Countless photos were scattered across the ground.
"You! All of you, rot to death!" Fushoku stood up, its massive rat head letting out a roar.
Its human-like palms pressed tightly together as a large amount of acid flowed from the hidden pustules on the rat's body.
Splash!
The acid surrounded Suguru and Renji like a river.
Domain Expansion: Bars of Acid!
[Ding! Host has witnessed Domain Expansion: Bars of Acid for the first time. Illustration book unlocking progress increased. Current total progress is 3.1%.]
"Watch out, Okkotsu!"
Suguru's voice was cut off by the acid gradually surrounding them, and a sudden darkness enveloped the two.
The next second, Renji opened his eyes. He found himself inside a sewer gushing with acid. Not far away was Suguru, also trapped in an acid cage. The two looked at each other.
Domain Battle.
For a Jujutsu Sorcerer, this was a frequent occurrence in battle. Some Cursed Spirits would develop a faint self-awareness and use their innate domain abilities to fight. One domain could only be broken by another. Inside a domain, all attacks were guaranteed to hit, and different domains had different effects.
However, some Jujutsu Sorcerers were unable to awaken a domain. How then could they exorcise Cursed Spirits that used them?
The answer was Simple Domain.
It was used to neutralize the enemy's domain and provide protection. Although its principles differed from a Domain Expansion, it could be understood as a highly simplified version. It only covered the user and did not guarantee hits. Most Jujutsu Sorcerers used Simple Domains to fight and exorcise Cursed Spirits.
Acid dripped from the dark opening of the sewer pipe.
Drip!
"Okkotsu, within a domain, attacks are guaranteed to hit. You can only counter it with a domain."
Before Suguru could finish, a bolt of acid struck his back from a bizarre angle.
Instantly, corrosive white vapor billowed from Suguru's back.
"Geto!" Renji's pupils shrank.
It didn't matter if he was attacked, but Suguru was different—he didn't know Reverse Cursed Technique.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me! Dammit! I didn't expect it to attack directly. Doesn't it need to adapt to our Cursed Energy?"
Suguru's expression was contorted as he endured the horrific burning sensation on his back. He formed a hand seal and activated a Simple Domain.
The moment the Simple Domain appeared, several Cuttlefish Cursed Spirits appeared around Suguru and flew toward Fushoku.
[Ding! Host has witnessed a Simple Domain for the first time. Illustration book unlocking progress increased!]
Bang! Bang...
Fushoku casually spat out several acid bullets.
In an instant, all the Cursed Spirits summoned by Suguru were melted. At this moment, he couldn't summon Rainbow Dragon at all. Any Cursed Spirit stored within his Cursed Spirit Manipulation would just be sent to their deaths.
Renji's brow furrowed.
This was bad!
If he didn't deal with that rat quickly, Suguru would be corroded to death. Not even Reverse Cursed Technique would be able to save him.
"Jujutsu Sorcerer! Squeak! This is my paradise, the place where all matter decomposes! Squeak squeak!"
Fushoku slowly emerged from the river of acid. It looked at the two trapped in cages and let out a squeaking sound.
Renji touched the red string on his left hand and Shiromuku appeared once again.
Before Renji could speak, Shiromuku's figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Bang!
The acid behind the cage splashed backward, leaving a momentary void in the rushing river of acid.
"Within my domain, you cannot kill me! Squeak!"
Fushoku opened its bloody maw, and countless streams of acid blasted toward Shiromuku from bizarre angles.
A desperate wail mixed with Shiromuku's distorted voice rang out as a faint wisp of Cursed Energy returned to Renji's red string.
Renji stared coldly at Fushoku ahead.
It's previous attacks wouldn't have caused such lethal damage to Shiromuku. Now, it could heavily wound Shiromuku with a single hit. Was its domain a support-type?
While still deep in thought, Renji caught something out of the corner of his eye.
The human head on top of Fushoku's rat head was grinning maliciously.
Endless Decomposition!
Buzz!
Renji could clearly feel the ground trembling.
Suguru seemed to realize something and suddenly looked behind them, shouting, "Don't let those rats touch you!"
A grayish-blue wave surged from the depths of the sewer pipes. It wasn't a wave at all, but a marching army of Cursed Spirit Rats, determined to crush the two in the cage.
The cage was too small and Renji couldn't draw his blade. With such a massive swarm of rats, he could rely on the terrifying physical body granted by his Heavenly Restriction to block them. But Suguru had no way of blocking them.
What's more, Fushoku was still waiting in front for a weakness.
If this continued, Suguru's life would surely come to a premature end.
Drip!
Droplets of acid fell from the cage onto Renji's body, causing him to make a choice instantly—he couldn't keep playing around like this.
"Geto, do you remember the prize I got?" Renji's hand tightly gripped his chest, where something seemed to be hidden in his pocket.
Suguru, whose face was pale from the corrosive burns on his back, had a glimmer in his eyes. "Something that precious... it's not worth using here. With your physical strength, you should be able to withstand this by force. You can't waste a rare Cursed Tool."
"If my companion is dead, what's the point of being strong?" Renji said indifferently.
[Ding! Besto Friendo! Geto Suguru's Favorability +10]
[Current Favorability: 40]
When the swarm of rats was less than fifty centimeters away, Renji instantly pulled out the Golden Cross from his chest, immediately triggering the ability of the Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Tool - God's Punishment.
Bang!
The surrounding sewer scene instantly vanished.
The two and Fushoku were back in the factory workshop once again.
"What happened? What was that?" Fushoku's rat head naturally couldn't comprehend what had occurred.
Renji instantly appeared behind Suguru. He placed his hand on Suguru's back, and Reverse Cursed Technique activated.
In an instant, a single thought occurred to Fushoku: Run.
That man in white with a Penguin Plushie pinned to his chest was stronger and faster than it. Right now, he was focused on saving the other human.
Driven by an intense survival instinct, Fushoku immediately began digging a hole downward.
"Okkotsu! It's escaping!" Suguru shouted, enduring the pain.
The corrosion on his back was too deep, Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't stop it.
Cursed Love!
The next second, a Shoko made of Cursed Energy touched Suguru's back, taking over the treatment from Renji.
For a moment, Suguru's mind went blank.
Wasn't Shoko still sleeping? Why did she suddenly appear here?
Everything happened too fast.
Bang!
The smoke cleared.
The Murasamemaru in Renji's hand was buried in the concrete floor. In front of him was a hole stained purple with the foul blood of the Cursed Spirit, deep and dark, even faintly emitting a corrosive aura.