Chapter 54 - A Curse To Be Granted

A/N: 15k Words

***

"Werner von Hochberg is already back?" Megumi repeated that piece of information to himself, staring at the peak of the Spire from where he was at. By his side was a black sheathed katana, his commission having been completed extremely quickly. Right now, he was imbuing the weapon in order to make it into a Cursed Tool, with both Yamata-no-Orochi's Max Elephant aspect along with the generalization of the Ten Shadows' Neutral Technique.

Many gossipers littered the street, speaking of the latest news happening around Sturmland. The most obvious and eye-catching one would be that the Kurfurst had returned, the person who practically held the most power here aside from the Twin Empresses. 'Wait, no... the Kurfursten possess just about the same as the Twin Empresses, and all of them gathered together could potentially overrule them.' That was his current interpretation.

His Dharmchakra began spinning rapidly, adapting to many aspects that were happening around him, including the imbuement of his Cursed Energy and Cursed Technique into the black katana. He had decided on an ample name for it, Ame-no-Habakiri, the Feathery Cutter of Heaven. It was the weapon that broke when Susanoo-no-Mikoto had killed Yamata-no-Orochi. There were some other texts which labelled the blade's name as Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, but Megumi had decided to settle with Ame-no-Habakiri.

With how much Mahoraga's Shadow Extension had improved from the apoptosis Binding Vow he had put, the speed of adaptation had become much faster as a result. Therefore, the process of finishing the imbuement due to Mahoraga's adaptation became much faster than expected. Even when the amount of rotations required had been doubled in order to make the result work, the speed of which it took the wheel to continue finishing spinning had completely removed the downside to it, setting it back to square zero—with the added benefit that he could now adapt to a multitude of things at the same time. The only way to beat Mahoraga as it stands, is to have an attack which could fully incinerate it before the adaptation took effect.

Once a single adaptation had been undertaken, it didn't matter if Mahoraga was atomized by the same attack, for it would recover once the Cycle of Harmony was completed. Megumi admired it, and feared it. How could beings like these even come to be in the first place? What cosmic apparitions existed back on Earth, that he and Jujutsu Society was wholly unaware of? He didn't know.

"It's already done?" Megumi raised Ame-no-Habakiri to eye level in the alleyway he had decided to stay at. He didn't want to put up the wrong impression, walking into the Spire with his wheel going haywire and his hand holding a weapon. "I should go back then... and see how well this weapon holds up." There was also the need to maintain his other Cursed Tools with Reverse Cursed Technique, for his eyes had fully become used to seeing souls effectively—along with his senses.

Deciding to gauge how the weapon was designed one last time, Megumi had to admit the Leithanien blacksmiths knew what they were doing. The sheath had ropes attached to it, the many parts sprawling, originating from just below where the guard was. To keep tradition to his Ten Shadows ability, majority of its parts were black, which further matched his black haori. 'I should have asked Okkotsu-senpai for training, to use a katana effectively.'

He clenched the object in his hands, letting out a sigh. He would have to start from square one it seems, or abuse other weapons which he has learnt how to use to implement it to the katana in a way that suited a well-thought out fighting style. 'If Gojo-sensei was right in Taira-no-Masakado, then using this weapon should come naturally. I don't know when I'll have the opportunity, because there doesn't seem to be any public sparring grounds around Sturmland or in the Spire... Actually, I don't know much about the Spire aside from the interior. I'll have to check out on it later.'

Megumi felt a dampening in his reserves, before recalling Ame-no-Habakiri. There were dark eyebags forming, and the black haired man could definitely feel a crawling mental exhaustion making its way up to his brain. With that came many headaches and migraines that disappeared just as they had arrived, leaving a pulsing sensation which would eventually calm down. He already knew what he was feeling, and he despised it to a wholly large degree.

Shaking his hand, the sheathed katana fell back into his shadows. It was as if it was never there, gone with the brisk wind running across the horizon and making its way to where he was at, the desolate alleyway which possessed no life. Only the wistful cackle of autumn leaves entered his ears, the wind diverting their course to crash into the ground and break off into a million pieces.

Megumi stepped out of the isolated place. He didn't find the claustrophobic environment to be a bother, as he had been in far darker and cramped spaces compared to an alleyway. The only part that had him frowning his lips was when he was reminded of Lappland strangling him in one of Lungmen's alleyways, for whatever reason other than to just get him to fight her seriously. Now he was curious where that white haired woman was... but at the same time, he could hardly care anymore.

The world of Terra was large, and he was in a different country. There was no way in hell that Lupo would be able to find him in a place such as Leithanien, considering how far away it was from Lungmen. He doubted the woman would chase him either, with how she seemed to hold more interest in that Texas girl than anybody else. He would never encounter them again, that much was obvious.

'...Lungmen... Lungmen... forget about Lungmen,' Megumi pressed his thumb against his forehead and sighed. The Spire was coming to his view more clearly, and so did he wish to forget about any stressful thoughts. However, his steps paused when he felt movement across the garden, the shadows twisting and turning with a barely perceptible play of an instrument. 'Instruments?' It was a soft but harsh tune, something that grated at the black haired man's ears. 'Is some sort of Arts being casted?'

He didn't pay it much heed, considering how Arts were a staple part of Leithanien's culture. There were many schools of thoughts which were dedicated to each specific application that could be done with Arts. Megumi hadn't bothered to explore them... yet, because his mind was occupied with a great deal of other things. Eventually though, he would get to studying them and find ways to counteract them. Just relying on his Dharmachakra wasn't always a good idea, and he knew that.

'...The shadows turned again,' Megumi dryly noted in his mind again while making his way through. There wasn't anything like this all the other times he had visited the Spire. But maybe it was because he wasn't too used to how the Spire worked, and these were simply some sort of secret guard service for the Kurfurst of Sturmland... 'they wouldn't just have the Gesatzwachter, right?' A line of reasoning came to him. Perhaps they were a BlackOps unit for the Kurfurst... since he had just arrived at the Spire today, after all.

He closed his eyes when making his way inside. It wasn't that simple, now was it? It grated on his nerves, feeling the ill-intent radiating from them. Ever since his physical senses had been enhanced, detecting negative emotions have become more of a natural occurrence toward himself, especially if it was to a highly-concentrated degree. The amount he was receiving from those in the shadows...

...How horrid. Despite his senses being enhanced from the Binding Vows before, detecting negative emotions would still be a hard thing to accomplish. It was the sheer killing intent coming from them that Fushiguro Megumi could feel such a thing, 'this can't be normal... ugh, nothing can't ever be normal.'

He didn't believe his previous theory one bit anymore. Choosing to be impartial and looking the other way was two different things, and he wasn't going to just let it slide. He needed to prepare, and to prepare...

...He needed to take drastic measures, that was for sure.

***

Fushiguro Megumi stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His eyes, they were his, and his alone. They were pumped by the blood of his own body, vitalizing them with light and providing it as a window to his own soul. The latter was unnecessary in his opinion, as letting other people gaze into his 'soul' was more of a disadvantage than anything else. So there was no need to be so sad to part with them, the black haired man held no sentimental value to them anyways.

The black haired man stared down at his hand, turning away from the square made of clear crystal in front of him. His palms looked... as normal as ever. However, deep beneath, there were small black cracks which appeared, reminding the black haired man of a certain downside that was showing its scars. Even if it didn't hamper his physical capabilities in any way, the scarred tissue burnt by the shadows of his Innate Domain were starting to show in greater numbers.

Sighing to himself, Megumi placed his fingers around where his eyes were. Staring into the mirror once more, the two orbs which were colored dark blue reminded him of who he was before. A deadweight who had caused the death of many people back in Shinjuku, a useless companion who contributed nothing in the defeat of Ryomen Sukuna. Those eyes were one of somebody who had wasted potential, who did nothing while the world around him had crumbled.

His fist clenched further, before Megumi took in a deep breath. The objects of his sight were closed, shut by his lids. A dark world invaded his vision, reminding him constantly of the confines of his Innate Domain. There was no comfort in them, not even for himself. Even if they were created by his own soul, and were forged by his very being, the Sorcerer couldn't find any true comfort in it.

He had been forced to consume it ages ago. It was strong enough to provide a certain King of Curses an entire finger's worth of Cursed Energy, but... he had never felt as if it had done anything for his own body. Why was that so? It was obvious to him. The direct influence and consciousness of Ryomen Sukuna had been dispelled from his body after Itadori Yuji had laid his body to rest, but only one thing remained, weak enough for his own body to suppress.

What else was there to do with it... other than to—

'—Let's get this over with.'

