Chapter 117 – The Angel's Condition
Tokyo Colony No.1
When Fushiguro Megumi opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a small, tidy room on a soft bed. Morning light filtered in through thin curtains, and a strange woman stood by the window, her silver hair catching the sunlight.
As he slowly sat up, a dull ache ran through his body. The last thing he remembered was unleashing his Domain against a reincarnated sorcerer. He'd won—but at the cost of his strength, and had passed out before he could even deactivate the barrier.
So… someone must have saved him.
"Good morning, fated one," the woman said, her voice calm and melodious. "Did you sleep well?"
Megumi didn't answer her. His sharp eyes turned instead toward a different sight: Itadori Yuji, sitting on the couch in a bathrobe, casually swirling a glass of red wine like some middle-aged retiree.
"…How long was I out?"
Itadori didn't look at him, simply swirled his wine again.
"I'm asking you, Itadori!" Megumi snapped.
At last, Yuji sighed and replied in an almost dramatic tone, "Two days. You've been out for two days."
On the sofa beside him, Kugisaki Nobara glanced their way but said nothing, her expression flat—half relief, half exasperation.
Before Megumi could say anything more, the door burst open.
"Ah! You're awake! Perfect timing—I brought breakfast!"
Comedian Takaba barged in, wearing his usual loud outfit, waving a plastic bag full of convenience store food like a trophy.
Megumi blinked, momentarily speechless. The chaotic scene in front of him made it hard to tell whether he'd really woken up or was still dreaming.
Yuji chuckled and explained before he could ask. "After my fight ended, I ran into Kugisaki and Takaba. We were about to start searching for you when she showed up—"
He pointed toward the silver-haired woman at the window. "—carrying your unconscious body. So, yeah. You owe your life to her."
Megumi followed his gesture, his gaze settling on the serene woman once more.
"…Thank you. You saved my life."
The woman smiled faintly and waved dismissively. "Think nothing of it. I only did what I felt was right."
Her tone was sincere, yet detached—like someone for whom compassion was a simple reflex, not a choice.
Yuji grinned. "Oh, and there's good news! Zen'in-sensei just cleared the Second Barrier—earned a full hundred points and added a new rule!
Hakari-senpai and Panda racked up eighty in the Third Barrier, and Okkotsu-senpai…" He paused for effect, "…a hundred and ninety in the Sendai Barrier.
With all that, we've basically got enough leverage to end the Culling Game for good!"
Megumi's eyes flickered with relief. "I see. Then there's only one thing left."
His eyes moved from one person to another.
"In the past two days… have any of you located the Angel?"
The final step left for them was clear:
They needed to find the being known as the Angel, the only one capable of unlocking the back gate of the Prison Realm and freeing Gojo Satoru.
Megumi's sharp gaze shifted toward the silver-haired woman by the window.
"Or rather… Kurusu," he said slowly, "you're the Angel, aren't you?
If so, why did you save me? And why are you in this barrier at all?"
It wasn't a baseless guess — the faint golden halo that shimmered above her head made it almost too obvious.
"I am…" Kurusu began softly.
Before she could continue, a mouth suddenly appeared on her cheek, speaking in a dry, sarcastic tone:
"Yes, I'm the Angel. And could you maybe not bombard girls with questions the second they wake up?"
"...Huh?"
Megumi and Yuji both froze, their expressions twitching as the sight triggered an odd sense of déjà vu.
"Anyway," the mouth continued, "I saved you because Kurusu once thought of you as—"
Smack!
The rest of the sentence was cut off as Kurusu slapped her own face with both hands, cheeks reddening.
"A-ahaha! You don't need a reason to help someone who's collapsed on the street, right?" she blurted.
The group exchanged glances. Clearly, there was more to that answer — but none of them pressed it.
A moment later, the mysterious mouth reappeared on her palm and spoke again.
"You came to me for my technique, didn't you?"
Megumi's expression didn't change. The Angel's ability was well-known to those in the know — the Technique Extinguishment.
Even barrier techniques, including the Prison Realm itself, were ineffective against it.
That explained why she and Kurusu had been able to cross from the Second Barrier to the First without issue — Tokyo No. 2 had been crawling with cursed spirits, and with Kashimo rampaging like a thunder god, they'd simply escaped through the wall.
"I can help you," said the Angel's voice. "But you'll help me with something in return."
"No problem!" Yuji said instantly, eyes bright. "If it means saving Gojo-sensei, I'll help however I can!"
"Let's hear your terms first," Megumi said calmly. He didn't trust anyone who made deals this easily — not without knowing what they truly wanted.
The Angel's tone remained serene, but there was a flicker of conviction beneath it.
"I wish to cleanse this world of all reincarnated vessels — those who were resurrected by taking over another's body."
She went on, voice low and steady:
"In the process of reincarnation, the old sorcerer's soul erases the vessel's consciousness entirely. That act is unforgivable. It violates the very balance I protect."
Unlike other reincarnated sorcerers, she hadn't destroyed Kurusu's consciousness upon possession. Instead, she had chosen coexistence — two souls sharing one body — so that she could hunt down others like herself.
But that mission, she admitted, was far from simple.
Monsters like Kashimo Hajime were a problem even for her, and every barrier had at least a few such threats.
"You want us to help you purge those players?" Nobara asked bluntly.
The Angel shook her head. "No. Those reincarnated players are difficult, yes — but manageable. My condition is… different."
Her next words were calm, but they chilled the air.
"I want you to eliminate one being: the one known as Fallen."
The name hit Yuji like a hammer. His vision darkened — and the next moment, his consciousness was pulled inward, into a crimson void.
He stood before Sukuna.
The King of Curses leaned casually against a throne of jagged flesh, his mouth twisting into a grin.
"What is it? You look pale. Seeing your own face still disgusts you that much?"
Yuji's glare was steady. "What do you want, Sukuna?"
Sukuna chuckled. "Just to share a bit of good news…"
His smile widened, fangs glinting.
"I am Fallen."
Before Yuji could react, Sukuna shoved him backward, and his consciousness was expelled from the domain.
"Ah—!"
Yuji gasped, snapping back to reality, drenched in cold sweat.
Everyone turned toward him in confusion.
"Uh… I, uh… just got dizzy," he said quickly, forcing a laugh. "Need to sit down for a sec."
He moved to the sofa — conveniently out of the Angel's line of sight — trying to keep his breathing steady.
Fallen… is Sukuna.
That meant — the person the Angel wanted dead was him.
Panic prickled at the edge of his thoughts, but he caught Megumi's eye across the room. Subtly, he began gesturing — pointing at the Angel's back, then at himself, then making a chaotic series of signals that looked halfway between semaphore and interpretive dance.
Megumi stared blankly for a moment, then his analytical mind kicked in.
Yuji's signals meant this is a secret — something the Angel couldn't know.
And the timing… right after she mentioned killing Fallen.
Yuji had pointed at himself.
The realization hit like ice water.
Megumi's pupils shrank.
If Sukuna was Fallen, then the Angel's condition for freeing Gojo was… killing Yuji.
Their only path to saving their teacher now lay tangled in a cruel paradox.
To release Gojo Satoru, they would have to sacrifice the very friend who had risked everything for that cause.
Megumi's fists clenched silently as the air in the room grew heavy.
The situation had just become far more complicated.