[34]: 2nd Round

The scenery around began to change. Skyscrapers turned into towering desolate mountains, asphalt roads transformed into dirt paths overgrown with wild grass, and every few steps, you could see bones protruding from the ground. The streetlights morphed into withered trees, where shadows of hanging figures vaguely swung, and in the dim light, terrifying figures lurked in every corner. Yet, if you looked far into the distance, the cityscape remained as it was before.

"Domain Expansion?"

Shin recalled what Gojo Satoru had once told him about this technique, calling it the awakening of a sorcerer's talent—a move that couldn't be systematically learned. It contained the elements of barrier techniques, with its most prominent feature being the user's ability to guarantee their technique hits 100% of the time, while also enhancing their curse technique.

Some sorcerers might suddenly awaken to it, while others might never touch upon it their whole lives, which is why the number of sorcerers capable of using it was very few.

But Gojo-sensei had mentioned that typical domain expansions were closed-off barriers, unlike what was happening here...

From a distance, Gojo Satoru also noticed the strange sight, immediately understanding that this was an unknown type of domain expansion, and it was not a standard closed one.

'Shin might not be able to handle this alone. I need to speed things up. As for this annoying rope... It won't last much longer, will it?'

Opposite him, Miguel could only grit his teeth in frustration. He had already mentally prepared himself to die here. In the short time he had clashed with Gojo Satoru, the precious cursed tool he brought from his homeland had been reduced to a mere stub, not to mention the powerful cursed spirits that sacrificed themselves for him. Otherwise, he would have been done for a long time ago.

'Geto, if I die here, I'll haunt you even as a curse...' Miguel thought bitterly as he barely dodged another one of Gojo's attacks.

Back at Shin's battlefield, as soon as Shuten Dōji unleashed her domain expansion, Shin immediately activated his technique. He could instantly feel the searing pain as the blood flames latched onto him. Without hesitation, he grabbed Nanami Kento and pulled him out of the domain's range, healing him in the process. Fortunately, Nanami hadn't suffered serious injuries, and Shin's reverse curse technique was enough to heal him.

While retreating, Shin noticed that the burning sensation decreased the further away they were from Shuten Dōji, perhaps indicating that this was one of the domain's limitations in exchange for its wide range.

Now in a safe zone, Shin could choose to leave and wait for Gojo-sensei to finish up and come handle the situation. But there was the matter of Nao's body... and the unknown potential of Shuten Dōji. The memory of her absorbing cursed spirits and summoning even more powerful ones to strengthen herself was still fresh in his mind.

A cursed spirit capable of using domain expansion that wasn't even at full strength yet, and with Geto Suguru's situation still unresolved... there was no telling what she might do if she escaped.

She had to be killed here

Nao's soul could not fully manifest in this chaotic battlefield, nor could she participate in the fight. Nanami, too, would not be able to hold out long in the domain without reverse curse techniques. Which meant... Shin had to face this alone.

"Being in this domain means being constantly attacked by Shuten Dōji's technique. Those flames seem to have the ability to absorb curse energy and even flesh. The closer I get to her, the more intense the damage."

"Continuously using reverse curse technique will eventually exhaust me. I have no choice but to bet everything on slaying Shuten Dōji before I reach my limit... or before she reaches hers."

Time Wheel·Turn

Holding Onikiri, Shin re-entered Shuten Dōji's domain, immediately feeling his cursed energy and vitality being drained.

Though his technique accelerated his time, the technique spread throughout the domain still managed to hurt him. As long as he remained within and kept getting closer to Shuten Dōji, he would continue to be affected by it.

Shin didn't have time to deal with the cursed spirits that appeared in the domain. Running his technique at full power, he charged toward Shuten Dōji's arm, slashing at it with all his might.

But Shuten Dōji had been prepared, knowing Shin's extraordinary speed. She had protected Dōkijiri behind multiple layers of defense, meaning that Shin had no choice but to sever her arm if he wanted to take it.

Yet her body had grown stronger. Even Shin's full-powered slash barely broke through her flesh. The moment Shin reached his limit and needed to activate his reverse curse technique to recover, that instant would be Shuten Dōji's chance to counterattack.

After enduring Shuten Dōji's technique for so long, Shin's body had become severely damaged. Parts of his skin had cracked open like weathered leather, exposing pale, bloodless tissue beneath.

When Shin reversed his injuries with his technique, Shuten Dōji's own wounds were also healed by absorbing cursed energy from him and the other cursed spirits in her domain.

Noticing that she could finally track his movements, Shuten Dōji also felt the tremendous power she had siphoned from him, her mind racing.

'It wasn't all absorbed in one instant, or else my body would've been sliced apart, not just my arms nearly severed. And those multiple slash marks... His speed is incomprehensible, and his recovery...'

A twisted grin spread across Shuten Dōji's face. She didn't try to attack immediately but instead focused on amplifying her domain's power and strengthening her defenses.

'It's time! This brat's technique is related to time itself! There's no other explanation for his unfathomable speed and recovery.'

"A technique like that... It's exhilarating! I'll take your head myself. Too bad you haven't fully matured, and you'll fall here."

Shuten Dōji planned to drag the fight out, relying on the domain's guaranteed hit effect and her strong defenses to outlast Shin. While Onikiri dealt exceptional damage to flesh, it wasn't enough to break through her multiple layers of defense.

As long as she held onto Dōkijiri, she was confident of victory.

