The prestigious King of Curses was being pummeled like a dead dog, a sight that left Megumi Fushiguro utterly dumbfounded.
Wasn't he acting all high and mighty when he was beating me up? Why is he so pathetic now?
At the bottom of the crater, Ryomen Sukuna's eyes were dazed. He had never been subjected to such treatment; even when he was ruthlessly suppressed by Satoru Gojo, he had managed to maintain a shred of dignity.
But now, everything was ruined.
Struggling to climb to his feet, Sukuna roared in a fit of humiliation, "You dare humiliate me?!"
"You call this humiliation? I haven't even stepped on your face yet," Aomori said, shrugging.
"Sophistry won't save you. Your end is here!" Sukuna's hands blurred into a hand sign as he bellowed, "Domain Expansion!"
"Malevolent Shrine!"
Cursed Energy, far surpassing Megumi's by several orders of magnitude, erupted violently. A massive, bone-chilling Buddhist shrine surrounded by corpses rose from the ground.
"Finally, here it comes." Aomori looked exhilarated. He used Telepathy to signal Pidgeot and Absol to take Megumi Fushiguro further away.
Unlike other closed-shell Domains, Ryomen Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine was an open-type Domain. By not setting a physical boundary as a "binding vow," he vastly increased the effective range of the Domain, reaching a maximum radius of 200 meters.
Furthermore, the Domain was centered on him and moved as he moved. Anyone slower than Sukuna would find it impossible to escape its reach.
Overall, it was far more flexible and powerful than any closed Domain.
Standing before his shrine, Sukuna looked at the giant Dark Clone with a demonic, bloodthirsty grin. He licked his lips and said coldly, "I'll start by carving up this big fellow."
"Cry, scream, and then die!"
"Cleave!"
Countless invisible slashes rained down upon the giant Dark Clone. While it could withstand the previous slashes, it could not resist these; the Domain's buff and the sheer frequency of attacks were on a different level.
Aomori raised an eyebrow. Many slashes were falling on him as well, but they were all deflected by his psychokinetic shield.
The offensive power of this Domain is indeed impressive. Let's toughen up the Dark Clone a bit more.
With a thought, the giant Dark Clone shrank drastically, becoming the size of a normal human. Its two arms transformed into blade-like shapes, dancing in front of its body to deflect the incoming slashes.
Shrinking the body to increase structural density and reduce the target area? Then how about this?
Sukuna extended two fingers and made a sharp downward stroke toward the Dark Clone.
Aomori snorted. The Dark Clone crossed its arms in front of its chest, blocking a slash that was significantly more powerful than the ones before.
No, it didn't block it completely. Both arms were severed cleanly, and a deep gash appeared across the clone's chest.
If the two arms hadn't been there to take the hit, the Dark Clone likely would have been cleaved in two.
This was Dismantle. Unlike the standard slash Cleave, Dismantle was a powerful strike Sukuna used to adjust to a target's durability, ensuring a clean cut regardless of the gap in Cursed Energy.
"How was that? Not scrapped yet?" Sukuna seemed to have forgotten his earlier embarrassment, returning to his usual arrogant posture.
Of course not.
The Dark Clone shook its head. The wound on its front gradually knit back together. Moving like the wind, it ignored the barrage of slashes and closed the distance to Sukuna in an instant.
"Still not giving up? You're just a slightly larger toy." Sukuna spread his arms, preparing to finish the Dark Clone for good, but he didn't expect the clone to suddenly swell and rupture.
Boom!
The Dark Clone self-destructed, but the explosion's power was strangely weak, as if something was suppressing it.
At the critical moment, Sukuna unleashed a dense, indiscriminate barrage of slashes on the blast zone, physically shredding the explosion into non-existence.
Clap, clap, clap.
Aomori began to applaud, offering praise: "Superb technique. It seems you truly do have some qualities worth mentioning."
"You're a bit late with the compliments. You're the next to disappear!" Even though Sukuna felt he might not be able to defeat Aomori, it didn't stop him from talking big.
That guy is so strong. I hate to admit it, but I am way out of their league. Come on, fight harder. It's best if you both die. Wait, the body belongs to Itadori; Sukuna can't die yet. Let Aosora die, and let Itadori be left with one breath so Shoko-sensei can save him.
Megumi Fushiguro, watching from the sidelines, was busy writing the script for his own "ideal" outcome.
