This novel is very difficult to translate. Instead of publishing a single chapter, the author packs around 2.5 chapters' worth of content into one. Because of this, producing a proper and accurate translation becomes much more challenging. To show your support, please don't forget to send power stones.
Kinji Hakari hadn't expected to witness a Simple Domain on a Cursed Spirit.
The shock this gave him was even greater than having his own Domain Expansion destroyed.
He could comfort himself that his Domain being destroyed was due to being countered, but the research and effort required for a Simple Domain could not be denied.
It only showed that the Cursed Spirit before him possessed intelligence and talent far beyond his imagination.
The Dragon lowered its majestic head, its flickering heterochromatic eyes fixed on Kinji Hakari.
Its voice sounded like a distant Sanskrit chant: "Kinji Hakari, I will give you one more chance. Now, submit to me."
Suddenly, a black shadow landed on the ground, roaring loudly.
"Kinji, I'm here to help you!"
Hoshikira Roro!
He crashed down at his maximum speed.
Kinji Hakari turned his head; he had already gone blind, but he could still perceive the injuries on Hoshikira Roro through Cursed Energy perception.
Half of Hoshikira Roro's body was wrapped in a flame-like Cursed Energy, indicating he had been severely burned and was almost unable to move.
Yet, he had still come here, wanting to share Kinji Hakari's burden.
Kinji Hakari smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't think you can escape so easily!" Jogo howled in the sky.
Beside the Dragon, Jogo and Hanami landed with a massive thud.
Jogo looked up at the Dragon and said through gritted teeth, "Forgive me, Mahito, I failed to stop that human."
"No, it is enough," the Dragon said flatly.
"Because Kinji will not let her take action again."
"Kinji!" Hoshikira Roro hurriedly tried to say something.
But Kinji Hakari cut him off with a shout, "Enough!"
Hoshikira Roro froze.
"This is our battle, right, Lord of Curses?" Kinji Hakari asked.
"Indeed, this is our battle, and it has been from the very beginning," the Dragon responded.
This time it was Jogo's turn to be anxious, "Mahito, I—!"
"Jogo."
The Dragon emitted a sound like a tolling bell, its voice shaking the heavens and the earth.
"This is a battle between him and me."
Jogo froze.
Hanami stepped forward and gently pulled Jogo away.
Kinji Hakari breathed slowly.
"Rest for a bit, Roro. It won't take too long."
"Kinji—!"
"Do I have to be blunt, Roro?" Kinji Hakari suddenly roared.
"Right now, are you truly qualified to step into my battle with the King of Curses?!"
Hoshikira Roro was stunned.
He looked up at the Mahito in his Dragon form, then looked back at Kinji Hakari.
Feeling the pain all over his body, he finally collapsed to the ground in a daze.
"Yes... I understand."
"Good."
Kinji Hakari exhaled slowly.
He took his stance, pushing his Cursed Energy perception to the maximum, making his final preparations.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, King of Curses."
"Owner of the Underground Fighting Arena at the old multi-story parking garage site in Itaki Prefecture. Kinji Hakari."
"Please guide me!"
A sonorous laugh erupted from the Dragon's mouth, the sound spreading like a wild gale and echoing through the Underground Fighting Arena.
This self-introduction made him feel as if they were in an ancient samurai duel, making him laugh from the bottom of his heart.
"The manifestation of humans' Curses toward humans. Mahito."
"Please guide me!"
Both Kinji Hakari and the Mahito pressed their stopwatches simultaneously.
Seventeen seconds of the thirty had already passed, leaving thirteen seconds.
The countdown begins!
This is the final round.
Both the Mahito and Kinji Hakari clearly realized this.
These thirteen seconds would be the round that decided victory or defeat!
After thirteen seconds, Kinji Hakari would be able to use Domain Expansion again, and the recursive cycle of 'Infinite Cursed Energy' would restart.
Everything that needed to be said had been said, and all resolutions had been made.
Next, there was only one thing left to do.
Fight!
Thirteen seconds left!
The Dragon suddenly opened its mouth, and a sphere of Solar Radiance appeared deep in its throat.
This was a phenomenon of Cursed Energy accumulation; a massive amount of Cursed Energy was being compressed and gathered deep within the Dragon's throat.
It lowered its head, aiming the gathered Cursed Energy directly at Kinji Hakari.
At this moment, Kinji Hakari's first reaction was not to dodge or run, but to sprint toward that sphere of Solar Radiance.
The man let out a thunderous roar, like a charging bull.
Solar Radiance, Dragon's Breath!
The Dragon let out a long sigh, and a massive pillar of light erupted from the Solar Radiance deep in its throat, extending forward.
