Chapter 188: The Eclipse, and the Special Reincarnator Roland
A pitch-black domain instantly began to spread. Moon Fiend, being extremely close to Silverlight, was captured the moment the domain deployed.
Kaito Shirogane's movements, however, suddenly changed. He stopped tangling with the clawed woman. The moment he grabbed her hands, a clever, internal force instantly broke Kyung's center of gravity. He then followed with a full-body side-ram.
Iron Mountain Ram!
Pff!
Caught off guard, Kyung's chest was struck by a terrifying force. With a sharp crack, her entire body was sent flying toward the black domain.
Kaito himself, with cold eyes, backflipped away. He stomped on the air dozens of times, using Moonwalk to instantly fly a hundred meters into the sky.
Since Kaito Shirogane had seen that Silverlight was hiding Cursed Energy, it wasn't hard to guess her trump card was some kind of Domain.
As the core of the Jujutsu Kaisen power system, a [Domain] is what a Sorcerer creates when they've developed their technique to a high enough level. By combining it with [Barrier Techniques], they manifest their [Innate Domain] in the real world and imbue it with their Cursed Technique.
This creates a large, enclosed barrier (though a few powerful individuals can create an open one) filled with the power of their technique.
Inside a [Domain], the Sorcerer's technique has a "sure-hit" effect. For Sorcerers with terrifying abilities, a Domain Expansion is almost always a "sure-kill" moment.
The only thing that can counter a Domain Expansion... is another Domain Expansion.
Kaito saw it clearly. The moment the short-haired woman in the black suit (Kyung) was knocked toward the barrier, claws sprouted from her toes, dug into the ground, and forcefully changed her trajectory. She used this beast-like maneuver to escape the expanding domain and avoided being fully enveloped.
But just from having half her body caught as the Domain deployed, her entire left side now looked like a withered mummy.
From this, Kaito got a glimpse of Silverlight's Cursed Technique. It was likely related to curses, decay, or death.
After escaping, Kyung immediately pulled out a high-explosive grenade and threw it at the black domain's outer shell. This type of enclosed domain is incredibly durable from the inside, but much easier to break from the outside.
Boom! Boom!
The explosion swept over Kyung, but her injuries healed quickly. Kaito recognized her bloodline—it was similar to Sabretooth from X-Men, possessing special bestial wildness, enhanced physical power, and a strong regenerative ability.
In terms of regeneration speed alone, she was even a fraction faster than him.
However, no matter how strong her regeneration was, it didn't mean much to Kaito.
He lifted his foot lightly. One step covered seven or eight meters. The toughness of his tendons allowed him to throw his own heavy frame seven or eight meters with just a tap of his toe.
Compared to his strength, his body weight was as light as a feather.
Kyung's ears twitched. She instantly sensed Kaito's intent. She turned, and Kaito was already less than fifty meters away. The woman's pupils instantly became bestial.
"She's one of Flame Fiend's people! You should know, if Lady Moon Fiend dies, you'll never have another chance to counter Flame Fiend in this world!"
Kaito sneered. His feet instantly stomped the ground dozens of times.
Swoosh!
Kaito's figure blurred as he charged, but it wasn't as clean as the [Rokushiki: Soru]. He was still figuring it out. He thrust out a palm, and the air formed a spiral of white currents.
As Kaito's physique became more and more inhuman, techniques like the [Koei Style: Rakshasa's Palm] put almost no strain on him. The muscles in his arm, with several more joints than a normal human's, could twist to their limit without tearing.
He struck, and the air whimpered.
Kyung instantly curled up, crossing her arms in front of her.
Bang!
Like hitting a rubber ball, Kyung was sent spinning away. Kaito was even more impressed watching her combat reaction. His desire to fight grew stronger.
This woman's stats weren't higher than his, but whether it was her bloodline's wildness or her natural combat instinct, she had already figured out how to deal with his penetrating attacks after just a few exchanges.
It was a special "force-dissipating" technique that only someone with powerful regeneration could use.
She took the attack with her arms, ensuring the penetrating force wouldn't damage her internal organs. By curling into a ball, she used the opponent's force to spin violently as she flew, dissipating the power.
Bang!
The ball of flesh slammed into the domain's outer shell and bounced off. Kyung's injuries weren't severe.
But before she could uncurl, the sound of tearing air arrived. Kaito had followed her with Moonwalk, his shadow covering her body. He spread his arms like a crane.
His breath was like a gale, and his hands vanished.
Pff-pff-pff...
A rapid series of strikes landed. Kyung, like a punching bag, was pierced by countless forces in mid-air. She let out a fierce roar, twisting her body, her claws becoming a whirlwind.
But Kaito, using [Pre-Initiative] and [Transparent World], completely saw through her. He kicked her away first, then raised his right hand. A Dodon Ray instantly pierced her forehead.
Pff!
Warm brain matter and blood sprayed out. Kaito still didn't see a kill notification. The moment he landed, he leaped back into the air.
But as Kaito leaped, the entire world suddenly changed.
It was as if all the sunlight and color had been stolen from the world. Even the sea became dull and colorless, like an abyss.
A horrifying, alien presence appeared from all directions. Even an anomaly like Kaito couldn't help but pause.
