"Maximum Technique: Dismantle!"
This was Sukuna's ultimate application of his slashing cursed technique, a power meant to cut through the world itself.
In that instant, countless slashes appeared around him. They overlapped and intertwined, forming a spherical grid that completely surrounded his body, like a cage made from invisible blades.
Then the cage began to expand.
Everything in its path was sliced apart without resistance. Sound disappeared. Movement disappeared. Even the air itself seemed to fall silent.
Sukuna already knew something important. When Shion used Maximum Technique: Hollow, his speed was impossible to match. Trying to keep up directly would only end in failure.
So instead, Sukuna created a perfect 360-degree slaughter zone.
The spherical grid kept expanding, every single slash dense and precise, each one capable of cutting space itself.
"Shion, how are you planning to dodge this?"
Sukuna laughed loudly as his eyes followed Shion's movements. Even when he could not see him clearly, he could still feel his presence.
Every opponent before this had been nothing more than a challenger. None of them had ever pushed him into a corner. None of them had ever forced him into a real fight.
Only this man standing in front of him.
This jujutsu sorcerer named Shion.
Only once in a thousand years would someone like this appear.
"Show me what you can really do," Sukuna said with a grin. "You can survive this, right? Don't die yet."
---
Shion stared at the expanding slashes with cold, focused eyes.
The spherical grid had no blind spots. The slashes were so tightly packed that the gaps between them were smaller than a single square centimeter. Getting close to Sukuna was completely impossible.
Even though the expansion speed was slowed while Shion remained in the state of Maximum Technique: Hollow, the attack itself had no flaws. It was perfect defense and perfect offense at the same time.
Two seconds left.
Shion kept watching Sukuna.
What should he do now?
Cursed techniques always had a limit in range. Maximum Technique: Dismantle could not expand forever. He could teleport thousands of meters away and escape easily.
But what then?
Once Maximum Technique: Hollow ended, Sukuna would stand completely untouched.
Shion exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
If Sukuna could survive despair and rise again, then he could do the same.
The essence of cursed energy.
Cursed techniques.
Space. Time.
Slashes that cut the world.
Existence itself being cut apart.
Then suddenly, a single thought surfaced in his mind.
His Domain.
Up until now, Shion had seen many Domain Expansions. But his own was different from all of them. His Domain did not simply strengthen cursed energy.
It erased it.
No… the real power was not erasing cursed energy.
It was erasing existence.
One second left.
Shion opened his eyes and formed a hand sign.
"Domain Expansion: Throne of Stillborn Stars."
The Domain that appeared this time was not massive. It was only two meters wide, barely enough to surround Shion himself.
One second ended.
The time limit for Maximum Technique: Hollow disappeared instantly. Shion's time returned to normal, and at the same moment, the expanding slashes regained their full speed.
In less than a moment, the grid crossed more than a hundred meters and struck the outer layer of the Domain.
Crack.
The barrier shattered into countless fragments and collapsed instantly.
Sukuna smiled.
"So you tried hiding inside your Domain?"
After the barrier broke, he saw Shion standing still. His head was lowered. His arms hung loosely at his sides. He was not moving at all.
Sukuna's smile widened.
The correct choice would have been to escape. Instead, Shion stayed where he was. And now that his Domain had been destroyed, cursed technique burnout would stop him from using anything else.
Even if he tried to force his brain to recover, it would already be too late.
"What a shame, Shion," Sukuna said. "I don't think I'll ever forget you."
Then the slashes reached him.
Everything around Shion was cut apart instantly.
But Sukuna's expression suddenly froze.
Shion slowly raised his head.
His blue eyes glowed in the darkness.
Sukuna reacted instantly and launched another slash.
It reached Shion in a fraction of a second.
Then it vanished.
Not blocked. Not deflected.
It simply disappeared, as if something had erased it from existence.
Sukuna's pupils shrank.
"What… did you just do?"
Shion walked forward slowly, calm and silent.
Sukuna attacked again.
"Dismantle."
"Cleave."
"Open: Hellfire."
"Maximum Technique: Dismantle."
Every attack rushed toward Shion, one after another.
Every single one disappeared the moment it came close to him.
Finally, Shion stopped right in front of Sukuna. Only half a meter separated them.
Only then did Sukuna see his eyes clearly.
The Six Eyes that were once bright blue had changed. The color had become deeper, and tiny points of light appeared inside them, like a night sky filled with stars.
"What exactly is that?" Sukuna asked quietly.
Shion smiled faintly.
"The Maximum Technique of my Domain."
"Purify."
Sukuna's expression became serious.
"My Domain erases existence itself," Shion said calmly.
"I erased the existence of your cursed techniques. That's why they disappeared."
Then he pointed at Sukuna's cursed tools.
"Like this."
"Purify."
In the next moment, Sukuna's hands were empty.
Both cursed tools vanished completely.
Sukuna stayed silent for a few seconds, then gave a bitter laugh.
"So I've already lost," he said. "That ability could even erase me, right?"
Shion shook his head.
"I can't erase something that has a soul. I can only erase things that don't, like cursed techniques and cursed tools."
"The soul is different."
Sukuna scratched his head and laughed again.
"Even then, I still can't win."
Shion nodded once.
"Yes."
"You have no chance of winning."
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