Inside the Divine Curtain at Kitano Tenmangu.
As Yuta Okkotsu and the others stepped into the Curtain, they were greeted by a world of absolute pitch-black. Even the sky was swallowed by darkness. Yuta could only see clearly up to 10 meters ahead; anything beyond that became a blur, and past 20 meters, visibility dropped to zero.
"Night? No, this is the influence of Cursed Energy." To be able to change the environment on such a vast scale, this power was truly no different from that of a god.
"It's eerie. The Curtain is saturated with the scent of curses. Everyone, stay sharp."
"I know," Nobara Kugisaki replied, clutching her weapons, hammer and nails, ready for danger from any direction.
The old man had also finished his "gear swap," strapping on his guitar. This prompted a remark from Nobara: "Principal Gakuganji, you don't act like a seventy-year-old antique at all."
Influenced by Satoru Gojo, she had little patience for the leader of the conservative faction.
"Do you think being conservative means rejecting everything new? You're mistaken. We simply don't accept Gojo's erratic and radical style. If he could present a concrete, effective plan, even we could accept it."
Principal Gakuganji opened his eyes slightly and spoke raspy, "Unfortunately, he has none. Thus, no change is better than bad change."
"Ugh, don't give me that speech. Conservatives, radicals, it has nothing to do with me. Just don't mess with me," Nobara said, waving him off. She clearly detested being lectured.
Gakuganji fell silent.
"Alright, stay alert. Let's head toward the center," Yuta directed.
Though the environment was as murky as a heavy smog, the road beneath their feet remained visible. By following the main thoroughfare, they should reach Kitano Tenmangu directly.
As they walked, they passed numerous abandoned vehicles. The interiors were empty, and it was impossible to tell if the occupants had escaped.
Strangely, the surroundings were deathly quiet. Nobara was the first to find the silence unbearable. "This is too much. I feel so suppressed I want to puke."
"Yes, the propagation of sound is off. It seems this darkness doesn't just block sight; it likely dampens hearing as well." As a sorcerer whose technique involved music, Gakuganji was particularly sensitive to acoustic shifts.
"I—" Nobara started to speak but was cut off by Yuta.
He tilted his head, his expression grave. "Shh. Stop talking. Something's coming."
Nobara and Gakuganji immediately shifted into a defensive stance, the three of them standing back-to-back, facing different directions.
Rustle, rustle.
From the darkness in front of Nobara, the head of a locust-faced Cursed Spirit emerged.
"I... I am very smart..."
"No, one look at that face tells me you're not smart at all," Nobara said with pure disdain, already flicking a nail forward.
Squish!
The nail pierced its eye directly.
"Wait, that was too easy?"
"No, it's not that one!" Yuta's gaze fixed on the space behind the locust curse.
As the locust curse continued to move forward, stepping out of the shadows, Nobara finally understood what Yuta meant. The locust curse was just a severed head, being carried by a pitch-black palm. When the figure behind it fully emerged, Nobara's eyelids jumped.
It was another Nobara Kugisaki!
However, this "Nobara" was entirely jet-black from head to toe.
"Ugh, so ugly! Is my skin that hideous when it turns black?" Nobara shuddered, her anger flaring. "To dare tarnish my peak beauty... unforgivable!"
"Nobara, be careful. I'll deal with the enemies in front of me quickly."
Yuta and Gakuganji were also faced with black replicas of themselves, but they weren't facing just one, there were more than ten.
"Don't bother! I can handle this myself!" Nobara roared, hurling several nails at her clone.
The "Black Nobara" crushed the locust curse's head in its hand and charged forward fearlessly. Behind it, several more black replicas lunged out.
The first battle of the Okkotsu squad had begun!
They weren't the only ones. Nanami's squad and everyone else, human or curse, who had entered the Curtain encountered these black replicas without exception. Even Satoru Gojo found himself entangled with a replica that mirrored him.
This was, of course, Aomori's handiwork.
He had released a massive amount of dark energy within the Curtain, creating a simplified version of his Infinite Dark Prison. Because the dark energy concentration was so high, it acted like a beacon, drawing Cursed Spirits in like moths to a flame.
