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"Kept… promises…"
The moment the hoarse syllables ripped through the air, a darkness as thick and tangible as pitch erupted from Yuji's body!
It wasn't Cursed Energy; it was pure, millennium-old malice!
The Cursed Marks on both sides of his face squirmed and spread like living snakes. The skin below his eyes tore open, and two small, scarlet vertical pupils snapped wide!
Yuji's formerly resilient expression was utterly shredded, replaced by a cruel and arrogant, condescending sneer.
He casually raised his right hand—Slap!
The hand, covered in grotesque black markings, firmly gripped the tip of Higuruma's Executioner's Sword!
The light, powerful enough to sever Cursed Techniques, flashed and wailed madly in his palm, yet it couldn't advance an inch!
"Well, well, well," 'Yuji' tilted his head, his scarlet pupils examining the blade with keen interest, his voice distorted and mocking, "I didn't expect to see such an amusing little court gimmick these days."
He exerted slight pressure with his fingers, and the light sword emitted a buzzing sound.
Hiromi Higuruma's pupils contracted violently! A massive sense of crisis, stemming from life's purest instinct, washed over him like ice water!
He didn't even have time to think. His body, driven by instinct, propelled him backward in a quick leap!
After three rapid retreats, he instantly opened up a distance of over ten meters. The previous cold composure had completely vanished from his face, replaced only by solemnity:
"Ryomen Sukuna?!"
'Yuji'—or rather, the King of Curses currently occupying the body—grinned maliciously and let go of the sword.
The light sword, freed from its restraint, was immediately recalled and dissipated by Higuruma.
Sukuna slowly and deliberately smoothed back Yuji's messy pink hair, revealing a smooth forehead and three sets of chilling eyes.
"Oh, my~" Sukuna's tone held exaggerated surprise, his gaze sweeping over Higuruma. "You recognized me? Sharp eyes, little Judge."
"Sukuna?!" Fushiguro Megumi cried out in alarm, his heart nearly stopping!
A cold light flashed behind Nanami Kento's glasses, and every muscle in his body instantly tensed to the maximum! Even the Angel, Kurusu Hana, who had been silently observing, felt a violent ripple spread through her golden eyes!
"How… how did you do this?!" Megumi's voice was strained with shock.
Yuji clearly hadn't lost control of his body! How did this guy get out?!
Sukuna let out a low, pleasant gurgle from his throat, as if he'd heard an amusing joke. His three sets of eyes simultaneously turned to Megumi and Nanami Kento.
"Don't be so dramatic," he spread his hands, his posture languid yet radiating a deadly pressure. "The naive little brat and I," he tapped his temple, "made a tiny little 'Binding Vow.'"
He held up a finger covered in black Cursed Marks, his scarlet tongue licking his sharp canine teeth: "As long as I utter the word 'Kept Promises,' I can take over this body… for one minute."
He paused deliberately, enjoying the drastic change in everyone's expressions, his smile growing even nastier. "Of course, the content of the Vow is—during that minute, I 'cannot harm or kill anyone.'"
He emphasized the restriction of the Vow, but it sounded more like he was showing off his own game rules.
The crisp snap of breaking knuckles sounded like firecrackers exploding!
Sukuna forcibly tore off his own left pinky and ring fingers. Blood splattered onto the courtroom floor.
He laughed maniacally as he held the severed fingers up to his eyes, his scarlet tongue licking the wound: "But it didn't say—I couldn't hurt myself! Hahahahaha!"
Hiromi Higuruma's face suddenly changed: "Damn it!" He fiercely swung the gavel, attempting to reinforce the Domain, but it was already too late—
Sukuna's figure lunged forward like lightning!
Before Fushiguro Megumi could react, he was met with that pair of crazed vertical pupils right in his face!
"Fushiguro! Get away!" Nanami Kento's warning overlapped with Sukuna's twisted voice: "Come have a taste of my special candy~"
Sukuna's bloodied palm clamped Megumi's jaw, and the two severed fingers were brutally shoved into his forced-open mouth!
Megumi's pupils contracted to pinpoints, and a choked, gurgling sound escaped his throat.
"Boom—!!!"
A torrent of pitch-black Cursed Energy erupted from all seven orifices of Fushiguro Megumi!
Nanami Kento was sent flying by the shockwave, only stopping when he hit the wall; the Angel, Kurusu Hana, spread her light wings and swiftly retreated; Hiromi Higuruma raised his hands to shield himself from the blast!
In the eye of the storm, Megumi's body was floating strangely.
Cursed Marks identical to Sukuna's surfaced on his cheeks. The skin below his eyes tore open—and two new scarlet vertical pupils snapped wide!
