Chapter 174 (Patreon)

The sphere of black cursed energy above Tokyo continued to expand.

Just as it was about to engulf the entire island, all that cursed energy abruptly collapsed inward.

Against the clear blue sky, a sphere resembling a black hole took shape—a black sun suspended high above the world.

“Do it, Kenjaku.”

At Sukuna’s command, Kenjaku appeared beside him, now in complete control of Tengen’s body.

“Domain Expansion—Boundless Kalpa Realm: Eternal Samsara!”

In an instant, the entirety of Area 11 was enclosed within an infinite honeycomb formed from countless interlocking hexagonal barriers.

It was an open-barrier domain of unprecedented scale. With Kenjaku’s current reserves of cursed energy and Tengen’s body under his control, covering all of Area 11 was entirely possible.

Within every cell of Tengen’s domain floated the phantom of a powerful figure from history—those who had been assimilated by Tengen over the centuries.

Even the successive wielders of the Six Eyes were among them.

“What a beautiful sight...”

Kenjaku gazed upon the domain with genuine admiration.

“It’s a shame I won’t be here to witness its conclusion.”

Sukuna spread his arms.

A black solar disc manifested between them, gradually swallowing Kenjaku within its depths.

“Then let us witness the end of this world together.”

Kenjaku willingly allowed Sukuna to absorb him.

While Tengen’s domain was still unfolding, Sukuna devoured Kenjaku, and control over the barrier’s core passed directly into his hands.

At the same time, the Prison Realm housed within Sukuna resonated with the domain he had just seized from Tengen.

Black cursed energy began spreading upward from the base of the domain, corrupting every barrier it touched.

Meanwhile—

Yuji Itadori, whose soul had been swallowed by Sukuna, found himself trapped within Sukuna’s memories.

“I’m... not dead.”

Yuji had no idea how long he had been asleep in that lightless void.

Only now did his eyes slowly open.

Countless fragments of memory appeared throughout the surrounding darkness, scattered around him like luminous screens.

“These are... Sukuna’s memories?”

The moment Yuji reached out and touched one of the fragments, an overwhelming flood of memories surged into his mind.

Through those fragments, he witnessed Sukuna’s entire life.

He saw Sukuna devour his twin brother while they were still in their mother’s womb.

He saw Sukuna’s mother transform him into a sacrificial offering before he had even been born, using his embryonic body as a vessel meant to contain the Human Evil within him.

“This feeling...”

Yuji stared at the soul of Sukuna’s mother standing before him.

“Why does it feel so familiar?”

At the same time, Sukuna completed his corruption of Tengen’s domain.

The corrupted barrier immediately began expanding beyond Area 11, sweeping across the Pacific Ocean until it reached the continent on the opposite side.

“Prison Realm: Back Gate—Release...”

Sukuna whispered those words.

In the next instant, the entire planet was enclosed within the Prison Realm.

Malice accumulated over the past thousand years seeped into the hearts of humanity.

Seven pillars of black cursed energy shot into the heavens.

After disappearing beyond the clouds, one descended upon Tokyo while the other six streaked toward different countries.

RUMBLE!

The dark clouds overhead slowly split apart.

A deep crimson fissure tore through space, and from within the void descended a crown embodying Pride.

With Tokyo as its center, its influence radiated across the entire surrounding region, enveloping every human within its reach.

“The next stage of the plan has begun...”

The cursed energy known as Pride spread throughout Area 11, corrupting the land from its heart in Tokyo.

Sorcerers of Grade 2 or lower could barely resist the Curse of Pride. Their minds were easily eroded, leaving them vulnerable to its influence.

The three remaining elders of jujutsu society were all consumed by Pride and brought under Sukuna’s control.

Yoshinobu Gakuganji, the leader of the conservative faction among the higher-ups, personally took command of the resulting extermination operation.

Their targets were ordinary people who could not wield cursed energy.

However, the civilian population of Area 11 had already been cleared out when Kenjaku initiated the Culling Game.

