Sukuna
///
The feeling is a familiar one.
That... absence.
He knows what it is, this time. It is the feeling of existing with a will but without a body.
It is not a pleasant feeling.
Luckily, Sukuna has two things in his favour.
One is that Genbu's Domain only had a fraction of a second to effect him, leaving it only enough time to declare Sukuna's Body as dead, but not enough time to separate his Soul from his Body.
The other is that Sukuna already knows how to resurrect.
His use of Positive Energy could even be considered as greater than Narauko's, because with Generous Deer available to him, Narauko has not had cause to put any real effort into learning how to output the same level of Positive Energy.
Of course, that doesn't mean that Sukuna is even close to as good at healing others as Narauko is.
The result of these factors, is that the time Sukuna spends 'dead' after his clash of Domains is measured at only one half of a second.
His eyes snap back open to a feeling of movement and weakness, finding burning and freezing chains wrapped around him. The instinctive use of Reverse Cursed Techniques keeps them from burning or freezing through him entirely.
Realising the situation, Sukuna releases all restraint and pumps his body full of Cursed Energy, even pulling out his Touki just to be sure. He really doesn't understand why everyone seems to find Touki so hard to reach through their Cursed Energy. Especially when everyone other than him and Narauko have so little Cursed Energy in the first place.
It wasn't that hard.
His back hits the ground, back in the centre of the Imperial Palace. Magma splashes in every direction from the point of impact, that other fight is still going strong.
It hurts, but Sukuna ignores it and focuses on just Reinforcement and Reverse Cursed Technique.
He's got a couple seconds before his Technique comes back, and these chains are pretty...
Actually...
I have almost died beyond my ability to revive in this fight already.
"Fine then," Sukuna sighs as he feels danger heading his way. "I suppose you have earned at least enough respect to be taken seriously." A derisive scoff leaves him as he beholds the woman charging down with a burning spear. "One of you anyway."
An angled Barrier snaps into place ahead of the woman, causing her spear to veer off course. It's apparently a Barrier Technique invented by Tengen, according to the freak. Either way, it can be useful.
Another Barrier forms a chute around Sukuna's body, between him and the binding ropes and a burst of Cursed Energy lets him pop straight out without delay.
Just in time to receive Genbu. The man might also be down a Technique, but he has two in the first place, not to mention the Black Tortoise's abilities.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Sukuna thinks with a grin, accepting that they will have the advantage for the next three seconds.
Genbu's water tail whips at Sukuna and he hops up to avoid it, but purposefully keeps one foot low enough to be clipped. His grin grows when the foot is erased without resistance.
That narrows things down a bit. Now I just need to test your defence.
Now if only he had any idea where his Cursed Tool has gone. Well, there are cruder methods.
A slash of superhot fire lances in from the side as freezing fires coat the earth below and Genbu falls from above.
An easy choice.
A platform of Cursed Energy appears under Sukuna's feet and he throws himself up at Genbu, faster than the man expected.
Sukuna is putting some effort in now, after all.
His fist impacts Genbu's shell armour and sends the man hurtling into the distance, just in time to be caught on a renewed Barrier of Tengen's. But Sukuna can tell that the man is unharmed behind that shell.
Luckily, Sukuna has had an idea about how to get past that.
A second later, the Barrier shatters again from a piercing tower of magma. The Curse is indeed not allowing it. Good.
Unluckily, this damn woman keeps ruining my mood.
Instead of chasing Genbu to test out this interesting idea he has just had, Sukuna is forced to dance through the sky as six spiked chains hunt him down. Half burning half freezing.
Seven is an auspicious number for the Vermilion Bird. I should assume there is a seventh chain. It would probably burn and freeze too, to keep things balanced. Uninteresting.
Sukuna feels Genbu rapidly closing back in, but the moment he turns his attention that way, two chains spear through him, one burning through a shoulder and the other freezing at the hip.
They sped up? He thinks, and doubting that the woman was holding out on him, he glances back at her to see the seventh chain wrapped around her. I get it. Her Technique probably isn't 'mirroring'. It's something more like 'inverse'. Invert fire into ice, invert chains that bind and weaken into chains that strengthen. A loser's Technique.
Sukuna does still feel his strength diminish, right as Genbu reaches him.
Twin beams of pure Cursed Energy explode out of Sukuna, one for the spearing snake and the other for Genbu's throat. The snake twists around the beam and slams into his side, sending him flying back at the woman, while Genbu himself simply raises an arm to block.
That offensive power must be a trade-off for defence, I should have been cut in half. One more thing to test then.
Sukuna ignores the woman entirely and just rips the chains out of his flesh, healing the damage and creating a Barrier at his back to halt his momentum.
Five seconds have passed since the clash of Domains.
The instant that his Technique returns to him, Sukuna sends the most potent Dismantle he can manage that quickly straight at Genbu.
Between the two of them, Genbu definitely activated his Domain first. However, between the two of them, Sukuna is the only one that has been pouring on the Reverse Cursed Technique.
As a result, between the two of them, the fractional difference of timing switches.
For one fraction of a fraction of a second, Shrine is active while Reinforced Belief is not.
And in that fraction of a fraction of a second, Sukuna's Dismantle crosses the gap between them and cuts open a line across Genbu's chin, where his armour does not cover.
The cut is not a deep one, Sukuna prioritised speed over strength, and Genbu's natural defence is indeed high.
