The battlefield crackled with cursed energy, thick as a storm about to break. The crimson afterglow of Satoru's last attack still shimmered in the air as the two fallen Devourers' remains smoldered within the massive crater he had left. That was, quite possibly, the most powerful Red he'd ever unleashed, ever, and Satoru knew that it wasn't even the strongest. At this point, he had enough Cursed Energy to pump a Red Mass to such a degree as to flatten entire mountain ranges and seriously fuck up huge portions of cities if he really wanted to. He didn't want to, because it was unnecessary in this situation. What mattered was that he could.
Two Devourers died almost immediately, but he wasn't entirely sure. It was best, he mused, to assume they survived somehow and were merely hiding and waiting for the right moment to strike.
Cute.
But there was no time to savor the moment – the leader and the remaining two Devourers were already preparing their next assault, souls blazing with fierce determination.
Satoru hovered in the air, watching with an amused glint in his eye.
"Oh, come on. You saw what I just did, and you still want more?" He stretched his neck lazily, a soft pop breaking the tension. "I like your confidence."
The leader's grip on his staff tightened as his remaining comrades shifted into a triangular formation, their cursed energy pulsing in sync. A chilling wind swept through the desolate battlefield as the leader's talismans flared to life, burning with dark green fire. A writhing mass of shadowy serpents erupted from the ground, their hissing echoing like a chorus of death rattles. These tendrils surged through the air, faster than bullets.
Satoru narrowed his eyes and smirked as the shadowy serpents all turned to him.
"Ah, that's more like it." In a blur, he dodged to the side, weaving effortlessly between the lashing tendrils. But even his speed couldn't stop the encroaching onslaught entirely. One tendril wrapped around his ankle, pulling him downward as another slashed across his arm, drawing blood.
Blood? From him?
More importantly, the serpentine tendrils were somehow able to breach Infinity.
Now that was...
"Interesting," Satoru mused, lips quirking into a grin even as he blasted the tendrils to pieces with a burst of Red. "Guess you'll be more annoying than I thought."
The leader's voice rang out, calm and measured despite the chaos. "You're strong, Curse-User; stronger than any Curse User I've hunted down. I am going to enjoy this."
The moment he said that, the serpentine tendrils, now thicker and more twisted, began dragging Satoru downward toward the earth, where the dark matter from earlier was coiling into a grotesque, gaping maw. It pulsed like a living thing, eager to devour him whole. But it was... weak. Whatever wounds it inflicted upon him closed instantly with a constant application of RCT. And, even then, Infinity still worked perfectly well against the ground.
"Oh, that kind of party, huh?" Satoru quipped, his eyes flashing as he prepared to unleash another wave of Red. "Sorry, but I'm not that easy."
He raised his hand, gathering his cursed energy with a flick of his fingers. Red surged forward in an unstoppable pulse, shredding the tendrils and tearing through the earth below. The sheer force obliterated the maw before it could even close, and the shockwave sent the remaining Devourers stumbling backward.
Right then and there, Satoru mused, he could've killed them all by supercharging the Red.
But... he was having a little too much fun with this. There were very few beings able to make him bleed since he awoke in this Galaxy.
But the leader was undeterred. With a flick of his wrist, more talismans flared to life. The wiry Devourer with the twin blades reappeared at Satoru's side, his movements a blur as he struck from every angle. His cursed energy laced the blades, cutting through the air like death itself.
Satoru moved to counter, but something strange happened. His eyes widened a fraction as the blades sliced through his Infinity nicking his flesh. Another slice, this time aimed at his throat, forced him to deflect with a burst of Blue, but not before the Devourer landed a solid kick to Satoru's ribs, sending him spiraling.
How are they doing this? Satoru's grin widened, his heart thumping with exhilaration. Their weapons are probably coated some kind of nullifying curse. But that doesn't explain their leader and his annoying tendrils.
The massive shield-bearer crashed into him from the opposite side, his electrified shield slamming against Satoru's side. The shock coursed through him, and for the first time in years, Satoru felt a sting – a genuine, stinging sensation – crawl across his body. The impact sent him hurtling into the ground, skidding through the dirt, though Infinity saved his clothes from the impact.
He pushed himself up with one hand, grinning. "Nice try."
The leader, still at the center, watched with an unreadable expression, his staff crackling power, surging with Cursed Energy.
Satoru stepped forward and began stretching his shoulders and arms. "I'll admit, this is getting fun."
The leader gave a grim nod. "Oh, believe me, we're having as much fun as you."
Satoru raised an eyebrow, but before he could retort, the Devourer with the blades was upon him again. His swords whistled through the air in a deadly arc. At the same time, the shield-bearer charged in from the side again, shield crackling with cursed lightning. Satoru raised his hand to block, but in that instant, he felt something shift – the weight of the cursed energy around him increased tenfold. The leader's talismans burned brighter, pulling on the very air itself, warping gravity to drag Satoru down.
Unfortunate.
"Nice trick," Satoru muttered under his breath, but there was no panic in his voice, only a glimmer of excitement. "Let's break it."
Before any of them could move or react, Satoru had already created a mass of Blue on his right hand and Red on his left, and brought the two together faster than the blink of an eye. "Hollow Technique: Purple."
The battlefield roared with chaos, the air so thick with cursed energy it felt like breathing through tar. Satoru, floating effortlessly above the torn earth, surveyed the wreckage with a bored smirk. His use of Purple had been devastating. The serpentine tendrils lay in tatters, the ground had been scorched beyond recognition, and the two Devourers who'd charged him head-on? They were lucky to still be standing.
The twin-blade user stumbled back, staring in disbelief at the stumps where his weapons had once been. Purple had shredded his swords like they were paper, and it was only pure reflex that had saved him from a similar fate. The shield-bearer fared no better; his once-imposing defense had been reduced to dust. His arms trembled as he stared at the empty space where his shield had been, his breath coming in ragged, disbelieving gasps.
