Shortly after Eiji entered the cave, a black shadow targeted him.
As Eiji moved forward, he observed everything in the cave with his flashlight.
"Strange, I thought something just swam past."
The next moment, Eiji's body was engulfed in electricity.
The surrounding darkness was instantly dispelled, and an entity hiding in the shadows was illuminated by the light.
"A Kageoni?"
Seeing the Kageoni that had crept up behind him, Eiji raised his hand, ready to unleash lightning.
However, Eiji stopped his movement the next moment.
Whoosh.
The Kageoni attacked Eiji.
Eiji leaped backward, simultaneously shining his flashlight onto his left hand.
Squelch.
The sound of flesh being torn echoed.
The Kageoni's attack had ripped a small piece of flesh from Eiji's left arm.
Reverse Cursed Technique was used.
Mahoraga began to adapt.
According to Shijima Nagi and the information from the Management Council.
The Kageoni had both clones and a main body.
Since he had encountered a weaker clone now, it was better to let Mahoraga adapt first.
This would save a lot of adaptation time when he encountered the stronger Kageoni main body later.
The Kageoni clone's attacks bore similarities to the main body's.
The positive energy generated by the Reverse Cursed Technique gathered at the wound on his left arm, and soon the positive energy began to cancel out the curse at the wound.
"The curse is preventing the Reverse Cursed Technique from healing? Fortunately, the wound is small."
As Eiji increased the output of his Reverse Cursed Technique, the wound on his left arm quickly healed.
Then, while dodging, Eiji once again used his flashlight to shine the shadow of his left arm towards the Kageoni.
Squelch.
Clang.
The Wheel of Dharma spun.
The Kageoni's curse was adapted to.
Soon, the sound of the Wheel of Dharma spinning could be heard again.
"Huh?"
Sensing the change in his shadow and Mahoraga's information about how the Kageoni adapted to attacking shadows, Eiji exclaimed in surprise.
When the Kageoni attacked Eiji's shadow for the second time, Eiji noticed that his shadow seemed to have changed.
It was as if Tom and Jerry, after being pricked by a needle, were holding their bottoms and flying into the sky.
Eiji felt as though his shadow instinctively wanted to dodge when it was bitten by the Kageoni.
It felt as if the shadow were alive.
Then came the method from Mahoraga, which he could also use, for defending against the Kageoni's shadow attacks.
Reinforce the shadow's defense with cursed energy, or place a Summoned Spirit within the shadow to bite the Kageoni back.
With a casual wave of lightning, Eiji eliminated the still-attacking Kageoni and fell into thought as he looked at his shadow.
The next second, Kageoni after Kageoni appeared in Eiji's sight.
"Tch, no manners at all. I'll deal with all of you first."
Eiji's body crackled with lightning, and as he sprinted at high speed, he eliminated each Kageoni.
Soon, Eiji reached the cave where the Kageoni's main body was located.
"Is this it?"
Looking at the damaged seal in the center of the cave and then at the samurai sword lying on the ground.
Eiji knew that the Jujutsu Sorcerers sent by the Management Council had already died.
He looked up at his surroundings.
Walls, ceiling, ground – Kageoni were everywhere.
"There are quite a lot of them."
Within Eiji's shadow, Mahoraga's figure slowly stood up.
The Demon-Slaying Sword swung, leaving deep gashes on the wall.
Soon, these Curse Spirits, only level 2-3 Kageoni, scattered and fled. Then, Kageoni with a strength of level 1 or higher appeared around Eiji and Mahoraga.
"So, there are this many level 1 Kageoni clones."
The lightning, which had already dimmed and was only left for illumination, flashed again.
The battle began anew.
Eiji and Mahoraga, who protected their shadows with Cursed Energy, had extremely high resistance to the Kageoni's attacks.
One by one, the Kageoni were eliminated by Eiji and Mahoraga.
"The level 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer from before must have died because they didn't know how to protect their shadows with Cursed Energy."
Eiji thought to himself.
