Bony Boy goes to JJK World
-Lots of spoilers on JJK read at your own risk.-
Demiurge's pov
'Damn it. I underestimated Sukuna. According to the previous intruder, it shouldn't be possible to generate that much positive energy so quickly. ' Demiurge thought as he continued flying away as fast as he could. He had healed already thanks to the power of cursed energy manipulation, but the recent encounter with the king of curses showed that there was still a lot to learn. 'Using the normal standards to judge the supposed king of curses was a mistake, but no matter. As long as I'm alive they can't cross to the next layer, therefore, I still hold the upper hand. '
The guardian flew as fast as he could toward the most secure area of the layer nearby the door. Normally, it would be stupid for the key to remain near the lock like that, but since Demiurge didn't have much of a choice anymore. His mana was around 40% of its maximum capacity, which wasn't much to begin with and he no longer had the item to summon demons. That meant Demiurge could not rely on his usual strategy. The alternative would be for him to fight with offensive spells or physical attacks, both of which Demiurge was not confident on.
'I'll have to make use of the regular pop monsters until I can recover some of my mana. After that, I'll have to improvise and somehow keep myself alive for at least another 10 hours. ' Demiurge thought as he tried to picture the amount of time left in the game. '15 hours left... too long. Still, there's no way they can make it through the 8th layer in just 5 hours. Victory will be ours. '
In the corner of his eyes, so small that it was almost looked over, Demiurge saw three people that he couldn't recognize. The guardian quickly stopped flying for a moment to take a better look. 'Impossible. I must have ignored the warning. ' Demiurge thought as he saw another team of invaders.
A young man wearing a button similar to Yuta's and a young woman with wings sprouting from her back. 'The boy is not a threat, the girl looks tricky but manageable. ' Demiurge said as he quickly checked their strength through the silent casting of Data Life and Man Essence. He also used the normal jujutsu sorcerer way of feeling the amount of cursed energy that an opponent has, but after getting burned by Sukuna's attacks, Demiurge decided to go with the most familiar method. 'That creature walking along them is a different story though. Both its mana and health are off the charts so it must be a level 100 creature. ' Demiurge thought. He had no way to determine whether the creature was an independent cursed spirit or a summon, but chances were that it was a summon. 'Problem is... which one does it belong to? ' Demiurge thought as he turned his back to them and continued flying to his hideout.
Suddenly, Demiurge felt a small pebble flying toward him. He, of course, didn't give a shit about the stone and just let it hit his body which acted as one of his passive skills. nullifying the damage. Demiurge thought nothing of the feeble attempt to stop his retreat and just continued on.
"That's a special barrier. There's no mistaking it, it's the guardian. " Angel said as she watched the stone hit a purplish wall that suddenly appeared around Demiurge. She was somewhat surprised by this outcome, as she couldn't feel the barrier at all until the stone finally hit it, but that was also another reason to believe the creature in the sky was actually the guardian.
"Why is it running away though? Shouldn't it come down here and fight us? " Megumi asked as he started running forwards. Now that they had confirmed what that creature was, they were in pursuit mode.
Angel shook her head before replying, "We fought a very powerful guardian and yes, that creature was stronger than anything we have ever encountered before, but it was obvious for anyone to see that it couldn't think. There was some counter play, some basic instincts, and instructions, but no strategy. No long plan. That flying bat creature though, while it has significantly less power than the Giant, it can think. " She immediately pulled back the pair of wings. It was Megumi's idea to use it just to check Demiurge's reaction, but by doing that, Angel might announce her presence in the layer., so she had no other choice but to continue her pursuit on foot with minimal cursed energy use.
"So the guardian is weaker but smarter. At least there's no fear of getting killed immediately by a stray attack. " Megumi said as he remembered Gargantua's fists.
"I wouldn't be sure of that just yet. While it's unlikely that we will see an attack of that magnitude, the cursed technique could be problematic. " Angel said as she continued running right behind Mahoraga.
