On the other side, Yuki took a special plane all the way to the edge of the Barrier.
Ordinary people couldn't see this Barrier, and Yuki encountered no resistance when entering or exiting.
Outside the coverage area of the Barrier, she first conveyed this information to the people from the Window before stepping into the Barrier once again.
The rampant Cursed Spirits and ruined buildings she had imagined did not appear, though perhaps it was just because the island of Hokkaido was so large that it hadn't spread to this area yet.
She rode her motorcycle speeding along the highways of Hokkaido.
Apart from the fact that communication devices were unusable, the people driving around didn't seem to be living any differently than usual.
However, after a while, she noticed something strange: all the cars on the road seemed to be driving in one direction, and after following the road for a bit, she found herself stuck firmly in traffic.
However, on the entire highway, apart from the roar of car engines, Yuki couldn't even hear a single word of conversation or cursing. Everyone was staring blankly in one direction.
Initially, one might have thought it was because they were focused on driving, but now it didn't seem to be the case.
'Something seems wrong. Could this be the effect of a Cursed Technique? But how much Cursed Energy would one need to cover the entire island of Hokkaido with their own Cursed Technique? Or perhaps, they are utilizing this Barrier? Wouldn't that mean the caster's Barrier skill is on par with Tengen's?'
Embedding a Cursed Technique onto an entire Barrier works on the same principle as Domain Expansion. However, to accomplish this while controlling ordinary people and discarding the Guaranteed Hit and lethal effects, the caster would need high proficiency in Barrier techniques and Cursed Technique proficiency, plus immense Cursed Energy...
No! These requirements are too harsh. Could someone really be capable of this?
Yuki got off her motorcycle, wanting to test if her hypothesis was correct. She randomly selected a black Santana, ripped off the car door with one hand, and tossed it aside casually. Even in this situation, the car owner remained unmoved.
Simple Domain!
Yuki immediately deployed a Simple Domain, encompassing the Santana owner in front of her. Almost instantly, the blank look in his eyes vanished, and he looked around at his surroundings in surprise.
"Eh? Why am I here? I should be at the office..."
He wanted to say more, but Yuki immediately deactivated the Simple Domain, causing him to quickly return to a blank state.
'Ah... this is a bit troublesome. It seems this opponent is quite tricky.'
Yuki followed the flow of traffic all the way to Sapporo, where she saw a massive altar made of ice in the very center of the city.
A large number of humans, like ants, were climbing onto the altar one after another, never to return.
Getting closer, Yuki could vaguely make out a pitch-black egg, about three meters tall, standing atop the altar.
Humans walked into the giant egg of their own volition, only to turn into white bones and tumble down the altar.
Below, countless weak Cursed Spirits were constantly moving the skeletons away, but the sheer pile of bones left Yuki horrified.
She sensed an unimaginably vast amount of Cursed Energy within the giant egg, which continued to grow with each human sacrifice.
"I cannot let this continue!"
Star Rage: Maximum Output!
Garuda suddenly appeared, spontaneously forming into a ball and landing at Yuki's feet.
Bang!
With a kick, Yuki sent Garuda hurtling at high speed toward the black egg atop the altar.
A Curse User on the altar, dressed in a kasaya with a bob cut and deep pink eyes, sensed the threat and immediately launched a defensive attack.
They raised a hand to their lips and blew softly, causing a massive ice curtain to instantly materialize before them like a fortress wall.
(As Uraume was a male in their first life and have now incarnated as a female, they will be used.)
Ice Formation: Frost Calm!
Clang!
The massive wall formed by Frost Calm held for only an instant against Yuki's attack.
After shattering the ice wall, Garuda continued straight through, punching a massive hole in the giant egg.
However, the giant egg quickly regained its rounded shape, and scale-like keratin layers sprouted across its surface, making it even tougher.
Uraume leapt down from the altar, landing before Yuki, and raised a hand to fire a sharp ice spike, intending to impale her.
Yuki caught the ice spike with her hand and casually flung it back. Unfortunately, her Cursed Technique only applied to herself and the Garuda. Otherwise, the returned ice spike would have been far more lethal.
Garuda flew back rapidly and landed in Yuki's hand, transforming into a bone whip.
A casual swing of the whip generated a gale force strong enough to leave Uraume's hair in complete disarray.
"Uraume, stand down."
A sound suddenly emanated from the giant egg, and then about one-tenth of it sloughed off like viscous, hot asphalt, slowly forming the three-headed, six-armed figure of Sukuna on the altar.
In an instant, Sukuna moved from the altar to their side.
Yuki immediately felt an immense pressure descend upon her, leaving her unable to breathe.
"Ryomen Sukuna? Truly the King of Curses from a millennium ago."
One of Sukuna's faces stared at her for a moment, then shook its head and said,
"How pathetic. Is this what a Special Grade Sorcerer amounts to? Too weak."
Before the words had even faded, a high-speed slash struck toward Yuki's head, which she barely managed to dodge.
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!"
The foundation of Malevolent Shrine rose from the ground, unleashing indiscriminate slashes against all living and non-living things within a two-hundred-meter radius.
Of course, Uraume and the altar remained unharmed under his deliberate control.
Simple Domain!
Yuki did not choose to unleash her own Domain Expansion.
First, her closed-barrier domain would be completely countered by his open-barrier one.
Secondly, her strongest offensive measure was not Domain Expansion, but her ultimate attack, which used her life as a Binding Vow—Black Hole.
Therefore, she had to conserve her power to activate her Cursed Technique. She could not afford to suffer from Cursed Technique Burnout.
Although Yuki's Simple Domain could neutralize the Guaranteed Hit effect of the slashes and weaken their impact, the power of the slashes was simply too great.
A single slash struck her upper arm, nearly severing it entirely, leaving it hanging by a mere strip of flesh.
She could not manage what Satoru did—simultaneously maintaining a Simple Domain while performing high-intensity Reverse Cursed Technique.
She could only slightly divide her focus to activate Reverse Cursed Technique to slowly heal her injuries, barely managing to hold on within Sukuna's domain.