Dust floated slowly inside the massive crater.
The air was thick with smoke and blood.
At the center—
Barely alive—
Toji Fushiguro.
His chest torn open.
Arm dislocated.
Breathing shallow.
Above him—
Hand raised for execution—
Ryomen Sukuna.
The King of Curses.
One more strike would end it.
The Pause
Sukuna's hand hovered inches above Toji's skull.
Cursed energy condensed.
Dense enough to erase him completely.
But then—
Sukuna stopped.
His four eyes studied the man beneath him.
Even broken.
Even dying.
Toji's gaze had not surrendered.
There was no fear.
No pleading.
Only calculation.
Even now.
Sukuna's lips curved upward.
"…Interesting."
The cursed energy slowly dispersed.
The Decision
Sukuna stepped back.
The pressure on the battlefield eased slightly.
Toji coughed blood, barely conscious.
"You destroyed my Domain."
"You destroyed Mahoraga."
"You forced my true form."
Sukuna turned away casually.
"And yet… you still haven't shown me everything."
He glanced over his shoulder.
"I can feel it."
"There's something deeper."
Toji's fingers twitched weakly.
But he said nothing.
A King's Game
Sukuna began walking out of the crater.
Each step cracking the broken earth.
"I could kill you now."
His voice echoed calmly across the ruins.
"But where is the pleasure in that?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"I want you at your best."
The wind howled through the destroyed city.
Flames flickered in the distance.
"You're more entertaining alive."
Sukuna's smile widened.
Cruel.
Confident.
Absolute.
Retreat
With a surge of cursed energy—
Space distorted slightly around him.
Not escape.
Not fear.
Choice.
"I'll let you recover."
He looked back one final time.
"Then I'll destroy you properly."
His form began fading into the distant smoke.
Four arms.
Four eyes.
Disappearing into darkness.
But his laughter remained—
Low.
Satisfied.
Aftermath
Silence returned to the ruined city.
Toji lay motionless in the crater.
Barely breathing.
Critically wounded.
But alive.
Sukuna had chosen not to finish it.
Not because he couldn't.
Because he wanted more.
The King had retreated—
Smiling.
And for the first time since this war began—
Toji was alone.
Broken.
On the edge of death.
The next time they met—
There would be no mercy.
No testing.
Only conclusion.