On the outskirts, bloodstains on the ground mixed with rainwater, forming dark purple streams.
Jogo slumped amidst the shattered rubble, his pale body covered in countless knife wounds. Deep, bone-revealing gashes continuously oozed purple Cursed Energy blood, and every breath tugged at his wounds, bringing tearing pain.
He raised a trembling hand, looking at the black and red Cursed Energy marks remaining on his palm, his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief, muttering incessantly:
"How could this be... why... how could he activate two different Domains consecutively... this is impossible... absolutely impossible..."
On the open ground nearby, Mahito was cut in half at the waist, his upper body sprawled in the mud. The self-healing ability of his Cursed Spirit body prevented him from immediately dissipating, but he was powerless to reassemble.
He stared with unfocused eyes, a strange smile on his lips, nervously repeating:
"Too terrifying... too powerful... how can such a person exist... we can't possibly defeat him... not a single chance..."
Next to a stone pillar not far away, Hanami was curled on the ground, its leaf-like body covered in scorch marks. Its once vibrant green color had turned withered yellow, its aura weak, and it was still in a deep coma, unable to maintain even the most basic Cursed Energy defense.
Three Special Grade Cursed Spirits—one dead (dying), one injured, and one comatose—were in a sorry state.
Jogo's gaze swept over the miserable state of his companions, a suppressed whimper escaping his throat, filled with endless resentment:
"Originally... we were so close to succeeding..."
He was right.
When they followed the plan, setting an ambush at the shrine on the outskirts of Ōsaka to lure Rin into the trap, the battle indeed progressed in the direction they had anticipated, even more smoothly than expected.
Kenjaku was the first to unleash Womb Profusion, its boundless domain of evil instantly enveloping the battlefield, firmly binding Rin within it.
Jogo, Mahito, and Hanami immediately followed their assigned roles, fully releasing their Cursed Energy to form three solid defenses, staunchly protecting Kenjaku behind them, allowing him to unreservedly activate his Domain and frantically erode Rin's War World.
To their surprise, Rin never summoned the seven formidable Special Grade Cursed Spirits, instead relying on his own strength to contend with them within the Domain.
But even so, they were still nearly overwhelmed by Rin's attacks.
Rin's figure was like a phantom in the Domain, his black and red Cursed Energy like the Grim Reaper's scythe, each attack carrying the power to tear space.
Hanami's vine defense was easily cut down, Mahito's sure-hit attacks couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, and Jogo's flame barrier, unleashed with all his might, was shattered by a single punch from Rin. Had Jogo not blocked with all his strength, they would have likely perished in the first wave of impact.
Those two minutes felt longer to Jogo than a thousand years of waiting.
The three of them fought with all their might: Hanami's plant Cursed Energy was overdrawn to the point where its roots turned black, Mahito's Cursed Spirit form was on the verge of collapse, and Jogo, using every last ounce of his strength, barely managed to withstand Rin's repeated breakthroughs.
They could clearly feel that Rin's War World was developing more and more cracks in its barrier under Kenjaku's erosion, and its Cursed Energy fluctuations were becoming weaker and weaker.
The dawn of victory seemed to be right before their eyes.
But at the very last moment, Rin suddenly erupted.
The black and red Cursed Energy around him instantly surged, then transformed into a torrent of Cursed Energy, forcefully breaking through Kenjaku's Domain erosion.
Immediately after, Rin's figure breached the trio's defense line, moving so fast that even Jogo's eyes couldn't track him.
"Splat!" "Bang!" "Crack!"
Three moves, just three moves.
The first move, a horizontal sweep of a Cursed Energy blade, instantly inflicted dozens of bone-deep knife wounds on Jogo, rendering him unable to fight.
The second move, a Cursed Energy bullet condensed in his palm, struck Mahito, directly cutting him in half at the waist.
The third move, a kick to Hanami's chest, damaged its cursed spirit core, causing it to fall into a coma.
Kenjaku was utterly terrified. Seizing the brief moment Rin was tied up by the three, he unleashed his last shred of Cursed Energy to activate the core power of Womb Profusion, finally dismantling Rin's War World.
"He clearly... he was clearly in a Cursed Technique burnout state!"
