Roy cracked his neck and glanced toward the distant building, sensing Sukuna's weakened presence inside. A disdainful smirk curled on his lips.
"What's wrong? Is this all the mighty King of Curses is capable of?"
The sound of crumbling debris echoed.
From the billowing dust, Sukuna's figure slowly emerged.
But compared to before, he had undergone a drastic transformation.
Megumi Fushiguro's appearance had vanished, replaced by that of a pink-haired young man. His frame was even more imposing than Roy's, with an extra pair of arms sprouting from beneath his shoulders in addition to his original two. A second set of vertically aligned eyes had also appeared on the sides of his face, exuding an eerie, alien-like aura that sent chills down the spine.
"To think I was forced to reset my physical state..."
Sukuna crossed one pair of arms in front of his chest while the other pair rested behind his back.
His cursed energy had visibly dropped, and his presence no longer radiated the same overwhelming ferocity as before.
Even the arrogance on his face had faded.
The towering pride was gone, replaced by a much clearer, sharper gaze.
A vessel, once possessed, could either maintain the host's form or reset their body to their original state, recovering all injuries—effectively granting an extra life.
The wounds Sukuna had sustained were too severe, especially after taking his own Dismantle slash, which had nearly split his body apart. Left with no choice, he had used his chance to reset his form.
A closer look revealed that the tearing wound on his abdomen, the piercing injury on his chest, and the slashes across his body had all vanished.
"That expression suits you—like a dog that's been disciplined by its master. Much more obedient now!"
Roy didn't hold back, mocking Sukuna relentlessly at the sight of his subdued demeanor.
Sukuna's expression darkened, his gaze still brimming with murderous intent.
But unlike before, when he had dismissed Roy as nothing more than an ant to be crushed, his hostility now felt more... balanced.
It was the animosity of an equal.
Sukuna had already regarded him as an equal, even a formidable enemy capable of threatening his life.
He did not respond to Roy's taunts, instead turning his gaze toward Mahoraga and Agito's direction.
As expected.
Agito was being pummeled mercilessly by Mahoraga, its head pressed down.
Despite having Sukuna's cursed energy support—ten times that of Mahoraga—no matter what kind of attack Agito unleashed, Mahoraga ignored it completely, not even bothering to defend. It simply swung its sword relentlessly, strike after strike, hacking away at Agito.
Agito howled in agony, utterly unable to fight back, forced to rely on Round Deer's regenerative abilities to heal itself repeatedly—wounded, healed, wounded again, healed again—in an endless cycle, consuming its life force just to keep Mahoraga occupied.
"You… trained Mahoraga?"
Finally, Sukuna understood. He glared at Roy, his eyes brimming with hatred.
His treasured possession, stolen from him, not only no longer heeded his voice but had even been twisted into something new by another!
"Isn't it obvious at a glance?"
Roy chuckled lightly, neither confirming nor denying, but tacitly acknowledging Sukuna's deduction.
That's right.
Shortly after the incident at the juvenile detention center, Roy had used his Mystic Eyes to extract Mahoraga from Fushiguro Megumi's shadow technique—future inheritors of the Ten Shadows Technique would likely never be able to summon Mahoraga again, as this shikigami had now become Roy's exclusive possession—subduing it and turning it into his familiar.
After taming Mahoraga, Roy inscribed Okkotsu Yuta's Copy Technique onto himself, pasting all manner of copied techniques onto Mahoraga.
He had even used these copied techniques to spar with Mahoraga frequently, forcing it to actively adapt to various attacks—Kashimo Hajime's lightning, Sukuna's slashes—none were exceptions.
"Hmph."
Sukuna sneered, but his eyes still burned with defiance.
"But Okkotsu Yuta's Copy Technique only lasts five minutes. With your cursed energy far inferior to his, how long can you sustain it?"
The greatest flaw of the Copy Technique was that it required summoning an external shikigami or familiar in its fully manifested state, establishing a connection to use the copied techniques—and only within the duration of that connection.
Not only was there a time limit, but also a quantity restriction—only one technique could be used at a time, never multiple simultaneously.
This was precisely where Sukuna believed his chance for victory lay!
He was confident that, given his immense cursed energy reserves and overwhelming output, enduring five minutes against Roy's tricks wouldn't be difficult.
Once those five minutes passed, Roy's connection with Mahoraga would end, and he would no longer be able to use the Copy Technique—returning the battle to its previous state.
Perhaps it wouldn't even take five minutes.
Roy's cursed energy was far inferior to Okkotsu Yuta's—his connection with Mahoraga might not even last that long!
"Hahahaha! Sukuna, when did your memory become as short as a goldfish's?"
Roy burst into laughter at this, pointing at his head with a mocking grin.
"Have you forgotten? Mahoraga's ability is adaptation to all phenomena! Can't you imagine the possibility that Mahoraga has adapted to my connection, removing the time and quantity restrictions on my Copy Technique?"
That's right—this was Mahoraga's most broken ability, and the very reason Roy prized it so highly!
Roy was speaking the truth.
After connecting with Roy multiple times, Mahoraga had already adapted to their bond.
