Jujutsu Kaisen: I Can Manipulate Time.

"Ice Dragon, my name is Ice Dragon."

A grand "flower" bloomed across the icy plain, but these ice flowers, each the size of a house, were deadly weapons. Their petals formed from clusters of ice crystals, sharp enough to fracture scattered sunlight into golden fragments.

Yet all this beauty was futile. The Ice Dragon had lost sight of the small figure in its view, its attack failing to land. As it prepared to soar upward for a better vantage point, a sharp pain struck its body down.

Hajime's first target was naturally the wings of the cursed spirit calling itself Ice Dragon. Entering Time Null State, he struck the right wing repeatedly with Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and Onikiri. The wing's toughness surprised him; only after multiple slashes did the wing tear, half falling to the ground.

The Ice Dragon let out a piercing shriek. A visible wind current twisted around it, instantly turning into a fierce gale.

Hajime activated his Technique again as he approached. A nearly solidified "cover" separated him from the Ice Dragon—this was no mere protective storm layer, but one bolstered by the Ice Dragon's own cursed energy.

"Time Arrow."

He planted the two cursed swords into the ground and drew Extermination, infusing it with near-limit cursed energy. Then, the taut light suddenly shot forward.

The blizzard around the Ice Dragon was brutally torn apart, leaving a crescent-shaped notch on its massive body. The wound was clean—no blood or flesh remained.

The Ice Dragon sensed the danger after the first strike. Its wind and snow, controlled like eyes and ears, failed to detect the invisible arrow. Despite its swift, calculated defense, it was pierced again, and this wound was far harder to heal than the torn wing.

A sharp crack echoed.

Though large, the wound wasn't fatal. The Ice Dragon spiraled around an ice pillar in the air. Hajime readied to sever the other wing when a sudden movement caught his eye.

A small hole, finger-width wide with smooth edges, appeared on the ice surface—deep and crack-free. It had to be caused by something sharp and fast. Hajime quickly realized the culprit.

Rain.

Ice rain fell from the sky, glittering under the sun. The raindrops pierced the ice plain, creating new holes. The Ice Dragon's attack radius was roughly three hundred meters around Hajime.

These icy raindrops were deadly, piercing with the cursed energy's chill. Hajime knew he could barely withstand one or two hits, but now the sky was filled with them. Resisting with Reverse Cursed Technique alone was futile.

He considered his options and chose the most direct.

He raised Extermination again.

Time Wheel - Reverse.

Heaven and earth seemed to reverse. The heavy rain fell upward, disappearing into the dark sky. The scene flashed briefly in Hajime's senses.

Time Wheel Spin.

Five nearly invisible trajectories, obscured by sunlight fragments, struck the Ice Dragon's humanoid torso, left wing, and midsection. Grotesque wounds appeared instantly.

The ice pillar below shattered and collapsed. The Ice Dragon's roar filled the air.

"Domain Expansion: Unmelting Ice Prison."

The great sun and endless sky vanished. All directions were sealed by chilling ice prisons. The space inside was surprisingly vast—an icy hell with no escape.

Inside, the Ice Dragon hovered with its severed wing now reformed of transparent ice crystals, its wounds healed. The blizzard raged fiercely, coldness penetrating Hajime's defenses. Even after he deployed Simple Domain, this place felt different.

The cursed spirit, the blizzard, and the domain had merged. That explained the rapid recovery. Hajime prepared to strike again.

The Ice Dragon flapped its wings to dodge but froze mid-air under Hajime's relentless attack. Extermination glowed at its limit, arrows tearing through the ice prison, creating large holes in its defenses.

As the technique ended, Hajime saw the Ice Dragon's body being healed by swirling wind and snow, more like a living storm than flesh and blood.

"This domain is a real problem."

Arrows cut through ice spikes. Hajime sheathed Extermination and drew Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and Onikiri. He teleported before the Ice Dragon. The ice behind him shattered.

The Ice Dragon spread its wings, circling in the air as ice beasts emerged from the blizzard, charging.

These cursed-energy beasts weren't dangerous; their defense was fragile and could be cut with one slash. But the freezing aura released after they shattered was the real threat.

After clearing the area, Hajime, still in Time Null State, jumped onto a giant ice serpent lunging at him.

His swords slashed repeatedly, shattering the serpent's body. With a scraping sound, he pulled his blades free, leapt off, and soared toward the hovering Ice Dragon.

