Deep within the Tombs of the Star Corridor, a silent contest unfolded between deathly stillness and absolute madness.
Kenjaku remained immersed in the feverish ecstasy of bringing his thousand-year ambition to fruition.
Shifting through hand seals continuously, he drove one pitch-black cursed energy rune after another into Master Tengen's utterly warped body.
"Soon... It's so close!"
A sickly gleam danced in Kenjaku's eyes.
"Once your soul is thoroughly stripped away and this flawless husk is made my medium, the consciousness of one hundred million people across Japan will converge in the palm of my hand like countless rivers flowing into the sea!"
"What a magnificent spectacle that will be!"
Amid Kenjaku's near-manic laughter, Master Tengen let out an agonized howl.
Having lived for over a millennium, Master Tengen had once served as the cornerstone of the nation's barriers—a godlike symbol in the hearts of all jujutsu sorcerers.
To maintain this protective power, Master Tengen had not hesitated to undergo a Merger with a Star Plasma Vessel every five hundred years.
Yet the catastrophe twelve years prior had caused that chance for a Merger to slip away, setting off an irreversible path of continuous evolution.
Now, however, Master Tengen was like a lamb pinned to the butcher's block.
Those thick black chains bound not only the physical vessel, but gnawed away bit by bit at what little sanity and soul remained.
Imbued with the malice of tens of millions of low-grade cursed spirits, the chains tore at Master Tengen's nerves every passing second.
Despair completely submerged Master Tengen like a rising tide.
Master Tengen could sense that consciousness being swallowed by an endless dark abyss.
Once all sense of self was lost, every ordinary person in Japan would face cataclysmic ruin.
"Can anyone... stop this lunatic..."
From the deepest recess of Master Tengen's soul came a silent wail.
"Satoru Gojo is sealed. The remaining sorcerers stand no chance against Kenjaku, who possesses Cursed Spirit Manipulation and countless trump cards."
"Is humanity's future truly destined to end here?"
Right as Master Tengen's consciousness verged on collapsing entirely,
a faint, singularly pure ripple suddenly brushed against the soul!
It was not cursed energy, nor was it the probing touch of barrier techniques.
It felt like a ray of winter sunshine—warm, pure, and utterly untainted!
Master Tengen's four tightly shut eyes snapped open a slit.
Through sheer agony, relying on a thousand years of sensing the world and all its phenomena, Master Tengen sought to track down the source of that aura.
And there it was.
In the shadow of a white stone pillar less than ten paces from Kenjaku,
stood a youth with dark hair and crimson eyes.
He wore a pristine black uniform, the hanafuda earrings on his lobes swaying gently in the dim light.
He merely stood there in silence—no breath, no heartbeat, lacking even the faintest shred of presence.
If that ray of pure sunlight had not touched Master Tengen's soul, it would have seemed as if nothing stood there but empty air!
"It's... you..."
Master Tengen's fraying soul trembled violently.
Master Tengen recognized the boy!
Throughout countless past deductions and the interwoven threads of destiny, this boy had been an absolute anomaly that appeared out of nowhere!
He did not belong to this world's Karma, unbound by any decree of fate.
It was he who had forcefully shattered the fatal doom of the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai, twelve years ago.
And it was he who had single-handedly overturned the tragic fates of so many during the Shibuya Incident!
Yoru!
"Save... save this world..."
Gathering the final shred of clarity left within the soul, Master Tengen transmitted an exceedingly covert telepathic message directly into Yoru's mind.
"Kenjaku's ritual has reached its final stage."
"Once he gains total control of my body, the Culling Game's barrier will become the breeding ground for the Merger."
"Every non-sorcerer across Japan will have their consciousness stripped in an instant, reduced to a pure aggregate of cursed energy."
"Please... you must stop him..."
The telepathic plea was exceedingly faint—so faint that even Kenjaku, mere steps away, noticed nothing amiss.
Stationed in the shadows, Yoru kept an expression as placid as still water.
Piercing through the dense darkness, his gaze settled upon Master Tengen's contorted, agonized face.
Within the sight granted by the Transparent World, Yoru could vividly perceive the faint struggle deep within Master Tengen's soul.
"Rest easy."
Yoru did not part his lips; instead, he transmitted his voice back using an equally pure will.
"I came here precisely to put an end to this thousand-year mess once and for all."
"You millennium-old relics always love treating innocent lives like disposable pawns."
"Even so, now isn't the best moment to take his head."
"Your soul is already deeply bound to the barrier core. If Kenjaku dies abruptly right now, out-of-control Cursed Spirit Manipulation will instantly detonate the entire barrier network."
"When that happens, all of Japan will be reduced to rubble in an instant, and tens of millions of lives will vanish into thin air."
