The ground was still smoldering, cracks glowing like fiery roots ready to consume the forest around them. The air grew heavier, every breath feeling like inhaling air straight from a furnace.
Jogo stood with absolute arrogance. The orange glow from his body pulsed in an eerie rhythm, the flames coursing across his skin feeling almost… alive.
Megumi tensed, his jaw tightening. Yuuji stood beside him, one hand slightly raised in warning, but his eyes remained locked on the creature before them.
Reika simply stood there, staring at Jogo with an unreadable expression. Jogo lifted his chin, like a lesser god looking down upon mortals from his throne.
"Hah… I haven't even done anything, and you're already this tense?" His voice was heavy, like stones burning in a raging fire. "Just proves how weak you've become."
Megumi remained silent. Yuuji didn't take the bait either. But there was one person who couldn't hold back—
Reika frowned slightly. Her brow furrowed just a little. Then, in a flat tone, she finally spoke. "What the hell is that thing?"
Jogo stopped.
Reika tilted her head, her blank expression unchanged. "Why does his head look like Mount Fuji?"
Silence.
Yuuji's jaw dropped. Megumi turned slightly, as if he couldn't believe what he just heard. Jogo froze in place.
For a brief moment, the flames on his body flickered—just for a fraction of a second. As if the universe itself was giving him time to truly process what Reika had just said.
—"YOU!!!"
BOOM!
A wave of heat exploded from Jogo's body.
The ground beneath him cracked, shards of stone flew through the air, and flames surged upward like wild serpents released from their cage.
"HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW ME?! I AM JOGO! I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF HUMANITY'S FEAR OF FIRE! I AM THE ONE WHO BURNS VILLAGES TO ASH! I AM THE ONE WHO WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!"
Jogo's voice thundered through the forest. Reika remained silent. Her expression… remained blank. She stared at Jogo, who was on the verge of an aneurysm, then looked back at his head.
"Still looks like Mount Fuji."
Jogo instantly lost his mind. "YOUUUUUU—!!!" The heat spiked dramatically.
Megumi stepped back slightly, raising a hand to shield his face from the sudden surge of heat. Yuuji let out a low growl, his expression turning more serious.
Because this was bad. Jogo was an idiot, but he was strong. And worse? He was now truly, absolutely furious.
Flames erupted in waves, scorching the air and melting leaves that dared to be too close. The forest, once just stifling with heat, had now become a blazing furnace, ready to consume everything in its path.
Jogo no longer cared who stood before him. His focus was locked onto one person.
Reika.
From the very start, that brat had irritated him with her unnerving calmness. But now? Now, after his outburst, after all his threats, after the fire that scorched the very earth beneath them—she was still standing there. Not moving. Not flinching. Not even sweating, despite the temperature soaring beyond what any normal human could withstand.
And she was still looking at him with that same blank expression. No fear. No acknowledgment of him as a threat. No respect for the power he wielded.
Jogo couldn't stand it. He wasn't just furious. He wanted to erase this brat from existence. "I'll turn you to ash."
His hand rose, and instantly, a vortex of fire coalesced into a massive sphere above his palm. The flames spun wildly, sucking the oxygen from the air, making the atmosphere grow heavier.
Jogo didn't hesitate. He swung his hand down, hurling the blazing mass straight at Reika.
But—
BOOM!
A thunderous impact rang out as something slammed into the fireball from the side, diverting its trajectory just a few degrees off course. The attack veered right, crashing into the ground and triggering an explosion that rocked the entire forest.
The earth split apart. Trees were flung like toys. Smoke billowed into the sky.
And in the midst of it all, one figure stood in front of Reika, shoulders tense, fists still trembling from the sheer force of the deflection.
Yuuji.
"Jogo!" His voice roared like a war cry. "Don't touch my student!"
His eyes burned with fury. He knew Jogo. He knew how strong this cursed spirit was. And he knew one thing for certain—if left unchecked, Reika could die here.
He wouldn't let that happen.
Behind him, Megumi remained silent, but his eyes spoke louder than any words. He didn't move. He didn't immediately join the fight. But his expression made one thing clear.