Today, though, a special task force dispatched by a distant nation that called itself the beacon of freedom had entered this hellish land.

Hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers were stationed along the borders of Area 11, completely unaware that the sorcerers were preparing to massacre them.

BZZZT!

“AAARGH!”

Soldiers from the Seventh Force moved through the city in six-man teams.

They carried Tasers and other nonlethal weapons intended to subdue and capture sorcerers as they swept through the streets in search of isolated targets.

However, not every soldier cared to follow their orders.

If a weak sorcerer attempted to escape, they were more than willing to switch to live ammunition and gun them down.

BANG!

A soldier from the Seventh Force steadied his M40A1 sniper rifle and took aim at an unranked sorcerer fleeing down the street.

The shot landed instantly.

The sorcerer’s head burst apart like an overripe watermelon, scattering blood and flesh across the pavement.

“Hey, how many does that make?”

While the sniper admired his handiwork, an older veteran approached from behind and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Five.” The sniper lowered his rifle. “Honestly, there are plenty of sorcerers around. I don’t see why we need to bring all of them back alive.”

The veteran lit the cigarette hanging from his lips.

“They’re Japanese. Kill as many as you like. Consider it repayment for what happened on Iwo Jima.”

“There is one thing I find strange, though. We haven’t seen a single ordinary civilian in the entire city. Everyone here is one of those so-called sorcerers.”

The two soldiers continued chatting as though the bloodshed around them had nothing to do with them.

“Now that you mention it, the rest of the Seventh Force stationed inside Area 11 hasn’t responded at all.”

“You think the sorcerers killed them?”

“Would they really dare? Something probably happened to their communications. Maybe an electromagnetic pulse knocked out their equipment.”

“Hah, you might be—”

The sniper abruptly stopped speaking.

Black blood spilled from his mouth.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”

The veteran’s expression changed as he rushed to his side.

“Oh, God... Were you cursed by one of those demons?”

He grabbed the sniper and forced his jaw open.

“Save... me...”

RIIIP!

“God...”

An ugly, malformed cursed spirit crawled out from the sniper’s mouth, tearing his jaw apart as it emerged.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The veteran frantically held down the trigger.

Muzzle flashes erupted in rapid succession as copper-jacketed rounds tore through the cursed spirit’s body.

But that was all they did.

The bullets passed through it without inflicting any meaningful damage.

“Hey! Have you lost your mind? Don’t fire full-auto inside the base!”

The captain in command of their squad stormed toward him, shouting furiously.

“A demon!” the veteran screamed. “There’s a demon right in front of you! Can’t you see it?!”

“What demon? Recruitment standards have fallen so far that they’re accepting lunatics now. Damn bloodsuckers.”

RIP!

The captain froze.

Before his eyes, the veteran’s body slowly rose into the air.

“W-What...?”

His face drained of color.

“My God...”

The veteran’s body was ripped in half.

Both halves crashed down upon the captain, burying him beneath blood and entrails.

Warm blood splashed across his face.

It was undeniable proof that this was no hallucination.

“AAAAARGH!”

Not far from the stronghold, the sorcerers concealed throughout the surrounding area watched without the slightest change in expression.

The command they had received was simple.

Slaughter.

Kill every human incapable of wielding cursed energy.

Screams soon echoed from American military positions throughout the city and the surrounding forests.

Still, the Seventh Force was an elite formation.

Despite being caught in an ambush, its soldiers quickly recovered from the initial chaos and reorganized into disciplined defensive lines.

Under ordinary circumstances, a trained soldier was capable of killing a sorcerer.

But facing an organized group of sorcerers who had already prepared rituals to kill their targets from a distance was something else entirely.

It was a method of warfare designed to break the minds of ordinary people.

A soldier could prepare himself to be shot.

No amount of training could prepare him to watch an invisible horror crawl out of his comrade’s body before tearing another man apart.

Panic spread throughout the American forces.