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A mushroom cloud slowly rose in the distance.

As Mei Mei 's strongest technique, "kamikaze" certainly packed a punch.

"What a pity," Mei Mei said with a slight frown as she landed next to Ryuji again, sighing with a hint of regret.

After all, the crows that could execute "Kamikaze" were carefully cultivated through her Black Bird Technique. She didn't have many of them to begin with, and now one more was gone. It would be a lie to say she wasn't a little heartbroken.

However, when she glanced at Ryuji, a smirk crept onto her face.

"But it's worth it."

Compared to Ryuji, losing a crow wasn't much of a sacrifice. She'd gladly pay that price.

"Now, you're mine!" Mei Mei teased, flashing him a playful smile.

Ryuji laughed, raising a finger to point toward the gun curse spirit's location.

"Much as I'd love to agree with that, it looks like you didn't quite manage to finish him off."

"Hm?" Mei Mei's eyes narrowed as she followed his gaze.

Sure enough, through the dissipating dust, the silhouette of the gun curse spirit reappeared, still standing tall.

"What… is that?"

Despite her attack, the curse spirit was still intact. Mei Mei was incredulous. If her strongest move couldn't take him down, then there was no point in continuing the fight. This curse spirit was clearly beyond her ability to handle.

"Heh… hahaha!"

At first, the gun curse spirit chuckled, but soon, his laughter grew into a maniacal roar.

"Hahaha! It didn't even hurt!"

With a sweep of his arm, he cleared the dust around him, revealing himself fully. His hands had shifted from pistols into automatic rifles, and the rifle on his head had transformed into a sniper configuration—resembling the deadly barrel of a Barrett.

Clearly, Mei Mei's attack had done some damage, forcing the curse spirit to evolve to a higher state just to withstand it.

"More! More! Come on, let's keep going!" the curse spirit yelled, visibly exhilarated.

Without hesitation, he aimed the sniper rifle on his head directly at Ryuji and the others, the energy of his curse power gathering as he prepared to unleash another shot.

"This guy…" Mei Mei muttered, her gaze hardening as she prepared to react.

But before she could move, Ryuji gently pulled her back, stepping in front of her.

"You did well. Leave the rest to me."

With Mei Mei's current strength, it would be pointless to let her continue. This newly upgraded curse spirit was beyond her capabilities. Besides, this charade had gone on long enough, and Ryuji was getting tired of it.

As he spoke, he lifted his hand and made a gesture.

"What's this?" Mei Mei, momentarily stunned, watched Ryuji's hand, her mind racing.

Not far off, Kenjaku who had been observing the fight from a hidden vantage point was also caught off guard.

He'd known from the start that the gun curse spirit wouldn't stand a chance against Ryuji, so his real focus was on Ryuji himself. That gesture… Kenjaku's eyes widened as he recognized it. It was Gojo Satoru's domain expansion stance.

A third domain! Kenjaku's mind raced. This couldn't just be a copying technique. He refused to believe that there existed a technique capable of copying domains so perfectly.

But if it wasn't a copy, then what was it?

For the first time in his thousand-year existence, he felt utterly baffled. He couldn't make sense of it. The situation was far beyond anything he'd anticipated.

"The third domain?" he murmured to himself. First, "Malevolent Shrine ," then "Horizon of the Captivating Skandha," and now… this?

But while Kenjaku's mind spun with complex thoughts, Mei Mei's reaction was far simpler. She watched Ryuji with admiration, a calculating gleam in her eyes. If a man this powerful belonged to her, wouldn't it mean he'd help her out whenever she was in trouble on missions? She could practically feel the money rolling in.

"Domain Expansion."

Ryuji ignored Mei Mei's gaze. Staring down the gun curse spirit, he activated his domain.

"Infinite Void."

Even though they'd anticipated this, Mei Mei and Kenjaku both felt a jolt of surprise when they heard Ryuji say it out loud.

There was no doubt about it—it was Gojo Satoru's domain expansion!

