When that evil cursed energy, which seemed to dye the sky a dark, bruised red, completely erupted, the air in all of Shibuya became incredibly heavy.
Even the slightest breeze ceased to blow, as if nature itself were holding its breath before this absolute malice.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Amidst a ruin composed of steel and concrete, the sound of crisp, steady footsteps slowly echoed.
Ryomen Sukuna.
The absolute overlord who, a thousand years ago, had butchered the entire jujutsu world and earned the title 'King of Curses,' was now walking through the devastated streets as if taking a leisurely stroll.
He wore Yuji Itadori's black Jujutsu High uniform, and his exposed face and neck were covered in eerie black markings.
In those crimson eyes, there was no anger, no sadness, and not even a hint of curiosity toward this unfamiliar modern society.
All that remained was an utter coldness and cruelty, as if he were looking at a flock of lambs waiting for the slaughter.
In the ruins not far behind him, the eldest of the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings, Choso, lay in a pool of blood, his life or death unknown.
At the very moment Sukuna completely seized control of the body...
Choso had tried to stop him using Blood Manipulation, only to be struck by a single, casual punch from Sukuna—without even the use of a technique—leaving him on the verge of death.
But Sukuna did not bother to deliver a finishing blow.
To him, Choso was merely a somewhat interesting bug, not worth wasting even a single second of his time.
"What a dull era."
Sukuna tilted his head back slightly, looking at the towering modern skyscrapers around him, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips.
"Nothing but soulless iron shells."
Just then, several massive dark shadows suddenly lunged from the gloom of the ruins!
They were three Special Grade Cursed Spirits driven into a frenzy by sensing Sukuna's massive cursed energy.
They let out ear-piercing shrieks, charging like three out-of-control heavy tanks toward Sukuna from different directions!
"Sukuna..."
A voice filled with reverence came from behind.
It was Jogo.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit stood atop the nearby ruins, his gaze fixed on the figure ahead, his single eye shimmering with an unspeakable excitement.
In his view, as long as the King of Curses fully returned, the era belonging to cursed spirits would truly arrive.
However.
Faced with the siege of three Special Grade Curses, Sukuna didn't even turn his head.
He simply glanced sideways, an extremely disgusted light flashing in his crimson pupils.
"Eyesores."
The moment the cold voice fell.
"Slash—!!!"
Without any warning or flashy movements.
Merely from those words casually uttered by Sukuna like a god.
Those three massive Special Grade Curses, strong enough to give a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer a hard fight, didn't even have time to scream...
Their enormous bodies instantly froze in mid-air!
Then.
"Rip! Tear! Shred!"
The sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed one after another.
The bodies of the three Special Grade Curses were suddenly thrown into a meat grinder made of countless invisible blades!
In less than a tenth of a second, they were brutally sliced into thousands of uniform, disgusting chunks of flesh!
Foul-smelling blood rained down from the sky, instantly staining the ruins a nauseating dark purple.
"This... this is..."
Following behind, Jogo saw this scene. Even though he already knew how powerful the King of Curses was, he still trembled all over, shocked by this irrational display of violence.
"Just a single look... without even moving a finger..."
"He instantly slaughtered three Special Grade Curses?!"
"Is this... is this the King of Curses at fifteen fingers?!"
Jogo swallowed hard in terror. The shuddering deep within his soul was even more direct and pure than when he had faced Satoru Gojo!
If Satoru Gojo's power was the pinnacle of untouchable logic and rules...
Then Sukuna's power was an irrational, raging abyss that existed solely for the sake of destruction!
"What is it? You bug, do you want to entertain me as well?"
Sukuna stopped and turned his head slightly, his crimson eyes casting a cold glance at Jogo behind him.
"No... Sukuna, you misunderstand."
Jogo suppressed the trembling in his heart and lowered his head, his tone carrying a morbid persistence and respect.
"I... I am here by Kenjaku's command... to assist you..."
"Assist?"
Sukuna smirked cruelly, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
"You think I need assistance from a piece of trash like you?"
"No, that's not it..." Jogo took a deep breath. Even under the pressure of the King of Curses, he still tried to carry out the plan.
"Kenjaku said... as long as you are willing to cooperate with us... he can give you the remaining fingers..."
"Oh? The remaining fingers?"
Sukuna arched an eyebrow, seemingly interested in the proposal.
