A cruel gaze?
A merciless gaze?
An angry gaze?
A gaze that inspires fear?
Having fought countless times and seen all sorts of enemies, Jogo remembered the looks those people gave him… looks filled with various complexities.
However, among those gazes, Jogo clearly knew, none were like Ryuya's.
'What kind of gaze was it?'
'Mockery!'
'That's right, mockery!'
Mockery just like his own! As if looking at trash, disdainful yet disappointed, giving up on something interesting.
"How dare you!"
His entire body's blood boiled. How many years had it been since Jogo encountered someone daring to look at him like this?
Under the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's body, the injuries from being kicked, causing internal tremors, rapidly healed. In just a moment, Jogo performed a new technique summoning.
Boom!
Different from before, Jogo instantly summoned over ten volcanic vents under Ryuya's feet, covering the ground beneath the man.
With Jogo's raising motion, towering flames hundreds of meters high erupted, the commotion so large even everyone in Tokyo could see it.
"Hahaha, hahahaha, how about it, human? Is this all you've got?"
"Turned to ashes? Became fuel? In the end, humans are just... What!"
The flames dissipated, but Ryuya appeared unscathed at the center.
Except for the small patch of empty ground under his feet, the surrounding environment had been utterly consumed by fierce fire.
Looking at Jogo with amused interest, Ryuya simply shook his head, "Don't boast arrogantly while operating from fear… it only exposes your weakness."
"You bastard!"
Never having been so ignored, gathering powerful cursed energy throughout his body, Jogo was a man of action, not words.
He summoned several small paper cranes, then pushed off with his feet, bursting forward to attack Ryuya.
Boom!
The paper cranes filled with cursed energy turned into flame bombs the moment they touched Ryuya. Striding with an overconfident gait, Jogo, relying on his memory of Ryuya's position amidst the flames, suddenly swung a hand strike aimed at the head.
'The feeling of hitting!'
His expression ecstatic, Jogo pressed the advantage with a follow-up kick.
In this attack, Jogo specifically increased the force. The impact upon contact caused the glass on the entire street to shatter.
However...
"Not enough force. Did you not eat?"
Boredly waving his hand, as if clearing the smoke and dust from the flames, Ryuya looked exactly as before, not a hair out of place.
"???"
His large eyes full of confusion, looking at Ryuya, if the previous flames had no effect, Jogo could attribute it to special defenses from Magi or Flame Hazes.
But physical strikes weren't something energy could defend against. Defenses effective in close combat were limited, and he clearly hit… the sensation didn't lie.
"Ah, are you curious why I'm fine?"
Seeming to understand Jogo's confusion, Ryuya actually quite liked this Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Rarely explaining to an enemy, he extended his right hand, fingers spread, "This? It's because the gap between you and me is too large, resulting in an inability to make contact."
"Come here, come closer. I'll tell you what's going on."
"..." Facing the smiling Ryuya, Jogo didn't respond immediately. He looked silently at the other. Chatting with the enemy during battle was a first for him too.
But...
'No killing intent, no hostility, not even a mocking attitude. This guy genuinely wants to explain. Is he that bold?'
'Forget it, I'll listen to what he has to say for now.'
Confidence in his own strength made Jogo unafraid of Ryuya. Moreover, with the fight paused, for some reason, Jogo felt the man before him had a... how to put it? It wasn't a human scent.
Compared to the humans he despised, Ryuya exuded a strong natural aura, as if he were the Earth itself, which made Jogo somewhat surprised.
Taking two or three steps forward proactively, he also reached out and placed his hand over Ryuya's.
But at that instant, Jogo's eyes were filled with incredulity towards Ryuya's existence, "Cannot make contact?"
"Wrong. It's level suppression." Shaking his head, Ryuya continued explaining, "The gap between you and me is like the difference between an erupting volcano and a small piece of cotton. If the cotton is far enough from the volcano, of course it won't be affected."