***

Under this Binding Vow:

Condition: Fushiguro Megumi's current organic eyes will lose their sight PERMANENTLY, with the condition being UNCHANGEABLE and UNBREAKABLE.

Result: Fushiguro Megumi's eyes, if they were supposed to be active, are increased in ocular capabilities

***

Organic eyes, his own eyes.

They were the eyes of a corpse.

They were gone, never to see the light of day again.

Staring at the mirror, Megumi stared at two accursed eyes burning a bright crimson, the reflective color kindling a flame which he so detested.

Only one affirmation rang true.

He was a true Jujutsu Sorcerer.

***

Arturia sat at the balcony with a bored expression. There wasn't much that had happened today, aside from those Echoes contacting her to deliver upon their plan, something that she found... 'hm, quite hasty aren't they?' She would love to see the Witch King, to see how different he was from legends and tales, to also see how far his wisdom stretched. The Greatest Caster in Terran History... a provocative title toward anybody who possessed an understanding or interest in Arts itself.

'Scapegoat the two of them? Quite the development, can't say I'd prefer that to happen,' Arturia lightly drummed the strings of her cello. Despite what she knew of the instrument, knowing what sound at which tuning level would be produced, it just didn't beat the experience of playing. 'Maybe I should give a hint to those two?'

She wouldn't need to delve on the thought much longer, when the figure of Fushiguro Megumi had appeared outside of her doors. He held a neutral expression, betraying no emotion at all. His hand was placed on the knob, before turning it open and stepping into the balcony.

"It's strange to see you taking the initiative to visit me," Arturia called out to him with a smile, "pray tell, what has warranted such a bright occasion such as this?"

"...Do you know what is happening?" The black haired man spoke a neutral tone, trying his luck at the moment. Although he wasn't completely sure, with this Sankta being able to detect emotions, then she should be somewhat aware of the recent occurrences.

"Do I?" Arturia tilted her head, oh, a perfect opportunity had presented itself. It seemed like the black haired man had already detected the activities of a certain group, "the twisting of shadows, the—"

—He instantly set up a veil, with a nearly undetectable spread of his Cursed Energy. It encompassed where he and Arturia were at, not making it too large where it would be detected by the invaders lurking at the meadows at the bottom of the Spire.

Megumi's pupils constricted, calling for his shadows to heed his will. Within a moment's breath, his hand was raised upwards, carrying a Handcannon in his grasp, the black bulky pistol emitting red lights at some parts of it. Overall, it looked to possess a 'futuristic' or 'sci-fi' flair to it, all the while it pointed toward Arturia's forehead, "what the hell did you do? Answer me!" His anger had arisen to greater heights, a volcano which had spewed its lava to reach the Heavens. "You've practically openly admitted to having involvement with those shadows lurking across the Spire, what are you plotting?"

"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't plotting anything?" Arturia stared at the barrel which was pointed toward her head, analyzing its design for but a brief moment. 'Ah, Fede, this weapon of choice reminds me of you, even if it is different in nature. How intriguing.' There was also something far different from the black haired man. His eyes were no longer dark blue, but a deep shade of crimson red that looked to be... accursed. As if all remnants of humanity had left him.

"You and I both know that's a lie," Megumi gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes, "you... you're involved with all of them. The ones lurking across the Spire, so are you going to keep denying your involvement?"

"Well," Arturia sighed, "I don't particularly agree with their methods... but our goals do align to an extent."

"Tch..." Megumi narrowed his eyes, keeping his firearm trained on her forehead.

"If you're so curious, how about we partake in an exchange?" Arturia tilted her head.

"Do you think you're in the position to make an exchange?"

"You wouldn't actually want to shoot me. I know that for a fact," the Sankta resolutely declared. "Your heart is a mess of strings tied together, and unravelling them would be an impossibility. Especially with whatever you had done with your eyes and soul once more..." Goodness, was manipulating one's own soul as easy as how Fushiguro Megumi made it out to be with his actions? "...but I can tell you haven't so much as changed—"

BANG

"—From your previous self." Arturia felt a passing heat having been aimed slightly off course from where her head was. "Now that's strange, I would have expected that shot to have killed me," the Sankta blankly noted with a neutral expression. Her eyelashes blinked as she looked behind herself, the trailing red beam impacting some sort of invisible barrier—most likely having been put down by Fushiguro Megumi himself—and dispersing. 'There was no doubt about it, that killing intent and boundless fervor for blood...' She turned her head back to the black haired man, watching as...

...His hand was shaking while holding the gun. There was perturbation in his expression, one that the angel lady hadn't seen before, not even back in Lungmen. His eyes were of completely opposite colors from what they had been, reminding Arturia of the drastic changes he had undergone when leaving the Spire and coming back. All she could assume at the moment, was that he was truly threading between a line of insanity and scarce normalcy.

"Is there not a day when you aren't internally tearing yourself apart," Arturia rhetorically asked, "those chains, those actions—they were never of somebody who possessed any reasonable sanity." The Sankta shook her head.

"Let me think..." Megumi irritably called out to the woman, pulling his Handcannon before pressing his palm from his free hand against his forehead, "let me think, damn it..." It was a struggle. His eyes had seen something, something which had made him act hastily. By some miracle, he was able to pull his hand away before he had done something utterly foolish. 'It's influence is worse... than I thought.'

"If you need—"

"Forget it!" Megumi called out to the woman, pushing her away, "forget it... forget it..." his steps were hurried, making it out of the room and into the hallway while dispelling his firearm. "I'll deal with it... all alone..."

Arturia stared at the scene wordlessly. Her hand moved upwards, staring before staring at it. The moment the black haired man had pulled back his Handcannon, the Sankta had played her cello—imperceptibly—but the black haired man hadn't even responded to it at all. She had come to a conclusion, there was something that was wrong with his disposition on a far worser scale.

'If my assumptions are to be taken accurately... what has happened now is his truest self?' Arturia stared blankly at where he had left, 'why is it so unsatisfying, yet so gratifying at the same time?' For the briefest of moments, when that trigger had been pulled, she understood a new facet of Fushiguro Megumi...

She felt it.

She heard it.

The faint whisper of an ancient lord that no longer stood in the world.

'King of Curses...'

***

The night came.

Fushiguro Megumi laid in the shadows, standing with steady muscles and a relaxed face. His eyes didn't look to be analyzing the scenery, while his left hand held onto the sheath of a katana, making his way through without much of a hitch. It all happened under the gaze of the moon's sereness, the pale lights making even the smallest specks of dust visible while they roamed aimlessly through the air.

He produced a faint echo across the darkened room, while his head stayed looking downwards. Nobody could see his eyes, not the critters who had dared invade the spire, nor even himself. All there was a deep-seated anger burning within, while his left hand carried the sheath of his newly-forged Jet Black Blade, now dubbed as Ame-no-Habakiri, the Feathery Cutter of Heaven.

Surely, he lived up to his ancestry, as the descendant of Taira-no-Masakado, the First Samurai and the ancestor of the Zen'in clan. Now known by the modern ages as one of the Three Great Vengeful Spirits of Japan.

The white martial arts gi shirt was an attire fit for showing the experience of a trained warrior, with the tight spandex turtleneck undershirt providing an insurmountable flexibility with its material choice. There was a creased white hakama which matched his gi, its ends possessing a wild and scraggly look, jolting across the air with each step of his legs. There was a black sash wrapped around the waist, showing the honed figure of the man in tight detail.

A luxurious black haori followed his trail, its sleeves barely flying just high enough where his wrist could be seen, showing the tensed muscles aligned underneath. The final touch for his natural attire was a cloak born of snow and care. It was attached to his shoulders and draped over the black haori further hiding his arms underneath.

To the spectators, he looked to be a Higashinese 'samurai,' or was it a 'ronin?' Whatever the stranger was, it didn't matter when they would be a target to take down, as a fair sized group of them could never get past him without being noticed.

...Especially with the light he was radiating.

Above his head shone a golden Dharmachakra, barely illuminating the fibers of his hair and shadow-forged self. It was the most eye-catching part of the man, something that left him as a big target to be attacked, making some members of the hidden group scoff at him. Whoever this man—who they assumed Werner von Hochberg to hire as a security guard—was most likely some foolish Higashinese mercenary who was utterly clueless in what approach he should take in the situation...

...Or rather, that was what they should have believed, if his eyes weren't boring a hole in each and every individual in the room. Everybody paused, despite the unrivalled stealth Arts covering every inch of their body, and which had merged them into the shadows... it felt as if it had done nothing to deter this man's gaze.

