"Impossible..."
Having survived for a thousand years since the Heian era, Kenjaku had encountered all kinds of people.
There was Sukuna, a "demon" who had devoured his sibling while still in his mother's womb and was born with two faces and four arms. There was Kashimo, whose body would break down after using his cursed technique. There was Tengen, who had grown old without dying because of his cursed technique.
And then there was the Heavenly Restriction that had only been discovered in this era, one that erased all cursed energy in exchange for an extreme physical constitution.
Yet no matter what kind of cursed technique or Heavenly Restriction it was, it should still follow basic logic.
Kenjaku had heard Sukuna talk about the various abilities Mukuro had used in Shibuya, but those things had only been possible because he was using Megumi's body.
How could a body with the extreme physical constitution granted by Heavenly Restriction, one with such high resistance to curses, possibly contain cursed energy as well?
Could Suguru have used Idle Transfiguration to alter Mukuro's soul structure and turn him into a body capable of containing cursed energy?
If that were the case, he should not still possess such an overwhelmingly powerful body.
And if it was merely some method of gathering cursed energy, it should only allow him to wrap cursed energy around his body. It should be impossible for him to expand an innate domain from within his body.
Kenjaku kept thinking to himself. His hands remained locked in the Anti-Forked Palm sign for so long that he did not even loosen them.
Yet the truth was right before his eyes.
Powerful cursed energy surged wildly through Mukuro's body like a raging tide. The moment he formed the hand sign, his domain, which was likewise not closed by a barrier, began to overlap with Kenjaku's Womb Profusion.
Cracks began spreading across the ground as intense heat poured through them. It was as though Hell itself was trying to break through into the human world.
"No!"
Kenjaku suddenly came back to his senses. He quickly shrank the range of his domain, making it even smaller than its original 140-meter radius.
He could clearly sense that Mukuro's domain possessed a guaranteed-hit effect. He had no choice but to answer a guaranteed-hit with another guaranteed-hit. He also had to strengthen his domain by shrinking its range. Otherwise, he would suffer a huge disadvantage inside it.
His brows furrowed.
Things had gone wrong.
"We're back to the original stalemate."
Mukuro lightly scratched the back of his head and raised it slightly. He looked at his opponent with a hint of disdain.
Kenjaku had to imbue his domain with a guaranteed-hit effect. As a result, until the clash between their domains was decided, the situation was almost the same as before either of them had expanded a domain.
He could no longer use his domain to expand the range of his cursed technique at will. In other words, he had returned to his original limitations of only a few meters in range and a few seconds of duration.
"What a troublesome guy..."
The playful smile that had been on Kenjaku's face disappeared. His expression had become completely serious.
He did not know how long the Great Merger would take. Could his endless cursed energy and immortality really allow him to hold out until then?
And if things truly reached that point, would these monsters still choose to remain "human"?
He could roughly guess the answer, but Kenjaku was still curious about it. For now, however, that matter was less important than what was happening in front of him.
That was something for later. There was no need for him to worry about it yet.
What he needed to think about now was how to survive this period of time and perhaps even defeat the young monster known as Mukuro Fushiguro.
While he was still thinking, Mukuro's figure suddenly disappeared from in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, what filled Kenjaku's vision was Mukuro's powerful right leg, rapidly growing larger as it swung toward him.
Bang!
Kenjaku crossed both arms in front of his head and barely managed to block the kick. Even so, his entire body was sent flying sideways through the air.
The bones in his arms cracked with a sharp "creak," but the endless cursed energy within his body immediately activated Reverse Cursed Technique and repaired them.
Mukuro was incredibly fast. Before Kenjaku could adjust his position in midair, he had already caught up and charged forward.
He grabbed Kenjaku's left ankle and was about to stop his downward momentum when the weight in his hand suddenly became much lighter.
Looking down, he saw that the moment Kenjaku was grabbed, he had decisively transformed his left hand into a blade and severed his entire left leg.
"Crow Cloud!"
The next moment, he swung his right hand forward. Dozens of crows formed from cursed energy surged toward Mukuro like a black wave.
Using the swarm as cover, Kenjaku quickly retreated. By the time he landed again, his left leg had already regenerated completely.
