[I thought this was just a reconnaissance mission. But now… the gap between us is so wide I don't even have the right to run.]
Jogo's eyes were unfocused. He hadn't even registered when the attack came. No, it was worse than that. Before he could even perceive the attack, it had already landed.
"This can't be blocked at all…
…But it doesn't matter."
His gaze suddenly cleared, more resolute than before. His conviction drowned out the pain in both body and mind.
"A hundred years from now, the one standing in the wasteland might not be me.
I just need to force him to act as much as possible.
Curse User, you should be able to gather the information you need…"
"What are you mumbling about? Speak up. I didn't hear you."
Akira Zenin walked over and crouched beside Jogo, looking down at the wilted volcano head.
He picked up a twig and poked Jogo's head with it. The twig burst into flames and instantly turned to ash.
"Still pretty hot, huh.
You can still use your Domain, right? I deliberately left you those hands.
Then again, maybe it doesn't matter. Cursed Spirits can regenerate on their own."
Jogo's eyes lit up.
If he used his Domain and combined it with Maximum: Meteor at full power, he could definitely injure this human.
"You will pay for your arrogance!"
Jogo instantly regenerated the rest of his body, leaped back to create distance, and formed hand seals.
His hands overlapped. Thumbs and index fingers pressed together. Middle and ring fingers interlocked. Little fingers raised.
"Domain Expansion!"
A black Barrier shell swallowed them in an instant. Gray-brown rock filled the entire space. Magma, heated to thousands of degrees, surged continuously from cracks in the stone.
"[Coffin of the Iron Mountain]!"
"That's more like it. Don't look sleepier than me like you did earlier. Show some spirit."
Akira Zenin raised his right hand and formed a seal in front of him.
"Domain Expansion. [Ten Directions Sacred Realm]."
Under his control, a white circular space enveloped himself, Megumi Fushiguro, and Tanabe. It did not expand any further.
After casually swatting aside a few small falling meteors, Akira Zenin turned back to Megumi Fushiguro.
"Megumi, let me properly explain Domain battles. You don't get this kind of lesson often."
With complete trust in Akira Zenin, Megumi Fushiguro simply sat down within the area covered by [Ten Directions Sacred Realm] and gestured with both hands as if to say, go on.
"Actually, the basics and theory behind Domain Expansion should've already been covered in Satoru Gojo's classes.
What I'm teaching you now is Domain confrontation. Normally it's hard to grasp. Meeting an opponent at this level? You really hit the jackpot."
"Yeah. I'm really lucky."
Akira Zenin glanced at Tanabe, who was wrapped in shadow. Fortunately, only his hair was slightly singed and curled. The shadow's insulation seemed to be doing its job.
"Tanabe, take a breath and relax."
"Yes!"
The moment Tanabe nodded, a massive meteor roared down from above, crashing toward the three of them.
"Humans are so arrogant. You actually let me fully unleash [Meteor] inside my Domain!"
The smoke cleared, revealing the three of them completely unharmed. Akira Zenin waved a hand in front of his nose.
"Hmm. Not bad power-wise. The worst part is all this dust everywhere. Cough."
Jogo stared with his single eye at the shattered chunks of meteorite. The other side had crushed it with nothing more than raw Cursed Energy output?
Wasn't Cursed Energy quantity different from output?
Akira Zenin turned to Megumi Fushiguro and resumed his outdoor lecture.
"Megumi, did you know?
The guaranteed-hit effect of a Domain Expansion is attached to the Barrier itself.
When both sides expand their Domains at the same time, the Barriers interfere with each other.
We call this stage 'Domain Push.' During this phase, both sides lose their guaranteed-hit effect."
Akira Zenin had his shadow swallow several small "suns."
"Remember, the guaranteed-hit effect disappears during Domain Push because the Barriers interfere with each other, not because the guaranteed-hit techniques cancel one another out.
Do you understand what that means?"
Megumi Fushiguro ignored the chaos around him and thought seriously for a moment.
"You mean that in a Domain battle, even if one side's Domain doesn't have a guaranteed-hit technique loaded, both sides will still lose the guaranteed-hit effect?"
"Bingo~~ And that interference has nothing to do with the size of the Domains."
Seeing his repeated attacks fail to leave even a scratch, Jogo clenched his blackened teeth in frustration.
Purple flames, denser with Cursed Energy and far more sinister than before, erupted from his body.
Countless pillars of violet fire swallowed the humans in front of him.
"You see, my Domain is special. I can choose whether or not to load a guaranteed-hit technique during battle.
Right now, there's no guaranteed-hit technique loaded at all. It only covers the ground beneath our feet, yet your Domain has still lost its guaranteed-hit effect~"
Under Akira Zenin's hands-on explanation, Megumi Fushiguro quickly grasped the concept.
"I get it!"
As their voices rang out again from within the flames, Jogo felt dazed. It was as if all he had done was provide background music.
Why did it feel like they weren't even fighting on the same layer?
Jogo began to sink into silence.
"Hmm? What's this?"
Akira Zenin tapped his chin lightly.
"Sorry, sorry. I got too into the lesson and forgot about you. Where were we?"
Jogo lowered his head and said nothing, letting his Cursed Energy be consumed by the Domain.
Akira Zenin narrowed his eyes, almost closing them completely.
[Jogo is a natural-disaster-level tactical weapon. He can wipe out entire city blocks with ease. Leaving him alone is too risky.
Whatever. I'll exorcise him here.]
"Cursed Spirit, you're too strong. I'll have to leave you here."
Jogo gritted his teeth and condensed an enormous meteor above his head.
Too strong? Who praises their opponent while beating them down?
"Megumi, let me add one more thing. Superior techniques, more refined Cursed Energy control, and larger Cursed Energy reserves all affect Domain confrontation~~
When the gap is too great, you might see something called 'Domain Overwrite.'"
"Shikigami Loading. [Round Deer]."
The moment the words fell, Akira Zenin's Domain completely overlaid Jogo's.
A massive Death-Returning Orb floated in the center of the white-lit space, spinning slowly.
"The biggest advantage of loading [Round Deer] is that Reverse Cursed Technique runs automatically, and Cursed Energy can be converted into other positive energy.
But for Cursed Spirits…
Thanks again for coming all this way to help with my lesson.
Sayonara."