Thunder God

And the instant Shuten-dōji swallowed Ibaraki-dōji...

The blood-red space around them shattered.

It felt as though they had been violently dragged out of a nightmare. The walls of flesh, the sea of blood, the monsters filling the sky, the interwoven chunks of meat-everything collapsed in an instant, dissolving into countless fragments that vanished into the void.

Kashimo's feet touched solid ground again.

Soil. Weeds. Real earth, carrying the scent of growing things.

He raised his head, but his gaze only grew graver.

Ibaraki-dōji's innate domain could connect to the Underworld.

But there was a problem.

The long-dead curses in the Underworld lacked the soul energy to return directly to the world of the living through Ibaraki-dōji's innate domain. That gate had remained open, but they could not enter.

And now...

Shuten-dōji had devoured both Ibaraki-dōji and Hoshikuma-dōji.

He had absorbed all the soul energy of his two trusted generals.

It was enough.

Kashimo's grip on the Soul-Devouring Blade tightened slightly.

He watched the enormous figure slowly solidifying out of the void ahead, watched the hideous demonic face grow clearer, watched waves of cursed energy several times stronger than before pour from that figure.

The Demon King who, in the Heian Era...

Had stood alongside the King of Curses in renown...

Had returned to the world of the living.

At the same time, Kenjaku's Calamity Seal dissipated along with the shattered innate domain.

The translucent barrier receded silently like melting ice, and Kenjaku and Fenghua landed steadily on the ground. Fenghua's legs felt weak, but she gritted her teeth and stayed upright. Taking a deep breath, she immediately swept her gaze across the battlefield.

Then she saw the enormous figure solidifying out of the void.

Shuten-dōji.

The waves of cursed energy were several times stronger than before, making the surrounding air tremble beneath their pressure.

Kashimo turned his head, his gaze settling on Kenjaku.

"Kenjaku."

His voice was calm, as though he were discussing something utterly ordinary.

"I want double the bounty."

Standing a few steps away, Kenjaku dipped his chin slightly at that. His face showed neither anger nor any intention of bargaining, only the composure of a merchant presented with a scarce commodity.

"If that is your request-"

He paused.

"As you wish."

He said nothing about "price gouging" or anything of the sort.

Shuten-dōji was now close to his full strength during the Heian Era. Having devoured the soul energy of his two trusted generals, his presence was even more solid, more substantial.

He was worth the price.

Beside them, Fenghua bent down and picked up the Ruyi Staff embedded in the ground. Its emerald-green shaft felt smooth and warm in her hand. Tightening her grip, she raised her head and looked at the blue-haired figure in white ahead.

The moment Kenjaku finished speaking, Shuten-dōji's body fully solidified.

Six arms extended from his enormous torso, their muscles knotted and their knuckles thick, each hand large enough to crush a human skull. The legendary wine gourd hung at his waist, its surface glowing dark red, as though it held not wine but the resentment of countless departed souls.

He lowered his head, a deathly white gleam flashing through his uncanny eyes as they slowly swept over the three of them.

Finally, they settled on Kashimo before him.

His mouth spread into a grin.

That hideous demonic face twisted into a curve, revealing jagged fangs.

"Hahahaha!"

His laughter exploded across the open wilderness, shaking the surrounding trees. There was neither hostility nor murderous intent in it, only an indescribable wild exuberance, as though he were welcoming an old friend who had traveled from afar.

"All who come are guests, and guests must make merry!"

All six arms spread at once in an inviting gesture.

"This is a pure land of bliss, and the blood-red Yellow Springs. Set aside your wariness and drain this cup-"

The wine gourd at his waist suddenly opened on its own, releasing a rich aroma of wine mingled with the smell of blood.

"Join me in a dream."

The instant those words fell, Shuten-dōji pressed his palms together.

"Domain Expansion-"

The world around them abruptly changed color.

The sky vanished. The ground vanished. Everything real was stripped away in an instant. In its place came an endless illusion of interwoven gold and red.

Golden wine flowed in rivers, and red spider lilies carpeted the earth. Enormous wine vessels hung upside down in the heavens, pouring endless streams of fine wine into cups of every shape. And those cups...

Every one was as large as a human head.

"Drunken Dream of the Yellow Springs."

Far more than Kashimo and his two companions were swept into this feast.

Shuten-dōji's domain was an open one.

It had no boundary, and there was no escape.

With the Demon King at its center, it expanded wildly in every direction-three hundred meters, five hundred meters. Rivers of golden wine and red spider lilies spread outward like a tide, engulfing the entire mountain forest.

This was the feast of Shuten-dōji, the Demon King.

No one could refuse.

Kashimo reacted the instant the domain expanded. He formed a hand seal, cursed energy surging as a transparent membrane emerged from his skin and enveloped his entire body.

Hollow Wicker Basket.

He turned to look behind him. Fenghua was frantically copying the hand seal, her movements clumsy, but she managed to raise her protection before the wine fumes could erode her. She panted, her face pale, but at least she had held out.

Kenjaku was rather more composed.

He stood a few steps away, likewise enveloped in the transparent membrane of Hollow Wicker Basket. His eyes swept across the illusion of interwoven gold and red, the enormous wine vessels hanging upside down in the heavens, the flowing wine, and the blooming spider lilies.

He could have expanded his own domain, too.

His domain's killing power was not necessarily much weaker than Shuten-dōji's. On this battlefield left over from the Heian Era, two ancient beings clashing with their domains would have been fitting enough.

But he looked at the blue-haired figure in white ahead.

Then he looked at the man who had already taken his stance, lightning flickering all over his body.

And then...

He abandoned the hand gesture he had been about to form.

Never mind.

He thought.

Letting Kashimo handle it works just fine.

Golden wine flowed past their feet, and red spider lilies swayed in the wind.

The figure carrying the Soul-Devouring Blade on his shoulder stood at the very center of the feast, facing the six-armed Demon King.

The air was filled with the intoxicating aroma of wine, mingled with a faint trace of blood.

Kashimo stood there with the Soul-Devouring Blade on his shoulder, looking up at the six-armed behemoth before him.

"What a bullshit feast."

His lips spread into a none-too-polite grin.

"Looks more like a funeral banquet to me."

Shuten-dōji looked down at him, his deathly white eyes holding no anger, only something difficult to define. He was like a host sizing up a guest who did not quite understand proper manners.

"I am of Mount Ōe-"

He spoke, his voice low as rumbling thunder.

"Shuten-dōji, the Demon King. And you are?"

Kashimo tilted his head.

"Sukuna chopped you into mincemeat, and you still count as a Demon King?"

His tone was casual, perfectly calm.

"Who the hell ranked your strength? You actually get to stand alongside the King of Curses?"

Shuten-dōji's brows twitched.

Still, he did not grow angry.

But something was slowly gathering in those deathly white eyes.

Kashimo took the Soul-Devouring Blade off his shoulder and held it in his hand. Its tip touched the ground, tracing a shallow line through the golden wine.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

He raised his head and met those eyes.

"I am the Thunder God-"

He paused.

The arcs of electricity around him suddenly erupted. Blue-white light danced wildly across his body, the sharp crackling merging into a continuous roar that tore the surrounding wine fumes and floral fragrance to shreds.

"Kashimo."