As the food curse spirit stood before Ryuji, the moment it activated its domain, its previous form crumbled into a pile of ingredients and faded away. Moments ter, the food curse spirit reappeared in mid-air, its grotesque figure looming above, ughter eg through the ed sky.

  "Hahaha! In this realm, my food space, everyone succumbs to the craving for food. And once you eat, you bee oh the feast! Hahahaha!" it decred, eyes log onto Ryuji with triumphant pride.

  It seemed to silently taunt Ryuji—mog him for not finishing the job earlier. Now, with the domain in effect, he surely stood no ce, or so it believed.

  "Sorcerer, you should know that in a domain, even if you resist for a short while, eventually, even you won't be able to fight off the craving for food. Hahaha!"

  Such was the unique power of this domain.

  The food curse spirit's domain was known as the food space.

  It forced any iable attato an irresistible pulsion to eat.

  No wonder Ryuji felt an urge to eat as soon as he stepped into this domain.

  "A pretty good domain!"

  Ryuji's lips curved into a slight smile. Was he panicked?

  Not in the least.

  If this was all the spirit had, it was far from enough to make Ryuji flinch.

  Instead, he calmly evaluated the domain.

  "Of all the domains I've seen, yours could easily rank iop ten."

  Perhaps even fifth pce.

  "What?!"

  The food curse spirit, taken aback by Ryuji's fearless and dismissive attitude, was infuriated.

  "Arrogant fool! Let's see how long you keep up that facade!"

  But the spirit's fidence did not st long.

  Because, after quickly sing his surroundings, Ryuji seemed done pying.

  He brought his hands together, log eyes with the food curse spirit.

  "You…"

  The once-smug grin of the spirit froze instantly.

  The food curse spirit wasn't foolish. It could tell that Ryuji reparing to unch his own domain.

  However, the spirit was newly formed and knew little of who Ryuji was or his reputation in the world of sorcery.

  Otherwise, it wouldn't have dared to show such arrogance.

  Just as the spirit's smile faded, Ryuji's posed voice rang out.

  "Domain Expansion – Malevolent Shrine!"

  Fag an oppo's domain with a domain of his own was Ryuji's way of showing respect.

  Whir!

  The moment his words fell, a shrine rose from the earth behind Ryuji.

  White bones piled up, gradually c the scattered food around them.

  The clear sky darkened, repced by a blood-red moon.

  The entire area turned a terrifying crimson.

  When it came to domain battles, it was a test of whose cursed energy and domain power were superior.

  And now, it was clear that Ryuji held the upper hand. The food space of the food curse spirit was effortlessly overtaken and crushed by the Malevolent Shrine.

  "This…"

  The food curse spirit stood in shock.

  It had sidered that the human's domain could be formidable.

  But it never expected that its own domain would be so thhly obliterated ihan half a minute.

  Was this what an insurmountable power difference felt like?

  "What is this?"

  The others trapped within the domain also looked on in astonishment.

  Without the food space's pellio eat, everyone's mental state was restored. Now, they observed their surroundings, disbelief evident on their faces.

  Especially Erina.

  "So this is what it means to be a sorcerer?"

  It wasn't as if she hadn't seen Ryuji fight before, but this time felt different.

  Ryuji's power was boundless, like an o with no end in sight.

  She thought she'd overestimated him before, but now she realized even that had been an uatement. Just who was he?

  "That's not quite right."

  Hearing Erina's amazed ent, Alice, standing beside her, chuckled and raised a hand.

  "What you should say is, 'This is Ryuji.' After all, even among all the sorcerers, Ryuji is the most extraordinary!"

  There was no doubt in anyone's mind about Ryuji's capabilities.

  "That's true! Absolutely!"

  Even though Kaguya saw Alice as a romantic rival, she nodded in agreement when she heard her praise Ryuji.

  It was as if sharing admiration for Ryuji made them allies.

  Senzaemon, watg this unfold, turo look at Alice.

  He had once sidered f a e between his granddaughter and Ryuji for future bes. But it had only been a passing thought; he never seriously pursued it.

  After all, he cherished Aliuch.

  Yet, without any intervention from him, Alice had taken an i in Ryuji on her own.

  Well, children will fe their own paths, he thought with a resigned smile, shaking his head.

  "Do you uand now? In this era, what is cooking worth? What is Totsuki's Elite Ten worth? Uh, wait—there might not even be ae Ten for long!"

  Especially after their grandfather had mentioned revamping the Elite Ten's prestige by May 7th to foster a healthier ary culture at Totsuki and ence true passion for cooking.

  Alice leaned closer to Erina and whispered.

  She had tied with Erina in cooking skill this time around.

  The petitioween them now felt poio Alice.

  And from now on, she had set her sights on a new goal.

  With that thought, Aliced at Ryuji with a bigger smile.

  Because he was her new objective!

  "This is impossible! How this be?! How you be so powerful?!"

  Meanwhile, the food curse spirit tio scream in disbelief.