Mount Sumeru is the central mountain of Buddhism, incredibly massive, reaching into the heavens, indestructible, and the pillar of the world; Vajra represents hard, sharp, and indestructible things, often referring to a Vajra scepter or symbolizing the power of Buddhist law; the Karmic Wheel is the wheel of fate and Karma.
This Domain Expansion signifies: the beginning and end of the cosmic cycle, the place where absolute truth resides.
Mahito thought of the narration in Yuki Tsukumo's mind before her death.
In Yuki Tsukumo's imagination, the destination of this cosmic truth was likely a—
Black Hole.
This is the Sumeru Vajra Karma Wheel.
Simple Domain!
Mahito's Cursed Energy broke through his body and extended outward according to his willpower.
A Domain with a radius of 4 meters centered on himself formed silently.
Mahito crouched down, hand on the hilt of his sword, body in an iaido stance.
This was the most standard posture for releasing a Simple Domain.
The Simple Domain used by most Jujutsu Sorcerers has a radius of only 2.25 meters, which is the maximum distance for an iaijutsu slash.
But Mahito was different.
If he gripped the hilt of Kirigiri tightly, the maximum distance plus his arm span could reach 4 meters, which was exactly the radius of the Simple Domain he was currently deploying.
He had already completed the Simple Domain and gone a step further!
The trouble was that the time it took him to complete the Simple Domain was very short.
While maintaining the Simple Domain, he couldn't use Soul Creation—that is, the Limitless Cursed Technique—besides Idle Transfiguration.
Yuki Tsukumo's observation was sharp; she had indeed struck Mahito's weak point.
Yuki Tsukumo smiled.
"Jackpot!"
"When I used Domain Expansion, you didn't use yours simultaneously."
"In other words, you don't know how to use Domain Expansion at all."
"King of Curses, did you think you could oppose my Domain Expansion with just a mere Simple Domain?"
Mahito did not waver.
"The reason Simple Domain exists is to deal with the Curse Users and Cursed Spirits that emerged in endless succession a thousand years ago."
"Ordinary Curse Users and Cursed Spirits are one thing, but Sorcerers and Cursed Spirits capable of using Domain Expansion are lethal."
"For this reason, Simple Domain was born."
"Now, I am practicing the ancient path."
"There is no fear in my heart."
Yuki Tsukumo stopped smiling and looked at Mahito.
His expression indeed showed no wavering, and his Simple Domain was extremely stable.
He was telling the truth; he practiced the ancient path without fear... was it?
Yuki Tsukumo marveled inwardly.
Until this moment, Yuki Tsukumo finally had to admit one thing—something she found hard to believe.
She said seriously to Mahito.
"I must apologize to you, Mahito."
"What?"
Mahito was stunned.
He didn't expect her to say something like that even after expanding her Domain.
Wasn't this a life-or-death situation?
"Ever since you destroyed the Zen'in Clan, I've been tracking your whereabouts."
"I learned about the situation since your appearance from Master Tengen."
"You restrain the Curse Users who cooperate with you, you supervise the intelligent Cursed Spirits under your command, and you actively seek coexistence with human society."
Yuki Tsukumo said slowly.
"Satoru once told me that since you appeared, the entire Jujutsu World seems much more stable."
"That is, until the Zen'in Clan sidelined Satoru to monopolize your immortality technology, and you, having been humiliated, emerged with the most tyrannical posture."
Mahito was a bit bewildered.
Is she talking about me?
Restraining Curse Users was natural.
These Curse Users were, after all, important cannon fodder for overturning the Jujutsu World.
Letting them expose themselves now would just be feeding kills to Satoru Gojo, wouldn't it?
Now that the entire Jujutsu World was looking for him, he was naturally worried that these Curse Users who had contacted him might inadvertently expose him.
This wasn't Mahito being paranoid; he had been tested by political discourse in his previous life.
He knew how easy it would be if a country truly wanted to find someone.
