Scarlet flames bloomed like equinox flowers, sketching a suffocatingly breathtaking scene across the scorched ruins.
When Yuji Itadori arrived at the edge of the Shinjuku district with Hiromi Higuruma, the sight before them made even this lawyer, who had seen his share of life and death, involuntarily suck in a cold breath.
What should have been a bustling commercial street ahead was now completely leveled to the ground.
A pungent burnt smell filled the air, and even the asphalt on the street had melted into a viscous liquid under the horrific heat.
In the very center of the smoldering ruins stood a boy in a black haori.
Yoru.
Dark red blood slowly dripped from the Shiranui in his hand. At his feet lay a charred corpse radiating faint traces of lightning.
"Is that... the special grade incarnation from four hundred years ago, the Thunder Demon?"
Hiromi Higuruma pushed up his glasses, unable to conceal the shock flashing behind the lenses.
"I saw him once from afar. Just the fluctuations of cursed energy he emitted were enough to instantly kill an ordinary Grade 1 sorcerer."
"And he was... just slashed to death like that?"
Yuji Itadori, on the other hand, looked entirely unperturbed, waving excitedly at Yoru.
"Senior Yoru! I brought Lawyer Higuruma!"
Hearing Itadori's voice, Yoru slowly turned around.
In his deep crimson eyes, the patterns of the Transparent World had not yet fully faded. A terrifying bloodlust, as if walking out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, crashed into Hiromi Higuruma like something tangible.
In that instant, Hiromi Higuruma felt as though he were being glared down by a primordial beast.
The hairs on his body stood on end. While the modern rationality within him raised frantic alarms, the instincts of a sorcerer drove him to take the most extreme reaction.
Buzz!
Without hesitation, Hiromi Higuruma violently formed a hand sign, and a tide of black cursed energy surged out!
"Domain Expansion!"
"Deadly Sentencing!"
Rumble!
The surrounding scenery shifted instantly. The charred ruins vanished, replaced by a solemn, suffocatingly oppressive giant courtroom.
Yuji Itadori was excluded outside the domain, while Yoru stood in the defendant's box.
"Hey! Lawyer Higuruma! What are you doing?!"
Itadori's anxious shout came from outside the domain, but Hiromi Higuruma paid it no heed.
Sitting high on the judge's bench, he glared down at Yoru, fine beads of cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
'Too dangerous...'
'A stench of blood so thick it won't disperse clings to this guy. He is practically an asura born for slaughter!'
'If an existence like this isn't judged right here, the entire barrier—no, all of Japan—will be destroyed by him!'
Hiromi Higuruma struck the gavel down hard. Behind him, the massive, faceless shikigami Judgeman instantly opened the eyes covered by black cloth.
"Silence!"
"Defendant, Yoru!"
Hiromi Higuruma's voice echoed through the courtroom with unquestionable authority.
"Within this barrier of the Culling Game, you have committed an extremely grave crime of massacre."
"Now, this court shall judge your soul!"
Facing this sudden Domain Expansion, Yoru showed no panic at all; he did not even knit his brows.
He casually rested Shiranui on his shoulder and examined the courtroom layout with keen interest.
"So this is your domain? A rule-based domain that forcibly deprives violence. Interesting."
Yoru looked up at Hiromi Higuruma, a faint smile playing in his deep crimson eyes.
"Are you sure you want to judge me, though?"
"Of course!"
Hiromi Higuruma gritted his teeth and struck the gavel down hard.
"Judgeman! Read his charges!"
Yet this time, Judgeman behind him did not immediately let out that spine-chilling shriek.
The massive faceless monster began to tremble violently instead.
The moment the scale of absolute fairness in its grasp leveled toward Yoru, it was as if it had lost all gravity, its needle swinging wildly from left to right!
"What's going on?!"
Hiromi Higuruma sprang to his feet, staring at the scene in disbelief.
"Judgeman, why aren't you passing judgment?! He killed so many people in the barrier—that's an irrefutable crime!"
Under Hiromi Higuruma's urging, Judgeman finally squeezed out an excruciating screech.
Right after, high beneath the dome of the courtroom, a colossal Sword of Judgment condensed, radiating blinding white light!
This was the harshest punishment in the domain of Deadly Sentencing—the Executioner's Sword!
The moment this blade fell, no matter how powerful the defendant was, their life would be extinguished instantly!
"Die, you monster!"
Hiromi Higuruma roared, controlling the Sword of Judgment to cleave fiercely toward the top of Yoru's head!
Boom!
The massive blade tore through the air, bearing down with the pressure to judge all things as it instantly descended right above Yoru's head.
Yet.
Just when the blade was less than an inch away from Yoru's hair, it came to a screeching halt!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The massive Sword of Judgment shuddered violently in midair, giving off an overburdened wail.
