Uraume got clingy fast. It's been less than four hours since I rescued him- her, because fuck my meta-knowledge- and after I had her clean herself at the river near my camp, clothe herself with a more elegant garb that I totally didn't steal on our way out of that fuckass town and groom herself with whatever utensils I could provide, we'd sat down in the log cabin I'd erected a few days ago.
Thanks to fiber insulation that I finally bothered trial-and-erroring into my house designs, we were also relatively cozy here. But I could've also probably thrown us into a barren cave and Uraume would still call it cozy simply because I was there, because not two seconds after I'd sat myself down on the fiber-made bed, Uraume sat herself down next to me with the biggest puppy-dog eyes I'd ever seen.
"What?" I groggily asked. I didn't need much sleep but I'd pulled four all-nighters building this cabin before I went into town already and wanted to take a nap, at least.
"Nothing, my lord." She was lying, the girl was very obviously ogling the bed- and me, but that was a cat I'd rather have stay in the bag for now- with nefarious intent.
I sighed. "Fine. Get in." The happy smile that etched itself onto her adorably cute face made me reluctantly admit that compromising my dignity was worth it, as the ice Sorcerer crawled onto my chest, then she slipped the cloak-turned-blanket over us both again. Despite the theme of her technique, she was warm to the touch.
And blushing an atomic red that made me worry she'd start emitting steam, but I ignored that for now. I was tired, I didn't want to deal with the 'white knight crush' thing today.
"Thank you for saving me, my Lord." I heard her mutter meekly.
I sighed, this time with content as she snuggled into me and I had to concede that it was very comfy indeed. "You reminded me of myself, just a small bit. But I think I decided to help you mostly because I have a very hypocritical moral compass."
"Hypocritical?" She asked, confused. Had she never..? Okay, whoever her parents were, they are bad at their god-given job on multiple levels now.
"It means having virtues, morals or standards that you don't actually follow." I roughly explained.
"I don't get it." The frown on her face was cute in its own way. I tried to stifle the dumb smirk that makes its way onto my own face whenever I see adorable, cute or fluffy things- some habits transcend lives, it seems.
"What? The meaning?" I tried to elaborate.
She shook her head, her chin rubbing against the eight-pack afforded to me by actual hard work and cheat-physiology. I fucking loved being in an anime world sometimes. "No. How are you hypocritical, Lord Sukuna?"
I sighed. "First of all, if I'm pseudo-adopting you, then it's not as a servant. Stop it with the 'lord'." For some reason, even that elicited a blush. Jesus Christ, had nobody ever shown this girl an iota of kindness? "Secondly… Well, I'd call myself selfish, so it was out of the norm for me to go and save you."
There was a pregnant silence prevailing in the air. Then, Uraume responded. "Maybe you saved me because you wanted to, isn't that also selfish?"
I frowned. "That's a pretty weird way of looking at it, but sure." Normally, people condemn selfishness but Uraume here seemed to preen at the thought of being self-interested. Or… she likes the thought of being me-interested. I let out an internal sigh of resignation. I guess a man can't be too unhappy with a ridiculously pretty girl fawning over them, at least.
"I am glad for you being the way you are, then." My own heart skipped a beat at the raw emotion on her face. We were entirely too close for me to keep my dignity. God, why can't I at least act like the original Sukuna in situations like these? It would certainly maintain my 'intimidating demon' reputation…
But looking at her now… I guess being emotionally vulnerable with at least one person in life can't hurt, right? And with the way we met and how she's acting right now, I doubt she'd betray me. Having an ally with me, especially cuddled up and currently snoring away in a deep sleep on my chest, already made the world seem a lot more bearable.
"Cursed Energy is derived from negative emotions. Normally, it is expelled from the body and eventually forms into a Cursed Spirit, though that process has a lot more details that we'll get into later." Uraume and I stood ankle-deep within a river- well, shin-deep for her.
I chose this spot for our first Jujutsu-related training session because it was the early morning and I usually took the nearest river to exercise my body in because for one, I wouldn't have to shower after the work out since the water would do it for me and for another, because swimming against a waterfall really got my muscles burning.
She wasn't shivering, so either Sorcerer's had some amount of natural climate resistance that came with their passive Cursed Energy enhancement or her technique made her immune to the cold. Or she didn't dignify herself with showing anything but the pure attention and respect- and adoration- she was giving me right now.
