Absolute darkness, viscous as if it were a physical substance, swallowed all light and sound, leaving only the roaring of one's own wildly beating heart and the hiss of rushing blood.
The moment Kamo Kenji was engulfed, his consciousness was nearly crushed by this pure malice and oppression.
He panted with difficulty, his Cursed Energy circulating instinctively. The faint shadows of his "Shadow Binding Technique" wrapped around him like frightened tentacles, becoming the only insignificant "light" in this endless darkness.
However, what terrified him even more was what lay ahead.
Mukyoku Nagi stood there quietly, seemingly merged with the darkness.
Starkly different from Kamo's panic, he was unusually calm.
Those Vermilion Eyes did not lose their color in the absolute darkness; instead, they shone amazingly bright like two burning blood stars, calmly scanning this completely unfamiliar domain.
The rules of the domain were branded into his mind like a cold steel stamp.
"Must... must defeat the lord... or..."
Kamo Kenji's voice trembled with fear; he dared not think about the second option.
He regretted it immensely at this moment. What the Head of the Clan gave him wasn't something to create an "opportunity" at all, but a ticket to hell!
Just then, the darkness began to squirm.
*Cluck cluck... cluck cluck...*
A tooth-aching sound, like bones dislocating and reassembling, rang out from all directions.
Immediately after, under Kamo Kenji's horrified gaze, the darkness ahead began to condense and take shape.
A massive, twisted monster, forcibly stitched together from countless pale limbs and resentful faces, slowly "floated" out of the darkness.
It had no fixed form, appearing to be composed of pure "death" and "malice." In the center of its body, a giant, bloodshot single eye suddenly snapped open, its cold gaze locking onto the two "intruders" inside the domain.
Special Grade Cursed Spirit—Dark Domain Lord!
The intensity of the Cursed Energy it emitted far exceeded any opponent Kamo Kenji had ever encountered, even more terrifying than all the Cursed Spirits encountered in yesterday's group battle combined!
"ROAR!!!"
Without warning, the Cursed Spirit let out a deafening roar. The sound acted directly on the soul, making Kamo Kenji's head buzz and causing him to almost lose his footing.
At the same time, countless pale arms made of shadows and resentment grabbed at the two from all directions like a violent storm!
Kamo Kenji desperately tried to defend, but the shadow shield formed by "Shadow Binding" was like paper in front of those arms, torn to shreds instantly!
He felt like he would be torn to pieces in the next second!
Just at this critical moment!
Mukyoku Nagi moved!
"Slow": Full Expansion!
*Buzz—!*
A powerful resistance field expanded instantly with him as the center. The speed of those violently grabbing pale arms stagnated abruptly, as if falling into an invisible quagmire!
But this time, the resistance field wasn't completely effective!
Those arms contained the terrifying power of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit. Although they were significantly slowed, they still pushed forward tenaciously!
The domain itself was enhancing their strength!
"Congeal!"
Nagi shouted in a low voice, his hands tapping rapidly!
Several extremely compressed resistance anchor points appeared precisely at the front of the most threatening arms, instantly freezing them dead!
However, there were too many arms!
The point control of "Congeal" couldn't cover them all!
One fish that slipped through the net fiercely penetrated the force field, grabbing toward Kamo Kenji's face!
Kamo closed his eyes in terror, waiting for death!
*Whoosh!*
A black shadow flashed past! Nagi's figure appeared in front of him like a ghost. The extreme speed brought by "Flash" allowed him to arrive first despite moving later. A hand chop wrapped in thick Cursed Energy precisely chopped that arm to pieces!
"Move if you don't want to die!"
Nagi's cold voice rang in Kamo's ear. There was no emotional fluctuation, but it made Kamo shudder.
The battle instantly entered a white-hot stage!
The Cursed Spirit's attacks were like an endless tidal wave, with various weird curses and abilities emerging one after another: mental screams, corrosive black mist, twisted force fields...
Nagi exerted his control to the limit!
The force field of "Slow" constantly changed shape and intensity, sometimes obstructing a large area, sometimes concentrating to strengthen defense at a certain point.
"Congeal" was like the most precise scalpel, puncturing the core of attacks time and again.
"Flash" made him like a phantom in the darkness, weaving through the dense attacks, saving the perilous Kamo Kenji time and again. Occasionally, he could find a gap to counterattack, his fists wrapped in Cursed Energy blasting onto the Cursed Spirit, making dull thuds, yet seeming unable to cause fatal injuries.
Kamo Kenji also fought desperately. He knew he had become a burden, but he could only do his best to use "Shadow Binding" for some weak interference and auxiliary defense, at least making himself less easily caught as a breakthrough point.
The Vermilion Eyes operated at an unprecedented speed, frantically analyzing the Cursed Spirit's attack patterns, Cursed Energy flow, and loopholes in the domain's rules.
Nagi's brain was like an overclocked computer, processing massive amounts of information. He realized that this Cursed Spirit's power seemed connected to the entire domain, nearly inexhaustible. To defend for too long meant inevitable failure!
***
(Outside)
"Bastard! What the hell is this thing!"
Gojo Satoru scratched his hair irritably, the Six Eyes frantically analyzing the structure of the black sphere.
"The energy composition is extremely weird, the internal rules are self-consistent, and it's extremely difficult to destroy forcibly from the outside. Plus, it's absorbing our attack energy!"
He tried "Blue" several more times, even changing the output power and mode of action, but the result was the same—the black sphere fluctuated violently but remained indestructible.
Geto Suguru's face was gloomy. He tried commanding Cursed Spirits to attack simultaneously from different angles, and even attempted point-to-point breakthroughs with Cursed Spirits possessing special penetration abilities, but all failed.
That black sphere was like an absolute barrier.
