Kiii-gik—!
I sharpened my nerves and pushed my five senses to their absolute limit.
I was fully prepared to sprint in the opposite direction the moment that thing spawned, whether it was in front of me or behind. In the midst of the Cursed Energy fluctuations emitted by the summoning of Mahoraga's Dharma Wheel, space itself began to warp.
RULE VIOLATION! (In Japanese)
You didn't follow the rules! RULE VIOLATION! (In Korean)
Along with a warning siren that threatened to tear my eardrums, a stench of blood exploded from the darkness ahead.
'It's in front!'
Without hesitation, I pivoted on my heel, kicked off the floor, and spun around. I broke into a full-speed dash toward the exit.
In that instant, one of the creature's six arms behind me bloated revoltingly before shooting out like a cannonball on a linear trajectory.
KWA-AAANG—!!
I had already experienced that thing's horrific speed and raw strength firsthand in the previous loops. If I tried to dodge with some half-assed footwork, my entire upper body would be vaporized.
I threw my entire body in the opposite direction of the incoming fist. I didn't give a damn about skinning my knees or tumbling across the rough tile floor.
BOOM! CRACK! I miraculously evaded three consecutive devastating strikes like a cornered beast, rolling and bouncing off the ground.
"Haa, haa...!"
But right after I dodged the third attack...
The thing that had been raging like a maniac suddenly came to a dead halt.
'...The pattern changed?'
A chilling intuition flashed through my mind, but I didn't even have time to brace myself.
The six arms extending from its back began to swell in unison. They filled the narrow corridor from wall to wall, surging forward like a massive tidal wave, leaving absolutely no gap to escape.
The breath caught in my throat.
'I'm dead.'
A deathly chill struck me to the bone. This wasn't an attack I could bypass with cheap tricks or reflexes. I let out a frantic scream, squeezing every last drop of Cursed Energy into my legs to break past my limits and run.
URRRRRRUNG—!
Behind me, a roar echoed as if space itself was collapsing.
That was when it happened. At the edge of my vision, I saw a vivid yellow police line drawn on the floor. Beyond it lay old stairs leading to the surface, and above them, an intact sign—its numbers rubbed off—glowed with light.
[ ← EXIT ]
"Uwaaaaaaaa!!"
I summoned every ounce of strength I had left and hurled myself into the air.
The moment my toes crossed the yellow line, a massive fleshy arm grazed my lower back, narrowly missing a direct hit.
KWANNG—!!!
I crashed onto the stairs. Even as pain flared through my body as if my bones were shattering, I wheezed out a ragged breath.
Hyperventilation set in; my heart and lungs hammered against my ribs.
"Cough... Gasp... Haaah!"
BOOM! BOOM! THUMP!
At the sound of the thunderous impact, I turned my head to look down at the corridor. The monster's six massive arms were halted right at the yellow line, pounding frantically against the air as if trapped behind an impenetrable transparent wall.
I jerked back in fright, sprawling pathetically onto the steps. It was at that very moment, while my vision flickered from the lack of oxygen—
Click!
The geometric Dharma Wheel floating above my head turned once with a heavy, mechanical friction sound.
"...!"
Suddenly, a sensation like a lightning strike pierced through my entire body.
The world reflected in my eyes transformed. The yellow police line separating the stairs and the corridor—I could feel it now. That line was the 'boundary of the barrier' that divided the grotesque Innate Domain from the outside world.
'I can feel it. How the Cursed Energy is woven to lock down space, the very structure of it...!'
Within this extreme game of survival, Mahoraga's Dharma Wheel had attempted to 'adapt' to the very concept of a Domain constructed by a Cursed Spirit.
Of course, that was as far as it went. Understanding the skeleton of a barrier didn't mean I could immediately use 'Domain Expansion'—the pinnacle of jujutsu that involves painting one's own Innate Domain over reality. My capacity and experience were nowhere near enough to internalize that complex abyss with just a single turn of the wheel.
But even this was a massive haul.
Trembling at the sweet nectar of knowledge won from a life-and-death gamble, I staggered to my feet.
"Later, you piece of junk 'Spot the Difference' game."
Just as I was about to climb the stairs...
Behind me, the Three-headed Six-armed Monster that had been frantically pounding the barrier instantly twisted its flesh and bone, reverting into the woman in the neat suit.
"...."
The woman stood tall in the darkness beyond the boundary, looking up at me with a smile. Then, slowly and with a bizarrely consistent rhythm, she waved her hand at me.
