The rain was still pattering down, hitting the broken walls and ruins with a monotonous sound.
Mahito's upper body twitched in the mud for a moment. The Cursed Spirit's powerful self-healing ability began to operate frantically, and his severed lower body slowly grew back.
Bone, muscle, and skin reconstructed sequentially. Before long, he staggered to his feet, though his face remained pale, and his eyes held lingering fear.
He lowered his head, looked at his intact body, and then glanced at the mess all over the ground. The relief of surviving the catastrophe welled up in his heart, and he muttered:
"Thank goodness... thank goodness his second Domain only lasted for a short dozen seconds, otherwise we definitely would have died here today."
"It's not that his Domain can only last for a dozen seconds."
A deep voice suddenly came from the rain curtain, shattering Mahito's sense of fortune.
Kenjaku's figure slowly emerged from the shadows. His chest still bore a sunken scar, and blood was slowly seeping out, but compared to Jogo's body full of cuts and Hanami's unconscious state, his injuries were undoubtedly the lightest, allowing him to maintain a composed stride.
He walked into the middle of the three Cursed Spirits, his gaze sweeping over them. There was no sign of frustration over the failed plan on his face; instead, there was an inexplicable excitement, as if the recent disastrous defeat was not a desperate situation for him, but a fruitful test.
"He voluntarily dispelled his Domain at the last moment."
Kenjaku's voice was certain, and the corner of his mouth curled into a meaningful smile.
Jogo suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Kenjaku. The wounds on his body tore open again due to his emotional agitation, and the purple blood flowed faster.
He questioned, almost roaring:
"What in the world are you talking about?! Did he intentionally let us go?! We fought with all our might and nearly died, only to be played by him?!"
Mahito was also stunned. The relief on his face instantly froze, replaced by deep doubt and resentment.
Hanami remained unconscious; only the faint rise and fall of her chest proved she was still alive.
Facing Jogo's furious questioning, Kenjaku did not get angry; instead, he smiled slightly, his eyes gleaming with the light of understanding everything:
"That's right, that's what I mean. He never intended to kill us from the start."
He paused, casting his gaze toward the direction Rin had disappeared, his tone carrying a trace of amusement:
"Furthermore, I have seen Rin's second Domain Expansion, 'Malevolent Shrine,' which he just deployed."
"That is the Domain belonging to the King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna."
"The King of Curses?!"
Jogo's eyes widened abruptly, his voice hoarse and almost distorted, his face filled with disbelief.
The name exploded in his mind like thunder, making him instantly forget the intense pain in his body. Sukuna, the King of Curses, was an existence standing at the pinnacle of Cursed Spirits, a legendary monster. How could his Domain appear on Rin?
Mahito was completely dumbfounded too, opening his mouth but unable to utter a single word.
Although he was a newly born Cursed Spirit, he had heard the legend of Sukuna—an existence revered even by the most ancient Cursed Spirits. How could Rin, a human, possess Sukuna's Domain and Cursed Technique?
"Why..."
Jogo's eyes were filled with deep confusion. He turned to look at Kenjaku, as if seeking an answer:
"Why does Rin have Sukuna's Domain and Cursed Technique? Who exactly is he? And why did he let us go? We were his enemies who wanted to kill him!"
Kenjaku shook his head, the smile on his face remaining unchanged:
"I don't know why he possesses Sukuna's Domain."
"Perhaps Rin has already encountered Sukuna's Cursed Object, or even reached some kind of agreement with him, gaining permission to use his Domain.
Or perhaps, Rin is Sukuna himself. The King of Curses long ago broke free from the restraints of the Cursed Object and occupied Rin's body. We have been fighting that Lord the entire time."
He paused, his tone becoming increasingly mysterious:
"All of these are possibilities, but what I can confirm is that Rin definitely has his own purpose for letting us go."
"He clearly had the ability to completely slaughter all of us within the 'Malevolent Shrine' Domain, yet he deliberately stopped at the last moment and intentionally avoided attacking my vital points."
Jogo and Mahito followed the direction he pointed, and indeed found that although Kenjaku's wounds were gruesome, they had truly avoided the Cursed Spirit's most crucial core area, which allowed him to remain in a relatively intact state.
"What exactly does he want to do?" Mahito couldn't help but ask, his tone full of confusion.
"Who knows."
Kenjaku chuckled lightly, a flicker of calculation flashing in his eyes:
"But one thing is certain: the current Rin is not our absolute enemy.
By letting us go, he must need us to do something, or rather, he needs us to be alive to achieve some greater conspiracy of his."
He turned to look at Jogo, his tone laced with temptation:
"Just think about it. A human who possesses two great Domains, 'War World' and Sukuna's 'Malevolent Shrine,' his goal definitely wouldn't just be to eliminate a few Cursed Spirits like us.
His ambition is probably greater than all of ours combined."
"And we, perhaps, can cooperate with him."
"Cooperate?"
Jogo frowned deeply, his face full of resistance:
"We were almost killed by him just now, and now you want us to cooperate with him? Are you insane?"
"Insane?"
Kenjaku sneered:
"Do we have any other choice? With our current strength, it's impossible to defeat him.
Instead of being his enemy and being played with casually, we might as well follow his intentions and see what he truly wants to achieve.
Maybe we can even use his power to achieve our goals: overthrowing human rule and defeating Satoru Gojo."
His words were like a massive boulder thrown into the hearts of Jogo and Mahito, stirring up monstrous waves.
Jogo fell silent. He looked at the unconscious Hanami, looked at the wounds covering his body, and then recalled Rin's unbelievable Domain and his Death God-like gaze.
He knew Kenjaku was right; they had no chance of defeating Rin.
Mahito also sank into contemplation. The fear on his face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of hesitation and anticipation.
If they could truly cooperate with Rin and utilize his power, perhaps they really could realize the ideal of the Cursed Spirit race.
The rain gradually lessened, and the sky turned the color of a fish belly (dawn).
Kenjaku looked at the wavering expressions of the two, and the smile on his lips grew more triumphant:
"Now, let's first wake Hanami up and find a place to recuperate.
Since Rin let us go, he will definitely contact us again, or leave us clues.
By then, we will know his true objective."
He bent down and picked up the unconscious Hanami, then turned and walked toward the outside of the shrine, leaving Jogo and Mahito standing in place, looking at each other with complex expressions.
On the battlefield of the abandoned shrine, only the scattered wreckage and residual Cursed Energy fluctuations remained.
The truth about Rin intentionally letting them go, the appearance of Sukuna's Domain, and the possibility of future cooperation—all these mysteries coiled around the hearts of the three Cursed Spirits.
They didn't know what Rin was plotting, nor did they know where this game involving the King of Curses would ultimately lead.
But they understood that from the moment Rin voluntarily dispelled his Domain, everything had changed.
The war between Cursed Spirits and humanity's strongest was no longer a simple life-or-death confrontation, but a complex chess game full of schemes, probing, and cooperation.
And they, involuntarily, had become pieces deliberately left behind by Rin in this chess game.