*Boom!*
Along with a large explosion, the entire field in the distance was leveled.
Clank.
The scales of obedience in Aura's hands fell to the ground before she turned around and looked up at the flying ship in the sky.
Then, without hesitation, Aura, a demon sage of destruction and a symbol of fear throughout the world, kneeled on the ground and started begging loudly.
"I-I give up! P-please don't kill me!!"
But all she got in return were the countless magic circles forming on the iron dome.
Aura instantly panicked.
"N-no, wait! I-I give up! I said I give up! No, no, no! At least say something!"
*Boom!*
*H-Hieeek!*
Letting out an extremely shameful cry, Aura hurriedly flew into the air, trying to dodge the countless attacks rushing at her.
Meanwhile, on top of the ship, Sukuna calmly drank tea from his cup and praised, "Good tea."
"Spaareee meee!!!!"
Completely ignoring the cries in the distance, the human mage Erde silently filled Sukuna's cup like a professional butler before stepping back.
*Boom!*Boom!*Boom!*
'The winds sure are pleasant up here,' Sukuna thought in his mind as he let out a small breath.
Hero Himmel, who had been standing at the edge observing Aura below with his party, suddenly said, "Um... Mr. Sukuna, I think the demon is dead..."
"Hm? Dead?"
Sukuna tilted his head in confusion before turning toward Qual.
Didn't he say not to kill her?
"It seems I made a small mistake in judging her strength and ended up hitting her," Elder Sage of Corruption Qual said with a deep look on his face as he calmly ran a hand through his long white beard.
Sukuna gave him a silent look before shrugging his shoulders.
"It's her own fault for being too weak, I suppose."
A demon sage of destruction, and yet she can't even survive a single volley of attacks?
How dare she be labeled in the same power bracket as him with such little strength?
Frieren gave Sukuna a blank gaze.
A demon sage hunting another demon sage.
Truly an eye-opening moment in her long life.
Sukuna completely ignored her gaze as if she didn't exist and calmly enjoyed his tea.
Just then, the demon Solitär suddenly said from the side, "Aura is alive. I saw her move."
"Oh? Then bring her up. She passed the test for becoming my underling. Tell her to be grateful."
The spider demon gave Muzan a silent look.
This.... what kind of test was this?....
The Iron Shrine descended from the sky before Solitär went down, grabbed the blackened, twitching Aura from the giant hole, and brought her before Sukuna.
Sukuna looked down at the unconscious, completely blackened Aura before him, seriously wondering if she was alive.
Her pink hair had been blown up in several places, looking even balder than Solitär's...
Well, she hadn't started disappearing into particles, so she should be fine.
Sukuna grabbed Aura's head, easily pulled her up, and healed her with reverse cursed technique.
Aura's blackened skin quickly recovered, turning a healthy glow, and her hair also grew back in no time.
In but a few seconds, she was as good as new.
Sukuna flailed her around like a dead fish a few times before she finally opened her eyes, only to see a smiling face that would haunt her for life.
"What's up?"
"H-Hieeek!"
Aura fainted.
Sukuna stopped smiling.
Using his other hand, he quickly gave her a few slaps, turning her cheeks red before she regained consciousness.
But this time, before she could let out a scream, Sukuna grabbed her mouth, stared straight into her dark blue eyes, and said in a commanding tone, "Submit to me or die, Aura."
Aura's eyes trembled in fear as she quickly moved her head up and down like a scared cat.
Sukuna smiled in satisfaction, then took Aura away to the side to make a binding vow with her.
Meanwhile, the hero party was busy with their own thoughts.
"This.... Mr. Sukuna and Dawn City have truly created something I couldn't even have dreamed of...." Hero Himmel muttered in a dazed tone while looking at the sky in the distance.
They were flying in the air, like some floating city from legends.
Plus, he had firsthand witnessed the power of the Iron Shrine, and all he could say was...
"It's strong enough to overpower all of humanity," Frieren said.
"Yes... that's right, Frieren." Himmel nodded at his companion's words.
Heiter and Eisen also sighed.
Demons' magic... is truly too terrifying.
How could humanity even hope to compete?
No wait, was the Demon King even the issue anymore?
Hero Himmel turned to his party and said with a smile,
"Fortunately, Mr. Sukuna is a good person..."
"What?! You dare reject my offer? Fine then! I'll strip you naked and feed you to rabbits!"
"..."
Himmel silently turned his head away and stared into the distance.
Hm, the wind was indeed quite pleasant.
After having a 'convincing' talk with Aura, Sukuna managed to get his new subordinate.
Demon Sage of Destruction, Aura of the Guillotine.
She has one of the best chests he has seen since the Heian era.
Currently, Aura was placed under Solitär, supplying the Iron Shrine with her magic power.
Having a new portable battery just increased their journey speed by a few times.
All demon sages have huge magic reserves.
