Chapter 91: It Doesn't Count
The area outside the [Curtain] was already packed to the brim, yet the high-level sorcerers of the Jujutsu Association remained utterly unable to set foot inside Kurofune Prison.
If the [Mistress of the Frost Moon], Hagoromo Gitsune—a legend from a thousand years ago—didn't have a few tricks up her sleeve, she never would have been chosen by the [Post Office] to serve as the template for the No. 1 Messenger, Yukinoshita Yukino.
However, one has to wonder: in a way, the Curtain deployed by Hagoromo Gitsune actually protected the Association sorcerers on the outside.
If one could step inside Kurofune Prison—a facility whose land area rivaled that of the American Pentagon—they would discover that its exterior had been completely transformed into a gargantuan block of ice, encased in a thick, impenetrable layer of thousand-year-old permafrost.
When the Association dispatched ordinary soldiers, they were frozen into ice sculptures the moment they stepped into the Curtain's range. This was why the Association couldn't even manage to get a glimpse of the interior; their scouts couldn't even retreat before becoming statues. Ordinary humans possessed zero resistance against the [Frost Moon Curse] emanating from Hagoromo Gitsune; they died instantly.
Even if the Curtain were breached, the thousand-year ice covering the entire prison could withstand external destruction, buying even more time.
Those outside wanted in; those inside wanted out.
Because the Association considered these detained curse users to be powerful sorcerers, they were fitted with shackles and straitjackets that restricted their cursed energy output. Stripped of their cursed energy, they were no different from ordinary inmates. Normally, having no cursed energy didn't matter—but now, things were different. They were facing a cold as harsh as a Siberian winter.
Without cursed energy, these curse users were incredibly fragile, forced to endure the brutal cold with nothing but their bare bodies. The surviving curse users inside were all cursing in their hearts, shivering like sieves.
"Is someone there?! Let us out!"
These men, who once reigned supreme in the jujutsu world, were now crying out for their parents, screaming that they were freezing to death. The walls were entirely coated in snow-white ice crystals, and the temperature had plummeted. In a harsh climate of at least -30 to -40 degrees Celsius, even the thermometers had frozen solid.
In the area Yukinoshita Yukino had invaded, the scene was even more chaotic. The corridors were littered with massive spikes of ice.
These spikes had demolished the cells, skewering the curse users inside and leaving gaping holes in their torsos.
"Damn it, where did this crazy woman come from?!"
She challenged everyone she saw, but even those who accepted couldn't escape death. The crazy woman had turned the prison into a "Death Battle Royale." Many curse users became rock-hard ice sculptures during their "passive challenges." It wasn't particularly bloody, as their internal tissues—blood, muscle, and bone—were frozen solid.
The connection between head and neck was like stone; a bit of force would snap it right off. Blood and shattered body parts were everywhere, a veritable frozen hell.
Hagoromo Gitsune showed no mercy. Compassion was useless to her. Her goal was to help Yukinoshita Yukino defeat eighty-eight strong opponents; was there any faster way than absolute suppression?
Under Hagoromo Gitsune's control, Yukino had already defeated many curse users, but she soon discovered that the blood shed by these defeated foes was in vain.
In a wide open area inside the prison—originally meant for well-behaved inmates to exercise—a thunderous crash echoed. A giant beast at least ten meters tall, made entirely of ice, smashed through a reinforced wall, charging into the clearing with unreasonable brutality. Massive ice pillars pierced the ceiling, and debris buried the space. As the beast entered, the area was instantly coated in frost, becoming a world of ice and snow.
"ROAR!!!"
The beast bellowed at the sky, the sound waves making the surrounding buildings tremble.
Engaging this fierce beast was a tall, serious old man with long hair. His slender goatee was covered in ice crystals. This seventy-year-old sorcerer was the Warden of Kurofune Prison, Unami Hideyoshi.
His shirt had been torn to shreds in the fierce battle, revealing a lean, muscular physique.
