I could only watch in awe as both women go toe to toe against the king of curses. Of course, I knew that he was close to half of his power. Even after not knowing how many fingers he has eaten, that still doesn't make it less impressive how well those two were faring.
But my concerns lingered to the very end until I finally saw the signs of Sukuna opening his domain. Yuki somehow caught him off guard and kicked him away a good 50 meters or so.
And when he got up again, he didn't rush back in. That alone was concerning. And then there was that sudden momentary lapse in his defence which Yuki capitalised on.
I had a feeling that he was slowly losing control over Yuji's body. And that was concerning cause if that was indeed the case then he might stop engaging with those two directly and...
"Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine."
My eyes bulged, I knew this would happen. I snapped my head towards Yuki and sure enough, she was already forming hand signs, to expand her own domain.
"NO..." I shouted.
Nobara was startled at my sudden shout, glaring at me like she was a second apart from nailing my mouth down with her hammer.
I didn't care, hell I didn't even look at her, my eyes were only on Maki and Yuki, already knowing the outcome of this domain clash.
Irritation and helplessness once again drawn on me, was there nothing I could do?
On the other side, Yuki didn't seem to hear my voice, she rushed at Maki's side, having some idea about her particular condition, she wasn't worried about her that much, but still she decided to open her domain where she can cover Maki from Sukuna's sure hit effect.
"Stay back." She advised and formed her own hand sign to expand her domain the moment Ryomen Sukuna began expanding, because even she understood that allowing him to complete it uncontested would mean certain death.
Her cursed energy surged outward in response, forming a barrier around her as she brought her own domain into existence. What troubled her was that there was no other barrier clashing with her own.
For a brief moment, the world seemed to fracture between them.
Of course, she targeted both Maki and Sukuna to draw them inside her domain. She by no means thought that she can win a domain clash against the king of curses, however, her plan was to damage Sukuna with the help of Maki, just enough that his own domain collapses before hers does.
It was a sound plan, if not for him being Sukuna.
Yuki's domain stood firm at first, its barrier solid and defined, enclosing its space with precision and control until it completely landed.
However, there was no sure hit. No opposite barrier to clash with hers. Yuki couldn't figure out what Sukuna was playing here but she didn't like where this was going until she finally found out what actually happened.
It wasn't that Sukuna hadn't deployed his domain; it's just that his domain had no barrier.
"An Open Barrier Domain!"
"H-How is this possible?" her eyes trembled when she finally learned what was going on. At first she of course couldn't even believe in the fact that something like this was possible.
Expanding a domain without a barrier was much like trying to paint but without a canvas, how can a painter paint in air?
It was absurd as it comes but here it was, happening right in front of her eyes.
And once her own domain was completely established, it finally dawned on her.
Not only did Sukuna's domain manifest without a barrier, but it had a greater range than her own.
It's like creating a smaller bubble inside a larger one. And since everyone inside the said bubble (aka domain) falls into the sure hit effect of one's technique.
That means her own domain barrier was vulnerable from attacks executed from outside of the barrier's range of her domain.
It was overwhelming and unnatural at how absurd Sukuna's domain was, as it claimed everything within its range without restriction.
She couldn't even sense how far his domain was deployed but she was certain it wasn't a small area,
The difference was immediate and undeniable. Where her domain created a contained space, his simply existed, imposing itself upon reality rather than separating from it.
The clash began the instant they overlapped.
At first, there was resistance, a moment where both domains pressed against each other, neither yielding immediately, but that balance did not last. Sukuna's refinement asserted itself almost instantly, the sheer precision and mastery behind his domain tearing into the structure of Yuki's barrier. Invisible slashes carved across its surface, not as attacks directed at her, but as a natural consequence of his domain's existence.
Her own sure hit effect was starting to get overwhelmed, and the barrier started to collapse. It was still better than how a simple domain would fare in this condition but not by that much.
Not only was her domain getting overwhelmed by the sheer gap in both domains' refinement, but also her barrier's outer shell was repeatedly being slashed by Sukuna's technique.