But, due to the nature of his Technique, Genbu now believes that he can be cut by Dismantle.
Still, neither of them are aware of this fact. Sukuna only wanted to confirm that the burnt out Technique is what was nullifying his own. Meanwhile, it is only Dismantle that Genbu believes capable of harming him, not Cleave.
As a result, the fate of the balance between Genbu and Sukuna will now be decided entirely by one thing.
Either Sukuna will hit Genbu with another Dismantle, and discover that his Technique no longer defends against it.
Or, Sukuna will hit Genbu with a Cleave, and decide that the Technique is back to being active and granting immunity to his own slashes, assuming that because Cleave can't land, neither can Dismantle.
Standing on the air, Sukuna briefly assess.
Suzaku will reach him before Genbu does, and Genbu's Technique is back, though he will want to test that cutting him wasn't a fluke of timing. The hunting chains will reach him even before Suzaku, but a series of Barriers summoned in their path is enough to delay that for now.
So Sukuna turns and sends titanic Dismantle at the irritating woman, who morphs into fire and flies straight through the slash before returning to physical form.
Annoying, Sukuna thinks, though he notes her expression and understands that whatever ability that was, it isn't something she can use often.
And then she is before him and instead of attacking with that spear as expected, her hands slap together.
Sukuna copies her without hesitation, even as his grin turns hateful.
You bastards. I'm starting to enjoy this.
"Domain Expansion: Inversion of the World of Man."
"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
The world flashes and shatters, and his Technique is once more removed from him.
Sukuna reacts faster, blurring into Suzaku's space and slamming a punch in her face before she can recover from their clash of Domains, sending her hurtling straight down.
It's rather clear what their plan here is. They each have two Innate Techniques available to them, which means that they can just keep opening their Domains over and over again, leaving him without a Technique while they can both still fight. Even if they run out of Techniques to burn, they'll still have their Sacred Beasts.
And he can't just use Hollow Wicker Basket, because then he will be stuck inside of a Domain without the ability to use his hands at all, fighting against two opponents with an effective six Techniques.
Unfortunately for them, their opponent is Sukuna.
Denying him his Innate Technique only really achieves one thing.
All it does is teach him how to win without a Technique.
Genbu reaches him mere moments after he hit Suzaku, and Sukuna flips over the scything snake before stepping to the side and catching Genbu's follow-up punch by the wrist, twisting himself to be standing by the man's right side, holding his wrist out ahead of them with his own right hand.
Question: How does a Sorcerer hit through a Technique that negates all damage, or otherwise has defensive properties that are too powerful, such as a manifested suit of armour?
Simple. DomainExpansion. Against a Technique like Kiyohara no Nagiko, the sure-hit effect of a Domain Expansion is the only way to get past the Technique and hit the body.
So one might think that Genbu can act freely against Sukuna, that is why he would attack so recklessly in the first place. However as a result of having to fight with his Technique being burnt out, Sukuna has been forced to think outside of the box.
Faced with this problem of a foe he cannot truly harm, Sukuna's thoughts crystalised on a single fact, inspired in part by the principle of Hollow Wicker Basket.
That the sure-hit effect of a Domain Expansion is not a product of the imbued Technique, but of the Domain itself.
In other words, while Narauko may have helped invent a new Anti-Domain Technique, something designed to protect.
"Domain Amplification."
Sukuna has invented an Anti-Technique Domain, designed to kill.
With Genbu's arm held out before them, Sukuna's other arm rises high and drops. His elbow slamming down on Genbu's, something that does not concern the man in question until Sukuna's elbow, coated in an empty Domain, cleaves straight through.
Genbu screams out, unfamiliar with the sensation of pain, and Sukuna laughs.
Even as he laughs, Sukuna doesn't hesitate to follow-up, dropping Genbu's severed arm and punching him straight in the chest, Domain Amplification breaking through the turtle shell.
Genbu thunders into the distance—Sukuna aimed the punch to throw him at the densest grouping of humans he could—and Suzaku is already down. So for the next two seconds, Sukuna has the sky to himself.
"Black Butterfly," he intones under his breath, but he doesn't bother with any message.
He just creates as many of the Shikigami as he can, thousands every second, and he splits them into three groups. two fifths he sends to Suzaku, two fifths he sends to Genbu and one fifth he sends to Kamutoke. His Cursed Tool.
Seeing three columns of shadows rise into the air, Sukuna smirks maliciously.
"Perfect~. Using this Technique should enhance it even further. Everyone who survives today will see this. In the midst of catastrophe, when so many Techniques beyond their meagre comprehension are being thrown around, one thing that every Sorcerer will recognise amidst this chaos is your Technique."
A low chuckle leaves his throat, but then Sukuna's lips purse as he realises the feeling he's getting.
It's still not enough. Just a little bit more.
"How much more can you take?" He mutters, grin growing as his excitement returns with the thought of how close he is. "We're almost there, Narauko. You really should have known better than to Curse me. Hahaha~, I can't wait to see what face you will make~." His humour fades in an instant and he clicks his tongue. "Bastard."
But then it returns a moment later and Sukuna stops dallying. He turns to the smallest plume of Shikigami and throws himself at it, arriving nearly instantly and kicking the vajra back up into his hands.
Immediately, his rising mood once again plummets, and he does so Hate how his mood is fluctuating.
He can't help it though, he was getting into the mood. Struggling. He had to actually put some effort in.
He was starting to enjoy himself.