'So they are following me. As expected. ' Demiurge thought as he started sending orders to the pop monsters nearby. 'Let them follow me for a few moments. War Devils, Supplicants, and Hood Demons go north of my location and create a barricade; Shadow demons, bring out the Hell Scythes, Imps, Hell Hounds, and Rooting Demons and have them attack my current pursuers.'
'Yes, my lord. ' The shadow demons answered. Angel quickly felt the shadow of the nearby boulders flicker as many demons began to pour out of them. The new enemies immediately ran after both Angel and Megumi.
"That looks like the Ten Shadows cursed technique. " Megumi said as he recognized the ability to store objects in his shadow. "But to do that with cursed spirits... " Megumi began looking down for a moment.
"Don't get so worked up about it. Ten Shadows is a very powerful ability and just because the enemy can use something similar to it doesn't mean that he has it. Besides, he's not summoning those creatures, they were just stored there, so maybe he can't actually create things from shadows like you can. " Angel said. She immediately ran toward Mahoraga who began screaming trying to intimidate the opponents.
"Should we keep running after the guardian, though? If we bring those cursed spirits to the fight against him, it's going to get complicated. " Megumi said.
Angel shook her head before saying, "They are extremely weak so don't worry about it. Numbers alone won't be much of a problem. Let's just go. " Angel said as she continued running.
When Demiurge first spotted Angel and Megumi, they were in a mountainous area, full of valleys and caves, after flying for a few minutes and crossing another river of lava. He was now flying over an open field, this was where the demons first appeared and where the pursuit really began. 'They are persistent, I'll give them that. But enough of this. ' Demiurge thought as he flew over the barricade.
Angel and Megumi continued running forwards while they were pursued by a few dozen demons. They were getting closer and closer to Demiurge, thanks to the open terrain, and there was little fear that the guardian would get away from them. 'Either he turns around and fights us or we're being lured into his lair. No problem, we can deal with a few hundred of those weaklings, the only issue is the cursed technique. ' Angel thought as she began trying to figure out what Demiurge's power was.
"Oh shit. " Megumi said as multiple cursed spirits jumped out from underground. They formed a half circle and stood in the sorcerer's way. Demons carrying gigantic curved blades, covered in a dark coat whose eyes could not be seen, War devils, and Supplicants. Overall, their levels were not so high, only about level 50, but good enough for Megumi to stop in his path.
Angel and Mahoraga were the only ones who rushed forward while Demiurge continued flying. Angel quickly turned to Megumi before saying, "Don't go too far away from either me or Mahoraga. Understood? " Angel asked. She knew that Megumi could not survive a powerful blow from any of those creatures.
There was also another problem, all the demons that had been chasing them up until this point gathered behind them, creating the other half of the circle. "Don't need to say it twice. " Megumi said as he called Mahoraga near him.
Over 20 minutes passed. Mahoraga and Angel combined their strength and made quick work of the ambush. Megumi, while not being useful in the fight, was smart enough to not get hit. Once they cleared the demons, it was time to continue to search for Demiurge. They set off to do that as soon as they could, but even after searching multiple caves, valleys, and the temple itself, they couldn't locate the guardian.
'This is bad. I might have to deal with Sukuna sooner than I thought. ' Angel thought as she knew there was no way for Sukuna to be held back for this long by creatures who were similar to the level she faced in the ambush. Of course, there was the possibility that some more powerful curses were sent to face Sukuna, but even if that was the case, 20 minutes was more than enough to beat it. And it had been more than that for Sukuna.
"Maybe he went further west from here? " Megumi asked as he started questioning why they were even still playing the game. 'Why not just go after Sukuna and free Yuji right away? ' Megumi asked himself every time he looked toward the horizon. Since he didn't have enough strength to defend himself, Angel was the one that checked the closed spaces while leaving the task of watching the skies for Mahoraga and Megumi, who stayed in the open.
"Could be. Let's check. " Angel said. She looked at Megumi's current cursed energy levels. They were not good. The burden in his body thanks to the fire damage caused by the domain was starting to show. He could keep it bay by increasing the density of his barrier, but that caused him to become weaker over time.