In a brief moment, Shuten Dōji's mind wandered to a distant memory—of the one who had wielded Dōkijiri to sever her head and end the era of the hundred demons night parade.

"Minamoto no Raikō..."

It was one of the few human names she remembered, their grudge so deep it had created a curse. One of the conditions for her revival had been the blood of the Minamoto family, and it had to be a sorcerer.

'Every era produces its shining humans, it seems. This boy might have become one of them in the future... Humans always seem to defy expectations. Is this what they call 'fate'?'

In the next instant, Shuten Dōji noticed she had lost track of Shin once again. Blood sprayed from her body as multiple wounds appeared, one arm severed, and the other hanging by a thread.

Kumokiri had been taken, though Shuten Dōji didn't care. In the brief moment since their last clash, barely any time had passed in her thoughts.

'Kumokiri is imbued with 'poison,' which can harm the enemy's cursed energy and even their nerves. But it won't work on him... His speed is already too great. As long as he doesn't get Dōkijiri...'

Shuten Dōji recalled the legend of the three swords. Unlike their historical counterparts, these three cursed tools shared a singular origin in the world of jujutsu, all given to Minamoto no Raikō to slay her, the King of Demons.

Each sword had unique powers: Onikiri could sever all 'flesh,' Kumo-kiri was laced with a toxin targeting cursed energy, and Dōkijiri could break through all cursed energy-based defenses.

While not absolute, using these three swords together meant any enemy would know true fear.

There was also a hidden power when all three were wielded by the same person, a technique that had once destroyed her body. That's why she couldn't let him get Tōkijiri.

She didn't try to hide her intention. During another brief opening, Shuten Dōji stabbed Dōkijiri into her own body, using herself as a "chain" to lock it in place.

Shin wasn't surprised. The cursed tool that had once beheaded Shuten Dōji must have some kind of special restraining effect on her. At the very least, its ability to break through defenses would make it easier to cut her down if he could seize it.

...

Half of Shuten Dōji's neck had regenerated as she coldly stared at Shin, who, though fully healed once again, looked visibly exhausted. Her massive demonic form now stood over three meters tall, maintaining a defensive posture despite her formidable appearance.

But inside, Shuten Dōji was as calm as a predator waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Despite her deteriorating condition, she was still far better off than Shin.

'Reverse curse technique... This boy can use it, but not to a high degree. He's only using it as a source of positive cursed energy. If... haha! There's no 'if!'

In the twenty-third fleeting gap, Shuten Dōji seized on a fatal opening in Shin's defenses. He finally couldn't hold on any longer, and as he hesitated while trying to activate his reverse curse technique, he noticed a monstrous hand reaching toward him. The sharp claws had already brushed against his clothes.

'Such a shame... I was so close to cutting her body apart. This domain really is unfair—guaranteed hits and the ability to absorb my cursed energy. Looks like I couldn't help you get your body back after all. I'm the one who failed you. Nanami-senpai was right. Jujutsu sorcerers are trash. If you're not strong enough, you're always facing the threat of death.'

'You'll always have to face the helplessness of being powerless.'

Shin looked at Shuten Dōji—or rather, the face of what was once Nao, now twisted and distorted beyond recognition. Her face was a grotesque mockery of what it used to be. With his remaining cursed energy, Shin activated his technique one more time.

'It seems... I'm not going to make it. But why does that feel so unfair?'

A quiet, seething rage bubbled up inside him, slow and relentless, like lava creeping down a mountainside. It didn't erupt, but it burned deep inside, hidden beneath the surface, ready to consume everything in its path.

Shin closed his eyes, letting his emotions churn within. But his mind was crystal clear, entirely focused on the transformation of his cursed energy—on diving deeper into the secrets of the reverse curse technique.

There had never been any formal training for it, just a basic explanation of its principles. That was all the reverse curse technique amounted to. In a way, it was as rare and mysterious as domain expansion. Yet somehow, Shin had managed to extract reverse cursed energy, either through talent or sheer luck. He had glimpsed the surface of the reverse curse technique, but his grasp was far from the level of someone like Shoko Ieri or Gojo-sensei.

His ability to heal injuries with it was far inferior to how he used his technique to reverse time itself. Though he had always admired Gojo's ability to maintain a constant state of reverse curse technique, Shin had never been able to make much progress toward that goal. He couldn't heal his brain in real time, removing the strain of continuously using his technique.

But now, on the verge of death, in a moment when his thoughts stretched impossibly long and yet felt so clear, Shin realized he might be able to try. It was as if, in this critical moment, he had reached a state of unprecedented clarity, a state of... enlightenment.

"Maybe... all jujutsu sorcerers are just insane."

Shuten Dōji's monstrous hand successfully grasped Shin's body. Her blood-red eyes glowed with satisfaction, sensing that victory was near. She could almost taste it! She would crush him, leave this place, and once she regained her full strength, the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons would descend upon the world once more!

Just as she prepared to wring Shin's body for its last drop of "juice," her vision blurred. The body in her hand vanished, and the boy now stood before her again, his energy completely restored.

"Impossible! He had reached his limit! Is this... his final burst of strength? Or..."

The worst-case scenario Shuten Dōji didn't dare consider suddenly became reality, and she felt a wave of dread begin to rise inside her.

"The second round begins," Shin declared, gripping Onikiri in one hand and Kumo-kiri in the other.

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