The dark-red barrier curtain hung like a colossal overturned bowl, firmly enclosing all of Tokyo within its perimeter.
Within this Culling Game barrier rife with slaughter and madness, the law of the jungle was the only rule.
Countless ancient sorcerers awakened from their slumber, as well as modern humans who had just awakened to cursed energy, engaged in brutal combat for the sake of survival and points.
Dismembered corpses lay strewn everywhere across the streets, while burning cars emitted pungent black smoke.
It was practically a living purgatory on earth, where everyone had completely discarded their humanity for the slightest glimmer of hope to survive.
Yet, right amidst this chaotic meat grinder, one name had forcefully seized the attention of every Player in an utterly unreasonable fashion.
Midair within the barrier, winged insect-like barrier navigators, the Kogane, continuously broadcasted the latest point rankings.
"Ding! Player Yoru has successfully killed three ancient sorcerers, obtaining fifteen points!"
"Ding! Player Yoru has successfully killed one Special Grade reincarnated sorcerer, obtaining five points!"
"Ding! Player Yoru, current total points: 2,350!"
"Ranked first place on the overall Culling Game leaderboard!"
When this cold, mechanical voice echoed across the barrier, all the fighting Players simultaneously halted what they were doing.
Their faces were etched with shock, horror, and even a bottomless abyss of despair!
Two thousand three hundred and fifty points!
What kind of concept was that?
Under the rules of the Culling Game, killing a sorcerer awarded only five points, while killing a non-sorcerer granted merely one point.
In other words, in just a few short days, this monster named Yoru had slaughtered at least hundreds of powerful ancient sorcerers!
Among them were even top powerhouses who had terrorized an entire era during the Heian period!
What was more, that number was still soaring upward at a scalp-numbing, frenzied pace.
"A monster... That guy is definitely a monster!"
A blood-soaked ancient sorcerer hid in the ruins, trembling violently as he watched the Kogane's broadcast in the sky.
He had just witnessed a one-sided massacre with his own eyes.
"I saw it with my own eyes—he only used one slash... just one slash!"
"He slashed that madman from the Heian era known for slaying a thousand men, along with the domain he was so proud of, straight into ashes!"
"He doesn't need to use any complicated jujutsu at all—simply swinging his blade is enough to sever everything!"
"Those crimson flames could even burn away a Special Grade Cursed Spirit's regenerative ability in an instant!"
The entire Tokyo barrier plunged into an eerie, dead silence because of Yoru's presence.
Those ancient sorcerers, who had initially acted arrogant and domineering while casually slaughtering modern humans like prey, were now the prey being hunted down.
They fled frantically within the barrier, trying to evade that black-haired boy who resembled the Grim Reaper himself.
Some would even rather take their own lives or voluntarily withdraw from the barrier just to avoid Yoru.
However, under the perception of the [Transparent World: Complete Form], any concealment or escape proved futile.
As long as a target caught Yoru's eye, even if they hid a hundred meters underground, that crimson slash would pierce right through them without mercy!
Yet, regarding the massive score that perched him at the top of the leaderboard and was enough to drive anyone insane, Yoru himself didn't spare it a second glance.
At this moment, he stood on the edge of a high-rise ruin, looking down at the devastated streets below.
The fierce wind whipped up the hem of his black clothes, while his crimson pupils mirrored the destruction of this city.
"Over two thousand points is enough to add several new rules."
A faint sneer curled at the corner of Yoru's mouth.
"Such as permitting point transfers between Players, or allowing Players to leave the barrier."
"However, I don't have the slightest interest in playing this boring game of house."
"Kenjaku, do you really think rules alone can trap me?"
"Inducing humans to kill one another with so-called points is nothing short of the ultimate desecration of life."
"I will shatter your grand game of chess, along with the entire chessboard, in the simplest and most violent way possible!"
Yoru's true objective had never been to win the Culling Game.
His relentless hunting of those wicked ancient sorcerers was partly to clean up this scum that treated human lives like trash.
On the other hand, it was to locate and destroy the core maintaining the barrier's operation!
At the same time, through one battle after another, he continuously tempered his Breathing Style.
Although his Synchronization Rate had reached an extremely high level, opposing that soon-to-be-born ultimate monstrosity that had absorbed tens of millions of cursed energies still required even greater strength!
He needed to deduce [Sun Breathing] to an unprecedented realm.
Just as Yoru prepared to turn around and head toward his next destination...
...his footsteps suddenly paused slightly.
Within the extraordinary perception of the [Transparent World], an immensely vast cursed energy fluctuation that felt almost suffocating was rapidly closing in toward him at terrifying speed!
This cursed energy fluctuation differed from the wild, impure nature of the ancient sorcerers.
