Kyushu Island.
The resort beaches, usually teeming with tourists and laughter, were a silent graveyard. Piles of human skeletal remains replaced the white sands, a grim testament to the hunger of a disaster.
Above, the sky had bruised into a deep, sickly grey. Thick clouds choked out the sun, and a biting gale whipped the ocean into a frenzy, punctuated by the occasional, bone-shaking crack of thunder.
Through the heavy salt mist, Souma Gojo felt it—a massive, rhythmic pulse of cursed energy emanating from the water several kilometers out.
"Dagon, is it? Swallowing that many humans... it seems you've finally molted from that womb into a full-fledged adult."
Souma ascended slowly, hovering for a heartbeat before launching himself toward the open sea like a silver dart.
He found Dagon standing upon the waves. The curse did not flee; instead, it stared at Souma with cold, unwavering eyes and began to walk forward, his feet treading the surface of the water as if it were solid ground.
Souma tilted his head. "Oh? No running? You're actually approaching me?"
Dagon's voice was deep and resonant, like the groan of a shifting hull. "Why should I run? This is the ocean. This is my domain."
"Souma Gojo... I am going to kill you."
Souma's eye twitched. "Did you find an open bar under the sea? You sound drunk."
Dagon didn't offer a witty retort. Instead, the terrifying churn of cursed energy within his frame provided the only answer necessary.
Among the four great disasters, Dagon had always been the quiet one, the afterthought. If Jogo was the father, Hanami the mother, and Mahito the erratic elder brother, Dagon was the youngest—the one who needed protection.
But Dagon didn't want to be a burden. He loathed being a mere ward of his "family." He craved the strength to stand beside Jogo, to be a pillar for the others to lean on.
And then, not long ago, Jogo and Hanami had returned broken. It was the first time Dagon had seen "Mother" Hanami so close to death, her body mangled beyond recognition. In that moment, a seed of pure, unadulterated hatred for Souma Gojo had taken root in his heart.
It was the raw, primal fury of a child watching a parent be struck down.
Souma stared at him for a moment, and then a thin smile played on his lips. "Good eyes. I can see the resolve in them. Come then!"
BOOM!
Dagon sprinted across the sea, his footsteps kicking up plumes of water that looked like depth charges exploding. He threw a haymaker with the weight of the tides behind it, slamming it directly into Souma's "Infinity." The resulting shockwave sent a wall of water fifty meters into the sky.
"Is that all?"
Souma shook his head, looking unimpressed. "Hey! Put some heart into it! Didn't you say you were going to kill me?"
"AAAAAAAAGH—!"
Provoked by Souma's dismissive tone, Dagon roared. He unleashed a frantic barrage of punches, each one wreathed in cursed energy.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The strikes sounded like rolls of thunder. The sheer pressure of the exchange caused the sea to boil and churn, spray flying in every direction.
"Muda, muda, muda..."
Souma stood with his arms crossed, making no move to strike back. He watched the frantic assault with clinical detachment. "Is this it? Is this the extent of your 'resolve'?"
The relentless psychological pressure pushed Dagon over the edge. His fists moved faster and faster until they were nothing but a blur, a chaotic storm of meat and energy.
Souma let out a cold snort. He suddenly reached out, snatching Dagon's fist mid-air, and countered with a single, crushing blow.
Black lightning flickered along his knuckles—a soul-shaking critical hit.
BOOM!!!
The punch caught Dagon square in the solar plexus. The curse was launched backward like a supersonic missile, skipping across the ocean surface dozens of times like a flat stone.
Dagon had barely struggled to his feet when Souma appeared above him, delivering a second Black Flash directly to his face.
Dagon spun like a top across the water, eventually crashing into the depths and sending a massive geyser of foam into the air.
"How disappointing. Dagon, is this really your best? It's not enough. Not nearly enough!"
Souma's mocking voice reached the curse's ears through the water. Dagon hauled himself back to the surface, his face and chest bearing two smoldering, concave indentations.
But Dagon didn't falter. He glared at Souma, his internal furnace of rage erupting like an underwater volcano.
"You bastard!!!"
"Don't you dare look down on the bonds I share with my family!!!"
CRACK—!
Dagon's speed surged again, breaking his previous limits. He threw everything into a single punch, his very cursed energy seemingly catching fire!
Blood roared through his veins. His cells shrieked in triumph. His heart hammered against his ribs.
In that instant, a new door swung open before him. A sense of absolute clarity washed over the curse—a feeling of being invincible, of being boundless!
Black lightning crackled into existence, coiling around Dagon's fist. Under the weight of his conviction and raw power, the very space around his knuckles began to warp.
"BLACK FLASH!!!"
Dagon screamed with everything he had, the blow connecting with Souma in a cataclysmic explosion.
KABOOM!!!
It was as if a nuclear torpedo had detonated. A gargantuan volume of seawater was vaporized and hurled into the sky, creating a spray a hundred meters high. The shockwave radiated outward, pushing the ocean back and creating a temporary vacuum in the center of the blast.
As the water came rushing back in a deafening roar, Dagon hung in the air, gasping for breath. He looked up, and a bone-deep chill settled in his marrow.
Despite his ultimate strike, despite the Black Flash, Souma Gojo hadn't moved an inch. He had caught the entire impact on the tip of a single index finger.
Dagon stood several heads taller than Souma, yet looking into the man's eyes, he felt as though he were being looked down upon from a great height.
"Is that all?"
"How weak... How pathetic. Dagon, did you really think that would be enough to kill me?"
Souma's aura shifted, his presence becoming sharp and imposing, his very features seeming to harden into a mask of god-like arrogance.
Dagon gritted his teeth and retreated. He couldn't wrap his head around it—even with a Black Flash, he couldn't even make the man flinch. This was the monster who had broken Hanami.
He was strong beyond reason.
"Technique Release: Death Swarm!"
An endless tide of gargantuan, carnivorous sea life erupted from the water, screaming as they lunged for Souma. Their rows of serrated teeth snapped at the air.
But such an assault was meaningless.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
The azure orb acted like a high-powered vacuum, dragging the sea monsters into its center and crushing them into a fine red mist. Souma continued to drift toward Dagon, closing the distance with terrifying leisure.
"What's wrong? Is that the end of your tricks? Was your dream of killing me just a child's fantasy?"
"I'm disappointed. Where is your technique? Where is your Domain Expansion? Show me everything you have before I end this."
Dagon retreated, his expression grim. He had no intention of opening his domain. The lesson Jogo learned against Satoru Gojo was etched into their collective memory: trying to win a domain clash against the Gojo brothers was a suicide mission.
But Dagon wasn't ready to surrender.
Rumble—!
A bolt of lightning tore across the sky. The clouds grew even darker, the freezing spray turning into a gale so fierce it could lift a grown man off the ground.
"Hahaha... Hahahahaha!"
Dagon began to laugh, a wild, manic sound. "It's here! Finally!"
"Souma Gojo, I told you... I will kill you!"
"Did you really think I chose to fight you in the middle of the ocean by accident?"
"This... is the answer!"
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