Who?

Though it was a little out of the way, this was still Tokyo.

It was just inside the Tokyo No. 1 Colony.

In theory, Xia Xia had made a circuit around the city last night. There had been more people around here, which meant more people stuck beneath his tires. Together with what he had saved up before, that had earned him all these points.

Five points for a jujutsu sorcerer, one for an ordinary person.

To rack up a jackpot of 325, he must have gone on one hell of a killing spree last night.

After all, the Culling Game's ten colonies had only started with roughly a thousand people. Xia Xia alone had killed over sixty jujutsu sorcerers last night. Between him and Hajime Kashimo, they had practically cleared out both the Tokyo No. 1 Colony and the Tokyo No. 2 Colony.

He walked for ages before finally spotting a sign.

"Gymnasium, 400 meters ahead."

A gymnasium?

Tokyo had plenty of gymnasiums, but there were only a handful inside the Tokyo No. 1 Colony-surely this wasn't the one with the underground swimming pool, the gymnasium that had hosted the "Culling Game Weightlifting Championship"?

What a small world.

He had met Hajime Kashimo as soon as he landed, then Yuji Itadori and Choso while walking around. Was he about to run into another familiar face?

That would be pretty boring.

While Fushiguro was weightlifting in the gymnasium, Itadori was fighting Hiromi Higuruma. By then, the fighting over in Sendai was almost finished.

Surely not?

Oh, yes, brother. Absolutely.

Megumi Fushiguro's fights dragged on forever. Taking all his animal friends out for a stroll would take more than an hour on its own. Such was life as a Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerer: no real finishing move-except Mahoraga.

[Domain Expansion: Chimera Shadow Garden]

Turn "AIZO" up for me.

Xia Xia sprinted toward the gymnasium as if his feet had wings. As a bloodthirsty spectator, he couldn't wait to witness the iconic scene in person.

Getting to watch the grand spectacle of elephant versus house would make this trip worth the price of admission, even if it killed him.

Inside the gymnasium.

Reggie Star tore a receipt from his body and watched it burn. Then a table knife shot straight at Megumi Fushiguro's forehead, seemingly intent on boring into his skull.

He was an ancient sorcerer from the Heian Era, resurrected through incarnation. In this era, he would only be stronger than before.

Why?

Because his innate cursed technique was [Contract Re-Creation]. By burning a transaction receipt or proof of a contract, he could manifest the goods or services recorded on it.

In ancient times, the medium for this cursed technique had been parchment and written contracts. There was no way he could acquire enough of those documents to use as disposable combat supplies.

After incarnating in the modern age, this cunning, clever veteran had collected a huge number of shopping receipts. He had even covered his entire body with them as clothing, keeping them ready to use at any time. It looked bizarre, but it had made him far more formidable in battle.

Commonly known as "Receipt Guy."

With that look, he could debut as a fashion icon on the runway. Throw in buzzwords like environmental protection, animal welfare, and green living, and by Western standards of beauty and political correctness, such an unconventional outfit would definitely attract plenty of attention from the fashion crowd. He might even become a superstar.

A table knife, a motorcycle, a drone, several frying pans, a few barrels of drinking water... As the receipts burned, all sorts of objects manifested, obeying his simple commands and hurtling toward Megumi Fushiguro.

Megumi Fushiguro struggled to dodge them, so he used Domain Expansion, countering the barrage with his enhanced Ten Shadows Technique while secretly ordering the Black and White Divine Dogs to circle around and look for an opening.

"Domain Expansion? You're actually a sorcerer of that caliber?"

Reggie frowned. Watching the shadows gradually spread toward him, he grew more cautious.

Damn it, he came prepared!

He lured me into an enclosed space like this gymnasium. He must have something planned. I can't let him have his way.

But I can't leave this Domain Expansion unchecked, either.

[Anti-Domain Technique: Hollow Wicker Basket]

This jujutsu was the predecessor to Simple Domain and could neutralize a domain's sure-hit effect.

