Breathe…
Okkotsu Yūta inhaled deeply. A large volume of air flooded his lungs. His once-heavy limbs now felt light. The high-pressure waves of water—once a blur—were now visible in slow motion, as though time had slowed.
It's working.
Gripping his katana tightly, Yūta steadied his stance. Behind him, Inumaki Toge stood panting, debating whether he should let Yūta go on ahead and follow behind.
The terrifying thing about cursed techniques was that even if you were completely outmatched, they could still work—so long as you were willing to pay the price with your life.
"Ji, help me!"
Yūta's crisp voice cut through the air, snapping Toge out of his thoughts. Without hesitation, Toge nodded. No questions were needed on the battlefield—only trust.
> Remember every word he said…
James: "The energy flows through your whole body."
> "The energy flows through my whole body…"
Yūta whispered. A heat began to rise within him.
James: "God and intention are united."
> "God and will come together… converge at one point… then the ultimate explodes!"
Yūta's eyes turned bloodshot as cursed energy surged violently through his veins. Sparks flickered at his feet, and thunder rolled in the sky above.
Boom!
The sand exploded outward in every direction. Dust and debris rose like a wave. In the middle of the chaos, Yūta—wreathed in lightning—charged forward, blade in hand like a thunderbolt shot from the heavens.
Tuogen still didn't fully grasp the danger. Even with Yūta's power clearly unleashed, he arrogantly thought he could keep up. There was no need to dodge, he believed.
From within the swirling sand, a blinding light flashed—a blade of pure cursed energy slicing through the air like a dragon.
Startled, Tuogen countered, summoning two enormous water tornadoes and flinging them at Yūta.
> "Die, human!!"
But just before impact—
> "Explode!"
Toge's voice echoed like a command from the gods. The beach erupted around the twin tornadoes—water, sand, and stone exploded into the sky, obscuring everything from view.
BOOM!
Through the storm of chaos, Yūta burst forth like a demon, blade raised.
A single strike—straight to the forehead.
The wind howled with death as Yūta lunged forward. Tuogen formed desperate hand seals, summoning a tidal surge beneath the sand. The beach rippled like disturbed water. Giant man-eating fish leapt from the sand, their hooked teeth glinting.
But Yūta never flinched.
> I will return to Rika. I will not die here.
He pressed forward with unrelenting resolve. As if in sync, a small loudspeaker floated into the air.
> "Repel!"
Both Yūta and Toge shouted together.
A wave of pressure smashed the fish shikigami into the ground, crushing them all in a single breath. Yūta's technique—Simulation—had countered the Domain's intent.
He couldn't let Tuogen use his Domain Expansion. That would mean certain death.
This strike had to be decisive.
The sword flashed in an instant.
A crack echoed through the air.
Tuogen's grotesque octopus head was flung into the sky.
Yūta panted, blade lowered—but something felt wrong.
No blood.
He's not dead!
Yūta quickly gestured to Toge—not dead yet! Be on guard!
The headless body of Tuogen raised its arms and began forming complex hand seals.
> Domain Expansion — Swinging the Horizon!
A massive wave of cursed energy burst from Tuogen's body, enveloping everything.
In the blink of an eye, Yūta and Toge found themselves standing on a completely different beach—a beach within a domain.
Something was wrong.
Before they could react, a swarm of cursed sharks leapt from the water, jaws wide, teeth flashing with deadly intent.
A second wave of fish-shaped shikigami surged toward them like torpedoes.
There was no escape.
> "Stop!"
Toge stepped forward, forming a seal and activating his spell.
A thin light-film expanded around them, creating a dome-like shield just as the monsters reached them. The fish froze mid-air, as if caught in time.
Toge groaned from the exertion. The spell's backlash rippled through him, but he had managed to activate his Domain Prototype.
Among all Jujutsu High students, Toge had the most exposure to Domain Expansion. Geto Suguru had taught him in person, and Daisuke Suta had offered additional guidance during his visits.
After much effort, Toge had recently mastered the incomplete form of Domain Expansion—a Domain Prototype.
This stage allows sorcerers to briefly manifest a domain, though its range is limited and lacks the guaranteed-hit property. However, it still provided Toge with vital combat perks—like reduced spell backlash and the ability to freeze hostile techniques.
In the distance, Tuogen's neck began to bubble and twist. Slowly, another octopus head regrew from his stump.
Cursed Spirits, born from negative energy, could naturally use that same energy to regenerate. Humans, however, are beings of positive energy—so they require the rare and complex Reversed Cursed Technique to heal.
For humans, injuries like decapitation are practically fatal. Even Gojo Satoru couldn't survive his head being severed.
But Tuogen was different.
He was a coward by nature. After visiting the Ennead Statues, he had hidden his real head elsewhere. The octopus head Yūta sliced off was just an expendable decoy.
To defeat him completely, his entire body needed to be destroyed.
Yūta's sweat-soaked back chilled as he tried to think of a countermeasure.
---
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, in Miyagi Prefecture, Itadori Yuji faced a terrifying challenge of his own.
He couldn't see the enemy clearly, but his instincts screamed—there was a monster nearby.
He clenched his fists, ready to fight. Behind him, Sasaki-senpai trembled, hands covering her mouth in fear.
The whole mess had started with their little plan. Sasaki had wanted to explore the abandoned campus of their school—a site rumored to be haunted by a Cursed Spirit.
Of course, that was just for fun. No real danger was expected. After all, if a powerful Curse had really been here, Jujutsu masters would've exorcised it already.
But Itadori was serious.
The abandoned building had a strange feel, but it wasn't until they opened an old iron box—unwrapping the object inside—that things turned deadly.
A strange coldness filled the air.
The stars overhead disappeared.
A foul stench choked the air.
A massive shadow appeared. A monster.
Thinking fast, Itadori shoved Sasaki aside just in time to dodge the attack.
Outside the school, Fushiguro Megumi, sensing the sudden surge of cursed energy, stopped in his tracks. His expression darkened..
He surged forward without hesitation..
> Itadori…!
The tides of fate were shifting.
The curtain of a new age had quietly risen—and no one had noticed.
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