Sukuna's roar thundered with such malice that it seemed to shake the entire city.
In the sky, a man with white hair let his voice be heard before becoming visible. His mocking laughter traveled unhindered to everyone's ears.
Damian descended without hurry.
When he landed, he lifted his chin with ease, and in his amber eyes there was not the slightest hesitation, only a cold contempt that pierced Sukuna like an invisible dagger.
"I wasn't planning to get involved."
"But Sukuna…" he tilted his head slightly, "you're too slow."
"From Shibuya until now, fifteen whole days…" His words dripped with frustration and undisguised disappointment. "And you're still stuck with this…"
His eyes scanned Megumi's shattered, blackened body, now controlled by Sukuna.
And he stopped at the rage-twisted face, "…pathetic appearance."
"Moreover…" a shadow of mockery curved the corner of his lips, "do you really have to stoop so low, using such miserable tricks as trying to rip out a poor girl's throat just to amuse yourself?"
Without giving Sukuna another glance, he turned his gaze to the young woman who remained on the ground.
Hana Kurusu.
In an instant, Damian's presence changed completely. All the coldness and scorn he radiated vanished as if they had never existed.
Damian walked slowly until he stood in front of her.
His expression softened, warm like a spring breeze, and a radiant smile bloomed on his face.
"It's all over now, Miss Hana."
His voice sounded calm, filled with a serenity that seemed impossible after everything that had just happened. He extended a hand toward her.
"Can you stand?"
Hana's unfocused eyes faltered for a moment before regaining some light… and when they met Damian's now gentle face, her heart skipped a beat.
"N-Ne… NERO?"
The name escaped her lips in pure disbelief, staring at that outstretched hand as if she couldn't believe it was real.
It was impossible not to recognize him: the voice, the presence, the smile… because at every one of Damian's—no, Nero's—concerts, she had been there.
Damian kept smiling.
"Yes, my little fan."
Hana was left speechless. "Y-you… you knew?"
Although she had gone to his concerts, she had never bought a ticket and had never been in the front row.
He nodded, "Of course. You always hid up in the beams above the stage. I also know you went to my album signings, every time."
!
Hana's eyes filled with tears, this time not from fear.
"I-I… I like your music so much… but I didn't have money for tickets. I could only see you that way…"
Damian gently took her hand, squeezing it softly, and helped her to her feet.
"It doesn't matter," he said with a warmth so disarming it was almost unreal coming from him. "I felt every bit of your affection."
And before she could respond, Damian turned his palm and cut through the air with a single motion. The space in front of them split open with a dark tear.
From the rift emerged a figure tumbling clumsily: Uraume, covered in blood and with the white habit torn to shreds.
"Sukuna-sama!" Uraume managed to cry out, but had no chance to do anything else.
Damian twisted his body in one smooth motion and, without changing his relaxed expression, unleashed a brutal kick that struck Uraume like a projectile.
Bam
Uraume's body flew out of control until it crashed near Sukuna.
His four red eyes narrowed, glowing intensely before a slow smile spread across his face.
"Interesting…"
He extended his hand and grabbed Uraume by the shoulder, sinking his black nails into the flesh with violent familiarity.
"You know how to provoke me."
Damian, hands buried in his pockets, gave a small nod toward Uraume.
"Eat it."
"I want to see if, at your full strength, you're capable of entertaining me."
Uraume's body trembled as he obeyed, slowly pulling from his chest a small black box that seemed to pulse.
The lid opened on its own with a subtle creak, and inside lay three dried fingers and a rotting head that exhaled a repulsive stench.
!
Sukuna's pupils contracted sharply.
"Hahahaha!"
A sudden, wild laugh burst out as Sukuna snatched the box with one swift motion and held it with delight.
"In that case… I'll indulge you."
Without hesitation, he opened his massive jaws and swallowed the three fingers along with the entire head in a single bite.
Crack
The sound of bones crushing echoed.
With that, Megumi's body began to writhe. Black markings spread, multiplying and intertwining across his skin. Sukuna's cursed energy erupted uncontrollably, raising a gale that shook the ground and tore apart the nearby walls.
"Is this… Sukuna… at his full power?"
Yuji fell to his knees, panting, his back drenched in sweat. It was like standing before an inevitable cataclysm!
In contrast, Damian only tilted his head toward him.
"Still a little left."
"Where is the Prison Realm?"
"S-still in Shibuya…" Yuji spoke without thinking.
"Good."
Damian raised a finger and moved it, tracing a line in the air, and indeed, the very space opened.
Thud
Something heavy fell in front of them.
A gray cube with many sky-blue eyes that seemed to move like insects beneath the surface.
Prison Realm.
Damian placed his hand on the hilt of Yamato at his waist and drew it just an inch.
Shing
A sharp flash lit the space and touched the cube.
BOOM
A dense cloud of smoke spread out, hiding the scene and making everyone squint.
"Aaah~ coming out, coming out…" A carefree voice was heard inside the cloud of smoke.
Within seconds, the figure of a man slowly emerged through the smoke. His white hair was messy, as if not a single comb had touched it, and he walked with unsettling calm as he stretched and let out a soft yawn.
Beneath that disheveled hair, the corner of his mouth curved into a satisfied smile.
"This nap… lasted a bit too long."
"GOJO-SENSEI?!"
Yuji's shout of surprise collided with Sukuna's burst of frenzied laughter.
Sukuna's four eyes narrowed instantly and his cursed energy surged.
"Gojo Satoru!"
With one motion, he tore away what remained of his upper clothing, exposing a torso covered in marks that seemed to move.