I continued nonetheless. "But Sorcerers like us don't expel Cursed Energy, not unless we want to. We have a set capacity of it that we can contain, which circulates through our bodies from our stomach outwards." I patted my abdomen. Uraume nodded in comprehension. "There are two main ways to use your Cursed Energy, through a technique or without one."
I held out my upper right arm. Then, I coated it with Cursed Energy, enhancing it. "This is Cursed Energy enhancement- every Sorcerer is doing it passively as the energy is flowing through their body, but you can also concentrate and refine that stream into something better." She nodded. I demonstrated the effect enhancement can have promptly- my left, unenhanced fist throwing a punch into the air to little effect, followed up by my empowered right one, which created a shockwave that parted the water below me.
"A Cursed Technique is something unique to every Sorcerer and is fueled by Cursed Energy. Think painting: You can throw ink onto a canvas by itself just fine, maybe even creating something abstractly beautiful in the process- that's enhancement- but you can also use a brush to make something completely unique using the same ink- that's your technique." The slight opening of her mouth, followed by a far more confident nod made it clear that the analogy found footing.
"May I interrupt, L- Sukuna?" She asked and I narrowed my eyes at the slip-up, though I nodded for her to continue. "I think I already possess my Cursed Technique."
"Oh?" I motioned for her to show me.
A frown of concentration settled onto her face as she held out her right hand. The air above her palm twinkled, a cold mist starting to form. Then, in a flash of white, a cube of ice sat in her palm. She looked up at me, waiting for approval. "You can create ice?" I asked. Uraume shrunk in on herself and I noticed how demeaning that sounded.
"That is supremely useful. Imagine the upper limits- you could freeze an approaching opponent, or impale one. Creating any kind of matter allows you to be imaginative to the highest degree- ice walls for defense, platforms to create a high ground and so on. Even on a small scale, you could preserve food or keep your drinks cold." I infused humor into my voice at the end, making her chuckle lightly as the once-frown turned into a happy little smile.
"Thank you, Sukuna." Her tone was breathy, filled with raw emotion.
"I'm just speaking the truth, Uraume. Now then, I'm planning on making a strong Sorcerer out of you- I'm going to help those I care about become strong with me." I've read enough stories about people feeling like they can never escape their lover's/friend's/sibling's shadow because they're so much more better than them in something- be it an art, in strength or in wealth.
I'm not dealing with that, so ascension through power is the top priority for everybody that wants to ride along train Sukuna. "So we're going to be focusing on controlling your Cursed Energy until you're not too reliant on your emotions to control it-" I saw the questioning look on her face and forestalled her. "-you can supplant your negative motions with skill and experience in regards to control." She nodded and I continued.
"Then we're going to work on exploring your technique and then lastly, we'll train you up physically." Unlike most people from my past life who'd groan and complain about work-outs, Uraume just seemed resolved and determined to exceed my expectations. And I had no doubt she would.
An evil smirk bloomed on my face. "Let's see if you can keep up with me."
Her master was a monster, plain and simple. While she loved him for it- an internal giggle resounded through her soul- she could also plainly see the downsides. She was panting and groaning, very unlady-like, as she tried her best to keep up with Sukuna. But even with the boulders that he was holding above his head with his upper arms, he was jogging merrily beside her.
And he told her he wasn't even using enhancement to do so.
A week ago, she'd barely even made it up the hill they lived next to, but after seven days of training with her master, she'd been able to run alongside him. When she'd asked to follow him in his travels, she'd expected to be the one he'd return to after a hard day, to be the one who cooked and cleaned for him.
But that couldn't be further from the truth. She was the one that collapsed onto the bed after the morning work outs and she was the one that master Sukuna had to feed with the prey he hunted for them. She didn't like it, she wanted to pay him back but… seeing him return with a slain beast over his shoulder, all sweaty… heh…
She shook her head, focusing back on the task at hand. They'd concluded the regular exercises that focused on all her muscles and now they were doing stamina training. Her master had also told her to try and keep the enhancement up while they ran so she would learn to have it active without concentrating on it actively.
