The spread of the open barrier domain bathed the entire area in a bizarre dark-red light, as if space itself had been peeled back to reveal raw flesh.
Sukuna maintained the Enmaten Hand Seal, his white kimono stark against the domain’s dark-red light.
In an instant, every bit of air transformed into slashes invisible to the naked eye.
No, they weren’t invisible.
Levi had just been sent flying three buildings away by Sukuna; from there, he could clearly see the buildings between them being sliced into powder, as if by a giant invisible grinder.
Glass, steel, concrete, and neon lights—everything turned to dust like the cheapest sawdust.
Thick smoke and dust rose, only to be churned into spirals by the turbulent air currents within the domain.
Each grain of dust continued to be split by the cutting until the air itself became murky and razor-sharp.
This black astral wind was composed of Sukuna’s slashes.
Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
A red light flared behind him as the flames of the Dragon Talisman on his back exploded instantly, propelling him directly toward Sukuna!
“Oh?
You’re not choosing to run, but approaching me instead?”
Sukuna sneered, his white hair whipping in the gale.
“If I don’t get close, I can’t beat the crap out of you properly, Sukuna!”
Levi’s eyes glowed crimson once more, the Dragon Talisman pushed to its absolute limit.
Flames erupted from all his limbs, acting like rockets as he closed the distance to Sukuna, diving headfirst into the razor-sharp hurricane.
Endless slashes poured down upon Levi without mercy!
The moment he entered the astral wind formed by the slashes, Levi’s expression changed.
It was an itch—an unspeakable, indescribable itch.
Then, that sensation of itching was like a spark racing through dry tinder, instantly spreading across every inch of Levi’s skin and turning into a searing heat, as if his entire body were being consumed by fire.
Sukuna opened his mouth, his face twisting into a malicious, booming laugh.
“Hahaha!
You fool!
Did you think your technique was special?”
“Earlier, the Itadori brat and Megumi Fushiguro encountered a similar technique while dealing with a curse user!”
“The stronger an attack was, the less Levi’s defense could weaken it; conversely, weaker attacks were affected more strongly.”
“Your technique is nothing more than an upgraded version of that low-level trick!”
Currently, due to the changes in the plot, Sukuna only had four fingers within his body.
The number of fingers only represented Sukuna’s cursed energy volume, not his actual skill; he could still open his domain using the energy of four fingers.
However, the strength of the domain was inevitably reduced.
The range of Sukuna’s [Malevolent Shrine] was typically a radius of two hundred meters.
Seeing the indestructible nature of Levi’s physical body, Sukuna simply utilized a Binding Vow, discarding the useless range of the domain in exchange for an increased frequency of slashes within a fifty-meter radius!
The slashes executed by Sukuna’s domain, [Malevolent Shrine], were not controlled by him personally but were carried out automatically.
It was as if Sukuna had created a blender with automatically rotating blades; the speed of the blender had nothing to do with Sukuna himself.
As long as he provided cursed energy, he could release ultra-high-speed, ultra-high-density attacks that he could not achieve in his normal state!
So, what was the frequency of the slashes being applied to Levi by Malevolent Shrine at this moment?
The answer: at least 19 million times per second.
Every second Levi spent moving closer to Sukuna, he had to endure over 19 million slashes.
This was the first time since obtaining the Dog Talisman that Levi felt a piercing, bone-deep pain.
When tiny stings number in the tens of millions, it is no different from being thrown directly into a meat grinder.
Furthermore, the blessing of the Dog Talisman kept Levi’s skin perfectly intact from beginning to end…
this also meant that Levi could not rely on nerve damage to escape the pain; every second, he experienced the maximum possible amount of agony without any reduction!
Yet Levi continued to slowly approach Sukuna.
The never-ending slashes constantly pushed Levi back, but he repeatedly used his flames to propel himself toward Sukuna.
The stronger the pain, the heavier his rage!
Perhaps it was the Dragon Talisman’s influence on his mind, but Levi wasn’t frightened by the pain at all.
Instead, the more it hurt, the angrier he became, and the angrier he became, the hotter the flames from the Dragon Talisman burned!
Holding the Dragon Talisman, Levi somehow felt that he simply couldn’t “back down.”
His “dignity,” which was trivial as an ordinary person, now weighed on him, making it impossible for him to run away with his tail between his legs!
At that moment, Levi suddenly had a realization.
Perhaps in the world of Jackie Chan Adventures, the reason why only Valmont could trigger the special state of the Dragon Talisman was that Valmont at the time was being tormented by his own self-esteem and no longer wanted to listen to Shendu.
It was the pursuit of dignity that allowed the Dragon Talisman to grant him a special state that later users never achieved.
Anyway, with the Dog Talisman as a safety net…
The first one to chicken out is a total loser!
By now, the surrounding buildings had long been ground into dust.
Metal powder and concrete debris were all swept into this ceaseless gale.
Every breath Levi took caused a large amount of toxic heavy metal dust to accumulate in his lungs.
It wasn’t until there was only half a meter left between them that Levi could look directly into Sukuna’s eyes through the thick mist mixed with building debris.
But he could no longer advance an inch.
Levi tried to raise his hand to release flames at Sukuna, but the fire was shredded the instant it formed, no longer possessing any impact.
Seeing this, Levi stood his ground and gave Sukuna a mocking smile.
“Very clever, knowing that I’m not immune to low-intensity attacks, so you lowered the power to increase the frequency…”
“But that is a loser’s way of thinking!”
“You never even considered breaking through the upper limit of my defense, did you?”
“Because you know you’re too weak.
You can only bite at me like a bug, unable to truly tear through my defenses like a real powerhouse.”
“You’re pathetic, a total underdog.”
“Sukuna, be grateful.”
“You are simply an ordinary man born in an era without me!”
Sukuna’s smile gradually faded as Levi spoke, only to morph into an even more ghoulish grin the next second.
“Sharp-tongued brat.”
“I’m getting bored as well…
so let’s try and see exactly where the limit of your defense lies.”
In the next moment, all the grit in the thick mist suddenly began to turn crimson and melt.
The vortex, which had been a mix of building debris, began to grow brighter and hotter from its center.
The dark battlefield transformed into a downpour of lava in the blink of an eye.
“The characteristic of Malevolent Shrine isn’t just slashing…
it can also fill the pulverized dust with cursed energy.”
“Then, all the dust I’ve infused with cursed energy will be detonated at the same moment.”
As Sukuna spoke, his hands released the Enmaten Hand Seal, and he took the stance of an archer.
“Come.
Since it’s the same fire technique you use, I’ll kill you with the very power you take pride in.”
Thus, Sukuna and Levi stood face to face within a distance of half a meter, as Sukuna drew a bow and arrow formed out of thin air from flames.
Without the astral wind blocking him, Levi immediately charged forward, roaring, “I’m not letting you fire that!”
Sukuna didn’t dodge at all, merely spitting out two words coldly.
“[Furnace: Open]”
Then, the arrow left the string!