Despair and Applause

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How could all humanity be made capable of seeing cursed spirits?

What kind of ending would Jujutsu High's sorcerers face?

Mai did not ask again.

Her mind was filled with a terrifying sense of absurdity.

If what White Zetsu said came true, it would not stop at Japan.

Once every human being could see cursed spirits, the negative emotions that erupted worldwide would gather together.

What kind of monster would that create?

What kind of curse would be born?

...

Shibuya.

11:57 p.m.

Inside Yuki Tsukumo's domain, at the instant the fists were about to reach him, a completely different cursed energy presence surged wildly upward.

"Domain Expansion: Shadow Verdict, Grand Slaughter Mausoleum."

Itsuki's indifferent voice had only just fallen when thick ink blotted out every light inside the boxing hall.

The countless cursed-energy spectators were annihilated.

A boiling surge of dark waves smashed against the inner boundary of Yuki's domain with enough force to overturn the sky.

The sure-hit effects canceled each other out.

Before Yuki's fist could fall, the wave of ink shoved her violently toward the edge of the domain.

Crack.

Boom!

The domain shell shattered and rapidly dispersed.

Standing atop the thick ink, Yuki wore the same horrified expression as the sorcerers from Jujutsu High.

"No shell..."

Yuki stared at Itsuki, who remained calm across from her, and murmured in disbelief.

The battlefield was still sealed by the God Tree roots, which looked like writhing blood vessels.

If anything stood out as different...

It was the shadow throne behind Itsuki.

More than ten meters tall, the pitch-black throne seemed to have been forged entirely from shadow.

Every meter of its surface was engraved with an intricate cursed mark.

Among the crowd, Megumi looked at the thick ink covering his feet and the ten symbols engraved on the throne.

Cold sweat slid down his face.

"The Ten Shadows Technique."

As a Ten Shadows user himself, Megumi recognized at a glance which shikigami those symbols represented.

Damn it.

Yuki's expression turned grim.

This was the worst possible outcome.

Itsuki Zenin could truly control multiple domains.

And this one had no domain shell.

It was an almost divine skill.

Seated on the cold throne, Itsuki supported his forehead with one hand as scarlet light turned in his eyes.

His fingers moved lightly.

The calm ink erupted.

Shadows leapt from the ground and transformed into five-meter-tall ferocious shikigami.

Divine Dogs powerful enough to tear apart a special-grade body revealed razor fangs and claws.

Rip.

One claw shredded Yuki's beautiful face, tearing it bloody.

Her domain had shattered, forcing her into technique burnout.

Yuki could not use her cursed technique to counterattack.

She could not even open a Simple Domain.

Inside Itsuki's domain, supported by a sure-hit effect, she could not dodge either.

"Yuki-senpai, watch out!"

"Inside a Ten Shadows domain, the user is no longer limited to two types of shikigami at once!"

Inside the New Shadow Style Simple Domains opened by Kusakabe and Kasumi Miwa, more than a dozen sorcerers huddled together, frantically dealing with attacks from countless Rabbit Escape shikigami and toads.

Megumi fought while shouting a warning to Yuki.

"The number of the same shikigami depends on the user's cursed energy!"

"And anywhere covered by shadows, the caster can appear instantly!"

"He can also make shadow doubles..."

Megumi's voice grew quieter as he spoke.

He knew very well that even if Yuki heard all of that, it would not help much.

At this point, whether everyone lived or died depended entirely on the mood of the figure seated on the throne.

...

Megumi could describe most of Itsuki's domain without Itsuki explaining it because Megumi's own incomplete domain, Chimera Shadow Garden, was also the innate domain of the Ten Shadows Technique.

Just as Megumi had said, within the one-hundred-and-fifty-meter range of Shadow Verdict, Grand Slaughter Mausoleum, Itsuki could summon any type and any number of shikigami without restriction.

The cost was only an insignificant amount of cursed energy.

Inside this domain, he needed no sign before moving.

He required no interval between appearances.

He could appear wherever he wished.

After three short seconds, Itsuki lowered his gaze toward the blood-soaked Yuki Tsukumo and considered.

Kill her, or not?

Kill her now, or kill her later?

Letting Kenjaku benefit for free annoyed Itsuki a little.

"Fine. Let's see how lucky you are."

Itsuki looked at Yuki, his tone flat.

"If you endure, you get to live a little longer."

"If you don't..."

"Then you die here."

He hesitated no longer.

Itsuki's slender fingers swept down lightly.

Shadows spread at terrifying speed.

At the very top of the throne, the most complex symbol glowed faintly.

Boom!

Three terrifying shikigami, each five meters tall, roared out of the shadows.

Their bodies were packed with knotted muscle.

Four wings grew from their eyes.

Divine wheels hovered above their heads.

The Sword of Extermination bound to each right arm flashed with cold light.

"Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!"

Blood slid down Megumi's forehead as he turned and screamed, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.

Against the volcano-headed cursed spirit, and against the ocean cursed spirit before that...

After facing despair again and again, Megumi had still carried the confidence that no matter how strong the enemy was, he could force mutual destruction.

That confidence came from the shikigami now standing before Yuki.

The strongest and most terrifying shikigami in the Ten Shadows Technique.

And there were three of them.

Despair flickered in Megumi's eyes.

Other than Itsuki Zenin, no one in the world understood that thing's horror better than he did.

The reason Megumi could not summon it inside his incomplete domain was simple.

He had not subjugated it, and he lacked the cursed energy.

"Heh."

Megumi laughed bleakly.

Three Mahoraga.

They were dead.

...

Yuki's blood-smeared face no longer showed any clear expression.

Her body was broken.

Her bones were displaced.

At this point, it was almost difficult to recognize her as human.

Her striking blond hair had long since been stained red.

She was soaked head to toe in blood.

Unable to open her domain, she could only barely use Reverse Cursed Technique to delay the damage to her body.

She was holding on desperately until her technique burnout ended.

Raw cursed energy came from a sorcerer's abdomen.

Cursed techniques and Reverse Cursed Technique were controlled by the brain.

Cursed energy was like electricity.

Cursed techniques were like appliances.

With only cursed energy and no technique, a sorcerer was like a moving human explosive, detonating everywhere they went.

Sometimes, they might even blow themselves apart.

A cursed technique refined that electricity, distributed it, and allowed it to produce all kinds of effects.

How powerful the effect became depended on the output of that electricity.

Technique burnout was like mechanical overload.

It could not be healed casually.

The user had to wait for a certain amount of time before the technique cooled down enough to function again.

The only people currently capable of healing technique burnout with Reverse Cursed Technique were Satoru Gojo and Itsuki.

Yuki Tsukumo was not as overwhelming as Satoru Gojo, but she was not weak.

At the very least, she could still use Reverse Cursed Technique during burnout to buy time.

Rip!

Three great swords fell, nearly cutting Yuki in half at the waist.

Another huge splash of blood burst out as Yuki collapsed to the ground, protecting her vitals with everything she had.

Itsuki had not deliberately controlled the strength of the newly summoned Mahoraga, nor the direction of their blades.

Just as he had said, everything depended on Yuki's luck.

Unfortunately...

Luck did not seem to favor her.

A cold flash of the great sword fell straight toward Yuki's neck.

Clap!

Boogie Woogie.

Rip!

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