Outside the domain, on the edge of a half-destroyed skyscraper.
Gojo was standing with one hand in his pocket, his Six Eyes, as deep and unshakable as a calm ocean, fixed on the Malevolent Shrine rising in the center of the devastated city.
But there was something strange.
"How odd…" he murmured, frowning. "It's too quiet."
He brought his free hand to his chin, thoughtful, "Could it be that it ended so quickly?… Did that kid die?"
Beside him, Yuji was hunched over, his knuckles white as they clutched the cement edge of the rooftop.
His breathing was rough, each exhale coming out uneven, as if the very air was too heavy.
Even though he couldn't see what was happening from so far away, the pressure of the cursed energy was so crushing that his bristling skin felt like an electric field.
"Gojo-sensei… I don't think… Nero will lose."
Gojo tilted his head slightly and looked at him. "Oh? And why do you say that?" he asked with curiosity.
Yuji inhaled deeply, trying to organize the chaos churning in his chest, and recounted in a few phrases what he had seen.
Each word fell like hammer blows. Gojo remained still as the account sank in, and a low whistle escaped his lips.
"Shhh…" He raised both eyebrows with genuine surprise. "Is he really that strong…?"
His gaze instinctively searched for Nanami, who stood a little behind, silently observing.
"Nanami, what do you think?"
He adjusted his glasses and held Gojo's gaze without blinking, but said nothing. He only nodded.
"...."
A silence fell over the rooftop.
And for the first time in a long while, Gojo felt a shiver run down his spine.
He turned again toward the crimson cocoon, and a glint of emotion shone in his pupils, contrasting with the smile slowly beginning to form on his face.
"Nero…"
…
Inside the domain, the features of the King of Curses twisted with pure hatred.
"Satisfy you…?" he muttered, repeating his words. "I'm the one who's going to tear you apart!"
BOOM
The Malevolent Shrine trembled violently.
Immediately, the slashes multiplied, becoming twice as dense and fast. Thousands of lines appeared everywhere, intertwining until they formed a wall closing in on Damian.
If someone could see the flow of cursed energy, everything around would be a shining sea of slashes, leaving not a single space to breathe.
In response, Damian took on a loose stance, his left hand turning slightly as Yamato traced an arc that left a blue flash.
Each time the blade moved, the slashes unraveled on contact, collapsing into sparks that vanished before reaching him.
Sukuna's eyes grew more furious. He could clearly feel how his domain, his absolute law, was being rejected.
The veins of his four arms swelled to the point of bursting, and his cursed energy burst out uncontrollably in a tearing roar.
"AAAHHHHH!"
But just then, Damian did something unexpected. With a calm movement, he sheathed Yamato.
"I got bored."
Then… click
In the next instant, Yamato was unsheathed again with a snap that echoed like thunder within the sea of blood.
A single spectral blue light pierced the darkness, dividing space itself.
The shrine split as if someone had cleaved reality.
!
Sukuna's pupils contracted violently.
"No…" he murmured in disbelief.
He saw his domain shatter… and now the blue light kept advancing, straight toward him!
Crash
The clear sound of his domain fracturing pierced his ears, more cutting than anything else.
And then he felt it… not pain, but an absolute cold that burst from the very core of his being.
As if something invisible had pierced not his body, but his soul.
His face twisted in pure shock.
"It can't be…" he managed to murmur as cracks spread around him like unstoppable spiderwebs.
And then — only light.
A blinding sun erupted like a divine wave, sweeping away all the red that dominated the space.
The light did not arrive; it fell, pouring down like a tide that devoured the crimson and replaced it with a sacred radiance.
Sukuna, blinded by the sudden change, instinctively raised his arm to shield his face.
But through the gaps between his fingers, he managed to see that the blue slash which had torn his domain was still alive, projecting its light straight upward as if it could pierce the entire world.
The clouds split in two and behind them appeared a clear blue sky, so pure it felt offensive after so much darkness.
Rays of sunlight descended in golden columns, crossing the air and bathing the ruins in a celestial glow, as if the very earth were breathing in relief after prolonged punishment.
…
"The sky… it opened!?"
On the rooftop, Yuji shot up to his feet.
Gojo's Six Eyes gleamed, fixed on the wound now crossing the sky. "That sword…" he murmured without looking away, "it even cut the weather."
…
For Sukuna, everything external ceased to exist.
The blinding sunlight advanced, filling his vision until it erased the last trace of his shrine. The roar of his hatred, the echo of blood, everything vanished.