"But if the cotton wants to get close to the volcano, even attack it, forget the effect of the cotton's attack, just approaching the volcano would be enough to burn the cotton to nothing."
Now, having undergone five simulations, Ryuya possessed an overwhelming number of carried talents.
Ultimate Being… this was the SSS- biological level born from devouring the Red Dragon's Affection, the White Dragon King Bloodline, Fairy of Avalon, and other talents.
Earth King, True Ancestor, as the spokesperson for the entire Earth, even in this real world without Gaia, all things on Earth would still be drawn to Ryuya.
King of Myriad Races… having obtained the faith of all Phantasmal Species from the most ancient Uruk, the Golden Age, the King who commands all races can become any Phantasmal Species with the help of the Ultimate Being.
And then the Beast of the Apocalypse, Sun God, Lord of Three Realms, Enemy of the Counter Force, etc. What is the effect of so many existences concentrated in one person? The effect is surpassing planetary Ultimate Ones.
Just simple level suppression made Jogo unable to touch him.
Looking at the stunned Jogo, Ryuya reached out, actively pressing his hand against Jogo's, "See? This is the gap between you and me. Unless I actively lower my power, you can't even touch me."
"Don't screw with me."
Completely unable to believe the gap between him and Ryuya was so vast, Jogo threw a punch at Ryuya.
But just as Ryuya said, the disparity between them made Jogo's fist stop mid-air, as if encountering immense resistance.
In contrast, Ryuya directly grabbed Jogo's other hand, then punched him in the abdomen.
"Urgh..."
As deep purple blood sprayed out, Jogo's blood seemed blocked by some invisible glass in mid-air, unable to touch Ryuya at all.
"Now we're starting. A combo should be like this."
In an instant, another dozen punches landed. Completely mentally broken by Ryuya's beating, Jogo was sent flying instantly, carving a deep trench into the ground.
Ignoring Jogo, Ryuya looked at Suguru nearby and smiled slightly, "Well, now... it's your turn."
Looking at Geto, possessed by Kenjaku, Ryuya had learned from the Shinsengumi's intelligence network about the existence of Cursed Spirits, Magi, Flame Hazes, and Jujutsu Sorcerers in the real world.
After obtaining the Earth King identity, he discovered that Earth actually had no Gaia Counter Force.
By the same logic, the human Counter Force named Alaya also didn't exist.
Previously always hiding using the Beast of the Apocalypse's talent, he was now determined to investigate the real world's situation.
And as the Earth's Earth King, even without Gaia, Ryuya still held considerable control over the entire Earth.
To put it simply, things like manipulating natural disasters or controlling weather… and even if Ryuya wanted, he could make continents move out of thin air or make the sea levels swallow the land.
As long as the Earth's core wasn't destroyed, Ryuya, with the Earth King identity, was invincible on Earth.
Even other planetary Ultimate Ones, like Crimson Moon at her peak, or the Machine Gods Prosperity, Justice, etc., there would need at least three of them to defeat him.
Beckoning to Suguru, he wanted to ask this thousand-year-old Jujutsu Sorcerer some questions.
'Damn it, what kind of monster is this guy?'
Having witnessed the fight between Jogo and Ryuya firsthand, although Jogo was defeated in just a few moves, Suguru knew Jogo's attack power was among the strongest of Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
This was like Akainu in One Piece… He might not have had the advantage against Whitebeard, but his personal strength was undeniable.
Jogo was the same. If he hadn't encountered Ryuya, against anyone else he would be a major threat.
The existence of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit wasn't just talk.
Realizing Ryuya's fearsome strength immediately, he wanted to flee, but for some reason, Suguru's entire body seemed to be pinned down by something, unable to move at all.
Only when Ryuya beat Jogo into near oblivion and turned his gaze towards him could Suguru move.
"Smallpox Deity!"
He instantly summoned a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Suguru's ability was Cursed Spirit Manipulation… a combat style involving controlling defeated Cursed Spirits, somewhat similar to a Necromancer's summons.
