The campus forest was quiet at 6:15pm.
Tall trees surrounded a clearing about thirty meters across. The ground was packed dirt with patches of grass. It was the kind of place designed for training fights; isolated enough that collateral damage wouldn't matter, open enough that observers could watch from a safe distance.
Yaga arrived first, hands in his pockets, fiddling with his phone. He positioned himself at the edge of the clearing near a cluster of trees. His expression was annoyed.
Geto and Shoko followed a few minutes later.
Geto looked tense. He'd been quiet since they left the factory. Now he stood beside Yaga, arms crossed, watching the clearing.
Shoko leaned against a tree and lit a cigarette.
"This is stupid," she said.
"Yes, but I was told by the principle to let them go" Yaga said, gritting his teeth.
"Why would he allow that?"
"I guess the higher ups want to gauge something through this fight."
Shoko exhaled smoke. "What if one of them gets seriously hurt?"
She mentioned 'one of them' but her eyes were focused on Fuin.
"Then you'll be busy."
She wasn't happy, but didn't argue.
Gojo was already in the clearing. He stood in the center with his hands behind his head, looking relaxed.
He looked completely at ease.
Fuin walked into the clearing from the opposite side. His hands were in his pockets. His expression was neutral.
They stopped about fifteen meters apart.
"You ready?" Gojo asked.
"Mhmm." Fuin nodded
"Good." Gojo stretched his arms over his head, rolling his shoulders. "Take your time. I'll give you a minute to prepare whatever you need."
He said it casually, like he was doing him a favor.
Fuin didn't respond. He just stood there, watching.
Gojo grinned. "What, you don't need prep time? That's fine too. We can start whenever—"
Fuin's cursed energy surged.
It was immediate and overwhelming. The air in the clearing grew heavy ant the temperature seemed to drop.
Gojo's grin widened. "Oh, now we're talking."
Fuin closed his eyes.
He began channeling cursed energy into the summoning.
He was dedicating sixty percent of his total cursed energy reserve to summon [Grime] this time.
The process was frustratingly slow.
His cursed energy output had always been his weakness. He had massive reserves, but the rate at which he could channel that energy outward was limited. It was like trying to empty a lake through a garden hose.
For a basic summoning of [Grime], it could take about five seconds.
For this? It would take forty-five whole seconds.
'If I could output cursed energy faster, this would be instantaneous,' he thought.
'Perhaps there's a way to fix this weakness.'
The cursed energy continued to build. It coiled around his body.
Gojo stopped stretching. He was watching now, his expression shifting from casual amusement to genuine interest.
"That's a lot of cursed energy," he said.
Yaga's eyes narrowed. "What is he doing?"
Geto didn't answer. He was staring at Fuin, his cursed energy sense overwhelmed by the sheer volume of power being channeled.
Shoko took a long drag from her cigarette. "This is a stupid idea."
Thirty seconds passed.
The cursed energy around Fuin intensified. The trees at the edge of the clearing began to sway despite there being no wind and small stones on the ground trembled.
Gojo's grin faded slightly. He was still confident, but now he was paying attention.
Forty seconds.
Fuin opened his eyes.
The cursed energy reached his goal.
And then [Grime] manifested.
*Crack*
It emerged from Fuin's back, connected directly to his spine. The summoning was instantaneous once the energy threshold was met; one moment there was nothing, the next there was a towering skeleton.
A twenty-meter tall skeleton.
It towered over the clearing, its upper body fully formed. Ribs like steel beams. Arms thick enough to crush cars. A skull the size of a small building with eye sockets that burned with dark, smokeless flames.
The oppressive presence was immediate.
The air itself seemed to recoil. The cursed energy radiating from [Grime] was so dense it felt physical, like standing too close to a furnace.
Geto took an involuntary step back. "What the hell—"
Shoko's cigarette fell from her mouth.
Yaga's expression didn't change, but his hand moved to his pocket where he kept his cursed corpse materials and the emergency contact phone. He was starting to regret not pushing back harder from the higher up's curiousity to prevent this.
Gojo stared up at the massive skeleton. His sunglasses reflected the burning flames in its eye sockets.
Then he laughed.
"Now that's more like it!" He spread his arms wide, grinning. "Come on then! Let's see what you've got!"
He was completely confident. His Infinity was active an nothing could touch him. He'd seen many cursed techniques before and none of them mattered because they couldn't bypass his defense.
He was looking forward to the moment when he realized it. When that calm, gloomy face cracked and frustration set in. When he understood that all that power meant nothing if it couldn't reach him.
Gojo was already imagining it.
Fuin didn't wait.
[Grime]'s massive arms moved. They reached down, hands open, and grabbed Fuin by the torso.
