"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
With Sukuna's incantation, an open barrier domain spread across the battlefield, covering several hundred meters in every direction.
Sukuna stood atop the grotesque shrine at the center of the domain, looking down at the figure below him.
"Ant. Entertain me as much as you like."
Facing Malevolent Shrine, Gojo Shion did not release his own domain. Instead, he lowered his body into a precise Iaijutsu draw stance.
"New Shadow Style, Simple Domain."
Often called the "Domain of the Weak," it was still the most reliable method Jujutsu Sorcerers had used for over a thousand years to resist a Domain Expansion.
Under Gojo Shion's control, its performance was exceptional.
Endless slashes rained down on the Simple Domain without pause, carving countless marks into the ground around him.
Even though the barrier neutralized the guaranteed hit effect of Malevolent Shrine and reduced the strength of the slashes, the Simple Domain was still shrinking rapidly, its boundary visibly eroding with every passing second.
Sukuna frowned with clear dissatisfaction.
"Still not opening your domain? Or do you intend to hide like this forever?"
He raised his right hand slightly.
"Cleave."
A lethal strike descended.
Unlike the indiscriminate slash known as Dismantle, Cleave adjusted its power based on the target's Cursed Energy. It was designed to deliver a fatal blow.
Squelch.
A deep gash tore across Gojo Shion's chest, and blood burst outward like a fountain.
Sukuna's annoyance grew.
"Even after that, you still refuse to open your domain?"
With a sneer, Sukuna leapt forward and appeared directly in front of him.
"Then I'll tear you apart myself."
Just as Sukuna extended his hand, he noticed the faint smirk forming at the corner of Gojo Shion's mouth.
His heart skipped.
"I finally lured you in."
Gojo Shion's fingers moved instantly, forming hand signs at blinding speed. An overwhelming surge of Cursed Energy erupted from his body.
"Domain Expansion, Throne of Stillborn Stars."
In the next instant, Sukuna felt his mind tremble violently.
Sukuna was not simply powerful. During the Golden Age of Jujutsu, countless sorcerers had attempted to kill him. They used every method imaginable, including forbidden techniques, deception, and ambush.
It was easy to avoid a spear in plain sight, but far harder to dodge an arrow fired from the shadows. Yet Sukuna was the one who survived them all.
His greatest talent was not merely strength.
It was his terrifying instinct for danger.
At that very moment, that instinct screamed louder than ever before. Every cell in Sukuna's body erupted in alarm.
In more than a thousand years of existence, his sense of danger had never reached this level.
Both instinct and logic told him the same thing.
Escape.
Avoid Shion's domain at all costs.
If he was dragged inside, he would die.
Sukuna's expression darkened. The confident smile he carried in every situation vanished completely.
He tried to retreat using sheer speed, but the distance between them was only a few meters. The domain had already begun forming. Escape was impossible.
What could he do?
Sukuna clenched his teeth.
Before Stillborn Stars could fully close, he activated Malevolent Shrine outside the forming barrier and released a storm of indiscriminate slashes.
"Dismantle!"
Crack.
The Throne of Stillborn Stars sealed shut.
In that instant, Sukuna understood the source of his fear.
The moment he was trapped inside the domain, every trace of Cursed Energy in his body vanished.
Gone without a single remainder.
"Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the honored one?"
Right now, he was nothing more than a mortal with no Cursed Energy.
Of course, his physical body still far surpassed that of an ordinary human.
But before Gojo Shion, that strength meant nothing.
To him, it was as fragile as paper.
The instant Sukuna was trapped, Shion attacked without hesitation.
"Cursed Technique Lapse, Blue."
"Cursed Technique Reversal, Red."
"Hollow Technique, Purple."
A palm sized sphere of purple light shot forward and slammed directly into Sukuna's abdomen.
Flesh exploded.
Blood sprayed outward as bones and organs were crushed into fragments.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Suddenly, fractures appeared across the brilliant sky of the Stillborn Stars.
The cracks spread rapidly.
Within seconds they covered the entire domain.
Then the barrier shattered like glass.
Before losing his Cursed Energy, Sukuna had activated Malevolent Shrine. The indiscriminate slashes had continued even after the domain formed, and those slashes struck the outer shell of the Throne of Stillborn Stars.
In terms of range, the Throne of Stillborn Stars only covered several dozen meters.
Malevolent Shrine extended hundreds of meters.
It completely surrounded the smaller domain.
For a closed domain like this, the outer shell was always the weakest point.
When the barrier shattered, countless slashes struck Gojo Shion simultaneously.
His body was instantly covered in deep cuts.
Blood flowed freely.
As for Sukuna, the moment he exited the domain, his Cursed Energy returned.
Power surged through his body once more.
However, Hollow Purple had already struck him before his energy could recover.
Boom!
The blast tore through Sukuna's abdomen and carved a massive crater nearly one hundred meters wide behind him.
"Pfft!"
Sukuna vomited blood violently as his body collapsed backward.
His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared downward.
His lower half was still standing upright where it had been.
Purple had cut him clean in half.
At the same moment, Malevolent Shrine collapsed with a thunderous roar.
"Damn it!"
Blood poured from Sukuna's mouth as he roared in fury.
Using one hand, he propped up his upper body. With the other, he grabbed his severed lower half and awkwardly forced the two pieces together.
Then he activated Reverse Cursed Technique.
Slowly, his body began to regenerate.
Unlike the slash that once killed Satoru in the original timeline, which severed the existence of the world itself, this injury came from Purple. Because of that, it could still be healed.
It would simply take time.
Sukuna glared at Shion, whose body was still riddled with deep cuts.
Then he suddenly burst into laughter.
"So close. Just a little more."
"What a pity. If I hadn't activated Malevolent Shrine in time and shattered your domain with indiscriminate slashes, I would already be dead."
"Very well. I acknowledge you."
Across the battlefield, the wounds covering Shion's body slowly began to close under the effect of Reverse Cursed Technique.
Sukuna sneered.
"But even so, it's better if you just die."
"Dismantle."
The storm of slashes surged forward again.
Yet as the attacks approached Gojo Shion, something strange happened.
The slashes slowed.
Then they were deflected.
Sukuna's eyes widened.
"Limitless?"
Gojo Shion dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as he stared back at Sukuna.
"Yeah... shame I couldn't finish you."
Sukuna frowned, confusion flashing across his face.
"Hmm? How did you manage that?"
"My domain destroyed yours. Logically, you should be suffering from cursed technique burnout. You shouldn't be able to use your innate technique."
Gojo Shion smirked and tapped his forehead.
"Simple. Burn out your brain, then restore it with Reverse Cursed Technique."
For the first time in a long while, even Sukuna fell silent.
Despite everything he had witnessed over the centuries, he could not help but admire the sheer madness of that solution.
____
Patreon = _Zeph