Chapter 9: Broken Reflection
A direct blow to Adán's head sent him flying into a wall. However, before impact, he managed to regain his balance in midair and landed firmly. Even so, he was left stunned by what was happening before his eyes.
Tessa was slowly getting up from the floor.
Her teeth had lengthened, sharpening into double fangs; two demonic crowns gleamed in her mouth. Her nails, once human, were now black claws—curved and lethal. Her gaze had lost all trace of innocence.
Tessa… had transformed into a demon.
Her eyes no longer shone with the same consciousness.
The chakra in her body was mixed with a dark, distorted energy.
Adán hesitated for a fraction of a second… but reacted.
—Cut! —he shouted, releasing waves of cursed energy slashes.
Tessa stopped just in time, dodging the attacks with superhuman reflexes.
Her movements were erratic yet perfect.
Faster. Stronger. More ferocious.
Adán clenched his teeth.
—I have to be careful... this isn't the same Tessa anymore.
He began moving rapidly from side to side, seeking unexpected angles, keeping himself in constant motion.
One second he was on the right wall.
The next, on the ceiling.
Then, atop a table.
Tessa followed him with her gaze, but struggled to fix on her target.
—Come on, Tessa... resist! —Adán shouted, unleashing another slash.
But she didn't stop.
She roared. Literally.
A guttural cry, full of fury and instinct.
She dug her hands into the floor and lifted a boulder twenty meters in diameter—an enormous mass that would have been impossible for any human to move.
And without warning…
She hurled it at 300 km/h!
—Shit! —Adán exclaimed, throwing himself to the side.
The rock grazed past his body, the shockwave so powerful it destroyed half the room.
Adán rolled across the floor, panting.
He had to stop releasing slashes for a moment.
But that was the mistake.
Tessa took advantage.
In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of him, her fist wrapped in distorted chakra.
—No...!
Adán raised his arms, but the blow landed.
He managed to block it partially, yet the impact pushed him several meters back.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he stopped.
But he stayed standing.
Tessa advanced like a storm, unleashing barrage after barrage of powerful attacks.
Her punches were faster. Her chakra, denser.
But Adán had something else: control.
—I can't hit her directly... I don't know what would happen to her if I release all my power.
He deflected a strike with his forearm, spun his body to dodge a kick.
He slid beneath a punch and pushed off a column to propel himself away.
Every movement was a measured evasion. A reflection of patience.
Tessa roared in fury.
Her eyes—reddened and altered—showed no trace of the sister he knew.
—Tessa! It's me! You're not this! —he yelled, trying to reach her.
But she didn't respond.
She only attacked.
And yet... she wasn't hitting him like before.
Adán was starting to read her.
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun precisely.
Every strike, every motion, every impulse—predictable.
And as they fought, he realized: they were even.
Not because he was stronger...
But because he had learned to understand her.
—Your blows... your steps... your turns... —he murmured—. You taught me all of that.
Tessa threw a downward punch.
Adán sidestepped and pushed her arm aside with minimal contact, diverting it.
The creature within her was powerful.
But he knew the real Tessa better than anyone.
At first, Adán was holding his ground.
Each of Tessa's blows was stronger, faster… but he read them, dodged, deflected.
It looked like he could keep up.
But it didn't last.
Every minute that passed, Tessa's power increased.
Her speed became a blur.
And worse: she regenerated almost instantly from every hit or wound.
—This... isn't going well —Adán panted, stepping back.
He tried to create distance. But Tessa was already there.
Crack!
She grabbed his arm and punched him straight in the chest.
Adán felt the air leave his lungs. His vision trembled.
But he didn't fall!
—BLACK FLASH! —he shouted instantly, channeling pure cursed energy into his counterattack.
BOOM!
The blow connected precisely between Tessa's shoulder and neck, forcing her to retreat for the first time in several minutes.
The clash released a black and red light—like a silent lightning bolt splitting the air in two.
Both froze... for just a second.
Adán lifted his head, blood dripping from his mouth, with a crooked smile.
—This isn't going to stop, is it?
He raised his hands.
And formed Sukuna's hand sign.
—Either you wake up... or I'll wake you up.
His Sharingan eye blazed.
His cursed energy was unleashed without restraint.
—INCOMPLETE DOMAIN EXPANSION!
Malevolent Shrine!
The space around them collapsed.
The floor turned dark, covered in cursed inscriptions.
The walls fractured as if the world itself were breaking apart.
Hundreds of slashes floated around him.
They weren't aimed in one direction.
They weren't safe.
They weren't stable.
But they were alive!
Adán took a step forward.
The slashes fired like wild blades, slicing through the air in every direction, tearing apart walls, columns, ceilings...
Everything in their path was shredded.
The place was no longer a battlefield.
It was a field of ruin.
In his mind, Adán recalled what he had learned:
> A Complete Domain guarantees a sure hit.
An Incomplete one does not.
But even incomplete... it multiplies your techniques by 200%.
And once finished, the used technique becomes exhausted—impossible to activate again until recovery.
And at that moment, his slashes filled everything.
The very atmosphere bled.
Tessa couldn't even walk.
Every time she took a step, the erratic cuts grazed her, wounded her, pushed her back.
—I have to end this —Adán muttered, panting—.
—I can't keep going... I have three broken ribs... and if the domain breaks, I won't be able to use my technique again.
He decided to go for the finisher.
He assumed the same stance he'd seen Sukuna use against Jogo.
The ultimate slash. The opening of chaos.
—Tessa... forgive me.
He aimed.
Fired.
And then he saw her.
Amid the flashes of energy, between the floating slashes, he saw her crying.
—I'm sorry, brother...
I can't control myself...
But it's already too late!
Tessa was crying.
The real Tessa.
She was back.
But a second too late.
—No!
Adán tried to cancel the domain.
He screamed.
Used everything he had.
But...
It was too late.
An explosion of cursed fire roared from the center of the domain.
BOOOOM!
The floor split apart.
The ceiling collapsed.
The air burned.
The expansion ended... but the damage was already done.
Adán fell to his knees.
Smoke covered everything.
Only a muffled sob could be heard... and the crackling of falling ashes.