The entrance of the Subway Station was usually filled with people, but now stood empty. The air was filled with the stench of nothing other than cursed energy.
In the very middle of that lobby, there stood a strange white barrier.
The air within was heavy enough to taste, each breath laced with salt water and the copper tang of blood.
Megumi stood knee-deep in salted water, chest rising and falling too fast. Across from him, Dagon hovered just beyond the waves, the ocean behind the curse stretching into a horizon that didn't belong to their world.
Dagon's Domain was fully manifested.
The humidity pressed in, sticky and suffocating. It clung to Megumi's skin, mixing with the warmth of blood from the dozens of shallow, stinging wounds that lined his arms and legs.
Every muscle screamed, but his hands stayed up, fingers curled in preparation to summon and use another shikigami. He was holding on strong.
Nanami was worse.
The veteran sorcerer's face was pale under the flickering light. His shirt clung to him, soaked red from the gaping wound where his right arm should have been.
His left leg was little better, torn just above the knee, held together only by a makeshift bandage that was already dark with blood.
The only thing keeping him upright was willpower.
"Keep your head on straight, Fushiguro," Nanami said, voice low and even despite the pain. "Panic will kill you faster than this thing's shikigami."
Although he was giving advice, deep down, Nanami was feeling ashamed of the situation. The only reason he had managed to survive up to that point was due to Megumi's own incomplete domain clashing with Dagon's, cancelling out the sure-hit effect.
But it was only a matter of time before his cursed energy reserves ran out.
Megumi didn't answer, keeping his full concentration on Dagon as another rush of water announced a new wave of fish-like predators streaking toward them, teeth glinting.
He pulled the shadows up in front of him, 'Rabbit Escape!' In an instant, a blanket of white rabbits covered the sea.
Nanami and Megumi both used that chance to dash forwards, disregarding their injuries for yet another chance to take a strike at the Special Grade Curse trapping them.
The fish-like shikigami tore through the rabbits like fire through cotton, but the rabbits were still a great distraction.
Maegumi's vision blurred for a moment, his blade clanked into Dagon's burly humanoid arm, the tip of his blade breaking off.
He would have died right there as a yellow eel almost swallowed him whole. But Nanami's blunt sword managed to land another critical hit in that very moment, severing Dagon's arm and the eel.
Dagon's body shifted, the arm regrowing in an instant as large snakes sprouted out of his stomach and pushed the sorcerers back into the distance.
The tentacles around his face twisted into what looked like a smile. The domain responded to its master's will, the tide rising, pulling them deeper. "Struggle," the curse's voice rippled, "it makes the feast sweeter."
Nanami's foot slid in the water, his weight shifting precariously. He caught himself against the wall, breathing harder.
In front of him, a gigantic wave of piranhas and swordfish-like beings, aiming straight for his life.
And then, a flash of steel.
The shikigami, by the dozens, were sliced into pieces, dissolved into steam around them.
Kusakabe stood there, sword still humming from the swing. His face was tight, every line of it saying 'I really didn't want to be here.'
"Don't get the wrong idea," he said, glancing between them. "Panda wouldn't shut up about you two getting torn apart down here. Figured I'd regret it if I didn't at least try."
"You came into a domain just to… try?" Megumi said, incredulous.
Kusakabe shrugged. "Better than explaining to Yaga that I let the kid and the one-armed guy die."
Nanami almost smiled, but another wave surged forward, cutting off the moment. Kusakabe moved in a blur, cutting through them with practised efficiency.
He didn't have flashy techniques, but his precision was flawless, every movement wasting nothing, every strike lethal.
Still, it wasn't enough to break the domain's onslaught.
Megumi's eyes darted around, searching for weak points. "I can make a hole," he said finally, voice tight. "It won't be big, and it won't last long."
"Then make it, we'll buy you time," Nanami said.
The three moved together, Kusakabe carving a path, using his simple domain to form a shield bubble of slashes around them all.
While Megumi's shadowy domain gathered in one spot, folding space over itself. The pressure in the domain intensified, and Dagon's anger soared as he sensed the attempt. The ocean swelled, shikigami swarming from every direction.
Their backs were protected by Kusakabe, the strongest Grade 1 Sorcerer. But even he was getting overwhelmed.
And so, Nanami stepped forward, planting himself between Megumi and the incoming tide.
The wall of water hit, and the next thing Megumi saw was Nanami's body jerk as something took his leg from under him. He didn't falter. He swung his weapon one-handed, every strike a barrier buying Megumi seconds.
Seconds were enough.
The shadows split open, revealing a glimpse of the sewer beyond the domain. "Go!" Megumi shouted.
Kusakabe grabbed Nanami without hesitation, half-hauling him toward the gap. They dove through as the hole snapped shut behind them, leaving Dagon's roar echoing in the dark water.
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On the other side of Shibuya's labyrinthine sewers, the air was different, dry, stale, filled with the echoes of fists meeting flesh.
Yuji hit the ground hard, blood filling his mouth. His chest felt like it had been caved in, every breath scraping fire through his ribs. Choso stood over him, blood tendrils writhing around his hands, but his face had changed.
The rage was gone.
In its place was something fractured, uncertain. His eyes twitched as though trying to focus on something far away.
"You…" Choso's voice cracked. "Why... are... you?"
Yuji couldn't answer. His lips moved, but only a rasp came out, before his conciousness finally slipped away.
Choso staggered back a step, eyes wide, and then, without another word, turned and ran into the tunnels, leaving Yuji gasping on the wet concrete.
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Above ground, Shibuya was still lit like a carnival, neon signs and billboards casting colours over the streets slick with spilt drinks, shattered glass, and blood.
Mahito wandered through it like a man out for an evening stroll. His hands were in his pockets, his eyes drifting lazily from one ruin to the next.
Every so often, he passed a curse in the shadows and didn't bother acknowledging it. None was worth his time.
And then he saw him.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Shirt hanging loose, revealing muscles carved for killing.
The man's eyes were blank, movements mechanical, but the way he carried himself told Mahito exactly what he needed to know.
The smell of blood followed him like a second shadow.
Zen'in Toji. Or what was left of him.
Mahito tilted his head, a slow smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"Well… this can be an interesting snack in the meantime~"