Was it just sheer luck? Was it mere coincidence? If that was so, then why... Why did his eyes project so much ethereal rage that it completely encompassed all of their bodies, leaving them frozen and cutting off their breaths? What was this iridescent golden wave that passed throughout the room, completely illuminating them—

Supreme Art: Noble Eightfold Path

—His body flickered, disappearing in the shadows along with the wheel atop his head. At that instant, panic arose in all of the Echoes of Herkunftshorn disguised as Spire Casters, before they raised their arms to cast an Arts barrier around themselves. In that instant however, a shadow passed by all of them, landing behind them in a kneeled position.

Fushiguro Megumi had his left hand holding the sheath, while his right was on the handle, staying stagnant in the position for a single second. The sleeves of his black haori were pushed back to his elbow, exposing the muscled arm underneath. What followed after was the sound of splashing water, distortions in the air as multiple vortexes had formed—his body having been far too fast for them to register.

His cloak billowed in the air, the rattling of the weapon leaving the sheath completely rippling across the air, producing vibrations which shook all to the core. The crimson liquid flew across the air, soaring all across the room as afterimages of a black blade and black viscous water followed along each of their path, decimating the once living bodies into nothing but breathless corpses.

Any more force, and the Spire would have had its top half shaved off from the sheer damage of a peerless slash. Now, the next move was in action...

Shadow Extension: Rabbit Escape

Suddenly, a black and condensed figure of Megumi appeared behind him, the clone speaking out chants and clasping their hands together. It was grinning a sadistic smile, black viscous liquid dripping down from its mouth and teeth, and lacking any eyes that would declare itself human.

A clicking sound was heard, as Megumi prepared to draw his blade once more from his sheath, gauging every single target that was in the room. Right as he was about to lay waste to even more panicked bodies, he opened his mouth to make sure none would escape, and to locate every other member which resided in the spire.

He completed the chant that his clone was speaking, to call upon a Shikigami.

"Divine Dogs."

A voice filled with nothing but perturbation and anger was heard in a low growl, as a shadow expanded out from his cloak and encompassed the entire passage behind him. Right after, six rabid wolves shot outwards, each as large as his body and bearing savage fangs ready to sink itself into soft flesh. They were in an unstable-stable form, a perfect mix in between the two that was the best of both worlds, which was able to be created by using chants, hand signs, and a callout; along with a different interpretation of his technique.

His hand was burned by black flames, before being overtaken by the aura of Positive Energy, healing the destroyed limb.

Due to their unstable property, they could be summoned in six amounts and didn't become inaccessible when they died. The stable aspect of them provided them more defense, and let them stay for as long as his Cursed Energy could provide them to stay in the world, but it put more strain on his Cursed Energy reserves. However, the benefits far outweighed the costs, as he could now summon his lesser Shikigamis in larger amounts, for an extended period of time, and without fear of them disappearing after death.

The condensed Rabbit Escape made from Shadow Extension fell back into his shadows.

It was then flashes of distorted wind and fireballs flaring toward the black haired man and the summoned creatures were heard. The room became much more lively, with sounds of Arts firing off continued to produce a sound that could only be heard amongst a corpse littered battlefield. However, they would not find their mark, neither on Fushiguro Megumi, nor his companions.

Once more, a barrier was drawn forward, his body moving at speeds surpassing Mach 3, but having such control over his Cursed Energy that no sonic boom was heard. He simply vanished as a certain Sorcerer Killer had been described to be able to, leaving no afterimages in his wake.

The undercover Spire Casters panicked, before they felt a wave of pain encompass their body, spanning from their shoulders all the way down to the left sides of their body. It was then they found out that multiple streaks and slices had painted the air, leaving a black and watery shockwave caressing every side of the room.

They were clean cuts, so no debris was shot up aside from a few pebbled rocks, which mingled with the airborne pieces of organs and blood. Right after, as if an indicator had sounded, uncontrollable blood continued to spurt from their bodies, decorating the room with a new gore fit for a torture dungeon.

Megumi held a drawn blade stance, his right arm having covered its arc and his body standing still. At that moment, rabid claws and bites of his Divine Dogs could be heard, attacking the Casters who had set up barriers to defend themselves from their wrathful approach. Unbeknownst to the few surviving members however, was that they were no longer mere Shikigamis which possessed 'only' physical strength.

Falling Blossom Emotion graced every part of their bodies, providing greater strength to tear through the barriers and start mauling at the invaders. Heeding this as an opportunity, Megumi resheathed his blade once more and recreated the barrier for Noble Eightfold Path, changing its shape to accommodate every target that he needed to go after.

Flickering once more, his body flashed through three different people, drawing his blade, slicing them, and then resheathing it. Their bodies hadn't even registered it yet with the massive speed gap between him and them, right before the Sorcerer charged toward the fourth member with his blade now sheathed again.

They looked to be more skilled than the other ones, as they had immediately recognized danger coming toward them and applied some sort of Arts which enhanced their speed and created a three-layered barrier around them. However, such things were useless, as Megumi drew Ame-no-Habakiri—no, he hesitated, and prevented it. Just as four fireballs flew to where he was, he blitzed through them and removed the sheathed weapon from his sash.

Just as he moved past the lead Spire Caster, he swung the sheathed blade, letting it pass their barrier and barely even grazing it with the blunt object. Megumi could feel the caster frantically turn back to look at him in confusion, but Ame-no-Habakiri had done its trick, a flashing of a vortex forming inside their barrier and slicing at their side.

Just as that happened, the six Divine Dogs which had finished mauling their opponents charged toward the barrier, slamming into it and causing multiple cracks to form. Now pressed between two dangers, the Spire Caster could do nothing as Megumi turned around and drew the blade once more in a flash. Instead of a normal swing, the blade extended with the reach of black waters entered another vortex, the second vortex opening up in the elite Spire Caster's barrier and slashing at their throat.

Blood spurted from it, before they could do anything to prevent it. At that moment, their already cracking barrier weakened, letting the Divine Dogs break through and pounce on them, the hungry wolves sinking their fangs deep into the enemy's body and tearing mercilessly at their flesh. Muted screams were heard, as the Sorcerer's opponent gurgled in their own blood and felt their body being turned into nothing, mere heaps of trash to be thrown out into a dumpster.

Megumi flicked his blade once with a neutral expression, washing off the disgusting ichor which had gotten on it casually, letting black water run off of it as he resheathed the weapon. Seeing how he would be dealing with Casters from now on, he made a mental note to briefly flash the Inverted Spear of Heaven to disable Arts, while using Ame-no-Habakiri to breach their defenses if need be.

All other weapons such as Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and Homusubisu were too dangerous and loud to use, especially with the amount of damage they would cause. While he was mulling over his weapon choices, Megumi was immediately pulled from them when more silent footsteps were heard, making the black haired man narrow his eyes and bring his right hand closer to the handle of his resheathed blade.

Right as he saw the fluttering of golden and silver silken robes across the pervading darkness, did Megumi expand his Noble Eightfold Path once more and mentally command his Shikigami to stop consuming the corpse before him. He had let them do their Cursed Spirit eating activity, but this time with humans, to appease an aspect of them that he remembered reading from the guidebook. It was a good idea to build a sense of rapport and better kinship with them, and the aspect of care and comfort was something he had already fulfilled since childhood.

Now, he was going to provide them with food, that meant clean flesh which they could feast upon. After all, letting his Shikigamis eat a hearty meal would only serve to boost them in greater levels of Cursed Energy, and these Arts users who would suffice as alternatives to them. That was right, providing Divine Dogs with Cursed Spirits to eat boosted their capabilities as it provided them with a small amount of Cursed Energy, but that wasn't something the Sorcerer had much time to do overtime in his life. Only during brief times during missions where he didn't immediately exorcise a Curse.

With those thoughts in mind, he breathed in and flashed away once more, his unstable-stable Divine Dogs moving elsewhere from his commands. Megumi flashed across the scenery, watching as the fake Spire Casters who were plotting against Werner von Hochberg looked around frantically, smelling and seeing the traces of blood which aligned every corner of the room.

Suddenly, shadow puddles opened up all around them, before the chains of Samyojana shot outwards and entangled their limbs before they could react. Right at that very moment, a distorted shadow passed through all of them, with the sound of a blade clicking and leaving its sheath, passing through their heads with the sound of highly pressurized water passing through the scenery.

A thin slice mark was left from where the blade was pointed, extending its reach across as Megumi flicked the blade while sliding to a halt, putting it back in its sheath once more. A shockwave passed through the room, a supremely clean cut making the pillars that had been unfortunate to be in its path to detach... perfectly.

The Sorcerer finally came to a halt as the blade reentered its sheath, while also feeling the fluttering of his white cloak, the black furred section of its collar also tickling his cheek. More sounds of blood viscerally exiting the gashes he made on more bodies was heard, just as the chains crushed the bones and muscles of their bodies exiting the mortal plane—to make the process quicker.