In the blink of an eye there was only… absolute white.
Endless
His pupils contracted, trying to give shape to that infinite void, until a silhouette began to take form before him.
A smiling face, grotesquely stitched with suture lines, appeared as if floating in nothingness.
"Hello, King of Curses…" spoke the figure in a strangely mocking voice.
Mahito tilted his head with a smile that stretched almost to his ears. "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Sukuna lowered his gaze to examine his own body.
There was no blood, no visible wounds, only an intangible emptiness he could not describe.
Then he lifted his eyes again to take in the void once more.
The silence was heavy, but not uncomfortable for him. On the contrary, it felt like recognizing a destined place.
A faint smile twisted his mouth.
"Je." His voice was calm. "Seeing you here tells me how this ends."
"Hahahahaha!" Mahito burst out laughing. "You failed! A total failure! So, how's it feel, huh? To be cut in half by that guy?"
Sukuna ignored his frantic laughter, his gaze still searching for something invisible, as if trying to see beyond that endless whiteness.
"It's fine."
Then, without warning, a new presence emerged behind Mahito.
A tall man with black hair falling over his shoulders stood in silence.
Kenjaku, in the appearance of Geto.
Beneath the stitches on his forehead, his half-lidded eyes held the usual enigmatic smile. But he said nothing, only observed Sukuna.
Suddenly, a sudden cold spread over everything. Tiny ice crystals began to grow slowly, drawing a silent path.
From within that frost appeared Uraume, kneeling on one knee.
His head was bowed so low that his hair hid his entire face.
"Sukuna-sama…" The voice that came from his throat was broken, filled with helplessness bordering on despair.
He barely raised his face, revealing eyes wide with disbelief and pain.
"You… how could you…?"
Sukuna looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Then he frowned and growled.
"Why are you wearing that funeral face?" he said with a tone that made Uraume's shoulders tremble.
Unable to answer, Uraume lowered his gaze, unable to respond.
Sukuna turned his eyes away from his loyal servant and directed them first at Mahito, then at the unshakable calm of Kenjaku.
Slowly, on the scarred face of the King of Curses, a wide smile appeared — but different… freeing.
"Isn't this fine?" His voice sounded serene, with a satisfaction almost strange for someone like him. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time… waiting for someone stronger to come and defeat me."
His pupils gleamed for an instant, remembering the blue slash. "Nero… truly impressive."
Uraume bit his lower lip so hard that a drop of blood stained the ice. But he couldn't say anything; his throat was closed by rage and helplessness.
"Yes…"
It was Kenjaku who broke the silence, "…that guy is so strong he seems like he doesn't belong to this planet."
"Hahahahaha!" Sukuna suddenly burst into laughter, echoing through the white void.
Stopping abruptly, he fixed his eyes on Kenjaku with a mocking glint.
"Now you understand, don't you? Your conspiracies, your calculations, they're worth nothing in the face of absolute power like that."
"..."
Kenjaku remained silent for a few seconds, then nodded very slowly.
Sukuna's laughter gradually faded until it became a relaxed smile.
He lifted his face, gazing at the infinite expanse as if he could still see that slash.
"What a shame… to die without discovering how deep that man truly goes."
A brief pause. Then a resigned laugh escaped his chest.
"Sorry… I couldn't make you enjoy it to the fullest."
Then he turned to Uraume, who was still kneeling on the ground, and patted his rigid shoulder.
"Let's go."
The word was enough to make Uraume raise his head abruptly.
His face was a chaos of pain, loyalty, and surprise. He wanted to speak… but no sound came out. He only looked one last time at Sukuna's back before standing and following him.
Both silhouettes, the King and his loyal servant, walked toward the infinite whiteness, moving away until their figures dissolved like dust.
"..."
Kenjaku remained watching calmly as they disappeared. Then his mouth curved into a smile.
"I expected nothing less from you, Sukuna."
With those words, he too vanished, leaving the void even vaster and more silent.
With this, Mahito was left alone. For the first time, his shrill laughter stopped.
He looked around, searching and finding nothing, and his eyes widened in confusion.
"Eh…?"
Then he began to flail, waving arms and legs in a tantrum, "Why! Why! They always leave me behind! They treat me like a kid!"
His voice echoed weaker and weaker until his figure also began to blur. His flailing slowed, his complaints grew quieter, and finally he dissolved completely into silence.
…
In the real world.
The open sky let radiant sunlight fall over the ruins, the space still trembling, distorting the light like mirages.
And among the ruins, Sukuna — or rather now Megumi's body — lay motionless.