Aomori manipulated the dark energy to generate numerous dark clones. He only gave them the ability to shapeshift into the likeness of the nearest prey. Their individual strength wasn't high, but they had overwhelming numbers.
By continuously killing the attracted Cursed Spirits, the energy they released upon death, which shared an origin with dark energy, was bound within the Curtain. This caused the concentration of dark energy to rise steadily, resulting in the current phenomenon.
Without lifting a finger, Aomori could harvest the Cursed Spirits through his clones.
Watching the experience points and points roll in, Aomori sat in his high chair before the main hall and grinned.
Except for one specific clone, these dark clones were weaker than those used against Megumi Fushiguro. Numbers alone wouldn't stop the truly powerful challengers. Thus, Darkrai was stationed as the final gatekeeper to stall them individually. Combined with the loss of direction within the Curtain, Aomori had plenty of time to set up his next arrangement.
"After reclaiming some dark energy, I can finally set the next barrier."
As a trial of a "God," one stage was too cheap. There had to be at least three.
The second stage, focused on lightning energy, would be called the "Grand Thundercloud Array."
…
"Burn to ashes!"
Jogo waved his hands, and crimson flames reduced the dark clones before him to cinders. Even the surrounding dark energy was driven away, leaving only scorching flames. Without the dark energy, the regeneration of the clones was delayed.
"Impressive!" "Suguru Geto" clapped in praise, though his expression made it hard to tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic.
"Shut it. They're unkillable. Let's move while we have the chance."
Jogo wasn't afraid of these common clones, but there were occasional "snipers" in the dark that released sleep-inducing techniques. They were hard to guard against, and getting hit meant wasting a lot of time.
"Suguru Geto," Hanami, Dagon, and "Haruta Shigemo" followed the full-tilt Jogo. They navigated the path with minimal trouble and were the team closest to the center. Together, they were also the strongest group present, aside from Satoru Gojo.
After clearing wave after wave of dark clones, they finally reached the edge of the second Curtain.
"A second layer?"
"It seems meeting a deity isn't a simple matter," "Suguru Geto" said with narrowed eyes. "I'll have to trouble you again, Jogo."
"Tch." Jogo reached a hand into the Curtain and felt no resistance. "Same effect as the first one. Let's go in."
"Fine."
The group entered one by one, only to see a completely different sight. The darkness was gone; they could even see the large torii gate of the Tenmangu Shrine in the distance.
However, their first instinct was to look up. The top of the Curtain was covered by a vast expanse of purple thunderclouds. Purple "snakes" of electricity flickered through the clouds, accompanied by a low, muffled rumbling that carried a terrifying, heart-stopping pressure.
"So this stage is 'Lightning'? Since the first was 'Dark,' it's highly likely there's a 'Light' stage as well."
Through various intelligence channels, they had learned a fair amount about Aomori.
"Suguru Geto" smiled. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next stage looks like."
"Then think of a way to get us through this one!" Jogo was certain the lightning could hurt him, so he didn't want to rush in blindly.
"Hmm." "Suguru Geto" studied the thunderclouds and speculated, "I expect we'll be attacked by purple lightning as we move forward. I don't know the specifics, though. Someone needs to test it."
"Who?"
Jogo scanned the group, his eyes landing on the cowering Haruta Shigemo. He barked, "You! Go run a lap out there and come back."
"No way! I'll die for sure if I go out there," Haruta shook his head violently.
"You'll die if you stay here, too," Jogo threatened, two balls of fire igniting in his hands.
"Geto, save me! I don't want to die," Haruta pleaded.
"I actually think you're the best candidate. Isn't your technique 'Miracles'? You shouldn't die that easily." To Haruta's shock, "Suguru Geto" agreed with Jogo.
"Eh? How could you...?" Stared down by four pairs of cold eyes, Haruta didn't dare refuse. He nodded. "Fine, fine! I'll go!"
After making a show of bowing to the heavens and praying not to be struck, Haruta began to edge forward.
His pace was so slow it made Jogo's temper flare. He threw two fireballs at him. "Run faster!"
"I'm going, I'm going!" To dodge the fireballs, Haruta was forced to scramble and run quite a distance.