But now that his Cursed Tool is back in his hands, he has already won.
However, he didn't come here for a fight in the first place, so his fluctuating mood returns as he recalls his main purpose here.
The plan is pretty simple.
Narauko Cursed him. But unlike the Curses that Sukuna is familiar with, Narauko's Curse on him was kindness.
Now, Sukuna could have just cast that disgusting Curse off. But that wouldn't be nearly enough. No. Sukuna can do better than that.
So he came up with a plan, one that has been aided significantly by Tamamo. Even that hag helped him.
Sukuna will Curse Narauko's kindness.
He will do so by being kind, by indulging in this disgusting Curse.
Indeed, it is out of kindness that Sukuna came to protect Narauko's lover. It is out of kindness that he fights these Principle Clansmen, for her sake. It is out of kindness, that for the first time in his life, Sukuna is acting for the sake of another.
However, if there happens to be some... collateral damage because of this, then what is at fault? What is the cause of all of this death and suffering?
It is kindness that is at fault.
It is Narauko's kindness that is to blame for every ounce of suffering brought about today, and so it is Narauko's kindness that will bear the weight of every lost Soul.
That, is how Sukuna will Curse his kindness.
The only annoying thing is that to do so, he cannot hurt anyone or cause any suffering if it is not reasonably in the defence of someone that Narauko cares for.
Lucky him then, that Narauko went and fucked a Yōkai.
That means that anything he does to these Principle Clansmen is reasonably in the defence of Tamamo. Any collateral from this, well... that's just the cost of kindness, isn't it?
With all of that in mind, Sukuna does not jump to add to the suffering as his every instinct tells him to. No, a far greater cruelty is already taking place, and he can satisfy himself with that.
Just a little bit more. Your kindness is wavering, Narauko.
Instead, Sukuna finds the nearest collection of humans and simply hops in that direction and then does nothing to them. He just stands there in the air, above the cowering vermin hiding away in their filth.
He has another second or so before the Inheritors reach him, so Sukuna quickly puts his victory condition into place by programming a series of Vows into his Cursed Tool and then just throwing it straight up into the upper stratosphere.
The two of them reach him with one second left, and he can guess just from the feeling of their Cursed Energy what their plan is.
They don't want to cause any further collateral, so they intend to just hit him with Domains over and over again until he dies.
Most Sorcerers are too pathetic to open a Domain multiple times in succession, he assumes that is why they were taking turns, so the other can recuperate. But these two are Sacred Beast Inheritors. They should be able to push a portion of the burden onto their Beasts in order to mange two or three.
Genbu is likely recovered from his use of Domain Expansion eleven seconds ago, and with Suzaku having the Vermilion Bird, he can't rule out her already being recovered enough. Sukuna himself has already used his Domain twice over the last eleven seconds, but he's still confident that he can go for another four or five off of cooldown.
Not that it will matter, he thinks with an amused huff as Suzaku's chains shoot down at him, all seven of them burning hot with her inverse Technique burnt out for the next second. At the same time, she sends a wave of fire arcing above and below him, attempting to cut off retreat.
In avoiding the chains, Genbu manages to close the distance, using his tail to block Sukuna from charging Suzaku down.
He could have moved faster and done so anyway, slipped through the gap and tried to rip that annoying woman's head off.
He doesn't.
The dome of fire surrounding him hardens into ice.
Shrine returns to him.
Genbu's remaining hand hovers as if clasped with another.
Sukuna mimics him with both hands.
"Domain Expansion: Fair Punishment."
"Hollow Wicker Basket."
Genbu's eyes widen in surprise that Sukuna would make such a poor tactical decision, but in the middle of a fight—not even that, in the middle of an exchange, there is no time for thought or doubt. One must simply make a judgement and stick to it.
Genbu judges that he arrived just before Shrine returned, leaving Sukuna with no other option but Hollow Wicker Basket.
With no time for hesitation, Genbu acts as if that is true and he throws himself forward. If he can knock Sukuna's hands out of position before Shrine returns, then his Domain's sure-hit effect will trigger and Sukuna will die.
Additionally, if he can just stall Sukuna for one whole second inside of his Domain, then Suzaku will be waiting outside ready to activate her own Domain the moment this one comes down.
Conversely, if Sukuna's Technique returns, then assuming that he can project Dismantle even from his legs, then Genbu will be at a disadvantage; fighting with one Technique cancelled by an Anti-Domain Technique and another that no longer defends against Dismantle.
Sukuna, however, is not aware that Genbu's Technique no longer defends against Dismantle in the first place.
Additionally, Genbu does not know the mechanics of Domain Amplification. He only knows that Sukuna is able to punch through all of his defences. He does not know that Sukuna is unable to activate his Innate Technique while Domain Amplification is active.
However, Sukuna also does not know the full extent of Domain Amplification. He created it to get through an opponents defences, and thus has not yet had the time to consider if it can defend against a Domain's sure-hit effect.
If what Genbu knew to be true was all there was to it, then his plan would have worked.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent is Sukuna.
One one-hundredth of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna's Cursed Tool recognises that it has lost its connection with Sukuna.
Two one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna's Cursed Tool sends a bolt of lightning down to Sukuna's last recorded position.
Three one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna abandons Hollow Wicker Basket and starts moving towards Genbu.
Thirty-three one-thousandths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, it shatters.
In those three one-thousandths of a second, because of Sukuna's movement dragging against the air imbued with Genbu's Technique, two thirds of the epidermis layer of his skin is shaved off. Just half a millimetre shy of drawing blood.
