That Day, Humanity Remembered the Terror of Being Ruled by Cursed Spirits

"Domain Expansion: Vaulting Firmament, Cosmic Star Abyss."

With Kenjaku posing an unpredictable threat, Yuki Tsukumo decided to stop holding back and use her domain to finish Uraume outright.

An instant later, Uraume was pulled into Yuki Tsukumo's domain.

Outside, Ice Formation erupted. Aside from Kinoshita, who had run off ahead of time, and Todo, who had barely dodged it, everyone was trapped in ice.

"This power! It's incredible!" With half his body frozen, Kusakabe bitterly regretted coming here.

Kinoshita had run nearly two kilometers, yet Frost Calm still spread right up to his feet. That alone proved Uraume was at least on the level of a Special Grade Sorcerer.

In the original story, Uraume casually suppressed the Jujutsu High group and the special grade cursed spirit Choso. That strength speaks for itself.

As for Yuki Tsukumo...

After her battle with Kenjaku, she had been cut straight into Forty-Nine-Point-Five Yuki, earning herself the title of the disgrace of special grades.

But who would have thought that, after Kinoshita stirred up shi... ahem... helped things along!

He would actually get to see Yuki Tsukumo personally shake off that disgraceful title. How could a battle like this not excite him?

"Don't move! I'll swap you out with Boogie Woogie!" Seeing the Jujutsu High group frozen in place, Todo immediately began rescuing them.

Watching from the sidelines, Kinoshita marveled at him. He really was the ultimate support fighter. Boogie Woogie's potential was absurdly high!

"Yuji! Are you okay?!" Choso hurried over to Itadori in a panic.

Itadori felt half his body freeze over, and even breathing became difficult. Fortunately, his body was tough enough that it hadn't caused any real damage.

Soon, Todo had rescued everyone.

They all turned to Kenjaku. Who knew what that old bastard was doing? He had opened his domain and was just standing there staring at them.

Only Kinoshita knew he was assimilating Idle Transfiguration, preparing to launch the Culling Game.

But he didn't really care. By his estimate, he would have to die another once or twice before he could fight Sukuna anyway.

Besides, his performance against Mahito alone had been excellent enough this time. He ought to get quite a few lottery draws.

As for the Culling Game, Kinoshita was already looking forward to putting Roku through the wringer!

Inside the domain.

As Yuki Tsukumo's innate domain, Vaulting Firmament, Cosmic Star Abyss was filled with fantastical rivers of stars.

Countless stars filled the boundless night sky.

Yuki Tsukumo brought out Garuda, a shikigami that had been turned into a cursed tool.

Her cursed technique, Star Rage, could grant her unlimited virtual mass. It could also grant Garuda that same unlimited virtual mass.

In other words, Yuki Tsukumo's offensive power was maxed out!

Uraume glared at Yuki Tsukumo with hostility. Kenjaku had looked into her as well, but had come up with nothing.

As far as Uraume was concerned, he hadn't even known she could use Domain Expansion.

Much less what that thing beside Yuki Tsukumo was, looking like both a shikigami and a cursed tool.

"It's just an information gap!"

A thousand-year veteran of stubborn excuses, Uraume was an expert at making excuses for Sukuna. Naturally, he could easily find one for himself.

The bastard was sly. Before the fight had even started, he already had his excuse for losing ready.

"Your jujutsu uses ice, right? It looks pretty good!" Yuki Tsukumo swung Garuda and immediately charged at Uraume.

Uraume reacted at once, forming a hand sign.

"Hollow Wicker Basket!"

Ancient sorcerers had invented this technique to counter a domain's sure-hit effect. It could be maintained indefinitely as long as the user held the hand sign.

But its drawback was obvious. Unless you were a four-armed freak like Sukuna, using Hollow Wicker Basket only bought you a few more seconds of life.

Fortunately, Uraume was a skilled hand-to-hand fighter, capable of trading blows even with Kinji Hakari.