Satoru sighed theatrically, brushing some nonexistent dirt off his sleeve.
"Seriously? You guys were supposed to make me work for this. I haven't even touched what I learned from Khaine. And you're already crumbling. Two of you idiots have been relying almost entirely on Domain Amplification this whole time. Boring." He tilted his head, considering them with mild amusement. Or, maybe, he was just becoming way too strong. "How about we try something a little more exciting? How about we fight for real?"
The three remaining Devourers bristled at his taunt, their eyes narrowing. They knew exactly what Satoru meant. They'd been holding back too, relying on coordination and cursed tools to whittle him down. But that wasn't enough. Not against someone like Gojo Satoru.
The leader, his staff still crackling with dark energy, stepped forward. His face was grim, but there was a fire in his eyes that spoke of absolute resolve.
"You think this is over?" he growled, his voice low but carrying an edge of steel. And yet, Satoru felt the same amusement coming from the Devourer as himself. "We've been saving the best for last."
Satoru's grin widened. "Then let's stop messing around, huh?"
He raised his hand, his fingers forming the familiar symbol of Infinity. "How about we settle this with some True Jujutsu?"
The atmosphere shifted in an instant. The playful banter vanished, replaced by a suffocating intensity that pressed down on everything around them. The Devourers, despite their injuries and exhaustion, knew they couldn't afford to hesitate. This was a fight of Domains now, where raw cursed energy clashed in ways that bent reality itself.
Without a word, all four of them raised their hands, their fingers moving in swift, precise motions, forming the intricate signs needed to unleash their most powerful techniques. The tension in the air was palpable, vibrating with anticipation as their cursed energies swirled and built to a crescendo.
Then, all at once, they chanted.
"Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
"Domain Expansion: Castle of the Serpent King."
"Domain Expansion: Infinite Starlight."
"Domain Expansion: Endless Night."
Satoru's Unlimited Void exploded outward like a wave of pure darkness, expanding in every direction with the force of a hurricane. Simultaneously, the Devourers' Domains erupted from their bodies, each one unique, each one a manifestation of their deepest cursed power. The world around them seemed to split apart, as the four Domains clashed like titans, vying for dominance in the same space.
Castle of the Serpent King was the most interesting. The leader's Domain was a twisted labyrinth of black stone, with massive serpents coiling around towering pillars. The ground beneath Satoru's feet became slick with venom, and the very air felt heavy, poisonous, as if even breathing it would corrode his lungs. The serpents, each the size of a building, writhed and hissed, their fangs dripping with cursed energy.
Infinite Starlight unfolded next, flooding the battlefield with a blinding, celestial radiance. The Devourer who had once wielded the twin blades conjured a sky of glittering stars that hung in an endless twilight. The stars were not just beautiful – they were weapons, each one a pinpoint of deadly cursed energy, poised to strike at any moment. It was a Domain of endless possibilities, where every star could be a trap, a weapon, or an illusion.
And then there was Endless Night, cast by the shield-bearer. His Domain was a suffocating, oppressive darkness, thicker than any shadow. In his realm, there was no light, no sound—only a crushing silence that threatened to smother anyone trapped within. It was an absolute void, a place where fear could fester and grow, feeding off the very souls of its victims.
For a moment, the world seemed to freeze. Four Domains, four realities, overlapping in a maelstrom of cursed power. But the battle between them was not equal. Satoru's Unlimited Void had been activated a tenth of a second faster, and in the realm of Domain clashes, that fraction of time was everything.
The Devourers barely had time to react before their senses were overwhelmed. For just an instant, they glimpsed into the heart of the Unlimited Void – and it was too much. Their minds were flooded with infinite knowledge, every piece of information in the universe pouring into their consciousness all at once. It was as if their very existence was being drowned in the endless ocean of everything.
Of course, Unlimited Void fell as well, mostly because it couldn't stand up against three other domains simultaneously, but it didn't need to.
The first to fall was the twin-blade user. His Infinite Starlight flickered, the stars dimming before shattering into a thousand shards of broken light. His body convulsed, his mind unable to handle the overload. He collapsed, his Domain crumbling to nothing.
Next was the shield-bearer. His Endless Night faltered, the oppressive darkness receding as his eyes widened in terror. He let out a silent scream before collapsing, his Domain shattering like glass around him.
Only the leader remained. His Castle of the Serpent King buckled, the serpents writhing and thrashing as if they, too, were drowning in the infinite knowledge of Satoru's Void. But the leader held on, his grip on his staff tightening as he fought to maintain his Domain. Sweat poured down his face, and blood dripped from his nose as the strain of the clash tore at his mind.
He was strong. Stronger than Mado had ever been. But not strong enough.
With a final pulse of cursed energy, Unlimited Void consumed the Castle of the Serpent King, the serpents dissolving into nothing as the leader's Domain collapsed. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath, his vision swimming as his mind reeled from the overload. They'd heal in a few minutes if they were strong, but what really mattered was the burnout of their Cursed Technique, due to brain damage.
Satoru stood over him, grinning.
"You're good," he said, his voice casual as if he hadn't just annihilated three of the most powerful sorcerers he'd ever faced. "Better than I expected. But you were a little too slow."
The leader looked up at him, eyes filled with a mixture of awe and defeat. "You… you're not human…"
Satoru shrugged. "Never said I was."
"You misunderstood," Blood poured from the eyes, nose, and mouth of the leader, and he fell to his knees. "Forgive me for thinking that you were just a human."
Satoru grinned and brought up the sign of infinity once more. "Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void."
AN: Chapter 56 is out on (Pat)reon!