Five one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna reactivates Domain Amplification.
Nine one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna reaches Genbu.
Sukuna was working under the assumption that Genbu is still immune to his Technique, otherwise he would have used Cleave. However, Genbu is still immune to Cleave, just not Dismantle. So if Sukuna had hit Genbu with a second Dismantle earlier, then he would have used Cleave now and achieved nothing.
Because he did not, Sukuna instead went with Domain Amplification, which is less lethal than a Dismantle or Cleave would have been.
Ninety-five one-thousandths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna's Domain Amplification contests against the summoned armour of the Black Tortoise.
One tenth of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna's fist impacts his sternum, breaking Genbu's body even further and sending the man flying back down to the earth.
Fourteen one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens, Sukuna dismisses Domain Amplification and reactivates Hollow Wicker Basket.
Sixteen one-hundredths of a second after Genbu's Domain opens;
"Domain Expansion: Subservience to Heaven's Will."
Suzaku does not move, and neither does Sukuna.
He just smiles. Savage, joyful, cruel. A predator circling the cage, waiting for that moment of weakness before it can pounce. His smile is hungry. He wants not just to kill her, but to make her suffer.
Suzaku glares. Not with heated passion or just vengeance. Her glare is cold. The frigid expression one wears when they face something vile and know that it must be cleansed. No matter the cost.
She doesn't just want to kill him. Over the previous second, Suzaku has forgotten hesitation and accepted that Sukuna must die. That it is no longer a matter of what is personal or what is just.
Suzaku has accepted that Sukuna's death is simply something that must be done.
And so she feels no more fear or anger. She simply moves forward with cold certainty, knowing that her odds of surviving are low.
Thirty-three one-thousandths of a second after Suzaku's Domain opens, it shatters.
She has never done it before. There are only records of the Azure Dragon and and White Tiger managing to survive it, and even then only one of each.
Four one-hundredths of a second after Suzaku's Domain opens, a Dismantle crosses half the distance between Sukuna and herself.
A Forbidden Technique so potent that it earned the attention of the God of the Bible himself.
Five one-hundredths of a second after Suzaku's Domain opens, she speaks two words.
"Balance Breaker."
///
Narauko
///
Staring at the reborn Curse before me, I blink as I realise what I just did.
This fucker adapted to my Shadow to force me into a summoning Ritual! What the fuck!?!
My hands snap forward to protect my head and are immediately snapped as a weighty impact shudders through my entire body. My world turns into a blur so rapid that I have no idea which way is up or down until I come to a very abrupt stop and everything flashes white for I don't even know how long.
When my sight returns, I find myself embedded in the side of a mountain, cratered around me.
Ow.
My eyes snap open and I don't hesitate to throw myself down and to the side. I feel the disturbed air brush against my back only a moment before all sound is drowned out by an explosion of force that sends me hurtling once again, though thankfully not as badly this time.
I spin around to see the entire mountain crumbling behind me.
Hopping further away, I watch as from the cloud of dust and rubble, Mahoraga walks.
"Hah!" A disbelieving laugh leaves me at the sight, and I really want to take a picture, but I honestly think I might die if I try.
I'm proven right as Mahoraga blurs, but I was paying attention this time, so I backhand his opening jab to the side with one hand while countering with the other, hitting as hard as I actually can in that moment and still only knocking him back half a step.
That's absurd!
His other fist swings for my head and I duck under it before snapping my hands forward to catch his kick on the shin and use the blow to throw myself backward.
I have no time for incantations, so I just pull out Woolly Mammoth and pump it with literally my entire Cursed Energy output as it manifests before me.
A titanic wave of superfluid, fractions above absolute zero, bursts from my Shikigami's trunk, flash-freezing everything in that general direction. Kilometres of land instantly turned into so much ice.
I dismiss my Shikigami as Mahoraga's frozen form continues to fly at me, and I catch the fucker on one foot, redirecting it down at an angle with a gentle push.
As it falls down and away from me, I turn my output in a different direction, causing an eruption of liquid shadow to extend above me, a pole one hundred metres in length that ends in one chunk of black the size of a small mountain. Even further reinforced by being wrapped in as many Barriers as I can maintain at once and as much Touki as I can project.
"YOU ARE NOT A SHIKIGAMI!!" I scream at the falling ice sculpture before dropping down after it, the weight of my giant fuck off hammer of fuck you dragging me down at speed, "ASSHOLE!!!"
My hammer tilts back, and it is so heavy and unwieldy that I almost lose control of it even with my Touki and Cursed Energy both reinforcing me as much as I can, but I manage.
Timed perfectly, right before Mahoraga hits the frozen earth below, I swing.
For the first time in my life, I can genuinely, honestly say that I swing with everything that I have. My muscles pull taut in a sensation barely nostalgic but endlessly satisfying. Every inch of my body moves as one, every muscle, every ounce of Cursed Energy and Touki deployed as the very sky ignites and trembles around my weapon. A mountain moving faster than sound, sharpened to a point to focus the impact even more.
From my position in the sky, I have the perfect vantage to watch as the world rises. A ring of earth reaching out to the horizon rises in chunks around the point of impact, as if to contain this fight within a bowl of earth as large as a city and as tall as the sky.
I don't even hear the sound of it all, my ears just break and bleed, leaving me deaf as the aftershock rattles my bones in a low thrum that feels as if it will shatter everything under my skin.