Megumi stood up, not even sparing them a glance as he attempted to sense more people. Samyojana was dispelled, the chains retracting as the unstable-stable Divine Dogs pounced on their bodies, enjoying a newly found meal that had come from their Sovereign. He waited for a brief moment to let them finish their meal, before making his way elsewhere. Indeed, the situation was one that confused even himself, but the Sorcerer was sure his theories and guesses were accurate enough.

...Yet it did not make anything less rage inducing.

***

There was a faint play of instruments that Megumi could hear, piercing the silence that should have been present and murdering it entirely. The shadows intertwined between each other, monotone colors shifting in the room with no light as he paused in his steps. His Divine Dogs growled, circling around him as the Sorcerer entered a neutral stance, content with letting his enemies play their first move—after all, there was no need for him to be so hyperactive at the moment.

Let them draw their own conclusion of their demise, and he shall aid them in putting their book to a close. With dashed black ink flowing from the tips of his blade and a gleam of light against an unknown material, Ame-no-Habakiri found itself travelling across a large distance once more, spilling out the empty pigment across the room.

The twisting shadows turned and distorted, avoiding the attack by a hair's breadth, yet all it served as was a mere delay for their death. All the numbered figures dashed across the room, the Ten Shadows user counting up to seven in total. Rounding around his blade to flick it into reverse-grip, Megumi stabbed it into the ground while all of his Shikigamis left formation in order to give chase.

A splashing sound was heard, the lustrous blade of his weapon stabbing into the ground and into a liquid puddle.At that moment, multiple puddles formed, twisting together in an amalgamation of shadows, and making his targets briefly swerve out of the way to avoid falling into them. It would serve them no good however, as before they could cast Arts from their instruments, blackened water forged into a deadly shape shot outwards.

Spikes of highly pressurized and rotating water to form a localized blender nicked at somebodies and sometimes even impaled limbs entirely. At that moment, Arts fired off uncontrollably, moving off course as the distraction proved itself to be an effective one. Some still made their course, toward the black haired target that the Echoes of Herkunftshorn had intended, but it would prove fruitless.

Megumi reactivated his barrier, expanding it to cover the room before his Divine Dogs could reach the enemy. He took note of their position, seeing how the traitor Spire Casters were already pointing their instruments toward his Shikigamis, but that wouldn't matter at all. If he attempted to catch them as many as he could with his next movement, then they were bound to survive his next attack.

That didn't matter, because he had companions that could instantly finish the work for him. Heaving in a breath that became visible, Megumi dashed across the room once more, aided by the shadowed liquid which was produced from his sword while he drew it. One, two, three—his blade was a flowing river, lashing out at the humans who had dared stepped their feet into its holy waters.

The blade was sheathed... and then unsheathed once more.

Four, five, six—three more times did Megumi shift across the room with erratic movements, slicing through the air with the delicate blade in hand and sending a message across, one that would graze his targets by the neck. Surely enough, by the time he sheathed his blade for the second time while holding the handle in a reverse-grip, the last Spire Caster was stepping back in shock.

Blood spurted from behind him, slash marks filled with black water being visible all across the room as screams and grunts of pain were heard, his previous target dummies grasping at their wounds in order to stop the blood from flowing. Fushiguro Megumi made sure to look upwards from his knee-drawing position and stay still, just so the last Spire Caster could prepare themselves for another Arts deliverance.

The Sorcerer wished for them to know that all of their treacherous actions served no purpose for either their life, or for who they served, just before severing the thin thread that held their life. When he gazed upon that bone white mask of theirs, Megumi could tell that it was meant to hide their identity and serve as an object to hide their emotions under it, however, all their frantic actions spoke otherwise.

They were holding an orchestral stick, waving it in the air as a spark formed near instantaneously. It was a flash of brilliant colors, yet they turned into a black and red miasmic force that only a few indebted to Leithanien's history would know. For the target that it was pointed at, he truly did not register the importance of it.

'Expand the barrier in front of you as a path, just as Kusakabe had done it,' Megumi spoke in his mind, still in the process of mastering the Supreme Art. Just as his barrier expanded forward and encompassed the hellish projectile fired off toward him, did he stamp his feet on the ground and fire himself forward. 'Both your body's instinct and Cursed Energy act on their own in a combined state that requires no input, all at their peak condition.'

A black blur collided with the projectile, sending off a shimmering crease across the room, as the colors of the world themselves bent. Megumi kept a straight face, feeling the projectile lash out when his blade was cutting it in half, barely grazing his shoulder. There was no need to reinforce his skin, flesh, muscles, and bones in a defensive manner; because his avoidance of the attack made it null in the amount of damage it could have done compared to full contact.

'Max Elephant's water and shadow puddles,' Megumi didn't pay the casted Arts much more attention than he needed, before the route for Noble Eightfold Path was immediately crossed. He felt his blade pass through the Spire Caster's body, the whispering sound of intense splashing waters making itself as clear as crystal. 'More effective than I could have imagined.'

Their body fell to the floor in two pieces, endless blood exploding off of it as Megumi gauged his surroundings once more while sheathing his blade. More crunching sounds could be heard, as his Divine Dogs had finished off the previous Spire Casters that he had injured, feasting upon their remains like it was a delicacy never seen before. The black haired man couldn't help but smile at them, knowing that his Shikigamis have finally gotten a chance to enjoy a decent meal after a long time of not eating Cursed Spirit flesh.

Shaking his head and feeling disgusted for himself for a moment for thinking such things, Megumi pressed his palm against his temple in order to get back on track. The strings attached with a jeweled ornament at the butt-end of his katana's handle flowed with each turn of his body, its wielder no longer hearing a sound other than what it was producing. Nodding to himself with a satisfied look, he issued a command to Divine Dogs to survey the entire Spire, while the Sorcerer finished off the rest.

After that, he made his way swiftly, moving to a door which would lead himself to where Werner von Hochberg should be. Placing his hand on the knob and turning it, Megumi found himself in a hallway, and then dashed through it without a hitch. There were many statues around him, along with a lone figure roaming their way through.

Narrowing his eyes, the world around him crawled to a freezing point. The cloak they were adorning was different from the Spire Casters—even the ones who weren't truly Spire Casters—along with their mask when their head had slowly turned his way. Red markings were on them, a malicious message coming from them.

There was no need to register it anymore, because the Sorcerer had already decided to blitz past them before they could detect his presence. Their head fell to the ground after, along with all the other sculptures aligning the hallway in a precise incision. Sounds of objects clacking against the ground along with blood spurting were heard, as Fushiguro Megumi had already made his way to the other side of the hallway, with a door in front of him.

He kicked it open, launching it off its hinges. Stealth wasn't much of an option for him at this point, because the black haired man was sure that these intruders would eventually get to Werner von Hochberg if he wasn't quick enough. When he made it through, his momentum was stopped, leaving pressurized wind gathered around his body to blast off in all directions.

Only a second was needed to analyze every single compartment which made up the room in front of him, especially with the familiarity he had already made of the entire layout. Megumi narrowed his eyes into a piercing glare, along with his hand resting on Ame-no-Habakiri's handle. Off of a rough estimate, there were a large group of intruders inside the room he had entered, more than the previous one he was in.

...His next decision? Pull out Homusubisu, the upgraded version of Playful Cloud, and then...

...He charged through them, all of them. Whether it was a small crowd or an entire battalion, Megumi could crush through them all. He swapped between multiple weapons, finding the situation to be far more irritating than he could have imagined. If these people succeeded in their plans, which was likely to assassinate Werner von Hochberg, then he would take the blame as their scapegoat!

Irritation coursed through his veins once more, and Homusubisu was twirled around. Golden flames followed along the three-sectioned staff's trail as Megumi swiftly bashed three casters who pulled out their daggers to engage in close quarters, after he had approached them. They were too slow, as he dashed past them to vertically crush the one behind them into nothing but incinerated ash.

The ground shook, but he made sure his output and control didn't collapse the entire floor. Right after, he leapt into the air and planted his legs on the ceiling, opening his mouth to call for more Shikigamis.

"Nue."

They were in an unstable-stable form, with shadows leaking off of their physical body. There were three of them, sparkling with electricity as they waved through Arts blasts and coursed electricity all across the room. Their attacks were either avoided via precognition or blocked with the formation of a barrier, the Spire Casters motioning to each other for some sort of practiced formation plan.

Megumi leapt from where he was, pulling out the Inverted Spear of Heaven and charging a caster. His three Nues continued to fly across the scenery, keeping his enemies off their feet and constantly moving.

