time, and then he remembered it slowly.

——The black-haired young man standing beside him seemed to be very similar to the man who was said to be Gojo's friend and whom he had met by chance during high school.

But after more than a decade, why did the other party's appearance remain unchanged? And he even turned into a cursed spirit?!

If the sorcerer is not killed by the cursed power, there is a chance that he will become a cursed spirit. Could it be that the person in front of me was killed and then became the current state?

But it stands to reason that one's appearance after becoming a cursed spirit would not be exactly the same as it was in life.

The explosive effect of these messages was very strong, but Nanami Kento was only stunned for half a second, and his attention quickly returned to the seam curse spirit in front of him. Because too much distraction is not allowed during the battle.

Nanami Kento just silently made note of this matter in his heart, thinking: After returning, I will contact Gojo-senpai and explain this matter.

On the other side of the corridor, Jiang Lai noticed Nanami Kento's gaze and hesitation, and guessed that the other party had vaguely remembered some of the past.

That year, I followed Gojo and Getsuyu who had completed the task of abandoning the building back to the high school, and met Yuikawa Kuritai for the first time on the playground. At that time, Nanami Kento and Haibara Yu were also present.

This happened before the asteroid event and has not been restarted or covered.

However, this was such a long time ago that it was a vague memory. In fact, Jiang Lai was quite surprised that the other party could remember it.

The Curse Spirit Master with a stitched face swept his blue braid back and smiled at Jiang Lai:

"Oh, you're not going to participate?" He just heard a few words of conversation between the two.

"Didn't you just say you would handle it?" Jiang Lai responded by throwing back what the real person had said not long ago.

"..." The real person was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "That's right - but that was indeed a sincere reminder. I didn't mean to push you away."

"Remember? We are the same kind, companions. In this situation, how about we cooperate?"

It has to be said that real people are very good at deceiving others. However, Jiang Lai already knew what kind of person the other party was, so he would not be fooled.

Having said that, it's not impossible to pretend to cooperate, Jiang Lai thought. After all, his current character is a dangerous and confused person with lost memory and cognitive disorder.

So he stood still, looking like he was in deep thought.

In front of him, Yuji Itadori was stunned for a moment, but then he took a step forward, his expression sincere and his eyes shining:

"Um, you... I don't know what happened, but if you have any questions, maybe we can help!"

Yuji Itadori is a kind-hearted man who cares about the good things about others. At this moment, he obviously thinks that something happened to Jiang Lai and that's why he became the cursed spirit he is now, so he takes the initiative to extend an olive branch to offer his help.

However, I'm afraid the result will disappoint the other party, Jiang Lai thought silently. Before the dust settled, he couldn't openly befriend Yuji and the others.

Moreover, the things inside appear to be dangerous, so it is better not to let Yuji and others who have never come into contact with such things get close.

As his thoughts turned, he moved his little finger slightly and raised his hand gently.

"...As you said, cursed spirits and humans are enemies."

The next moment, an invisible cursed power code rose up like a dragon and threw the cherry-pink-haired boy in front of him away!

"Yuji!" Nanami Kento shouted in a deep voice. He quickly stepped back to the young man and held his sword in front of him to protect him from the special cursed spirits that might take advantage of the situation.

However, the black-haired young man did not do so. He remained firmly in place with his arms raised steadily in the air.

The smile on the real person's face widened a lot. He took two or three steps to Jiang Lai's side and said in a high voice:

"Well done, my friend - I'll leave this to you while I get the stuff inside."

"One minute." Jiang Lai said.

"What?" The real person was stunned.

"I have no interest in these fights. I didn't agree with him or you just now." Jiang Lai said in a calm voice, "But since you are talking about the same kind, I will help you delay for a minute."

"..." The real person shrugged, his eyes glowed with different colors, and he chuckled, "Oh, okay. That's enough."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly stepped back, used his soul to change his body shape, and rushed towards the small door in the storage room.

Noticing the opponent's movements, Nanami Kento naturally guessed that the key to this incident was behind the door. He tightly grasped the short dagger with spotted curse patterns and attacked with steady steps and orderly landings!