Every cloud disappears from my sight, blown well beyond the horizon. Even the mushroom cloud of dust I was expecting never materialises as everything smaller than a mountain is hurtled away from the point of impact fast enough to ignite and burn out depending on the size.
The buffeting winds snap my hair and clothes so violently that they nearly tear off. The rebound force that travels back up my weapon of choice shakes my hands so much that they do shatter, each bone up to my elbow vibrated so violently that they collapse and heal and shatter again.
What debris does reach me is kept out of my eyes by a film of Cursed Energy, allowing me to keep them wide open to observe this catastrophe I have wrought.
My weapon slowly disperses into whisps of shadow, leaving me feeling like an ant standing in the home of giants. A miniscule dot of matter within a bowl so large that I wouldn't even be visible as a spec to scale.
Holy shit.
A heavy breath leaves me, and my body immediately seizes as I remember to breathe and gulp in lungfuls of air.
My head is all woozy, and I have to shake my head after a slow blink almost puts me to sleep, crashing after an adrenaline high.
I'm tired. Exhausted. Everything aches, my muscles are burning, my Cursed Energy is trembling. I'm shaking. My head feels light and limbs feel like lead. I can't get enough air no matter how much I suck in. I feel like I'm going to vomit.
Lactic acid, or something, my woozy mind supplies. The steady thrum of Reverse Cursed Technique takes a lot of the issues away, especially the sickness in my stomach.
With a pop, I can suddenly hear again, and I immediately flinch from the noise. A constant rumbling over the sky, the ancient creaking of massive chunks of earth moving around me.
"Hah..." A disbelieving huff leaves me. This is me? "Heh. Heheh. HehehehehahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~! WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! HAHAHAHAHAHA AMAZING~!! THIS IS SO FUCKING AMAZING~!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHIT!!!!!!! FUCK YEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! HAHAHA!!! I'M THE FUCKING KING OF SORCERY MOTHERFUCKERRRR!!!! HAHAHAAA~!!!"
I can barely breathe I laugh so hard. My face hurts I smile so wide.
I can't help it!!
This is fucking awesome!! I feel fucking amazing!!!
So many endorphins!!
"WHY THE FUCK HAVE I BEEN HOLDING BACK ALL THIS TIME!!!" I scream straight up at the sky, "I'M GONNA FUCK YOU UP, SUKUNAAA!!!!! HAHAHAHA~!!"
Kach—
My body freezes as my eyes snap down, but my manic grin only grows.
—ink
The centre of this new formation of earth stirs. Recently settled stone shaking and rumbling before being thrown to the side entirely.
Mahoraga faces me with a grin no less than my own, and despite the distance separating us, I feel as though we are face to face.
"Ooooo~, you still wanna play~?" I mutter at a whisper under my breath as I stare the fucker down. "It'd be a shame to waste this new arena, huh~?"
I know, in some distant part of my mind that this isn't good. The Shikigami-wannabe likely barely managed to survive before its Technique gave it a full heal, but now it'll be even stronger.
Stronger than me.
But so what?
It's body was already around my level from the previous turn.
Does that mean I should run?
It'll have surpassed me now. A body stronger than my own.
Why should I run?
Positive Energy. Slice. Blunt. Pierce. Cold. Depending on how it treated that last attack, maybe heat and pressure and Touki too.
Why would I ever run, when I feel so fucking amazing right now?
The only thing I have left is Nue, but there's no way Nue can hit harder than what I just did.
My body tilts forward, pivoting on an anchor of Cursed Energy wrapped around my feet.
This is exactly why I keep a slot open in my Technique; to summon something mid-battle like I did with the Swan. It's a way to guarantee that I always have the option of a perfect counter.
My legs bend, Cursed Energy and Touki flowing through me easier than ever now that I've actually pushed myself with them
But this fucker turned this into a Ritual. I can't have two Rituals going at the same time. It's put me in fucking check.
The way my Cursed Energy and Touki flow together almost seems to magnify itself, taking me to my highest hight for the second time in as many minutes. I'm improving again.
I only really have one option left. It should still win.
My eyes widen even further as my grin turns into an expression that words cannot define.
'Should'??? Since when...
I push off of the air with my body feeling like it could tear straight through the planet.
Since when, has it ever been a case of 'should'?
The already broken earth below craters even further—deep enough now that magma explodes out from the cracks—as Mahoraga launches himself up at me.
Since when have I ever felt anything but certainty in victory?
We meet in the absolute centre of our newfound colosseum, and the impact of our fists colliding is so potent that it briefly creates a vacuum around us before air is sucked back in with a bang.
Am I feeling... Am I feeling doubt? In myself? In Me?
My back impacts one side of this earthen bowl at the same time that Mahoraga does the opposite. I don't even pay attention to my wounds. Generous Deer can handle it.
Isn't that... Amazing~?
I feel tears streaming down my face and do nothing to wipe them away. I am just too happy right now to give a shit.
I never want this feeling to end.
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament – Gauntlets of the Hunt."
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament – Imaginary Cloak of the Sun."
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament – Echo Phase Greaves."
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament – Diamond Breastplate."
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament – Touch of the Sky."
"Extension Technique: Divine Armament Totality – Shapeless Blade of Absolute Zero."
"Extension Technique: Divine Embodiment – Divine Crown of the Stag King."
I want to live in this moment forever~.