'How long? Another 10? Maybe 15 minutes? ' Megumi thought before he started coughing. It was clear to him that he couldn't keep such a powerful shikigami, like Mahoraga, out and about for guard duty. He wanted to call back the summon and retain his strength as long as he could, but even if he did that, Megumi wasn't confident that he could last more than just a few hours.
"Megumi. " Angel said while looking toward him. The boy quickly turned his gaze away from her, trying to hide his discomfort. "Move northeast from here and hide. If you get away from the temple, the curses you'll find will probably be much weaker and you won't need to rely on Mahoraga as much. That way, you'll last for longer. " Angel said. She could just open the domain as she had done before, but she didn't want to free Sukuna either.
"What? You can't beat the guardian alone. " Megumi said. He turned his attention back to the woman before trying to grab her shoulder, but Angel quickly moved backward while slapping his hand away.
"Forget about the guardian. You need to focus on staying alive. It was a mistake bringing you this deep into the Domain. Go away and find the exit. " Angel said. In truth, she couldn't care less about the jujutsu sorcerer. What she actually wanted was for Megumi to call Mahoraga back and follow her. That way, she could use the shikigami to fight the other members of Sukuna's team while she fought the king of curses himself, but since that would affect her relationship with Hana, she had no other choice but to send the boy away.
Megumi stood still for a moment. His weakness and lack of tact were showing really bad as the burning smell of his clothes began to stink the air around him. He sighed before saying, "You brought me here because you needed me, right? It would be useful. Don't leave him out of this now. " Megumi ordered Mahoraga to walk toward Angel. A petty attempt at proving his might.
"Your shikigami is strong, Megumi. Learn to use it well and maybe one day, you'll be strong enough to face foes like those. " Angel said. She then waved her hands in front of her creating a huge whirlwind. Mahoraga quickly got it between them and held onto Megumi's arm which prevented the boy from being flung away. "Goodbye, boy. " Angel said as she once again sprouted wings from her back.
Angel gave control of the body back to the host one last time. "I love you, Megumi. Please be safe. " Hana said. A final goodbye to her beloved. She knew from talking with Angel inside her mind, that there was a good chance they would die. Still, she was happy that she confessed and that she aided in Megumi's survival in the domain. It was much more than the other hosts got from their cursed objects.
Megumi was thrown backward by an even stronger whirlwind. Mahoraga, of course, covered him by placing his body in front of the attack, but it wasn't enough to block it completely so it was forced to continue grabbing the boy. "Get her! " Megumi ordered his shikigami who immediately let the boy go.
Angel saw as the shikigami jumped toward her, but it wasn't much trouble to just dodge the grab attempt. While Mahoraga was strong in a fight, that was it. It didn't have anything that could restrain her, which meant that once Angel started flinging away, there was nothing that it could do.
Megumi fell a few dozen meters away from where he once stood, he quickly turned his gaze to the skies where he could watch his shikigami fail to grab Angel. Once that happened, it was a done deal. Angel gained distance even faster than Demiurge had done before and within just a few seconds, it became impossible to Maharoga to catch up to her.
"Come back. " Megumi said. It was a cry meant for Angel. He felt defeated and betrayed, but also, happy. Megumi no longer needed to face a guardian or Sukuna, that was a relief for his heart.
Mahoraga came back to his side. The final request was interpreted by the shikigami as an order. Megumi almost flipped out at the creature, but somewhere deep down, he knew that what he said was also an order.
Megumi turned his gaze in the direction that Angel had pointed out. He took a few steps. Each new step was harder than the one before. The image of Yuji and his sister flashed in his mind with every moment. "What the hell is wrong with me?! " Megumi screamed as he looked at Mahoraga.
He then orders the shikigami to disappear. Mahoraga went back to being just shadows and then sunk into Megumi's. "I'll go after them. " Megumi said as he turned in the direction of where Angel flew.
Sukuna's pov
"It took much longer than I thought. " Sukuna said as he watched Guren's body disappear one final time. He then released his fire-cursed technique.