Upon hearing Yoru's words, Master Tengen's soul shuddered slightly, bleeding a hint of despair.
"Then... what can be done?"
"Since killing him right now is off the table, let's take out an insurance policy on you first."
The corner of Yoru's lips curved upward into a subtle arc.
He brought his index and middle fingers together and slowly traced an arc through the empty air.
[Sun Breathing: Total Concentration Constant]!
A trace of heat—exceedingly faint yet concentrated to the utmost limit—quietly coalesced at Yoru's fingertips.
This heat cast no light, nor did it cause the surrounding air to ripple in the slightest.
Under the flawless cloak of the Selfless State, Yoru resembled a phantom painting in the dark.
Whoosh.
A crimson spark utterly imperceptible to the naked eye glided silently toward Master Tengen like a slithering serpent, following the shadows across the floor.
This was more than just a flame; it was the fire of life forged from Yoru's breathing technique honed to its absolute peak.
Bearing a sacred nature that completely suppressed all dark cursed energy, it was the ultimate bane of all curses.
Kenjaku continued his frenzied weaving of hand seals, completely oblivious to the ember slipping right past his feet.
Ultimately, that minuscule spark quietly sank into the depths of Master Tengen's soul.
"This is..."
Master Tengen felt a warm power taking root within the soul; that suffocating despair of being swallowed by darkness receded miraculously!
The black chains incessantly gnawing at sanity quietly melted upon touching the spark, like ice and snow meeting a blazing sun.
"It is a seed."
Yoru's will reached out once more, carrying a power that brought profound reassurance.
"It will protect your final shred of consciousness from being devoured by Kenjaku."
"As long as this seed remains, his Merger ritual can never achieve one hundred percent perfection."
"When it takes root and fully sprouts, that will be the moment I launch the rescue and shatter every one of his schemes."
"Until then, endure it for a little while, Master Tengen."
Having done all of this, Yoru slowly withdrew his right hand.
He cast a deep, lingering look at the laughing Kenjaku, eyes flashing with the cold indifference reserved for a dead man.
"Enjoy your final frenzy while it lasts, Kenjaku."
"The higher you climb, the harder you shatter when you hit the ground."
"Just when you think you hold all the cards, I'll personally kick you down from the clouds straight into hell."
Yoru slowly turned, his black hem tracing a feather-light arc through the air.
Tap.
He took a step forward, melting soundlessly into the deathly darkness of the Tombs of the Star Corridor just as he had arrived.
The formidable barriers blanketing the surroundings—more than capable of shredding any intruder—still made no response to his departure.
Even after Yoru's back had vanished completely at the entrance to the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Kenjaku remained entirely unaware that someone had just treated his stronghold like an open courtyard.
"It is done!"
Kenjaku suddenly let out a triumphant roar, slamming the final cursed energy rune ruthlessly into Master Tengen's flesh.
"Tengen, from this moment on, you are my most exquisite puppet!"
Kenjaku gazed at Master Tengen with rabid fervor, as though beholding a peerless treasure.
He began picturing his glorious ascent as the god of the new world, reigning over the lives of hundreds of millions.
He had no idea, however, that buried deep within the soul of this seemingly perfect puppet was a ticking time bomb primed to reduce his entire grand scheme to ashes.
After departing the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Yoru made his way upward along the dim subterranean passage.
When he emerged back above ground, the sky overhead was already cloaked in the dusky red light of the Culling Game's barrier curtain.
All of Tokyo appeared to have transformed into a colossal colosseum.
Rubble lay everywhere, punctuated by the booming roar of colliding cursed energies.
The pungent stench of blood and the putrid odor of rotting cursed spirits filled the air.
Yoru raised his head, staring at the oppressive canopy above, his crimson eyes flashing with cold intent.
"The seed is planted. Next, it's time to clean up the trash out here."
"Since Kenjaku wants to play a death game, I'll see him through to the end."
"I'm turning this so-called Culling Game into my personal hunting ground."
"I only hope those Ancient sorcerers he's so proud of can endure more than a few slashes from my blade."
Yoru tightened his grip on Shiranui at his waist. With a flicker of movement, he vanished from the spot.
A few minutes after his departure, a bizarre cursed spirit covered in eyes crept soundlessly from beneath the ground.
Its countless eyes glared intently toward the direction where Yoru had disappeared, before casting a glance down at the bottomless entrance leading to the Tombs of the Star Corridor.
"The anomaly... has truly... shown himself..."
A low murmur resembling Kenjaku's voice leaked from the cursed spirit's mouth, after which it dissolved into a pool of black liquid and seeped back into the earth.
The brutal curtain had only just been drawn on the storm sweeping across the entire Culling Game.