Chapter 126: I Won, Luk!

Chapter 126: I Won, Luk!

In an instant, the desolate, sword-covered background transformed into an endless starry sky, pulling Luk into the depths of the Infinite Void.

Luk once again felt the unique sensation of the Infinite Void.

All the information flooded into his mind, regardless of its importance or nature, forcing its way in. His soul and thoughts were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of data, and his body froze due to the overload on his brain.

Drawing from his previous experience, he handled it more skillfully this time, using his powerful soul to quickly process the information and allocate a thread of consciousness to control his body.

Four seconds, five seconds.

This time, it only took five seconds for Luk to regain movement, but the Jigokuzan, which should have taken a minute to activate, had already successfully been unleashed.

Thud!

Shizuka's body transformed into the Jigokuzan, a red, gel-like substance enveloping Luk's body.

Slurp!

Yotaka Itagaki's body fell to the ground, his face ashen and lifeless, his body drained and shriveled like a mummy. The once handsome face now bore a grotesque and terrifying expression.

Ditto Luk's transformation was also completed with his fall.

Body Transformation: Can transform into other sorcerers, inheriting their appearance and techniques, while maintaining the same physical attributes and curse energy.

A small lump of Itagaki's brain suddenly sprang out, bouncing and leaving a wet trail as it departed.

A few seconds later, Soso, who had returned to his body, slowly walked over, his face flushed with excitement.

"I won, Luk!"

Looking at the red, gel-like substance that restrained Luk, even Soso, with his composed nature, couldn't help but smile smugly.

"You seem to think you've won?"

Luk, restrained by the Jigokuzan, raised an eyebrow. He felt that the cold, sinister aspect of the energy within him had disappeared.

The Jigokuzan was indeed formidable, capable of restricting even a vast amount of curse energy like his.

"No sorcerer can break free from the Jigokuzan's seal on their own."

Soso couldn't resist sharing his excitement with Luk. Subduing such a powerful enemy was an exhilarating experience.

"Do you want to know how I won?"

"It was the binding, right?"

Luk had a pretty good idea.

"You are correct." Soso's lips curled into a slight smile.

"I began a thousand years ago, making contracts with over a thousand sorcerers, including powerful ones like Ameno-sagiri, Rizuki, and Ban."

"This was just the beginning. I also made contracts with over ten million curse spirits. In the entire sorcerer community, no one can match me in the application of oaths and bindings."

Luk licked his lips, confirming, "Ten million?"

"Exactly." Soso's smile grew as he began to explain his plan.

"The Jigokuzan has a range of four meters and requires a minute to activate. For ordinary sorcerers, my gravity manipulation would suffice, but for someone like you or Satoru Gojo, it wouldn't be enough."

"So, I had Shizuka ingest the Jigokuzan. Once the cursed object was activated, the conditions became more flexible. By setting the bindings to 'imprison only Fujiwara Luk' and 'instant death upon activation,' the activation time was greatly reduced."

Soso continued, "Of course, to ensure her success, I conducted many experiments, using many people, including your superior."

Luk calmly responded, "Good, he deserved it."

This reaction clearly didn't satisfy Soso. He expected Luk to show more fear and panic.

No one is fearless, especially those in high positions. He wanted to see Luk beg for mercy or at least show some signs of distress. Luk's current indifference left him feeling frustrated.

Suppressing his annoyance, Soso continued.

"But even five seconds is a challenge for someone like you." He squatted down, gently stroking the shriveled body of Yotaka Itagaki, and whispered, "So, Satoru Gojo's Infinite Void and Limitless Emptiness were necessary. They are the only techniques in the entire sorcerer community that could potentially trap you for a few seconds."

"Yotaka couldn't use the Infinite Void because it requires extreme curse energy control, which only those with the Six Eyes can achieve. However, as someone who has lived for a thousand years, I am close to the standard, even though I can't match the Six Eyes."

"By setting the binding to use the Infinite Void only on you, I could raise my ability to a usable level."

"The Limitless Emptiness is more complex because the creation of the domain is too intricate. My curse energy control, even with the help of bindings, isn't sufficient to recreate it."

Soso waved his hand, and a curse spirit floated out of Yotaka Itagaki's body.

"Special-grade curse spirit—Paradox. This comes from the fear of overturning common sense cognition, and its ability can blur the effects of techniques to some extent."

"By finding the commonalities between me and that person, observing their domain expansion up close, and sacrificing everything Yotaka Itagaki had—his curse energy, potential, and mimicking techniques—I could use the Limitless Emptiness once."

After explaining all this, Soso let out a long breath.

It was no easy feat. To meet the conditions, he had to investigate Luk's network, kill Yotaka Itagaki, lure Satoru Gojo to the Kamo family to save someone, experiment with the Jigokuzan's binding limits, find the curse spirit that killed Luk's parents as bait, and prepare a strand of Gojo's hair, among other things.

Luk listened to Soso's rambling and summed it up in one simple sentence.

