Greed

The four men blocking Yaga were startled by the murderous pressure around him, but they still stood in front of the subway entrance.

"If you insist on this, then please..."

The ground shook violently.

Cracks spread like spiderwebs. The pavement bulged upward as if something beneath it were forcing its way out.

The nearby onlookers fell and scrambled away, terrified that the ground would collapse beneath them.

Then a wave of heat burst from the subway entrance.

The four black-clothed men could not dodge. They were thrown to the ground. The nearby shrubs dried and yellowed at once.

A foul stench followed the hot air and flooded the street.

Several black-clothed men closest to the entrance foamed at the mouth and collapsed.

Fortunately, a clean wind swept past and drove the smell away before it spread too far.

Yaga had been far enough back to avoid it. He stared at the entrance, shocked.

If Ren Zenin had caused this, he could understand.

If Gojo had done it...

The thought made his face tighten.

"Gojo," he muttered, rushing down. "Keep yourself under control."

Inside the mall, Ren felt the violent movement beneath his feet.

His pale eyes showed faint understanding.

Gojo's fight was almost over.

Glass shattered around him.

Ren sensed the change in the air and looked slightly amused.

"You planned to defeat me with this?"

Obo looked at him, frowning.

That should not be possible.

When they received that substance, they had tested it with cursed techniques. Any sorcerer who touched it would have their cursed energy sealed. Judging from the explosion underground, Gojo had been affected.

So why was Ren untouched?

Four figures rushed in and surrounded him.

"Ren Zenin! You never expected this day, did you?"

"Today, we fight for an ideal world. Your death has meaning."

"Your cursed energy should be sealed. Today is the day you die."

"Remember who killed you: curse users."

Their minds were full of the future promised to them. If Ren died, curse users could step back into public view.

Ren snapped his fingers.

An elderly cursed spirit rose from the ground. Three layers of invisible pressure filled the area.

The four men froze.

"How can you still use cursed energy? That is impossible!"

"Ren Zenin, do not move recklessly. If you do, everyone here dies."

They forced their heads toward Obo, expecting the cursed spirit to hold the hostages.

Obo was staring blankly at the spirit Ren had summoned.

"Withering Bloom," Obo whispered. "Why are you here? Weren't you..."

Then Filth's warning returned to its mind.

It had been absorbed by a sorcerer.

That sorcerer was Ren Zenin.

"Do not move," Obo said. "If Withering Bloom uses its ability, no one here lives."

It could only threaten Ren with the civilians now. Filth and Obo had come to control the ordinary people here, then force Ren and Gojo to restrain themselves.

They had miscalculated.

"Why do you think I care about them?" Ren asked.

The words struck the four curse users like thunder.

They had miscalculated too.

The jujutsu higher-ups had not sent them to kill Ren and Gojo. They had sent them to die with them.

"Obo, you..."

"At my command," Ren said, cutting them off. "Withering Bloom."

The summoned spirit waited like a servant ready to offer tribute.

Strange wind erupted inside the mall.

It rose with enough force to pierce the sky and struck the Curtain above. The whole building groaned.

Where the wind passed, life force was stripped away. The people smiling inside Obo's fantasy remained inside it forever.

The four curse users widened their eyes. They wanted to run, but their bodies would not obey.

Their hair, skin, blood, and bones changed slowly as nourishment flowed into the eye of the wind.

Soon, four dried corpses lay on the ground.

Obo looked around with a dark expression and reached for the pipe in its pocket. When its fingers found no tobacco, the wrinkles on its face deepened.

The tobacco had also been taken by the wind.

Now that it knew Ren had no compassion for these lives, there was no reason to waste more time.

Withering Bloom's wrinkled face grew fuller and smoother. Inside the entire mall, aside from Ren, no breathing creature remained.

"Let us see what he is preparing," Ren said.

He had enough confidence now.

If this was trouble, ending it in one move was better than letting it return.

Obo saw the two spirits before it and understood there was no other choice.

It pulled a scroll from its pocket and opened it toward itself without hesitation.

Heavy black light erupted from the scroll. It moved like a living thing, wrapped around Obo's arm, and drilled into its chest.