Unami used his agility to step off shattered ice pillars in mid-air to return to the ground, but the terrifying beast—a manifestation of a technique—refused to let up, further squeezing his space for survival. Even his strength, which was at the top of Grade 1, seemed incredibly weak before this overwhelming enemy.
Unami glanced at his battered body. He was at his limit.
"This old man might actually die here."
He had severe frostbite all over. His left arm had been destroyed by an earlier technique, and his remaining right hand gripped a blade now coated in frost. The bone-chilling cold had numbed his muscles and nerves; he was swinging his sword purely through willpower.
"Old man, I told you: if you release all the prisoners, I will spare your life."
Standing atop the massive, hideous beast was Yukinoshita Yukino. Behind the [Hagoromo Gitsune] mask, her delicate face was frowned in frustration. She wanted the Warden to release the seals on the curse users so they could regain their original strength.
"Don't even think about it, you bastard!" Even though he was a withered old man near death, Unami refused to yield. "My duty is to guard this place. I will never allow you to commit such atrocities!"
Releasing all the curse users would make him a criminal in the eyes of the entire Association.
"Tch," Hagoromo Gitsune clicked her tongue in annoyance. She had a thousand bloody tortures to make this "old stick" stop acting so tough. However, the actual controller of the body, Yukinoshita Yukino, wouldn't allow her to act recklessly.
Yukino was someone with a conscience and a sense of absolute justice.
Killing curse users was doing "heaven's work"—eliminating the wicked. It was for the Greater Good! But killing Association members was something she couldn't justify. In her eyes, that was just slaughtering the innocent.
Consequently, when Yukino encountered resistance from the prison guards, she had Hagoromo Gitsune freeze them until they fainted, but not to the point of death. But facing this Warden, her bottom line of not harming the innocent was being severely shaken.
Yukino had no choice. It was because the curse users they had "defeated" via Hagoromo Gitsune's powerful ice techniques were utterly worthless.
Yes—they didn't count.
The number of defenseless curse users she had "defeated" did nothing for the mission progress. With Hagoromo Gitsune's help, she had dueled and defeated twenty-one curse users, but in the final tally of the [Trial of Courage and Strength], the result was zero.
The response she received was:
[Where is the glory in slaughter caused by jujutsu? It doesn't count!]
Yukino even learned the settlement requirements from the Post Office's attitude. It held nothing but contempt for using jujutsu to slaughter the weak. It looked down on her for swinging her blade at those who couldn't fight back.
The [Trial of Courage and Strength] valued the display of a warrior's glory and power in a "fair" fight between peers! Using powerful jujutsu against defenseless weaklings was simply bullying and would not please that God.
As a result, the twenty-one curse users she defeated didn't count at all. According to the requirements of the deity that encouraged slaughter, Yukino had to release the curse users from their shackles, let them regain their original power, and then challenge them with the most direct, violent means to show courage and strength.
Only then would the tally increase.
This requirement drastically increased Yukino's workload. This trial had completely redefined her understanding of "glory."
Originally, her plan was to break into Kurofune Prison, defeat eighty-eight strong opponents as quickly as possible, reach a hundred in total, and leave without a trace. But because her previous victories didn't count, the difficulty had spiked.
The only reason Yukino allowed Hagoromo Gitsune to attack the Warden was because only he had the authority to release the shackles on the prisoners. Unfortunately, Unami Hideyoshi was nearly out of cursed energy but still refused to cooperate.
Yukino respected his choice, but from her perspective, it was a massive headache.
"Little girl, you see? This old stick is stubborn. He won't cooperate at all." Hagoromo Gitsune frowned. For someone this unyielding, the simplest way was to use a mental shock to wipe out his will and let her take control of his consciousness.
However, the damage from such a technique was often irreversible. Even if she released it later, there was a high chance the victim would become a vegetable. Knowing this, Yukino wouldn't let her act. Yukino's hesitation over her inner justice was driving Hagoromo Gitsune crazy.