But it was just so difficult! The steady flow she kept all throughout her body slipped through her fingers as soon as she began to focus on not tripping on something while running through the forest. Her master truly was a god for his skill in Jujutsu alone… and she was his devoted priestess…
No! No fantasies now, Uraume! Once more, the ice user composed herself with a slap to the cheek, stifling the blush. But she couldn't keep the scene that had encompassed her dreams as of late to play out in her mind again,
"Welcome home, master." The door closed and his four predatory eyes seized her. She writhed under his gaze, her exposed body barely covered by the blanket. "P-Please… I need to thank you…" She felt so hot, his approach making her body tremble.
He did not speak, he simply befell her. His lower arms patted all along her thighs and her body shook, trembled from the caress. His upper arms kept her torso in place, one cupping her breasts. She moaned as he towered above her. Sukuna leaned down and claimed her lips, sharp teeth poking and prodding at her tongue as he wrestled it between them.
She felt something burning and steely between her thighs and she locked eyes with him. He was blushing just as she was but… he looked so resolved, so sternly confident. "I'm yours…" She whispered. Then he claimed h-
"Uraume!" Sukuna's shout shook her from her fantasies. "C'mon, at least try and keep up!" Her mind reset itself, once again realizing that she was in reality and not in the dream world.
"Y-Yes!" For lack of anything more elegant to say, she redoubled her efforts and forced her legs to close the ground between her and her master. No matter if he accepted her more carnal desires or not, she would be his for eternity!
The tracks were difficult to see, hidden and old as they were. The foliage tried to protect the boar I was tracking, but I would not relent. I was tired of deer every day and I think the herd I've been whittling down had long since fled. So, the tell-tale footprints of the boar got me fired up for another hunt. The underbrush barely rattled as I ran, my body twisting and buckling to avoid making sound while keeping up my monstrous speeds.
Reaction time was the name of the game if you wanted to be fast and quiet. And I had that in spades.
Eventually, my enhanced senses picked up sniffling, waddling and groaning- all sounding very much boar-like. I touched down upon the branch of a tree and looked down to see the black-furred swine greedily feasting at a berry bush. Did boars even eat berries? Well, this one apparently does. I didn't have to bother with a silent approach to prelude my kill, I only had to get a clear sightline and then-!
My Dismantle sliced cleanly through its head, decapitating the beast with nary but a sound. "Now, to bleed it dry." This was the part that cost the most time, not the hunting itself. I was pretty good at that after all these years. So, I placed my hand on the tree I had been standing on while sliding down it onto the ground, calling for Cleave.
My precision was perfect these days, and so all the material for a bleeding rack I needed was cut out of the bark in moments. I dismissed the head entirely and picked up the fat, rotund body of the boar instead. I unfastened the fiber rope I'd hung on my pants and tied its legs before handing it onto the rack. Then, after finishing the preparations and waiting a good while, it finally bled dry.
With my kill held in a pincer grip with my two right hands, I made it back to base in record time. I smelled something pungent in the air but ignored it, opening the door without a care in the world. The smell wasn't coming from outside, I noted, as a wave of it hit me square in the face. It wasn't necessarily bad, just strong. "Hey, Uraume, we need to ventilate this place some t-"
My eyes locked onto the bed.
Uruame was sitting on it, a blanket pulled over her naked form as she tried to meet my eyes, blushing all the while. "W-W-W-W-W-"
I shook my head, deciding to pointedly ignore that and move towards the log I'd cut into a counter. The fridge I'd cut out of a boulder because my Technique was OP was filled with Uraume's ice and so, I placed the boar into it after I cut it into pieces that would fit into the cold storage unit. "P-Please d-don't ignore me l-like that…" Arms wrapped themselves around my stomach and two very squishy objects pressed themselves into my shoulder blades.
Having died a virginy-virgin, I couldn't keep the blush off my face. "Uruame…" I took a breath to compose myself. "You don't have to do this."
"D-Do you not find me d-desirable?" She asked from behind me and I thanked the gods that she couldn't see my constipated expression. This was the most difficult conversation of my life. Both of them.
"I do, but… I didn't save you to use you like this. It would feel wrong." I really didn't but both of us were teenagers and, evidently, Uraume was so love-starved that me showering her with the attention, praise, effort and love she needed for the past two weeks led to… well, this.
Her feet shuffled behind me and her hug tightened. "I-I-I'm not doing this t-to thank you… not entirely. I… I l-love you." I had to keep myself from grinning stupidly.