But unlike those mages, Suguru, who summoned various Cursed Spirits with diverse attack methods, also possessed strong physical prowess, not inferior to Special Grade Cursed Spirits.
The one Suguru commanded was on the same level as Jogo, Special Grade, and even had a Domain Expansion Ability.
"Graveyard!"
The strangely shaped monster, like a lump of rotten flesh standing up, expanded its Domain just like a Magus's Reality Marble.
The Smallpox Deity's Domain effect was single-target: designate one person, manifest a coffin to swallow them, then bury them underground, ending their life after a three-second countdown.
A Domain Expansion similar to a causality law. The only way to escape was to break out of the coffin before the three-second countdown ended.
Thinking this move would trouble Ryuya, wanting to use these three seconds to escape, Suguru saw something he completely unable to understand.
"A rule-based curse? Boring."
Possessing too many abilities to break curses, causality laws, etc., Ryuya didn't even look at the Smallpox Deity.
With a mere wave of his hand, the coffin manifesting behind him was directly shattered, and the Smallpox Deity instantly exploded into a pile of minced meat.
"Is this a joke?"
Rule-based Domain Expansions represented an absolute world. Knowing the Smallpox Deity's ability to touch the world's rules to some extent, Suguru had seen strong enemies escape this move before, but they all used the three-second interval to break the coffin and get out.
Someone like Ryuya, who directly shattered the coffin the moment the curse activated, was a first for him.
This was like everyone fighting with cold weapons, and the opponent pulls out an AK-47 and mows you down. Anyone would find that hard to accept.
"Phew... Giant Catfish."
Abandoning the panicked expression in an instant or less, the biggest difference between Suguru, with his thousand years of combat experience, and Jogo lay here.
Using the conceptual-grade Cursed Spirit Giant Catfish, its effect was the fear of earthquakes. It would instantly release elements of fear before the target's eyes.
If there was any hesitation, confusion, fear, etc., a dark void would open beneath the enemy's feet, directly swallowing them.
Of course, the Giant Catfish was ultimately just a conceptual attack. Without a physical form, its role was to make the enemy lose balance and fall, creating the best moment for attack.
"I said... could you stop using such boring attacks?"
Boredly waving his hand, Ryuya's mind nullified the Giant Catfish's attack. As he walked forward step by step, he smiled quite casually.
"I just want to ask a few questions. I'm not going to kill you. Why are you so agitated?"
"Ask questions? Ridiculous. Who would believe you?"
Taking a deep breath, realizing Ryuya couldn't be harmed by conceptual or causality-based Cursed Spirits, Suguru decided to attack in another way.
Directly summoning a large number of Cursed Spirits, having calmed down, his attack methods were diverse.
The various Cursed Spirits offered many angles and weapons. An ordinary person... no, even a large number of Jujutsu Sorcerers would absolutely be no match for him.
However...
"Is that all?"
Reaching out, then spreading his fingers, looking at the hundreds of Cursed Spirits surrounding him from all directions, Ryuya didn't even need to move.
Gently clenching his fist, with his action, the countless Cursed Spirits instantly seemed crushed by some spatial force, becoming puddles of blood.
"Speaking of which, do you have any Cursed Spirits that are more..."
Boom!
The fight with Suguru had just begun. Mid-sentence, Ryuya was suddenly engulfed by flames.
As the scene of the entire shopping street changed, the scorching hell named Coffin of the Iron Mountain was Jogo's Domain Expansion.
Amidst overwhelming flames and surging Cursed Energy, the brutally beaten Jogo stood up, dragging his bruised and battered body.
"I said... you bastard, our fight isn't over yet. What do you think you're doing?"
Shouting from afar at Ryuya, consumed by flames, Jogo's step-by-step advance was so stubborn and resilient.
Taking a deep breath, his appearance at this moment actually had the vibe of a Shonen protagonist.
"If... if I can't defeat you here, what qualification do I have to seal Gojo Satoru!"
"I will definitely... kill you, today!"