Yorozu and Geto were sitting near the body of the evil lord Wrath. Their fight was way harder than they expected. Yorozu's armor was pretty much destroyed along with one of her arms, which was left on the floor somewhere. Geto was also badly injured. He sat a top of a rock while breathing heavily. "Well done, weaklings. Well done. " Sukuna said as he turned his attention to Geto. "Let's go. "
"Can't we take some time to recover? I'm spent here. " Geto said. His cursed energy levels were high enough that he didn't have to worry about keeping his barrier, but one more fight like that, and he might not be able to survive in the domain.
Yorozu was in an even worst position. Since her cursed technique was very costly to use, she was left in a similar situation as Megumi. Of course, she had a lot better control and could maintain the barrier while recovering with no problem, but fighting was out of the question for her. "My love, the guardian escaped. It would take too long to find it anyways and there's bound to be traps or curses on the way. Let us-"
"Enough! " Sukuna said as his voice tore through their eardrums. His face was no longer that of the chill and witty king of curses, but that of a demon. In fact, it would be easier to spot differences than similarities between Sukuna's expression and Wrath. "I've had enough of you and your weakness. The guardian is recovering as we speak and if he does, it will be another shit show all over again. I can handle that but you maggots can't so you can get up now or I'll leave you behind. " Sukuna said as he turned his back to them.
The only reason he considered carrying the team until this point was the unknown. The 8th and 9th layers. If the other guardian was this troublesome to deal with or the layer had gimmicks, he might run out of time. But now that his team was actively holding him back. Sukuna began to think about leaving them behind. "I'll turn to you two and you better be on your feet. I don't want to see anyone hurting either. " Sukuna said. He turned around and found both Yorozu and Geto standing still right behind him.
He then started walking around them, trying to find any tells of weakness. After he was satisfied, Sukuna turned his attention to the north. "That curse went north, but I doubt that it followed a straight line. It's most likely hidden somewhere near the door, but since he had enough time to recover he might have moved further away than we expect. Anything else? " Sukuna asked his team.
"That's about it. " Geto said while trying to keep his composure.
"Yes, my love. We must start checking and looking for him at once. " Yorozu said as she tried to walk behind Sukuna. She had her arms out and was ready to give him a hug, but the king of curses quickly turned around and grabbed her hands.
"Wrong. There is something else. " Sukuna said as he threw Yorozu over his head. He then stated running forward while Geto and Yorozu were left trying to catch up.
"What do you mean? " Geto asked.
"While you idiots were too focused on fighting, I felt something interesting. There are other players in this layer and one of them is Angel. " Sukuna said with an annoyed tone. He knew that even though he had all of his fingers, Angel's cursed technique would be trouble. That, on top of having used a lot of different techniques, meant big trouble for him.
Demiurge's pov
"Guren is dead then. " Demiurge said.
"Yes, my lord. " A shadow demon explained while bowing its head. "The other ambush was also dealt with so we have two groups of invaders after us. "
Demiurge found refuge inside the temple. The reason Megumi and Angel couldn't find him, even after searching, was that his hideout was not actually connected to the main temple. It was a side building that could only be reached by using a special doorway in the main temple, a trap that would teleport intruders to a far-off room where they would fight for their lives.
Of course, Demiurge had no intention of leaving, and thus, he could stay there indefinitely. Also, even if one finds the pathway, one could only enter it after solving a puzzle. Therefore, Demiurge was sure that it would take too long for him to be found. "What type of abilities do they use? " Demiurge asked.
"The male is summoner type, as my lord had anticipated. The woman seems to be a physical type, but she could also create wings and fly. She must have other things up her sleeve. " Shadow Demon explained.
"Focus the main attack on the boy after distracting the woman with a small elite force. " Demiurge ordered his minions who were outside.
"That will not be necessary, my lord. It appears that they have split up. " Shadow demon explained.
Demiurge's face, which was left in a perpetual state of worry and frustration, lights up once more. His wicked smile returned once more. "You don't say..."