Facing that chilling farewell, a shiver ran down my spine as I faced reality.
I hadn't crushed this Domain. I had simply used the rules to slip out like a rat from the vile escape room set up by this Cursed Spirit.
'So I just succeeded in escaping... the Normal Ending, then.'
A bitter aftertaste lingered in my mouth.
That Cursed Spirit taking the form of a woman would remain coiled here in the basement of Karasuma Line Exit 4, maintaining that Innate Domain forever. And it would grow even larger by devouring other unfortunate Non-sorcerers who happened to cross that police line.
There was only one true 'Good Ending' to this game.
Fully developing the foundations of the Domain I had glimpsed, expanding my own Domain to push that space away, and exorcising the Cursed Spirit.
But that was impossible for now. I was still too young and weak.
I smirked at the monster in the suit waving at me and shoved my hands into my pockets.
"I danced to your tune this time, but..."
I turned my back and walked toward the surface exit where sunlight was pouring down.
"Next time, I'll be the one inviting you to my Domain, lady."
Bright sunlight stung my eyes.
The moment I climbed the stairs and finally stepped out of Karasuma Line Exit 4—
"Hey, you! Kid! Freeze!"
A rough hand snatched me by the shoulder.
Turning around, I saw a man in a suit who looked like a civil servant. His face was a mixture of bewilderment and sharp wariness.
"Who the hell are you? We put up partitions and police lines to keep Non-sorcerers—er, civilians out. How did you crawl in there?"
I clicked my tongue inwardly at his sharp interrogation.
'If the Windows or the police did a half-assed job managing the lines and left it open, why are you taking it out on me? I'm the one who wants to complain.'
But showing my hand as a sorcerer would only lead to a headache. I put on the most clueless expression I could manage and replied.
"I just... the door was open, so I thought it was a shortcut."
"It was open? Hah, I'm going crazy. How do they even handle their jobs?"
The Senior Sorcerer scratched his head in irritation. But soon, his eyes turned piercing.
"Putting that aside. How did you get out of there alive? That place isn't some ordinary subway station."
A sharp question. But I didn't even bat an eye as I shrugged.
"I don't really know what's what, but I just walked according to the rules posted on the wall. If things felt weird, I went back; if it looked normal, I went straight. After doing that, I just saw the exit."
"...You just followed the rules?"
Deep suspicion clouded his face. Just as he was taking a breath to grab me by the collar and interrogate me further—
"Senior! What are you doing!"
A Rookie Sorcerer waiting outside the police line called out urgently.
"You're neglecting the investigation of the survivor who came out first just to harass a kid over there!"
At the rookie's shout, the senior clicked his tongue. It seemed another investigator had been spit out of the Innate Domain (or escaped on their own) just before I did.
He reluctantly let go of my shoulder and jerked his chin toward the street.
"Get lost. Oh, before you go, let me get a name. What is it?"
"...Kuroda. Kuroda Hachiro."
I answered indifferently, readjusted my grip on the bag of bread, and walked away toward home.
Watching Hachiro's retreating figure, the Senior Sorcerer stroked his chin.
"Senior, seriously, what gives? Why'd you ask for the kid's name? Civilian control and identification are for the police and the Windows."
"Do you have zero intuition? That brat is no ordinary kid."
The Senior Sorcerer muttered, furrowing his brow.
"The jujutsu world is a small place. Names of people with talent are usually known through word of mouth. I thought he might be from a prestigious family like Gojo, Zenin, or Kamo, or at least someone I'd heard rumors about... but Kuroda? That's a surname I've never heard of."
"Eh, he's probably just a lucky civilian kid who survived by following those creepy rules."
"...I suppose so."
Shaking his head to clear the unease, the Senior Sorcerer walked away with the rookie. They headed toward a woman sitting modestly on a temporary chair set up near the Exit 4 police line.
She was the first 'investigator' to emerge from the subway, appearing just a hair's breadth before Hachiro.
"Ah, sorry to keep you waiting. There was one more person left inside, so I had to check."
The Senior Sorcerer put on a friendly smile and took out a notebook.
"You've been through a lot, making it out of such a dangerous place. This is just a formality, but I have a few questions. What is your name?"
The woman who was asked the question slowly raised her head.
She had short black hair. Her appearance was chillingly elegant, but on her forehead sat a grotesque and vivid stitched scar that ran horizontally across.
The woman gave a beaming, incredibly kind yet bone-chilling smile as she opened her mouth.
"I am Kaori Itadori."