A massive black shadow swam out from the well opening. It was clear that the battle in the cave had awakened the true master of the cave.
"Is this the main body?"
Eiji looked at the giant Cursed Spirit before him with some surprise.
It was tens of meters long.
Thin, petal-like fins grew from its lower body, and its mouth didn't open up and down, but split open from the middle to the sides.
The Kageoni was covered in countless eyes, some of which were already closed.
Mahoraga struck another Kageoni with its sword.
Eiji noticed another eye on the Kageoni close.
"So, those eyes are the Cursed Spirits enslaved by the Kageoni."
A golden chess piece appeared in Eiji's hand.
Shadow of the Spirit Foundation.
A mysterious woman, completely shrouded in a long purple robe, appeared beside Eiji.
"Medea, deal with those Kageoni. Mahoraga, go eliminate the main body."
Medea's robe spread out to both sides, transforming into wings.
Countless bombardments attacked the Kageoni on the wall.
A Kageoni tried to bite Medea's shadow, but it ended up biting the Barrier.
Medea used the Barrier to isolate her own shadow.
"So, it has this trick too."
Mahoraga also abandoned the scurrying Kageoni and charged towards the giant main body that was tens of meters long.
The Kageoni's main body's mouth split open to the sides, and a strange sound reached Eiji's ears.
The next moment, the cave was enveloped in shadow.
Domain Expansion: Abyssal Shadow Prison
"This is a Domain! Falling Blossom Emotion."
Falling Blossom Emotion, a Cursed Technique passed down through the generations of the Three Great Families to counter Domains. It allows the user to unleash Cursed Energy in a counterattack when a Domain's sure-hit attack lands, thus protecting themselves.
Naobito Zenin had readily given Eiji the method for using Falling Blossom Emotion, so Eiji had also learned it while studying Summoned Spirits and Barrier Techniques.
Eiji's talent was very high, and he learned things with instruction manuals very quickly.
Within the Domain, the Kageoni bit Mahoraga's shadow and began to tear at it relentlessly.
However, Mahoraga had already adapted to the attack from the Kageoni clones, so the main body's attack had limited effect.
Ding.
The Dharma wheel spun, and Mahoraga adapted to the Kageoni's attack.
The Kageoni's frantic attacks could no longer leave significant wounds on Mahoraga.
Ding.
After a while, the Dharma wheel spun again.
Mahoraga raised its hands, and its shadow mimicked the same action.
The next moment, Mahoraga's shadow actually forced open the Kageoni's massive mouth.
"We can win!"
Falling Blossom Emotion was still active.
However, the Kageoni seemed to have focused most of its power on Mahoraga, so Eiji received few attacks.
At this moment, Eiji suddenly had a wild idea.
Falling Blossom Emotion was canceled.
The next moment, the Domain's sure-hit attack landed on Eiji's shadow.
"Hmph."
So heavy. This is on a completely different level from the damage dealt by a Domain Expansion.
Looking at his body, which was protected by cursed energy but still injured, Eiji let out a mad grin.
The next second, several more attacks landed on Eiji's shadow.
Eiji had never felt his own shadow so vividly.
Under the Domain's attack, his shadow felt like a limb, clearly perceivable by his brain.
Eiji's mind began to race, processing knowledge of the Ten Shadows Technique, barrier knowledge, and the unprecedented novelty brought by this domain composed of shadow-based cursed techniques.
"Haha, Hahaha, I see now, Hahaha, so this is shadow!"
Eiji felt his brain was practically burning.
In that moment, Eiji truly wanted to stab his finger into his temple to cool his brain down.
"I'm so incredibly hyped!"
A solid foundation, extremely high talent, and the perfect opportunity.
At this moment, Eiji underwent a transformation.
"Domain Expansion: Abyssal Shadow Prison."
Eiji's shadow churned, transforming into a pitch-black abyss that swallowed everything around it. And within this abyss lay a nest hiding countless summoned spirits.
"Now! Devour each other, Kageoni!"
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com