Finding his next target, the Sorcerer blitzed forward into static, appearing right in front of them and jabbing his large dagger into their throat. It dispelled their Arts barrier like it was air, lobbing their head off with the sheer might of the blow.

Shouts were heard, before Megumi attached Samyojana to his weapon's end handle with a quick motion, extending it and swiping it across the room at breakneck speeds. They intercepted various Arts attacks that came his way, crashing against flames, water, and a strange substance which he couldn't tell. Right after they barely avoided his attack, they stepped into the Domain formed by Nue's trajectory and were immediately shocked.

Megumi held no change in his expression, but was internally happy that his Shikigamis own training had been going well. Though, that brief moment was cut off when he rounded the extended Inverted Spear of Heaven around, when he felt a note of music pass into his ears and invade his brain.

The Sorcerer's actions were forcefully halted for a second, his white cloak fluttering in the air as he took the time to gauge the situation. All of the Arts Casters were distracted by his flying Shikigamis, while his Divine Dogs were searching for Werner von Hochberg to keep him protected.

Nue's Domain trajectory proved to be effective in causing chaos.

Sparks of purple, orange, and black flew across the room, as two other Casters focused their attention on him briefly.

Megumi narrowed his eyes, feeling an illusion start to form. However, with the inside of his body being physically a part of his 'Innate Domain' as Jujutsu theories suggested, he was able to break out of it with relative ease after cycling enough Cursed Energy to wash it out.

At that point, all ailments that had been hindering his movements were gone, and now it was up to his own self to avoid the next barrage of attacks. Rebounding his chain and positioning it in a way that would block the Arts attacks homing in on him, Megumi pressed on the floor with his foot and jumped back.

He was only able to block a few, exuding shockwaves as a result, while some others scraped off and impacted the wall behind and showed off thief firepower for a brief moment. Right after, Megumi stomped his feet to rid himself of the momentum, and then dragged the chain along with him while circling around the room.

The Arts Casters were faster than he expected, their bodies moving across the room with some sort of applied Arts. Taking note of it while redirecting his Shikigamis and then leaping upwards, the Sorcerer watched as his three Nues circled around the room, tracing a Domain for a surprise tactic.

While in the air, Megumi knew he had painted himself as a large object which was stationary in the air, which was exactly what he wanted. Flailing the Inverted Spear of Heaven across the room, the black haired man could also feel multiple attacks start coming his way, while the Spire Casters dodged out of the way of his weapon.

A Nue flew to where he was, before the black haired man raised his free hand for his birds to grab it and fly him out of the way. He felt the Arts attack fly past him, and the previous attack he had launched out had made his enemies dodge unknowingly into the traced Domain of Nue.

Multiple slash marks appeared on their body along with an electric pulse stunning them, before the multiple Nues charged toward the Spire casters, moving in unparalleled unison to crash into their body. Impacts were heard, along with purple sparks flying across the environment and lighting it up.

'Four left...'

Megumi dropped from the grasp of Nue by commanding it to toss him, and then dispelled the Inverted Spear of Heaven. His legs eventually reached the other side of the room, planting on the wall sideways before he called for Ame-no-Habakiri once more, and swung the sheathed weapon as his first move.

A Spire Caster which had been defending against the soaring Nues immediately felt a blade slash their back, cutting away their concentration on their Arts and making them reel forward. It opened them to being impacted by a Nue, the Shikigami blasting through their body, and drawing a Domain line through them.

'Three left...'

Megumi felt two of his Nues take a hit, before a stray black blast was commandeered toward him. Uncaring of it however, Megumi executed a quick draw with his weapon and let a cascading slash come across the room with an arc of water, the attack also hitting Nue's Domain trajectory and letting the electricity course through the attack.

A large mark was left across the room, along with the bodies in it. They were left as nothing but hollow corpses after falling into two split pieces.

'...Zero left, I vastly outspeed them,' Megumi kept note in his mind while leaping off the wall and flourishing his blade. After landing, he swung his blade and twirled it around his fingers, before it found its way back in its sheath. 'Now... where is everybody else?' He closed his eyes and focused on any faint energy signatures.

Two of his Nues flew into his shadows, while the third one landed on his left shoulder.

'Arturia's, Laurentina's, and Cora's rooms were left untouched, along with my own. So they really are after Mr. Hochberg after all,' Megumi opened his eyes, having vaguely felt all of their locations. 'Let's make this quick...'

Just as he took a step forward, the Sorcerer narrowed his eyes and drew his blade, deflecting a heavy blow that had nearly slashed at his neck. His eyes turned toward where it was, Nue fluttering off of his shoulder and firing off purple electricity in response to his deflective poise. Megumi met the gaze of a black masked cloaked man, with red markings plastered on it, the new attacker holding a well-crafted Zweihander.

The offender swung their Zweihander in a circular motion, deflecting the purple electricity as Nue started flying across the room as if attempting to round to their back, just as Megumi sent off a barrage of slashes, sheathing his and unsheathing it with every blow.

Everytime it entered its sheath, Ame-no-Habakiri used the movement to open a portal to send off a slash through the shadows inside the blade, letting out double the amount of slashes that its user could ever do with such a movement.

The enemy moved their Zweihander with brilliant skill, deflecting a majority of the blows, but found some shadows and water streaks striking against their body, piercing through their cloak along with the armor underneath. Applying a body enhancing Arts, they moved backwards to break away from the losing clash and reeled their blade back.

With their adrenaline hitting an all time high, the attacker left their left hand from the Zweihander's handle, reaching into their cloak and flicking it toward Nue which had rounded around their back and counter attacking the bolts of electricity sent.

The Shikigami flapped its wings to move out of the Arts attack that had torn through its lightning, moving out of the way just in time as it impacted the wall.

Megumi placed his sheath back into the sash of his hakama, the black haori adorning him rustling in the wind like the waves of an ocean's tide. His instincts made him move his head and body further right, as the opposition pointed their wand and sent a shockwave which tore at the surroundings behind him.

Holding Ame-no-Habakiri with both hands, and watching his enemy prepare their Zweihander for a mighty blow, he breathed in a faint breath and expanded the barrier of Noble Eightfold Path. They were caught in it, before they charged at each other, with Nue flying circles above the two of them.

Their blades met—or would have met, if Ame-no-Habakiri's obsidian sheen had not phased through the Zweihander, along with Megumi moving with unprecedented speeds and ducking under his enemy's weapon strike. Right after, his body blurred toward the path of his stretched barrier, moving far past where the weapon wielder was.

A splash of water was heard along with the sound of a shadow vortex closing, the person wielding the Zweihander having frozen in a finished slashing position. Blood was flowing from their neck, before their left hand frantically reached to clamp the wound, backpedalling for enough space in order to not be interrupted while applying healing Arts.

Nue was already a step ahead, having flown around the room multiple times, creating a greater traced Domain than it had ever before. A function activated, the trajectories formed by it enclosing toward a focal point—the focal point being the Zweihander's wielder.

Electric circular slashes appeared all over the enemy's body along with an immense splatter of their vital fluid essential for life. They continued to pour out, just as Nue charged toward their back with a drill-like motion, while Megumi turned into nothing but static in their vision, thrusting his black blade forward.

It was a pincer attack against an enemy who had their nerves disabled by a shocking phenomena, leaving them open from both the front and back. The result was a blade stabbing through their chest, while Nue drilled into the back of their head with lightning caressing its entire body.

More footsteps were heard behind him just as the Sorcerer had finished off his previous opponent, making him hiss out in frustration, 'how many more?!' He instantaneously expanded his Domain, already recognizing the fluttering cloaks to be more of the intruders. No longer holding back, he imperceptibly sheathed his blade with an exaggerated movement, before drawing it again.

Shadow Extension: Divine Dog: Totality

Two corpses were created, the upper half of their body flying into the air, Megumi standing behind them as if he had never unsheathed his blade in the first place. However, he had the sheathing motion allowing for the blade to pass through a vortex and slice the first one in half, while the draw severed the second.

The third enemy in front of him had good senses, having already blocked his resheate with a Zweihander and was recovering quickly. Unfortunately, just like all the rest, they would fall beneath a blood-soaked blade.

SLASH

All their defenses proved worthless as Megumi's cloak fluttered, unleashing a watery vertical slash which spanned the entire room—anymore power would have left near irreparable damage to the Spire's top section.

SLASH

An erupting line of pressure rose upwards from where he had slashed, the second one being a horizontal strike held in reverse-grip this time. Along with that, Megumi rotated his shadow-cloaked body to make sure the job was done correctly. Everything in its path was split in half, starting from sculptures, paintings, and even candle stands. It was a perfect and clean cut.

