Sukuna bared his pale teeth in a savage grin. "Oh? You're quite tough, aren't you?"
Without hesitation, he drove his left fist forward again, this time faster and with even greater force.
Mahoraga appeared to adapt to the raw physical impact as the Divine General's wheel subtly shifted its angle.
Bang!
The second punch landed with another thunderous crash. This time, however, Mahoraga slid back only a short distance, and the vibration running through its wheel was noticeably weaker.
"So it's adapting to pure physical strength?" Sukuna's excitement only grew. "Then try this. Dismantle."
A crescent shaped slash tore through the air, slicing toward Mahoraga's side from a deceptive angle.
Mahoraga's wheel immediately tilted. Rather than blocking the attack head on, it intercepted the slash at the perfect angle.
Hiss!
A harsh grinding sound echoed through the battlefield as the slash was redirected by the wheel's surface. It flew harmlessly past Mahoraga before carving a clean trench through the distant ruins.
"It can even adapt to Cursed Techniques and develop countermeasures? Interesting. Very interesting!"
Instead of disappointment, Sukuna burst into delighted laughter that echoed throughout the crater.
"This is exactly what I needed to stretch my muscles!"
He stopped testing his opponent.
His assault instantly became relentless.
Punches, kicks, claw strikes, and even headbutts rained down in an unending barrage. Between his physical attacks, he unleashed Dismantle and Cleave without warning, striking Mahoraga from every possible angle.
Every collision released violent shockwaves that blasted sand and shattered stone into the air. Dust engulfed the battlefield as deafening explosions echoed without pause.
At first, Mahoraga barely managed to block, redirect, and adapt.
But Sukuna's attacks were simply too varied.
His strength was overwhelming.
Worse still, he continued increasing his output.
More dents and white fractures appeared across Mahoraga's massive adaptation wheel. Its regeneration gradually failed to keep pace with the accumulating damage. The giant shikigami was steadily forced backward, each crushing impact drawing another deep, metallic groan from its body.
At the edge of the battlefield, Megumi Fushiguro knelt on one knee.
The violent aftershocks had already forced him farther away, and every trace of color had vanished from his face.
He watched helplessly as Mahoraga was gradually overwhelmed beneath Sukuna's relentless assault.
His heart sank.
Mahoraga was powerful.
But Sukuna was even stronger.
Absurdly stronger.
If this continued, Mahoraga would be destroyed.
And once Mahoraga fell, he would be next.
Megumi desperately tried to gather his concentration.
Even interfering for a single moment might create an opening.
Unfortunately, forcibly summoning Mahoraga had nearly exhausted all of his Cursed Energy. Every pathway in his body throbbed with pain, and remaining conscious already required immense effort.
His eyes instinctively drifted toward where Sol had been standing.
At some point, Sol had retreated to the edge of the crater, casually leaning against a twisted length of exposed rebar with his arms crossed.
He silently observed the fierce battle below.
The flashes of colliding Cursed Energy reflected within his dark red eyes, yet his expression remained completely composed, as though he were simply watching an entertaining performance that had nothing to do with him.
He never even looked at Megumi.
A chill settled deep inside Megumi's chest.
Sol truly had no intention of interfering.
Then, the battle changed.
"I've had enough fun!"
Sukuna laughed wildly as he brought his hands together.
"Domain Expansion, Malevolent Shrine."
His laughter reverberated throughout the crater, filled with boundless excitement and savage brutality.
The instant the words left his mouth, the world twisted.
Invisible boundaries expanded in every direction, swallowing the enormous ruined crater and everything surrounding it.
Megumi immediately felt the air become unbearably heavy.
It was as though he had been submerged in a sea of blood.
An overwhelming killing intent invaded every nerve in his body, leaving him barely able to breathe.
He slowly looked upward.
His pupils contracted in horror.
The shattered night sky of Shibuya was gone.
Above him stretched a dark crimson sky, as though formed from countless layers of hatred and resentment.
The cracked concrete beneath his feet had transformed into a grotesque landscape covered with bleached bones and twisted corpses.
The air itself carried the thick scent of rust and decay.
At the very center of the domain stood an enormous shrine with four monstrous arms.
Sukuna sat upon it like an evil deity, laughing as he gazed down upon everything beneath him.
Malevolent Shrine.
The domain of the King of Curses.
Within this realm, everything existed beneath his slashes.
"It's over, brat."
Sukuna's voice echoed from every direction at once, carrying absolute confidence and cruel amusement.
He did not even bother aiming directly at Megumi.
He merely flicked his fingers.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Invisible slashes filled every corner of the domain.
Impossible to perceive.
Impossible to evade.
They surged through the battlefield from every direction, converging upon the only two remaining targets, Mahoraga and Megumi Fushiguro.
This was the domain's absolute rule.
A guaranteed execution.
Mahoraga's adaptation wheel spun faster than ever before.
The runes engraved across its surface shone with blinding brilliance as it desperately analyzed the countless slashes filling the domain.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
The relentless impacts echoed like a torrential downpour.
Thousands of slashes struck Mahoraga in a single instant.
Brilliant sparks erupted from its wheel.
Deep cuts rapidly spread across its massive body before struggling to regenerate just as quickly.
The force of the endless attacks drove the giant shikigami backward, carving deep trenches across the bone covered ground.
It was still defending itself.
But only barely.
Its regeneration had unmistakably begun to fall behind the relentless destruction.
As for Megumi Fushiguro, his vision suddenly blurred.
A gentle yet irresistible force pulled him away from the domain's killing zone.
An invisible barrier instantly wrapped around his battered body.
Every slash within Malevolent Shrine, attacks capable of effortlessly carving through steel, struck that unseen shield like nothing more than a light breeze brushing against solid stone.
Not a single ripple appeared.
Each slash quietly vanished upon contact.
Seated atop his shrine, Sukuna raised an eyebrow.
His scarlet eyes shifted toward Megumi before settling on the source of the interference.
A wider grin spread across his face.
"So you finally couldn't resist interfering."
"Good."
"Now show me just how strong you really are."
===
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