With almost every Shikigami I have overlapped over my skin, I feel power like I have never felt before overwhelming my every sense. Like this, I feel as if I can reach Inari. And combined, all of this together is my very first,
"Maximum Technique: Divine Armory."
You can handle this, right Mahoraga?
Covered head to toe in armour, I will my formless weapon into form, turning the freezing liquid into spiked knuckles over the top of my already spiked, pitch black gauntlets. Without hesitating for a second further, I throw myself straight back at Mahoraga, the beat of wings on my back giving me the speed to surpass him.
If you die right now, I will cry.
Mahoraga pulls his fist back, and I feel his intent. He is enjoying this too.
I'm glad.
My fist meets his own and his arm turns to ice and shatters while the rest of him is thrown straight back. I only get knocked half of the distance before my wings stabilise me, and I look forward to see an echo of myself catch Mahoraga by the ankle and throw the Shikigami down to the same spot I hit him with that hammer.
I'm glad you're enjoying this too.
The white-furred collar of my cloak heats up as the evening sun grants me yet more power. My wings turn and throw me after the Shikigami while my blade shifts into a spear.
I love you, Mahoraga.
I surprise myself with the speed I move. I hit the earth nearly the instant I decided to go down, my spear pointed ahead of me.
I love you for showing me this feeling.
The crater falls even deeper into the earth as my attack lands. Mahoraga freezes around the wound instantly, but the rest of his body resists. The world isn't as lucky, as ice spreads everywhere around us. Where there isn't ice, magma explodes from the earth in the distance.
I will never forget this day, for as long as I live.
Mahoraga continues to smile at me. A wide, primal smile that must be the mirror image of my own, except that he lack eyes through which to cry tears of joy. His hand reaches for me, struggling but entirely unwilling to give up, and I only cry with more joy as he crushes my throat.
And then, for the eighth time today...
The wheel turns.
Every injury disappears and I instantly lash out, my spear turning into a sword and dismembering the arm holding on to me, sending red blood in every direction.
You really just can't accept a loss, can you?
A tremendous impact strikes my crystalline armour and is immediately reflected, shattering Mahoraga's bones but still sending me crashing through the chaotic spires of earth.
I quickly right myself and charge straight back in, laughter trailing in my wake.
He meets me in the middle, both arms regenerated.
"THAT'S EVEN BETTER!!" I scream at him as we both stop an instant before colliding, my sword swinging up to cut into his punch, removing the arm before turning into a whip going back down for his neck.
Mahoraga ducks under the whip and lashes out with his other arm, the one with a sword still sticking out. I crouch enough that the sword misses my armour and cuts through my neck instead, stopping me from getting thrown away as it finds no resistance.
The wound closes before the blade even leaves.
I don't care anymore.
An echo of me steps forward and brings my sword back down, upper right to lower left, at the same time that I disappear. Mahoraga meets the slash with his own blade, and it actually holds, which is when my cloaked sword swings up and removes the arm at the elbow.
I just don't care anymore.
He starts regenerating immediately as my echo fades, so I push for another cut. Mahoraga's other arm lashes out to keep me at bay so I move to remove it, only to be caught off-guard as his shin impacts my chest and throws me away.
A feint. My face hurts from how much joy I am feeling.
I can feel it.
He isn't limited to eight turns of the wheel.
It's coming.
Another turn is coming.
Am I... Am I going to lose?
I'm so happy.
I've never felt so happy.
I'm sorry. Father. Tamamo. Amaterasu. Sukuna.
Mahoraga appears in front of me, fully healed and ready to win. I can feel it. He knows the situation.
I'm so sorry.
Mahoraga's sword swings down and my speed isn't great enough to act as I please anymore, so I turn my blade into a greatsword and block.
I'm sorry, because I can't think about you right now. Any of you.
For one, beautiful moment, Mahoraga and I push against one another to a standstill, connected by more than just our blades.
I'm sorry, because I just don't care about any of you right now. I don't care about the world, or about the effects of my actions or about anything else.
My echo breaks the stalemate. A prefect copy of me stepping under our blades and pirouetting around Mahoraga in an echo of how this fight started, cutting his left leg off at the knee at the end of the spin.
"This is your fault," I accuse, though the words have no heat for how gleefully I say them even as I use Mahoraga's broken balance to twist his sword away and spin kick him straight in the chest.
Mahoraga recovers quickly and charges straight back at me.
"It's your fault I feel this way."
He is too slow.
My hands come together as if in prayer, just with my middle and ring fingers curled inwards.
"Domain Expansion: Benevolent Shrine."
///
Sukuna
///
Balance Breaker?
Staring at the woman in front of him, Sukuna blinks as power rolls off of her in waves. Arcing and splashing randomly in every direction as if she has no control of her fire whatsoever.
Below and around them, everything too close turns to ash, further out, the entire capital ignites.
All except for one spot, protected by Tengen's Barriers and... the Kitsune?
A giant, seven-tailed fox towers over the burning city. One could misunderstand the sight as the fox being the cause of it all, even though it is the only thing keeping the largest remaining concentration of humans alive.
In the time it takes Sukuna to note all of this, his Dismantle reaches Suzaku, and is batted away with contempt.
"Hey, you damn bastard," Suzaku's voice reaches him, and though she does not shout, he feels each word reverberate through his body as his blood starts to boil under his skin. "I'll be dying from this. So give it your best."
