If that Special Grade Curse from before brought 'fear'...
Then now, as the boy covered in black tattoos looked up, only two words filled the air.
Despair.
A despair deep enough to freeze one's very soul.
Ryomen Sukuna—the King of Curses currently occupying Itadori Yuji's body—walked forward with lazy steps, splashing through the murky, shallow water.
His bare torso was covered in black cursed markings.
A playful glint flickered within his crimson, double-lidded eyes.
It was as if he were looking at an ant he could crush at any moment.
"Hey, brat with the glasses."
Sukuna stopped less than five meters in front of Hayashi En.
He nonchalantly raised a hand, pointing at the Special Grade Curse pinned in mid-air by golden chains.
"Is this your Cursed Technique?"
"Using boring rules like 'contracts' to forcibly bind an opponent..."
"It looks fragile and reeks of that disgusting stench of money."
"I really don't like it."
En didn't speak. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he was shaking.
No matter how calm his mind remained, his physical instincts couldn't be deceived.
As an ordinary person without Cursed Energy, the biological terror of facing a monster like Ryomen Sukuna was impossible to suppress.
"You don't like it?"
En forced his facial muscles into submission and pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, wrenching his mouth into a professional smile.
It even carried a hint of provocation.
"That's truly a shame."
"I was actually going to ask if you were interested in a membership card for our shop, Mr. Sukuna."
"Hahahaha!"
Sukuna reacted as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.
He threw his head back and roared with laughter.
The laughter was arrogant and violent.
Even the pinned Special Grade Curse curled into a ball, trembling in fear.
"A membership card?"
"Interesting. How very interesting."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Sukuna's silhouette vanished instantly.
A split second later.
A hideous, twisted face appeared directly in front of En's.
Their noses were less than a centimeter apart.
En could even smell the overwhelming scent of blood.
"Then use your life to pay for that card."
Sharp claws whistled through the air, aiming straight for his throat!
The shadow of death loomed instantly.
[SYSTEM: WARNING! LETHAL ATTACK DETECTED!]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT DEBTOR: FUSHIGURO MEGUMI.]
[SYSTEM: TRIGGERING "CREDITOR PROTECTION MECHANISM" REQUIRES: 50,000 POINTS / 5 MINUTES.]
[SYSTEM: INSUFFICIENT BALANCE! UNABLE TO GENERATE ABSOLUTE DEFENSE!]
The red warning pulsed like a death knell.
'I can't tank this.'
'I have to trade... I must make a deal!'
Adrenaline surged.
En's mind raced like an overclocked computer.
His eyes darted frantically across the System Shop.
He was searching for a lifeline.
Most of the powerful items were greyed out.
The prices listed beneath them were astronomical.
The Inverted Spear of Heaven? Couldn't afford it.
Black Rope? Couldn't afford it.
Reverse Cursed Technique Trial Card? He couldn't afford it even if he sold his life.
'I need something cheap...'
'Something that can solve this situation immediately...'
'Most importantly, it has to be bait that an arrogant guy like Sukuna absolutely cannot refuse...'
In the nick of time.
His gaze locked onto a small icon in the Miscellaneous/Consumables tab.
A green wrapper.
It looked just like a pack of gum from a convenience store.
[SYSTEM: ITEM NAME: SOUL SEDATIVE (TRIAL VERSION)]
[SYSTEM: TYPE: CONSUMABLE / MENTAL]
[SYSTEM: EFFECT: FORCES THE USER'S PRIMARY CONSCIOUSNESS INTO A DEEP SLEEP, SEVERING THE LINK WITH THE PHYSICAL BODY FOR ONE MINUTE. FOR DUAL-SOUL SYMBIOTES, IT FORCES THE LATENT SOUL TO GAIN FULL CONTROL OF THE BODY.]
[SYSTEM: PRICE: 500 POINTS.]
[SYSTEM: NOTE: IT'S CHEAP, BUT IT PACKS A PUNCH.]
'This is it!'
En was ecstatic.
This was a massive gamble.
He was betting his life.
If Sukuna didn't take the bait, or if he only wanted to kill.
Then En would be finished right here, today.
But En was betting on Sukuna's personality.
What the King of Curses hated most wasn't death.
It was a lack of freedom.
What he found most unbearable was the humiliation of being suppressed back into that 'cage' known as Itadori Yuji at any given moment.
'Purchase!'
[SYSTEM: DING! TRANSACTION SUCCESSFUL. 500 POINTS CONSUMED. REMAINING BALANCE: 70 POINTS.]
[SYSTEM: ITEM HAS BEEN ISSUED.]
Sukuna's claws had already touched En's skin.
A line of blood appeared.
En didn't dodge.
Because he couldn't.
He shouted a single sentence as fast as he could:
"I can give you freedom!"
The claws stopped.
The sharp nails were less than a millimeter from his carotid artery.
Sukuna's scarlet eyes narrowed slightly.
His killing intent halted, transforming into a sort of playful intrigue.
"What did... you say?"
En's heart was leaping into his throat, each beat pounding against his ribs.
Yet on the surface, he remained as steady as a mountain, even taking the time to slowly straighten his collar.
He slowly raised his right hand.
A small green square lay in his palm, emitting a pungent peppermint scent.
"I know you're strong—so strong that no one can kill you."
En's voice regained its gentle tone.
It carried a persuasive, almost magical quality.
Like the whisper of a devil.
"However, no matter how strong you are."
"As long as the owner of that body—Itadori Yuji—wakes up, you have to go back to prison like a good little boy, right?"
Sukuna's expression darkened.
The ambient temperature plummeted.
This was his sore spot, his absolute taboo.
Being suppressed by a mere brat was a stain on the King of Curses' honor that could never be washed away.
"This thing is called a 'Soul Sedative'."
En held the candy up between two fingers.
He waved it in front of Sukuna's eyes.
"If you eat this, Itadori Yuji will be forced into a deep sleep."
"Until the effect wears off, he won't wake up even if the sky falls."
"Which means..."
The smile on En's lips widened.
He radiated the confidence of a man with everything under control.
"For the next minute, this body belongs entirely to you."
"No one can shove you back inside."
"No one will be shouting inside your head."
"You can fully enjoy this one minute of... King's time."
Sukuna stared at the candy, then back at En.
A few seconds of dead silence passed.
"Hahahaha! You're quite interesting!"
Sukuna suddenly burst out laughing.
He snatched the 'candy' from En's hand and sniffed it.
His perception of souls was incredibly sharp; he could sense a unique power of 'rules' within the small square.
"Human, you've got guts."
Sukuna tossed the candy into the air and caught it with his mouth.
He chewed it twice.
"If I'm not satisfied with this minute, I'll kill you first."
As the candy was swallowed.
A chill that rushed straight to the crown of his head enveloped his soul.
He could clearly feel it.
Itadori Yuji's consciousness, which had been in the process of waking up, was forcibly shoved back into the abyss by an overbearing power.
The sheer exhilaration of having total control over the body put him in a fantastic mood.
"Since this thing is the real deal... speak. What do you want?"
Sukuna was in a good mood.
He didn't mind giving this interesting insect a little reward.
En no longer hid the greed in his eyes.
He pointed at the still-struggling Special Grade Curse.
"First, help me clean up that piece of trash."
"Second..."
En pushed up his glasses, a glint flashing across the lenses.
The mask finally slipped, and his true intentions were revealed.
"I want the finger inside its body."
"It is your power."
"Now, I want you to pay it to me as the 'payment' for this transaction."