Godspeed Slash.

Spider Cutter appeared amid swordlight. Ice shards rained down. Stepping on the coiled Ice Dragon, Hajime swiftly dismembered it.

He crashed to the ground, creating a crater. The broken Ice Dragon coiled and rose again as if the injuries were illusions.

"Asura!"

The cursed sword technique ignited, forming a ghostly phantom behind the Ice Dragon. It struck vertically, severing over half its body. The Ice Dragon screamed in pain for the first time in the domain.

But its wounds healed again, and its aura intensified amid the raging storm.

"It's merging with the environment, becoming part of the wind and snow. Until the domain breaks, the blizzard won't stop. The Ice Dragon is practically immortal here, and this domain is a defensive fortress."

Hajime felt sharp pain in his chest and abdomen. An ice spike about the length of a forearm burst from inside him, rotating and still stained with fresh blood.

It vanished quickly, leaving no wound or torn clothes, but Hajime frowned. This wasn't a sudden attack but coldness accumulated from fighting the Ice Dragon. Under its technique's influence, the cold burst forth from his body. His reversal healed the injury but couldn't undo the cold's accumulation.

"Damn it."

The spike appeared again. Hajime canceled reversal this time, relying on Reverse Cursed Technique to heal. But as long as he fought the Ice Dragon, the cold would keep building. Neither could defeat the other. It was an endless battle.

Using the domain's properties, the Ice Dragon began close-range attacks alongside its techniques. Though Hajime's sword slashes shattered it, the Ice Dragon released bursts of cold air upon shattering, trading damage.

He reactivated the cursed sword technique. It was more effective than normal attacks, but in the domain, the Ice Dragon's body and soul seemed merged with the environment, unable to be killed.

The Ice Dragon ascended, its body armored with ice and snow, wind swirling violently around it. It looked down at Hajime: "Human, you are strong. I will remember you. Next time I return, it will be with the wind and snow that sweeps all away."

"It's trying to escape. If this continues, the one maintaining the domain will collapse first. Realizing it can't kill me, it's fleeing. The sky is manageable—I can shoot it down with Extermination and Time Arrow. But there's another escape route."

The ocean.

The deep sea beneath the ice plain. If the Ice Dragon breaks through weak spots and dives into the water, it will escape for good. Hajime can't gamble on killing it once it dispels the domain. It's still gathering strength.

"I'll have to try that technique I'm still conceptualizing. If it fails, I'll try again once the domain breaks."

Time Wheel Spin, Time Wheel Reverse.

When the forward and reverse rotations collided, time accelerated and rewound simultaneously. The effects clashed, then merged.

Time became chaotic and then stopped.

This was no simple Time Null State. Hajime sensed the cursed energy of the wind, snow, and Ice Dragon freeze. The domain's connection to the Ice Dragon was severed.

Hajime, using only part of his cursed energy, drew Extermination and released an arrow, but it stopped mid-air. The technique's burden was terrifying.

Wielding Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, Hajime leapt onto the Ice Dragon. His slashes were effortless, and the cursed spirit's body shattered again.

Feeling near his limit, Hajime delivered the final blow, slicing its upper body in two, then canceled the technique.

Time resumed.

Sunlight gently fell as the Ice Dragon's domain shattered silently. The cursed spirit, split into pieces, didn't notice the change and tried to speak, but its life reversed and froze in shock.

"You—"

Stripped of its domain, cursed energy, and defense, the Ice Dragon fell.

Hajime coughed up blood. Looking at his left hand stained with it, he tried to reverse his injuries, but only partial success.

"The technique can't be fully used yet. Was the collision the cause? Still, it worked."

Switching to Reverse Cursed Technique, Hajime healed his internal wounds. They were widespread but not fatal.

The Ice Dragon's remains dissipated. This Special Grade Cursed Spirit, which caused the blizzard, was exorcised.

The wind and snow cleared, revealing the vast ice plain under a blue sky.

In the distance, a pale green-blue veil spread quickly, enveloping the sky like a goddess's flowing skirt—nature's miracle.

Hajime paused, admiring the sight before walking back. He took out the satellite phone given by Aykut. The voice on the other end was ecstatic.

He strolled the snowy path, savoring the rare scene and waiting for support.

"Time Stop... succeeding on the first try. I'll keep practicing and ask Gojo-sensei for help again, haha."

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