Crack…
First was a single crack, then multiple, until finally the entire structure crumbled away as if it never existed.
My domain collapsed, not out of getting overpowered or losing a clash against another's domain, but because it simply achieved what it was deployed to do.
Inside the domain were four jujutsu sorcerers, one freak of nature who didn't have a drop of cursed energy in him, yet he just speed-blitzed a freaking special grade curse spirit, inside the cursed's own domain, mind you,—even though it didn't fully establish—and then there was me.
Gawking at the man in the oversized sweatshirt like he was the monster he truly was. I just hoped that, by the way Maki and the others were looking at him, it wasn't the look of, "Who the hell is he?" or "Shit, we need help!" but instead, "Look! He is so cool."
What I meant to say was that I hoped this man in the sweatshirt, who had just turned that special grade into minced meat, was a friend rather than a foe.
If it wasn't obvious by the way they were on guard against that man, then perhaps I was being a little too optimistic.
The man got up, the three-sided red weapon which he forcefully stole from Maki and turned into a giant-sized toothpick lay discarded after he killed that red curse spirit. He literally stabbed the spirit to death—thousands of stabs within those few seconds.
The man was terrifying.
He turned, and I saw a noticeable shift in the stance of the others around me, everyone on their guard, and the tense atmosphere was enough to give me my answer.
"Perhaps we can offer a parley," I offered, trying to reduce the tension, but it was for nothing. The next second, I saw the man disappear from his place—not move, not run—outright disappear. That was how fast he moved.
Maki, Naobito, Nanami, and that new kid who joined midway, jolted out a tad bit too late before the man once again appeared, this time right next to the new kid's side, grabbing him by the collar. He threw him out of the window with such force that the kid was sent flying even after he hit the glass, broke through it, and still kept going.
And before any of the rest of us could move, the man once again disappeared. He too was after the raven-haired boy.
I just blinked, part confused, part relieved that he didn't come for me. And if the others' reactions were any indication, they weren't that different.
"So he wasn't a friend?" I asked, now genuinely wishing to know who that son of a gun was. He came, fought the curse spirit inside a domain no less, then the next second he showed his fangs at us. Whose side was he on?
My question seemed to have jolted those professional jujutsu sorcerers out of their daze.
"That's not possible… he died back then," Naobito muttered to himself. Until now, he felt like he was watching a ghost, unable to believe whether it was real or an illusion. However, no mere illusion could kill a special grade curse spirit.
"You know him, old man," Maki snapped, demanding answers. "Who was he?"
"As I said, a man who shouldn't exist—a ghost!" Naobito shook his head. Clearly, the scene had put even a veteran sorcerer like him on edge.
"Forget about that man for now. Fushiguro won't last long against him. We have to help Fushiguro…" Nanami tightened his grip around his weapon and said.
'So, he's name is Fushiguro huh...must be his surname. Well something better than nothing I guess.' I filed that away as usual.
"Forget it. We can't win against that man. I know what he is capable of doing," Naobito replied, this time truly serious, shaking his head.
"I'm not letting Fushiguro face that man alone. As an adult presiding over this mission, it's my duty to make certain none of my colleagues come to harm," Nanami said with resolve and moved to go after wherever that man took the black-haired boy.
I just watched all of this unfold, only wondering, "Why the hell do both that man and the kid look so similar?"
As for who was going where, I had no interest in that. I knew where I was going—out of Shibuya, and if possible, out of this damn country.
"What about you?" Maki asked, looking at me. She too wasn't planning on letting Nanami go after Fushiguro alone.
"Me!"
"Yeah, what are you going to do? If you're not planning on fighting, then get out of Shibuya as soon as possible. It's dangerous out here.
Though I don't think I have to tell you that, now do I?" Maki snorted, clearly a bit bitter at me for something. Or perhaps that was just her general attitude toward everyone.
"DAGON… YOU'RE GONE AS WELL."
The walking trio and I froze at the sudden shift in the air. A chill ran down my spine at that voice and that pressure.
Nanami, Naobito, and Maki almost immediately snapped to look at another curse spirit. By pressure alone, he felt equal to, if not more dangerous than, that octopus curse from earlier.
"Are you serious right now? Another special grade?" Maki clicked her tongue, her knuckles going white as she tightened her grip around her weapon.
Neither Naobito nor Nanami said anything, but their faces said enough—we were all fucked.
The curse spirit looked like a volcano. Literally, he had a volcano for a head with a single huge eye.
I had no evidence, but my instincts told me that this was much worse than the one from earlier.
And then, as if I was seeing things, I could feel it—real anger—within that curse spirit's single eye as he looked over all of us.