"Buzz…"

With a single invocation, the domain expanded, pulling the gun curse spirit into its space.

"…?"

The curse spirit, who had been charging up an attack, paused, looking around in confusion as he found himself in a strange, infinite space.

But only for a moment. Within seconds, his eyes went blank, his movements frozen.

This was one of the rarest domain types in the cursed world today—Infinie Void. By flooding his target's mind with endless, meaningless information, Gojo's domain left its victims in a state akin to complete mental shutdown.

And thanks to the domain's guaranteed hit, there was no way to avoid it. Even a curse king would be affected by this overload of sensory information.

For a mere special-grade curse spirit, standing against it was impossible.

"It's over."

Ryuji dropped his raised hand, looking at the immobilized gun curse spirit with a calm, indifferent expression, as if he'd done nothing more than swat a fly.

"…"

Aside from Mei Mei , most of the guests were completely bewildered. They had no idea what had just happened. One moment it had been a fierce battle, and then… the cursed spirit had just… stopped.

Of course, they couldn't understand what Ryuji had just done. But they knew enough to be grateful. Their respect for him deepened, laced with a hint of fear.

"Soul Devouring."

Ryuji didn't care about their reactions. He simply extended his hand, and a chain emerged from a crack in space, shooting out to wrap around the dazed gun curse spirit and pulling it back through the rift.

Waste not, want not. This was a special-grade curse spirit, after all, and devouring it would provide him with a decent boost in power.

The gun curse spirit likely never imagined that its end would come so swiftly.

"Not bad, not bad," Ryuji remarked.

"You really are something else," Mei Mei laughed, watching him with admiration.

She'd fought the gun curse spirit with everything she had, and yet Ryuji had dealt with it effortlessly, as if it was no more than a minor inconvenience. His strength was even greater than she'd anticipated.

Ryuji just chuckled at her praise, taking it in stride.

The rest of the guests were still reeling, unable to fully grasp the scene that had just unfolded. They had expected Ryuji to be strong, but this… this was something else entirely.

Suzuki Sonoko and her mother, Tomoko, looked particularly shaken. They both knew Mei Mei's power, and seeing how Ryuji had effortlessly taken down a monster that even Mingming struggled with left them speechless.

"Is this… the power of a true sorcerer?" Erina whispered, her wide eyes fixed on Ryuji, unable to hide her awe.

For once, Alice didn't make any teasing remarks to her cousin. She, too, was transfixed by Ryuji's display of power, feeling a newfound respect for him.

"HAHAHA!"

Amid the stunned silence, the booming laughter of Shinomiya Gan'an echoed across the hall.

To be honest, he was a bit terrified of Ryuji's power. It was so far beyond anything he could have imagined. But with that terror came an opportunity.

Sure, this was dangerous, but if handled correctly, this could be a turning point for the Shinomiya family. They might not just survive the new era of sorcerers—they could thrive.

"As expected of you, Mr. Ryuji. We're all honored to have received your protection tonight!" Gan'an said, approaching Ryuji with a respectful smile.

Ryuji met his gaze, his expression unreadable but amused. This old fox had a plan, that much was obvious.

Gan'an didn't waste any time. He took out a gold card with a purple-gold trim and handed it to Ryuji.

"This is a limitless black card. From now on, any expenses Mr. Ryuji incurs will be covered by the Shinomiya family."

Of course, "limitless" wasn't truly unlimited. But given the Shinomiya family's wealth, Ryuji could spend daily, and it would take a long time to make a dent.

Gan'an had never offered such a privilege to anyone before, but he was willing to go all in to secure Ryuji's goodwill.

Everyone watching quickly understood his intentions. He was clearly trying to tie Ryuji to the Shinomiya family.

However, this was still Gan'an's event, so nobody could voice any objections.

Ryuji accepted the card without a hint of politeness. At his level, there was no need for red tape or false humility. Directness was better.

"What does the Shinomiya family want?" he asked, eyeing the black card in his hand before looking up at Gan'an with interest.

He was curious to see what the man would say next.