Sukuna's grin twists halfway into a grimace as he watches the Vermilion Bird's flame converge around Suzaku, forming an ornate set of armour that flairs up at the shoulders and accentuates her figure by forming tightly around every curve.
What is Balance Breaker? Sukuna rapidly tries to think, but he comes up blank. ...It's strong.
Instinct alone has Sukuna leaning back just as a fist materialises in front of his face, but too fast for him to do anything about it, the missed punch transitions into a grab, and then his world is a brief blur of colours followed by a painful impact as he is thrown straight back to the centre of the Imperial Palace and its walls.
"I don't know how long I can hold this," Suzaku's voice hits him again as he climbs out of the trench his body carved into the earth. "But I want you to suffer a bit before I kill that abomination. Hurry up and heal so that I may—"
Suzaku cuts herself off to stare incredulously down as Sukuna laughs.
He can't help it, this is just so absurd, the thought that just passed his mind.
Narauko will cry if she dies.
What an absurd thought to have, Narauko cries about anything. But more than that...
Why am I thinking about anyone else right now?
He's finally in a position to cut lose, to Curse with everything he has.
So why isn't he thinking just for himself?
He knows why, and it pisses him off to no end, all while filling with an incredible swell of amusement.
It's all Narauko's fault.
"Unfortunately," Sukuna begins as he rolls one shoulder and smirks derisively up at the flaming woman. "I can't let you do that."
Suzaku scoffs with matching derision. "Why would you care?"
Indeed. A good question.
Because I want to be the one to Curse him.
"Someone will cry if you do."
Fine Narauko, you bastard. No more half-assing.
Suzaku's eyes narrow beneath her helm of flame, but then he is moving. Charging straight at her.
A tsunami of fire meets him, and he barely feels it through his Domain Amplification.
"HAH! LUCKY ME!!" Sukuna yells out as he clears the fire, dismissing Domain Amplification at the same time that he pulls on Cleave and punches Suzaku in the damn face.
Evidently not expecting him to have survived the fire so well—not that even Sukuna knew how well Domain Amplification would work as a shield, Suzaku only manages to block the punch, which does nothing for the lattice of blood that Cleave carves through her body.
"DAMN CURSE!!" She screams back, no longer even viewing him as a human as her free hand lashes out with a sword-hand.
Sukuna uses the momentum of his charge and the contact of his fist on her arm to lift himself up and tuck his legs enough for the hand to slide past his feet. Reorienting his fist to grab her forearm in the same movement, Sukuna's legs snap straight back out, constant background uses of Tithe being the only thing letting him keep up.
Suzaku shoots down like a living comet, but she regains control before hitting the earth and blurs back up, catching Sukuna on his hastily raised arm and spiking him straight down.
She's faster than I am now.
Sukuna hits the ground and immediately bounces back up, rolling backward a moment before Suzaku's fist impacts the floor and craters everything around them, turning the Imperial Palace into a sinkhole and sending out a wave of fire that melts his skin even through all his Reinforcement.
Stronger than Narauko, physically.
Back on his feet, Sukuna Dismantles the air around his limbs to create brief, strategic vacuums so that he can move fast enough to bat Suzaku's next jab to the side. A burst of fire follows the punch, further annihilating everything to his right.
This damn annoying woman.
A laugh leaves him unbidden as a Dismantle pulls him a step back from her reach at the same time that he kicks a leg up, sending a sharper Dismantle that carves into her flesh from hip to collar.
Oh how I Hate you.
Fire bursts from the wound instead of blood and rapidly seals away any evidence of it, while Suzaku herself dashes forward and lands a solid hit on his sternum, crushing his ribcage and collapsing his lungs.
Why did you take so long to show me this?
Suzaku overtakes him and combos a kick on his spine, sending him straight back the way he came and restarting the process of healing he just finished.
Am I...
A harsh laugh leaves him at the words he almost just thought, but that brief amusement is near immediately drowned under an incandescent rage.
Sukuna's leg snaps out, carving a trench into the earth as he spins back to Suzaku, his Cursed Energy exploding out of him, roiling into the sky as an inferno of wrath as his Hate eclipses anything he's ever felt.
"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?!" Sukuna roars as he catches Suzaku in the gut with his fist.
The air cracks, and then it shatters as a self-perpetuating Cleave spreads from the point of impact and reduces everything it touches into chunks until it hits the Palace walls kilometres away from them.
Feeling his Cursed Energy surging higher than ever before, Sukuna launches himself back at Suzaku. His Cursed Energy and Touki swirl together, almost magnifying against themselves to make him even stronger, all while Reverse Cursed Technique constantly regrows his burning flesh.
"YOU ARE NOT HIM!!!" Sukuna yells again as he passes her with only a brief touch that unravels her arm to the base in a spiral.
Suzaku's form flashes, a bar of pure heat trailing behind being the only evidence of her movement as her heel digs into Sukuna's side. By the time the hit even registers, his back is already crashing against the Palace's wall.
Sukuna doesn't hesitate to kick himself straight back at her, throwing a Dismantle so large that it carves the full ten kilometres of the Imperial Palace, splitting the grounds entirely in half.
Not a second later, Suzaku is in front of him again, half her face carved away and every rib exposed through stitching fires struggling to keep her whole; her face twisted into a rictus of pure hatred.
Good. We're on the same page then.
A tiny, concentrated Dismantle carves through her eyes at the same time that a thin beam of fire cuts through his throat and everything else behind him into the horizon, the radiating heat igniting anything within half a kilometre of the beam.