In simple terms, it was all about loans.

The same pattern continued later. Two-Faced Suk used loans to quickly defeat Gojo Satoru, and then each subsequent person used loans to weaken Two-Faced Suk's combat strength, leaving it to Satoru to finish the job.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

After venting his frustrations, Ensu reverted to his usual gentle tone.

"Where is the cursed spirit that attacked my parents and me?"

Lu Ke asked, one of the reasons he was here.

A slit appeared behind Ensu, and a twisted, bloated cursed spirit emerged.

"You don't seem to have the strength to act now, but out of respect for such a powerful enemy, I can help you exorcise it. Would you like me to do it for you?"

Lu Ke stared at the cursed spirit, which was controlled by a curse technique, and confirmed it was the same one from his memory. He narrowed his eyes at it.

Bang—

The cursed spirit suddenly exploded, dissipating into the air.

So much time had passed since then, and Lu Ke was no longer particularly concerned about what had happened in the past. Due to the curse technician's bloodline, his family lived in constant fear of cursed spirit attacks, and their memories were far from happy.

But they were his parents, and the revenge he owed them was still necessary.

The instant kill of the cursed spirit made Ensu's pupils dilate slightly, and he forced a smile.

"To still have the strength to kill a near-Special Grade cursed spirit while sealed by Gokumonji... impressive."

"I can kill you too."

Lu Ke's calm response, delivered with a natural expression, made Ensu's heart skip a beat.

"Gokumonji, close the door!"

Startled by Lu Ke's move, Ensu dared not remain in his current state. To prevent any unforeseen complications, he immediately had Gokumonji close the door, sealing Lu Ke inside the small box.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and prepare to retrieve Gokumonji, which was floating in the air.

Bang!

As his fingers touched Gokumonji, the small box plummeted to the ground, cracking the surface.

Ensu drew a sharp breath. "What a monster."

After voicing this sentiment for who knows how many times, he broke out in a cold sweat. After hesitating for a moment, he decided that Gokumonji would definitely not move anytime soon and abandoned the idea of taking it with him.

Besides, the two cursed tools that could interact with Gokumonji were already broken, and even if the curse technicians got their hands on it, they wouldn't be able to free anyone inside. He might as well leave it here for now.

Today's schedule was quite tight.

A floating cursed spirit with ears and a large mouth hovered in front of him.

Ensu asked, "Renge, Lu Ke has been sealed. What's the situation on your end?"

The cursed spirit's mouth opened and closed, emitting Renge's voice.

"Gojo Satoru is trapped in a tent in the subway, but he's about to break through. The cyborgs are dying quickly."

"Trapping him for half an hour is impressive. You did a great job, and the presence of many ordinary people inside has prevented him from using large-scale techniques."

With one last glance at the small box still on the ground, Ensu turned and left.

"Before Gojo Satoru breaks free, we should hurry and release Two-Faced Suk."

Three seconds after Ensu left, the box containing Gokumonji began to vibrate, and a crack quietly opened.

...

"Amazing..."

Nailaki looked at the deep, bottomless hole in front of her, then at the spot where Sashizuke had been, which now had a similar hole.

"Sashizuke."

The tough girl couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"I hope you don't blame him for this," Nanami Kento's deep voice said as he handed her a tissue.

"I know that Teacher Lu Ke's actions were correct," Nailaki said, taking the tissue and wiping her tears. She quickly regained her composure and became strong again.

"You did well this time. Once this is over, I'll recommend you for promotion to a Grade 1 curse technician," Nanami Kento said slowly. "What about that cursed tool?"

"Teacher Lu Ke modified it for me. He said there are surprises I don't know about, but I haven't found them yet," Nailaki said, her mood a bit low as she swung the cursed hammer.

At that moment, the voices of Tiger and Fushiguro came from a distance.

"Hey! Nailaki!"

The four of them regrouped, and upon seeing that Nailaki was unharmed in the chaos, Tiger and Fushiguro breathed a sigh of relief. After exchanging information, Nanami Kento frowned.

"So, Gojo Satoru is trapped under the Shibuya subway station, and Lu Ke was lured to Shinjuku. Why did the enemy do this?"

Going to great lengths to divert their two strongest fighters and losing so many personnel, what did the cursed spirits hope to gain?

Or was there something here worth their efforts?

If there was something...

Nanami Kento's expression changed. "Tiger, return to the barrier in Kyoto immediately!"

A crack suddenly appeared in the ground, and a flower bud bloomed, revealing Renge, Hana, and Rimi.

"Oh, Suk, your fingers are here."

Renge grinned and spread out a piece of cloth, on which fifteen of Suk's fingers were neatly arranged.

The Suk finger on Tiger's cheek, which had been quiet for a long time, suddenly let out a chuckle.

"Long time no see!"

The update was a bit late, so I'll add an extra chapter today or tomorrow as compensation.

The story is nearing its conclusion, and it's getting a bit tricky.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end