Domain Battle

Seeing Kenjaku use cursed spirits as cover, Okkotsu realized he had almost worked his way behind Yuki Tsukumo.

Okkotsu touched the ring already on his left ring finger and called softly.

"Rika!"

Rika fully manifested.

A slit opened on her forehead, revealing a vertical eye.

In her strongest form, with her eye open, Rika began charging a Pure Love Cannon in her mouth-a directional blast of cursed energy-and aimed it at Kenjaku at Okkotsu's direction.

"Ice Formation: Frost Calm!"

Without even treating their injuries, Uraume unleashed their ultimate attack, trying to stop Rika.

Only then did Yuki Tsukumo notice something was wrong.

She began turning around.

"Too late!"

Seeing Yuki Tsukumo only now turn back, Kenjaku gave a mocking chuckle.

With that said,

he slammed his hand downward.

After Tachibana Mio's cursed technique enhanced him, his cursed energy output had reached an astonishing 120%.

In the original story,

only Utahime could achieve that!

By using incantations, hand signs, dance, and music to elevate her cursed technique, she could achieve 120% effectiveness.

Kenjaku simply had no time to chant the incantations.

Otherwise,

this Cursed Technique Reversal would have been even more powerful!

As Kenjaku's gravity descended, Rika successfully fired her hastily charged Pure Love Cannon!

Boom!

A thunderous crash rang out.

Thick smoke billowed up, blocking everyone's view.

Crack-

The next second, the sound of shattering glass rang in everyone's ears.

Everyone startled at the sound.

Okkotsu formed a hand sign, preparing to release his domain again.

Then he saw that the first domain to collapse was actually Tachibana Mio's!

As Tachibana Mio's domain began breaking apart,

Yuki Tsukumo's domain gradually crumbled too.

The smoke cleared.

Yuki Tsukumo's face was covered in blood, just like Kenjaku's.

With blood all over his face, Kenjaku kept using Reverse Cursed Technique to heal the wounds inflicted by the Pure Love Cannon.

He looked down at Yuki Tsukumo, who lay bloodied on the ground beneath the crushing gravity, and said, "That was close..."

"I almost thought you really could keep your domain going."

His injuries were not severe.

By the time he finished speaking, they were almost completely healed.

Not far from them, the buttons on Tachibana Mio's chest had burst open completely, exposing a generous expanse of skin.

Embedded just below her chest was Yuki Tsukumo's shikigami.

-Garuda.

Faced with the surprise attack,

Yuki Tsukumo had chosen to throw Garuda at Tachibana Mio.

She herself had activated Simple Domain to defend against Kenjaku's attack.

Although she had withstood Kenjaku's attack, she no longer had the strength to maintain her domain.

Tachibana Mio pulled Garuda out of her body and used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal her injuries.

Her injuries

were far lighter than Yuki Tsukumo's.

She had never expected...

that her first fight against a sorcerer from six hundred years later would pit her against the worst possible matchup.

She hated nothing more

than sorcerers like Yuki Tsukumo, who were incredibly powerful fighters themselves and could also match her domain.

"Okkotsu!"

Realizing Okkotsu could open his domain, Kaneki ripped off Naobito Zenin's left arm beside him and threw it to Rika.

Rika understood immediately and swallowed it in one bite.

"Choso."

No sooner had Kaneki spoken than Choso tore off one of his own arms and threw it to Rika.

The reason Kaneki had not torn off his own

was that Okkotsu's Copy had restrictions.

Once the person he copied regenerated their limb, Okkotsu could no longer use that cursed technique.

"Thanks..."

As Rika swallowed both men's arms, Okkotsu activated his domain.

"Domain Expansion-Authentic Mutual Love!"

Sensing the disturbance,

Kenjaku stared in disbelief at Yuta Okkotsu as he expanded his domain again.

He was not the only one.

Uraume and Tachibana Mio were equally shocked.

None of them had expected Yuta Okkotsu to be able to expand his domain multiple times in a single day.

The next second!

Okkotsu's domain enveloped everyone.