'Fine, you're so noble' she thought. 'But if the mission fails, we all go down together.'
"Time is running out." Even an idiot knew they couldn't waste more time here. This land was under the Association's jurisdiction. If they delayed until reinforcements arrived, it would be over. Finding a hundred strong curse users in the outside world wouldn't be easy; real experts were usually hidden away.
Hagoromo Gitsune also mentioned that her Curtain was of the "Absolute Refusal" type. Its defensive power was immense, refusing entry to all sorcerers, but that came at the cost of duration. It could only last for one hour, and Yukino still needed time to challenge the prisoners.
Amidst the silence, Yukino finally closed her eyes. When Hagoromo Gitsune sensed the restriction on her [Mental Shock] technique was lifted, a slight smirk appeared behind her mask.
Hagoromo Gitsune clasped her hands, staring directly at the Warden. Her golden reptilian pupils turned pure black. Mental control, activated!
"Look into my eyes." She used the power of [Cursed Speech], her words laden with mental suggestion. Unami Hideyoshi was forced to meet those sinister, ink-black eyes.
"Damn it..." Sensing something was wrong, Unami tried to swing his blade to end his own life, but it was too late. A powerful mental shock swept over him, and a maddening frenzy spread through his brain like a virus. Soon, the old man's pupils became hollow, and two striking lines of blood-tears flowed from his eyes. Like a mindless robot, he stood there, motionless.
"Go. Release the shackles on every curse user in this prison."
Unami nodded and vanished from the spot.
Hagoromo Gitsune finally felt satisfied. She saw the dejected Yukino in their mental world and reached out to hug her.
"Good girl. If you want to uphold your principles, there is one prerequisite: your word must be law."
No one cares about the opinions of the weak.
Hagoromo Gitsune was also tired. This [Trial of Courage and Strength] was a massive pain—no killing weaklings, no relying solely on jujutsu, everything had to be a one-on-one head-on fight. If it weren't for those rules, they would have finished and left long ago.
She manifested a greatsword from ice. If possible, she didn't want to use such a troublesome method; wouldn't it be easier to just crush them with jujutsu?
After a short wait, the surviving curse users inside Kurofune Prison discovered their shackles were gone. The prison's alarm blared simultaneously as the cell doors slid open.
[WARNING: ABNORMAL INMATE RELEASE DETECTED!!!]
Outside the Curtain, at the Association's large camp, the techniques pre-installed in the prison were short-circuited. This meant the worst-case scenario had happened: the prisoners were all loose.
"Damn it! Is the demolition team ready?" The commander of the operation grit his teeth, snapping a pencil between his fingers.
"Ready!"
Ordinary Curtains could be broken by any decent sorcerer, but this one was different. Its defense was staggering. The exterior was hard to break, but the interior might be different. They planned to use high-yield explosives. Since the Binding Vow was "No sorcerers allowed," mechanical timed explosives should have no problem entering. They packed a massive amount of bombs, ready to blow at the weakest point of the barrier.
In addition to the explosives, the Association organized sorcerers to attack the Curtain with their most destructive techniques. When Gojo Satoru and the others arrived via teleportation, they saw a dozen sorcerers firing their techniques in unison. The light of the various techniques lit up the night sky, and flames soared.
The Curtain seemed to tremble under the power, but it was only an illusion. When the dust settled, the reality was still despairing. The Curtain stood as immovable as a mountain.
"How can this be..."
A Curtain isn't something you can wear down over time. No matter how frequent the attacks, its strength remains consistent. It can only be broken by a single, instantaneous strike that exceeds its capacity.
"A waste of effort," Gojo Satoru said, immediately seeing through the Curtain's nature. With his [Six Eyes], he could see the staggering density of cursed energy forming the barrier. It had to be a Binding Vow achieving this level of defense.
Nanami Kento watched the Curtain stand firm against the combined onslaught. It was enough to make anyone feel hopeless.