This was his current strategy: trading injuries for injuries, or rather, buying time.
After all, his victory condition did not necessarily require him to defeat his opponent. He only needed to hold out until the Great Merger was complete.
All the barriers across Japan, the Pure Barriers, and the resentment of all humanity had to completely merge at one precise point.
Thanks to the Culling Game, the process of drawing humanity toward the other side would not take too long, but it certainly would not be short either.
Half an hour, perhaps?
Or an hour?
All he needed to do was avoid being killed before then.
'Just as I thought...'
Kenjaku had already noticed something.
After Mukuro expanded his domain, his speed and strength seemed to have decreased.
It was not that he had become slow or weak. Just that compared to the overwhelming physical abilities he had displayed after strengthening himself earlier, there had been a clear decline. At least now, it was within a range Kenjaku could barely handle.
Besides, Mukuro was currently in a state where terrifying cursed energy radiated from his entire body. Even if he did not use those conjured cursed-tool-like weapons, Kenjaku would no longer have trouble sensing him.
Boom!
As he was thinking, the swarm of crows exploded with a loud roar. Mukuro had already broken through their encirclement and charged straight toward Kenjaku.
"Don't get too close to me!"
Kenjaku placed his left hand on both feet and transformed them into faster hooves. He retreated rapidly while his right hand continued gathering cursed energy and sending out more crows.
With endless cursed energy supporting him, he did not need to worry about the efficiency of his cursed technique's output.
"Roaming Dragon!"
At that moment, Mukuro activated Animal Path.
The space beside him tore open, and two enormous dragon-shaped cursed spirits roared out. They swept through the swarm of crows in front of him.
Using that brief opening, Mukuro had already caught up and reached Kenjaku's side.
Bang!
Kenjaku tried to raise his leg and kick, but Mukuro struck his leg first and sent his entire body stumbling backward.
This time, Mukuro did not pause for even a moment.
His fists tore through the air as they repeatedly hammered toward Kenjaku's head.
No matter how hard Kenjaku tried to defend himself, quite a few attacks still slipped through the gaps and struck him directly in the face.
Blood kept spraying from his nose and mouth. His bones cracked repeatedly, only to be repaired by his extremely efficient Reverse Cursed Technique.
'What use is this kind of attack...'
Although he was struggling to defend himself, Kenjaku couldn't help wondering about this.
As long as his brain or abdomen did not suffer fatal damage, his automatic Reverse Cursed Technique would not stop for even a moment.
The pain caused by Mukuro's close combat would eventually be erased by Reverse Cursed Technique.
Whenever Mukuro used those illusion-created weapons, Kenjaku would immediately activate his gravity technique to prevent himself from suffering a fatal injury.
If things continued like this, perhaps he really could hold the man off.
"Hm?"
After more than a dozen exchanges of blows, Kenjaku suddenly noticed something was wrong.
Mukuro had suppressed him in close combat, and although the movement was extremely subtle, Kenjaku still noticed it.
That guy was gradually shifting the focus of his movements toward his left hand, as if he wanted his right hand to do something.
Just then, Kenjaku caught sight of a dagger behind Mukuro's waist.
That's right. It was the ordinary-looking dagger whose cursed energy he could not sense at all.
'What use could something like that have... Is he planning to catch me off guard by using its lack of cursed energy flow?'
The doubt rose in his mind once again.
Then, just as he had expected, Mukuro suddenly moved. His right hand quickly drew the dagger from his waist and thrust it toward Kenjaku's head.
Kenjaku immediately activated his gravity field.
But to his surprise, Mukuro smiled. "With how cautious you are, there was no way you wouldn't be prepared for this."
The plain-looking dagger actually ignored Kenjaku's gravity and continued moving forward.
The moment it came into contact with the gravity field, the dagger's appearance began to change. It directly tore through his cursed technique.
"But you've finally started instinctively using your cursed technique to defend yourself during close-quarters combat!"
Only when the dagger began to transform did Kenjaku finally realize what was happening.
The blade split into two edges of different lengths.
A cursed blade capable of tearing through cursed techniques.
It was… the special grade cursed tool, Inverted Spear of Heaven!
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