"Your Domain is quite good; it gave me a lot of inspiration. Now, I'll show you the Domain I just realized." Aomori stopped playing around and made his announcement.
"He's already mastered a Domain?!" Megumi grit his teeth, recalling the agony he had just endured.
With his own Domain being displayed so transparently before Aomori, it was only a matter of time before the latter learned it. Megumi had been mentally prepared for this, but this was far too fast.
"Domain?" Sukuna's expression turned grave.
What was this guy's Domain like? To be honest, he was curious too.
"Heh." Aomori chuckled, clapped his hands together, and said: "Domain Expansion!"
Black.
An unprecedented, absolute black.
In an instant, it replaced their entire world.
"My Domain was overwritten?" Sukuna opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't hear his own voice.
"It's not just sound... Sight, smell, touch, taste... everything is gone." Megumi clutched his head, his expression nearing madness.
"I can't see anything, hear anything, feel anything, or smell anything. Is this hell? Am I still alive? Do I still exist in this world?"
Even someone as mentally resilient as Megumi Fushiguro was on the verge of a breakdown in this endless void.
Sukuna performed much better. He tried various methods to act, but received zero feedback. He couldn't even tell if his techniques were being activated or if they were hitting anyone.
"You've erased all sense of existence? What a terrifying Domain."
Not only that, but he could feel his Cursed Energy constantly draining, returning to nothingness.
He knew if this continued, he would be defeated for sure. Unwilling to accept this, Sukuna performed a drawing motion, as if holding a bow, and fired an arrow, whose existence he couldn't even confirm, into the void.
"Open!"
Whether an instant passed or an eternity, Sukuna still felt no feedback. He smirked and gave up.
"Intriguing. This Domain is truly intriguing. You are indeed an opponent worth fighting. Wait for me. Once I successfully reincarnate, I will definitely defeat you!" After adding a name to his revenge list, Sukuna's consciousness receded into the depths of Yuji's soul, returning control to the boy.
Simultaneously, the darkness dissipated, revealing the figures of Aomori and the others.
"It looks like it was a success." Aomori smiled with genuine joy.
The Domain he created was flooded with dark energy, constructing a lightless hell. It pushed the inherent "tranquility" of dark energy to its absolute limit, depriving those inside of their five senses and their perception of time and space.
From the moment Aomori expanded his Domain to the moment he retracted it, only a little over two minutes had passed. However, to those inside, it felt like an eternity.
The radius of the Domain wasn't large, only about 20 meters. A distance that could normally be crossed in an instant became a labyrinth where victims merely wandered in circles due to their lost sense of direction.
Therefore, this was a control-oriented Domain.
The drawback was that maintaining it required a massive amount of energy. Aomori estimated he could currently hold it for ten minutes at most.
The second disadvantage was a lack of offensive means. While Aomori could move freely inside, his movements would cause "disharmony" within the Domain, preventing the maintenance of the absolute effect and allowing enemies to spot flaws. Thus, he had to go for a one-hit kill.
These drawbacks would only be resolved once Aomori's strength increased further.
"An endless darkness? Let's call it... 'Infinite Dark Prison'."
Infinite Dark Prison, Aomori's first Domain, was successfully created.
That's right, this was only the first. According to his plan, he needed one for pure light energy, one for pure lightning, a light-dark hybrid, a lightning-light hybrid, a dark-lightning hybrid, and finally, a Domain constructed from all three elements.
Coming up with all possible combinations of the three energies was Aomori's ultimate goal. There was still a long road ahead.
The business here was finished. Next would be the final act the director had planned for the Jujutsu Kaisen world.
…
Elsewhere, the Cursed Spirit faction had learned of Mahito's disappearance.
They were a loose alliance composed primarily of four Special Grade Cursed Spirits and one human, all working toward a single goal: sealing Satoru Gojo.
The four Special Grade Curses were Jogo (representing the Earth), Hanami (representing the Forests), Dagon (representing the Sea), and Mahito (representing Humanity).
Each had the strength of at least three Sukuna fingers, with the strongest, Jogo, possessing power comparable to eight or nine fingers.
However, compared to Satoru Gojo, they were all far inferior. If they wanted to fulfill their dream of Curses replacing humans as the rulers of the world, Gojo was the first obstacle that had to be removed.
At this time, a curse user calling himself "Suguru Geto" had approached them, claiming he had a way to seal Gojo. Thus, the partnership was formed.
Dispatching Hanami to cause a distraction and Mahito to steal Special Grade Cursed Objects had all been part of his plan, but the results were poor.
