Chapter 23: A Mortal Body, Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Gods
Boom!!!
The two figures collided in midair.
The impact alone detonated like a missile strike, and the resulting shockwave tore across the entire juvenile detention center. Walls collapsed in chains. The ground split open. Rainwater and rubble were blasted skyward in all directions.
And that was only the first exchange.
Compared to Yami's earlier battle against the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, this clash was on a completely different level.
"Hahahaha! Fast! You're really fast!"
Sukuna laughed wildly as he pressed forward, his fists descending like a violent storm.
Every blow carried enough Cursed Energy to shatter steel.
Even at only two fingers worth of power, the King of Curses still stood in a realm close to divinity. His physical ability, his control, his rhythm in battle, all of it was monstrously refined.
Yami did not meet those punches head on.
Though the naked eye could barely follow Sukuna's movements, Total Concentration Breathing Constant sharpened Yami's reactions to the limit. His body twisted and slipped through the barrage like a leaf dancing inside a hurricane.
Again and again, he dodged fatal strikes by the thinnest possible margin.
And while evading, he counterattacked.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance."
Whoosh!
A perfect arc of fire bloomed through the rain.
A deep wound opened instantly along Sukuna's arm, so deep that bone almost showed beneath the flesh.
"Oh?"
Sukuna glanced at the injury.
The wound was not healing.
Instead, white smoke hissed from it as though the slash had burned straight into his soul.
"That feeling... so it really is that."
The excitement in Sukuna's eyes deepened.
"Then let's try this."
He casually raised a hand and flicked it through the air.
No chant.
No buildup.
No warning.
Invisible slashes exploded outward from every direction.
Dismantle.
Thud thud thud thud!
Yami's school uniform was shredded instantly. Dozens of fine cuts opened across his skin, and blood sprayed into the rain.
Too fast.
And worse, invisible.
So this is the King of Curses' technique.
Even a casual wave of his hand carried enough power to mince a Grade 1 curse into pieces.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Sukuna grinned savagely and kept advancing, each lazy gesture producing another web of lethal slashes.
"Your eyes can see it, can't they?"
"Then dodge for me. Show me."
Yami fought while retreating.
His breathing grew harsher. His body temperature kept rising.
38°C.
39°C.
40°C.
His heart pounded so violently it felt like a war drum inside his chest.
Each beat forced another drop of potential out of his body.
[Warning. Host body temperature exceeding safe limit.]
[Warning. Heart rate exceeds threshold.]
[Warning. Current combat capability insufficient against the King of Curses. Fatality rate: 100%.]
Red system warnings flashed madly through his mind.
System...
Yami's gaze sharpened despite the blood running into his eyes.
Even for one moment...
Give me enough power to kill him.
[Strong host will detected.]
[Hidden function triggered.]
[Activate Binding Vow?]
[Cost: Forcibly unlock 40% role synchronization, including Demon Slayer Mark and Transparent World, for one minute.]
[Side effect: Role synchronization growth locked for one month.]
"Activate."
He did not hesitate for even an instant.
A month of stagnation.
Even permanent damage.
Even burning away half his life.
If it meant protecting the people behind him, he would pay it without question.
Boom!
The moment the vow was accepted, something inside him exploded.
Yami ignored the scream of his muscles and locked onto Sukuna's movements.
That invisible slash.
Though it could not be seen, it could still be sensed.
The disturbance in the wind.
The angle of the killing intent.
The displacement of cursed energy through the air.
On the razor's edge between life and death, the world around Yami suddenly became silent.
All sound vanished.
Only the lines of death remained.
Now.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun."
Yami's figure blurred at once, splitting into overlapping afterimages.
Sukuna's invisible slashes shredded through illusions and rain, but touched only phantoms.
"Hm?"
For the first time, Sukuna's expression shifted.
"A visual distortion?"
In that same instant, Yami appeared above him.
The blade in his hand was no longer merely red.
It shone like a fragment of the sun's core.
His body temperature had already surpassed 40 degrees Celsius.
Deep crimson flame like markings spread instantly across his forehead and down the left side of his face.
[Binding Vow active.]
[Role synchronization forcibly increased to 40%.]
[Transparent World unlocked.]
Yami's vision changed completely.
Sukuna's impossible speed became clear.
The contraction of his muscles.
The flow of cursed energy through his limbs.
The tiniest shift of force before each attack.
Everything was laid bare.
"Sun Breathing, Ninth Form..."
Yami's voice was calm.
So calm it sounded almost divine.
Then his body moved.
He became a roaring fire dragon, weaving through the net of invisible slashes with perfect precision.
"Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance!"
Rumble!!!
A monstrous fire dragon devoured Sukuna whole.
The surrounding ruins were engulfed with him, melting into an inferno that glowed like fresh magma beneath the storm.
"AAAAAAAH!"
Sukuna's roar burst from within the flames.
But it was not a scream of fear.
It was exultation.
The joy of a creature who had finally found a fight worth savoring.
Moments later, the blaze receded.
Yami dropped to one knee, bracing himself with Shiranui as he gasped for breath.
His hands were ruined, skin split and bleeding. His consciousness was fraying at the edges.
Across from him, Sukuna stood amid the scorched ruin.
One of his arms had been cleanly severed.
Golden flames licked at the wound, preventing regeneration. Charred sword marks covered his torso, still smoking in the rain.
For the first time, real astonishment appeared in Sukuna's eyes.
Then that astonishment twisted into something far more dangerous.
Fascination.
"Interesting."
His grin widened.
"So interesting!"
He stared at the stump of his arm as if admiring a work of art.
"Not only can that power injure the soul... it can even suppress Reverse Cursed Technique."
His eyes lifted slowly back to Yami.
"Boy."
His voice had turned low, almost reverent in its own cruel way.
"What kind of monster lives inside you?"
He was about to step forward again.
Then his body suddenly stiffened.
The black markings across his skin began to fade.
"Tch..."
Sukuna clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"So it's time already."
He glanced once more at the swaying Yami before him. There was regret in that gaze now, along with something darker.
Expectation.
"Remember this, brat."
"My name is Ryomen Sukuna."
His scarlet eyes gleamed.
"The next time we meet, I'll tear your bones apart one by one."
With that, the strength left his body.
The red light in his eyes dimmed.
Yuji Itadori's consciousness returned.
"Ya... Yami?"
Yuji blinked groggily, like someone waking from a fever dream.
What he saw was a wasteland of broken concrete, scorched earth, and a lone figure standing amid the ruins like a god of war who had refused to fall.
A weak smile tugged at Yuji's lips.
"Thank god..."
"You're okay..."
He tried to rise.
Then suddenly
Thud.
A mouthful of blood burst from his mouth.
The gaping wound in his chest, torn open when Sukuna ripped out his heart, finally caught up with him.
"Ah..."
Yuji's pupils dilated.
His body pitched backward and crashed into a spreading pool of blood.
"Yuji!!!"
Megumi, who had just reached the scene, let out a raw, desperate roar.
Yami reached out instinctively.
But his arm only lifted halfway before all strength vanished from it.
His fingers fell uselessly back to his side as darkness surged up from the edges of his vision.
Blood was washed into the cracks of the broken ground.
That night, beneath the rain and wreckage, some rose to stand beside gods, and some fell.
And from that moment on, the gears of fate shattered completely.