The black markings, the extra arms, the monstrous eyes and mouth had completely disappeared.
Only the young Megumi remained, once again with his serene face and human features. His chest rose and fell in a weak but steady rhythm.
Damian stood by his side with Yamato already sheathed and his hand resting on the hilt.
Swoosh
Several figures appeared beside him.
Gojo was the first, followed by Yuji, Nanami, and Hiromi, and lastly Hana descended.
"Yo, kid!" Smiling radiantly, Gojo stepped forward until he was in front of Damian and, without thinking twice, raised his hand to pat his shoulder. "Good job!"
Before he could touch him, Damian turned his head, and just one look was enough to stop him.
"..."
Gojo's smile faltered for an instant, and his hand froze midway before lowering discreetly.
"Sukuna is dead."
Damian declared without much emotion, while his gaze dropped again toward the unconscious Megumi.
"Fushiguro Megumi is fine." He paused briefly and added, without dramatics: "What I cut was Sukuna's soul."
!
Gojo's face lost all nonchalance in an instant. He turned sharply toward Megumi, his eyes widening as he began to analyze him carefully.
"This…" he murmured, and his tone was no longer light.
Megumi lay peacefully, his cursed energy weak but stable. There was no trace left of Sukuna's suffocating presence; not only had he been expelled, it was as if he had never existed.
Not a fracture in the soul, not a mark.
Gojo held his breath for a moment… and then suddenly jumped back.
"Waaaaaaaaahhhh!" His shout of surprise exploded with joy and pure amazement. Waving his arms as if cutting through the air with his hands, excitement shone in every gesture.
"What technique did you use?! A direct cut to the soul?!"
He leaned toward Damian, his eyes glowing with fascination.
"How did you block his soul? Precise separation at the level of the laws?! What's the principle behind this?!"
He got so close that his nose nearly touched Damian's calm, unshaken face.
"..."
Yuji didn't hear a single word his teacher was yelling.
The instant he felt Sukuna's presence had vanished completely and that Megumi was still breathing, the enormous weight that had kept him rigid all this time collapsed at once, leaving only overflowing relief.
"Fushiguro—!"
He ran without thinking, nearly stumbling over the debris until he fell to his knees beside his friend. His trembling hands searched desperately at Megumi's neck, praying to find a pulse.
And he found it — a steady, constant beat.
Yuji's body shook, and his head fell heavily against the cold ground. His shoulders trembled as, at last, the long-contained sobs broke free.
"So good… so good…" he murmured between sobs, as tears fell.
"..."
Nanami, standing a few steps behind, kept his eyes fixed on Damian and the sheathed katana at his side.
'Cutting a soul…'
Hiromi was breathing heavily. Even though the battle had ended, the destructive pressure from just a few minutes ago was still weighing on his mind.
He looked at Megumi's intact body and then back at the calm Damian. Deep respect and silent fear took shape on his face.
Beating her wings, Hana landed beside Megumi even before Yuji could recover, and her trembling hands rested on his chest, searching too for that heartbeat.
And when she found it, a shaky sigh escaped her lips as, little by little, her shoulders began to relax until all tension left them.
There was no dramatics, only silence.
She let her hands stay still over Megumi's chest while tears fell, shining under the sun that had finally returned.
"Things aren't over here yet."
Damian's voice broke the calm as he glanced sideways at Gojo, who was still playing with the air.
Gojo stopped gesturing and looked at him.
"Fushiguro's sister." Damian continued speaking plainly. "Her body is occupied by a witch, one who came looking for Sukuna."
Hearing this, Gojo narrowed his eyes.
Damian lifted his gaze to the clear sky and then lowered it to look at the watch on his wrist.
"Mm. 15:32."
Then he looked back at Gojo.
"I'm leaving it to you."
Before anyone could react, his hand was already on Yamato's hilt.
Shhhhk
A blue light flashed and vanished instantly as the blade traced a cross in the air before him.
As if the world were fabric, a rift appeared, vibrating with instability. On the other side, a distorted, blurry, and not very visible landscape could be seen.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Gojo shouted in surprise. "Where are you going?!"
Damian had already stepped into the glow and, without turning back, replied,
"Go home. Eat. Sleep. Hug my girlfriend."
________
Time: If you're craving more (and I know you are!), I have just what you need. On my Patreon, you'll find exclusive chapters. Join our community and be the first to discover what happens next!
👉 [patreon.com/Athome790]
Your support fuels me. Thank you for the support! 💖