With a flick of his finger, Hanakain Fubuki sent Ryomen Sukuna staggering back. He turned to the swordswoman beside him, who was just recovering from her astonishment.
"Alright, I'll handle the psycho with the hair-trigger temper here. You take the baldy over there, Busujima-senpai."
"Right."
Without hesitation, Busujima Saeko flared her ample Cursed Energy, the power expected of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer. It flowed outwards, coating her blade as she faced the Finger Bearer, settling into a standard kendo ready stance, 'Seigan-no-kamae'.
Though they had met less than an hour ago, she placed absolute trust in the boy, a year her junior, willingly guarding his back.
Strange, she couldn't help but muse inwardly.
Gripping her katana tightly with both hands, Busujima Saeko leaped down from the rubble pile. Mid-air, a single slash cleaved through the Cursed Energy blast fired by the Finger Bearer – the same kind of attack that had effortlessly sent Itadori flying moments before.
Meanwhile, having assigned their targets, Hanakain Fubuki casually strolled towards Ryomen Sukuna, who had slid back several meters across the floor.
"So you're Ryomen Sukuna. Good timing, I have a few questions for you. Hopefully, your fragmented soul hasn't caused too much memory loss."
Ignoring whether Sukuna was willing to answer, the boy spoke directly.
"Since you're a sorcerer from a thousand years ago, you should know about the Onmyoji from that era, Abe no Seimei..."
"Shut up!"
As if a trigger word had been uttered, Ryomen Sukuna roared, his Cursed Energy erupting violently around him in slashing waves. The attack instantly shredded the surrounding ground, carving deep fissures everywhere.
But the cracks stopped abruptly just before reaching Hanakain Fubuki, as if hitting an invisible wall.
"See? Losing your cool again," the boy remarked with a shrug.
"Still, your reaction confirms my guess. Especially your attitude when I mentioned Abe no Seimei. It seems the reason the Japanese Shogunate brought you into Heian-kyō back then, basically treating you like an honored retainer, was fundamentally to have you stand with humanity against Abe no Seimei, who had become the undisputed Lord of Monsters and Spirits. But... looks like you lost that fight?"
Ryomen Sukuna said nothing.
"Don't tell me you just got completely trounced?" Hanakain Fubuki asked impolitely, unable to suppress a chuckle.
Sometimes, silence is the most telling answer.
After a tense moment, Ryomen Sukuna took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"How unpleasant... A thousand years, and Onmyoji are still just as detestable. It seems the new generation of Onmyoji is particularly lacking in manners..."
"What right does a crude thug like you have to talk about manners?" Hanakain Fubuki retorted bluntly.
This time, Ryomen Sukuna didn't reply with words. His hands were already forming seals, and an overwhelming, icy killing intent surged forward like a tidal wave.
He was opening with his strongest move.
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
Like a drop of water hitting a still lake, a dense, alien Cursed Energy rippled through the space of his Innate Domain.
The indoor swimming pool transformed instantly into a vast, dark lake. The water beneath was an abyssal black, swallowing even the sunlight pouring in from above, leaving no reflection on its surface.
At the far end of this black lake, a crimson shrine, its entrance a grotesque maw filled with human teeth, rose up from the ground.
"Hmm, not bad, not bad..." Hanakain Fubuki raised an eyebrow, beginning his critique.
"Well~ Although most Jujutsu Sorcerers leave a pretty bad impression on me, I have to admit that fundamentally, the Cursed Energy they use, the Spiritual Power (Reiatsu) Onmyoji use, Mana, and so on – it's all the same stuff. I think the technical term is Aether, or something like that? The miracle born from the fusion of physical and spiritual energy."
"As for this Domain... hmm, I see. The principle is still just flooding the area with your own Cursed Energy so you can activate techniques instantly within it. Though, an open-style Domain like this seems quite demanding on Cursed Energy reserves, doesn't it? It's like trying to air-condition a room in summer with all the windows wide open."
"While overpowering it with sheer spiritual pressure to seize control of the space is one method – like flooding the Go board entirely with your own stones – there's actually a much simpler, more eco-friendly way. And that is... to just lock the caster up!"
As he finished speaking, the boy snapped his fingers lightly.
"Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi."
As he spoke, the spell manifested. Where the shrine stood at the far end of the dark lake, a colossal black coffin erupted vertically from below, slamming shut with a thunderous boom, instantly trapping Ryomen Sukuna, who had just deployed his Domain.
It blocked all light.
