"But if I release the technique now, I'm dead."
"If I don't release it, I can still bet on Kinji pulling himself together while at a disadvantage and ultimately defeating the King of Curses."
"If I release it now, I'll be burned to death in an instant because I can't react to Jogo's Fire Technique at all; the difference in our Ranks is just too great."
"On the contrary, if I don't release it here, Jogo won't waste his Cursed Energy on a Domain Expansion since the King of Curses currently has the advantage."
"He still intends to help the King of Curses and won't easily squander such a massive amount of Cursed Energy."
"Therefore..." Hoshikira Roro thought, "the most correct course of action right now is to wait. I must never release the technique."
That was what he thought.
Then, he took a step forward—Interstellar Flight, released.
"How could I ever gamble with Kinji's life!" he roared, his entire body surging with Cursed Energy reinforcement as he jumped into the massive pit!
The logic was simple: since he couldn't react in time, he wouldn't try to.
He would use Cursed Energy reinforcement to tank the hit!
As long as he didn't die, as long as he didn't lose consciousness, and as long as his technique could still function, he could help Kinji even if his limbs were broken or his body was burned so painfully he couldn't move!
This was his resolve.
"You...!"
Jogo was caught off guard, only subconsciously unleashing a wave of fire, but in an instant, Hoshikira Roro had already vanished.
Jogo was both shocked and enraged.
If he had been fully prepared, he never would have given Hoshikira Roro the chance, but he hadn't expected Hoshikira Roro to be so decisive and forward-charging!
In his eyes, all Old Humans were defined by lies and deception.
Whenever their own lives were at stake, they would inevitably betray others out of fear, with no exceptions!
But today, Hoshikira Roro had taught him a lesson: even an Old Human defined by lies and deception could act for a greater cause just like a Cursed Spirit.
"Hanami! Follow him!"
"We must not let the Mahito's battlefield be disturbed!"
"Even if it costs our lives, we must pave the way to victory for the Mahito!" Jogo roared, jumping into the giant pit.
Accompanied by a thunderous crash, the kick that had pierced all the way from the rooftop to the Underground Fighting Arena finally came to a halt.
The Mahito stepped on Kinji Hakari, and with them as the center, a massive shockwave rippled outward.
Even the entire fighting arena suffered a huge impact, shaking as if from an earthquake as dust billowed wildly, obscuring the entire space.
Kinji Hakari let out a violent roar, reaching out to grab the Mahito's foot, but before he could, the Mahito had already pulled his foot away from Kinji's chest.
The Mahito retreated rapidly, his hands transforming into wings as he flapped them in the dust, creating a fierce wind that dispersed the smoke and debris.
There were countless floors between the rooftop and here, and all the corridors in between had been smashed through, yet this impact still hadn't heavily injured Kinji Hakari.
He stood up in the dust, Cursed Energy permeating and boiling around him.
Cursed Energy reinforcement had allowed him to minimize the damage he received to the greatest extent possible.
But despite this, he felt a dull ache throughout his body—the frequent impacts and the final heavy blow had likely caused his internal organs to shift.
But that wasn't the biggest problem.
The biggest problem was...
"So you also have a Cursed Technique that can blind eyes," he said.
During their brief contact, his eyes had suddenly gone blind mid-battle.
If he weren't so tough and resilient, this sudden blindness alone would have been enough to kill him.
The Mahito had no intention of showing mercy, clearly knowing that a Special Grade combatant like Kinji Hakari was not an opponent to be underestimated.
He had been going all out from the start, hitting him while he was down.
"I thought we had already decided the outcome."
The Mahito exhaled slowly, waving away the haze with a calm tone.
"How much longer until you can use Domain Expansion again?"
After any Jujutsu Sorcerer uses Domain Expansion, there is a period where they cannot use their Innate Technique.
This phenomenon is known as Cursed Technique Burnout.
Even Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna cannot avoid this.
In the entire world, only Kinji Hakari can violate this principle.
Although it takes some time, he can perform consecutive Domain Expansions in a short period, even if he doesn't hit a Jackpot.
"30 seconds," Kinji Hakari said.
The Mahito was stunned.
He thought the man would prevaricate or lie, but he hadn't expected Kinji Hakari to answer so seriously at this moment.
"I guess your technique to stop me from hitting a Jackpot isn't free to use."
"You probably need to prepare it in advance; otherwise, you would have used it during my first Domain Expansion."
"You wouldn't have waited until my second Domain Expansion to use it."
"In other words, as long as I hold out for these 30 seconds, I can turn the tables."
The corners of Kinji Hakari's mouth curled up.
"But I'm not going to do that."
"You're not?"
"Because, wouldn't that just be too boring!"
Kinji Hakari suddenly let out a massive roar, his voice like thunder.
Amidst his boiling Cursed Energy, he laughed loudly.
"My fever is rising!"
"Using brute force and every ounce of cunning—since you desire to defeat me so much, the only path left for me is to respond with equal passion, isn't it?"
Thump.
Kinji Hakari's foot hit the ground as he dropped into a horse stance, one hand bent at his side and the other clenched into a fist pointing directly at the Mahito.
This was a traditional martial arts stance.
At this point, he had finally set aside all prejudice and viewed the Mahito as his true opponent.
He roared loudly: "Come! Let me witness the true King of Curses!"
"Weren't you just beaten miserably by me?"
The Mahito really wanted to retort with that, but he didn't.
He breathed slowly and formed a hand Seal.
