Yuji Itadori stared blankly as Hoshino Ei turned to ash before his eyes. Fragment by fragment. Flake by flake.
That girl who was like summer itself. That girl who'd been made to stand in the blazing sun all morning like it was nothing.
She'd just died right in front of him.
Over the past two months, Itadori had come to see her—and Megumi Fushiguro—as companions. As friends.
And now, right before his eyes, his companion, his friend, was dead.
He'd watched her turn to ash. Helplessly.
You must guide people toward a proper death.
Did being blown to pieces count as a proper death?
"Itadori! Watch out!"
Before he could react, a mass of shadow pinned him to the ground. Smooth fur, as if draped in moonlight—Fushiguro's Divine Dog.
The next instant, a blue tank plummeted from above and slammed into the Divine Dog's body.
Itadori felt something hot and wet splash across his face. The Divine Dog whimpered, its entire form beginning to collapse. The last glimmer in its pupils faded as it slumped beside him.
Clap.
Todo clapped. In an instant he'd swapped positions with Itadori. Black Cursed Energy gathered in his hands—a flash of dark light, and that miraculous spark graced Todo. Black Flash!
The blow landed on Sheer Heart Attack's back. Layer upon layer of Cursed Energy punched through it. The force was staggering—it dealt no real damage, but it sent Sheer Heart Attack hurtling away.
Todo clapped again. Sheer Heart Attack vanished mid-flight, swapping places with a dying sorcerer directly behind it and ending up farther back.
"Go!"
Todo clenched his teeth, shattered the floor beneath his feet, and launched himself forward like a ravenous bear—like a runaway truck—barreling straight at Kira.
Killer Queen came to meet him. Its left hand nearly grazed Todo's cheek when he clapped—and in a blink swapped positions with Kira behind him.
The full force of that charge plowed into Kira. Caught off guard, Kira barely managed to channel all his Cursed Energy to his chest—dark light flashed—and a Black Flash struck his sternum.
Crash. Crash!
Through one wall. Through another. Through door after door. The entire hall shook. The floor-to-ceiling windows shattered in unison. Cracks raced across the floor, from the inner chamber all the way to the courtyard.
"GO!!"
Todo roared, his roughhewn face twisted in a howl.
Black Cursed Energy detonated beneath him. Blood—from his shoulders, his chest, his spine, his thighs—every point that could be divided at a 7:3 ratio exploded, shattered. The silver nail clipper danced through the night air, wreathed in black Cursed Energy, darting across Todo's body like a nimble petrel skimming the waves.
Clap.
Todo clapped. Mechamaru appeared before Kira. Terrifying energy gathered across Mechamaru's frame, Cursed Energy surging wildly, converging at his chest like streams pouring into the sea—
"Ultimate Mechamaru!"
Click.
Killer Queen pressed its hand against Mechamaru's shoulder and squeezed. Mechamaru's movements froze—along with the cannon blast building inside him—all of it seized in place, then crumbled to ash.
Kira rose from the rubble. He dusted himself off. Killer Queen stood at his back, and the lightning that split the rainy sky hung behind them both like a backdrop. Heaven and earth flashed white.
He walked out of the wreckage. Neither grief nor joy. Face calm.
"Todo."
Todo lay on the far side of the hall, bleeding from everywhere. He propped up his head and looked at Kira.
"Best friend."
Somehow, despite being on death's doorstep, he laughed—open and bright.
"I love upheaval. I love it when life changes. I love the thrill of dull, boring routine being overturned in an instant."
He paused, then shook his head with a rueful smile. "To be honest, I can read your personality. You hate change. Our compatibility is actually terrible."
"But the strange thing is—we became friends anyway. We are friends, right? You think so too?"
...Technically, they were fuck buddies.
Kira tilted his head slightly, voice calm. "I don't dislike you."
"Ha ha ha ha... cough cough. That's exactly why you're my best friend!"
Todo laughed joyfully. Blood gushed from the wounds across his body, soaking him until he was drenched in red, but he seemed impervious to the pain. He grinned.
"Being killed by my best friend—now that's one of life's great pleasures!"
He looked into Kira's eyes, voice soft.
"Principal Gakuganji cursed you with his dying breath. Then let Todo give you a blessing."
In a haze of firelight, where wind and rain and cloud intertwined, where lightning flickered across the open field, he raised his chin and spoke gently:
"May your days be uneventful.
May you find happiness for the rest of your life.
If time could turn back, I'd still choose to be your friend."
The light in his pupils dimmed. His hand fell to the floor.
His heart stopped.