"Cough… cough, cough!" Itadori Yuji suddenly collapsed to the ground, recovering consciousness. He looked up blankly, meeting the slowly turning gaze of 'Fushiguro Megumi.'
That familiar face now wore an alien, malicious grin, and the voice was unmistakably Sukuna's cadence: "Do you remember? Because I can see something amusing…"
'Megumi' slapped away Yuji's attempt to help him up, all four eyes narrowing simultaneously: "I told you so." He tilted his head, sizing up the horrified Yuji. "Brat."
No sooner had Sukuna finished speaking than a fist heavily smashed into Yuji's abdomen!
A muffled impact! Yuji didn't even have time to guard. His entire body was sent flying like a cannonball, as if struck by a full-speed truck!
He violently smashed through a stone pillar of the court, sending rubble and dust flying everywhere!
"Itadori!" Nanami Kento roared, but his body was immobilized by the after-effects of the Domain and the sudden, drastic change.
Sukuna didn't even glance at the flying Yuji.
He calmly raised his hand and raked his five fingers through Megumi's normally spiky black hair, harshly slicking it back! The black strands were forcefully combed into a wild, arrogant pompadour, revealing a smooth forehead and two pairs of malevolent, scarlet eyes. "Hmm…" Sukuna (Fushiguro Megumi) tilted his head in satisfaction, emitting a pleased nasal sound.
He spread his arms wide, as if enjoying the freedom this new vessel provided. His three sets of eyes, filled with pure mockery, locked onto Hiromi Higuruma.
"Your Domain," Sukuna's voice, filtered through Megumi's vocal cords, sounded especially sinister, "stripped my Cursed Energy?" He pulled his mouth into a dangerously wide smile. "I find that… so uninteresting."
Hiromi Higuruma's face was livid, his rationality nearly shattered by this existence that profaned the rules.
He sharply swung his right hand downward, re-coalescing the gavel, the symbol of judgment, in his palm!
"Judgment!" Higuruma's roar carried a murderous resolve. The gavel, imbued with the Domain's authority, smashed down toward the ground!
A hand covered in black Cursed Marks, clamped down like iron tongs, holding Higuruma's wrist dead still!
The gavel was mere millimeters from the ground but could not fall any further!
Higuruma's pupils quaked! He hadn't even seen when Sukuna had crossed the distance!
Sukuna leaned closer to Higuruma's bitter melon face, which was slightly distorted with shock. Malevolent light flickered in his pupils, and his voice held a mocking, sudden realization:
"Ah, I forgot~" He licked his lips, his smile cruel and delighted. "Shouldn't your judgment only be able to judge the object of the 'same crime'?"
He applied slight pressure to Higuruma's hand, producing a crunch sound as the bones in the wrist were tightly squeezed.
"Hahaha!" Sukuna burst into maniacal laughter that echoed through the ruins of the shattered courtroom. "Because—that brat was just a vessel! The one who truly went on a killing spree in Shibuya, crushing those twenty thousand-plus ants…"
He paused, his eyes simultaneously locking onto Higuruma's fear-widened pupils, declaring word by word:
"Was me! Your Honor!"
Higuruma's pupils violently contracted from the intense pain and shock! He channeled Cursed Energy into his feet and kicked fiercely at Sukuna (Fushiguro Megumi)'s midsection like a battle-axe, trying to break free from the lethal clamp!
Bang! Bang!
Heavy, muffled thuds! Sukuna didn't even shift his feet. His Cursed Mark-covered left hand casually slapped down to block and parry Higuruma's kicks. His movements were effortless and graceful, as if flicking away dust. Under Sukuna's control, Megumi's body exhibited terrifying physique and reflexes far exceeding its normal state!
"Ugh!" Higuruma grunted. His attack was easily neutralized, and the crushing pain in his wrist nearly made him drop the gavel.
"How should I dismantle this bothersome Domain of yours?" Sukuna tilted his head, a playful smile on his face, while easily blocking Higuruma's ensuing barrage of close-range kicks, leisurely posing the question.
His movements were always one step ahead of Higuruma's, as if he were giving a combat demonstration.
Higuruma gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his temple, saying nothing, his attacks only growing more frantic! Every kick was accompanied by a Cursed Energy blast!
But Sukuna used only one hand to parry and block, completely at ease.
Only when Higuruma desperately tried to re-coalesce the gavel to launch a judgment would Sukuna suddenly tighten his grip on his wrist, causing him such pain that the technique was aborted.
Just as Sukuna was mockingly overpowering Higuruma, a cruel smile hanging on his lips—
"Give him back to me!!!"
A sharp, desperate cry tore through the lingering tension of the Domain!
Kurusu Hana hovered in mid-air, a blinding golden light erupting from her! The angel's halo above her head shone like a miniature sun, radiating a light that pierced all darkness! The powerful holy energy formed a tangible shockwave that spread outwards!
