Chapter 8. Dungeon of Curses

Endlessly Leveling with Cursed Energy

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This fanfiction is based on the Jujutsu Kaisen series by Gege Akutami, owned by Shueisha and related entities. It is an unauthorized, transformative work created for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Any funds generated through platforms like Patreon support the author's creative efforts and do not constitute a sale of this fanfiction or any related copyrighted material. Readers are encouraged to support the official release of Jujutsu Kaisen.

All original content not part of the Jujutsu Kaisen universe is the property of The Cursed Millennial. For any concerns, please contact me directly.

#. Credit:

Jujutsu Kaisen and its characters are created by Gege Akutami. This fanfiction is a transformative work inspired by the original series. Special thanks to the original creators and publishers.

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Chapter 8. Dungeon of Curses

With Gojo on my side, clearing out a dungeon infested with curses never felt safer. With every 'malevolence' of curses that came our way, I did my best to improve on exorcising them while smoothing the flow of my cursed energy.

"You good back there?" Gojo asked, glancing over his shoulder with that trademark smile of his.

"Yeah, just trying to keep up," I replied, as I smashed into another curse.

"More are coming," Gojo warned, as a group of low-grade curses emerged from the darkness. All along, whenever a 'malevolence' of curses would come our way, Gojo would take on just a select few of them, then leave the rest for me.

I understood his intent to give me a solid experience, but I couldn't help but feel frustrated.

"Do you ever think of helping out?!" I shouted at Gojo, ridiculing him for his indifferent nature.

"I'm keeping you alive, aren't I?" he replied with arrogance, a smirk playing on his lips.

His words stung a bit, but I knew he was right. Every curse I faced made me stronger, more adept at channeling my cursed energy. I focused, trying to emulate Gojo's confidence, even if I couldn't match his skill.

'It's very uncool of me to lose my cool in front of him,' I ridiculed myself while striking another curse. My fist connected with a squelch, the curse dissolving into a cloud of malevolent energy.

"Not bad," Gojo commented, easily dispatching two curses with a step forward. "You have gotten better."

"I just hope there is a first-grade curse somewhere around here," he said very casually, as if discussing the weather.

"Hey!!" I lost my cool again. Of course, I did. I had to protest somehow at the fact that Gojo wanted me to fight against a first-grade curse when my highest experience was fighting a third-grade curse!

"Just don't jinx it," I whispered, knowing that I had chosen to keep moving further along the tunnel with Gojo. It was my choice to be in this situation.

Occasionally, I would find a moment to pick Gojo's mind when curses hid scared in the darkness.

"Tell me more about Innate Domains," I muttered, trying to shake off the sense of exhaustion. I could tell that we weren't done yet. "This one especially."

"Lovely, isn't it?" Gojo said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Perfect place for a picnic."

I shot him a glare, but he just chuckled.

"An Innate Domain is a mental landscape that embodies the mind of an individual," Gojo began, his tone turning more instructive. "It's like a reflection of their soul. Every sorcerer, non-sorcerer, and cursed spirit has one. It's the foundation of an innate cursed technique."

"So this place... it's like being inside Drool's mind?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the concept.

"Exactly," Gojo nodded. "But you have to keep in mind that an Innate Domain is an extension of one's mind, which is different from a Domain Expansion."

"This is Drool's innermost world, his Innate Domain. It's a metaphysical space that reflects his mind and soul. That's why it feels like we're inside a stomach - it's designed to make you feel helpless and trapped, feeding off your fear."

"Like walking into someone's nightmare," I said, trying to make it relatable.

"Pretty much," Gojo replied with a smirk. "But these domains can only be physically constructed or expanded using a technique called Domain Expansion. This uses a barrier to create a separate space where the innate domain is constructed by cursed energy and imbued with the user's innate technique."

"Since an Innate Domain is just an extension of the mind, a Domain Expansion is pulling someone into your mind," I said, articulating the information.

"Exactly," Gojo confirmed.

We entered another chamber, this one even larger and more grotesque than the last. The walls were lined with jagged, teeth-like protrusions, and the floor was slick with a slimy substance. Bioluminescent fungi cast eerie shadows, making the space feel even more nightmarish.

"Another one of Drool's breeding grounds," Gojo said, his tone grim. Curses appeared, and we jumped into action with our usual style. Various questions gripped me as I fought. I wanted to ask Gojo, on a scale of one to Sukuna, just how powerful Drool or World Hunger was. However, I didn't want him trying to figure out how I knew about Sukuna - if the King of Curses wasn't just a legend outside of Japan.