Kira said nothing. He stood there, looking at Todo's body. He may have bowed his head—but almost immediately straightened his back and turned to the others left in the hall.
There weren't many.
Yuji Itadori. Masamichi Yaga. Nobara Kugisaki. Megumi Fushiguro. And one or two sorcerers he didn't recognize.
Corpses blanketed the mountainside. Shikigami. Sorcerers. Those killed by Killer Queen had been reduced to ash; those killed by Sheer Heart Attack or by Kira's own hand lay scattered across the hall in grotesque poses, eyes frozen wide in despair and terror, never to close again.
Hand my body over to Sukuna. Only Sukuna can fight him. Only Sukuna can fight him...
"Kid. I know what you're thinking. Pathetic."
A grotesque little mouth split open on his cheek, its corners curling upward in mockery. "Think you can use me? The moment I come out, I'll kill your friends first."
Itadori slapped his own cheek and fixed his stare on Kira—on those infuriatingly calm eyes—and spoke to those around him: "You go first. I'll hold him. I have Sukuna."
Fushiguro gave Itadori a long, hard look. He wasn't the type for theatrics. He knew that if he stubbornly remained here out of sentiment, the only result would be total annihilation.
Itadori stood in the doorway, black Cursed Energy churning. He watched the man standing amid the sea of corpses. Every cell in his body screamed in terror. Every inch of his skin trembled. His pupils shook. His hands shook. Yuji Itadori was terrified beyond measure.
It wasn't death he feared. It was something else—an aura, an atmosphere. Terrible and tranquil, like a calm ocean. Placid. Still. But no one is unafraid of the sea.
No one looks upon a calm sea without reverence. That is human instinct.
You will die surrounded by others.
Itadori slowly exhaled, and like a brave sailor facing the open ocean, he extended his hand.
"Come on, Kira-sensei."
He told himself: I just have to stall. Once Fushiguro and the others get away safely, I'll switch to Sukuna. I can do this. I can do this...
I must guide people toward a proper death.
Then—a dull, heavy thud, like something collapsing.
Itadori glanced over his shoulder. His keen eyesight showed him everything.
A man covered from head to toe in stitches pulled his hand free of Fushiguro's body. Blood splashed across the floor. At his feet lay body after body—Nobara Kugisaki. Masamichi Yaga.
Spotting Kira and Itadori looking his way, the stitched man flashed an innocent smile and waved at Kira.
"Hasegawa-san! All done. Everything went just like you planned. Gambare!"
Itadori turned back. Slowly. Jerkily. Mechanically. He stared at Kira—stared at those hateful, placid eyes, at that expression that never, ever changed.
Die, all of you. ...Sukuna.
The next instant, Sukuna opened his eyes. He tilted his head. Two additional eyes split open across both cheeks.
"Kira. We meet again."
A small box sailed through the air from Mahito's hand. Sukuna caught it.
He opened it. Inside, row upon row of deep crimson fingers.
Ten in total.
Stolen by Mahito, Hanami, and the others—they'd raided the academy under cover of the tribunal.
Sukuna swallowed them all.
Then the malice of the entire world bloomed across the valley.
Kira looked at him. Expression flat. Like a vast, still sea. He checked his watch and murmured:
"Overtime. Again."
"Congratulations. Your plan worked."
Geto smiled warmly at the girl beside him.
Wind and rain lashed at their feet. The girl tilted her head slightly, cradling a small box in her hands. Inside the box was a hand.
Hoshino Ei.
"After tonight, a new King of Curses will be born. But it won't necessarily be a curse."
"This is a battle for the throne."
Geto spoke softly, feeling the terrifying, bone-chilling aura pouring from the mountaintop.
"Whether it's Sukuna or Kira—whoever survives tonight will lead us Cursed Spirits into a new world."
Jogo said quietly.
"They might kill us too, you know. Neither of them takes kindly to being manipulated."
"Doesn't matter. I don't care whether it's me laughing on the plains a hundred years from now."
Jogo answered calmly, then turned to Hoshino Ei. "But you—are you sure your Kira-sensei can actually win? The gap between him and Sukuna still looks considerable."
"Sukuna is merely a stepping stone for Kira-kun."
Hoshino Ei stared into the distance, the smile on her face growing more and more feverish. An eerie flush rose to her cheeks. She cupped her face in her hands, wine-red pupils swirling like she was drunk, and spoke with a manic edge:
"Kira-kun is that kind of miraculous man... my beloved... despair is nothing but a catalyst for him..."
She gazed at the wind and rain, at that world trembling in the storm, and declared without a shred of doubt:
"When he walks out of this storm, he will be the new world's—
God."