"Domain Expansion!"
Facing Satoru's relentless advance, Sukuna did not retreat even half a step. Instead, he formed the Enmaten hand sign, and the Malevolent Shrine once again rose from the ground.
The two domains collided once more, merging together as they rapidly swallowed the sorcerers within.
* * *
"Sukuna really learned it too!"
A wave of surprise came from the viewing room. Angel's guess had been completely correct.
"How many times can they keep this up? Domain Expansion consumes an enormous amount of cursed energy. Even Gojo probably can't use it endlessly, despite having the Six Eyes."
After exhaling a cloud of smoke, Ryu put out the cigarette in his hand. The brief sweetness was already gone, leaving behind nothing but emptiness.
"So, how long did that domain battle just now last? Did you calculate it, Miwa?" Kusakabe suddenly asked as he looked at the sphere on the screen.
The fact that both domains had collapsed at the same time meant that the second domain clash would probably be the best way to handle the situation. Satoru could not afford to drag it out any longer than that.
"Eh? I didn't count..."
Whether it was Miwa, who had been called out, or the other students from Kyoto Jujutsu High, they all shook their heads.
"Seriously... Isn't that exactly what the students are supposed to be doing on this battlefield?" Kusakabe grumbled in dissatisfaction.
Despite being regarded by countless jujutsu sorcerers as one of the elite grade 1 sorcerers, he was actually just a middle-aged man who wanted to coast along as a teacher and live an easy life.
Yet somehow, he had ended up on this battlefield, having to face the strongest jujutsu sorcerer in history alongside everyone else. How could he not feel miserable about it?
While he complained about the students, he was really mocking himself as well.
A so-called grade 1 sorcerer... What use could someone at his level possibly have on this battlefield? If Satoru, Mukuro, and Yuki all lost to that man, was he supposed to be the one to take Sukuna down?
"Sensei didn't count either..."
Just as the students were about to turn the question back on Kusakabe, Mei Mei directly gave them the answer.
"Exactly three minutes."
Three minutes. That was the key point of the domain battle.
"As expected of my sister!"
Ignoring the rather oppressive atmosphere, Ui Ui clapped happily from the side.
"In other words, Gojo has at most three minutes to injure Sukuna badly enough that he can't maintain his Domain again. Otherwise, it'll end up like the first time..." Kusakabe muttered to himself.
"Please, everyone, try to look on the bright side. As long as Gojo can make Sukuna unable to maintain his domain even a few seconds before those three minutes are up, he'll win."
Shoko's tone remained calm, but she was clearly becoming dissatisfied with Kusakabe's comments. Why was everyone assuming that Sukuna had the advantage?
This was clearly an evenly matched battle.
With the advantage of Unlimited Void, even landing it on Sukuna for only a few seconds would be enough to produce a huge effect.
* * *
"Yuta!"
At that moment, on the screen, Rika had been left outside on her own. She was rushing toward the sphere as if she wanted to enter it as well.
However, this time, Unlimited Void did not rapidly expand and then shrink like before. Instead, it covered Malevolent Shrine within its space while only expanding to its original size before quickly contracting.
When Satoru activated his Domain, he could not choose to pull one person inside while leaving another outside. Because Rika had been blasted away beforehand, she was already outside the range selected by the barrier.
Moreover, the domain opened and closed at an incredible speed.
The Queen of Curses was not particularly fast, so all she could do was watch helplessly as Unlimited Void completely closed in front of her.
The unpleasant memories came rushing back once again, and Rika's body froze in midair.
Last time, Yuta had been trapped inside this kind of sphere, and after he came out, his body had been taken away by someone else!
Terrifying cursed energy instantly erupted from her body and swept outward like a tsunami. In the eyes of everyone in the viewing room, it was as if enormous waves had risen into the sky.
A huge, vicious eye opened above her head. Rika had completely entered her final form, and an enormous amount of cursed energy began rapidly gathering before her.
* * *
"Is this the real Queen of Curses?!"
The students from Jujutsu High couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Judging by Rika's stance, it seemed as though she intended to use everything she had to blast through Unlimited Void. Yet everyone knew that it was almost impossible.
* * *
"You deliberately left the Queen outside. Are you saying you're gentle, or are you just scared?"
Inside the Domain, Sukuna had extended his fists and was engaged in close combat with Satoru. When he threw a punch and watched it get dodged, he laughed and taunted him.
"She'll definitely try to find a way to get close to your domain's outer shell. But if she enters the range of my Malevolent Shrine, what do you think will happen?"
Unlimited Void had only covered the shrine visually. In reality, the range of the open domain still extended outside it.
Even though Sukuna had already reduced the range of his domain, once Rika got too close, there would only be one possible outcome: she'd be erased beneath an endless barrage of slashes.
"You don't need to worry about that!"
Satoru answered with an arrogant expression as he drove a powerful fist into the side of Sukuna's face.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
* * *
Outside, at that very moment, something else appeared on the screen in the viewing room.
"Wait... What is that?!"
Just as Rika was about to gather her cursed energy into a focused attack, a rapidly moving spherical object suddenly slammed into the side of her face and interrupted her charge.
The powerful impact sent the Queen of Curses flying dozens of meters away, her enormous body crashing straight into a nearby building.
After the impact, the spherical object retreated and unfolded behind its owner, transforming into a strange skeletal dragon that floated in the air.
"Garuda... Tsukumo?!"
Amid the shocked voices in the viewing room, everyone finally realized that the last special grade sorcerer guarding this place had quietly entered the battlefield at some point.
"Don't get in my way! I'm going to find Yuta!"
A roar came from the ruined floors of the building. Even from dozens of meters away, the force of the sound still sent Yuki's long hair flying wildly in the wind.
"This time, I made it in time, right~?"
Yuki raised an eyebrow. Even as a special grade sorcerer, she had never seen a cursed spirit carrying such terrifying cursed energy.
"Then I guess I don't even need to ask. You like those slightly gloomy little boys, don't you~?"
Facing the furious Queen of Curses as she charged out, Yuki simply bent forward, blinked, and blew her a kiss.
* * *
The conversation before the battle came back to mind.
"As for Sukuna, I'll find a way to deal with him. But Rika is the problem. She'll be very troublesome if she loses control."
After Satoru spoke in the meeting room filled with special grade sorcerers, the strongest trio from that era all turned toward a certain "delinquent" leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Are we really having a discussion here?"
Yuki raised both hands in surrender and teased them helplessly.
"But Rika is still attached to Okkotsu. You need to create an opportunity for us to separate Rika from him."
It wasn't that they were afraid Satoru could not handle her. They were only worried that he would not have the time to protect her life. After all, Rika was both Sukuna's ally and a hostage.
* * *
Back in the present, Yuki had already taken up a fighting stance.
"How about we go somewhere a little farther away to play? Let the adults handle everything else!"
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