The entire Fighting Arena shook, as if heaven and earth were terrified of the Dragon's breath.
The bombardment formed by the excessive Cursed Energy was like Divine Might.
Before even making contact, Kinji Hakari sensed that if he were hit directly, he would surely be evaporated by the Cursed Energy, with not even a sarira remaining.
His heart pounded like a fast-paced drumbeat, and he could almost envision himself becoming human steam.
Fear nearly took control of his mind, but at this very moment, he was actually still smiling.
His face was full of laughter as he extracted power from his fear and transformed terror into courage.
Just before the Dragon's Breath reached him, he performed a sudden power slide.
The torrent of energy from the Dragon's Breath passed right over him, the heat and gales from the massive flow of Cursed Energy blowing his hair about like seaweed.
Relying on this unexpected slide, Kinji Hakari slid right in front of the Dragon.
He jumped up before it, clenched his fist, grit his teeth as veins popped all over his body and his muscles bulged, and threw a punch with all his might!
In the next instant, he was struck by the Dragon's claw.
The Dragon's hawk-like, tiger-palmed claw swept across Kinji Hakari.
It turned out the Dragon never intended to hit him with the Dragon's Breath in the first place.
Because the Dragon knew perfectly well that when it came to experience fighting giant creatures, Kinji Hakari was superior.
Kinji Hakari was an experienced Jujutsu Sorcerer who had likely fought more Cursed Spirits in his life than he had seen people.
Most low-intelligence Cursed Spirits followed the rule that bigger meant stronger, so Kinji Hakari was certainly more skilled at dealing with giants than any beast of the forest.
Kinji Hakari's past experience in dealing with giant Cursed Spirits had actually worked against him.
The Dragon had deliberately held back power during its breath attack, waiting for Kinji Hakari to run over.
And Kinji Hakari had indeed run over.
The Dragon had prepared before he even jumped; just as he was airborne, the Dragon's claw had already swung, and now he had crashed right into it.
A completely defenseless strike!
Whether a Jujutsu Sorcerer is prepared or not are two different concepts.
Kinji Hakari had not expected to be attacked at all and could only make a hasty defensive movement before the strike landed.
But even so, when the Dragon's claw hit him, it delivered a heavy blow.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, coughing up blood in mid-air mixed with bits of internal organs.
The lethal pain made his brain dizzy, and then he crashed into the outer wall of the Fighting Arena.
It wasn't over; he smashed right through the wall and tumbled into the plaza of the multi-story parking garage.
Hoshikira Roro screamed and wanted to act, but in the next instant, a blaze of fire blocked his vision as Jogo glared at him menacingly.
Hanami suddenly slammed both hands onto the ground, and a circle of trees rose up, trapping Jogo and Hoshikira Roro inside.
Hanami stood at the edge, nodding slightly toward the Dragon.
"Leave it to me," Hanami said.
One second passed; twelve seconds left.
The Dragon did not shift its attention to Hoshikira Roro for even a moment, because he had confidence that his companions could easily handle Roro.
He concentrated all his attention on Kinji Hakari.
The Dragon changed the vision mode of its Dragon Eyes, seeing through the smoke and the walls of the Fighting Arena to witness Kinji Hakari's battered state as he tumbled like a rolling stone in the parking garage plaza.
Taking a deep breath, the energy of the atmosphere and his own Cursed Energy merged and gathered deep in his throat.
His Mane moved on its own without any wind, fluttering wildly.
In less than half a second, the Dragon opened its massive mouth again and exhaled a torrent of energy.
Dragon's Breath!
The torrent of Cursed Energy, like a beam of sunlight, pierced through the outer wall of the multi-story parking garage like a giant sword and slammed toward Kinji Hakari.
But before it hit, Kinji Hakari had already gotten up and was running outward.
The Dragon's Breath hit the spot where he had just been lying, creating a massive roar.
The resulting shockwave expanded outward in a frenzied circle.
Kinji Hakari concentrated his Cursed Energy on his back for reinforcement.
When the shockwave hit, he was sent rolling forward as if struck by a cluster missile, bouncing and scraping against the ground like a skipping stone.
Kinji Hakari was about to stand up, but his body wavered.
He had lost his hearing.
His ears were sealed!
Two seconds passed; eleven seconds left.
The Dragon finally began to move, violently smashing through the outer wall of the multi-story parking garage to enter the plaza.
Its winding, massive body seemed capable of filling the entire plaza.
Its serpentine form did not touch the ground, held aloft by some kind of Cursed Energy as it flew.
Its sharp claws lightly brushed the ground, leaving hideous gouges in the surface.
The Dragon charged at Kinji Hakari, its claws sweeping out without hesitation.