It was as vast as the sea and unfathomably deep, even carrying a faint, terrifying pressure capable of devouring everything!
The surrounding air even began to distort due to the approach of this cursed energy.
"Oh?"
Yoru narrowed his eyes slightly, a rare hint of interest flashing across his crimson gaze.
"This level of total cursed energy is even more exaggerated than that thousand-year-old monster Kenjaku."
"To think a monster of this caliber still exists inside this sealed-off barrier."
"Looks like quite an incredible fellow has arrived."
Boom—!
Right as Yoru finished speaking, a building several hundred meters in front of him suddenly collapsed with a thunderous roar!
Plumes of dust shot into the sky, obscuring the dark-red heavens.
Countless fragments of rubble blasted in all directions like a meteor shower, smashing through the nearby streets.
And from within that billowing dust and smoke, a somewhat slender figure radiating endless oppressive pressure slowly emerged.
It was a boy clad in the white Jujutsu High uniform.
His eyes held a trace of melancholy, accompanied by heavy dark circles, making him look like an ordinary high schooler who had stayed up late for several consecutive months.
He held a katana in his hand, his steps steady and resolute.
Behind him, however, stood a massive, hideous, terrifying monster radiating an endless aura of curses!
With an enormous maw and a body covered in distorted eyeballs, the beast resembled a demon crawling out from the depths of hell.
"Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit... Rika Orimoto."
Looking at the monster, Yoru quietly muttered its name.
Then, the identity of the white-clad boy before him naturally became obvious.
One of the four Special Grade sorcerers, the strongest prodigy hailed as the God of Pure Love—Yuta Okkotsu!
Having rushed back from overseas, he entered the Culling Game barrier without hesitation upon learning that Satoru Gojo had been sealed and Shibuya was reduced to ruins.
In a brief span of time, he had already eliminated all the malicious Players in other barriers through brutal means.
Single-handedly, he had even slain top ancient powerhouses such as Dhruv and Ryu Ishigori.
And now, he had arrived here.
He stood before Yoru, the top of the leaderboard whom everyone regarded as a monster.
Yuta Okkotsu slowly lifted his head, and the moment those somewhat melancholic eyes fell upon Yoru, an extremely subtle smile flashed deep within his pupils.
It was a tacit understanding that only comrades who had entrusted their lives to one another could comprehend.
Whether it was back in that time-crossing year of 2006, when Yoru acted as a senior breaking through a fatal deadlock, or during their modern days at Jujutsu High, when the two fought side by side as peers...
...their bond had long transcended the need for words.
Right now, however, beneath the gaze of countless eyes—monitoring cursed spirits—this act had to be played convincingly enough.
"Yoru... you've finally shown yourself."
Yuta's voice sounded cold and heavy, carrying what seemed like long-repressed murderous intent.
"Before Gojo-sensei was sealed, he said you were the only hope."
"But as for me, Yuta Okkotsu, I don't intend to casually acknowledge someone who's been gone for so long."
As Yuta Okkotsu spoke, he slowly drew the long blade from his back.
Hum—!
Accompanying his motion of unsheathing the blade, cursed energy as vast as the sea swept across the entire block instantly like an erupting volcano!
Even the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Rika behind him let out an ear-splitting, perfectly timed roar!
The roar shattered the glass of every surrounding building, sending countless shards plunging from high above like a rain of crystal.
"If you want me to trust you with my back, first show me whether the current you... actually has what it takes!"
Watching Yuta Okkotsu's explosive acting down below, the corner of Yoru's mouth curved slightly upward.
Releasing cursed energy to this extent was indeed enough to bluff the rats hiding in the dark.
"Want to test me?"
"Very well, Yuta. I was also hoping to see just how much you've improved since returning from overseas."
Yoru's hand firmly rested on Shiranui's hilt once more.
A deep-red radiance began flashing wildly within the gap of the scabbard, resembling a miniature sun on the verge of detonation.
Two peak powerhouses standing at the ceiling of the jujutsu world's combat power finally raised the curtain on this 'Battle of the Two Gods' amidst the ruins of the Culling Game!
On one side stood the supreme prodigy possessing boundless cursed energy and the ability to mimic all cursed techniques.
On the other stood the peerless Sword Saint, devoid of cursed energy, yet capable of severing all Karma with his blade!
And right at the moment the two were about to clash...
...several hundred meters high in the sky above their heads, a crow radiating faint cursed energy fluctuations hovered quietly, transmitting the suffocating scene below clearly back to a dark room hundreds of kilometers away.
Inside the room, a white-haired man with stitched scars rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the screen before him with great interest.
"Yuta Okkotsu... Yoru..."
"Have you finally met?"
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