"You came just in time!" he roared with delight. "I'm going to tear you apart along with that damn pretty boy!"
Gojo's eyes narrowed, and an amused smile appeared on his lips.
"Sukuna."
Swish
Sukuna's cursed energy turned into black flames that shot forward.
"Die!"
He stomped the ground with such force that it shattered, and his body turned into a black blur rushing straight at Gojo. However, just as he raised his claws to tear him apart, something stopped him cold.
?
Confusion crossed his face.
"FUSHIGURO MEGUMI!"
His pupils trembled violently as a different pressure stirred inside his chest. He felt something unexpected: a rebellious consciousness rising like chains, blocking the flow of his cursed energy.
The soul of Fushiguro Megumi, which should have been completely buried, was fighting to regain control of the body.
"He."
Damian, arms crossed, watched the scene with amusement.
"The vessel is rebelling."
In the blink of an eye, Gojo appeared in front of Sukuna, the distance between them nonexistent.
"You can't even control your own body."
With a mocking gesture, he lifted a finger in front of Sukuna's eyes and waved it side to side, like scolding a child.
"How do you plan to tear apart me and…"
Suddenly he vanished and reappeared beside Damian, casually throwing an arm over his shoulders with total confidence.
"…this star boy?"
"Bastards!" Sukuna roared with fury bordering on desperation, clutching his neck and digging his nails into his own flesh, trying to regain control.
Damian, on the other hand, didn't let the tension drag him in. With a single move, he brusquely pushed Gojo's arm off his shoulder and looked at him.
"No fun."
"Sukuna's last finger, you have it."
?
Gojo blinked, surprised for an instant. Then he raised an eyebrow with a smug smile.
"Ah, yeah… right."
"Give it to him."
"Huh?"
Gojo exaggeratedly opened his mouth.
"Kid, you can't be serious… can you?"
"A Sukuna like this isn't fun."
"..."
Gojo stared at him for a moment, blinking in confusion before pointing to his own temple and twirling a finger in circles.
"Are you really okay? If you do that, my student will be completely suppressed, you know?"
"I know."
Gojo frowned and his tone rose unintentionally.
"You know and still—?!"
"That's… fun." The corners of Damian's lips slowly curled into a wild smile.
The air instantly grew heavy.
Even Sukuna, still struggling with Megumi's body, stopped moving and looked at them with a strange expression.
"…"
Gojo opened his mouth so exaggeratedly it seemed his jaw might dislocate. And a moment later he started laughing.
"Hahahahahaha! Interesting! Damn interesting!"
He laughed uncontrollably, clutching his stomach from the madness of the moment. He even wiped away nonexistent tears.
"..."
But the laughter cut off abruptly. Without transition, his carefree expression vanished and was replaced by an icy look.
"Are you sure?"
He asked deeply.
"Back then… Sukuna was terrifyingly strong."
Every word from Gojo seemed to make the atmosphere heavier.
"I know."
Damian didn't even blink.
Gojo leaned his head closer. And then, slowly, a dangerous smile began to form on his face, growing until it became something almost insane.
"Then…"
"You think you will win?"
Damian didn't answer right away. He simply let his hand slide calmly until it rested on the hilt of Yamato, while his eyes left Gojo and locked onto Sukuna.
"I will win."
!
Gojo felt a shiver run through his body and his pupils flashed with a glint imperceptible to anyone not watching closely.
This wild certainty… had awakened something long dormant inside him.
"Hahahahaha! Good!"
Gojo's laughter erupted again, but now it was different; more euphoric.
"Here!"
In one swift motion he raised two fingers to the sky.
!
A blue flash tore through the heavens and ripped the firmament. In the distance, a black dot appeared and quickly grew until it became a solid object.
Gojo caught it with precision without even looking. It was a small aged wooden box carved with white seals.
Without giving it much importance, he held it for an instant and then tossed it toward Damian.
Damian caught the box with a clean movement and without losing a second, threw it as if it were worthless, straight into the center of the storm.
"BASTARDS!"
The box flew and reached Sukuna, who roared with a fury capable of shattering everything. To be treated as mere merchandise was the worst humiliation for the King of Curses himself.
With a single swipe, he caught the box coming toward him. The wood creaked under the pressure of his fingers, crushing the last finger stored inside.
Without hesitation, he brought the remains of wood and flesh to his mouth.
BOOOM
The explosion of cursed energy was instantaneous. A black power, thicker and more terrifying than anything that had emanated before, erupted with Sukuna at its center.
Everything around trembled, cracked, and collapsed under the force that emerged.
The body that until that moment had been recognizable as Megumi's began to deform. The skin tore and expanded as new black markings intertwined across every muscle.
Two new arms burst from his torso, ripping the flesh from within, while a wide mouth full of fangs suddenly opened on his abdomen.
Through the cloud of dust and energy, the full silhouette of the true King of Curses finally rose.
It was suffocating, monstrous and majestic at the same time, a presence that crushed the soul just by looking at it.
"Tsk, tsk."
Gojo clicked his tongue, narrowing his eyes as he analyzed that inhuman figure.
"Creepier than I expected."
Then he turned his head toward Damian with a smile.
"Kid, keep that in mind." He pointed to himself with a thumb, "If you lose, the strongest is still behind you, covering you."
Damian did not react to the comment or look away. His eyes remained fixed on Sukuna's newly revealed form.
"Not necessary."
"Sukuna… will die."
He paused briefly before adding, lowering his voice with certainty, "And your student… will also live."
________
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