After a while, Yukinoshita Yukino finally finished healing all her injuries, though it had drained a lot of her cursed energy.
But at least she didn't have to fight Ryoumen Sukuna anymore. If she left it to Gojo, things should be fine.
In the end, battles between sorcerers were decided by Domains.
When she was inside Sukuna's Domain—Malevolent Shrine—she had felt utterly powerless and filled with despair.
But thanks to that experience, she seemed to have gained a better understanding of what Domain Expansion truly was.
For now, though, she needed to take care of the cursed spirits that had been released.
Yukinoshita Yukino deactivated her summon of Mahoraga to conserve some cursed energy.
Expanding her senses outward, the black-haired girl's figure vanished. If there were other sorcerers around, they would have sensed a surge of cursed energy moving like a lightning bolt, heading straight for the nearest cursed spirit.
...
"Man, I'm so glad I ran into sorcerers instead of cursed spirits."
A man wearing a loose-fitting yellow coat with a katana hanging from his waist spoke with a sigh of relief.
"If it were cursed spirits, those things don't understand what 'peaceful coexistence' means. They just charge in headfirst, fighting to the death. That's way too exhausting."
Kusakabe Atsuya looked at the three sorcerers standing across from him.
His hand rested casually on his sword's hilt, and his stance was completely relaxed. He didn't look like he was about to fight—more like he was just having a casual chat with some old friends.
"What's up with this guy? Are we fighting or not?" Sugata Manami, a mature woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, frowned as she asked.
Ninki Riku held a long sword in his hand, watching Kusakabe Atsuya cautiously.
Both of them had once followed Geto Suguru. Like Mimiko and Nanako, they were former subordinates of his. Even after his death, they continued to obey Kenjaku, who had taken over his body.
The only exception was the curse user Shigemo Haruta. He had nothing to do with them—he was just following Kenjaku's orders for fun. But this time, there didn't seem to be many weaklings around for him to toy with.
"Man, being stuck here is so boring!" Shigemo Haruta pouted and grumbled, shaking his head in frustration. His golden side ponytail swayed with the movement.
"Come on now, no need to rush."
Kusakabe Atsuya stood firmly in front of the three, blocking their way forward and preventing them from retreating. The situation remained at a strange stalemate.
"For now, why don't you explain why you've invaded Jujutsu High? Take your time, make it a long story."
The three had already tried to break through by force. But no matter how they attacked, the man standing before them—who looked carefree and lazy—effortlessly blocked every strike with his blade.
They didn't even see him move.
That one exchange was enough to make it clear—this guy was way stronger than them. That's why they hadn't made another move, leaving both sides stuck here.
What frustrated them even more was that, despite being capable of taking them down instantly, this man just stood there, doing nothing. He neither attacked nor let them leave—just keeping them locked in place.
Nearly ten minutes had passed. The deafening sounds of battle from other parts of the battlefield had been ringing in their ears for at least five minutes.
"So he's just messing with us?!" Sugata Manami couldn't help but curse.
As for why…
Well, it's because keeping you three stuck here like this is the easiest and most enjoyable option.
Sure, he could take them down, but cornered curse users could be tricky. If they got desperate, things might get messy, and he might even get hurt.
So why not just use the fear from that first clash to keep them here? Let them hesitate, stall them until the others finish clearing the battlefield, then clean up these three afterward.
That was exactly Kusakabe Atsuya's plan—keeping them locked down so he could take it easy.
He had already noticed the flash of purple lightning in the sky two minutes ago. That meant Gojo Satoru was back.
This battle was almost over.
All he had to do was wait for Gojo Satoru to clean up the mess.
But instead of Gojo Satoru, someone else showed up—Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Hm? This cursed energy is…"
Before he could finish speaking, a figure flickered behind him.
A black-haired girl had appeared without a sound.
Seeing that it was a student, Kusakabe Atsuya, though surprised by her speed, still frowned and kindly warned her, "Hey, you're a student from Jujutsu High, right? There are three curse users here—it's dangerous!"
The moment he finished speaking, the sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed behind him.
Confused, he turned his head—
The three curse users all had fresh wounds across their chests.
Huh? What just happened?
Did this student do something?
Kusakabe Atsuya had no idea what had just occurred.
Yukinoshita Yukino had carefully controlled her cursed energy, making sure to injure them just enough to stop them from moving, but not enough to kill them.
She had done the same to every curse user involved in this attack.
Later, these curse users would be handed over to the Jujutsu Headquarters for trial. They would go through the proper process before their fate was decided.
Of course, for most of them, that fate would likely be execution. Otherwise, they wouldn't be called curse users in the first place.
Even so, the procedure had to be followed.
"Kusakabe-sensei."
Recognizing him as a Grade 1 sorcerer, Yukinoshita Yukino spoke in a calm, composed tone.
"The attack on Jujutsu High is over."
All the curses Kenjaku had released, along with the hired curse users, had already been taken care of—reduced to mere points for the system to merge the two world lines.
These three were the last ones.
"Huh? Oh… yeah."
Kusakabe Atsuya let go of his sword's hilt and scratched his head.
"Well… that was fast."
But soon, he couldn't help but sigh. "In the end, the enemy still achieved their goal, didn't they?"
The destruction of Tengen's barrier was something every sorcerer in Japan had witnessed.
But what consequences would follow? Aside from the ones responsible for all of this, no one knew.
The setting sun painted the western sky in shades of orange and red, with fiery clouds stretching across the horizon. Yet, like ink spreading through water, deep blue darkness slowly crept in from the east, swallowing the light bit by bit.
The future of the jujutsu world seemed to be heading in the same direction—fading into the night.
…
…
(End of Chapter)
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