God of Destruction

"It's attached." Kenjaku took out another compass, considerably larger than Soul Offering. A faint black glow emanated from it.

Kenjaku turned the compass over. There were exactly five holes in its back.

He inserted his left hand into the holes and slowly turned it. A trace of pain surfaced on his face. "Let's speed this up. Chiyo Shin, let me see your true face."

Still kneeling on the ground, Chiyo Shin suddenly arched his body.

Cursed energy erupted from him, sending the ground rolling in waves.

Hanami lost balance and, not daring to linger, burrowed underground and fled.

Chiyo Shin was left alone.

The raging cursed energy shredded the clothes on his upper body.

Chiyo Shin's expression grew even more agonized. The flesh covering his body writhed and proliferated, making him swell until he was more than twice his previous size.

First Generation Moon and the Bone-Binding Umbrella on his back were slowly swallowed by his flesh, leaving only the umbrella handle and sword hilt exposed.

Chiyo Shin collapsed face-down in agony, sweat and saliva pouring onto the ground.

A large bulge suddenly rose on his back. Moments later, it burst, spraying a bloody mist that stained the ground and trees red. Four thick new arms thrust out of his back.

A crimson eye grew on each new forearm, constantly surveying the world.

Once the four arms emerged, a jumble of voices filled his mind again, interfering with his consciousness.

Chiyo Shin strained to turn and look at his back, panic filling his eyes. It's this compass.

His consciousness was already beginning to scatter.

Enduring the excruciating pain, Chiyo Shin used what little willpower he had left to move his arms and try to pry the compass off his chest.

But the compass was firmly locked in place by the proliferating flesh.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not pry it loose.

The arms on his back seemed to possess minds of their own. They braced against the ground and lifted Chiyo Shin up.

But they were not helping him. Two of the four arms supported him against the ground, while the other two began frantically tearing at his skin and flesh.

Chiyo Shin could not stop them. He could only let them do as they pleased.

Beneath the flesh they tore away lay newly formed, pale red skin.

All the skin and flesh on his body had been replaced. Only his face remained.

The process was like death by a thousand cuts. Combined with the incessant voices in his head, it had left Chiyo Shin with barely any awareness.

The arms on his back slowly peeled away his face. What emerged beneath it was no longer Chiyo Shin's face.

His skin was blue-green, his face crimson. A vertical eye stood on his forehead, white light shimmered in his other two eyes, and fangs protruded from his mouth. Six crimson eyes adorned his six arms, and he stood over twelve feet tall.

The disruption of his souls was complete.

Chiyo Shin had regained his original appearance, but he was no longer himself.

Under the compass's influence, the souls Chiyo Shin normally suppressed within his body emerged one after another to fight for control.

As Kenjaku sensed the Sub-Compass, the pain on his face gave way to a savage grin. "Haha, it worked. This God of Destruction is under my control."

Kenjaku turned the compass with his arm.

Under his control, Chiyo Shin lifted a foot and took a step forward. The moment it landed, the uncontrolled Vibration Cursed Technique activated at full force.

In an instant, it was as though someone had seized one corner of the vast forest floor and yanked it.

The ground rolled like ocean waves. Those waves rose higher and higher, forming a surge several meters tall.

Huge chunks of earth were swept up by even larger masses behind them and hurled across the entire competition grounds.

Neither the participants nor the teachers outside had recovered from the appearance of the Curtain.

Then an even greater surge of energy spread outward.

"Satoru, what's going on?" Masamichi Yaga was the first to ask when he felt it.

"No. Shin would never betray Jujutsu High." Satoru Gojo was frantic. He had no idea what had happened to Chiyo Shin, either. Right now, concern mattered far more to him than assigning blame.

"Heh, that's not necessarily true. Your Jujutsu High has a precedent, after all." Gakuganji was about to reopen Satoru Gojo's old wounds when Masamichi Yaga interrupted him.

"Enough. None of us wanted this to happen."

"Old man, if you've had enough of living, say that again." Satoru Gojo's tone was flat.

Gakuganji fell silent.

Satoru Gojo rushed to the Curtain and reached out to touch it, only to be repelled.

"Gojo?" Utahime Iori approached the Curtain too, but her hand passed through.

Satoru Gojo laughed at the sight. "Haha, that's good news. It means Shin hasn't betrayed us."

"It only blocks me. Go in and protect the students. I'll be right behind you." Satoru Gojo leaped high into the air.

"Gojo, hurry!" Utahime Iori shouted from below.

With that, she entered the Curtain alongside Masamichi Yaga and the others.

Inside a corridor.

"This energy... it's Shin." Megumi Fushiguro, who was fighting Noritoshi Kamo, cried out.

He knew that energy all too well, which made him even more shocked. It's too strong. Why would Shin attack like this? This is only the Goodwill Event.

Noritoshi Kamo also stopped attacking and looked into the distance. Is this for real? An attack like that could kill someone.

The first to suffer were Nobara Kugisaki and Momo Nishimiya, who were closest.

The wave Chiyo Shin unleashed had already reached them.

Fortunately, Momo Nishimiya had been circling in the air throughout her fight with Nobara Kugisaki, allowing her to spot it early when she heard and felt the disturbance.

After freezing for a second at the sudden sight, Momo Nishimiya acted decisively. She swooped down and carried Nobara Kugisaki into the air before she could react.

Momo Nishimiya's "Trust me" kept Nobara Kugisaki from struggling.

Once they were airborne and Nobara Kugisaki saw what was happening, her hair stood on end.

Inside the competition grounds.

Maki, who had already reunited with Panda, Inumaki, who was still hunting cursed spirits, and Aoi Todo and Yuji Itadori, whose nonexistent memories had already surfaced.

All of them felt the surge of energy centered on Chiyo Shin.

"Chiyo's going too far. This is just a competition." Standing on a rooftop, Panda looked into the distance, then suddenly widened his eyes. "No. This isn't right."

"What's wrong? Isn't he always like this? He's always doing whatever he wants." Maki stood on the ground and looked up at Panda.

"Run! Maki, run!" Panda jumped off the building, scooped Maki up, and sprinted for his life.

"Hey, what's going on?" Panda's sudden actions left Maki bewildered.

"Chiyo wouldn't do this, no matter how reckless he gets. Is he trying to kill everyone with this attack?" Panda said as he ran.

"Huh?" Maki still did not understand.

After the wave passed, Toge Inumaki crawled out of the earth. A sweet, metallic taste filled his throat. He opened his mouth, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and collapsed unconscious.

"Chiyo is such a jerk." Kasumi Miwa brushed dust off herself as she complained about Chiyo Shin to Mai Zenin.

"I told you ages ago that Chiyo Shin isn't human." Mai Zenin helped dust Kasumi Miwa off while joining in her complaints.

"He really isn't." Kasumi Miwa's voice carried a slight sob.

Just as Mai Zenin was about to complain some more, Mechamaru shot out of the forest on jets.

He scooped up both girls and ran for his life.

"Mechamaru, what are you doing?" Mai Zenin shouted at him.

"I'll explain later." His normally cold mechanical voice now seemed to tremble.

Even Kokichi Muta, far away as he was, could not help shuddering in fear.

Chiyo Shin! That monster!

Everything so far had been the result of Chiyo Shin taking just one step forward under someone else's control.