Though Uxas took the form of a small child, his true nature had nothing in common with that appearance at all!
If anything, he was far more terrifying than even the most grotesque and monstrous creatures.
Shinji had found a way to restrain his opponent — but in doing so, he had unleashed an even deadlier threat.
The moment Uxas cast aside all caution and subtlety, the danger he posed skyrocketed to its absolute peak.
Shinji tried long-range attacks using his Red Blood Manipulation, but whether it was blood bullets or razor-sharp blood blades, everything was instantly sucked into the swirling Dark Abyss the moment it came within ten meters of him. There were no exceptions.
To make matters worse, Hidan was caught in the pull and being dragged closer with every second.
It seemed there was only one solution left.
He took a deep breath as vast amounts of Cursed Energy surged and began to take shape.
"Domain Expansion — Crimson Apocalypse!"
Clasping his hands together to form the required seal, Shinji unleashed a surging ocean of blood that swept outward in an instant.
A blood-red moon hung high in the sky!
Uxas was forcibly pulled inside Shinji's domain.
Outside, without Uxas feeding it his power, the Dark Abyss ground to a reluctant halt and quickly dissolved away.
Hidan dropped heavily onto the ground with a loud thud. Just moments before, he hadn't known if he could hold on much longer.
"Shinji vanished along with that guy... Looks like he used that domain trick again."
Hidan had no way of knowing if Shinji would win, but he had to use this time to clear away all the "troubles" around them.
Gripping his Bloody March Scythe, he turned his gaze toward the crowd of survivors who had done nothing but get in their way this whole time.
---
Inside Shinji's domain: By the time Uxas realized what Shinji had done, it was already too late for him to slip away into the shadows.
After all, having unleashed such a powerful technique as the Dark Abyss, he could not simply cut it off instantly and escape.
"You are unlike any other human," Uxas said, looking at Shinji with a strange glint in his eyes. "Not only do you wield Cursed Techniques, but you can even expand a Domain."
His power Dark Invasion could corrupt any living being, turning them into creatures of darkness while granting them a portion of his own strength — limited only by how much the target could withstand.
So it was less an "experiment" and more a way for him to refine his abilities and build a new kind of army.
What he sought were Dark Soldiers — beings with human intelligence and the power of Cursed Spirits!
Not the weak, disposable low-grade spirits used as cannon fodder, but formidable warriors capable of casting their own techniques at will.
Even the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Mahito, who could reshape souls as he pleased, had yet to achieve this level of perfection — though he had recently begun making attempts in that direction too. But that was a story for another time.
Right now, Uxas was thinking: If I use Dark Invasion to transform this human, could I forge an unmatched commander of darkness?
The thought filled him with excitement.
"I've decided! I shall remake you into my most loyal servant!"
Shinji sat upon his blood-soaked throne, his face completely expressionless. "You are the first fool who dares boast so boldly inside my own domain."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Uxas's arms and legs burst apart into clouds of blood mist.
"So that's how it is... an instant-kill type domain," Uxas mused, lying crumpled on the ground with a twisted smile.
"To think you can control the blood within my body — truly impressive."
"But tell me one thing — if you dragged someone inside who had no blood for you to manipulate... what would you do then?"
Shinji frowned and struck again, this time aiming to finish him off completely.
The blood remaining inside Uxas instantly hardened into thousands of sharp spikes, piercing him from the inside out until his entire body looked like a pincushion.
Yet Uxas did not die. Instead, his physical form dissolved completely into a mass of inky black shadow that floated in mid-air.
His voice echoed from within the darkness: "Blood made dark is still darkness — and darkness is eternal. What you see now is my true self."
"Now let me show you my Domain!"
"Domain Expansion — Great Dark Heaven!"
In an instant, overwhelming darkness swept across more than half of the Crimson Apocalypse.
There was nothing inside Uxas's domain but pure, absolute darkness.
Shinji's own domain was immediately reduced by half the moment the opposing domain fully materialized.
This was the clash of two Domains — proof that Uxas's power was no weaker than his own.
Then, the Great Dark Heaven opened its eyes!
Countless eyes of all sizes appeared across the vast expanse of shadow, glowing eerily and looking utterly horrifying.
As soon as those eyes opened, Shinji felt his domain slowly being consumed and assimilated.
The boundary line of darkness pushed steadily forward, eating away more and more of his territory.
He realized at once this must be the special ability of Uxas's domain — one that could even affect and erode other domains. This was something he had never encountered before.
Returning once more to his form as a young boy, Uxas stood amid the shadows and shouted triumphantly: "Do you see now? This is the true power of my domain!"
"When the eyes of the Great Dark Heaven open, everything will eventually be swallowed and turned into darkness — even you, even your domain!"
"The sun rises and sets, the seasons change, and nothing lasts forever... except darkness. Darkness alone is eternal!"
Shinji's heart sank.
He had been completely countered.
---
"Move faster! Anyone who drags their feet dies right here!"
Hidan roared ferociously, his face twisted into a snarl.
With sunlight now flooding in and Uxas trapped inside Shinji's domain, the remaining thousand or so survivors finally had a chance to escape alive.
Originally, Hidan had considered just slaughtering them all to be done with it, but thinking about how much time it would take, he had dropped the idea.
To ensure nothing unexpected happened, he needed to clear all possible variables from the area before the enemy returned. So instead, he simply herded everyone toward the exit.
There was no more chaos or resistance anyway — half their number had already perished in the earlier panic, and those left were too terrified to disobey.
Just then, Tobi arrived.
"Hidan-senpai, why are you alone? Where's Shinji-senpai? I brought everything he asked for!"
"Too late. We don't need it anymore."
Hidan clicked his tongue in annoyance. The piles of glowing fluorite crystals Tobi had fetched were useless now.
Even strong light only weakened a small portion of Uxas's abilities — it could not truly harm him.
"What do we do now then? Just wait here until Shinji-senpai comes out?" Tobi asked, his eyes shifting uncertainly.
"If he chose to do this, he must have some way to win... right?"
Hidan had no way of being certain, and he could not enter the domain himself either. There was nothing to do but wait.
The same went for Tobi — his Kamui ability could not breach the barrier of Shinji's expanded domain.
____________________
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