Then they launched him forward.
[Grime] used its full strength to propel Fuin across the clearing like a bullet fired from a cannon.
Fuin's body blurred.
Gojo's eyes widened.
The punch connected.
Fuin's fist slammed into Gojo's body with the full force of [Grime]'s launch behind it.
*Snap*
Gojo's sunglasses shattered. The fragments scattered through the air, catching the fading sunlight.
His body was thrown backward. He hit the ground hard, tumbling twice before sliding to a stop near the edge of the clearing.
Silence.
Fuin landed smoothly, his momentum caught by [Grime]'s giant arms planted into the ground. He straightened, dusted off his uniform, and put his hands back in his pockets.
Then he waited.
'Well, I accomplished my objective to humble this guy, now I can just have some fun' Fuin thought to himself darkly.
[Grime] loomed behind him, motionless.
Geto's mouth was open. "Did he just—"
"He hit him," Shoko said. He mouth hung open and her cigarette fell out of her mouth.
Yaga's expression was unreadable.
Gojo didn't move for several seconds.
Then he pushed himself up slowly. His hand went to his face. When he pulled it away, there was blood on his fingers.
He stared at it.
His expression was blank. His frivolous energy had evaporated.
He looked at Fuin as if just meeting him for the first time.
"You hit me," he said.
"Hmm."
"Through Infinity."
"Mhmm." Fuin nodded.
Gojo's Six Eyes activated fully. The world around him resolved into layers of cursed energy, information flooding his perception. He analyzed Fuin, [Grime], the residual energy from the punch.
And then he understood.
"Domain Amplification," Gojo said.
His voice was different now. Serious. Focused.
"You're using Domain Amplification."
Fuin didn't respond.
Geto looked at Yaga. "What's Domain Amplification?"
Yaga kept his eyes on the fight. "It's an advanced technique. You create a domain-like barrier around yourself, but instead of trapping your opponent, you use it to neutralize cursed techniques in the immediate area."
"Neutralize?"
"It doesn't destroy them. It just... reduces their effectiveness. Overwhelms them with ambient cursed energy. If someone's using a defensive technique like Infinity, Domain Amplification can push through it."
"That sounds incredibly difficult."
"It is. Most sorcerers can't do it. The ones who can usually need years of training." Yaga's eyes narrowed. "And they definitely can't do it at sixteen."
Geto looked back at Fuin. "Then how—"
"I don't know."
Gojo was still analyzing. His Six Eyes fed him more information, and something didn't make sense.
"The Domain Amplification," he said slowly. "It's not just around you."
Fuin tilted his head slightly.
"It's on your shikigami too." Gojo pointed at [Grime]. "That shouldn't be possible. Domain Amplification is a personal technique. It extends from the user's body."
Fuin smirked, the first true emotion of excitement at finding someone who asks you about your favorite topic at the moment. Yes, he was getting ready to show off a bit.
"Technically," Fuin said, "my shikigami is part of me."
Gojo frowned.
"[Dead Bones] is a technique that allows me to create two different types of shikigami, born from my bones. [Grime] is connected directly to my spine." Fuin gestured at the massive skeleton behind him. "So when I use Domain Amplification, it won't just cover my body but him as well."
"That's—" Gojo stopped. His eyes confirmed it. The cursed energy flow between Fuin and [Grime] was in a strange kind of overlapping state.
"... monstrous," Gojo commented solenmly.
"Yes." Fuin's smirk widened slightly. "It took me a bit to learn how to apply Domain Amplification this way. A technique wouldn't normally be able to maintain its effect within Domain Amplification. But [Dead Bones] allows for me to provide an overlap through the fact that it's intelligence is so low and [Dead Bones] being an extension of my body."
He paused.
"And since my technique is normally just a summon for my shikigami, when I applied Domain Amplification, the restrictions that I cannot use my technique don't apply. I can use Domain Amplification after summoning [Grime] with barely any drawbacks."
Gojo stared at him.
Then he started laughing.
It wasn't his usual casual laugh. It contained a measure of childlike excitement.
Gojo wiped the blood from his mouth.
"This is the first time," Gojo said, "that someone's actually managed to hit me."
"[Grime] is just a flat stat monster," Gojo said, still analyzing. "With Domain Amplification, there's nothing protecting me from direct impact."
Gojo laughed again. He rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and his cursed energy began to rise.
"Alright," he said. "Now I'm actually interested."
Fuin's smirk faded back to his usual neutral expression. "Alright, but I hope you are better than this. I was looking forward to a good fight."
Yaga took a step back. "Everyone move. Now."
Geto and Shoko didn't argue. They retreated further into the trees.
Author's Note:
Are you feeling the main character's aura yet?