"The rules say 'objects not of the domain cannot enter'... this seems to be an absolute 'Binding Vow'..."
Geto Suguru's voice carried suppressed anxiety.
"Our attacks are considered 'objects from outside the domain,' so they cannot truly affect its interior!"
"Do we just have to watch like this?!"
Shoko was so anxious her face turned pale. She clenched her fists; the Reverse Cursed Technique was useless at this moment.
Utahime and Mei Mei also gathered around, faces full of worry.
Yaga Masamichi and Gakuganji were urgently contacting the association's higher-ups, trying to find solutions or consult relevant records, but distant water couldn't save a nearby fire.
"Nagi..."
Geto Suguru looked at the motionless black sphere, his brows locked tight.
For the first time, he felt so powerless. This feeling of possessing power yet being unable to help his companion made him extremely anxious inside.
***
(Inside the Dark Domain)
The battle continued. Nagi's Cursed Energy consumption was massive, and his breathing became slightly rapid. Kamo Kenji was covered in wounds, holding on purely by sheer will.
The Cursed Spirit's attacks became increasingly violent; it seemed to also realize that this red-eyed boy in front of it was extremely difficult to deal with.
Suddenly, its giant single eye lit up with a weird light!
An invisible shockwave targeting the soul spread out violently!
Kamo Kenji bore the brunt of it, screaming as he fell to his knees holding his head, his consciousness almost scattering!
Nagi also felt as if his brain had been hit by a heavy hammer. A wave of dizziness hit him, and the operation of the Vermilion Eyes even showed a trace of stagnation! The "Slow" force field fluctuated unsteadily instantly!
In this momentary gap!
The Cursed Spirit's massive body compressed violently, then catapulted out like a slingshot. It was no longer a ranged attack, but its entire body smashing down like a mountain toward the dizzy Nagi! That massive shadow and terrifying Cursed Energy seemed poised to crush him and the surrounding space together!
"It's over..." Kamo Kenji watched this scene in despair.
However, in this instant between life and death!
Nagi's Vermilion Eyes, slightly unfocused from the soul shock, suddenly refocused! And their brightness increased abruptly! It was as if something had been thoroughly ignited!
His mother's face before her death, that wish "to be safe and sound," and the obsession with protection deeply rooted in his bloodline overwhelmed all discomfort at this moment!
"Slow: Extreme Compression!" He didn't expand the force field outward, but instead withdrew all control and all Cursed Energy inward in an unprecedented way, frantically compressing it into a tiny area in front of his body!
*Buzz!!!*
The space in front of him seemed to completely solidify! It turned into the hardest shield in the world!
*BOOM!!!!!!!!!*
The Cursed Spirit's massive body smashed ruthlessly onto that patch of extremely compressed "Slow" force field!
An indescribable loud noise echoed within the Dark Domain!
The imagined scene of Nagi being smashed into meat paste did not appear!
That full-force strike of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit was actually forcibly blocked by that thin layer of twisted space! Although the force field trembled violently and blood spilled from the corner of Nagi's mouth due to the immense impact and Cursed Energy backlash, he had indeed blocked it!
"What?!" Kamo Kenji was dumbfounded.
A trace of disbelief also flashed through the Cursed Spirit's single eye.
And Nagi, borrowing the reaction force generated by this collision, and the moment when the opponent's old force was exhausted and new force had not yet been generated, made an extremely bold decision!
He abruptly withdrew the extreme "Slow" in front of him!
The Cursed Spirit's body rushed forward slightly due to inertia!
Now!
"Flash": Continuous Burst!
Nagi's figure moved like teleportation. Instead of retreating, he rushed directly up along the arm the Cursed Spirit had smashed down! Straight for that giant single eye!
The five fingers of his right hand spread open. All his Cursed Energy, all his strength, and that extreme potential triggered by the "Curse of Love," were condensed on this strike!
Within the Vermilion Eyes, the red light was more blazing than ever before!
"Congeal: Disintegration!"
He wasn't trying to freeze the Cursed Spirit, but focused the terrifying power of "Congeal" to compress and halt everything into a single point, like the sharpest drill, stabbing ruthlessly toward the Cursed Spirit's giant single eye!
*Squelch!!!*
A disgusting sound like leather being forcibly torn rang out!
Nagi's entire hand, wrapped in that highly condensed destructive energy, ruthlessly penetrated into the Cursed Spirit's giant eye!
"AWOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
The Cursed Spirit let out an earth-shattering, miserable howl! Its massive body twisted crazily! The space of the Dark Domain also oscillated violently with it!
***
(Outside)
Gojo Satoru, who had been staring dead at the black sphere, suddenly straightened up!
"There's a change! The Cursed Energy fluctuations inside have become extremely violent! That guy Nagi... seems to have done something big!"
Everyone looked nervously at the black sphere, which began to fluctuate violently and even had irregular cracks appearing on its surface!
***
(Inside the Dark Domain)
Having succeeded in his strike, Nagi did not linger in the fight. He immediately pulled back and retreated, landing back on the ground, panting slightly, staring vigilantly at the frantically struggling Cursed Spirit.
Kamo Kenji watched this reversal scene, his mind blank.
However, just then, the pain and madness in the heavily injured single eye of the Cursed Spirit faded, replaced by a trace of extremely human-like, cold mockery.
A low, distorted voice, neither male nor female, resounded directly in the minds of both people:
"Very good... very good... The power of the 'Vermilion Eyes'... The curse of 'Love'... truly delicious..."
"But the game... should end now..."
Along with its words, the entire Dark Domain began to shrink violently, the terrifying pressure doubling! Its penetrated eye began to repair at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Nagi's face instantly became incomparably grave.
Kamo Kenji fell completely into despair. It didn't die even after that?