Jogo's voice was hoarse like a broken gong, filled with hysterical breakdown:
"Kenjaku dismantled his War World, how could the backlash from a collapsing Domain possibly allow him to still use Cursed Techniques?!"
He would never forget that moment. When Kenjaku used his last shred of Cursed Energy to completely dismantle Rin's War World, a look of wild joy appeared on his face. But before that joy could even reach his eyes, Rin's cold gaze had already locked onto him.
Jogo still didn't know what happened.
He only saw Kenjaku, as if under a paralysis spell, standing frozen in place, his eyes vacant, allowing Rin's fist, wrapped in black and red Cursed Energy, to smash heavily into his chest.
With a dull "bang," Kenjaku's body flew out like a broken kite, a large indentation in his chest, blood gushing out, and the Domain Womb Profusion vanished with him.
"Cursed Technique burnout! He must have entered Cursed Technique burnout!"
Jogo was almost ecstatic at the time.
He knew all too well how terrifying the backlash from a forcibly collapsed Domain was: Cursed Energy disordered, Cursed Techniques unusable, leaving one at the mercy of others.
This was the most crucial step in their plan, and the ultimate guarantee of victory.
Without hesitation, Jogo burned his remaining innate Cursed Energy and fiercely unleashed his strongest Domain: "Domain Expansion, Mountain of Iron Walls Covering the Hall!"
Dark red flames instantly swept across the battlefield, forming a closed fiery cage. The high temperature distorted the air, and even falling rain was instantly evaporated.
This Domain was his pinnacle creation after fusing with Earth Fiend's power. The flames contained the heavy pressure of earth and stone, and once trapped, even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit would be slowly incinerated.
"Rin! Your death is at hand!"
Jogo roared, his eyes filled with the thrill of revenge.
Rin, stripped of his Cursed Techniques, was merely a lamb to the slaughter within the Mountain of Iron Walls Covering the Hall.
But the next second, his smile froze on his face, his blood seemingly congealed instantly.
Rin stood at the center of the fiery cage, not only showing no panic, but a strange arc curved on his lips instead.
It was like mockery, or perhaps uncontrollable excitement. He ignored the raging flames around him, slowly raised his hands, and formed a hand seal Jogo had never seen before.
"Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine."
The six low words were like a Cursed Speech from ancient times, carrying undeniable authority.
The moment the words fell, a massive bone shrine suddenly appeared behind Rin. The shrine was carved with intricate and bizarre patterns, emanating a chilling aura of death.
The bone shrine slowly unfolded like a giant clam shell, and countless cold, gleaming blade energies surged out from within, instantly forming a brand new Domain!
It was a pure white space, without flames, without rain, only endless blade energies whistling.
Jogo's Mountain of Iron Walls Covering the Hall, the instant Malevolent Shrine appeared, rapidly collapsed and dissolved like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.
The dark red flames were torn and severed by the blade energy, the cage made of earth and stone instantly disintegrated, and the Domain's rules were completely crushed, leaving no room for resistance.
"This... what kind of Domain is this?!"
Jogo's pupils constricted to pinpricks, his body turning icy cold.
He had never seen such a terrifying Domain; no complex environmental construction, only pure, destructive slashes!
Overwhelming blade energy rained down like a storm, carrying the power to tear everything apart.
Mahito didn't even have time to react before being hit by dozens of blade energies simultaneously. His body was directly cut in half at the waist, his upper body flying out and landing in the mud, only twitching nervously.
Hanami tried to defend with vines, but all its vines were instantly shredded by the blade energy. Its leaf-like body was covered in bone-deep slashes, and it immediately fell unconscious.
Jogo desperately activated his flame defense, but it only lasted a mere three seconds before being completely overwhelmed. The blade energy, like sharp knives, carved countless wounds into his body, instantly rendering him unable to fight.
The situation, which had seemed to be a sure victory, completely collapsed in an instant.
The three Special Grade Cursed Spirits were no match for Rin's third Domain.
But just as Jogo thought he was doomed, the Domain of Malevolent Shrine suddenly receded like a tide. The bone shrine slowly closed and disappeared behind Rin.
Rin stood in place, his black and red Cursed Energy subtly fluctuating, as if the recent Domain Expansion had not consumed him in the slightest.