After waiting for ages, only a heavily injured Hanami and that smiling curse user returned.
"Mahito hasn't come back. What happened?"
The man looking like Suguru Geto said with a smile, "Did he just suddenly feel like going somewhere to play?"
"Impossible!" Sparks erupted from the volcano on Jogo's head. He said irritably, "Mahito can be playful, but he knows better than to mess around at a critical moment."
"I suspect there was a flaw in your plan that led to him being captured."
"Impossible. I took Gojo's personality into account perfectly. If things went according to my instructions, he should have been occupied."
"If it wasn't Gojo, who else could have captured Mahito?"
The fake Suguru Geto fell into deep thought.
"I encountered Yuta Okkotsu. He's the one who heavily injured me. He is very strong!" Hanami said. "He wasn't someone we planned to face. Did Satoru Gojo bring back another powerful figure?"
"Yuta Okkotsu is back? That is indeed bad news."
"What, is he that strong? Stronger than me?" Jogo asked skeptically.
"Oh, he's definitely stronger than you. Like Gojo, he is a Special Grade Sorcerer. We didn't plan for him in this stage; this makes things difficult."
The man patted his head and said, "Let's wait for the detailed report from our spy. But regardless, the plan needs to be redrawn."
"Hmph. Priority one should be rescuing Mahito. Without him, our plan will be hard to realize."
"Of course, assuming he's still alive."
A short while later, the fake Suguru Geto finally received a reply.
After reading it, he flashed a sinister grin and said through narrowed eyes, "Good news. The one who captured Mahito isn't from Gojo's side. It's your 'kin' who appeared before, the so-called 'Cursed Spirit of the Heaven,' Aosora."
"Him?!" Jogo breathed a sigh of relief. This meant the likelihood of Mahito still being alive had increased significantly.
"Aside from taking the things we wanted, he also captured several people from Jujutsu High, including Sukuna's vessel, Yuji Itadori."
"Hm? What's his goal?"
The man shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe he wants to see who is stronger between him and the King of Curses. If that's the case, we should go meet him. We might be able to find common ground regarding the downfall of Satoru Gojo."
"Fine. Find his location immediately. I'll go meet him myself," Jogo said, taking charge.
"Okay."
…
The next day, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Alliance, Council Chamber.
"At the Jujutsu High exchange event, Megumi Fushiguro, Yuji Itadori, and Shoko Ieiri were captured by a Cursed Spirit. Furthermore, Special Grade Cursed Objects like the Sukuna fingers and the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings were stolen."
"Satoru Gojo, is this true?!"
"Yep, that's about right." Satoru Gojo sat on a chair with his legs crossed, wearing his usual unchanging smile. A single light shone down on him.
Surrounding him in all directions were many people hidden in the shadows. They were the counselors of the Jujutsu Headquarters, responsible for making decisions on major events affecting the jujutsu world.
"Satoru Gojo, what kind of attitude is that?"
"With someone as powerful as you there, for so many people to be captured... it's hard not to question what role you played in this."
"You also captured one enemy, didn't you? Hand him over so we can conduct an interrogation."
"..."
The counselors took advantage of the fact that Gojo didn't want to go on a killing spree, their words dripping with arrogance.
"Sorry, but I don't accept any of your proposals. I'm just here to inform you that this matter is my responsibility. If anyone tries to meddle or use this as an excuse to make a move, don't blame me for being impolite."
Leaving them with those words, Gojo walked out.
The chamber immediately erupted like a boiling pot as the counselors vented their loathing.
"That Satoru Gojo is simply too arrogant."
"He has no respect for the rules! He's a law unto himself!"
"I say he's a curse user at his core."
"If some major disaster befalls humanity later, it will surely be his fault!"
A large group of people had suffered under Gojo's shadow for too long. Headquarters officials, Cursed Spirits, curse users, and even some sorcerers. They all wished Gojo would just disappear.
"What about that Aosora? Should we search for his whereabouts? Consolidate our strength to deal with him? With power like his, he's a massive threat to human safety."
"Even Gojo can't handle him; what are we supposed to fight him with?"
"Are we just going to leave everything to Gojo?"
"Of course not. We need to track their movements so we can clean up the mess. If the Cursed Spirit manages a narrow victory, we can step in and deliver the finishing blow."
"Reasonable."
"Hard not to support that."
Thus, they settled on a simple plan of action.