No mistakes, one that would have a certain Simple Domain user nodding his head in approval.

'There's more bodies to stack?' Megumi's eyes entered a tunnel vision, sensing even more 'guests' entering the Spire. Resheathing his blade and commanding Nue to follow him, the Sorcerer bulleted forward, having already started to feel sick when dealing with these blasted invaders. 'I'll do this as fast as I can, then...!'

***

Spire Casters gathered around the main room at the top floor, preparing to breach through one of the doors in order to reach Werner von Hochberg. Their plan was perfect, having used their inner connections, and having been provided with just the right time and scenario to execute such a thing only affirmed their actions.

Lingering across the soothing shadows with their near perfected Arts was something practiced for this very moment, in order to find and gain what they believed to be rightfully theirs. To succeed in the next plan of their goal, the 'special' item in Werner von Hochberg's possession was the key in order to bring that future into fruition.

A hand motion was given off by the lead of the group, their cloak made for blending in with the night shifting with their movements. The white mask with black sockets for its eyes turned toward all of them, being visible to the Casters who were unaffected by their own stealth Arts, in order to make the process go as smoothly as possible. Unless some master Arts user had a specific sensory ability or artifact, then they all were confident in not being spotted.

Small breaths were exuded, the soft playing of instruments continuing to silently reverberate. Positions were switched with the fluttering of a cloak's end, billowing a calm wind across the main room. By the time the third discreet hand motion was flashed toward the group, they were all already in position, preparing for the next strike.

They were vipers at the ready, in order to catch the prey they needed to live another day. For human beings however, they were far greater than such things, and soon to ascend even further with the next step being taken—in order to reach the true essence of Leithanien itself.

A decrepit and gloved hand was raised in the air, cutting all tension only to replace it with a far thicker one. It was palpable in the air, one enough to suffocate the more squeamish of men, but the Spire Casters had already experienced far worse. Whether it be from learning the accursed Arts of the Witch King or delegating themselves to acts that would make even Ursus raise their brows in appreciation... there was nothing that could impede their will.

When the second finger fell, revealing the last one standing amongst the decrepit shadows, all present in the room were already fully prepared. This was the moment that would make or break the operation, as all actions done by the other groups were child's play. The leader of the group turned their heads away from the group and back onto the door, as the last finger fell down to signify—

"Rabbit Escape."

"Piercing Ox."

—The flooding of an invading thousand rabbits, cloaked in black flames tearing across their skin in order to show their blasphemous standing to nature itself. There was nothing natural that could be felt from them, the Spire Casters revolting at their sheer audacity to stand in front of them as a 'worthy' opposition.

There was a brief change of plans between the members, a silent one. They had all realized they had been compromised in this single moment, prompting them all to raise their instruments in order to stop the flood of shadow rabbits coming through. Then, the next scene completely caught them off guard despite their recent preparedness, all in the form of three raging bulls crashing making themselves known.

Black steam came out of their nose, their large size encompassing nearly the entire group as they continued to charge, along with an echoing stomp that shook the foundations of what was being stood upon. Instead of musical Arts tearing them apart in the nick of time, their voracious speed made them tear through the Spire Casters in the smokescreen of rabbits, before crashing through the walls of the Spire and sending them out along with themselves.

Some of the rabbits which were large in size clawed at the Casters who set up barriers, those who were unfortunate enough to not react quick enough were immediately consumed by a hundred mouths. Those who were eaten within a flash did not even have a single drop of blood remaining.

Only a few were able to avoid such a cruel fate, dodging just at the last second by enhancing their physical capabilities with Arts and providing them with ample defenses. Their foot skidded across the ground at tremendous speeds, avoiding the now identified oxes from ramming them into a wall and destroying it. Sights turned across the room while they made their maneuvers and attempted to see through the canvas that had covered their view.

Shadow Extension: Rabbit Escape

The rabbits were dispelled, revealing two figures in the dark. One of them held a katana covered in a pitch black sheathe while the one behind was covered in liquid shadows outlining the other's figure, smiling with their eyes wide with lunacy. A golden object gleamed in the shadowed one's hands, swinging it toward the Caster's directions.

A three-layered barrier was evoked with their combined effort, the one standing at the center unsheathing a swift saber and channeling their Arts through a conducting baton on the other hand. Suffice to say, the barrier held up decently, the golden lightning causing the first two to shatter while the last one cracked.

Fushiguro Megumi rushed forward with his body looking like it had been abnormally stretched in the wind, unsheathing his blade and letting the waters flow off of it. With a perfect form, he stamped his feet on the ground along with bending his spine slightly backwards, going for a horizontal cut.

SLASH

A great split was formed, tearing across the last barrier and forcing the Spire Casters to further move out of the way and quickly cast their musical instruments. The center one? They charged headfirst, brandishing their saber under the incandescent moonlight.

CLANG

Megumi's furious eyes met the empty mask of their leader, the sparks of Daiitoku's lightning being sent off by his hysterically laughing clone cancelling out the ones sent by the leader's support. Ame-no-Habakiri grinded against their weapon, their face inching closer to each under with a pressure building up.

"Will you speak, or not?" The Sorcerer felt his Rabbit Escape clone enter a clashing match between the other Casters, making lightning, flames, and all other elements clash against each other. "Ah, who the hell am I kidding? You're not going to say anything," the emotionless mask he gazed upon spoke a thousand words, "so I'll just kill you!" The black haired man yelled out, applying more pressure.

The leader broke off from the engagement, spinning around and alighting their baton with a brilliant light. Tracing it across where Megumi's head was, the target of the attack ducked down and stabbed his blade into the ground, forming two puddles, the entrance point, and the exit point. The exit point was directed at the Caster's neck, the blade thrusting outwards from the opening.

It was parried—rather anticlimactically—but leaving enough sparks to light themselves amongst the other battles happening. The Sorcerer heaved in a breath, glaring daggers at the leader, the latter reciprocating the same under their emotionless demeanor.

Between flickers of obsidian and silver, a clash sending them across the room and tearing across endless structures occurred.

On the side of the clone of Fushiguro Megumi, the liquid formed figure continued to laugh at the Casters attempting to land a hit on it. Their body swerved out of the way to avoid a flanking shot of gravity-pulled debris, before ducking to the ground when a wave of air sliced at where their head was at. It was then they swung Daiitoku, firing off streams of lightning from around their body.

The Spire Casters were far too slow to react, finding their body stunned at the impact of the aureate thunder, locking up their nerves and leaving them fizzling smoke.

An opportunity presented itself, and the clone went for a mad dash, condensing enough lightning to turn Daiitoku into a lightning javelin and decapitating one of the Casters in one swift motion. By the time that happened, the others recovered, only for two to find themselves impaled via the newly created javelin.

Another two remained, panicked as their leader was far too busy fending off the main attraction.

The clone grinned, raising Daiitoku high in the air and flicking their wrists, letting lightning from outside the Spire's broken walls to strike inwards at their position, barely grazing them with burnt singes.

Moving in tandem, the two Spire Casters played their instruments, a violin and a flute, sending off cascading notes of destruction toward the clone.

Sticking its tongue out, the target exaggeratedly leaned its body forward while swinging Daiitoku in a wide arc, sending a tidal wave-like apparition of lightning to tear through them with casual ease. It moved far too fast for any of them to react while running across the room, letting it tear through their body like butter once it reached.

On the other side...

SLASH

Megumi, the actual body, unsheathed Ame-no-Habakiri and let it run across the room, sending a multitude of objects flying into the air from the grand slash. The world around him slowed, bearing his fierce gaze against the target who had just ducked, expanding his barrier in order to include them in the next strike... with a sheathe of his blade and—

SLASH

A downwards hack, tearing across the ceiling, floor, and walls that laid in its path. It was a sound that shouldn't exist in the world, the tearing of the wind emanating such a distorted vibration that it grated at the ears of anybody who stood in front of it.

Water splashed across Megumi's form, bolstering his abilities—he was going to use the Cursed Tool to its fullest capabilities, something that could be said to be beyond Special Grade.

The Sorcerer flash stepped toward the dodging leader, his weapon entering his sheath before being drawn once more. Two slashes came out which streaked across the floor, the recipient of his attack not even daring to deflect or block them. The after effect was the black haired man hovering his right hand over the hilt of his sheathed blade, two gashes across the ground erupting black liquid slashes upwards from the sheer counterforce.

Under the grace of his evershifting haori, Megumi re-entered a drawing stance flawlessly, making sure to keep Noble Eightfold Path held up as strong as an unrelenting bastion. He was a fortress against his opponent, and they would be the ones who had to scale him and the daunting height he had presented.

