"Domain Expansion: Eternal Stone Coffin Garden!"
The Gargoyle's roar exploded across the clearing, and black-purple Cursed Energy surged like a tide, instantly swallowing the vision of Rin and Miguel.
When the surrounding sense of distortion dissipated, Rin blinked rapidly. What lay before him was no longer the deep mountain clearing, but a boundless, eerie space.
The sky was an impenetrable inky black, like the dome of an ancient castle that never saw daylight, not allowing a single ray of light through. Countless statues stood densely packed all around, some frozen in a running posture, others covering their faces with their hands. Extreme terror was solidified on the face of every statue.
"This is... its Domain."
Miguel's voice carried a hint of gravity. He had re-gripped the black rope in his palm, and the white light of the Hymn of Prayer shone even brighter around him:
"Don't just stare. Before it launches its subsequent attacks, find the Cursed Spirit's main body first!"
Rin nodded, ready to activate Boogie Woogie to forcibly swap positions and search for the Gargoyle floating in the center of the sea of stone. But just as the Cursed Energy was about to take shape, he suddenly froze.
A strange stiffness spread from his fingertips, as if something was boring through his skin toward his bones.
He looked down, his pupils suddenly contracting. A gray-white stone patch the size of a fingernail had appeared on the inside of his wrist. The edge of the patch was spreading outwards at a visible speed, and everywhere it touched, the skin instantly lost sensation, becoming hard and cold.
Miguel also stopped moving, staring in disbelief at his own forearm, where a similar light gray stone patch was rapidly spreading along the lines of his veins.
The two exchanged glances, seeing horror in each other's eyes.
It was the Domain's sure-hit effect... Rin's heart sank. This thought exploded in his mind like a thunderclap: We were hit the moment we stepped into the Domain!
The Hymn of Prayer was still circulating around them, but the stone patch spread completely unimpeded, as if the Cursed Energy barrier didn't exist at all.
Miguel tried to mobilize Cursed Energy to suppress it, but as soon as the Cursed Energy touched the stone patch, it vanished as if a clay ox had sunk into the sea.
"Damn it! This petrification effect can penetrate defenses?"
Miguel cursed under his breath, the black rope trembling violently in his fingers: "Its Domain's sure-hit effect is to gradually petrify everyone who enters!"
In the distance, the Gargoyle's laughter drifted from the center of the sea of stone, filled with maniacal pride:
"How about it? Isn't my 'Eternal Exhibition Hall' quite good? Here, you will slowly transform into the most perfect statues, staying by my side forever. This is the ultimate form of art!"
Rin looked at the stone patch that had spread from his wrist to his forearm, and the Cursed Energy at his fingertips began to become disordered.
He forcefully steadied his mind and quickly analyzed the situation. The Domain's sure-hit effect could not be resisted by defense, and the petrification was spreading continuously. If they delayed any longer, both of them would completely turn into statues.
The only way to break the situation was to find and destroy the Gargoyle before the petrification reached their hearts. Only by killing it would this damned petrification effect disappear.
Miguel's already grim expression darkened completely. The black rope was pulled taut in his palm, and his knuckles turned white from the strain.
He stared at the stone patch on Rin's forearm, which had already spread to his elbow, his voice urgent, like a countdown:
"Rin, how much longer can you hold on?"
"At this rate, I'll lose the ability to move in less than a minute."
Rin's voice carried a hint of stiffness, and the Cursed Energy fluctuations at his fingertips were already unstable. The stone patch was climbing along his veins toward his heart; the cold sensation made it almost impossible to lift his right hand.
"Alright! I only have thirty seconds left!" Miguel roared, black-red Cursed Energy flowing along the black rope:
"Opening a Simple Domain now is useless. In these few dozen seconds, the only way out is to defeat it!"
The Gargoyle in the distance laughed even more wildly, its black-green body hovering in the center of the sea of stone, its scarlet eyes full of mockery:
"Keep struggling! The more you resist, the more perfect your final solidified posture will be. You will become the most dazzling exhibits in my exhibition hall!"
