Chapter 19 - Unforgettable Fight

Sachiko had no choice but to use cursed energy to fend off the attacks of Hanami and Dagon. Cursed buds were growing more and more in her body and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on.

'Damn it. Did I really think I was stronger than I was?'

Sachiko thought as she cut off Hanami's roots with her cursed energy katana. Shikigamis were also attacking her at the same time so she had to use more cursed energy to fend off them. And, she knew she wasn't going to last long like this.

'I need to figure out something unless I really plan on dying..What can I do now?' Sachiko thought. Although the pain was becoming unbearable , it was the least of her worries for now. What was worse is she couldn't use reversed cursed technique to heal in this state and she can't use huge amount of cursed energy.

The two curses attacked with more vigor when they saw this.

"Not so mighty now, are you? You're weaker than we thought." Dagon stated.

"Now. Now. Let's end this quickly, Dagon. We shouldn't waste any more time. We don't know when Gojo Satoru will destroy the barrier after all." Hanami said.

"Very well." Dagon said and then chanted, "Domain Expansion."

They were then transported to a beach which is actually Dagon's innate domain. Dagon's eyes were focused on Sachiko as he awaited her death by his death swarm.

Sachiko had to use a strong cursed energy shield along with a cursed energy katana as hundreds of Shikigamis appeared to attack her.

'If I use domain expansion, I can escape this...but if I do so, the buds will be all over my vitals. I might even die at once.' Sachiko thought. 'If only I can get rid of the cursed buds...'

Sachiko's hands were cutting the Shikigamis off swiftly but she knew her speed was slowing down. She tried to neglect the pain and her body weakening per second but it was hard to do so when the cursed buds were growing inside her body swiftly. She felt like she was pierced by several blades.

'If only I can get rid of these buds...I can heal the injuries..Right, I need to get rid of it. But, I can't use cursed energy to get rid of these. Can I?' She thought. 'No, I can't.' She laughed bitterly at that.

"You are pushing it too far.. Do you know what a human can do when they're on the verge of death?" Sachiko asked as she dissolved her cursed energy katana. But, she still remained the shield to temporarily protect herself from the swarm of Shikigamis.

"If I'm going to die, then I will take you down with me." Sachiko said. That was when she decided to go all out without caring for the cursed buds anymore. She didn't have any means to get rid of those for now, anyway. And she didn't think she was in her right mind after going through all of these.

"The aura..it changed." Hanami frowned as he felt a bad premonition.

"Domain Expansion." Sachiko chanted as she made a hand gesture. "Myriad Possibilities."

The two curses heard that and in a second , the scenerio changed. They were no longer in a beach but in a dark endless space. There was an ocean with terrifying waves as the floor and everything about this space gave off a feeling of being in a nightmare. An endless one at that.

Sachiko was standing on the top of the waves and if not for the heavy injuries, the presence would have been more imposing.

'My domain was defeated and even with these injuries, she still could use a domain this powerful.' Dagon thought.

"It must be all she got." Hanami said and it clicked. She had put in every bit of her cursed energy she could without dying on the spot to create this domain. It was the reason the domain was this strong. They concluded and it was mostly true. Sachiko's domain was strong before but this domain was even stronger than the ones she ever created. Because that was everything she could do at that time, on the verge of death, and the determination fueled her powers, resulting in a stronger domain.

'I know it might be too pushing to kill them both in this domain and I won't be thinking about it if they didn't push me to this point. But, I would die if I do that.' Sachiko thought as she looked at the two curses. She realized if she pushed herself to kill the two curses, she would die before getting a chance to heal. It was something she already figure out before she activated the domain but when she recalled her mother, classmates and Gojo sensei, she hestitated. It was as if she really didn't want to die. It was as if she was still expecting to live happily.

It had always been like that. She was someone who always thought death was the worst thing that could happen to her. Even though all her logical thinking said her to just focus on exorcising the two curses but her mind was thinking how she could survive. Her mind was split between these two and she wasn't sure what to choose.

"It is a risk but I'll be greedy. My priority should still be to exorcise these two first. Then, I'll give it my all to survive." Sachiko said to herself.

Then, she said while looking the two curses, "Die now."

Sachiko wanted to torture and kill them but she knew it wouldn't be possible in her current state. So, she just simply decided to kill.

The two curses were shocked when they felt their body is exploding. But, there was nothing they could do now.

They exploded.

