Chapter Twelve: The Big One (Part I)

The long leg lifted, and Rōko’s face broke into a triumphant smile.

With nowhere to gain leverage in midair, Satoru Gojo’s next move was guaranteed to hit.

“Hanami!”

“Mm!”

The two cursed spirits turned as if they were close friends, swinging their fists with the harmonizing effect of domain extension.

With immense force and momentum, this punch aimed to reduce Gojo to ashes!

In midair, Gojo retracted his leg and stood firm, flanked by Hanami and Rōko. Their expressions were fierce, every subtle movement ripe for analysis.

Gojo stroked his chin, letting their fists stir up a storm, but the closer they got, the more impossible it became for their punches to land.

[Limitless Technique: Zeno’s Paradox]

Anyone approaching Gojo would have their speed asymptotically approach zero, rendering them incapable of harming him.

“Hmm, you all have really tried hard today.”

Gojo smiled and vanished from the middle. Before his words faded, Hanami and Rōko’s fists collided, unleashing a powerful gale that swept through the entire subway station.

Rōko’s large eyes struggled to open against the gust, desperately trying to locate Gojo’s position—failure to do so could mean death.

“Here I am.”

Suddenly, Gojo appeared right before him, grasping Rōko’s arm with one hand and firmly pinning Hanami’s horn with the other.

“Hey-ho, hey-ho!”

A surge of overwhelming strength radiated from Gojo’s slender arm as he slammed the two cursed spirits together midair before executing a shoulder throw, hurling them to opposite sides of the platform.

The thunderous crash sent the already terrified subway crowd fleeing in the opposite direction of Gojo.

This was beyond their comprehension—this supernatural force...

Azami hid within the crowd, glancing at his severely battered comrades with a sneer before departing.

In the current situation, joining the fray meant taking hits. Better to kill a few more humans to draw Gojo’s ire.

As the dust settled, Rōko shook his slightly dizzy volcanic head. From a distance, Gojo lunged forward, his fist glowing with a blue, radiant cursed energy.

Seeing Rōko in danger, Hanami hastily withdrew her domain extension, unleashing a forest curse technique to rescue him.

This played right into Gojo’s hands.

Because the domain extension neutralized Gojo’s technique, the cursed spirits wouldn’t be crushed by his repulsive force. But what if Hanami canceled her domain extension?

Rōko clearly saw that even if Gojo’s punch landed on his head, he would only be slightly injured. Yet Hanami’s anxious cancellation of the domain extension was precisely the opportunity Gojo had been waiting for.

“Hanami, no!!!”

He shouted, desperately warning his companion, but it was too late.

Gojo flickered in midair. The green vines sprouting from the ground became his springboard, and after swift maneuvers, he stood before Hanami, who was in the midst of casting her technique.

“Limitless—”

He deliberately dragged out the last syllable, but the repulsive force had already begun, an all-encompassing pressure pinning Hanami immobile against the wall.

“Hanami!!”

Rōko sprang up from behind Gojo, his magma-encased fist aiming straight for Gojo’s forehead, only to halt mere inches away.

At this moment, Gojo still had the leisure to explain to Rōko, confident in his inevitable victory.

“You want to save her, don’t you?”

“Too bad for you— the more you strengthen the domain extension, the stronger my Limitless Technique becomes on her side, preventing your technique from neutralizing mine.”

“Hahahahaha!”

Grinning widely, Gojo stepped forward, the repulsive force intensifying. The immense pressure was beginning to crack the thick underground wall.

But before that could happen, Hanami, unable to utter a last word, was crushed into a mass of blackened blood by the force.

“Hanami!!!”

Rōko screamed in anguish, his pale eyes filled with sorrow and rage.

“You two seem to be very close friends.”

Gojo followed up by rubbing salt into Rōko’s wound. His six eyes sparkled like a starry river, radiating pure malice.

“We have arrived at Shibuya Station…”

Suddenly, a female voice announced the arrival over the speakers above the side corridors.

Gojo glanced at the speaker and resumed chasing Rōko. As long as he killed Rōko before the subway stopped, no one else would be hurt.

But Rōko’s vitality was tenacious. After all, he was a special-grade cursed spirit who had once nearly died at Gojo’s hands and survived.

Soon, the subway entered the station. The silver train head appeared in view, doors sliding open, and the hanging straps swayed inside.

Gojo glanced casually but then froze.

Inside the train were a few humans, but mostly humanoid cursed spirits. They had slaughtered humans; the carriage was a grotesque scene of flesh and blood.

This was the work of a real person—the cursed spirit born from humanity’s fear of itself. Its technique, [Non-Action Transformation], could alter souls, turning humans into any form it desired.

Seeing this, Gojo’s fury nearly overflowed.

Inside the carriage, several cursed spirit players hurriedly jumped off.

“Damn, good thing I’m smart. Following the main group into the subway station is no match for just catching the next train.”

“True, luckily we’re cursed spirits; otherwise…”

Their words cut off abruptly as their brains stalled.

In the overcrowded underground space, Gojo placed his middle finger behind his index finger, and the brilliance in his six eyes shimmered beyond description.

Domain Expansion: Infinite Void

This open domain floods the mind with an overwhelming amount of useless information. To spare ordinary people, he released it for only 0.2 seconds.

Within those 0.2 seconds, he aimed to kill every modified human within the subway station.

Unleashing cursed energy and Limitless Technique at full power, Gojo operated like a high-speed mower.

Several cursed spirit players barely made it to the center of the battlefield but were beheaded by Gojo before they could search for anything.

“Damn!”

“80,000 combat readiness deployed; battle time under one second! Deep Sea Company, if you can’t balance it, don’t make it!”

“New developments in the Shibuya Incident: white-haired, long-legged monster too powerful to defeat even at full strength!”

Countless players posted in the Deep Sea Forum, all following the latest updates on this major event.

Chen Lai had seen it too. Now, a faint smile appeared on his face as he briskly approached the now-empty subway entrance.

This was the perfect moment to strike. After Gojo’s dazzling display, he would soon be sealed.

...

Elsewhere, within a minute, Gojo had killed all the modified humans in the subway station with his bare hands. Even with infinite regeneration from his reversed curse technique, he was slightly breathless.

He pursued Rōko, pushing aside the frozen crowd, determined to kill the special-grade cursed spirit responsible for countless deaths.

Parting the last person, Gojo suddenly saw a figure standing before him, clad in monk's robes, arms crossed.

It was his deceased close friend—Suguru Geto.

“Prison Gate Realm, open,” the figure said.