A thousand years ago, sorcerers of the Heian Era had done the same when faced with an opponent's already-expanded domain-if you couldn't use Domain Expansion, form a Simple Domain as quickly as possible to neutralize the enemy domain's sure-hit effect.

Anti-domain techniques were the product of generations pursuing that solution and continually refining it.

Megumi Fushiguro's expression remained calm.

Xia Xia, secretly watching from the stands, was having a harder time keeping it together. He had developed a condition that made him want to laugh whenever he saw a Simple Domain. Fraudshimo's face was still fresh in his memory.

Besides, Megumi Fushiguro's expression was comedy gold, too.

Reggie would never have imagined that someone in this era had a half-finished domain. No sure-hit, no sure-kill, nothing at all beyond a simple boost to his jujutsu.

Since the domain was unfinished, it could technically be called an Open Domain, but in reality, it couldn't even trap an opponent and force them to share an octagon-shaped prison.

Megumi Fushiguro only managed to stay calm because he was a veteran at keeping a straight face. If Reggie's attacks became even slightly more lethal, Prisoner Megumi might go straight to Furube Yurayura.

That was how Grade 2 Jujutsu Sorcerers were.

Xia Xia didn't laugh, because he had been the same at Grade 2.

Back then, even fighting Izumino had been a life-or-death struggle. The Snake-Fish Cursed Spirit had repeatedly farmed kills off him, and he had used burning gasoline to imitate Fire Punch...

Fine, maybe I was a little stronger than Prisoner Megumi back then. Whatever. Can't laugh. Not yet. If I make a noise now, I'll miss the weightlifting championship.

Megumi Fushiguro and Reggie were still fighting.

Since the domain didn't actually have a true sure-hit effect, activating his anti-domain technique didn't turn the battle in Reggie's favor. The shadow shikigami continued harassing and attacking him, and he burned through more and more receipts.

Exhaustion set in.

Reggie pulled out a receipt near his arm.

A receipt from the SPA Hot Spring Hotel. Its effect was to restore his stamina directly and clear away his current fatigue.

He felt completely refreshed.

The high ceiling of [Contract Re-Creation] lay in its ability to manifest not only physical purchases, but also intangible concepts, including, but not limited to, paid services.

A massage, a leisurely soak in a hot spring-if you could imagine it, he could do it. As long as he could get the receipts, he could produce something like a sweet-and-savory perpetual motion machine.

Reggie was having a great time. Megumi Fushiguro was suffering.

His opponent could refill his stamina whenever he wanted. Prisoner Megumi couldn't. He was just a guy who played with shadows. Taking his animal friends out for a stroll drained his own stamina and cursed energy.

Besides, although [Chimera Shadow Garden] could spread shadows across the floor and create a broad attacking field, the weight of the summoned shikigami actually rested on Megumi Fushiguro. Objects inside the domain also counted toward the weight he had to bear...

Prisoner Megumi had been weightlifting from the moment he expanded his domain. It simply hadn't shown yet.

With all those restrictions, you surely wouldn't summon a really heavy shikigami, would you, Megumi Fushiguro? Surely not?

He would.

Using the shadows to briefly restrain and distract his opponent, Megumi Fushiguro summoned another shikigami.

"There are shadows above you, too."

"Max Elephant!"

An enormous elephant emerged from the shadows.

This shikigami could attack by spraying huge amounts of water from its trunk. Because its massive size required a great deal of cursed energy to manifest, Prisoner Megumi generally only used its basic form, rarely summoning it as an artillery platform.

Furthermore, because of its cursed energy consumption, even Megumi Fushiguro at his best could only summon it alone. Normally, using it meant he couldn't use any other shikigami.

Inside his expanded domain, Max Elephant could possess the full weight of an adult African elephant, a solid three to six tons. It could truly crush someone like a falling mountain.

The enormous creature dropped from above and landed on Reggie, instantly cracking his fibulas and heel bones beneath its weight.

