The moment he stepped into the Domain, boundless darkness instantly swallowed Rin. The space was so twisted it made him dizzy, and the ground beneath his feet was cold and sticky, as if he were stepping in solidified ink, every step meeting heavy resistance.
But Rin's Sharingan penetrated the dense darkness and quickly caught a faint glimmer of light.
It was an entire, intact subway train, silently suspended in the center of the Domain. The lights inside the carriages were still on, becoming the only solace in this dead, silent darkness.
Clearly, the Cursed Spirit had dragged the entire rush-hour subway train into the Domain, along with a carriage full of ordinary people, turning them all into birds in a cage.
Rin didn't hesitate for a moment. His figure flashed, Cursed Energy condensed in his palm, and he smashed his fist against the subway car window.
With a "crash," the glass shattered, and he slipped inside, landing steadily on the carriage aisle.
The instant he landed, Cursed Energy rapidly spread out around Rin. A light red Simple Domain instantly took shape, enveloping him.
This was to guard against a sudden shadow attack launched by the Cursed Spirit.
After all, Rin dared not expose himself directly beneath the Cursed Spirit's Domain. He still didn't know the effects of the Cursed Spirit's Domain.
If he rashly entered and was affected by the Cursed Spirit's Sure-Hit Effect, he didn't know what would happen.
"Rin!"
A familiar voice sounded. Rin looked up and saw Maki standing in the middle of the carriage, still tightly gripping her long sword. She had several black Cursed Energy stains on her body and a shallow scratch on her arm.
Beside her, the man who had previously been crushed by the boulder was curled up next to a seat, covered in blood and pale as paper, but still alive.
The ordinary people crammed into the narrow space were filled with fear and despair. Seeing Rin burst in, some subconsciously gasped, while others showed a hint of hope.
"Are you okay?"
Rin quickly walked to Maki's side, his eyes scanning the wound on her arm, his brow slightly furrowed.
"It's a small scratch, nothing serious."
Maki shook her head and lowered her voice:
"This Cursed Spirit is very cunning. It keeps using shadows to sneak attack and occasionally drags people away. I can only stay in the carriage to protect everyone; I can't actively engage.
It seems to be deliberately wearing us down, not rushing to strike."
Rin nodded, his Sharingan quickly scanning the entire carriage.
Everyone in the carriage was curled up, holding their breath. Each person's shadow clung to the floor, slightly wriggling, as if responding to the Cursed Spirit outside the Domain, ready to attack at any moment.
"It dragged the entire subway train in here. Its goal isn't simple."
Rin's voice was low:
"Normal Cursed Spirits only kill and eat humans, but this one is trapping them. It's more like... collecting something."
His gaze fell upon the shadows of every person inside the carriage. The Sharingan clearly saw the Cursed Spirit's Cursed Energy slowly absorbing the ordinary people's fear, converting it into its own strength. The aura of the Domain seemed even denser than before.
"It's getting stronger through fear!"
Maki reacted instantly, her expression becoming serious:
"If this continues, once it absorbs enough fear, its strength will increase dramatically, and the Domain might completely stabilize!"
Rin didn't reply. Cursed Energy began surging around him.
He knew he couldn't wait any longer. He had to resolve the Cursed Spirit quickly, or not only would the ordinary people in the carriage suffer, but he and Maki might also fall into danger.
"Stay here and protect everyone. Don't let the shadows get close."
Rin turned and said to Maki:
"I'll go deal with it."
"Be careful! Its body is hidden in the darkness; it's hard to find!" Maki warned.
Rin nodded, his figure flashing as he rushed toward the front of the subway train.
The Simple Domain still enveloped the carriage, temporarily blocking the shadow attacks.
He pushed open the door to the driver's compartment. Outside was still boundless darkness, and countless shadow tentacles swam through the blackness, radiating a dangerous aura.
Rin moved quickly through the subway carriage, the broken glass under his feet making crisp sounds.
But the further he went, the more he felt something was wrong. The fear exhibited by the people in the carriage was far beyond the normal range.
Even though he had broken in and brought a glimmer of hope, the people in the carriage were still trapped in extreme panic.
Some were trembling with their hands covering their heads, some were screaming wildly at the air, and others were curled up in corners, their eyes vacant as if they had lost their souls.
They seemed to be controlled by some force, trapped in personalized, terrifying Illusions, constantly emitting intense fear. The Cursed Energy in the air consequently became stickier.
The reaction of one student-looking boy was the most violent.
He was curled up on the floor, his limbs struggling wildly, as if dodging some invisible monster, continuously screaming:
"Don't come closer! Don't touch me! Help!"
Just as Rin was about to step forward, the boy's emotions suddenly peaked. His eyes rolled back, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness.
The next second, the shadow on the carriage floor suddenly writhed. A pitch-black tentacle shot out, wrapped around the boy's ankle, and forcibly dragged him out of the subway car.
"Ah!"
A sharp, miserable scream instantly pierced the darkness, then abruptly ceased, leaving behind only a heavier sense of fear in the carriage.
Rin understood instantly.
The core of this Cursed Spirit's Domain was not attack at all, but amplifying fear and creating Illusions.
It first uses the Illusion to plunge the target into boundless panic, and once the person is completely consumed by fear, it strikes, dragging them away to devour them.
To it, only souls saturated with fear were the most delicious food.
This was also why it didn't kill immediately, but instead trapped the entire subway train: it was "raising" these prey, slowly extracting their fear to make itself stronger.
Realizing this, Rin immediately deactivated the Simple Domain around him.
Since the core of the Domain was emotional manipulation rather than physical attack, the Simple Domain not only failed to provide protection but also isolated him from the outside, preventing him from noticing his companion's abnormality in time.
He turned and rushed quickly toward Maki.
Sure enough, Maki's condition had become abnormal.
Her face was deathly pale, her eyes unfocused, the hand gripping her long sword trembled slightly, and she kept muttering:
"No... I'm not useless... I'm not... Don't say that..."
She had clearly fallen into an Illusion, likely seeing her clan's mockery and others' contempt—the scenes she cared about most and feared most were being infinitely magnified by the Cursed Spirit.
"Maki! Wake up!"
Rin rushed to her side, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her vigorously.
At the same time, he activated the Hymn of Prayer. Gentle, silvery-white Cursed Energy flowed from his palm into Maki's body, forcefully suppressing the Illusion's erosion of her mind.
Maki's body jolted, and her unfocused eyes gradually sharpened.
She gasped for breath, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and looked at Rin with a hint of lingering shock:
"I... I think I just saw my clan members. They kept saying I was useless trash..."
"It was an Illusion. Don't let it affect you."
Rin's voice was steady, carrying a calming strength:
"This Cursed Spirit's Domain amplifies inner fear and creates the most terrifying Illusions. Whatever you care about most, it will use to attack you."
Maki shook her head hard, tightened her grip on the long sword, and her eyes became firm again:
"I understand. Thank you for waking me up."
She looked at the ordinary people in the carriage who were still trapped in the Illusion and said anxiously, "What about them? If this continues, everyone will be consumed by fear!"
Rin's Sharingan swept across the crowd, revealing that most people's minds were on the verge of collapse, with only a few still holding on.
He knew he had to break the Illusion quickly, or these people would be driven mad by their own fear even without the Cursed Spirit acting directly.
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