This "Dance" carried Yoriichi Tsugikuni's signature blazing aura, appearing ready to cleave the bloated Special Grade Cursed Spirit in two.
However...
At the very moment the blade was about to graze the creature's hide—
*Vrrr—!*
Sensing a lethal threat from the depths of its soul, the Sukuna's Finger embedded in the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's chest suddenly erupted with a blinding black light.
Simultaneously, the space within the cavern began to warp violently.
It wasn't dodging.
It was rejection!
A prototype of an Innate Domain unique to a Special Grade Cursed Womb was forcibly expanded in that life-or-death instant.
Like an overturned iron pot, it crudely severed the space, splitting it in two.
*Boom!*
Yoru's blade slammed into the newly formed black barrier.
Sparks flew in every direction.
He hadn't cut through; the space itself had shifted the moment the barrier appeared.
As the flames faded...
Yoru found himself repelled outside the barrier, while Megumi Fushiguro and the Special Grade Cursed Spirit were sealed within.
As for the two Cursed Womb brothers, sensing Yoru's terrifying presence, they had already fled toward the forest outside while the barrier was forming.
"Don't run!"
Yuji Itadori and Nobara Kugisaki roared, giving chase.
In an instant, only Yoru and the black barrier containing Megumi remained.
"Using the power of Sukuna's Finger to forcibly divide the battlefield, huh...?"
Yoru sheathed his blade and stood still, his crimson pupils narrowing. Through the translucent black curtain, he watched the panicked yet savage monster inside.
It was afraid.
Afraid of the man wielding the sword.
Instinctively, it chose to lock the strongest one out while keeping the seemingly weakest shikigami user inside to serve as its meal.
"What an unfortunate choice."
Yoru's fingers lightly brushed the hilt, his voice as calm as if he were commenting on the evening moon.
"Separating me from Megumi might be the biggest mistake you've ever made."
*Transparent World: On.*
His vision pierced through the thick barrier, giving him a clear view of the fight within.
Megumi Fushiguro was facing the Special Grade Cursed Spirit that had consumed the finger; the pressure it exuded far surpassed what he'd felt back at the detention center.
'A barrier of this level... is it specifically repelling me?'
Yoru's fingers continued to graze the guard of his blade.
This barrier wasn't an ordinary Curtain; it was infused with the violent, almost divine cursed energy of Sukuna's Finger. While it repelled all external force, it was also constantly shifting its spatial coordinates.
Even [SUN BREATHING, SEVENTH FORM: BENEFICENT RADIANCE] would be deflected by this spatial distortion if he couldn't catch the precise gap between coordinate shifts.
"Megumi."
"You have to hold on."
Yoru took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
He didn't try to force his way in. Shattering such an unstable spatial barrier would likely cause the interior space to collapse, dragging Megumi into a chaotic spatial rift.
He was waiting.
He used the [TRANSPARENT WORLD] at its maximum output to track those fluctuating coordinates.
At the same time...
...he adjusted the rhythm of his breathing.
[SUN BREATHING, TOTAL CONCENTRATION: CONSTANT].
He was searching for the exact point where he could strike a killing blow without harming the space inside.
It would take time.
...
Inside the barrier.
Megumi Fushiguro's breathing was heavy and ragged, like a broken bellows.
Blood trickled down his forehead, clouding one of his eyes.
"So this is... the power of Sukuna's Finger?"
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit let out a raspy roar, every strike carrying overwhelming, destructive force.
Divine Dog was shattered.
Nue was torn apart.
All his shikigami were screaming in pain.
'I can't win.'
The thought took root in his mind, impossible to suppress.
The gap in power was simply too vast.
It wasn't just the sheer volume of its cursed energy; every blow it landed carried a corrosive curse.
After only a few minutes, Megumi was already covered in wounds.
*Roar—!*
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit lunged once more.
This time, a multitude of tentacles thrust toward him like spears.
"Great Serpent!"
Megumi formed a hand seal, attempting to summon the Great Serpent for defense.
But the moment the serpent emerged, it was shredded by the savage tentacles.
The despair and helplessness...
...it reminded him of that rainy day at the detention center, the suffocating fear of being under Sukuna's thumb.
'Am I... going to lose again?'
Megumi grit his teeth, his hands beginning to form that all-too-familiar seal.
The trump card he instinctively reached for whenever he was backed into a corner.
[FURUBE YURAYURA...]
As long as he summoned that ultimate shikigami, he could drag this Special Grade down to the grave with him, even at the cost of his own life.
This was his logic—his way of fighting.
Sacrifice himself to ensure victory.
As long as he won, no price was too high—not even his life.
But just as his fingers were about to meet, a voice thundered in his mind.
It was every word Yoru had said to him during their training for the Goodwill Event.
"Megumi, you're always thinking about sacrificing yourself."
"Do you really think that dying solves everything?"
That black-haired, crimson-eyed man had always looked at him with that frustrated, expectant gaze.
"If you die, what happens to the people who want you to live?"
"Don't always try to trade your life for theirs."
"Imagine!"
"Imagine a future where you're freer and stronger!"
Megumi's pupils constricted.
Gojo-sensei's punchable, grinning face surfaced in his thoughts as well.
"Dying to win and risking your life to win are two completely different things, Megumi."
"Be... a little greedier."
*Boom!*
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit's fist slammed into the ground, sending stone fragments flying.
The shockwave sent Megumi flying. He slammed into the rocky wall, the agony nearly causing him to black out.
But he smiled.
It was a smile laced with blood and madness. He stared at his gore-stained hands.
"Yeah."
"Who exactly am I setting limits for?"
"Why am I limiting my own shadow?"
"Why am I limiting my own future?"
He let go of the hand seal to summon Mahoraga.
In its place, he formed a gesture he had never used before—one that was entirely his own.
The cursed energy within him began to churn, no longer primed for self-destruction, but for expansion.
Expanding outward!
Making this damn darkness my own domain!
Megumi snapped his head up. Gone was his usual composure and restraint; in their place was nothing but pure madness.
"If that's how it is..."
"...then none of us are having a good time!"
He crossed his hands, forming a seal he had practiced a thousand times in his dreams but never dared to attempt in reality.
The cursed energy in the air began to surge violently.
The shadows on the floor began to bubble and churn.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit sensed something was wrong and tried to retreat in terror.
But it was already too late.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION—"
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