"Are you an idiot...?"
As Amber was wrestling with her thoughts while hurrying along, Dark Amber finally couldn't hold back from speaking up.
"What's wrong, other me?"
Amber had to admit she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but was that any reason to suddenly insult her?
Wait, no—Dark Amber never spoke without good reason. Usually, when she said something, it meant Amber had done something she simply couldn't overlook.
"If you want to be in both places, why not just use the power of Creation and send me to deal with Sukuna?"
Dark Amber continued, "After all, he and I are old rivals, even if we've only fought once."
"Oh, right..."
Amber, whose mind tended to run on a single track, honestly hadn't considered that.
She'd thought she'd matured a bit, but now she felt a flush of embarrassment. Still, she didn't hesitate—quickly crafting an identical body for Dark Amber, just like last time.
Though it couldn't access the system's power, the body's innate abilities were fully available.
The power of the Stygian Nymph shouldn't be any weaker than Sukuna's.
Wait, no—while she called it Stygian Nymph, to Dark Amber, any of her Seele character cards were more like Starchasm Nyx. It all depended on what Dark Amber felt like using.
"Then, I'll leave Sukuna to you, other me," Amber said.
"Yeah, yeah."
The newly formed body opened its blood-red eyes, and Dark Amber grinned. "No need to worry when it's me. Even if Sukuna had all his fingers, he'd still be no match for me."
"Mhm!"
With their tasks divided, the two set off in their respective directions.
Over with Maki and Fushiguro, things were playing out much like in the original story—they'd encountered Dagon, a curse capable of unleashing a Domain, and incredibly powerful.
Even with Nanami and Zen'in Naobito backing them up, they were being overwhelmed.
Fortunately, Fushiguro had managed to grasp an incomplete Domain, neutralizing part of Dagon's guaranteed-hit effect.
Dark Amber didn't head straight for Sukuna. Instead, she arrived at the battlefield at Jujutsu High where Dagon was, and shattered his Domain outright.
"Seele... No! You're the... other Seele inside her."
Even though they looked identical, the two were vastly different. Maki wasn't about to mistake one for the other. Sensing the dangerous aura the girl was radiating, she grew wary.
"Hmph. Substitution. You all go handle the small fries. Leave this one to me."
Dark Amber could easily pick up on the other's suspicion. They probably thought she was like Yuji's situation—that someone had schemed to possess that idiot's body.
That kind of attitude was seriously annoying.
She hadn't planned on shooing them away so bluntly at first, but now just seeing them irritated her.
Maki caught the tone, but she didn't bother explaining or arguing. She simply said, "Thanks," before leaving promptly with Fushiguro.
Seeing this, Nanami followed the two.
The remaining Zen'in Naobito, now alone with two special-grade-level entities, naturally had no intention of sticking around.
Seizing the chance while they were still allowed to leave, he bolted even faster than the others.
"A curse whose true nature is unknown."
Dagon hadn't expected to encounter Dark Amber here. Knowing full well that this curse wasn't on their side, he didn't hesitate—immediately trying to deploy his Domain again.
Domains weren't easy to use.
Deploying one required an immense amount of cursed energy and came with a heavy cost. Being able to deploy Domains continuously, like Gojo Satoru or Sukuna, was an exception that defied all logic—no one else could manage it.
While curses could recover from technique burnout more easily, even without side effects, unfortunately, Dagon didn't know how to treat it.
He wasn't even aware of the fatal risk of technique burnout after a Domain was shattered.
"Crap!"
Even without that knowledge, his current state—unable to channel cursed energy into his technique—said it all.
With no way to use his technique, Dagon didn't dare stay put. He immediately fled in the opposite direction.
Sadly, his speed was like a turtle's crawl in Dark Amber's eyes. Black-red iron claws materialized around her, accompanied by the clanking of chains, snaring Dagon and yanking him back.
Just as Dark Amber was about to finish him off, a series of explosions erupted nearby, growing louder and closer.
"BOOM!"
The ceiling shattered with a tremendous crash, and Jogo's body burst through multiple floors, slamming down in front of them. He was already in tatters—if not for a curse's ability to regenerate with cursed energy, he'd likely have been sliced beyond recognition.
"What is this!?"
Jogo stared at Dark Amber, and at Dagon trapped in her chains, instantly grasping what had happened. "Stop right there!"
Ignoring Sukuna closing in behind him, he didn't think twice before spewing flames at Dark Amber, only for her to swat them aside with a claw.
"Don't get in the way. It's not your turn to die yet."
Dark Amber hadn't expected the two of them to fight their way here, but it worked out—saved her the trouble of hunting them down.
An invisible slash shot toward the two in the next instant. Jogo narrowly dodged, but still lost an arm. Dark Amber, unruffled, phased into a quantum state, letting the attack pass right through her.
"Still as troublesome as ever, that annoying technique of yours."
Sukuna appeared beside the three, a murderous grin plastered on his face.
"Are you all in such a hurry to die, one after the other?"
Dark Amber, interrupted twice now, had a short fuse to begin with. Only Amber's presence usually kept her killing urges in check, but she was nearing her limit.
Noticing the girl's soaring cursed energy, even Sukuna couldn't help but adopt a more serious expression.
"No matter. Since you're all here, I'll just take you out one by one."
The crimson in her eyes deepened to a bloody scarlet. With a sudden contraction of the chains, Dagon—before he could even process it—was sliced into dozens of chunks.
"You bastard!"
First Hanami, now Dagon—with his comrades dying before his eyes one after another, sheer rage drove Jogo past the point of reason.
Without a moment to mourn Dagon, the next to attack Dark Amber was the Cursed Spirit of Earth—Jogo.
"I hope you can entertain me a little."
Dark Amber wasn't in the mood for games now. An overwhelming net of dark-gray chains spread from her blood-red claws, filling Jogo's entire field of vision.
Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Jogo poured his maximum cursed energy into his technique, unleashing an output he'd never achieved before.
Yet, even pushing his limits, using fury as fuel, the intense heat still couldn't penetrate that web of chains. Flames hot enough to melt the entire building couldn't even last a second upon impact—severed by the rapidly moving chains, along with Jogo himself, who was cut into multiple pieces.
Sukuna raised an eyebrow at the scene.
He wasn't surprised Jogo had been killed so easily—he could have done the same. If this unknown curse, who'd piqued his interest, couldn't manage it, that would have been strange.
In terms of technique, he was at a significant disadvantage. But he did have one major advantage: this body belonged to a comrade of her host. In other words, she wouldn't go for the kill.
Still, he couldn't push her too far—after all, that sorcerer girl had resurrection abilities.
Well then, he'd just have to kill her right before reaching that limit.
Sukuna smiled again and slowly walked toward Dark Amber.
Without a moment to mourn Jogo's death, stepping up to take his place was the King of Curses—Sukuna.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.