Sukuna smiled in satisfaction as he looked down at the human cities passing under them.
Due to the height, they all looked like tiny dots, especially since they were moving at a high speed.
According to a magic professor's calculation, they will reach the north in less than two hours.
This was the journey which took Himmel and his party ten years to achieve.
Of course, they must have taken several detours along the way, helping some random old village lady cross the jungle or something, which drastically increased the time.
Well, the point is that they should be able to blast the Demon King's castle to smithereens and return back to Dawn City on the same day, just at the right time for dinner.
Peak efficiency, not gonna lie.
As the Iron Shrine entered the northern hemisphere, extremely cold winds started hitting the hexagonal magic shield, causing small waves to appear.
Though it wasn't an issue, the power of magic was truly convenient after all.
The people and cities on the ground couldn't see them since they were so high up in the sky.
They passed through a large mountain terrain.
Sukuna even managed to capture the snake demon general Revolte.
Though he couldn't find his two servants, Liniment and Yin, as the two young demons weren't born yet.
Can you believe it? Two demon servants in a single trip?
Meh, it was a small number.
Frieren saw Revolte and Qual conversing in the background.
'How is Sukuna able to get the demons under control.....'
Demons follow the rule of strength; the one with the highest mana is their king, but that doesn't mean they are completely subservient to the king.
As demons are highly individualistic creatures, many of them will outright ignore the king's command and simply run to a place out of the king's influence.
But now, for several times, Sukuna has been able to capture several of them right before her eyes....
'Some type of mental magic?....'
Frieren lowered her gaze and looked at the black castle in the distance.
They had arrived.
At the Demon King's castle.
Sukuna smiled, sensing the Demon King's mana.
It was displayed in all of its glory, making his location extremely easy to sense.
Sukuna got up from his throne and commanded, "Hit it with the strongest attack. Let us see if the Demon King is worthy of his status."
Such arrogant words.
To question the might of the Demon King who has ruled for over a thousand years?
Eighth Demon Sage of Severance, Ryomen Sukuna.
Will today be the day.... he changes history?
The Iron Shrine started charging up.
Every demon under Sukuna's command powered it up with their magic.
All of their magic combined into one, giving birth to a dense purple magic sphere.
*Crack*
Frieren couldn't believe her eyes.
*Crack*Crack*
She could see... space cracking around the purple sphere...
The Demon King in the distance seemed to have also sensed the terrifying movement in magic, as its mana signature started moving.
Sukuna sensed it and grinned.
"Fire."
Eclipsing the world in purple.
The northern mountain range, a terrifying creation of nature which spans a total of two thousand kilometers horizontally.
Ruled by the Demon King, it has been a symbol of fear for the past a thousand years.
But as of right now, a radius of three hundred kilometers has been carved out, flattening it all.
Changing nature's creation.
Putting an end to an era.
And giving rise.... to a new one.
The era of Sukuna.
Demon King of Severence.
Humanity's ultimate nightmare.
----
Inside a secluded domain, away from the world of man.
An elf with long golden hair, wearing loose clothing, sat amidst countless grimoires from the forgotten era.
Then, for the first time in several decades.
Serie, the living grimoire.
Put down the magic book and stared into the distance.
"It seems a rather troublesome demon has appeared."
----
The Demon King's mana signature was gone.
Sukuna couldn't sense it, and a demon will never hide it, which could only mean one thing.
The Demon King was dead.
One-shotted by the terrifying power of the purple magic.
Truth be told, even Sukuna didn't think he could survive that blast.
Ignoring the silence that had descended in the Iron Shrine, Sukuna opened his mouth and said,
"The Demon King is dead."
Everyone turned to him.
Humans, demons, even the hero party.
They all stared at him.
Sukuna continued in a serious tone.
"Now it's time to get down to real business...."
What?
There was something more important than killing the Demon King?
Under everyone's unblinking eyes, Sukuna raised his hand and pointed at Himmel and Frieren.
"These two are getting married."
"...?"
What?
Himmel's stunned face suddenly turned beet red.
Frieren tilted her head in confusion.
Sukuna simply grinned in response.
"Whoever disagrees gets hit by purple mana."
There are no bad endings in his story.
----
In a random mountain range turned into gold, stood the Demon Sage of Destruction, Macht.
looking down at the demon under him.
She had long dark horns with brown skin, with an unmoving smile adorned on her doll-like face.
Greater Demon, Saint of the End, Tot.
"Do you agree to come with me now, Tot?"
"Macht... why do you force me to leave my seclusion?...."
Macht calmly lowered himself, grabbed her neck, picked her up like a toy and said.
"The wanted order didn't say that capturing you alive was a necessity."
His calm voice, devoid of any emotion, reached her ears.
"So perhaps turning you into gold will be faster? Don't you agree? Tot?"
Seeing Macht's calm face, Great Demon Tot's smile finally faltered.