He and Kyung, who he had just been trying to kill, both turned their heads. In the central area of Skuld Island, a giant arm, composed of countless faces, was rising from the ground.
The arm was over a thousand meters long, appearing abruptly in the center of the island like a new mountain.
Wooo... Roar!
A multitude of bizarre sounds began to emerge from places where no life should be: the sea, the mountains, the town, the clouds. Kaito blinked, and he saw countless monsters of all shapes and sizes beginning to appear.
The Eclipse?!
This scene... it was almost identical to [The Eclipse] in Berserk, when Griffith sacrificed the Band of the Hawk with the Egg of the King. The only difference was that the [God Hand] weren't here.
The [God Hand] are the most powerful demons in Berserk. They understand causality, manipulate human destiny, know most possibilities, and possess the power to alter reality, space, and mind.
These demons expertly control the power of [Fate], granting power to those who sacrifice using a [Behelit], turning them into demons called Apostles.
Each [God Hand] corresponds to a powerful negative aspect of human consciousness. They exist in the spectral realm (Astral World), on a different dimension from ordinary people.
[The Eclipse] is the ceremony for a new [God Hand] to be born, occurring once every 216 years. Every 216 years, a destined person holding the [Egg of the King], at the destined time, will activate it, opening a passage between the human and spectral worlds and summoning the [God Hand].
The holder of the [Egg of the King] sacrifices everything they hold dear. The demons of the Eclipse devour them, and the death of those loved ones becomes the power to reincarnate the wielder as a new [God Hand].
But here was the problem. The Eclipse only happens once every 216 years. According to the intel, it had already happened two years ago in Alabasta. Why was the spectral realm descending again today?
The air became thick and heavy. Each breath added a burden to the lungs. An ordinary person couldn't even use their full strength in this environment.
Bang!
A terrifying explosion rang out. Kaito saw the giant arm in the town center seem to shudder, and a black dot was sent flying from the far distance.
Roar!
Demonic shrieks erupted. The monsters from the sea and mountains went berserk, charging at any living human they could find.
Kaito stood still, letting a twisted demon with a 3-4 meter swollen head approach. Then he suddenly appeared in front of it. White air currents swirled, and a Rakshasa's Palm slammed down.
Pff!
Dark blood sprayed. Kaito, bathed in it, finally confirmed this was no illusion. The spectral realm had truly been opened, and these unnatural creatures were in the One Piece world.
[You have killed a supernatural creature, a Spectral Demon. Target-tier does not meet the requirements for the Special Trial: Path of the Transcendent (Not a four-stat composite, not a legendary creature).]
[Obtained 50 Dimensional Points.]
[Attention, Great Sin Reincarnator EX 051. You have triggered a Special Cooperative Mission: Chaos Requiem.]
[Chaos Requiem (Special, Difficult)]
[Description: A chaotic element in the One Piece Derivative World A9981 has not been fully purged. The Nexus is forcibly conscripting all Reincarnators in this world to clear the chaos.]
[Objective: Slay the Special Reincarnator: Roland.]
[Reward: Reincarnators who participate and survive will receive a minimum of one B-Grade Singularity.]
[Failure Penalty: This world's mission rating will be locked to D, and all stats will be reduced by 20% for the next three mission worlds.]
The sudden mission notification was crimson, and the penalty was extremely harsh, seemingly to emphasize its necessity.
Kaito looked at the giant arm. The black dot that had been sent flying slammed into the black domain's outer shell, causing it to crack. The person who had been sent flying was mangled and lifeless.
A spotted dog-hat fell from the sky. The man's fully-bestial body slowly reverted to its original form.
Marine Vice Admiral Dalmatian was dead.
[Native Character Dalmatian has died. The subsequent questline will be removed from your mission world.]
KRRRACKLE!
A bolt of lightning lit up the dark sky, bringing a flicker of light back to the world.
"Demon! And you mortals..."
"Why can't you just quietly accept the protection of a god?"
Enel's voice returned with the thunder. Kaito's mind raced. He leaped, and with just a few Moonwalk steps, he put a thousand meters between them.
A jade-green sword light flashed, and the black domain shattered. Half of Moon Fiend's face was completely withered, and her black Haki was faint and weak. She was holding a silver-haired head in her hand. She looked at Kaito and said grimly:
"Mercenary Tao. You're a smart one."
Moon Fiend drew her sword on Kaito again. An intense sword pressure and countless invisible wires shot through the air.
But Kaito didn't run as she expected. He stood his ground.
[Tekkai]!
Keng-keng-keng—Pff!
His Tekkai broke, but Kaito was only lightly injured, and he healed in the span of a breath.
Moon Fiend's pupils shrank. She knew he'd seen how spent she was. She had been injured by Enel, Flame Fiend, and Critical Point, then attacked by Silverlight's domain. Her condition was terrible.
"Go, Kyung! Now!"
She shouted. Kyung's eyes suddenly went white. She burst through the crowd of spectral demons, pulled out a green card, and a Nen-like aura enveloped them both as they began to fly away.
As if Kaito would let them go. He immediately activated Moonwalk, stepping through the air in pursuit of the green light.
(End of Chapter)