Idle Transfiguration activated silently, and his body began to grow and deform.
A dark shadow gradually covered Kinji Hakari's body.
Though Kinji was currently blind, his Cursed Energy perception had been enhanced instead.
His head gradually tilted up because a massive creature was now occupying the entire fighting arena; just to "see" the full shadow, he had to raise his head high.
Suddenly, two bright lanterns lit up in the dust.
In Kinji Hakari's Cursed Energy vision, these two lanterns were like vortices of Cursed Energy, with countless amounts of it being sucked in and then spat back out as the lights pulsed slowly.
"Hey, hey... I know you can turn into all sorts of beasts, but can you even turn into something like this?"
Kinji Hakari's expression was dazed, as if he were seeing a fairy tale come to life.
Those weren't two lanterns; they were a pair of heterochromatic eyes, massive as lanterns.
One gold and one blue heterochromatic pupil shone through the mist.
In Kinji Hakari's Cursed Energy perception, a massive amount of Cursed Energy was spreading outward in circular shockwaves like ocean tides.
A colossal creature was bobbing within those waves of Cursed Energy, like a ten-thousand-ton ship settling onto the sea.
That snake-like giant creature suddenly shook its body, sending the settling dust flying.
The snake's body was covered in overlapping fish scales, which now emitted a soft hum.
The air was sliced open by the scales, and broken currents of air wrapped around the snake's torso like swirling clouds.
Eagle claws reached out from the clouds and mist.
These were five-fingered eagle claws with palms like a tiger's.
Deer antlers broke through the frame, standing atop the majestic head like ancient trees.
A lion-like Mane extended from the sides of the head, and a pair of long whiskers were caught in the air currents, fluttering in the wind.
[Horns like a deer, head like a camel, eyes like a rabbit, neck like a snake, belly like a clam, scales like a fish, claws like an eagle, palms like a tiger, ears like an ox—the worldly image of a dragon, with a horse's head and a snake's body.]
A Dragon.
It was a Dragon that existed only in mythology.
In the history of the jujutsu world, there had been various Imaginary Cursed Spirits, including those related to dragons.
Among them, the deceased Special Grade Cursed User Geto Suguru had a dragon-shaped Cursed Spirit called the Rainbow Dragon.
That dragon-shaped Imaginary Cursed Spirit possessed extremely high defensive capabilities; among the Cursed Spirits in Geto Suguru's hands, its defensive performance was even higher than that of a Special Grade Shell Spirit.
The dragon form was undoubtedly at the highest level of strength in this country.
The Rainbow Dragon was only a Grade 1 Imaginary Spirit.
And what Kinji Hakari was seeing now was the strongest level of dragon form reproduced by the Mahito.
The highest level of strength and the strongest dragon form—this was... the Special Grade Mythological Imaginary Cursed Spirit, Dragon.
Kinji Hakari found it hard to believe the creature he was seeing in his Cursed Energy perception; it was as if myths and legends were playing out before his eyes.
Because of his blindness, he couldn't see the full appearance of this majestic creature, but his Cursed Energy perception had already mapped out its entire body.
Kinji Hakari heard a sound—the sound of dragon scales closing.
In an instant, a massive amount of Cursed Energy spread outward, causing the entire fighting arena to vibrate, as if the whole world were trembling in fear.
"My Cursed Technique is called Idle Transfiguration."
Suddenly, the Dragon spoke.
The voice was deep, ancient, and weathered, like the distant cry of a whale.
Domain Expansion!
"Simply by touching, I can change the shape of the Soul I contact, thereby achieving the effect of remodeling the flesh."
"It is the same principle for the transformations into beasts you've seen."
"As long as I transform my Soul into the shape of a beast, the flesh will also become a beast due to the Soul's pull."
"And while transformed, all my physiological capabilities are identical to the beast's, as are my movements and instincts."
Without needing the Mahito to explain, Kinji Hakari understood the secret of "Soul Evolution."
"Of course, you can also change the Souls of humans, making them closer to a higher level of Soul so their flesh can evolve."
"That's how you can make ordinary people evolve into Jujutsu Sorcerers and take existing Jujutsu Sorcerers to the next level, right?"
"Correct."
The Dragon's voice was calm.
"And then, as you can see, if one transforms their own Soul even further to bring it closer to a mythological creature, this phenomenon occurs."
Suddenly, the Ancient Dragon let out a long sigh.
Kinji Hakari subconsciously put his hands in front of his eyes to block, but the sigh didn't hit him.
Instead, it passed by his side—a torrent-like force swept past him, like an unstoppable Cursed Energy cannon blast!
In a thunderous roar, the wall of the fighting arena behind him, along with the outer wall of the entire multi-story parking lot, exploded.
Rubble and dust swallowed him from behind in an instant.
That was a Dragon's Breath.
"Simple Domain: Descent."
The Dragon made a sound like a tolling bell.
Simple Domain—this is the highest level of Cursed Technique Profound Truth besides Domain Expansion.
If Domain Expansion is the realm of geniuses, then a Simple Domain is the final product of intensive research into a Cursed Technique.
Unlike Domain Expansion, a Simple Domain has no additional attributes; it is simply the power obtained by pushing the effects of one's own Cursed Technique to the absolute limit.
Kenjaku calls it the Profound Truth of a Cursed Technique.
Idle Transfiguration is a Cursed Technique that can freely change the Soul to pull the flesh along with it.
Its ultimate form is the ability to even reproduce creatures from myths and legends.
Literally, a Mythological Descent!