Her barrier began to break, and the domain started to shake. Cracks emerged into her domain within seconds.
"What's going on?" Maki asked, she knew about domains but that was her limit for jujutsu. How they work and what goes on in them was beyond her.
However, by just observing Yuki's face, which was sweaty and panicking, she was certain that whatever was happening was bad.
"Urg..." Yuki groaned, trying to keep her domain intact but it was impossible; the weight of Sukuna's domain was immense.
And since Sukuna was also covered in Yuki's domain, he could see everything. Grinning as he enjoyed the futile attempt of the woman in front of him.
Cracks spread rapidly across the space, each one widening under the relentless pressure as Sukuna's domain continued to slice through it from every direction. Yuki held her ground, reinforcing it as much as she could, but the difference in refinement was too great. Her domain was being dismantled piece by piece before it could fully stabilise.
Due to concern over Megumi Fushiguro and Uraume, Sukuna had kept his domain smaller than 50 meters currently. However, it didn't take away the magnificence of the feat of jujutsu it was.
No one on the sidelines could understand how unimaginable an open barrier domain was, cause none had a domain in the first place.
None, except me. And yes, I was enthralled at how it was placed. No barrier and still the domain contained itself just right. The efficiency and control was just right without leaving power on the table.
For a second or two I just stared at Sukuna's magnificent domain until I heard a sound of glass shattering.
It was Yuki's domain; it finally shattered.
The barrier collapsed entirely, breaking apart under the strain as Sukuna's domain consumed the space without resistance.
What followed was relentless slashes directly to both the women. Cleave and Dismantle flew towards both of them from all angles, cutting open their flesh, bones and identity itself.
Yuki especially took the full brunt of it since Maki didn't have any curse energy and according to Sukuna's domain design, anything which doesn't possess curse energy will be sliced by dismantle, the weaker of the two attacks. While things possessing curse energy
It was cleaved into pieces.
"Arggg." Maki groaned under the relentless barrage of slashes coming her way, she was bloodied and cut open from every possible place she could imagine.
And worse, she wasn't even hearing anything from Yuki anymore. Bad premonition clouded her mind.
She bore the frontal assault of continuous dismantling until she could no longer even stand. She barely opened her eyes to see Yuki's body lying motionless, still being cut apart.
She tried to move but her body had taken too much damage. Moving didn't seem possible.
She gritted her teeth; the unwillingness of defeat after finally achieving this power was so sour.
She still had to go back to the Zenin clan and show those son of b*tches reality. She had to become the head of the clan.
Her sister, she was there watching her as well.
And indeed, Mai was watching with tear-filled eyes, helpless to do anything.
Just as she felt this was the end. She heard his voice again.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION..."
All of a sudden, the slashes stopped. The pain eased just a bit. She opened her eyes once again and surely it was him.
The same cry baby from earlier, standing in front of her with both hands in the same hand sign as that monster.
Maki saw darkness filled around her, a big shadow of something emerged from behind her.
Her bloodied form too became hard to view under the dark fog covering his domain.
And before she knew it, his domain covered everything. Even Sukuna's figure remained outside of the main as he closed his barrier. And the constant slashes stopped.
However, just as the domain closed, the barrier of the domain started to shake. Wavering and crumbling down almost instantly.
"Arg..." He groaned under the pressure; Maki could hear it.
"What are you doing you idiot, get out of here." She shouted. But there came no reply from him. He just stood his place.
And slowly the cracks began to form around his domain, this domain was too destined to fail against Sukuna's.
Just as Maki thought it was a hopeless case, a momentary rush of idiocy that doomed even him while trying to save them.
She suddenly felt the domain stop shaking. The withering domain calmed down all of a sudden as if it had established.
And from behind her she heard a sound.
Like something moved.
"KLNK"
xXx
A/N : Hehehe... MC is playing hero for the first time. While I thought it was unnecessary, I'll write it this way nonetheless. Of course, I had my reasons besides Maki, you'll see in the upcoming chapters.
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