The air no longer existed.
Not in any normal sense.
What should have been wind, pressure, space itself—had all been shredded into something unrecognizable. The battlefield had collapsed into a broken expanse where the sky bled into the ground, and nothing stayed still for long.
And in the middle of that ruin—
They were still moving.
Ryomen Sukuna didn't look amused anymore.
He looked… awake.
Four eyes locked onto his opponent with surgical focus, every movement of his body now deliberate. Calculated. The kind of precision that only shows up when someone realizes they might actually lose.
Across from him—
Meliodas stood with his head slightly lowered, shadows crawling over his body like living things. The casual attitude was gone.
What remained was something older.
Something far more dangerous.
They collided again.
No warning.
No buildup.
Just impact.
Sukuna's hand moved—
Cleave.
Not the same as before.
This one was refined—tightened, sharpened, adapted specifically for Meliodas. A slash that calculated durability, resistance… even regeneration.
It landed clean.
Meliodas' torso split open.
For a fraction of a second—
everything paused.
Then—
Meliodas grabbed Sukuna's wrist.
His body was still open, flesh torn apart—
but his grip didn't loosen.
"That one would've killed someone else."
Dark energy surged violently.
Sukuna's eyes widened slightly—
just slightly—
as Meliodas' other hand slammed into his chest.
The impact didn't explode outward.
It collapsed inward.
Like gravity had been compressed into a single point.
Sukuna's body folded—
then launched across the battlefield, skipping through layers of broken reality before stopping mid-air.
Silence.
Then—
Sukuna laughed again.
But this time—
there was edge in it.
"Good… GOOD."
His cursed energy spiked.
Not just more—
different.
The markings across his body spread.
His presence warped everything around him.
"Let's carve deeper."
He vanished.
Meliodas barely had time to react—
Sukuna appeared above him—
A slash came down.
Meliodas raised his arm—
too slow.
The attack didn't just cut him—
it cut through the space he occupied.
For the first time—
Meliodas staggered.
He landed hard, one knee hitting the ground.
Blood dripped.
He looked at it.
Then slowly—
he smiled.
"So you can reach me now…"
Darkness erupted.
Not like before.
Not controlled.
Not contained.
This was raw.
Power poured out of Meliodas like a broken seal—his presence expanding, crushing everything around him. The very fragments of the battlefield began to crumble further, unable to withstand it.
His eyes changed.
Cold.
Demonic.
Ancient.
He stood up fully.
"Then I don't need to hold back either."
Sukuna's grin returned instantly.
"That's what I was waiting for."
They clashed again—
but this time—
it was different.
Meliodas didn't dodge.
Didn't weave.
Didn't avoid.
He tanked.
Sukuna's slashes tore into him—
arms, chest, shoulders—
but Meliodas pushed through all of it.
Every step forward cost him flesh—
but he kept coming.
Until—
He grabbed Sukuna again.
This time—
he didn't let go.
"Full Counter won't work on everything…"
Sukuna's eyes narrowed.
"…so I'll just return you instead."
Meliodas twisted—
and hurled Sukuna downward with overwhelming force.
Before Sukuna could stabilize—
Meliodas was already there.
A punch.
Then another.
Then another.
Each one heavier than the last.
Each one bending space more than Sukuna's own slashes.
Sukuna retaliated—
slashing at point-blank range—
cutting into Meliodas' body repeatedly—
but the demon didn't stop.
Didn't slow.
Didn't care.
Finally—
Sukuna broke free—
Domain Expansion.
Again.
But this time—
stronger.
Sharper.
More focused.
The shrine reformed—
larger—
more oppressive—
the cuts now targeting deeper layers of existence.
Meliodas stood inside it—
breathing heavily now.
Slashes tore into him again—
faster than before—
more precise—
harder to counter—
Even his regeneration began to struggle to keep up.
For the first time—
he frowned.
"This might actually kill me…"
Sukuna stepped forward inside his own domain—
completely in control.
"That's the idea."
Another wave of slashes—
Meliodas raised his hand—
Dark energy condensed—
He didn't reflect it.
Didn't dodge.
He pushed back.
The slashes slowed.
Then—
stopped.
For a single moment—
Sukuna's domain… resisted.
Meliodas looked up—
eyes glowing.
"But not before I take you with me."
Everything exploded outward.
Not from Sukuna.
From Meliodas.
A surge of demonic power so violent it disrupted the domain itself.
The shrine cracked.
Sukuna's eyes widened—
for real this time.
The domain—
broke.
Shattered like glass.
Both of them were thrown apart.
When they landed—
they didn't move immediately.
For the first time since the fight began—
there was stillness.
Both standing.
Both injured.
Both breathing heavier.
And both smiling.
Not because they were winning.
But because they had finally found it.
A fight where neither side had the advantage.
Sukuna tilted his head slightly.
"You might actually be worth killing."
Meliodas wiped blood from his mouth.
"Same to you."
They stepped forward again.
And this time—
there was no testing left.
Only the end.