Yuta Okkotsu, newly pulled into the Domain, didn't show the slightest hint of panic. He turned his head and spat out something faintly metallic and bitter.
[The air's full of these fine steel particles… They'll enter my lungs with every breath.]
In the distance, Kōkyū seemed to vent all the frustration he'd built up from being completely overpowered.
"I was already planning to leave. Who told you to keep chasing me?
…Then just die!"
The moment his voice fell, the black iron sand covering the ground inside the Domain was swept aside by a sudden gust, exposing one opening after another. Only then did it become clear that even the ground itself was made of coffins.
One by one, the corpses of the wrongfully dead began to stir, as if reborn.
But this time, their "rebirth" had a single purpose.
To kill the Jujutsu Sorcerer standing before them.
The corpses swarmed forward, clawing and tearing. Within the Domain, their movements were impossible to predict. The instant they raised their hands, their attacks had already landed on Yuta Okkotsu.
A small number of them could even use Cursed Techniques?
[Were these people once real?
Or are they all victims this Cursed Spirits killed?]
Yet just as their attacks were about to take effect, they were blocked—and in the next instant, the corpses were cut cleanly in half.
Endless bloodstained weapons surged from the crimson river.
But like the corpses before them, none of those weapons managed to injure Yuta Okkotsu in the slightest.
An immeasurable flow of Cursed Energy circulated around him, intercepting every incoming strike with precision, like a flawless defense system.
...
Secret Technique—[Falling Blossom Emotion]
...
This was a Domain countermeasure passed down among the Three Great Families. Unlike a Simple Domain, it released Cursed Energy at the exact moment a sure-hit technique activated and made contact, neutralizing it through a precise counter.
Yuta Okkotsu stared at Kōkyū without expression.
His own Domain was still only half complete. But at the moment, he likely wouldn't need it.
Thanks to the countless sparring sessions with Akira Zenin, his mastery of [Falling Blossom Emotion] was exceptionally refined. He only needed to drain the Cursed Spirits' Cursed Energy and finish it off.
After all, Domain Expansion—the ultimate secret of Jujutsu—consumed an enormous amount of energy. There was no way the opponent could sustain it for long.
As for sparring with Satoru Gojo…
Could [Unlimited Void] even be blocked by [Falling Blossom Emotion]?
Seeing that he couldn't bring Yuta Okkotsu down quickly, Kōkyū suddenly slammed his palms together. The metallic clash rang sharply through the Domain.
"Technique Release—[Nirvana's Demonic Cavern]!"
In the town at the center of the Domain, the coffins forming the buildings began to open one after another in response to Kōkyū's voice. Corpses rose from within, their deaths even more gruesome than before.
Some had only half their heads remaining. Some had been mutilated into human stumps. Some were flayed alive. Others had been executed by slow slicing.
Yet they all shared one trait.
If they still had eyes, those eyes were terrifyingly clear—clear enough to suggest they were about to relive the inhuman agony they had suffered before death.
Their wails carried a strange amplification, as though empowered by some technique. Even Yuta Okkotsu, hardened by countless battles, felt a sharp pain bloom in his head. For a brief moment, the circulation of his Cursed Energy faltered.
In the next instant, a blue circle appeared beneath his feet.
As soon as [Falling Blossom Emotion] lost its effect, he seamlessly transitioned into a Simple Domain.
Then, once more, he layered [Falling Blossom Emotion] over it, blocking the enhanced corpses and the storm of flying weapons.
Now he only needed to remain vigilant against the corpses of fallen Jujutsu Sorcerers. If one of them suddenly unleashed some strange Cursed Technique, that would be troublesome.
If their techniques were also granted sure-hit properties by the Domain, then things would become genuinely difficult.
Kōkyū's mindset began to crack.
Even without deploying his own Domain, Yuta Okkotsu had taken no visible damage. Not even a superficial wound.
Doubt crept in.
[Could it be… I'm really that weak?]
He had never harbored ambitions like Jogo, nor constantly sought out stronger opponents. Mahito had mocked him as a shallow soul obsessed with manipulating flesh and appearances.
But even so…
On his own turf, inside his own Domain, he shouldn't feel this powerless.
…
Once self-doubt sets in, meaningless thoughts have a way of quietly stealing time.
Suddenly, Kōkyū sensed that the "curtain" surrounding the outside had been broken.
That human had warned them—once the curtain disappeared, they were to flee at top speed.
And since this had only been an experimental model, there was no way to predict exactly when it would collapse.
…
Kōkyū immediately dispelled his Domain and sprang into the nearby forest, diving straight toward the location where his backup was supposed to be waiting.
"Retreat."
"@#￥#@#￥…"
The surroundings returned to normal.
Yuta Okkotsu stood there for a moment, puzzled. Why had the Cursed Spirits suddenly run?
An intelligent and highly dangerous Cursed Spirits like that couldn't be allowed to escape.
But when Yuta Okkotsu chased after it, he couldn't detect even a trace of residuals or lingering aura.
[Was I affected by its technique after all, and lost my ability to sense residuals?
Or did it completely erase its presence?]
With a quiet sigh, he sheathed his blade and returned to the rooftop of the school building to check on the others. Using the Reverse Cursed Technique derived from Shoko's method, he treated each of them in turn.
After giving Megumi Fushiguro a nod, Yuta Okkotsu turned to Yuji Itadori.
"How are you? Any discomfort left?"
There was something about Yuta Okkotsu that naturally put people at ease.
Yuji Itadori, however, hadn't been afraid at all earlier. He rotated the arm that had just been crushed.
"Huh? Amazing, amazing! It's really better!"
Yuta Okkotsu was just about to ask what had happened earlier when his phone vibrated.
"Could it be Rika…? It hasn't even been ten minutes since our last call. She shouldn't be that anxious."
But when he looked down, the message was from the second-years at Jujutsu High.
Satoru Gojo: [Spread the word, spread the word. Yuta Okkotsu is crouching over there crying because he didn't catch the Cursed Spirits~~]
Attached was a photo—the back of Yuta Okkotsu crouching while healing Yuji Itadori. Because of the angle, only he was visible.
Maki: [Spread the word, spread the word. Yuta Okkotsu is squatting there reviewing the fight because he couldn't beat the Cursed Spirits…]
Panda: [Spread the word, spread the word. Yuta's squatting there eating dirt after getting beaten by a Cursed Spirits…]
Yuta Okkotsu: [Humans don't eat dirt…]
Inumaki: [Salmon]
Akira Zenin: [I suddenly have a question. Is typing considered normal speech?]
Maki: [Why are you even here?]
Inumaki: [Salmon]
Panda: [Because Toge's afraid that if he gets used to typing normally, he'll accidentally say it out loud]
Yuta Okkotsu let out a helpless breath and slipped his phone back into his clothes. Then he turned to look at a certain stick-like figure standing under the moonlight.
"Gojo-sensei…"
"Ah, you caught me."
"Why are you here too?"
"I wasn't planning to come~
But when a Special Grade Cursed Object goes missing, the higher-ups start nagging. So I figured I'd swing by. And I happened to see something interesting~"
Megumi Fushiguro walked over and placed the Sukuna finger he had retrieved into a storage box before handing it to Satoru Gojo.
Gojo casually tucked it away, then pulled out a bag.
"Kikufuku Mochi. A Sendai specialty. Edamame and fresh cream flavor. Super tasty~
But I'm not sharing. Hehe~~"