In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed.
Inside the underground cellar shrouded in darkness, an eerie and ominous atmosphere filled the air.
In the four corners along the walls, curses of all shapes and sizes were piled on top of each other, packed so tightly that there was barely any room to move. They struggled desperately, trying to break free from the iron chains restraining them, their continuous howls echoing through the chamber.
Especially when they looked toward the figure and the shikigami standing in the center of the cellar, the curses became even more restless.
Some of them were already drooling onto the floor.
On a platform ten meters above the ground in the expanded and modified cellar stood all the members of the Hei and Kūkuro squads. Each of them firmly held the heavy chains in their hands, waiting for the boy at the center to give the order.
Standing above them on the platform was the leader of Hei—also the former clan head—Naobito. His expression was grave.
The number of curses below had already reached a terrifying four digits.
The strongest were Grade 1, while the weakest were Grade 3.
This was the result of the Zenin clan's collective efforts over the past half month since Mirai gave the order.
It was also the largest-scale curse consumption Mirai had attempted in the cellar so far.
Standing in the center of the underground chamber, Mirai's upper body was bare, crisscrossed with scars. Within his crimson pupils seemed to swirl a devouring vortex.
Glancing at the two shikigami beside him, Mirai coldly gave the command.
"Release them."
The sorcerers above quickly let go of the chains, while simultaneously channeling cursed energy, ready to provide support at any moment.
The next second—
"ROOOAR!!!"
The curses that had just been freed from their restraints surged forward like a landslide, launching a ferocious attack toward the figure and the shikigami at the center.
BOOM!
The completely black shikigami Piercing Ox shot forward the instant the restraints were lifted, like an arrow released from a bow.
With a single charge, a straight line of empty space briefly appeared in the curse-filled cellar.
Countless mutilated curse bodies and foul-smelling blood flew through the air.
But the gap was quickly filled again by the surging mass of curses.
At the same moment, four Grade 1 curses had already rushed in front of Mirai.
Just as they opened their enormous, blood-soaked jaws, the other shikigami beside him—a pure white Round Deer—lowered its head and charged.
Its antlers sent three of the curses flying.
The one deliberately left behind had green skin, the body of a boar, the head of a snake, and the claws of a wolf.
Its blade-like claws were already inches away from Mirai's chest.
With danger imminent, Mirai didn't resist.
Instead, his face showed anticipation as he voluntarily deactivated his intangibility technique.
Slash!
A dazzling spray of scarlet burst through the darkness.
Blood splattered everywhere.
"Mirai?!"
Naobito's expression changed in shock.
He couldn't understand why Mirai didn't dodge—or counterattack.
And why would he deactivate the intangibility technique that could ignore physical attacks?
Just as Naobito was about to leap down with his men to rescue him, a loud shout stopped him.
"Stop!"
"No one is allowed to interfere!"
All the sorcerers who were about to act immediately froze and returned to their positions.
They couldn't afford the consequences of disobeying an order.
Even the Round Deer, capable of using Reversed Cursed Technique, had now been swallowed by the endless swarm of curses.
As the healer among the Ten Shadows shikigami, Round Deer wasn't suited for direct combat.
Mirai's chest was now a bloody mess. His flesh was torn open, and one could faintly see his organs beating inside.
A look of struggle flashed across Naobito's face.
With such severe injuries, death could come at any moment if they didn't intervene.
By now, Mirai had already been regarded by Naobito as the future of the Zenin clan.
Even if it meant disobeying orders, he couldn't allow Mirai to die here.
But the next moment—
Naobito's movements suddenly froze.
His eyes bulged wide.
Below him, Mirai's torn flesh began weaving itself back together, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Reversed Cursed Technique?!"
Naobito let out a disbelieving growl.
Only now did he understand the meaning behind Mirai's earlier madness.
Zenin Mirai was a genius even more shocking than Satoru Gojo.
Having realized this, Naobito quietly stepped back into place, his face filled with excitement.
Looking at his fully restored chest, Mirai himself couldn't help showing a hint of excitement.
In the past, he had deliberately injured himself many times, then allowed Round Deer to heal him using Reversed Cursed Technique.
After more than half a year of research and experimentation…
He had finally mastered Reversed Cursed Technique at this moment.
There is great terror between life and death.
But there are also great opportunities.
Originally, if the attempt failed, Round Deer was meant to serve as a safeguard.
But at the final moment, the thought flashed through his mind—
If it didn't succeed, then so be it.
Driving Round Deer away in that final moment of madness had allowed Mirai not only to learn Reversed Cursed Technique, but also to gain a deeper understanding of the core mechanics of cursed energy.
"This… is what you call a damn surprise."
With his objective achieved, Mirai activated his intangibility technique again.
Ignoring the tide of curses surging toward him, he allowed Round Deer to retreat into the shadows.
At that instant, the massive body of the Great Serpent burst out of the shadows and rushed forward.
According to the Ten Shadows Technique, a sorcerer could summon at most two shikigami at once.
Even Mirai couldn't break that rule.
The two shikigami rampaged through the ring of curses, charging in and out.
Powerful.
Piercing Ox could only charge in a straight line, but it possessed powerful armor-piercing effects—and the longer the straight path, the stronger its attack became.
If the curses filling the cellar were like surging ocean waves, then the straight-charging Piercing Ox was like a high-powered speedboat tearing across the sea.
Each pass left behind violent gusts of white air and brief, perfectly straight gaps.
The sight was awe-inspiring.
Now in an excellent mood after mastering Reversed Cursed Technique, Mirai even kindly reminded the people above.
"Stand farther back. Put up some defenses."
But Mirai seemed to have forgotten—or simply didn't care.
The people above had their backs against the walls. There was nowhere left to retreat.
Mirai formed a complex hand seal with both hands, pouring immense cursed energy into it.
After their warm-up, both the Great Serpent and Piercing Ox dove back into the shadows.
Naobito, familiar with the Ten Shadows Technique, recognized the hand seal immediately.
His expression changed drastically.
"All sorcerers step forward and deploy full cursed-energy barriers!
Non-sorcerers—crouch down and cover your heads!!"
The moment Naobito finished shouting—
The spacious cellar began shaking violently.
Under the terrified gazes of the sorcerers, the ceiling above suddenly shattered.
BOOM!!!
A colossal Divine Elephant crashed down from above.
Its massive limbs and enormous body slammed into the ground.
A thunderous impact sent dust and rubble flying everywhere.
The remaining several hundred curses were instantly reduced to ashes.
Even the second-floor platform collapsed into rubble.
Mirai, who had activated his intangibility, paid no attention to the flying debris.
Instead, he spread his arms wide, enjoying himself as he absorbed the vast cursed energy filling the air.
After more than half a year of effort from the entire Zenin clan…
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had finally undergone its second evolution, just as Mirai had hoped.
Inside the Kamui space, within the boundless void, the Demonic Statue slowly grew a pair of thin legs.
A single eye opened on its forehead, containing nine rotating crimson tomoe.
What pleased Mirai even more was that the ten massive tails swaying in the void now faintly revealed countless white humanoid curse spirits.
"Clatter…"
Pushing aside the pile of rubble in front of them, the injured sorcerers slowly emerged, their expressions extremely complicated.
No one knew whether it was because they were experiencing sunlight in the dark underground chamber for the first time…
Or because they had just received their leader's sudden and overwhelming "care."
Naobito gritted his teeth as he stared at Mirai, who stood in the center with a blissful expression.
He looked like he wanted to curse him out—
But didn't dare.
Resentment filled the air.