"Hey, you skinny old man."
"Don't you even know to stand up and salute when President Zetsu graces you with his presence?"
He was half-naked, with sunken eyes.
Despite his aged appearance—with a white beard and a physique that looked like mere skin stretched over crane-like bones—he exuded a unique and oppressive aura befitting a top-tier Sorcerer.
Since entering the Sendai Colony, any living being that dared to approach Dhruv Lakdawala had long since been reduced to piles of white bones by his Shikigami.
But gazing intently at the person and the Cursed Spirit standing before him...
As a terrifying entity who once single-handedly conquered the Japanese archipelago during the Wa Civil War, Dhruv felt a sensation he hadn't experienced in a thousand years welling up within his chest.
It was fear.
"Who are you people?!"
Dhruv spoke in a deep voice, his tone trembling slightly.
Not far away, two massive Shikigami, each tens of meters tall and possessing their own independent, tracing Domains, frantically approached Dhruv to protect him.
These were the unique Shikigami that Dhruv used to slaughter ordinary humans in order to acquire points efficiently.
White Zetsu didn't stop them. He just rubbed his chin and shook his head. "This thing's meat is too tough, Mirai. President Zetsu doesn't like it."
"Let's just kill him."
Dhruv ignored White Zetsu, his eyes fixed entirely on the indifferent figure slowly approaching him.
Those blood-red pupils. Every step Mirai took closer felt like a heavy boot stepping directly on Dhruv's heart.
His Shikigami were finally at a sufficient distance to attack!
Dhruv didn't speak again. Terrifying Cursed Energy surged up instantly!
At the exact same moment, his two massive Shikigami covered the area with their intersecting trajectories, activating his sure-hit effect!
"Domain Expansion—"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Three loud bangs echoed in rapid succession!
"Ding! Congratulations to Player Zenin Mirai for gaining 5 game points."
Kogane's mechanical voice chirped happily.
The enormous Shikigami sprayed blood everywhere before dissolving into dust, and Dhruv's severed remains drifted away with the wind across the Sendai Colony.
"Actually, I didn't intend to kill this guy," Mirai sighed softly, looking at the fresh bloodstains remaining on the ground.
Upon hearing this, White Zetsu looked at Mirai with utter disdain. "You really are just like that heartless bastard."
BOOM!
With half of his body violently blown apart by a casual blast of Mirai's Cursed Energy, White Zetsu was suddenly blasted backward through a nearby building.
...
Walking down the empty, ruined streets.
White Zetsu walked beside Mirai with his head drooping, his body regenerating, looking just like a child who had suffered a great grievance.
Directly across the street, three figures waited.
A sky filled with black mist composed of countless flesh-eating cockroaches—the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Kurourushi.
A man with a uniquely styled, fashionable pompadour haircut, yearning to fight the strong—Ryu Ishigori.
And a female Sorcerer with pink hair and black eyes, wearing only the sky to cover her bare body, floating in mid-air—**Takako Uro**.
The moment they realized that Dhruv's Cursed Energy had disappeared, the two incarnated Sorcerers and the Special Grade Curse had merged together in perfect unison to face the new threat.
It was neither an alliance nor a friendship.
It was simply the weak banding together for warmth. It was pure survival instinct that drove them to act.
Ignoring the Cursed Spirit's grotesque body, Ryu and Takako looked up at the two individuals walking toward them.
"Those who submit, live. Those who disobey, die."
This was something Mirai hadn't bothered to say to Dhruv earlier. One could only blame Dhruv for being too wary; there was a severe lack of trust between people in this game.
A swarm of insects suddenly swept across the sky!
Kurourushi pulled a special weapon from his man-eating fangs. The **Festering Life Sword**—a terrifying Cursed Tool carrying countless types of infectious viruses and insect eggs!
The Curse felt it was being ignored. It hadn't even been given the choice to submit!
Enraged and shocked by Mirai's arrogance, Kurourushi unleashed his full power in an instant!
A surge of powerful Cursed Energy erupted from the Curse, unleashing a storm of black roach fists! A hoarse, clicking voice chanted the terrifying spell unique to the top-tier Cursed Spirit.
"Wait! Let me do it!"
Before Mirai could even make a move, White Zetsu took a powerful step forward!
Having finally found someone to vent his frustration on, the aggrieved Zetsu suddenly became extremely excited!