Swords storing cursed techniques stood embedded throughout a field of ruins.

This was Okkotsu's domain.

Each sword stored an unknown cursed technique.

Even Okkotsu had to pick up a sword to know which cursed technique it held.

Once he used its cursed technique,

that sword would disappear.

But the number of swords was unlimited, meaning Okkotsu could still find another sword containing the same cursed technique!

The instant the domain opened!

Kenjaku, Tachibana Mio, and even Kusakabe and the others all used moves designed to counter a domain's sure-hit effect.

At that moment,

Yuki Tsukumo could barely stand with the help of Reverse Cursed Technique and had no time to activate Simple Domain.

"Ms. Tsukumo."

Okkotsu pulled a sword from the ground. "You don't need to stop using Reverse Cursed Technique."

"I can focus the domain's sure-hit effect on a single person."

To accomplish that,

first...

one had to be proficient in barrier techniques.

Hearing that,

Yuki Tsukumo continued healing her injuries with Reverse Cursed Technique.

Even though

she had entered cursed technique burnout, her shikigami Garuda would not disappear.

As long as she still had cursed energy,

she could continue maintaining Garuda.

Kenjaku formed a hand sign and activated Hollow Wicker Basket to block the sure-hit effect of Okkotsu's domain.

He also understood that,

after Rika had passed on,

Okkotsu's unconditional Copy was gone.

Now, copying someone else's cursed technique required Rika to consume part of that sorcerer's body.

What truly concerned him was what Okkotsu had done to let him expand his domain multiple times a day, just like Satoru Gojo.

Was it back then...?

He recalled the earlier battle, when Okkotsu had remained motionless in one place.

Clearly...

it was during that time that Okkotsu had used some method to let him expand his domain again.

There was no need to ask about that method.

Kenjaku knew Ken Kaneki had told him about it.

"Don't move!"

The corresponding cursed markings appeared at the corners of Okkotsu's mouth and on his tongue.

Snake eyes and fangs.

This was... Cursed Speech!

In an instant, Uraume and Tachibana Mio, who had been making subtle moves, froze in place, unable to move.

Once he finished speaking,

the katana in his hand disappeared.

Rika swung a palm at Kenjaku, while Okkotsu pulled another sword from the ground.

Seeing this,

Kenjaku summoned a cursed spirit to block Rika's attack while dodging to the side.

Hollow Wicker Basket.

Its only weakness was that the user had to maintain a two-handed sign, or it would fail.

But,

for him...

that weakness was not particularly fatal. After all, he had plenty of low-grade cursed spirits to expend.

"Blood Blade!"

Having refrained from regenerating his severed arm at Kaneki's reminder, Choso activated Wing King and condensed his blood into blades to attack Kenjaku.

Meanwhile,

Kaneki had already reached Kenjaku.

He raised his leg and unleashed a heavy roundhouse kick at the hands maintaining the sign.

As long as he could force Kenjaku to break the hand sign,

Okkotsu could activate his domain's sure-hit effect to kill him.

Kaneki was on the left, Choso's Piercing Blood came from the front, and Rika closed in from the upper right.

Now he had nowhere to escape.

"Heh..."

Kenjaku sneered.

A mass of black smoke enveloped him, and the swarm of cursed spirits that emerged not only blocked the roundhouse kick but also stopped Piercing Blood and Rika's attack.

He ducked down.

Then he successfully slipped past Kaneki.

Before he could get far, a long tongue shot out of the shadow behind him, wrapped around his right leg, and yanked him backward!

Kenjaku instinctively pitched forward.

"Piercing Blood!"

Okkotsu appeared in front of Kenjaku and unleashed Piercing Blood at point-blank range.

It was aimed at his brain.

This Piercing Blood lacked polish and could not reach the speed of sound.

But at point-blank range, it was certain to hit!

Kaneki caught the entire sequence out of the corner of his eye and thought, This is bad!

Sure enough,

before everyone's eyes, Kenjaku reenacted the scene from the original story, twisting his neck and turning his face to successfully dodge the Piercing Blood.