At that exact moment, the purple clouds churned, and a massive flash filled their vision. A bolt of purple lightning shot down like a spear, heading straight for Haruta.
In the nick of time, Haruta rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the fatal strike. The lightning hit the ground beside him; the asphalt shattered instantly, and the resulting debris pelted him, making him scream in pain.
The thunder roared, seemingly angered by the miss. Blinding purple bolts began to strike down one after another.
Good thing I didn't go out, Jogo thought with relief. He's probably dead. Oh well, a mere human's death is no great loss.
Aside from the suspicious "Suguru Geto," no one there believed Haruta would survive.
"Heh, maybe a 'miracle' will happen."
"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" Yet, with a speed that even surprised Jogo, Haruta dodged every single lightning strike by a hair's breadth, getting closer and closer back to the group.
"Idiot! Don't bring the lightning toward us!" Jogo shouted. He threw more fireballs at Haruta, this time truly intending to kill him.
Trapped between lightning and fire, Haruta's expression turned vicious. He lunged directly toward Jogo and the others. "You want me dead? Then let's all die together!"
Just as he finished speaking, he was struck mid-air by a bolt of lightning. When he hit the ground, his body was charred black, emitting a foul stench. His eyes were rolled back, and he had stopped breathing.
"Tch! Madman!"
Though Haruta was dead, he had successfully transferred the lightning's targeting to Jogo and his companions.
"No choice now, just charge! It'll be safe once we get inside!" Jogo shouted and led the charge. Hanami and Dagon followed closely.
"Suguru Geto" glanced at Haruta's charred corpse, smiled slightly, and followed them.
Shortly after they left, "Haruta Shigemo" scrambled to his feet. His charred exterior gradually flaked away, revealing restored skin.
Looking at the receding backs of Jogo's group, he bared his teeth. "Is that old fox Geto suspicious of me? I felt like he was testing me. Good thing I had a trick up my sleeve. Time to head back to the boss."
…
To defend against the falling lightning, Hanami conjured a massive cluster of old tree roots over their heads.
The purple lightning struck continuously, blasting the roots into splinters, forcing Hanami to constantly use Cursed Energy to grow new ones.
Just as they were about to make a final push toward the torii gate, a Cursed Spirit that looked like a dog with a crescent-shaped horn on its head blocked their path.
"Sol!" Absol stood its ground, following orders to guard this post.
"A Cursed Spirit from the outside?"
"No, it's likely a subordinate deity under that 'God'."
"A subordinate deity? This thing?" Jogo scoffed. He turned to Hanami. "Hanami, can you hold out?"
"Yes. For five minutes, at least."
"Five minutes is plenty." Jogo grinned confidently. Several large purple flying insects swarmed out from the miniature volcanoes on his head. "Go, Ember Insects! Wipe it out!"
The Ember Insects, with their long proboscises, flapped their wings frantically and reached Absol in an instant. A single sting from those sharp mouthparts would be fatal.
Absol remained unfazed. It leaped back to avoid the attack while whipping its head to release several blades of wind, slicing the insects in half.
Boom!
The Ember Insects exploded the moment they were cut. Towering flames swallowed Absol in the blink of an eye.
"Done!" Jogo laughed. "So this is a so-called subordinate deity?"
"Jogo, you're overconfident." "Suguru Geto" pointed to Absol, which was walking calmly out of the flames. "It doesn't look like you've finished it. We only have five minutes. Actually... only four left now."
"Hmph. It has some tricks. That makes it worthy of being crushed." Jogo lowered his head, his fiery temper reaching a boiling point after being embarrassed.
"Hah!" Jogo roared. Flames erupted around his body, forming a rapidly spinning fire vortex that coiled around his right arm.
"Fire Pistol Vortex Punch!"
He threw a punch, and the flames shot forward like a cannonball, spinning toward Absol.
Bzzzt!
Yellow electricity crackled around Absol, forming the shape of a thunderbird in mid-air before shooting forward.
"Fire Pistol Vortex Punch" met "Thunderbolt."
The collision of fire and lightning triggered a massive explosion. Flames and electrical arcs instantly turned the area into a forbidden zone for the living.