"You little bug! Taste the power of Master Zetsu!"
As he spoke, White Zetsu hurriedly expanded his Domain, fearing that Mirai would steal his kill.
The black outer shell of Zetsu's Domain perfectly enveloped Kurourushi, locking the Curse inside without affecting the two Sorcerers standing not far away.
"Granité Blast!!!"
A trace of fear still lingered on Ryu Ishigori's face, but his eyes gleamed with extreme madness!
The opponent had not cast any spells or unleashed any technique. But just by standing there, his undeniable, god-like presence almost overwhelmed Ryu!
'I crave the satisfaction of battle!' Ryu thought wildly. 'And I yearn to leave no regrets!'
Ryu feared that if he hesitated under the watchful eyes of Zenin Mirai, he would slowly succumb to the pressure and choose to submit. Unwilling to be someone else's lackey, Ryu took the initiative and launched his attack first!
The pompadour hairstyle on his head shimmered with terrifying Cursed Energy! His two raised palms emanated the exact same terrifying energy!
Ryu Ishigori's innate technique was **Cursed Energy Discharge**. He was a rare Sorcerer who could deliver maximum-output attacks without even needing to activate his technique!
Three terrifying, highly concentrated blasts—carrying enough violent energy to directly level a small city—swept toward Mirai!
BOOM!!!
A deafening roar echoed like a nuclear explosion, followed by a spectacular display of destructive fireworks in the center of Sendai!
Along the path of the blast, all the buildings on the streets were instantly reduced to dust!
The flying debris and gravel covered the entire street in a thick smoke screen.
Takako Uro looked ahead nervously, her voice tinged with a hint of absolute fear. "W-What happened!?"
After a long moment, having received no response, Takako anxiously glanced at Ryu Ishigori beside her.
Suddenly, she froze in place.
Thump.
Four hundred years ago, he was an absolute powerhouse who was invincible in the Mutsu region. Ryu Ishigori, once known as a humanoid cannon, was now reduced to a headless body.
Warm blood flowed slowly from his severed neck onto the dusty earth.
Takako stared at the fallen corpse, cold sweat trickling rapidly down her back.
Her heart was pounding wildly, and the terror in her eyes had reached its absolute peak. She realized Mirai had crossed the distance and decapitated Ryu before the blast had even hit.
That indifferent tone echoed in her ears again, like a divine pronouncement.
"To submit, or to die?"
...
At the exact same time.
*Tokyo Colony 1, Jujutsu High District.*
"They've finally shown up."
Within a hidden spatial rift, a figure draped in a kasaya watched intently.
Kenjaku had waited patiently until the departure of Yuta Okkotsu was confirmed. He had also waited until Zenin Mirai and that strange Cursed Spirit named White Zetsu were confirmed to have appeared inside the Sendai Colony.
Only then did Kenjaku make his move.
For hundreds of years...
Master Tengen, the Six Eyes, and the Star Plasma Vessel.
All three were closely linked together through an unbreakable chain of cause and effect.
In the past, to promote the evolution of Tengen and to satisfy his own chaotic goals, Kenjaku had tried everything. He had killed the Star Plasma Vessels. He had even managed to kill Six Eyes infants mere months after they were born.
But in the end, it was completely useless.
The Star Plasma Vessel and the Six Eyes Sorcerer would always miraculously appear on the day of the assimilation, right when Tengen needed them. Fate always corrected itself.
That is, until the appearance of Toji Zenin.
That Heavenly Tyrant, a man completely detached from Cursed Energy and cause and effect, had abandoned everything, appeared in the Tomb of the Star, and shot Riko Amanai in the head.
The cause and effect of the three were completely broken in this world.
The Star Plasma Vessel died. Tengen aged and evolved in the direction of a Cursed Spirit.
And Suguru Geto, a boy who had mastered the art of *Cursed Spirit Manipulation*, happened to appear in the present world at the exact same time.
Everything was heading perfectly in the direction of Kenjaku's grand design.
If he missed such an unprecedented opportunity to absorb Tengen, he might never have another one in ten thousand years.
After confirming the location of Yuta Okkotsu and Mirai's current whereabouts in Sendai, Kenjaku made sure to confirm it again and again. The heavy hitters were occupied.
His heart leaped with ecstatic joy.
Time was short. He needed to be quick!
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