Quite the visual.

There was no way Reggie would concede. Three receipts burned simultaneously, manifesting several cars that slammed down toward Megumi Fushiguro!

Though it hurt terribly, Prisoner Megumi held on.

The cars sank into the shadows.

But their weight remained.

An ordinary person would lose consciousness under five to six Gs. Three cars weighed 2.4 tons. Adding Megumi Fushiguro's own body weight, the pressure he endured in that instant reached a full forty Gs, a crushing force no human could withstand.

But jujutsu sorcerers were superhumans, after all. Ordinary standards didn't apply. Reinforcing himself with cursed energy, Megumi Fushiguro held on, just as Reggie, despite his broken bones and torn tendons, still supported Max Elephant with his hands.

To avoid passing out from the lack of blood flow caused by the immense pressure, Megumi Fushiguro lowered his body and reinforced his lower half with cursed energy. Blood spilled from his mouth, but he persevered.

Either of them could be crushed to death in the next second.

The fight could end at any moment.

Reggie felt a pang of regret. If he had saved that truck earlier, he might have won already.

The water from Max Elephant had also dampened the receipts on his body, pushing victory ever further from the ancient sorcerer. If he didn't act soon, he would simply be waiting to die.

Reggie gripped his trump card.

It was the winning ace he had saved, his final struggle. Bring me victory...

"Contract Re-Creation!!!"

As he roared, the receipt slowly burned.

Reggie sank into the shadows.

Megumi Fushiguro was nearly at his limit. The weight inside his domain had reached the maximum he could bear.

No, I can't release the domain yet. Not until he's completely dead. Not until that ancient sorcerer dies...

He couldn't hold on anymore.

As Megumi Fushiguro's strength gave out, the car swallowed by the shadows carried Reggie up out of that shadowy sea.

He smiled like a victor.

"Contract Re-Creation."

As the receipt burned, a house materialized out of thin air. The trump-card receipt Reggie had been clutching all this time was actually proof of purchase for a house!

Then Megumi Fushiguro watched the building fall from above. He couldn't hold on any longer.

Release the domain.

It's the only option. Otherwise, I'm dead.

But underneath a sports facility like this, there's a swimming pool-with a sorcerer like you, once your receipts get wet and won't burn, you should...

Reggie's smile abruptly froze.

A Cyan Long Sword pierced him from behind. Then someone finished him off.

[Domain Expansion: Death-Bound Curse!]

"Fuck, I was just watching a weightlifting match, and a flying car nearly crushed me to death."

"What the hell did I ever do to you?"

"Sword Guard!"

Xia Xia laughed in fury, instantly refining the ancient sorcerer into a metal ingot with a flick of his hand, then forging it into a blade.

Spectating was dangerous. Who watched a weightlifting match without a hard hat and full-body protective armor?

Reggie Star. Cause of death: accidentally hitting a spectator.

"You... who are you?"

Megumi Fushiguro watched this suddenly appearing sorcerer warily, unsure whether he was friend or foe, while secretly ordering Divine Dogs to stand by.

Unless I saw wrong, he just put the blade he made from Reggie's corpse into a shadow. Damn it, is this the Ten Shadows Technique, too? Why have I never seen him before?

"Just a jujutsu sorcerer for fun."

"For now, consider me a friendly unit."

Xia Xia pulled Megumi Fushiguro up from the ground and casually gave him a dose of Reverse Healing as a gesture of goodwill.

Then, under Megumi Fushiguro's astonished gaze, Xia Xia grabbed the still-struggling Divine Dog beside him with his bare hands and, proving that sheer strength worked wonders, forcibly stuffed the living creature into his shadow.

"Bro, I picked up a great dog today!"

"Still baring your teeth? I'll hit you with a dragon fruit..."

"Then transition smoothly into CPR."

When the Divine Dog emerged from the shadows again, its ears and tail drooped, and it let out aggrieved whimpers.