This was also why he rarely used a cell phone—ever since Kinji Hakari joined him, he hadn't even touched a phone.
He left all diplomacy to Kinji Hakari.
While this was partly because he trusted Kinji Hakari, there was another layer of consideration: in case the national level intervened, phone calls would be monitored at all times.
Monitoring Kinji Hakari was better than monitoring Mahito directly.
Of course, Japan didn't seem as paranoid as the US, but Mahito didn't dare to gamble!
Keeping an eye on intelligent Cursed Spirits was also natural.
Strictly speaking, although Mahito had gathered many humans under him, he was still the King of Curses.
Intelligent Cursed Spirits were his foundation and what he had to manage seriously.
Finally, going to kill after being humiliated...
Well, Yuki Tsukumo was right about that.
If he hadn't been insulted and confirmed that Satoru Gojo wouldn't make it back in time, he wouldn't have emerged at that time at all.
It was precisely because he was humiliated that he completely figured things out and stepped onto the righteous path of sustaining war through war.
"I thought your kindness was hypocrisy for the sake of overturning the Jujutsu World."
"Your identity as a Curse meant you were destined to treat the world with brutality."
"I thought you were just burying your darkness deep until you truly overturned the Jujutsu World, at which point all your cruelty and tyranny would be fully revealed."
Yuki Tsukumo raised her hand slightly, as if holding something up.
Above her palm, a tiny black void was slowly spinning.
Mahito instantly felt a survival crisis, like an office worker being stalked by a wild beast in the wilderness; a hair-raising sensation nearly swallowed his brain.
"But I was wrong."
"You seem to truly possess a kindness that Curses do not."
"Acquired education has overridden your innate nature, making everything you show in front of everyone so beautiful."
"I'm starting to understand how Hakari feels about you..."
"You seem to truly have the magnanimity and charisma to rule the world."
Mahito stared at the tiny black void in Yuki Tsukumo's hand and licked his lips.
"Your current actions seem to negate what you just said."
"No, I've just come to recognize you more clearly."
Yuki Tsukumo said solemnly.
"Precisely because you are so wonderful, that even as a Cursed Spirit you can gain everyone's love and support, I have made up my mind."
She spoke the decisive sentence loudly.
"Mahito, you... must die!"
Mahito was dazed for a moment and frowned.
"Why?"
Although it was a misunderstanding, receiving such high praise from Yuki Tsukumo made Mahito think her hostility might soften and that the battle might end in another way.
Yuki Tsukumo bared her teeth, letting out a low growl like a tiger or leopard before an attack.
"...Because you are not human."
No matter how kind you are, no matter how suitable you are to rule the world, no matter how beautiful the new world you create is—
—The fact that you are not human negates everything about you!
You must die!
Yuki Tsukumo threw the tiny pocket black hole at Mahito.
Mahito began to run without hesitation.
The structure of his Simple Domain began to fluctuate as he moved.
It is possible to move while deploying a Simple Domain, but it requires extremely high skill; the original timeline showed people moving while using Simple Domain multiple times.
The most famous example of this was none other than the Yuki Tsukumo standing before him.
She had once charged towards Kenjaku while maintaining a Simple Domain, right inside his Domain Expansion—just like Mahito was doing now!
Mahito felt an inexplicable heat spreading through his body.
The vessel he had constructed for himself sensed immense danger, screaming an urgent, piercing alarm like an air raid siren, urging him to flee.
A tiny black void was emanating boundless gravitational pull.
Meteorites floating in the air began moving towards it in the form of shredded fragments.
Initially, their speed was extremely slow, but as time passed, it accelerated faster and faster, until it seemed to surpass the flow of time itself.
Domain Expansion: Sumeru Vajra Karma Wheel.
This Domain granted Yuki Tsukumo the ability to apply Virtual Mass to anything other than herself.
While she remained immune to the mass effects of this Virtual Mass, all other matter would behave as if it truly possessed immense mass.