"Can you break it?" Gojo looked at Hikigaya Hachiman behind him.
Because Hikigaya disliked showing his true face to irrelevant people, he wore a golden mask. The smooth, angular mask looked solemn and majestic, with two clear "blood grooves" near the eyes that looked like tears of blood. It was a 1:1 replica of Sanguinius's death mask, fitting his features perfectly. The mask was unique and exuded an intense pressure; anyone who had seen the [Emperor's Cleaner] in action would recognize him immediately.
To Gojo's question, Hikigaya simply replied: "A foolish question."
For him, whether it was a Curtain, a powerful barrier, or even the peak of jujutsu—Domain Expansion—as long as it was made of cursed energy, it could be eroded by psychic power.
"Everyone, step back," Gojo's signature voice rang out. The dejected sorcerers suddenly looked excited. Gojo's presence was like a shot of adrenaline.
"It's Gojo Satoru! Mr. Gojo is here!"
"Hahaha!"
Gojo smiled and waved, but then scratched his head sheepishly.
"But this time, I'm not the one breaking the Curtain."
As they wondered who could possibly break it, a powerful pressure swept over the surroundings, exerting absolute dominance. Some sorcerers even felt a moment of dizziness, their legs going weak as they knelt. It felt like a blade was pressed against their necks—a cold, terrifying threat of death.
Some, clearly familiar with this aura, identified him immediately. "It's the [Emperor's Cleaner]!"
"What?!"
Though not a member of the Association, his legend was world-renowned. He was considered a sorcerer with Special Grade combat ability, a peer to Gojo Satoru, the "Uncrowned King" without an official title. As a Legion Champion of the [Blood Angels], Hikigaya already possessed countless honors; he had no interest in the empty promises of the Association.
Seeing that tall figure, people couldn't help but want to prostrate themselves. No one doubted if he could break the "Wall of Sighs" before them. They swallowed hard, eyes wide, not wanting to miss a single second of his move.
But there was no earth-shattering, wide-range destruction technique. The [Emperor's Cleaner] simply placed his hand on the massive Curtain.
Because of Hagoromo Gitsune's Binding Vow, a strong rejection effect occurred the moment his hand touched the surface. A crackling sound rang out; any ordinary sorcerer would have lost their hand by now. But then, a crisp sound echoed in their ears.
Crrr-ack...
Their eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the hell? Cracks appeared!"
With just a hand on the barrier, a massive, clear crack manifested. They didn't even see how he did it. The cracks spread across the vast surface, multiplying until they looked like a hideous spiderweb. The large cracks flashed with a blinding red light, while the smaller ones glowed white.
RUMBLE!
The red and white lights clashed, feeling like the caster's power was locked in a violent struggle with the [Emperor's Cleaner]. But the outcome was obvious: the blood-like cursed energy was far more potent. It was overwhelming.
Despite being a gentle touch, the Curtain responded as if it had been struck by a hurricane. Space itself seemed to be forcibly shattered. A sharp, ear-piercing sound, like glass breaking, filled the air. Massive fragments of the barrier fell from the sky, but before they hit the ground, they were pulverized into dust by a violent force, vanishing into the air.
Without saying a word, Hikigaya Hachiman had shattered the sky. It was a display of absolute composure from a top-tier powerhouse. Breaking a barrier that had troubled everyone for so long so effortlessly left them speechless. The gap in strength was a bottomless chasm. "Monster" was the only word they could use to describe him.
As the Curtain shattered, the stagnant cold from within rushed out, forcing everyone to retreat.
"Let's go, Gojo, Nanami." Hikigaya looked at the ice-covered prison. It looked like a turtle shell. And—was it an illusion? He felt a strange sense of familiarity from the cursed energy used for the ice.
He was certain he had never encountered this level of cursed energy before.
"Coming, coming." Gojo was no longer acting relaxed; he looked uncharacteristically serious. He muttered to himself, "This is bad. This cursed energy is even crazier than Yuta-kun's Rika."