I Hate you for this.
Cleave tears apart his own throat so that it can heal faster without being cauterised, at the same time, a Barrier springs up around them both and Sukuna steps back from Suzaku's fist.
You have no right to challenge me, woman.
The Barrier disappears and lightning falls from the sky, hitting Suzaku straight on the head and stunning her for the briefest of moments. But when Sukuna tries to punish, he falters.
His Reverse Cursed Technique has been running nonstop for too long now that it is starting to burn out. Not yet to the point he can't keep going, but that fractional stutter in recovery was enough for Sukuna to understand.
He is running out of time.
Sukuna's Hate grows, and his fist impacts Suzaku's face with so much Hate that it taints her Soul.
But Sukuna doesn't care about that.
He just wants this woman to die.
Suzaku's form flairs even brighter, and a fresh crater forms underneath her as the earth melts from sheer proximity.
In the next instant, a new trench opens between them as Suzaku closes the gap in a blink and melts everything in her path.
"DON'T THINK YOU CAN REACH ME!!!"
Suzaku slams to a stop right before him, hitting a Cleave in the air, powered by a Vow that won't let Sukuna use the Technique ever again against her.
"YOU ARE NOT MY EQUAL!!!"
Suzaku is flung back as if magnetic as the world burns and crumbles around them, only to throw herself straight back at him, burning even brighter than before as she turns her own lifeforce into fuel for her power.
"THERE IS ONLY ONE WHO CAN STAND BESIDE ME!!!"
Sukuna's hands come together above his head, and another Vow matching the last chains him. And for the first time in his life, Sukuna swings not for himself, but to uphold the status of someone else.
"YOU ARE NOT HIM!!!"
Sukuna's hands fall, a guillotine of judgement. And as they do, as that Dismantle tall enough to reach the Heavens leaves his hands, black sparks trail in its wake.
"BLACK!!!"
///
Narauko
///
Mahoraga is only one step away when my Domain activates and the world changes.
Behind my back, a giant Torii gate rises, the topmost arch replaced by a giant pair of antlers aglow with Positive Energy.
From my feet, the floor gives away to a field of sunflowers, each petal shining with the soft glow of morning sun, lighting up the darkness of my Domain while casting deep shadows below.
See, my Domain has three facets to it.
Number one is the manifestation of my Technique. Within this Domain, I can infinitely summon an endless number of any of my Shikigami.
Number two is the manifestation of my heart. In a five metre radius under the Torii gate behind me, an endless font of Positive Energy pours. So intense that anyone within is effectively immortal, and so potent that any Cursed Technique used under the gate will immediately unravel.
It is a safe-zone, of sorts. It actually serves to make the Domain stronger too, by granting my opponent a chance to avoid death so long as they can stay under the gate. Naturally, with my physical strength I can just push them out of it, but the gate can be used against me.
Which is how the final facet of my Domain can exist.
Number three, is that the 'floor' of my Domain is an endless abyss. Any who fall into it will continue to fall eternally, their Mind, Body and Soul withering away and eroding bit by bit until not even dust remains. Or until I cancel the Domain. This is how I beat Tamamo after all.
Of course, I would be pretty screwed if I fell down there too, my Domain is tricky like that.
But that's where the challenge comes in. All that balance practice as a kid probably influenced this, because the only way to fight inside of this Domain is to use the sunflower faces as stepping stones.
If you lose your balance and slip..?
Mahoraga did not know any of this.
Which is why, as soon as it is caught in my Domain, I don't even have to do anything before it falls.
A sigh leaves me, and I slump down, dropping to sit precariously on a sunflower.
Not a single thought swirls in my head.
Kachink
"Heh. Hehehehe."
A hand larger than my torse shoots out of the abyss, grabbing half a dozen sunflowers at once.
"Hahahahahahaha~!"
I wipe at my face, but it barely makes a difference, and then I just lean back and I laugh as Mahoraga climbs out of the abyss.
I really only have one chance left. I haven't hit him with any lightning yet. But if it doesn't work, then I really will lose.
Maybe, in another time, I would worry about what that would mean. About the people it would affect. The people I would leave behind.
But right now, seeing Mahoraga still alive, showing me such a wide smile?
I just can't bring myself to think about them.
"I JUST DON'T CARE RIGHT NOW!!!"
This is all or nothing, so I leave nothing behind. Every drop I can bring forth, I do.
"FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS LIFE, I'M NOT THINKING ABOUT ANYONE ELSE!!!"
Mahoraga leaps at me and I throw myself up to meet him in the air, both of our fists pulled back as we face a perfect mirror.
"I JUST WANT TO CURSE YOU!!!"
One hundred and eight copies of Nue shoot out of the darkness below, stopping in perfect formation around us, their wings spread and sparking with lightning so bright with power that they sear my eyes to blindness wherever I see them.
"MAHORAGAAAA!!!!"
As I swing my fist, right at the point of impact, one hundred and eight bolts of lightning converge, and black sparks dance through the air.
"BLACK!!!"
///
In this moment, every living being within the Human Realm pauses, though they know not why.
In the Heavens Above, every Kami's head rises, a feeling filling them with the certainty that something unprecedented has occurred.
Whether they know why or not, every Soul under and above the Heavens stirs with feeling.
As for the first time in history,
There are two,
Simultaneous,
Black,
""FLAAASH!!!!!""