The Angel cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone. Her golden eyes burned with unprecedented fury and sorrow. She locked her gaze onto Fushiguro Megumi's body, occupied by Sukuna, and screamed with all her might:
"Give Megumi—back to me!!!"
"The Ladder of Jaku!!!"
KABOOM—!!!
In front of Hana's cupped hands, space violently twisted!
A pillar of pure, sacred golden light, over ten meters in diameter, composed of energy that decomposed all things, instantly tore through Higuruma's already shaky Domain like a spear of divine retribution!
The light pillar shot toward Sukuna with faster-than-thought speed!
Too fast! Too close! The mockery instantly solidified on Sukuna's face!
He violently whipped his head around, only to see a field of destructive golden light filling his entire vision! He didn't even have time to fully release Higuruma's wrist—
"Uwaaaaaahhh—!!!"
Fushiguro Megumi's body was completely swallowed by the light pillar! Sukuna let out a non-human shriek of pain and furious rage! The sound was twisted and ear-splitting, completely unlike a human voice, filled with unbelievable ferocity!
The sacred golden flame savagely scorched the King of Curses' soul and the body he was occupying!
The massive pillar of golden light pierced through the entire shattered courtroom Domain, its momentum unchecked as it soared into the sky, briefly tearing open the gloomy haze covering the city!
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the center of the light pillar.
In the pillar of light, a flickering figure became visible.
"Hana…" A weak but familiar voice sounded.
Kurusu Hana was struck as if by lightning! The light around her instantly dimmed, and the pillar vanished: "Megumi… Megumi-kun?!"
As the smoke cleared, the heavily wounded Fushiguro Megumi stood there. His entire body was charred and cracked, smoke rising from his skin, yet his eyes—they were stripped of scarlet, looking at her with a dazed, exhausted gaze.
"I… I remember everything…" He struggled to raise one severely burned hand toward Hana.
A tidal wave of immense joy and the elation of having him back instantly overwhelmed Kurusu Hana!
Tears flowed uncontrollably! "Megumi-kun!!!" She frantically flapped her wings, turning into a stream of light as she rushed toward the figure!
"Don't go!!!" Nanami Kento and Hiromi Higuruma's roars erupted simultaneously!
Higuruma clutched his right arm, which had been scorched by the edge of the light pillar, and Nanami was frantic with worry!
Kurusu Hana crashed into 'Fushiguro Megumi's' embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around his charred neck, burying her face and weeping bitterly: "It's alright… It's alright…"
Just as her guard completely dropped—
Beneath the residual burn marks on 'Fushiguro Megumi's' face, the grotesque black Cursed Marks instantly spread and deepened like living things!
His lips curled into an extremely wicked arc, ripping back to his ears. All four scarlet pupils viciously snapped open beneath the scorched skin!
"Heh…" A twisted, bestial snicker belonging to Sukuna was squeezed from 'Fushiguro Megumi's' throat!
His sole remaining right arm clamped around Hana's slender waist like a giant python, restraining all her struggles!
At the same time, the grotesque head snapped back, his blood-soaked mouth, lined with razor-sharp fangs, opened to a horrifying angle. With a gust of foul air, he bit savagely toward Kurusu Hana's defenseless, pale white neck!
"Kurusu Hana—!!!" Nanami's eyes were splitting with rage!
Buzz—Slice!
A cold, tragic flash of light, without any warning, tore through space!
The blade light precisely sliced into the elbow joint of the arm 'Fushiguro Megumi' was using to choke Kurusu Hana!
The Cursed Mark-covered left forearm was severed at the elbow! Black blood splattered!
"Agh—!!!" Sukuna let out a wild, furious roar of pain! The intense agony made him instinctively release Kurusu Hana, and his body exploded backward into an afterimage!
Kurusu Hana lost her support and softly plummeted toward the ground, where she was caught by Nanami Kento, who had rushed over just in time.
Her eyes were wide and unfocused. The immense terror and pain of betrayal had left her completely stunned, only silent tears tracing paths down her cheeks.
Sukuna stopped dozens of meters away. The muscles in the wound of his severed left arm pulsed, instantly staunching the bleeding. He violently lifted his head, his scarlet eyes burning with towering fury, fixed intently on a figure who had appeared in mid-air at some point.
The person floated there, holding a long katana. His eyes beneath his white hair held mockery, and a disdainful smile played on his lips.
"You damned mongrel…" Sukuna ground out a murderous snarl from between his teeth, every word steeped in the King of Curses' insane fury. "Nero!"
"Didn't you say you wouldn't stop my recovery? What in the hell are you doing now!!!"
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