It understood its plan clearly: if it dragged this out for just one more minute, the two would completely turn into statues. It hadn't expected it would take this long, even after splitting the petrifying power 40/60 between Rin and Miguel, but the outcome wouldn't change.
With that, the Gargoyle abruptly retreated, flapping its wings to create distance. It knew clearly that its Petrification Technique required multiple hits to accelerate, and since its Domain had only recently awakened, the sure-hit effect could only manage "initial adhesion." The most important thing now was to stall for time.
But just as it retreated two steps, the scene before its eyes suddenly warped, and Rin's Boogie Woogie activated abruptly!
"Bang!"
The crisp sound of space exchange rang out, and the Gargoyle's body instantly swapped positions with Miguel, who was a hundred meters away.
By the time it reacted, Rin's figure had already appeared in front of it. Pitch-black lightning erupted from his fist, striking its head with a sharp sound that ripped through the air!
"How is that possible?!"
The Gargoyle's pupils constricted abruptly. The "strength amplification" granted by the Domain erupted at that moment, accelerating its reaction speed. It crossed its arms in front of itself, forcibly taking the heavy blow.
"Crack!" The sound of shattering came from its black-green arm bones. The Gargoyle's body staggered backward, but before it could steady itself, Rin's hand was pressed against its abdomen.
The Gargoyle's eyes instantly widened. An ominous premonition seized it; this was an attack posture it had never seen before!
This was a Cursed Technique Rin had specifically modified over the past two days for "close-quarters surprise attacks," sacrificing some damage and long-range accuracy.
In exchange, it gained the ability for instantaneous activation at close range, with "no charging and no wind-up."
At this extremely close distance, aiming was unnecessary; it was practically a sure hit!
"Cursed Technique Activation—Revolver!"
"Bang!"
A muffled explosion echoed among the sea of stone. A black-red Cursed Energy bullet erupted from Rin's palm, directly piercing the Gargoyle's abdomen.
A watermelon-sized hole instantly appeared, and black-purple Cursed Energy fluid gushed out. The Gargoyle let out a mournful roar, its massive body sent flying backward.
This strike failed to cut it in half, entirely due to the defensive boost provided by the Domain. Normally, this attack would be enough to instantly dismantle a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Even so, the Gargoyle's internal organs had been shredded by the Cursed Energy, and its recovery speed plummeted.
"It's not over yet!"
Rin gritted his teeth and chased after it, his blood-red Sharingan locked firmly onto the Gargoyle.
The white light of the Hymn of Prayer suddenly erupted. He had actually pushed Miguel's Cursed Technique to its limit, grabbing the fleeing Gargoyle and forcibly dragging it back.
Fists, elbow strikes, and knee attacks rained down successively. Every blow carried black-red Cursed Energy, smashing the Gargoyle's body until it continuously fractured.
But just then, the Gargoyle suddenly let out a frantic roar:
"Myriad Stone Golems!"
In an instant, the densely packed statues in the Domain all moved. Worker statues, worm statues, and even shattered stone fragments re-coalesced, extending stiff stone hands and lunging toward Rin.
The sea of stone seemed to come alive. Countless stone hands protruded from the ground, attempting to drag Rin into the pile of stones.
Rin didn't even lift an eyelid; his Sharingan was focused solely on the Gargoyle's figure.
He knew he didn't need to worry about these stone figures at all.
Sure enough, the sharp sound of the black rope cutting through the air came from behind him.
Miguel's figure shielded Rin. The black rope shot out like a living snake, weaving a dense net in the air.
The first stone figure that lunged collided with the black rope and was instantly shredded into powder. The second, the third... dozens of stone figures charged one after another, yet none could even touch Rin's clothes, all blocked by the black rope.
"Rin! I can't hold on much longer!" Miguel's voice trembled slightly. The stone patch on his forearm had already spread to his shoulder, and controlling the black rope was becoming increasingly difficult. "Hurry up!"
....
Read 30+ more chapters at patreon.com/Zeaser