Reika had to stay alive. Not because he wanted to protect her. But because he wasn't done with her yet. Reika still stood in place, watching everything unfold with unreadable eyes.
Her gaze shifted—from Yuuji, to Megumi, then back to Jogo. She could feel the cursed spirit's rage, the searing heat, the thick killing intent that practically left a taste on her tongue.
But she also sensed something else. Jogo was strong. But he was an idiot. And if there was one thing certain about beings like him… They always fell into their own traps.
The once-quiet forest trembled as if something ancient was rising from beneath the earth. The air grew dense, thick with the stench of burning wood. In the distance, birds took flight from their perches, sensing the impending doom.
At the center of the charred ruins, Jogo stood tall. His eyes—if they could even be called that—glowed with smug superiority. A grin stretched across his grotesque face, wide with satisfaction. He looked like someone reborn, emerging from the ashes fiercer, crueler, more monstrous than before.
"What's wrong?" Jogo straightened, his voice crackling like embers in his throat. "You didn't expect me to come back, did you? But here I am. Reborn. Stronger than before. And this time…" He raised a hand, letting flames dance wildly in his palm. "There's no Gojo Satoru to stop me."
Megumi's expression remained unreadable, but his pupils contracted. His gaze flicked to Yuuji, silently confirming they were on the same page.
Yuuji exhaled sharply, his jaw tightening. "So that village that disappeared without a trace… that was you?"
Jogo let out a short, amused laugh. "Who else do you think could accomplish something so grand?"
Yuuji's chest rose and fell, his breathing heavy. That was all he needed to understand—this wasn't just an old enemy returning.
This was something worse. And the thing that infuriated Yuuji the most—Jogo was targeting Reika.
Behind them, Reika remained motionless, utterly undisturbed. Her face remained unreadable, her gaze devoid of fear or even interest. She simply observed.
Her lips were pressed together, but in her mind, one thought persisted. Why does his head look like Mount Fuji?
Her eyes narrowed slightly. No, seriously. What was this? What kind of creature had a head shaped like that? Why did it look like an erupting volcano? And more importantly—why could it talk!?
Reika resisted the urge to scoff. She was dangerously close to laughing, but she knew that wouldn't be a good idea.
Too late.
Jogo turned to her, his expression darkening. "You…" His voice dropped, sharp and edged with suspicion. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Reika said nothing.
Yuuji and Megumi immediately braced themselves. Jogo clicked his tongue. "Do you think this is funny? Why are you just standing there like a damn statue?!"
Still, Reika remained silent. Jogo's patience snapped. "Tch… damn brat." He moved.
The ground exploded beneath him as Jogo surged forward, blurring behind Reika with terrifying speed. Yuuji and Megumi lunged to intercept, but Jogo was faster—his hand was already raised—
And his meteor descended. Not like before. Much, much bigger. In the past, his meteor had nearly rivaled Sukuna's domain in size.
Now?
The sky darkened in an instant. Something massive loomed overhead, swallowing the sun's light. A blazing inferno roared within the colossal sphere, the sheer heat distorting the air, warping the very space around it.
Yuuji shot forward. "MEGUMI!"
Megumi didn't need to be told twice. His hands lifted, shadows writhing at his feet, readying something far greater.
But—Reika hadn't moved. Jogo's grin stretched wider. "This time… you won't escape."
The meteor rumbled, its fiery glow intensifying, casting everything below in an ominous, molten light. The heat alone was enough to liquefy stone in seconds.
The sky, once a clear blue, had transformed into a suspended hell above them. That meteor was not just fire—it was an artificial sun, burning the atmosphere in a blazing red hue, a swirling vortex of energy poised to erase everything beneath it.
Its heat arrived before the flames.
The once-cool wind became invisible tongues of fire, slicing through skin. Trees began to swell, the air thickened, and the ground beneath them cracked, stripped of its moisture in an instant.
Amidst it all, Reika did not move.
For the first time—
Since Megumi had known her.
Since Yuuji had kept an eye on her.
Since she had set foot in this world.
Her expression changed.
