Tokyo was no longer the 'capital' of Japan but a battlefield for the war fought between humans and aliens.
Civilians were evacuating from all the major districts of the city while sorcerers from across the country gathered there.
In the heart of Tokyo, the pinnacle of human strength clashed with the absolute zenith of extraterrestrial power.
Hojo continued his assault, fists snapping into Dabura's face before hitting his abdomen without any warning. Blow after blow crashed into his midsection, forcing Dabura to step backward in defense.
Dabura knew that his attacks were meaningless against Hojo, so he only focused on defending and prolonging the battle until he could activate Sukuna's Domain.
Boom!
Dabura tore through building after building, walls exploding around him. Snapping back to his senses, he slammed his leg down, grinding against the ground until the momentum bled away.
Not giving him any time, another kick smashed into his face from heaven. His legs sank deep into the ground as the impact split the earth apart.
Before the blood could spill from Dabura's nostrils, his wound sealed itself. But the fury inside him detonated, raw and uncontrollable.
He got mad as a blinding crimson light enshrouded him. Light quickly expanded to its surroundings, enveloping everything inside it. Then, something far greater than a nuclear bomb exploded.
For a fraction of a second, everything—sky, ground, and buildings—was drowned in a white light. A colossal column of fire rose into the heavens, vaporizing steel and stone alike. Shockwaves followed. Towers disintegrated mid-air.
A small sun was born for a moment, which disappeared into a monstrous cloud in the sky, swallowing the whole horizon.
Temperature reached millions of degrees Celsius. But Dabura stood undamaged by his own flames. His third eye was widened in anger.
Air around him was molten red, filled with raw energy. Oxygen no longer existed there. Yet, there was no effect on him.
"Whoa, I never saw something like that before! It's insane."
Hojo was stunned as everything around him was being erased from existence. Unlike Dabura, he could see clearly in every direction, up to at least a one-kilometer radius.
As Dabura saw him enjoying the moment, his anger only got multiplied. Finally, it was time for domain expansion.
He raised his hands and formed a hand sign. His palms drew closer, and his index and middle fingers extended, locking into the sign with precise control.
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine"
The moment the shrine manifested behind him, the atmosphere turned razor-sharp—like the air was made of blades.
Suddenly, a slash cleaved through the corner of Hojo's neck. His eyes widened as fear surged through his body for the first time in his life.
"Just as I expected."
An evil smile crept across Dabura's face as he felt the waves of pleasure rising deep in his heart after seeing Hojo's body trembling. His fury was changing into joy.
A second passed; Hojo had already recoiled to run. He has no defense remaining to protect him.
He could travel 2500 meters in one second, but after taking a long and quick jump, several hundred meters could be traveled in just 0.1 second.
But slashes in the domain have a sure-hit effect, ignoring the fact that multiple slashes strike from every direction possible.
Hojo was successfully able to escape the range of the domain, but the damage he carried with him was enough to threaten his life.
With one leg completely severed, he crashed into the ground. Blood oozed out of the wounds and deep cuts made on Hojo's entire body. His clothes were dyed crimson.
He was barely alive, already unconscious.
He had no reverse cursed technique to heal back, not even any special offensive attack except his physical attacks, which were inhuman for some reason. No hope remaining for him.
Just as Dabura saw Hojo faint, he closed the domain.
The moment he tried to step forward to sever Hojo in pieces, an unknown force blocked his movements, freezing him.
Blood streamed out of Dabura's nostrils and eyes, his whole body shaking from the impact. Suddenly, he fell on his knees as his limbs stopped functioning.
His hands suspended down freely. He spat the blood from his mouth before collapsing down on the earth.
That unknown force finally revealed itself—it was the backlash of using the domain expansion of Sukuna, which drained Dabura's curse technique completely.
It was pure exhaustion, his payment for using the most powerful technique of the most powerful ancient sorcerer and king of curses—Ryomen Sukuna.
Now, both of them were unconscious. Whoever stands first will win the battle. But Hojo was heavily injured. And the moment Dabura replenishes his curse technique, he will wake.
So, the probability of winning for Dabura was very high.
*****
All the sorcerers, including Ronnie, Yukka, Tsurugi, and three other special grades, arrived. Before then was a whole army of more than 3000 Simurians.
Ronnie was leading the sorcerers who represented humanity. He stood silent, his eyes fixed on the severed head of a sorcerer, before he unsheathed his long katana.
After brandishing his katana, he asked for the permission to continue.
"Usami, I don't think there is a need for any permission. A human head is lying severed right in front of my eyes."
His mood was darkened seeing the head of his own kind being severed in such a humiliating way.
Eyes in the head bulged out, flesh scattered across like being crushed by an object multiple times.
"I understand, but can you investigate the reason..." Before Usami could say anything more in reply, Ronnie disconnected the call.
Investigate...? He could only think of crushing everyone's head in the same way they crushed the human sorcerer.
Maru was staring at the Yukka, who was standing just behind Ronnie with Tsurugi on the left side of him.
Just a week ago, they were like friends. But now, they were being forced to fight each other.
Yukka lifted his gaze to Maru for a moment, then shifted it back to the severed head. That head had become a catalyst to ignite the fire in the human hearts to fight back in the war.
Swoosh
Ronnie fades from his position for a moment before materializing back there. But his katana was now drenched in crimson blood.
Suddenly, one of the Simurian's head dropped on the ground, indicating the first attack from the side of humanity.
This Simurian was smiling evilly toward Ronnie, but after some time, he was hard to ignore for Ronnie.
Coincidentally, that Simurian was the one who sliced off the head of the human sorcerer.