"You have a savior complex."
"I don't care."
I sucked in air in a hiss as I tried my best to rationally analyze the current situation. Uraume wanted to… what? Have sex with me? I wouldn't say no to that, especially after setting my feelings straight. And honestly… after this long without somebody my age to interact with, and with her having showered me with love in return… can I honestly say I didn't like her back?
We're both consenting young adults, and it's not like I wasn't much older than eighteen in my past life, so…
I looked down, seeing my rock-hard cock tenting my baggy pants past her arms. You sure seem to agree with me. But the modern man in me had to ask her one, single question. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
"Um… yes?" She was confused but also evidently elated at my question. I spun around and hugged her, earning a squeak from the petite girl. Well, petite to me, she had breasts that could barely fit in my admittedly large hands and an ass I balked at the first time we went running and she passed me by.
I was cupping said behind as I let us gently fall onto the bed after taking two steps towards it with her in my arms.
I guess I'm committing to this.
"P-Please… master…" I was never too into the maid fetish, nor being called 'master', but I must say it had its own appeal. I've always suspected I was the dominant type and seeing her below me, completely exposed as my body's shadow covered her in its entirety… well, suspicions confirmed for sure.
"I'm going to make you mine, Uraume." I whispered in her ear as I leaned down, then I bit into her shoulder. Not hard, but she moaned nonetheless. Not in pain, no, in pleasure. The benefit of having four arms in the bedroom made itself clear quickly as my lower to caressed her inner thighs, marveling at the softness of her flesh and exploring every inch without daring to yet move into her depths, while my upper two either held her down gently by her neck or supported myself on the bed.
"Y-Yes! Please do!" The plea was so ironically earnest that it made me chuckle.
"If you say so." With that, I sank lower, my mouth trailing along her body. I relished in each twitch, each gasp I elicited as I kissed and pampered her. I was at her pussy in moments. I really had no fucking idea what I was doing but I dove in anyways.
She didn't taste great, but I wasn't expecting her to. Whatever porn site told you anybody's sexual fluids taste anything but weird is a lying liar. But I refined my technique as if it was Jujutsu, spurned on by hearing her absolutely spasm in pleasure at each twist of the tongue, flick of the clit or pinch of her thigh.
"K-Kami! Yesyesyes-! I love you, master, d-don't stop!" It didn't take too long, the loudest moan yet exploding out of her, almost a scream, before my face was showered in squirt. I was glad for my reaction time for a second time this day as I closed my eyes.
I should've just drank that, if only to save myself from being drenched. Not to ruin the mood, I sat myself upright and observed my handy work- Uraume was panting, lying defeated and drooling onto the blanted-covered bed.
I couldn't give two fucks about my pants and couldn't be asked to stand up right now, so Cleave cut one of my only three pairs of pants into tiny pieces in a flash. My cock stood at attention, peeking into the sky. I wasn't only blessed with physical strength, but with vigor as well- thirteen proud inches that I had polished by my lonesome ever since puberty decided to beat my ass once again.
No longer shall I suffer my libido alone, however. Uraume recollected herself and sat up as well, though she only came up to my abdomen. It was almost comical how my cock shadowed her face, wide eyes looking at my pole with something akin to fear. "M-Master, you're…"
She couldn't hold herself back and, on some lust-fueled instinct, opened her mouth and slid out her tongue. Her hot breath made me twitch, then her wet tongue descended onto my tip. I let out a quiet breath as a ripple of pleasure coursed through my body.
Oh, wow.
Her lips closed around my tip and she sank down onto the shaft itself, her tongue swirling around all the while. Her eyes sought approval, looking up at me as she started to bob up and down. I saw her smile around my cock as she found what she was seeking on my expression and her efforts redoubled. Her hands played with herself as she serviced me, going deep enough to start gagging.
Moaning, she forced herself around my cock as deep as it would go and I finally let out a groan myself. "Fuck… You're good at this." I think she came at that, another flood of pussyjuice staining the blanket. Praisekink much?
Not that I cared- I wasn't caring or thinking about much right now. My lower hands placed themselves gently at the back of her head, then I looked down at her to seek my own approval. Her red face was glowering with lust and she rapidly nodded, eager herself. With no further barriers holding me back, I began to facefuck her on my cock.