No matter how crazily Hiromi Higuruma pushed his cursed energy, the blade simply could not descend even a fraction of an inch further!
"Th-This is impossible!"
Hiromi Higuruma's pupils contracted sharply, his face washed in unprecedented shock and horror.
"My domain operates on absolute rules! Once a guilty verdict is reached, it's completely impossible to block the Sword of Judgment!"
"Could it be..."
He stared unblinkingly at Yoru below, an absurd guess bubbling up in his mind.
'Could it be that this asura, soaked in slaughter, was judged innocent by the rules?!'
As if to confirm his suspicion, the Sword of Judgment in midair began to fracture inch by inch amidst violent tremors!
Crack! Crack!
Along with a flurry of crisp shattering sounds, that greatsword representing absolute punishment dissolved into a sky full of glittering rain under Yoru's calm gaze, dispersing entirely within the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the massive faceless shikigami Judgeman behind Yoru sank directly to its knees as if beholding some supremely terrifying presence, reverently placing the scales down beside Yoru's feet.
A dead silence descended over the courtroom.
Hiromi Higuruma slumped into the judge's chair, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body.
Looking down at Yoru, he asked in a trembling voice,
"What... what kind of existence are you?"
"You clearly killed so many people, and such a heavy scent of blood clings to you... Why..."
"Why would my Judgeman find you innocent?!"
Yoru smiled faintly and lowered Shiranui from his shoulder.
He raised his head. In those deep crimson eyes, not a trace of impurity remained—clear like a bright mirror capable of reflecting every ugliness in the world.
"Because my soul holds not the slightest hesitation or selfish desire."
Yoru's voice was not loud, yet it resonated long within the spacious courtroom.
"I do not kill to satisfy a bloodlust, nor to fight over some ridiculous points."
"I am merely doing a very simple thing—severing the corrupt, evil tumors that should not exist in this world."
"My blade is a sword of protection, a sword of redemption."
Yoru took a step forward, looking straight into Hiromi Higuruma's bewildered eyes.
"Your laws can judge human actions; they can judge the darkness of human nature."
"However, they cannot judge a pure and flawless soul that wields a blade solely to protect."
Hearing these words, Hiromi Higuruma's heart clenched violently.
'A pure and flawless soul.'
In this shattered jujutsu world full of scheming and slaughter, did something that belonged only in fairytales truly exist?
Looking at Yoru's open and serene gaze, and recalling the ugly human nature he had witnessed in this barrier, the line of defense that Higuruma had kept taut within his heart finally collapsed completely.
"I see..."
Hiromi Higuruma took off his glasses and wiped his eyes vigorously with the back of his hand.
"No wonder that pink-haired kid follows you so wholeheartedly."
"No wonder you can walk through this purgatory as if nobody else is there."
Buzz!
The courtroom began receding like a tide, and the surrounding space reverted once more to the scorched ruins.
Yuji Itadori, who was waiting outside with an anxious expression, let out a long sigh of relief upon seeing the two appear completely unscathed.
Hiromi Higuruma drew a deep breath, put away his gavel, and strode over to stand before Yoru.
Under Itadori's stunned gaze, this proud modern lawyer bowed deeply to Yoru.
"I lost."
"I lost to a purity of yours that transcends even rules and laws."
Hiromi Higuruma raised his head. The previous confusion and fatigue in his eyes were gone, replaced by an unprecedented resolve.
"I acknowledge your path, and I acknowledge your 'justice.'"
"If you truly want to end this damned Culling Game, take me with you."
"From this day forth, my courtroom and my domain shall be your sharpest spear and strongest shield!"
Looking at Hiromi Higuruma bowing his head, a satisfied curve touched the corner of Yoru's mouth.
He reached out and patted the lawyer's shoulder gently.
"Welcome aboard, Lawyer Higuruma."
"The road ahead might be crazier than you imagine."
"Because our enemies aren't just these tiresome ancient sorcerers."
With Hiromi Higuruma officially joining, the squad aiming to dismantle the Culling Game finally gained their most critical puzzle piece.
However, just as they were about to discuss the next step of their plan...
The sky above the entire Tokyo Colony No. 1 suddenly warped violently.
A spine-chilling, ancient sword intent—as though from four hundred years ago—surged into the heavens like a tsunami from the center of the colony!
"It seems..."
The smile on Yoru's face gradually faded, and the excited flames of battle ignited once more in his crimson eyes.
"...the real big fish can no longer hold back and are stepping onto the field in person."
At the edge of the ruins, a figure clad in a worn kimono with two katana slung at his waist was slowly walking toward them, treading over a sea of corpses.
The terrifying sword pressure, enough to tear through space, forced both Hiromi Higuruma and Yuji Itadori to clench their fists tightly.
A true apex predator of the Culling Game, the leader of the ancient sorcerer alliance, had arrived!
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