Toji Fushiguro jerked his head aside violently, spitting out a mouthful of thick, dark blood.
Those beast-like eyes stared fixedly at the Shiranui that had already touched the skin of his throat. The searing heat, capable of incinerating everything, had even scorched his hair.
The shudder of impending death made every hair on his body stand on end.
"Did you... think you'd won already?"
Toji's voice was raspy to the extreme, carrying a sense of desperation that disregarded all costs.
"I am the... Sorcerer Killer!!!"
In the ten-thousandth of a second before Yoru applied force to completely sever his windpipe...
Toji's body jerked backward in an extremely distorted, almost self-mutilating posture.
*Shlick—!*
In that flash of lightning, the blade of Shiranui, capable of incinerating the soul, ultimately only cut through the flesh on the surface of his neck.
A charred bloodstain, deep enough to see bone, bloomed instantly. Yet, relying on this near-insane instinct, Toji had forced a sliver of life from a certain-death situation.
Simultaneously, his blood-stained right hand reached into Ushibao's deep throat like a bolt of lightning.
*Clatter!*
The crisp sound of metal clashing rang through the Tombs of the Star Corridor once again.
It was the Chain of a Thousand Miles!
But this time, the end of the Chain of a Thousand Miles was not connected to any ordinary weapon. Instead, it was tightly fastened to that cross-shaped short sword emitting an ominous aura—
The Inverted Spear of Heaven!
"Since I can't beat you in close quarters, I'll tear this entire space and you along with it into pieces!"
Toji let out a hysterical laugh.
He swung his arm violently, pushing the terrifying power of his Heavenly Restriction, which surpassed physical limits, to two hundred percent in that moment!
*Vroom—!!!*
Driven by extreme centrifugal force, the Chain of a Thousand Miles connected to the Inverted Spear instantly turned into a silver storm over thirty meters in diameter!
This wasn't just a physical rampage.
The absolute property of the Inverted Spear of Heaven—'forced cancellation of all cursed techniques'—formed an extremely terrifying anti-magic field as it spun at high speed.
The air was shredded; cursed energy was annihilated.
Inside the Tombs of the Star Corridor, the massive load-bearing stone pillars that required two people to encircle were sliced and crushed before this silver storm as if they were fragile tofu!
*Rumble!*
Large sections of the ceiling began to collapse, with tons of rubble falling like rain.
But this wasn't indiscriminate destruction!
As a Sorcerer Killer, Toji maintained his beast-like tactical intuition even in his extreme madness.
He deliberately guided the trajectory of the chain, slamming the largest ceiling beam directly toward the heavily injured Suguru Geto and Riko Amanai!
"Since you care so much about these burdens, get crushed along with them!"
Tons of massive stone crashed toward the two defenseless people. Riko closed her eyes in despair.
*Swish—*
An afterimage moving at extreme speed instantly blocked their path.
Yoru did not hesitate for a second, swinging his blade upward in a backhand strike.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
The violent downward torrent of the water strike sliced the giant rock in half mid-air, causing the pieces to crash into the empty ground on either side of the pair.
However, this was exactly the opening Toji wanted!
Taking advantage of that tenth of a second when Yoru was distracted protecting the others, Toji had already closed in on Yoru's absolute blind spot with the silver storm that shredded everything!
The underground temple originally used for enshrining Master Tengen had now completely turned into a death trap filled with the aura of destruction.
"Die! You monster!!!"
Toji controlled the silver storm of death, plowing toward Yoru's position like a bulldozer.
Facing this all-encompassing, no-dead-angle slaughter with people behind him who must be protected...
Yoru did not choose to retreat.
He stood his ground, his long black hair fluttering in the violent air currents.
The dark red marks on his face seemed to come alive at that moment, flickering with an extremely eerie and piercing light.
"You want to shred everything?"
Yoru slowly lowered his eyelids and took a deep breath.
[SYSTEM: HIGH-INTENSITY PRESSURE DETECTED!]
[SYSTEM: SYNCHRONIZATION RATE EXCEEDING CRITICAL THRESHOLD... 41%... 42%... 43%!]
Along with the electronic voice in his mind...
Yoru compressed the oxygen in his lungs into every corner of his body at an incredibly complex yet perfect frequency.
Total Concentration: Constant!
He poured all his internal strength, all his life force, and even the power of the newly awakened Slayer Mark into the Shiranui in his right hand without reservation!
*Hum!*
The blade of Shiranui emitted an intense humming sound.
Originally as black as ink, the blade began to undergo an essential transformation after bearing such terrifying heat and power.
It shifted from pitch black to a dark red.
Finally, it emitted a crimson glow as blinding as the core of the sun, seemingly capable of melting everything in the world!
The prototype of the Bright Red Nichirin Sword!
This was a miraculous sword that could only be briefly held when one's swordsmanship reached the realm of the gods and their body temperature rose beyond human limits!
"Come."
Yoru snapped his eyes open. No human emotion remained in those eyes, only the absolute majesty and indifference of a god.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance!"
He launched himself upward like a cannonball, charging directly against the falling rubble and the encroaching silver storm!
At the peak of his leap...
Yoru gripped the crimson-glowing Bright Red Blade with both hands and struck downward with a posture that could split the heavens and earth!
At that moment...
Time in the Tombs of the Star Corridor seemed to stand still.
Following Yoru's strike...
A physical shockwave dozens of times faster than the speed of sound perfectly overlapped with the all-consuming heat of the Bright Red Blade!
A physical version of Black Flash—Crimson Flash!
*BOOM—!!!*
Space visibly distorted at that moment.
A massive, spiral-shaped dark red flame strike crashed down like divine punishment from the nine heavens, carrying an unstoppable and peerless majesty!
"Impossible!!!"
Toji Fushiguro let out a cry of utter despair.
The absolute defense net he was so proud of, composed of the Inverted Spear of Heaven and the Chain of a Thousand Miles...
Before that spiral flame strike carrying the power of Crimson Flash, it lasted for less than a tenth of a second before shattering like fragile glass!
*Crack!*
The chain of the Chain of a Thousand Miles was instantly melted by the extreme heat.
The Inverted Spear of Heaven let out a piercing wail under the intense heat and impact.
That cross-shaped blade emitting an ominous aura completely shattered before this divine power, turning into countless black fragments that scattered in all directions.
Only a broken hilt remained, embedding itself deep into a distant wall.
The dark red spiral strike continued unabated, slamming heavily into Toji Fushiguro's chest!
"AAAAAH—!!!"
Accompanied by a piercing scream, Toji was smashed directly into the ground by this terrifying force!
The bluestone floor within a hundred-meter radius was instantly pulverized, creating a bottomless crater.
Violent flames burned wildly at the bottom of the pit, turning everything in the vicinity to ash.
One strike.
Just one single strike.
The once arrogant Sorcerer Killer, who had trampled the entire Jujutsu world under his feet...
Met the most painful and complete defeat of his life.
As the dust settled...
Yoru, holding Shiranui as its red glow slowly faded, landed softly on the edge of the deep crater.
He looked down at the charred, unconscious figure at the bottom of the pit, the marks on his face gradually fading away.
Could this one strike have ended Toji's life?
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