The leader thought for the slightest moment to clash blades, but immediately relented when seeing the twisted challenge present in those orbs of sight. It is said that eyes are the windows to the soul, and they knew for a fact—that this person in front of them was no longer a human. So they had decided to duck down, feeling the passing of a ferocious gale, vaporizing everything in its path.

SLASH

It had travelled across the entire room, and the leader could have sworn the entire section of the floor above themself had lifted upwards from the attack. A swordplay intermingled with some sort of water Arts, a divine blade meant to serve as heaven's cutter... it was at this moment they realized they were severely outmatched in all regards, but it was far too late to turn back now.

On instinct, they raised their saber into a gleaming barrage, the speckles of afterimages created by the slashing blade enhanced by Arts illuminating the entire room. It was met with the action of their enemy sheathing their blade, before constantly sheathing and unsheathing it for only a small portion of the blade to be seen, deflecting all of their attacks with that said portion.

An incessant clashing of blades echoed forth, creating a delicate musical crescendo only seen in the delicate halls of a Leithanien orchestra. It was an art form in its own, the dance and mingling of blades bringing the two warriors across the room, only for two completely purposes—which contradicted one another, forcing an undertone of severe violence to be present in their gait.

Adrenaline spiked across the leader, their only course of action was to infinitely strike at the opponent, hoping to find any sliver of a thread which would ensure their victory. There were millions of paths which could be taken into a battle, such as the divergent paths of life in general. It was upon their shoulder to bear all of the weight which comes into taking each one, and the saber wielder was sure... completely sure that their mindless slashing was bringing themself ever closer to victory!

...So where were all the small slashes coming from? Why was there a horrific amount of small cut wounds forming across their body, when their opponent's blade couldn't even be seen flicking toward them? The answer was already clear, with their adrenaline and enhanced senses having already forgotten the concept of pain. Thus, Ame-no-Habakiri has worked its magic on another unsuspecting victim.

Megumi launched his right foot forward, having had enough of the attack. It impacted the leader square in the stomach, launching them backwards before he brought his sheathed blade to his side, entering another Batto drawing stance. The barrier of Noble Eightfold Path entered a vicious phase, the Cursed Energy around him spiking in an unstable manner, yet also being the most stable it had ever been. A contradiction.

The leader huffed, the blood loss starting to act upon their respiratory system. They quickly pointed their baton forward, the tip of the instrument lighting up with a flare of light, a controlled combustion happening by the second. The object was swung a few times, the power building up along with the sounds of bouncing notes, formulating a tune to be understood and experienced.

"Go ahead," Megumi blandly spoke to them, his eyes showing no passion in their ensuing clash. "Keep guiding your funeral song, I'll be waiting," he didn't need to tense his muscles any further, this was enough to deal with the living trash in front of him.

There wasn't anger, or sorrow, or a hurt pride when hearing those words, only fear. The leader knew that their life hung in the balance at the very moment, and his opponent had given them the opportunity to grasp a thread. However, just as any frail thread, the one presented toward them would snap the moment their fingers brushed upon it.

Their Arts was modulated for pure destruction at this very moment, pointed to a frail human being who was foolish enough to take it head on. That should have been the case, and that was what had always happened when it was used...

BOOM

An explosion rang out, hurling out from the tip of the baton, onwards to meet a noble arc.

CLANG

...But never in their life, would the leader expected to see the black and red explosion fired off be parried, dispersing all of the force into a singular point and sending it across their body. The wall behind them was already shattered, revealing the night sky in all its shimmering glory, aided by the passing zephyr of a technique rent asunder.

The blinding accentuation of 'Fate's Chosen' was one of pitch darkness, only the whites of their eyes being present in the enshroudment of shadows. He laid within the Spire Caster's extended shadow, possessing the posture of a man who had unleashed a technique unrivalled.

The Sorcerer straightened himself, his blade's end clinking against the ground.

"It's a beautiful sight, unfitting for somebody like you." Megumi shook his head, "you won't reveal anything, will you? But that much is already a given. I'm fine with killing you," an imperceptible twitch of lips was present, one of pure and unadulterated satisfaction. "This is my curse to you." He stood back up with a straight posture, Ame-no-Habakiri in his hands.

The leader paused for a moment, gauging the scene in front of them. The wall behind the black haired man wasn't a wall, but the door leading to the route where Werner von Hochberg was. It was undamaged, no signs of even a scratch upon it. Compared to the one behind themself... it was obliterated, leaving a trail to be streaked by the space faring object above even the Spire which pierced the skies.

They took a step back, ready to avoid the next strike from the Sorcerer in front of them. Surprisingly however, their body wounds with blood along with an accompaniment of black liquid coming out of it. All motor functions ceased, allowing for a clean passing of a blade to follow after, one which was the scalpel to their body.

Megumi's foot lightly touched the ground behind the leader, regaining his balance. There was the sound of a body falling behind him, signalling the untimely—or rather timely—end of a life. He turned around to take a look at all the corpses lying around, the accumulation of his work. There wasn't much to regard from it, the result was no different from all the other times he had gone on to create a slaughterhouse.

'...So I still have slight control over water after it enters their body,' Megumi analyzed the weapon's workings, balancing the blade between his fingertips. 'Terrans don't have Innate Domains, so it's much easier to pull something like that off,' he wouldn't say it was off limits that certain applications of Arts could defend against such an attack, though. 'Good to know.'

He flourished his blade across his fingertips, having the gleaming edge glow across the scenery and re-enter his sheath. Turning away from the bodies, Megumi adjusted the collar of his black haori and analyzed something else, the condition of the room around him. By all means, it wasn't something that was fitting for somebody who held a position of power like Werner von Hochberg, it was more akin to a warzone.

Cleanly severed items laid across the floor and interacted with the pools of blood forming. There were scratches and burns across the walls, along with a large section having been completely blown apart. A faint wind blew inside, brushing his hair before the black haired man turned to the only functional door.

'Nobody entered it, I made sure to station my Rabbit Escape clone to secure the perimeter, but it's only for this floor...' Megumi shifted his gaze toward a shadowed figure approaching him, their body looking unstable with all the unidentified mass forming its figure. 'There's also no reason for the Casters to be so prepared to breach the door if Werner is already killed—whatever they're looking for, it must belong to him. Or they're looking to take his life, for political matters that I don't know of.'

The clone threw Daiitoku toward Megumi, the latter catching it casually and dispelling it into his shadow. He turned to look towards the clone, taking in its faceless features, the only notable thing being the ever present mouth. The unstable, and dripping mouth which looked like it was stuck in a perpetual smile, something that the Sorcerer found to be... far from what he would like to see.

Waving his hand, its liquid form completely collapsed, falling into a black puddle intersecting with the blood filled ground. The clone had been dispelled, and that was all that was needed for him to do at the moment. When Megumi took a step toward the room where Werner von Hochberg should be, a stray thought came to him. Has he not heard of all the ruckus happening outside, and thus made the choice to look outside? Or was he that much of a heavy sleeper—

—A greater ruckus was made behind him, just as the Sorcerer turned back one more time. "This, really..." he saw more fake Spire Casters hidden in the shadows, sensing them encroaching on his position. "Is that so? How much more irritating can these people be?" They were like ants and cockroaches, infesting this Spire in large numbers. Heaving a sigh, Megumi knew what he had to do next.

Black markings appeared on his face, along with another pair of eyes under his own. Ryomen Sukuna had eaten his own Heian Era corpse to compensate for his last finger, and thus Fushiguro Megumi's body—used as a vessel—had absorbed it completely. His soul and Cursed Energy had been suppressing it implicitly... but in order to gain more power, the Sorcerer had chosen the path as a true Jujutsu Sorcerer would.

Absorb it fully, for his own benefit, and embrace the degradation that would come with it.

Four piercing red orbs lit up the darkness, before Fushiguro Megumi dashed forward at them, "how persistent are you bastards?!" There was nothing but a blur which passed through, a black blade dashing along with his gait.

DISMANTLE

Endless slashes flowed out.

This was the final hurdle, the countless bodies which had appeared. They were nothing but corpses to be made, as Megumi's eyes entered an extreme tunnel vision, waving it all across the scenery while he was moving through. Swipe to the right, and then left, he needed to move fast enough to the point where they could hardly perceive him.

All there was to the eyes of the remaining Spire Casters was a black blip passing by, with heads falling off and bodies being slashed apart.

Megumi slid across the ground, shifting his feet in a display of sheer absurdity while Cleaving the head of a disguised Spire Caster, and then spinning around to send off a Dismantle to another one preparing their Arts. They were made quick work of.

His momentum was not stopped in the slightest, as he made a claw with his hand, raising it upwards and decimating another opponent who dared stray their sight toward him.