While the thought lingered, my mind traced back to my phone, and I made sure it was still in my pocket. I had put it there after collecting it from where it had fallen in the stomach. I had given up on using artificial light and adjusted to the dim lighting, humbled by-... yk.

"What about the other generals?" I asked as soon as the entire 'malevolence' of curses dissipated under the smack of my fists. "Have you been to their Innate-"

A voice interrupted me, filling the chamber with a virulent intensity that made me shudder to the core. We were finally here! We had reached-

"DROOOOOOLLLLL...!!"

"Finally," Gojo said as if he was relieved that we had made it through the maze. "It's coming to an end."

Emerging from the shadows was Drool, a towering figure with a grotesque appearance. His frame was hefty, his face a constant stream of saliva, giving him a nightmarish visage. His presence filled the space with an oppressive aura. Surrounding him were higher-tier curses, unlike any we had encountered before in the stomach. Among them were second-grade and first-grade curses, each one resembling a grotesque creation from the depths of a nightmare.

'He had been gathering his army to protect himself,' I realized, recalling the 'Drool' sounds I had heard and the fact that high-tier curses had been rare, despite Gojo saying this dungeon included more higher-grade curses than lower ones.

"Drooolll..." Drool's voice oozed malice even if his words were incoherent. "Powerful... yummy-yum!"

"Weak... bleh-heh-heh!" Drool added with a drooling smile directed to me, and I immediately jumped with burning fury.

"I'm not weak, you milk-stealing oaf!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, clenching my fists from emotion. I didn't like the fact that Drool was regarding me as weak and reminding me that Gojo was levels more powerful than I was. "I will exorcise your fat ass! Wait and see!"

"Easy, Jamal," Gojo intervened before I could rush headfirst at Drool. I was already becoming less aware of how powerful Drool was, once again. "You must keep your cool."

"Your goal is not to exorcise curses," Gojo added. "That's my job. Your goal is to get behind Drool and find the boss."

"You got that?" Gojo asked, and I nodded, easing my nerves.

'Damn it, Drool,' I cursed in my mind. 'You somehow manage to bring out the child in me.'

"Good," Gojo's eyes flickered with a hint of amusement, as he looked at Drool. That was a signal that an epic fight was about to unfold. A myriad of curses surrounded Drool, but Gojo didn't look even the least bit worried, or interested.

He just had his eyes set on Drool, and his thoughts set on protecting me.

Gojo was already on the move as the curses that resembled twisted deformed stomach contents began to move. Drool himself lumbered forward.

"Hungry... always... hungry...Drooool, " he muttered, his words slurred and dripping with saliva.

"Haha..." I chuckled inwardly as I watched Drool's sluggish movements. "Slow as ever. He's gonna die in seconds."

Drool's bulk was the cause of his lack of agility.

Once again, Gojo's movements blurred as he dispatched curses left and right. He streaked, curses falling before him. He teleported me in flashes of light, always keeping me safe and out of harm's way.

Drool charged, his cursed technique a swirling black mass recognizable to my eyes. It was the same technique he had used to implode my house.

The fight blurred further, gravity fighting against red, blue, and green at levels incomprehensible to the human brain. I was awed that Drool was actually strong enough to keep up with Gojo.

The chamber shook and disfigured with the force of their clash as they entangled in their own time frame. It became a dance of power that culminated in a cloud of alternating colors to me and any stomach curses that were stunned.

When some came to attack me, I made sure to exorcise them while drawing inspiration from Gojo in action. The fight between Gojo and Drool escalated, causing even the innate Domain to start faltering as the real world with the risen sun started to show up in glitches.

In the end, Gojo stood victorious as Drool lay on the ground, barely breathing. Gojo went for the final strike at Drool.

However, I picked up on the fact that Drool didn't look scared or worried that he was about to be exorcised. Amid his drooling, he kept on revealing his jagged teeth with missing pieces, like he was smiling.

"You are clearly human," Gojo spoke with a serious tone before he went for the exorcism. "How are you affiliated with a powerful force like World Hunger?"

"Ha-ha.." Drool couldn't even manage a worthy laugh, but he managed to utter something before Gojo exorcised him without waiting to hear everything. "Div-Divine."

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