Not cold composure.
Not that deceptive, faint smile.
Not an empty, unreadable gaze.
Fear.
Her deep crimson eyes widened. Her lips parted slightly, but no sound escaped. Her fingers, usually relaxed, now trembled. Jogo saw it.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter echoed like thunder—loud, manic, triumphant. "What is this?! Look at your face!"
He took a step forward, still laughing, still savoring the moment. "You've been acting like some untouchable ghost all this time, but now? Look at you! You can't even move! What happened, huh?!"
Yuuji and Megumi moved immediately.
"REIKA!"
Yuuji leapt toward her, reaching out—Too late. The meteor fell faster than they anticipated. One second, Reika was still there—
BOOM!
The earth shattered. It was not just an explosion. Not just a burst of fire. It was absolute devastation.
The air was sucked away before the blast.
Sound vanished before the destruction.
And when it all finally happened—
The world changed.
A blinding light erupted in all directions, incinerating everything within kilometers. Towering trees disintegrated in an instant, reduced to ash before they could even collapse. The once-solid ground boiled, melted, flowed like lava.
Fire swept through the air like a tidal wave, devouring all in its path.
Yuuji and Megumi were hurled away by the sheer force. The sound around them disappeared, replaced only by the deafening roar of flames consuming everything.
When Yuuji could finally see again, all that remained was an open hell.
The lush, green forest? Gone.
The cool, fertile earth? Melted.
The once-bright sky? Choked with smoke and embers.
And in the midst of it all, Jogo stood tall, laughing louder than ever.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! LOOK AT THAT! LOOK AT THAT!" He turned his gleaming eyes toward Yuuji and Megumi, drunk on victory. "DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE BLOWN AWAY? BECAUSE I AM ABOVE YOU!"
Yuuji lay sprawled on the ground, his chest rising and falling, his mind blank. He knew Jogo was strong, but this... this was not the Jogo he once knew.
He tried to push himself up, but his body felt impossibly heavy. He turned his head. Megumi was still on the ground, breathing raggedly, his expression empty.
His gaze was fixed on one spot.
The place where Reika had been standing—There was nothing there.
No body.
No remains.
No bones.
Only flames, still licking at the scorched ground where she had last stood. Yuuji held his breath. His throat was dry. The remnants of hell still sang.
The wind no longer carried a cool breeze—it was thick with charred dust, the remains of trees, the sharp scent of something burnt that had never been flesh. The fire that consumed the ground danced wildly, its orange glow merging with the black of a moonless night.
And in the middle of it all, Jogo laughed.
Laughed, and laughed, and laughed—
As if this was his greatest triumph.
As if he had proven something undeniable to the world.
"Did you see that?!" His voice rang out, dripping with mockery. "Do you realize?! She is GONE! ERASED!"
Yuuji gritted his teeth. His ears rang, his head spun, but he heard every word that left that bastard's mouth.
Megumi still silent. His eyes were locked onto that spot—where Reika had once stood. No body, no remains—nothing. Only emptiness. Emptiness that felt far too real to be a lie.
Jogo lowered his hand, smirking.
"At first, I thought about burning you two as well. But now that I think about it..." He tilted his head, as if considering something. "There's no point. I don't need to finish you off. Time will do that for me."
He turned away. Leaving the fire behind as a monument to his victory. "If you're strong, come find me." He glanced up at the sky, where embers still rained down like a meteor shower. "If you're smart, never look for me."
And then, he left. No rush. No hesitation. Because he knew. Jogo wasn't just leaving Yuuji and Megumi behind. He was leaving them with something worse. He was leaving them with a loss they could not accept.
Silence.
Hell still burned around them. But between Yuuji and Megumi, there was only quiet. Not because they had nothing to say.
But because there was nothing to be said.
Yuuji swallowed. His throat felt raw, the air he breathed in like rusted knives slicing his lungs.
Reika...
Could it be real?
Megumi remained still. His eyes were blank, but his mind was a storm. Reika afraid? That made sense? No. Impossible. But he had seen it. He had seen it with his own eyes.
And now—She was no longer here.