It muffled all sound.
It probably jammed any signals too.
The six walls of the Black Coffin severed the flow of Cursed Energy. The Domain, constructed entirely from that energy, lost its source and control. Along with the shrine behind it, it rapidly destabilized, crumbled, and dissipated into nothingness.
The Domain Expansion, supposedly achievable only by the most elite Jujutsu Sorcerers, hadn't lasted even a second against Hanakain Fubuki. It vanished like a soap bubble, the containment as simple as trapping a stunned fly under a paper cup.
With the Domain gone, the distorted sense of space created by the Cursed Energy snapped back to normal.
Hanakain Fubuki casually tapped the outer wall of the Black Coffin, not caring whether Ryomen Sukuna inside could hear him.
"Just cool off in there for a bit, okay~?"
With that, he turned to look towards the other side of the battle.
At the western end of the indoor pool, the swordswoman, katana in hand, was still locked in a fierce struggle with the four-eyed Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
CLANG!
The ringing clash of metal echoed through the open space as the Finger Bearer slammed a fist against her blade, knocking Busujima Saeko back several meters.
"Hah... hah..."
Landing and resetting her stance, the swordswoman gasped for breath, cold sweat trickling down her face.
As a Grade 1 Sorcerer, she wasn't as overwhelmed by the Special Grade as Itadori and Fushiguro had been, but it was far from an easy fight.
Battles between humans and Cursed Spirits were inherently life-or-death struggles. Busujima Saeko knew she wasn't anywhere near the level of an absolute outlier like Gojo Satoru. Defeating even a newly manifested Special Grade Cursed Spirit would require her to put her life on the line.
But if she pushed herself into a life-or-death battle, she would have to drastically increase her Cursed Energy output.
And if she did that, she would once again...
Clutching the drawn katana tightly, Busujima Saeko bit her lip lightly.
"How's it going, Senpai? Finished yet? We should probably get going soon~"
Just as the swordswoman's internal conflict began, the boy's voice interrupted her thoughts from behind.
Hanakain Fubuki, having effortlessly dealt with Ryomen Sukuna, sauntered over with his hands in his pockets. He stopped beside Busujima Saeko, completely ignoring the Finger Bearer nearby, which was still radiating potent Cursed Energy.
"By the way, how are you planning on getting back later, Busujima-senpai? If you don't have convenient transport, I can give you a lift."
"Ah, that won't be necessary," Busujima Saeko replied automatically. "I need to report back to Jujutsu High later, so they'll be sending a car to pick me up..."
Even Cursed Spirits have pride. Seeing the two humans ignore it and chat casually amongst themselves, the expression on the Finger Bearer's hideous face shifted from excitement to bafflement, and finally to raw, ferocious anger.
"SCREEECH!"
It let out an inhuman screech, then launched itself off the ground with explosive leg power, claws slashing as it charged towards Hanakain Fubuki and Busujima Saeko.
Its fate, however, was already sealed.
BANG!
With a tremendous impact that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them, in the blink of an eye, the Finger Bearer, which had been charging forward at high speed just moments before, was sent flying backward even faster. A massive hole was blown clean through its chest, and droplets of its purple-black blood scattered like petals in its wake.
Hanakain Fubuki stood with his left arm extended, fist clenched, holding the follow-through of his punch. Gripped in that same hand was something new.
Plucked from the hole in the Finger Bearer's chest was Sukuna's finger – its "heart".
The swordswoman's lips parted slightly in astonishment.
There was no Cursed Energy... no, for an Onmyoji, it was Spiritual Power... no fluctuations at all. He had instantly killed a Special Grade Cursed Spirit with nothing but pure physical strength?!
Before Busujima Saeko could even process what happened, Hanakain Fubuki casually tossed the finger towards her.
"Alright, that settles that. You can call for your ride now."
__________________________________________________________
Greetings, my dear clients of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! 👋
I have some updates for you! I noticed another translator is also working on this current fanfic, So idecide start bringing you a brand new translation project starting next week!
BUT don't you worry! I'm definitely NOT stopping this current translation. 😉 In fact, I plan to add something special right here – those spicy lemon scenes (18+) featuring some favorite characters that I felt were missing! They'll be added directly into this version as we go.
Want to be the very first to read the new translation? You can get early access by supporting me on Patreon! Your support there helps make all these translations possible. ❤️
patreon.com/Walnutchan
The exciting new project launching there (with early access for Patrons!) is:
✨ Frieren in Elden Ring ✨