Buddha casually bit on a lollipop and disdainfully glared at Shiva: "Moreover, this isn't even the complete power of an Emanator of Preservation—only one-tenth of it. It might not even reach one-tenth... his Cornerstone is already damaged. Roughly only one-twentieth?"
"That's still very strong." Susanoo leaned sideways on the soft couch. "With this incomplete power, he should still be able to suppress Stelle and the others... provided that Acheron does not make a move."
"Hehe, suppress? Not to mention an incomplete Cornerstone—even if Aventurine's Cornerstone was complete, he could never suppress the Express crew." Loki supported his chin in the shadows nearby and coldly laughed as he asked: "Setting the others aside for now… how much strength do you think that guy called Welt is hiding?"
"This..."
Susanoo was temporarily tongue-tied. Although he could tell that Mr. Welt was indeed holding back, the other party was like a bottomless trench. Being able to see that he was hiding thirty percent of his strength did not mean he only had thirty percent left—it meant that your vision could only reach that far downward.
He had probably been holding back even during the battle against Phantylia and had not used his full strength.
"You can't tell, right?" Loki laughed sinisterly. "If he is willing to display his full strength, he probably wouldn't even need Acheron to make a move. He alone could suppress Aventurine."
——
One Punch Man.
"Master! Look quick! He transformed!"
A series of rising and falling exclamations came from the gym of the Hero Association. Dozens of men and women wearing tank tops raised their heads in unison to look at the Celestial Screen, their mouths unconsciously opening into large circles.
"Th-this is an Emanator of Preservation... so cool..." A certain lady wearing a tank top couldn't help but blush.
Although Aventurine's usual actions were already very flamboyant, no one expected that after using the Cornerstone he would dress even more exaggeratedly and gorgeously. Especially the oppressive feeling brought by that confidence and strength made quite a few of the female members of the Tanktop Army who were exercising unable to help blushing and feeling their hearts race.
"Hey hey, stop looking! We have to believe in the power of the tank top." The leading Tanktop Master tugged at the tank top on his body. Accompanied by a crisp "pa" sound, the members of the Tanktop Army all came back to their senses one after another and continued their exercises.
But someone still began to ask curiously: "Master, if we continue training according to the current method, can we train to Aventurine's level?"
"Mm..." Tanktop Master was taken aback for a moment. After pondering for a while he resolutely raised his head. "Of course we can. But the prerequisite is that you must believe in the power of the tank top, and then persistently stick to training. One day you will be able to reach a realm like his."
"One day... how long is that?"
"I don't know either. Probably about fifty years?" Tanktop Master heavily patted his shoulder. "Anyway, in these fifty years, let's train together toward Aventurine as our goal!"
——
["Even when in adversity, as long as a person still has hope, they will definitely raise the stakes... the possibilities you contain are worth me going all-in…!"]
[Accompanied by the crisp sound of Aventurine's finger snap, in an instant the surrounding scenery reorganized as if a shattered mirror—when the members of the Express crew opened their eyes again, they discovered that they were standing in the center of a magnificent golden casino. Countless dice spun on their own in midair. Every time they stopped, the corresponding number would appear behind Aventurine.]
["Want to come gamble a round with me?"]
[Aventurine looked down at everyone from above. His figure appeared both illusory and real under the lights. March 7th had no intention of wasting words with him. She quickly drew her bow and nocked an arrow. The Six-Phased Ice arrow shaft broke through the air—yet the tip of the arrow was flicked away the moment it was only an inch from Aventurine's face and completely dissolved into flowing water.]
[Himeko's gaze sank: "…There must be the blessing of [Preservation] on him." She and Welt beside her exchanged a tacit glance and nodded. "It seems we can only follow his rules first."]
[Everyone took turns striking the dice, but no matter how many times they tried, the total points could never surpass Aventurine's.]
[Accompanied by one round of dice settling, victory and defeat were decided.]
["What a pity."]
[Aventurine's voice carried a few notes of teasing and mockery. He calmly spread both hands. Only then did everyone notice that behind him, at some unknown point, a towering high wall composed of chips had appeared.]
["The dice have been cast—everything, or nothing at all!"]
[He grinned ferociously and lightly flicked his finger forward—]
[That giant wall constructed of hundreds of millions of chips collapsed with a roar. In an instant it transformed into a sky-covering tsunami that surged toward everyone. They collided with each other and produced piercing buzzing sounds, shaking the entire casino until it was falling apart.]
——
Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Oh? Domain Expansion?"
Ryomen Sukuna showed a slightly surprised expression, but in the next second he recovered his usual calm. The corner of his mouth curved slightly upward, as if he found everything happening on the Celestial Screen extremely interesting.
Although he had not had the fortune to personally experience this special "Domain," as the King of Curses, over the long years he had competed in Domains against countless people, and countless people had died inside his Malevolent Shrine. The moment he saw the Domain he began analyzing it subconsciously.
"A Domain enhances a person's technique and also attaches a sure-hit effect to the technique. In Aventurine's Domain, the prerequisite for triggering the sure-hit effect is the size of the total dice number... as long as the number is lower than his, no matter how the opponent dodges, they will be submerged by his sea of chips."
"The Domain may also provide a certain amplification to his luck... no, amplification isn't needed. His luck has always been very good."
Kenjaku, who was maintaining a certain distance from Sukuna, suddenly spoke up to remind him: "But what's truly powerful isn't only the sure-hit effect, okay? Inside the Domain, the Express crew can't injure him at all."
This was indeed the case. Not only March 7th—anyone could not injure him. They could only forcibly attack the dice in front of him that could not be destroyed no matter what.
"The power of [Preservation]... hehe, quite unreasonable, isn't it? It seems even a bit more troublesome than Satoru Gojo's Limitless technique? I'm afraid even your slashes can't injure him in the slightest."
"It is indeed troublesome. However, something even more troublesome is still coming."
Sukuna did not see Acheron's figure inside the Domain—in other words, this woman had not yet made a move.
He was waiting for her to draw her blade.
——
[Facing the sky-covering submersion of chips, Stelle subconsciously raised her fire lance to block and protect, trying to use [Preservation] once more to protect her companions just like the previous time facing Phantylia.]
[Yet after an unknown number of seconds, the expected sharp pain did not arrive. There was not even the sensation of a single scrape.]
["…What's going on?"]
[Stelle's heart trembled. She slowly opened her eyes—]
[Only to see Acheron holding her blade horizontally in one hand in front of her. Her entire person stood quietly like a sharp blade. From beginning to end, she had only ever gripped the scabbard to fight. She had never truly drawn it.]
[Aventurine's tone finally produced a slight change.]
["Playing a strong hand slowly and putting on airs… you've made me a little impatient."]