"Master," Obo cried, "please descend!"

The black mist seemed satisfied. It slowly retreated into the scroll.

The scroll tore apart.

Those black lights twisted in the air and formed a dark gate.

Beyond the gate, a figure appeared.

Its blue-green body was covered in countless hands. Some were large, some small; some delicate, some rough. Every palm faced outward, fingers slightly bent, as if trying to seize everything before it.

"You called me out this quickly?"

Its voice was hoarse, like countless vengeful ghosts repeating the same words.

Water dripped from nowhere.

Behind the spirit opened a huge mouth, saliva falling from it like the edge of an abyss.

Obo trembled. It wanted to speak, but using the scroll had made it terribly weak.

Save me.

Take me away.

All it could force out was, "Master..."

The spirit looked down and saw Obo crawling on the ground.

"You are already useless."

The mouth on its back inhaled. Obo flew up helplessly, despair twisting its face before it was swallowed.

The mouth smiled with satisfaction.

"Humanity's disgust with reality. Interesting."

After devouring Obo, the hands on the spirit's body grew thicker.

It turned toward Ren, who still sat calmly in the hanging chair.

"At my command, Greed."

"Human, choose now. Submit to me, or become part of my body."

The miserable voice rang again, like whispers from countless ghosts.

Its attitude carried a natural arrogance.

Humans should offer everything to me.

The world should kneel.

Withering Bloom trembled under pressure carved into its soul. Without Ren there, it might already have fallen to its knees.

"These things were arranged by you?" Ren asked.

Looking at Greed's body made him feel only disgust. Its appearance was unpleasant. Its attitude was worse.

Yet the sensation after it swallowed a cursed spirit felt faintly familiar.

Greed did not answer. It looked at Withering Bloom.

"Since your body has become like this, you can become part of me too."

The huge mouth showed excitement. Clouded liquid began dripping from its corners, though a closer look made the liquid seem strangely clear.

Suction returned.

Withering Bloom's body slowly lifted. Fear from the soul left it unable to resist.

Red flashed through Ren's pale eyes. Countless strands of black hair appeared behind the chair and dragged Withering Bloom back.

The spirit faded and vanished.

A white-clothed cursed spirit with black hair appeared behind Ren.

"You want to eat my spirit?" Ren said. "Are you worthy?"

Countless strands of hair shot out and scattered toward Greed like arrows.

"Human, you think this can deal with me?" Greed laughed.

Every attacking strand had been caught by the palms covering its body. Not one entered.

"No," Ren said. "The naive one is you."

"Nether Capital Death Realm, open."

A transparent hemispherical barrier expanded around Ren and swallowed Greed.

Wails filled the world.

The ground became pale and soft, like walking across human skin. The sky darkened as if darkness were its natural color. Behind Ren, a blood-red moon rose and became the only light.

Black hair grew from the ground like wild grass.

"What kind of domain is this?"

The hair in Greed's hands hardened like blades. It ground through the palms, pierced into the spirit's body, and grew inside it.

Greed screamed.

The mouth on its back opened and inhaled. Hair from the ground was sucked into it, and even the hair growing inside Greed showed signs of tearing free.

More hair surged up as if enraged. It wrapped the giant mouth layer after layer.

Even when the mouth shredded one layer, a heavier layer waited below.

With a tearing sound, Greed destroyed the cocoon around it by force. Its hideous face smiled at the figure beneath the blood moon, as if trying to carve Ren into its soul.

"Human. You have angered me."

Greed was already close to exhaustion. To keep its body from being taken over, it had spent nearly all its strength ripping the hair out.

Ren did not care.

"No," he said. "It is not over."

A roar sounded overhead.

Greed looked up in shock.

The entire sky was made of hair.

"This sky..."

Before it could finish, the whole space filled with black strands.

Only the figure under the moon remained untouched.

Greed finally understood what kind of opponent it had met.

This time, it did not struggle. Its body had become like a doll stuffed with cotton. Its mind remained awake, but nothing obeyed.

Then the tearing began.

Greed could still feel pain. It could do nothing but watch its own body split apart.

"What is this domain?"

x

x

x

If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader