"Pact… fulfilled…"
The hoarse syllables tore through the air, and a thick, tangible darkness erupted around Itadori!
It wasn't cursed energy—it was pure, millennia-old malice!
The cursed markings on his cheeks writhed and spread like living snakes. The skin beneath his eyes split open, revealing two narrow, blood-red vertical pupils!
The resilient expression that defined Itadori was gone, replaced by a cruel, arrogant smirk that looked down on all creation.
He casually raised his right hand—snap!
His palm, covered in eerie black markings, firmly gripped the tip of Nissha's [Executioner's Sword]!
The blade's light, capable of severing techniques, flickered and wailed in his grasp but couldn't budge an inch!
"Well, well, well," 'Itadori' tilted his head, his crimson pupils studying the blade with amusement, his voice warped and mocking. "Didn't expect to see such an entertaining trial trick in this day and age."
His fingers tightened slightly, making the light sword hum.
Nissha Hiromi's pupils shrank! A primal sense of danger hit him like a bucket of ice water!
Without thinking, his body reacted instinctively, leaping back with explosive force!
Boom, boom, boom!
Three rapid retreats pulled him back over ten meters, his face no longer calm and composed, only grim. "Sukuna?!"
'Itadori'—or rather, the King of Curses now controlling this body—let out a wicked chuckle and released the sword.
The light sword vanished as Nissha recalled it.
Sukuna leisurely ran a hand through Itadori's messy pink hair, slicking it back to reveal a smooth forehead and those three pairs of chilling eyes.
"Well, look at that!" Sukuna's tone dripped with exaggerated surprise as he glanced at Nissha. "You recognized me? Sharp eyes, Mr. Judge."
"Sukuna?!" Fushiguro Megumi's voice broke, his heart nearly stopping!
Nanami Kento's eyes flashed behind his glasses, his muscles tensing to the limit! Even Kurusu Hana, the Angel, who had been silently observing, showed ripples of shock in her golden eyes!
"You… how?!" Megumi's voice cracked with disbelief.
Itadori hadn't lost control of his body! How did this guy take over?!
Sukuna let out a low, delighted growl, as if he'd heard a great joke, his three pairs of eyes turning to Megumi and Nanami.
"Don't make such a fuss," he said, spreading his arms with a lazy yet deadly presence. "This naive little idiot and I…" He tapped his temple. "We made a little 'binding vow.'"
He raised a finger marked with black curses, his scarlet tongue grazing sharp canines. "When I say the words 'pact fulfilled,' I get to take over this body… for one minute."
He paused, savoring their shocked expressions, his grin growing nastier. "Of course, the vow's terms are—I can't harm or kill anyone during that minute."
He emphasized the restriction, but it felt more like he was flaunting his own game rules.
Crack!
The sharp sound of snapping bones rang out like firecrackers!
Sukuna tore off his left pinky and ring finger, blood splattering across the courtroom floor.
He laughed maniacally, holding the severed fingers up, his tongue licking the wounds. "But it never said I couldn't harm myself! Hahaha!"
Nissha's face twisted. "Damn it!" He swung his gavel to reinforce his domain, but it was too late—
Sukuna's figure shot forward like lightning!
Megumi barely registered what was happening before he was face-to-face with those crazed vertical pupils!
"Fushiguro! Dodge!" Nanami's warning overlapped with Sukuna's twisted voice: "Try some special candy~"
Snap!
Sukuna's bloodied hand clamped onto Megumi's jaw, shoving the severed fingers into his forcibly opened mouth!
Megumi's pupils shrank to pinpoints, choking sounds escaping his throat.
BOOM—!!!
A torrent of black cursed energy erupted from Megumi's orifices!
Nanami was blasted back, crashing into a wall; Kurusu Hana flared her light wings, retreating swiftly; Nissha raised his arms to brace against the shockwave!
At the storm's center, Megumi's body floated eerily.
Cursed markings identical to Sukuna's appeared on his cheeks, the skin beneath his eyes splitting—two new crimson vertical pupils snapped open!
"Cough… cough!" Itadori Yuji collapsed, regaining consciousness. He looked up in confusion, meeting 'Megumi's' slowly turning gaze.
That familiar face now wore a foreign, wicked smirk, speaking in Sukuna's tone. "Remember? I said I'd stick around because things were getting interesting…"
'Megumi' swatted away Itadori's attempt to help, all four eyes narrowing. "Kid."
Before Sukuna finished speaking, his fist slammed into Itadori's stomach!
WHAM!
A dull impact! Itadori didn't have time to block, flying back like he'd been hit by a speeding truck, crashing through a courtroom pillar in a cloud of dust and debris!
"Yuji!" Nanami roared, his body slowed by the domain's lingering pressure and the sudden chaos.
Sukuna didn't even glance at the flying Itadori.
He leisurely raised a hand, plunging his fingers into Megumi's spiky black hair, yanking it back into a wild, slicked-back style, revealing a smooth forehead and those malicious crimson eyes.
"Hmm…" Sukuna (Megumi) tilted his head, letting out a satisfied hum.
He spread his arms, as if reveling in the freedom of his new vessel, his three pairs of eyes locking onto Nissha with pure mockery.
"Your domain," Sukuna's voice sounded chilling in Megumi's tone, "it stripped my cursed energy?" His lips curved into a dangerous grin. "Why does that feel so… boring?"
Nissha's face darkened, his rationality nearly shattered by this rule-defying abomination.
His right hand swung down, summoning the gavel of judgment once more!
"Trial!" Nissha's roar carried a deadly resolve, the gavel wrapped in his domain's power, slamming toward the ground!
But—
Snap!
A hand covered in black cursed markings clamped onto Nissha's wrist like a vice!
The gavel stopped mere millimeters from the ground, unable to move!
Nissha's pupils shook! He hadn't even seen Sukuna close the distance!
Sukuna leaned close to Nissha's shocked, contorted face, his eyes glinting with venomous delight, his voice dripping with mocking realization.
"Oh, right~ I forgot." He licked his lips, his smile cruel and gleeful. "Your trial can only judge those guilty of the same crime, right?"
He tightened his grip, Nissha's wrist cracking under the pressure.
"Hahaha!" Sukuna's laughter echoed through the ruined courtroom. "Because that kid was just a vessel! The one who went on a killing spree in Shibuya, crushing those 20,000 ants…"
He paused, his eyes locking onto Nissha's horrified pupils, declaring each word deliberately: "That was me, Judge!"
Nissha's pupils contracted from pain and shock! He poured cursed energy into his legs, kicking at Sukuna (Megumi's) midsection like a battle axe, desperate to break free!
Thud! Thud!
Heavy impacts! Sukuna didn't even shift his stance, his cursed-marked left hand casually swatting and blocking, deflecting Nissha's kicks with ease, like brushing off dust. Megumi's body, under Sukuna's control, displayed terrifying strength and reflexes far beyond normal!
"Ugh!" Nissha grunted, his attacks effortlessly countered, the crushing pain in his wrist nearly making him drop the gavel.
"How do I break your annoying domain?" Sukuna tilted his head, a playful smile on his face, effortlessly blocking Nissha's flurry of kicks while asking leisurely.
His movements were always a step ahead, like he was giving a casual demonstration.
Nissha gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his forehead, silent as his attacks grew frantic! Each kick carried a boom of cursed energy!
But Sukuna blocked with one hand, parrying or deflecting with ease.
Only when Nissha desperately tried to summon the gavel for another trial did Sukuna's grip tighten, the pain forcing his technique to falter.
As Sukuna toyed with Nissha, his cruel smile widening—
"Give him back!!!"
A piercing, resolute cry shattered the domain's oppressive remnants!
Kurusu Hana hovered in the air, her body erupting in blinding golden light! The angelic halo above her head blazed like a small sun, radiating a glow that pierced all darkness! A holy shockwave of energy surged outward!
The angelic girl cupped her hands at her mouth, her golden eyes burning with unprecedented rage and sorrow, locking onto Sukuna in Megumi's body as she screamed with all her strength: "Give Megumi back to me!!!"
"Jacob's Ladder!!!"
BOOM—!!!
The space before her hands warped violently!
A golden beam of holy light, over ten meters wide, capable of disintegrating anything, shot forth like a spear of divine punishment, tearing through Nissha's already crumbling domain!
The beam surged toward Sukuna at a speed beyond thought!
Too fast! Too close! Sukuna's mocking grin froze!
He turned, only to see a wall of destructive golden light filling his vision! He didn't even have time to fully release Nissha's wrist—
"Arghhh—!!!"
Megumi's body was engulfed by the beam! Sukuna let out a scream of pain and rage, a distorted, inhuman sound filled with disbelief and fury!
The holy flames seared the King of Curses' soul and the body he possessed!
The massive golden beam pierced the shattered courtroom domain, soaring into the sky, briefly tearing apart the city's gloom!
Everyone held their breath, staring at the beam's center.
A shaky figure emerged within the light.
"Hana…" A weak but familiar voice sounded.
Kurusu Hana froze as if struck by lightning! Her glow dimmed, the beam fading. "Megumi… Megumi-kun?!"
The smoke cleared, revealing a battered Fushiguro Megumi, his skin charred and cracked, wisps of smoke rising, but his eyes—free of crimson—looked at her with dazed exhaustion.
"I… remember everything…" He struggled to raise a severely burned hand toward her.
A wave of overwhelming joy and relief flooded Kurusu Hana!
Tears poured down her face! "Megumi-kun!!!" She flapped her wings, rushing toward him like a streak of light!
"Don't go!!!" Nanami and Nissha's shouts rang out simultaneously!
Nissha clutched his right arm, scorched by the beam's edge, while Nanami burned with urgency!
But it was too late.
Kurusu Hana crashed into 'Megumi's' arms, wrapping her arms tightly around his charred neck, sobbing into his chest. "Thank goodness… thank goodness…"
In that moment of vulnerability—
Beneath 'Megumi's' burned scars, the eerie black cursed markings writhed and deepened!
His lips twisted into a grotesque, ear-to-ear grin, four crimson pupils glaring viciously from his charred skin!
"Heh…" A distorted, Sukuna-like snicker escaped 'Megumi's' throat!
His remaining right arm clamped around Kurusu Hana's slender waist like a python, trapping her struggles!
His monstrous head reared back, a gaping maw of sharp fangs opening wide, lunging with a foul gust toward her defenseless, pale neck!
"Kurusu Hana—!!!" Nanami's eyes widened in horror!
Buzz—slash!
A chilling blade light tore through space without warning!
The blade sliced precisely into the elbow of 'Megumi's' arm holding Kurusu Hana!
Shunk!
The cursed-marked forearm was severed at the elbow! Black blood sprayed!
"ROAR—!!!" Sukuna let out a furious, pained bellow! The agony forced him to release Kurusu Hana, his body blurring into a streak as he retreated!
Kurusu Hana, unsupported, collapsed softly toward the ground, caught by a rushing Nanami.
Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated, overwhelmed by fear and betrayal, tears streaming silently.
Sukuna stopped dozens of meters away, the wound on his severed left arm already clotting. He snapped his head up, crimson eyes blazing with rage, locking onto a figure that had appeared in the air.
The man hovered, holding a long blade. His white hair framed mocking eyes, a disdainful smirk on his face.
"You damned pest…" Sukuna growled through clenched teeth, each word dripping with the King of Curses' fury. "Nero!"
"Didn't you say you wouldn't interfere with my recovery?!" he roared.
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