Before my hands were even halfway formed into the domain sign, the curse spirit was next to Nanami as if he had teleported.
And then, as if made out of coal, I saw the man explode into flames. His entire upper frame became a living candle.
My breath hitched at that. My hands could no longer find the strength to form the hand signs, even though they were only centimetres apart.
Next came the heat, the scorched scent of burned flesh, and the fiery nature of the curse spirit bloomed a kind of panic inside me, which froze me on the spot.
Experience spoke this time. Naobito reacted in time, his own speed matching that of the volcano curse, and he vanished the next second, appearing near the curse to freeze it in his frame.
However, the curse spirit seemed to anticipate that. Just as Naobito was about to touch him, an explosion caught him off guard.
The volcano curse seemingly sprouted mini volcanoes on the ceiling, raining down molten magma and fire on top of the supreme grade 1 sorcerer.
A pillar of fire descended upon Naobito and burned the man completely into a crisp. If the old man really survived that, then my respect for him would reach divine levels.
And just as I was ready to expect a similar fate, I felt my entire body shaking. It wasn't fear—instead, it was the girl beside me.
Maki had grabbed me by the collar and shaken me out of my stupor.
"What the hell are you dozing off for? If you don't want to die, then do your thing, you idiot!" Maki shouted, so hard it almost gave me a migraine. However, it did what it was intended to do.
It jolted me out of my stupor.
Survival instinct kicked in just in time. Just before the volcano curse spirit turned his attention toward us, my still-hovering hands finally joined.
"Domain Expansion… Death Trade!"
Thanks to my recent refinement to my domain, the execution time was shortened by half.
The one giant eye of the fire volcano curse enlarged to epic proportions. Perhaps, of all things, he wasn't expecting a domain from anyone outside Gojo Satoru in Shibuya.
He backed off almost instantly, his hands already trying to form his own domain—but he was late. My domain's increased speed made sure that it hit him first.
My domain encapsulated us. Me, Maki, and the curse. The sure-hit effect landed just right.
But…
"Don't use your curse technique, and in return I shall…"
I paused.
In return for that… what could I do?
Stop fighting? But even without his cursed technique active, Maki couldn't take him alone if I removed myself from the fight.
Remove my technique too? But that would collapse my domain.
Death Trade—a domain-based technique which could force a trade inside its sure-hit effect, provided the trade was equal in value.
Earlier, I had time to think of a trade—something which could give me or my side an advantage. But here, in a domain deployed out of sheer panic, nothing came to mind that could work.
I thought of a few trades, even knowing they weren't equal in status, and tried to activate them—but they never worked.
And that delay was enough.
For the volcano curse spirit to deploy his own domain.
"Domain Expansion: Coffin of the Iron Mountain…"
My already established domain shook violently, breaking apart from one side as a fiery domain made of lava and molten magma erupted from the curse's side.
He violently pushed my domain back until they were at a stalemate in the middle—a domain clash.
"Again?" I gritted my teeth in irritation. I was once again in that situation where both of our domains were equally refined.
Irritation rang inside me. For a second, I cursed my own idiocy for not coming up with something of equal value to trade at that moment.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting a sorcerer of this calibre besides Satoru Gojo here in Shibuya. Guess you jujutsu sorcerers are not entirely out of options just yet besides Gojo.
No wonder Dagon died. You were responsible for it, weren't you?
However, make no mistake—you'll die here. You're no Gojo Satoru."
The curse said. Anger and a gleam both shone in that single big eye before he rushed toward us inside the clash of domains.
"Maki!" I shouted, barely calculating who the volcano curse was targeting first. And unlike what I anticipated, it was not me—the one holding up the domain—but her.
As soon as the volcano curse spirit released his domain hand signs, my domain slightly gained the upper hand just because I was still actively maintaining it. However, that slight shift was useless if he killed me first.
Involuntarily, I too had to let go of the hand signs and defend against the incoming attack.
The volcano curse's hand lit up with fire, and the next second he unleashed what felt like a flamethrower from his hands toward us.
Maki gritted her teeth. She was completely outmatched at this level of battle. She knew she had to protect me or the domain would collapse—and both of us would die.
Without thinking twice, she put herself in front of me, ready to face the fire alone, to burn if that was what was destined for her.
And just as the fire reached her—just as she braced herself to be scarred for life or give up on it entirely—something shifted around her.
The fiery heat suddenly vanished.
Because it met a wall.
A wall made out of pure water.
"What?!" The volcano curse stopped in pure disbelief.
I slowly removed my hand from the ground, and as soon as I did, the water wall disappeared.
Maki snapped her head toward me like she had seen a ghost.
"You! What—how did you do that?"
I just gave her a knowing smile.
"Just a trade. Nothing much."