Jiang Lai raised his eyes slightly, and with the flick of his wrist, he adjusted the several ribbon-like spell power codes around him, interweaving and dancing to form an impenetrable web.

Nanami Kento's 37-point moves are steady, accurate and ruthless, but Jiang Lai knows how to overcome hardness with softness and to retreat in order to advance.

Each of his cursed energy codes is as soft as a cloud, yet extremely resilient. In addition, he will actively break and reassemble every crack cut by the opponent to form a new cursed energy belt.

Behind him, Yuji Itadori was thrown to the ground suddenly. He ignored the pain of his knee hitting the concrete floor. He quickly got up and rushed forward to support Kento Nanami. There was a stubborn light swaying in his focused eyes.

Jiang Lai calculated in his mind, changed his posture, and prepared to raise his other hand to block the cherry-pink-haired boy who was rushing towards him.

At this moment, his sixth sense sounded an alarm. Jiang Lai twisted his feet and turned his body suddenly, and another concentrated wall of magic power was launched from behind!

"Bang——"

A shock wave containing enormous energy suddenly arose. Under this force, the school's annex building swayed and shook like an earthquake, half of it collapsed, and rubble fell to the ground with a crackling sound. The scene outside the building was a mess.

The cursed firewall that was finally erected blocked the sharpest impact. Jiang Lai groaned, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his clothes fluttered in the wind.

Nanami Kento and Itadori Yuji were blown back two or three steps by this force, but behind the firmly erected cursed firewall, they were not in any serious trouble.

Jiang Lai let out a breath, he removed the gathered cursed power firewall, stood up straight and looked over there.

A figure with three braids of blue hair fell out of the smoke and fell to the side of Jiang Lai. He slid a short distance away in a slightly clumsy manner. He rubbed his five fingers on the ground to stop sliding, and then stood up:

"Oh no - I didn't expect this thing to be so powerful. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally touched it, and a shock wave burst out."

Jiang Lai raised his eyebrows slightly, and scanned the other person, judging that the slightly wolfish look of the real person was not pretended. It seemed that he really made a small mistake.

Then, their eyes fell forward. Along with the dust, something shiny flew up and down in the air, attracting everyone's attention.

The light green, crystal-like things sparkled in the light, radiating brilliance and extraordinary charm.

Even though they are irregular fragments, they still have an indescribable beauty and power.

"..." Jiang Lai's brown eyes reflected the faint light, and his heart beat like a drum.

——Even from a distance, he could sense that it was indeed a fragment of the godhead of an unknown [existence].

In this brief silence, a figure suddenly passed by, and before everyone could react, Yuji Itadori, who had amazing motor skills, had already taken two steps at a time and rushed forward at high speed, seizing the opportunity -

"Wait--" Kento Nanami stretched out his hand in vain but failed to touch the corner of Yuji Itadori's clothes. He wanted the other party to stop for a moment because this thing seemed very dangerous.

The real person's eyes widened at first, then he smiled with a hint of anticipation, "What a young and energetic guy."

The cherry-pink-haired boy had a determined expression. He broke through the powerful aftermath resistance, leaped into the air, and reached out his arm to grab the light green crystal fragment from a distance.

At this moment, time seemed to be extremely slow, like a slide show, and the outstretched hand gradually approached the shining object.

The next moment, a big mouth appeared in the palm of Yuji Itadori's hand, and it swallowed the crystal fragments nearby!

——It’s Ryomen Sukuna!

Yuji Itadori: “!?”

Everyone below: "!!!"

Because Ryomen Sukuna was silent throughout the whole process, who would have thought that at the last moment, he would suddenly appear and launch an unexpected surprise attack!

But how could something with such huge energy that needs to be contained in special items be swallowed so directly!?

"How is this possible!!" The real person's heterochromatic eyes widened, and he looked extremely unbelievable about what was happening in front of him, "How could that fragment be--"

Jiang Lai's pupils shrank slightly as he looked at the scene in the sky, his emotions surging like a torrent.

In mid-air, the crescent mark on Yuji Itadori's cheek slightly opened.

The scarlet eye looked down from above and met Jiang Lai's gaze on the ground.