The aftermath of three colliding domains left Shinjuku in tatters. The volcano Mahito had summoned still bled rivers of molten rock, its magma spilling into fractured streets, swallowing whole towers.
The sky above was black with smoke, painted red by the inferno below. The landscape was no longer Shinjuku. It was a hellscape, sculpted by three wills, but only one of those wills remained unbroken.
Mahito's domain.
Cursed Genesis flexed outward with every breath of his soul, its fleshy appearance warping and reshaping constantly.
Lightning crawled along the sky like veins, magma spilled from the ground as though the earth's core had been dragged upward, and fire bled from the edges of the horizon. It was not a place, not a temple, not even an expansion in the traditional sense. It was Mahito, manifested.
The golden wheel behind him turned once more with a grinding groan. Each spin announced his defiance of all reason, his mockery of every law sorcerers had spent centuries refining.
A barrierless domain tied directly to the soul itself. A domain stronger than Gojo's Infinite Void. One that even outlasted Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine.
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From the screens in Jujutsu High, no one spoke at first.
It was Mei Mei who broke the silence, her silver hair reflecting the light of the monitors. "This is… bad."
Kusakabe shook his head. "No, this is worse than that. If he wins as he is now, then we don't stand a chance either..."
Yuki crossed her arms, her voice sharp, carrying a hint of frustration even she could not hide. "How are we even supposed to deal with a domain this broken?"
Inumaki muttered something under his breath, too quiet to make out, while Panda's usually playful expression had hardened into grim silence.
They had plenty of plans and contingencies, but they all relied on Mahito or Sukuna being weakened, too weak to use a domain, if either of them survived anyway.
Things simply could not end as they were...
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Back inside the battlefield, Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna stood trapped within Mahito's domain, their bodies still marked by exhaustion.
Sukuna's chest rose and fell with heavy breaths. His tattoos glowed faintly, but his cursed technique had been burnt out from forcing Malevolent Shrine. Even his recovery could not immediately reset the cost of that expansion.
Gojo's Infinity hummed faintly around him. Unlike Sukuna, his cursed technique had already returned, though his domain was gone. His body ached from the strain, but he smiled despite it. His voice cut through the fiery winds.
"Well, this is bad news."
Sukuna clicked his tongue, his four arms flexing as if to test his strength. "Tch. Speak for yourself. I will kill him once I recover."
"Oh, poor you~ Wonder what's taking you so long to recover..." Gojo replied coolly. His eyes sharpened, blue irises glowing as cursed energy pulsed around him.
Mahito's laughter rolled across the volcanic ground. "Two 'gods' of Jujutsu, panting and exhausted, while inside my body. Pathetic. I expected more."
The streets around Gojo and Sukuna seemed to cave in, forming a gigantic hole with them in the middle, and magma poured immediately in glowing rivers.
Gojo moved first. He did not hesitate. His hands clapped together, cursed energy rushing outward in a thin pulse that settled around him and Sukuna.
A simple domain.
The space bent around the two of them, a fragile layer of protection pressed against the storm of Mahito's expansion. It was not a weapon but a shelter, just enough to hold off the crushing influence of Mahito's soul.
Sukuna stepped into it without a word. Even the King of Curses was pragmatic enough to understand when an enemy had to be endured. Inside the small bubble of safety, he closed his eyes briefly, regathering his cursed energy.
Outside, lava surged against the edges of Gojo's makeshift shell. His Infinity flared, repelling it, holding both magma and Mahito's endless intrusion at bay.
"This…" Mei Mei's voice trailed as she watched from the screen, a rare flicker of awe in her tone. "He is holding up a simple domain while maintaining Infinity, and sheltering Sukuna within it as well. That should not be possible."
Yuta leaned forward, his fists clenched. "It is because he is Gojo. Even his simple domain becomes impossible."
Back on the field, cursed energy surged suddenly. Sukuna's eyes opened, burning crimson, his aura flaring outward like wildfire. His technique was back.
Without hesitation, his four arms carved through the air. "Dismantle!"
Invisible slashes exploded outward, filling the bubble of their simple domain and ripping into the magma around them. Lava split into harmless fragments, scattered in waves by raw cursed energy. For the first time, the two strongest sorcerers had space to breathe.
But Mahito did not give them long.
He surged forward, faster than even Gojo's eyes predicted. His six arms folded into a single strike that tore through the magma, his exoskeleton cracking with the force of his motion.
He appeared directly before Sukuna and drove his fist into the King of Curses' face.
Sukuna snarled, his jaw cracking, but before he could retaliate, the world slowed.
Mahito's hand glowed faintly, and with a snap of cursed energy, Sukuna's body stiffened.
"Projection Sorcery," Gojo muttered, his eyes widening in shock.
Naoya Zenin's technique.
Sukuna's body was segmented instantly into frames, movements assigned before he could even register them. He was forced into a single still image, his body nothing more than a fragile pane of glass.
Mahito's smile stretched wide. "Dance for me, King."
His other fist slammed through Sukuna's immobilized form. The body shattered like glass, fragments scattering into the air. Sukuna's true form reconstituted instantly above, thrown high into the sky, snarling in disbelief.
Gojo's gaze sharpened as his Six Eyes caught something new. Amid Mahito's ever-shifting armor, a faint distortion pulsed near his chest.
Not his soul itself, but something tethered to it. A larval-like core, an anchor tied to his very soul by a thin, almost invisible thread.
"So that's it," Gojo murmured, his voice a razor's edge. "You did not tie your domain directly to your soul. You tied it to something else. A parasite. Clever… but sloppy."
His hand extended instantly. "Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
The gravity well surged forward, space itself collapsing inward as Mahito was dragged toward Gojo. His exoskeleton cracked under the pull.
Gojo's fist snapped out, a precise strike glowing with cursed energy. His knuckles connected with perfect timing.
Black Flash.
The hit detonated across Mahito's chest, cursed energy bending reality as it attempted to tear through that faint tether.
Mahito grunted as his body buckled, his six arms shielding his chest quickly. But the impact sent him hurtling backward through molten air, smashing through quite a few melted buildings.
The observers held their breath, as for the first time they saw Mahito's domain shaking slightly.
"He found it," Yuki muttered, her lips curling. "The Six Eyes saw what no one else could. The weak point."
Kusakabe swallowed hard. "If anyone could, it would be him."
Mahito rose slowly from the crater, smoke spilling from his mouth, his exoskeleton fractured. He said nothing. His golden wheel turned once more, its grinding echo filling the domain.
Gojo did not wait. He dashed forward, his Infinity shielding him, and slipped past the collapsing magma. In a single blur of cursed energy, he tore free from the pull of Mahito's soul and stepped out of the domain.
For the first time, he was outside the beast's body, standing upon fractured streets, his chest heaving. He had bought himself precious time.
Back within, Sukuna landed heavily upon molten rock, his flesh torn but already stitching itself back together. He spat blood, his crimson eyes narrowing upon Mahito.
Mahito's laughter finally returned, faint but cold. His voice echoed across the molten cavern.
"As expected. Of course, it would be you, Gojo Satoru. The Six Eyes of yours are so annoying... It was only a matter of time before you saw through me. Though you are still quite wrong. It is part of my soul, just separated~"
He tilted his head, purple eyes glinting. "Still, seeing through me is not the same as killing me, and you're certainly quite far from killing me..."
The golden wheel behind him shimmered, creaking and groaning, its sound like a blade grinding across stone.
Mahito's laughter broke into a grin, his voice dripping with hunger. "I wonder, Gojo… when I devour you, will your eyes become mine as well?"