He turned around and slowly walked up to Jogo, looking down at the one-eyed cursed spirit.
"Since you are so sincere..."
"I'll play a game with you."
A hair-raising smile appeared on Sukuna's face—a twisted, predatory grin of a cat toying with a mouse, purely enjoying the prey's fear before death.
"A game?" Jogo blinked, a sudden and extremely ominous premonition rising in his heart.
"Exactly. A game."
Sukuna raised his right hand and held up one finger.
"The rules are simple."
"If you can land even a single hit on me with those flames you're so proud of."
"Even if you just singe a single strand of my hair..."
Sukuna paused, his gaze becoming colder and more cruel than ever before.
"I'll agree to work for you lot."
"But..."
"If you can't touch me before I slice you into mincemeat..."
"Then I will kill every breathing creature in this area, whether they be human or curse..."
"I'll slaughter them all!"
Hearing this demonic declaration, Jogo felt a chill run down his spine straight to the top of his head!
Kill everyone?!
Even allies were merely consumables to kill time in Sukuna's eyes?!
"What? Do you lack the courage?"
Sukuna watched Jogo's wildly trembling pupils, his grin growing more unrestrained.
"If you don't dare, then just die now."
"No! I accept this game!"
Under the ultimate threat of death, Jogo finally erupted with an unprecedented fighting spirit.
He flung his arms wide, forcing the cursed energy within him to its absolute limit in an instant!
"BOOM—!!!"
Scorchingly hot flames erupted from all around Jogo, and the surrounding air was instantly heated to a terrifying degree.
"Maximum: Meteor!!!"
No testing the waters, no holding back.
Jogo immediately used his strongest trump card right from the start!
He knew that when facing a monster of the King of Curses' caliber, holding anything back was a death sentence!
A massive meteorite over a hundred meters in diameter, carrying a world-ending heat, crashed down toward Sukuna's head like the apocalypse itself!
"Hahahaha! Now that's more like it!"
Facing the terrifying meteor that could instantly level the center of Shibuya, Sukuna didn't dodge at all. Instead, he let out a burst of extremely arrogant laughter!
"Come on, bug!"
"Let me see how much longer you can struggle in your death throes!"
Along with Sukuna's wild laughter.
A cruel game of one-sided slaughter officially began.
In the next few minutes.
The center of Shibuya was completely shredded by these two extreme cursed energies.
"Dismantle!"
"Cleave!"
While toying with Jogo, Sukuna casually threw out terrifying slashes.
As these slashes shredded Jogo's erupting magma, their residual force swept into the surroundings unabated.
Since Sukuna had not yet deployed his domain, Malevolent Shrine, the slaughter was still confined to the center of their battlefield. However, the core area of the clash had already become a literal dead zone.
Towering buildings were sliced as neatly as tofu, collapsing with a roar and kicking up clouds of dust.
A few ordinary people hiding inside the buildings didn't even know what had happened before they were turned to dust along with the steel and concrete.
Panic-stricken low-level curses fleeing in all directions, as well as a few unfortunate sorcerers caught in the crossfire, were instantly torn apart by the shockwaves of their confrontation.
The streets were plowed with shocking craters, and broken water pipes gushed pillars of water into the air, only to be instantly vaporized into white mist by Jogo's flames.
This wasn't the indiscriminate slaughter of a domain, but the cold, casual, unconscious crushing of tiny lives as two prehistoric beasts fought in the middle of a city.
Meanwhile, Jogo, like a clown in this horrific collision, released his flames with all his might, trying to touch the high and mighty King of Curses.
But no matter how hard he tried, no matter how scorching his flames were.
Before Sukuna's absolute speed and overwhelming cursed energy, it all seemed utterly futile.
Despair spread through Shibuya like a plague.
In this seemingly endless feast of slaughter.
Who else could stop this crazed King of Curses?
Satoru Gojo was sealed.
Kento Nanami and Naobito Zenin were heavily injured.
Megumi Fushiguro and Maki Zenin were exhausted.
The entire jujutsu world seemed to have fallen into the deepest darkness.
However.
In this dead land that seemed filled with despair.
A figure holding a black and red long sword, standing tall like the brightest star in the night sky, was rapidly approaching this unending hell with an unstoppable, terrifying aura!
"Sukuna—"