Stomping his feet to stop the neverending flow of his movements, Megumi flashed to Homusubisu, before lashing out, each hit of his weapon sending him through more bodies. After two strikes, he found himself at a wall, before he stomped his feet against it, switching to Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. He didn't care anymore if he had destroyed the floor which he stood on, because these bastards deserved what came next.

A flashing arc of red lightning thundered across the room, the sound of jets accompanying it. Multiple heads flew off, before Megumi disappeared into a blur, destroying the wall where he was at into pulverized bits.

The Spire Casters were sent into a frenzy, two who were close to each other in particular finding two hands placed against their face. Right at that moment, they burst into nothing but bits, before Megumi vanished once more.

SLASH

When he reappeared, a clicking sound was heard, along with an unnaturally bass-boosted sound of a horizontal slash covering the entire room. Barriers were torn apart, corpses were desecrated, and a kitchen meant to cut up pieces of meat was created.

He dispelled the weapon, before the Inverted Spear of Heaven appeared in his hands. Megumi made sure they would never be able to track him, his Noble Eightfold Path having been kept up the entire time.

With a booming sound, the Samyojana which was attached to the dagger extended, blasting all across the room in blitzing flashes of black chains. It crashed against the severed objects and corpses, creating a greater mess as drops of blood splashed into the air.

Any Arts defensive mechanisms created were disabled without a hitch, before bodies were turned into a hodgepodge of nothing but macabre soup. His movements were too fast for even the blood droplets to fully drop to the ground, as they stayed nearly motionless in the air—his weapon continuing to move far faster than they could ever be.

It was in the moment of artificial chaos that Megumi decided to pull out his Handcannon, and then fire it off three times. Three strikes of thunder were emitted in the form of a concentrated red beam, before three bodies were immediately eviscerated, the top section being deleted.

Both the Handcannon and Inverted Spear of Heaven were dispelled, before Megumi clapped his hands. Multiple puddles appeared, shooting out chains to restrain the remaining bodies who were still alive.

Sliding across the ground after kicking off of it, Megumi continued his action at the beginning of the fight, sending off a flurry of Dismantles toward those who were far away, and Cleaves at those who were unfortunate enough to stray his path.

The Spire Casters could no longer see a human being, but an outline of a four-eyed monster which had decided to lay claim to their lives. This wasn't expected, this wasn't expected at all! All they had to worry about was a Gesatzwachter, not a literal demon of yore!

Megumi's steps halted at the center, his body bent forward while all four of his eyes scanned the room. There was rough breathing coming out of his mouth, as his body adjusted to the ocular precision of having another set of eyes.

There was silence, and only silence. The hissing comfort which eased his body, which had been his companion for nearly all scenarios in his life, the bastion which stood against his weakness. His body continued to rhythmically rise and fall with each breath, steam coming out of his mouth as his four malevolent eyes continued to scalpel the entire room.

Only blood remained, with black fabrics lingering across the air, having been diced up by various means. The walls were scratched and splattered, leaving nothing but crushed and grinded organs such as hearts, brain, and intestines lingering. It was all his piece of work, his macabre art piece given form under the light of Tsukuyomi's Domain.

...Wisps and motes of misted blood continued to formulate a cloak around his body. Above the highest peak of Sturmland, he was the Fool Chosen by Fate, the one who shall bear the mantle of the King of Curses!

***

Covered in blood and gore, Megumi placed his hand on the doorknob, making sure that nobody else would come and appear behind him. They were at the top floor, so the lower floors most likely have not heard the ruckus caused, unless it was Laurentina. He honestly didn't know what the Aegir was doing, but it was most likely she was sleeping through the entire ordeal. High chances though, she had already awoken, and he needed to alert her of what had happened fast.

The door creaked with a soft hum, the Sorcerer opened it completely. There was a soft wind that caressed his face, while the black markings across his body and four eyes disappeared, taking a look at what was in the room.

...It was a confusing sight, watching as Werner von Hochberg sat on his chair at the end of the room casually, sipping on a delicate tea cup. Megumi felt his pupils constrict, looking all around. There was no damage, there was no signs of panic, only a calm Kurfurst sitting at his chair with a... bodyguard?

"What...?" Megumi mumbled out, seeing the armored man standing beside the patriarch turn toward him. They were dressed in crimson colored armor, with signs of decoration plastered across it, and lining of gold gracing its figure at some parts. The armor looked valuable and effective, along with the hefty weapon sheathed by their side, "Gesatzswachter..." he remembered them, the elite guards which protected the Kurfursten of Leithanien... "You already knew that you were going to be attacked, didn't you?"

"That's a correction assumption. With the information granted to me, I already knew that something was going to happen in the Spire. Still, it was quite a ruckus out there," Werner spoke out toward Fushiguro Megumi, downing the rest of his tea. "I'm afraid your... actions weren't necessary to ensure my safety, but I must applaud you for risking your life in a situation such as this." He nodded, motioning for his Gesatzswachter to stand down, "my apologies for... may I speak for myself? Doing nothing." The Kurfurst set his tea cup down.

To be quite frank to himself, Werner von Hochberg could absolutely say that the black haired man in front of him was terrifying. The spark of malice which bled off of his figure, the actual blood from his enemies which graced every single part of his body... he was a sculpture forged on the gorges made of his enemies, the gore and viscera dancing all across his god-profaned form.

If the multiple crashing noises happening and slashing sounds weren't enough, then seeing the black haired man's body in all of its unbrilliant glory was enough to cement the fact that... Arturia Giallo had invited quite the peculiar person. Although the woman had spoken about some positives along with the terrifying might that he held, the Kurfurst wasn't fully prepared to witness something just like this.

'...I only dealt with them to not be ousted as a scapegoat,' Megumi felt his lips thin. His gaze was more focused on the Gesatzwachter, the armored man... or woman, was extremely powerful, and the Sorcerer had to compare them to the Emperor's Blades he had fought back in Ursus. When making comparisons, this single Gesatzwachter alone was almost comparable to two of them, making Megumi wonder if they were an elite among elites. But then again, he remembered how Patriot denoted the ones back in the tundras to be relatively new ones.

"You have a keen eye, and more of a messy way of dealing with things it seems. Ah, please don't take my words as anything negative," Werner glanced at the scene behind Megumi, the outside area leading to nothing but bloodshed. "I'm simply complimenting you on your quick actions and sense of duty to take up arms to defend the Spire." A bead of sweat trailed down the back of his neck, but he kept up a confident posture.

"You're sugarcoating things," Megumi blandly said. It might have been a blunder on his part, but his mood was irritable from having to deal with the endless waves of... whoever those fake Spire Casters were, "I believe both you and I wish to get to the point, isn't that right?" It was only about time before the rest of the Spire was alerted of what had occurred at the upper floors. He was also sure that they would be fine, considering the invader's target was Werner von Hochberg himself, and any other targets would prove to be an annoyance.

Arturia and Laurentina... they could handle themselves. Anybody else who couldn't? Well, that was just tough luck then. There was nothing the Sorcerer could do to help the defenseless, when there was a larger matter to take care of. Not all people were born equal in terms of importance, further cemented by the fact that he had taken more priority over this Kurfurst's well-being than the other residents...

The Gesatzwachter shifted from their position when hearing the Sorcerer's words.

"It's fine," the Kurfurst of Sturmland raised his hand to motion for the guard to stop. "You're completely correct in your assessment, so let's get to the point, shall we?" He moved his hands to fix his outfit for any minute imperfections, before stepping aside and motioning for the chair in front of his desk. "Since you are the guest of my Spire, it is only natural for me to step aside in some matters."

"...Sure, let's leave it at that," Megumi could still feel the intense gaze of the Gesatzwachter on him, the most uncomfortable feeling he had ever been under since entering Leithanien. Yes, it had even beaten Arturia's constant probing, "but—I don't believe it would be modest of me to sully your room with blood, now would it?" He motioned to himself with his hand casually, pointing out the massive amounts of blood having coagulated on his clothes. He could always destroy it and repair it with Reverse Cursed Technique, it wouldn't be much of a problem as it stood right now.

"Haha~ you're quite the comedian, you know that?" Werner von Hochberg broke out into a small chuckle of all things, shaking his head at the end of it. It was a nervous laugh, and he hoped the other man hadn't perceived it. "Good, I always hated being formal at all times, so sit down by the seat, or stay there as you like. It won't change anything." He cleared his throat after, moving back to his seat and setting down beside the Gesatzwachter. "Now, shall we begin? I've heard many things about you, Herr Fushiguro."

Megumi closed his eyes, before crossing his arms, "fire away, Herr Hochberg." His irritation rose.