It had adjusted itself specifically for the connection with Roy. As long as Mahoraga was fully manifested, Roy could use the techniques stored within it without any restrictions!
No five-minute limit, no restriction of using only one technique at a time!
The only drawback was that Mahoraga had to be fully manifested. Only when it was completely present could Roy utilize the techniques stored within it. Once Mahoraga was fully manifested, there were no other limitations—Roy could freely use all the copied techniques as he pleased.
This was precisely why Roy considered Mahoraga the strongest shikigami, surpassing even Rika Orimoto, and the most suitable for mimicking techniques!
Sukuna fell completely silent, unable to utter a word.
Truly impressive.
Roy had truly mastered Mahoraga to an extraordinary degree!
Sukuna inwardly admitted that if Mahoraga had fallen into his hands, his efficiency in using it would pale in comparison to Roy's. He would be left far behind, unable to even glimpse Roy's shadow.
In terms of mastery over Mahoraga, even Sukuna had to acknowledge Roy's superiority!
But at the same time, this also meant one thing.
If things continued like this...
Sukuna was doomed!
Even if his cursed energy was ten times that of Roy's, he couldn't withstand the relentless bombardment of unrestricted technique mimicry.
Moreover, Roy's own combat prowess was exceptional, enough to rival Sukuna's. Coupled with Mahoraga, which had adapted to countless attacks and was virtually invincible... Sukuna couldn't see any path to victory.
Even with an extra pair of hands and eyes, it would be meaningless.
There was only one possibility left.
Sukuna's hands, hidden behind his back, quietly came together, twisting as they formed another hand seal—the middle and ring fingers forming a shrine, while the thumb, index, and little fingers formed its base.
The Yama-no-Ten Seal!
"——Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
Sukuna murmured.
In an instant, cursed energy surged like a storm, merging with the world itself to form a massive, boundless domain. The entire world became the barrier, expanding into an endless domain.
A dangerous aura enveloped the surroundings without limit, as though even the slightest movement would result in being sliced to pieces.
Above, the brass bird frantically flapped its wings, fleeing the area.
"Hahahahaha! Roy, you truly are a remarkable opponent. Even in all my years, you stand unrivaled as the strongest foe I've ever faced. I doubt I'll ever forget you!"
The boundless domain spanned a staggering two hundred meters in radius. Standing before a shrine constructed of countless bleached bones, Sukuna let out a hysterical laugh.
This was Sukuna's final trump card—his pride and joy, the strongest domain in the world!
Normally, a domain required constructing the principles of barrier techniques within one's body, spreading the technique through the surrounding space to create a barrier filled with the technique, thus forming the domain.
But Sukuna's domain was different. Instead of constructing a barrier within himself, he used the world itself as the barrier!
This was how he created a boundless domain.
Because it had no boundaries, it even formed a condition based on the "right of the opponent to escape," granting the trade-off of "enhanced technique potency within the domain!"
This was a miraculous feat of domain expansion that could only be achieved by reaching the pinnacle of barrier techniques. To Sukuna's knowledge, apart from himself, only Kenjaku had ever accomplished a boundless domain in this world!
All other sorcerers were nothing but mediocrities!
"Falling Blossom Emotion!"
The domain suddenly manifested. Roy's gaze sharpened as he decisively formed the hand seal for Falling Blossom Emotion—his fingers tightly interlocked, with only his index fingers extended like nails.
This bastard Sukuna had indeed been wary of his anti-technique ability all along!
From the start of the battle until now, aside from unleashing slashes that required neither incantations nor hand seals, Sukuna had kept both hands behind his back whenever using any other technique, preventing Roy from seeing them!
Sukuna was likely just being cautious against his anti-technique ability, but this precisely targeted the weakness of the Mystic Eyes. Mystic Eyes, after all—if one couldn't see the opponent's technique, naturally they couldn't control it.
However—
Roy raised his head, the light in his eyes shifting as they transformed from blood-red pupils to ink-black orbs entwined with black-and-white runic chains. His gaze locked onto the domain in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, he had already infiltrated it.
"Die, Roy!"
Sukuna roared fiercely as the domain's technique activated!
Countless slashes emerged from the domain, instantly cutting into Roy's body.
Under the effect of Falling Blossom Emotion, Roy's cursed energy reflexively resisted. Innumerable spikes of cursed energy protruded like needles, deflecting the domain's slashes, turning his entire body into something akin to a hedgehog in an instant.
"Your cursed energy won't last much longer. Farewell, you mere mortal born in an era without me! Hahahahaha!!!"
Sukuna's maniacal laughter echoed like that of a devil from hell.
Mahoraga had already been intercepted by Agito.
The strength of a shikigami depended on the cursed energy supplied by its master. With Agito's vast reserves of cursed energy, merely holding back Mahoraga—who had only a meager supply—was no issue at all!
"...I see. I understand now."
Roy lowered his head, a faint smile appearing on his face.
He dropped his hands, abandoning the Falling Blossom Emotion seal, and instead relied on compressed cursed energy armor to withstand the domain's slashes.
Then, raising a single hand, he formed another seal.
Softly, he murmured.
"—Domain Expansion!"