He darted aside, dodging Yuki Tsukumo's attacks while maintaining Hollow Wicker Basket.

"Hollow Wicker Basket?" Yuki Tsukumo let go.

Garuda moved on its own, attacking Uraume.

What exactly is her cursed technique? Uraume's heart sank.

His chances of winning were slim now. After all, when a jujutsu sorcerer of comparable strength dragged you into a domain, the one without a domain could only wait to die.

"Kenjaku, you bastard! Hurry up!"

Bang!

Uraume barely dodged another strike, then seized the opening to unleash his technique.

"Ice Formation: Falling Torrent."

A massive barrage of ice spikes erupted inside the domain.

Yuki Tsukumo paid the incoming spikes no mind. With just two punches, she shattered almost all of them.

"What?!"

Before Uraume could figure out what Yuki Tsukumo's technique actually was, Garuda doubled back and blasted through his right arm in a single strike.

"Reverse Cursed Technique."

Uraume immediately began healing himself.

"You can even use Reverse Cursed Technique. Looks like you're really no ordinary person." With that, Yuki Tsukumo drove a fist toward him.

Without Hollow Wicker Basket, Uraume couldn't evade the sure-hit attack. He could only force his left hand to conjure Ice Formation.

Half his body froze over in an instant. The ice was hundreds of times harder than some metals, and this was his only way to buy time.

"Until Lord Sukuna is revived... I can't die!"

Yuki Tsukumo smiled and struck the spot Uraume believed was his strongest defense.

Crack.

Half of Uraume's body was blasted apart in an instant.

That was Star Rage's absolute offensive power.

"The next hit will kill you!" Yuki Tsukumo confidently raised her fist.

Bang!

Yuki Tsukumo's domain burst apart.

"Simple Domain: New Shadow Style!"

Yuki Tsukumo reacted immediately. After a Domain Expansion, a sorcerer entered an overheated state known as cursed technique burnout.

That was when a sorcerer was at their most vulnerable.

But Simple Domain: New Shadow Style could be used even during cursed technique burnout, serving as a lifesaving defense against other domains.

"Heh... Time to go, Uraume."

Kenjaku raised a hand and summoned a mass of cursed spirits.

No...

Black mist spread outward from Kenjaku, and countless cursed spirits began crawling out of hell.

Kinoshita watched Kenjaku with keen interest. The Culling Game was finally about to begin.

"Kenjaku, you bastard! You sent me to test a sorcerer with a domain! You piece of shit!" Uraume coughed up a pool of blood.

If he hadn't been clinging to life with Reverse Cursed Technique, he would have died long ago with nearly half his body missing.

Kinoshita wasn't surprised either. Without a domain, Uraume was little more than a popsicle in front of Yuki Tsukumo.

"Is this... Idle Transfiguration?!"

Yuki Tsukumo sensed that something was terribly wrong.

"Where's that cursed spirit called Mahito?" she demanded of Kinoshita, who was thoroughly enjoying the show beside her.

"Oh, Kenjaku absorbed him with Maximum: Uzumaki. He's now activating Idle Transfiguration across Japan, reshaping non-sorcerers' brains into those of sorcerers so they can use cursed techniques."

"He also used Idle Transfiguration to strengthen the bodies of hosts who've absorbed cursed objects, like Itadori."

"Using his powerful barrier techniques, he set up the Culling Game. He also used Idle Transfiguration to incarnate ancient jujutsu sorcerers, creating a brutal slaughter game."

"But his ultimate goal is still to use Tengen..."

"Wait!" Yuki Tsukumo narrowed her eyes. "How do you know so much?"

Kinoshita sneered. "Don't underestimate the power of the Mysterious Account-Opening Guy!"

Looking at the scene, which resembled the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, Kinoshita could only sigh.

That day.

Humanity remembered the terror of being ruled by cursed spirits...