Kinji Hakari, having just stood up, had no time to dodge.
He had thought the walls of the Fighting Arena would slightly obstruct the Dragon's vision, never expecting the Dragon Eyes to have a perspective function.
Consequently, he hadn't realized the Dragon's follow-up attack would be so lethal.
He had barely managed to stabilize himself and stand up when the Dragon's claw arrived before his eyes.
He was already blind and could see nothing, and his ears were deaf, unable to hear any sound.
However, the rushing Cursed Energy let him understand the incoming attack.
He gathered Cursed Energy all over his body for defense.
The Dragon's claw suddenly snatched him up and then slammed him into the ground, burying Kinji Hakari deep beneath the surface.
It didn't stop there.
The Dragon didn't stop its flight; it kept him in its grip, clutching him tightly while dragging him across the ground at high speed.
The massive impact and the pressure of the ground oppressed Kinji Hakari every second.
Although Kinji Hakari had reinforced himself with energy, he still felt the agony of the immense friction eroding him.
Currently, Kinji Hakari did not have the automatic Reverse Cursed Technique provided by Infinite Cursed Energy.
He felt his internals churning and severe external injuries accumulating.
He was on the verge of fainting, but he didn't.
He only felt a parching heat throughout his body, unable to tell if it was adrenaline or his own fanaticism that had overridden the pain.
He suddenly grabbed one of the Dragon's claws and snapped it with all his strength.
The Dragon let out a startling roar and threw Kinji Hakari into the distance.
It looked down; one of its claws had been broken.
This was the Dragon's sharp claw!
Its hardness was even greater than that of the Dragon scales, yet it had still been snapped.
If he were hit directly by Kinji Hakari's fist, even this Dragon body would likely suffer heavy damage.
Three seconds passed; ten seconds left.
The Dragon stared at the broken claw.
The phalanges of the claw set themselves, and in an instant, the claw had healed.
No, this wasn't healing.
Because he maintained the shape of his Soul, even if the physical body suffered heavy damage, it could automatically recover based on the Soul's shape.
As long as the Dragon form was not canceled, Idle Transfiguration would automatically maintain it.
Unless attacked by means that targeted the Soul, the Dragon's body would never suffer true damage.
Kinji Hakari crashed into the distance with a sound like a thunderclap.
A massive crater was smashed into the ground where he landed, and he lay in the center of it.
He wanted to stand up immediately, but he unexpectedly lost his footing and almost fell again.
He shook his head, and blood overflowed from his mouth, but he swallowed it back down.
The reason he couldn't stand steadily was that he was both blind and deaf.
A person's ears are more important than one might imagine; losing sound also affects one's sense of balance.
Not to mention he was currently blind as well.
An untrained person wouldn't even be able to walk normally, let alone fight; they would only be able to shuffle along while holding onto a wall or something else.
But even so, Kinji Hakari had not lost his combat effectiveness.
His energy perception had not failed.
Even without his eyes and ears, he was as swift as ever.
The real trouble was his internal and external injuries.
Internal injuries affected his Cursed Energy circulation, while external injuries affected his mobility.
He took a deep breath, wanting to quickly recover his state, only to find that he could no longer smell anything.
His nose was sealed!
He thought of Kurisaka Jirō.
It seemed that during his fistfight with the Mahito, Kurisaka had suddenly frozen in place, even his Cursed Energy reinforcement disappearing without him noticing.
This was likely the manifestation of the Mahito's Cursed Technique.
The Mahito could strip away a person's five senses the moment he made contact.
First sight, then hearing, then smell... and what else?
Taste? Or perhaps touch?
Finally, even the ability to refine Cursed Energy becomes impossible... meaning consciousness is also isolated?
Kinji Hakari had a moment of clarity.
He could no longer be directly hit by the Dragon.
The more he was attacked, the more senses he would lose, until he ended up like a fish washed ashore, completely at the mercy of others.
Suddenly, Cursed Energy surged forth.
Dragon's Breath!
Whether it was an illusion or not, the more senses he lost, the sharper Kinji Hakari's Cursed Energy perception became.
He sensed the Dragon in the distance taking a deep breath, about to release its Dragon's Breath.
So, before the breath was released, he made a great leap out of the giant crater and then began to run frantically.
Sure enough, the Dragon's Breath followed immediately, smashing violently into the giant crater he had just leapt from.
But it wasn't over!
This time, the Dragon's Breath was continuous, not a single-shot blast.
It swept across like a scythe of death.
Kinji Hakari let out a strange, monkey-like shriek, his feet running like wheels.
The Dragon's Breath chased right behind him, ready to catch up and devour him whole at any moment.
4 seconds passed. 9 seconds remaining.