Meanwhile.
Following Satoru Gojo's departure.
Outside the room's window, a wave of dark blue cursed energy slowly spread. The surrounding space trembled slightly.
Suddenly.
In midair, cursed energy coalesced, forming a bizarre skull out of thin air.
Suspended by cursed energy, it floated silently.
Ghostly flames burned eerily in its hollow eye sockets, radiating an ominous aura.
It stared quietly into the room at Ryder, who lay on the sofa, seemingly asleep.
"Target confirmed. Ready to proceed anytime." The skull's voice was faint, the ghost fire in its eyes flickering slowly.
Though only a head, it carried terrifying cursed energy.
"Be careful. This guy isn't simple. According to earlier intel, he has at least near-Grade 1 strength." A cold man's voice sounded beside the skull.
Hearing this, the skull—which should have been incapable of emotion—managed a distinctly human scoff.
"Relax. Being able to create cursed tools is an impressive technique, but trying to resist me? Far from enough. That monster from the Gojo family is already gone. Leave the rest to me."
"Fine."
"Heheh. Little brat. Hope you know what's good for you."
The ghost fire in the skull's eyes flickered uncertainly.
It watched Ryder in the room like a predator stalking an innocent lamb.
"What?!"
Suddenly, the skull cried out in shock. The ghost fire in its eyes flared violently, burning with panic.
At that moment.
Ryder, who had been lying on the sofa, suddenly vanished right before its eyes.
It could guarantee it hadn't blinked (even if it wanted to, it had no eyelids).
Ryder had simply disappeared into thin air.
Leaving behind absolutely no trace of cursed energy.
"Impossible! He was right there!"
Boom!
The window suddenly shattered into countless fragments. The skull floated slowly into the room, its round cranium wrapped in dense cursed energy.
"Specter Art: Tracking!"
Wooo... wooo...
Centered on the skull, dark blue cursed energy traced intricate patterns in the air. Ghostly wails and wolf-like howls echoed from within the glyphs.
But!
A cold glint flashed, shooting straight for the skull. Powerful force, enhanced by a surge of cursed energy.
That flying knife appeared in front of the skull almost instantly.
"Damn it!" The skull exclaimed.
The patterns traced by cursed energy shattered completely.
The skull barely managed to dodge the knife's assault in midair.
But for some reason.
A heavy sense of crisis rose in its heart.
As if it were being targeted by a terrifying beast.
"You've been watching for a long time. There's a fee for that."
Ryder's voice rang out, thick with murderous intent.
Behind the skull, his figure slowly materialized.
The skull froze like a rabbit encountering its natural predator.
Its head hung stiffly in midair.
It dared not move. Dared not turn around.
As if behind it lay an endless abyss. If it dared to look back, it would fall into eternal darkness.
"This feeling... I'm going to die! What the hell is with this guy?! Damn it!" The skull screamed internally.
Its body, formed entirely of cursed energy, instinctively felt the threat.
From Ryder, it sensed its own cursed energy being steadily devoured.
"A curse user?"
Ryder grabbed the skull's head.
With interest, he lifted it to eye level.
Gluttonous Devourer circulated constantly, rudely absorbing the cursed energy from the skull without hesitation.
"Strange thing," Ryder muttered, looking at the silent skull in his hand that had chosen to play dead.
He found it odd.
Gluttonous Devourer could absorb all cursed energy and convert it into his own power, strengthening both his body and energy reserves.
But absorbing cursed energy usually had a strict condition.
It had to be "ownerless."
whether it was a cursed spirit or a sorcerer, to use Gluttonous Devourer, he had to defeat them first. To use an analogy: if everyone carrying cursed energy was a bottle of soda, Gluttonous Devourer required him to unscrew the cap before he could drink.
But this strange thing in his hand was like soda already poured into a cup.
He could just pick it up and drink it directly.
"If you keep playing dead, I don't mind draining you dry. Trust me, I'm very good at that."
Ryder shook the skull in his hand a few times. Seeing no reaction, the corner of his mouth curled into a cruel smile.
As he said, he was a lazy person. So he had even less interest in playing mind games with the thing in his hand.
Whoosh!
He opened his mouth slightly. A powerful suction force appeared instantly. The Gluttonous Devourer, originally meant for digestion, had mutated after arriving in this world.
The devouring power surged violently.
"Fuck! I'm really gonna die!" The skull, which had chosen to play dead, felt alarm bells ringing frantically the moment Ryder opened his mouth.
It didn't dare pretend for another second and started screaming.
"Lord!!! Give me a chance!!!"