Mahito was blasted to the side by Kento Nanami's desperate counterattack.
"Hahaha, you instinctively used Cursed Energy to cover your soul~~ How interesting.
Jujutsu Sorcerers can usually only protect their bodies with Cursed Energy. If you can't 'perceive the soul,' protecting it isn't even an option."
Yu Haibara seized the chance, grabbed Kento Nanami, and rushed to the side...
The exit was blocked by Saishū. With the remaining Cursed Energy and the limited time left on the Binding Vow, there was no way they could break through to the surface...
Mahito ignored the two of them and instead skipped over toward Saishū.
"Four-faced freak... those two still have plenty of experimental value. Your technique damages their souls way too easily~~"
Mahito waved his right hand in front of Saishū.
"Look, this seven-three sorcerer is already missing a piece~~ There's no universality left for experiments..."
"I can't see it.
And I'm already doing my best to cooperate with you. Do you expect me to fight using only my body? Those two Jujutsu Sorcerers are fairly capable."
Mahito felt thoroughly disgusted by Yu Haibara's ability to directly absorb the Cursed Energy of Cursed Spirits. People like that were better off dead...
"Haha, anyway, I'm almost out of Cursed Energy. I'm not really in the mood anymore. Do whatever you want..."
Just as Mahito was speaking, Saishū suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed a pale blue blade that had materialized out of nowhere.
But in the very next instant, the blade vanished.
A figure appeared behind Mahito and cleanly cut off his head.
"Looks like Akira was right. There really is a curse here worth killing.
You two sorcerers over there, if you can still stand, get the hell out of here. I'm not going to babysit anyone in the middle of a fight."
Standing behind Mahito, Naoya Zenin glanced at Nanami and Haibara nearby. With one hand, he tossed Mahito's severed head far away, and with the other he flicked his blade.
Haibara didn't get angry at Naoya Zenin's tone. Instead, he hurriedly warned him.
"Don't touch the stitched-face's hands! And watch out for the four-faced cursed spirit getting close to your shadow!"
But Mahito, who had been motionless until now, suddenly extended a hand from his body toward Naoya Zenin.
Naoya Zenin's figure abruptly blurred, and Mahito rushed straight past him to the other side.
"Useless~~"
Naoya Zenin grinned viciously as he swung his blade toward Mahito, who had just retrieved his head.
Each time Mahito dodged, new wounds inexplicably appeared on his body.
Of course, cuts like these meant nothing to Mahito.
"You're definitely tough, but you can't touch me. And my attacks are impossible for you to dodge~~"
Sensing that the situation was turning bad, Mahito's body suddenly swelled like a balloon.
As it expanded, his skin began to transform. It hardened, sprouted jagged teeth, and his two arms turned into massive flails. His enlarged body pressed forward, clearly trying to restrict Naoya Zenin's space to dodge.
But Naoya Zenin didn't rely purely on spatial speed.
Every time Mahito attacked, Naoya Zenin would abruptly appear somewhere else, then slice Mahito again.
"That disgusting feeling... you're the loach sorcerer Jogo mentioned!"
Naoya Zenin's expression stiffened, his eyes sharpening as he stared at Mahito.
"Loach? Now I'm pissed."
Naoya Zenin suddenly appeared beside Mahito and, using the operating principle of Falling Blossom Emotion, kicked the "human cannonball" version of Mahito straight into the sewer ceiling.
Naoya Zenin didn't chase after him. Instead, his body suddenly blurred as he dodged a Cursed Energy blast. The pipes behind him exploded and shattered instantly...
Saishū's appearance had changed.
A hollow face now sat in the center, while the other three twisted faces circled around it like a spinning windmill.
"I thought you'd wait until that stitched-face died before making your move..."
"Head-body dual usage, surface hardening, body expansion, combat instincts...
His growth today is already sufficient. For a Cursed Spirit, today's plan was actually a bit aggressive."
"Like you're—"
Naoya Zenin tried to keep talking through his technique, but Saishū's wings suddenly beat once, and he instantly appeared right in front of him.
First, a punch shattered the ground beneath Naoya Zenin's feet.
Then Saishū spun and struck directly toward Naoya Zenin's head.
Naoya Zenin tried to evade using "frame skipping," but because the ground beneath him had already been destroyed and he was suspended midair, the next moment became a "keyframe" that he couldn't skip.
"Boom!"
Blood sprayed everywhere.
His jaw shattered instantly.
The enormous impact blasted Naoya Zenin straight into the wall. He tore through it and was sent flying who knows how far, disappearing from sight...
"Observe, understand, then kill with a single strike."
Saishū turned his head toward Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara, who were preparing to ambush him.
First, a surge of Cursed Energy blasted Kento Nanami away. Then Saishū made a feint that drew out Yu Haibara's "Explosive Fist." Taking advantage of the opening, he pierced a hole through Yu Haibara's abdomen from the side and slammed him straight into the ground with his other hand.
"One minute left, right? Struggle a little more and let me appreciate this tragedy.
Only a tragedy full of twists and turns makes an inevitable ending even slightly interesting..."
Saishū suddenly sensed a surge of Cursed Energy coming from the hole where Naoya Zenin had been blasted away. The "Empty Face" on his body was suddenly shoved aside by the "Comic Face," while the Empty Face began spinning like one of the blades of a windmill.
"Hey, hey~~ Your companions are right under my feet. Are you really going to use something like that? Won't you kill them first?"
"Domain Expansion..."
Naoya Zenin did not hesitate for even a moment. He even used the technique of "frame insertion" to effectively shorten the time needed for his Innate Domain to manifest.
A black barrier barely managed to envelop Saishū, while Kento Nanami and Yu Haibara were crushed directly into the wall by the expanding Domain.
Inside the Domain, the space did not resemble a womb.
Instead, it was filled with masses of fleshy tumors layered within one another, seemingly alive yet completely motionless.
"[Time Cell Moon Palace]!"
Naoya Zenin laughed while panting heavily, his jaw already repaired.
"Projection Sorcery forces others to mirror my movements. If they fail, they freeze for one second.
But the effect of [Time Cell Moon Palace] changes the target of that freeze to every single cell inside the body. If the body moves, the frozen cells crush against each other and rupture.
To be honest, I used to wonder what would happen if a Cursed Spirit didn't have 'cells.' Akira reminded me that Domains mainly target Cursed Energy. If there are no cells, then the target becomes the 'microscopic units of Cursed Energy' instead."
Saishū moved his right hand slightly.
Cracks immediately spread across the entire hand, and Cursed Energy began leaking out through the fissures. If he moved again, the entire arm would shatter.
[There is still room to act. As long as this sorcerer moves, other openings will appear. I just need to find a chance to activate the Domain...]
Saishū, who had already formed a plan, suddenly froze.
Ignoring the damage that caused the blood vessels in his eyes to burst, he forced his eyes wide open.
A volcano suddenly erupted beneath Naoya Zenin's feet.
Dark red magma burst upward. Naoya Zenin had already dodged the initial eruption, but several insects resembling "Ember Insects" exploded around him and blasted him to the ground.
Naoya Zenin, whose Cursed Energy had been drained to the point he could no longer maintain his Domain, was completely stunned.
That attack was far too familiar...
Had that volcano-headed cursed spirit arrived too?
Unlike Naoya Zenin, Saishū was even more confused.
Just now, he had continuously used Jogo's technique.
Which also meant...
Saishū immediately flew up, grabbed Mahito, who was dazed from excessive Cursed Energy consumption, and tossed several fireballs downward as he left.
"Jogo is dead! A Special Grade Sorcerer is here!"