Inside Yōtōhime's protective embrace, Geto Suguru remained untouched by the abyss's crushing pressure. The demon princess's body glowed with an otherworldly light, forming an impenetrable shield around her master.
And Geto was smiling.
"Domain Expansion so eagerly?" His voice carried through the darkness, calm and triumphant. "You must be out of options, Kenjaku."
Every sorcerer knew the fundamental truth: the only true counter to a Domain was another Domain. And Geto Suguru, Special Grade sorcerer, had mastered this art long ago.
Domain Expansion: Womb Realm Mandala. *
Domain Expansion: Canine Tooth Enclosure. *
Domain Expansion: Spirit Cat's Absolute Domain. *
Domain Expansion: Princess Dance Blade Soul Realm. *
Four Domains erupted simultaneously, their boundaries clashing against Kenjaku's Endless Abyss. The darkness shuddered.
But Geto wasn't finished.
He raised his hand, and space tore open once more. A new figure emerged—a hunched, ancient thing, its skin mottled and weeping, its eyes holding centuries of suffering.
Pox Hag. *
Without hesitation, she unleashed her own Domain.
Domain Expansion: Black Coffin. *
Five Domains against one.
Kenjaku's Endless Abyss was powerful—but it lacked the sure-kill finality of true combat Domains. It could suppress, drain, and confuse. It could not withstand five simultaneous assaults on its very existence.
The abyss shattered.
Darkness fragmented into dissolving motes of light. Kenjaku stood revealed, gasping, already forming a Simple Domain in desperate defense.
Too late.
Within Geto's overlapping Domains, Cursed Spirits surged like an endless tide. Kenjaku's Simple Domain—a mere umbrella against a hurricane—lasted heartbeats before crumbling.
Kenjaku fell.
Geto stood over the dying form, Kenjaku's borrowed body broken, breath rattling. Kanon's face, peaceful in unconsciousness, stared sightlessly at the sky.
'Kanon's soul still slumbers within. If I kill Kenjaku now... she dies too.'
He had never met her. Felt no personal attachment. But Nanako and Mimiko—they had carried guilt for years over her disappearance. If he ended this life, could he face them? Could he tell them he had killed their friend?
His eyes hardened.
The hesitation lasted only a moment.
He activated Cursed Spirit Manipulation.
Kenjaku's current state was aberrant—neither fully Shikigami nor Cursed Spirit. The rebellion against his master had voided their contract, leaving him closer to a true Cursed Spirit than anything else.
It worked.
A dark, pulsing sphere was drawn from Kanon's body—Kenjaku's true form, compressed into a small, writhing mass. Patterns flickered across its surface, vaguely suggesting the ancient sorcerer's features.
Geto held it, studying it. Unlike any Cursed Spirit he had absorbed before. The self-awareness within was extraordinary.
He knew what came next. To complete the absorption, he had to consume it. Otherwise, it would reform and return to Kanon.
Without hesitation, Geto swallowed the sphere.
Kenjaku's essence entered him—a flood of alien knowledge, centuries of scheming, techniques beyond counting. The power was immense, threatening to overwhelm.
Geto endured.
When it was done, he stood alone among the dissipating Domains. Kanon lay nearby, breathing slowly, peacefully—alive.
And within him, a new power waited to be understood.
Maximum: Uzumaki could now extract Kenjaku's Cursed Techniques. But that was a matter for another day.
For now, the enemy was defeated. The possessed was freed. And Geto Suguru had gained something far more valuable than victory.
He had gained the means to understand his enemy completely.
The moment the black sphere settled in his stomach, Cursed Spirit Manipulation completed its work. Kenjaku's essence was now part of him—absorbed, contained, controlled.
Geto raised a hand, preparing to use Maximum: Uzumaki to extract the ancient sorcerer's techniques. The power was there, waiting to be claimed.
Then his face twitched.
Just for an instant—a flicker so brief it might have been imagined. But if anyone had been watching closely, they would have seen it: Kenjaku's characteristic hypocritical smile, flashing across Geto Suguru's features.
The hand lowered.
Geto blinked, confusion crossing his face. "Uzumaki..." He trailed off, frowning. "What was I..."
He shook his head, the thought dissolving like mist. Without another glance at the power within him, he turned and walked away from the battlefield.
Behind him, the ruins of the Bansei Cult's main temple smoldered in the dawn light.
Geto walked toward the rising sun, his steps carrying him away from the life he had built. Years of constant work, endless responsibility—all gone now. The cult was ash. His followers were dead. He had nothing.
"Maybe a vacation," he murmured to himself. "Time to rest. To think."
The sunrise painted the horizon in shades of gold and rose. Behind him, broken walls and crumbled stone stood as monuments to what had been lost.
He kept walking.
The next morning, newspapers across Japan screamed the news.
"Shocking! Bansei Cult—A Thriving Organization—Annihilated Overnight!"
"Exclusive: The Dark Secrets Behind the Cult's Downfall!"
"WANTED: Cult Leader Geto Suguru and Saintess Ieiri Shoko Missing!"
The headlines blazed across every front page, sparking chaos in the ordinary world. But in the jujutsu world, the reaction was more complex.
Conversations buzzed through every clan, every organization, every shadowy corner where sorcerers gathered.
"How could Geto Suguru's cult be destroyed by ordinary people? It doesn't make sense."
"He brought it on himself. Trying to make the jujutsu world accepted by normals? Delusional from the start."
"I heard he massacred special forces personnel. The authorities won't let that slide."
"Where is he now? Vanished completely. He owes us an explanation."
"If he turns Curse User... that would be catastrophic."
"With Kamo Itsuki around? He'd have to be insane to go that route."
"Have you forgotten about 'Cursed Shadow'?"
"Even Cursed Shadow couldn't protect him from Kamo Itsuki. Not really."
"They were classmates, you know. Friends, even."
"Friendship won't erase the death of all those normals. The higher-ups will demand blood."
"Let them fight. Makes things interesting, doesn't it?"
The jujutsu world, peaceful for so long, hummed with tension. Factions formed. Opinions divided. And somewhere, walking toward an unknown destination, Geto Suguru carried within him something far more dangerous than anyone suspected.
Kenjaku's smile had found a new home.