Sachiko felt a sharp pain as the cursed buds attack her vitals and she knew she couldn't waste any time now. She didn't have any weapons without cursed energy so she could only use her hands.

'It is extremely crazy but I have to try it.'

Sachiko used her hand to pull out the cursed buds manually. Unfortunately, the cursed buds were starting to twine with her vitals and Sachiko could feel her vitals crumble piece by piece as she pulled the cursed buds out. She knew needed to hurry before she could die from the injuries. So, she bit her lips really hard as she used every strength left in her body to pull out the remaining cursed buds. Her lips drew blood and her stomach was practically open from trying to pull out the intertwining buds with bare hands. Blood and pieces of the crumbled vitals were everywhere. Sachiko didn't even know at what point, she started crying or the tears rolled down her cheeks.

Soon, the cursed buds were out of her body and she could feel herself slowly drifting off.

'No...I still need to hold on. If I can use reversed cursed technique, I'll be fine.' She said to herself. She tried to manipulate cursed energy in her slowly dying body and multiply it with another source of cursed energy. It was hard when she was already dying. But, she refused to give up. She didn't want to die. At first, she thought as long as she could exorcise the two curses, it was fine even if she lost her life along the way. But, she realized she became greedy. She wanted to live.

The universe had unlimited possibilities and she hoped there was a possibility she still could survive this and this was that possibility.

"No, this is going to be that possibility because I'm still in my domain and I control what happens in my domain." Sachiko declared. She hadn't get out of her domain yet and this was supposed to be a space where she could control and manipulate possibilities like the name suggested. This was supposed to be a place where she could control what happened with 100% possibility.

Something flickered inside her body at that and Sachiko knew she had more potential than she ever realized.

Cursed energy from two sources were successfully multiplied, becoming a positive energy that healed her vitals. She then proceeded to heal the injuries. The speed wasn't that fast but it was fast enough to bring her back from death's door. She lied there for some time while healing and she lost track of time after that.

She got out of her innate domain when she recovered and saw a certain whitehead standing in the air. Their eyes locked onto each other for a moment and even though she couldn't see his eyes clearly, she knew those eyes were filled with fury.

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Gojo Satoru was furious. He didn't think it was possible to feel like that just because of an intrusion but when he met Megumi who successfully came out of the barrier and found out the possible reason of the intrusion, he felt worried and furious. He knew that is possible because Sachiko and Nanami already told him what happened with Mahito. It would make sense that they would try to get rid of her. They also planned to seal him in prison realm, after all.

After destroying the barrier, he used six eyes to see the situation. It was just as Megumi described. Overwhelming number of low grade curses.

So, he looked for Sachiko and saw her getting out of her domain. Sachiko looked up and her hazel eyes met his ocean blue eyes.

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"How're you feeling? You look fine but at the same time you don't." Gojo asked with a frown. He was now standing in front of Sachiko and the distance between them was less than a meter.

"Physically or mentally?" Sachiko replied with a question.

"Both."

The two fell into silence as they stared into each other's eyes. Gojo hadn't even put on his blindfold yet so Sachiko could see his ocean blue eyes. The eyes were piercing and she didn't think she could lie when those eyes were staring into her eyes.

"Not really fine. Thought I was going to die. And I nearly died." She answered and she could see worry and fury in his eyes.

Gojo didn't say a word. He silently pulled her into a hug.

"Gojo senseii.." Sachiko was surprised as she was suddenly enveloped by Gojo's arms. She could feel her face turning red and her heartbeats became so loud that she could literally hear her own heartbeats.

"Sorry. I was late." Gojo said.

"It's fine. I didn't actually mean anything when I said you are unreliable..Besides, I already know they would target me sooner or later." Sachiko said quickly.

"I know." Gojo continued , "But I want to protect you." His voice came out more like a whisper. He knew she was strong and he wasn't the type to actively protect any of his students from dangers. He usually let them deal with those for their own growth and only interfere in some cases but what he was feeling now was different. He wanted to protect her. He didn't want her to get hurt.

Maybe the nature of their relationship had changed.

He figured.

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A/N :

hey, before yelling at me for killing four special grade curses too soon, just know that this is practically an AU right now and I have so much more plans.

If you're up to spoilers, you can read it in the comment. I will spoil a little bit. But, if you don't, that's fine by me too. It's gonna a surprise when you find out so I'm not complaining 🤭