Each push and pull onto my pelvis earning throaty moans and gags, the noises only spurning me on further. "I'm gonna cum." Was my only warning before I discharged myself down her throat, holding her in place against my base. I pumped jet after jet of cum down into her stomach before pulling her off of me.
She coughed and hacked, spitting some of my slightly translucent white spunk down onto her chest and chin. Both of us were breathing heavily, though I was still rock hard. "Let's… stop for today." I decided that, despite my raging hard-on, I didn't want to go much further yet. "I want… to take this- take us- slow… okay?"
She scooped up my cum and slicked it off her hand, then she crawled onto me again, wrapping herself around one of my arms. "I love you." She giggled to herself, slightly delirious. I had no idea if that was an agreement or not, but despite the crazed look in her eyes, she didn't jump my cock, so I guess it was. I went to sleep with content that day- and with a lover on my arm.
It was a great feeling.
"Yes, I have been like this since birth." The table between us stood completely empty, the only thing really filling the air between me and my lover being the heavy ass conversation. After waking up, I decided to postpone our workout for now and open up to her. I didn't want to have a girlfriend I couldn't be honest with.
Despite calling myself a selfish asshole, I wanted a pure, wholesome and honest relationship. "So… what time period does your soul hail from, Sukuna?" She was still kind of dreamy, swaying in her wooden seat and still completely naked, but her eyes conveyed rapt attention.
"My first life was lived in a world without Cursed Spirits, without Jujutsu, and I came from the world a thousand years into the future." I knew who Uraume was, as a person. It was creepy, but most of her new defining characteristics had to do with me- she wanted to please me, sought my approval and worked hard to gain it.
But she was also a more refined person. If she wasn't in the cuddle mood, you could call her elegant. She was soft-spoken and honest, entirely devoted and focused to any task she set her mind to. I liked that about her, I admired somebody who had the willpower and motivation to see things through.
"What is the future like?" She didn't doubt me, didn't even think this was a joke for a second. God, that trust was hot in its own way.
I snorted in derision. "Boring. The buildings just get blander, the people more cynical-" I had to explain that word to her before- "-and the governments less caring. Nothing really changed. The only important thing to us right now, is entertainment. Imagine an entire book filled with paintings that tell a story- that is one of the forms of entertainment people had back then."
Her eyes were wide with wonder. "Even the commoners could enjoy such luxuries?"
I nodded and hummed in agreement. "But here's the important part. One of those picture books-" I inwardly snorted at the thought of a manga-purist raging at me calling his bibles that. "-detailed this world we live in right now from the eyes of a boy a thousand years in the future."
She frowned, the concept understandably difficult to wrap your head around. "So… we're fictional?"
I shook my head. "Not anymore. I was reborn in the body of a man who would become a mythical figure of infamy with the memories of my past life, so no matter if I saw this world through the lens of a story before, the very fact that we can sense the world around us through our bodies each day means that we're real." I slid my hand over the table and took a hold of hers.
She blushed and I smiled at her reaction. "So, you know the future of our world?"
I nodded. "It's honestly a lot to explain right now, so I'm just giving you the context. If I see some important things regarding the knowledge I have, I'll tell you about it. I just want you to know where it comes from. Also… I wanted to be honest to you about my origins."
"Thank you for your trust, Sukuna." The way she said my name made me giddy in a very unSukuna-like fashion. God, having a gf really is awesome. "I have been meaning to ask, do you have any plans for the future?" She continued on and honestly? I was stumped.
"Well…" I began with a frown of concentration. "I want to explore Jujutsu to its fullest and become the strongest. But that's more a philosophy than a goal. I guess… I guess I want to go check out the Clans, maybe loot some cool Cursed tools. Then maybe I'll find us a nice, big mansion to live in. I also want to fight strong and interesting people, to measure my strength against theirs- to have some fun!" My voice grew louder with passion as I finished my tirade.
"You revel in battle, then?" She asked.
I raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"
She shook her head. "Not at all. I will simply have to grow strong enough to be by your side in battle, too." Ah, that resolve!
"Well, we've been sitting around here long enough, if you're that fired up, then we can get back to training!" My challenging smirk made her deflate. She didn't complain though, but the way she slid out of her chair and fell into step beside me reminded me of a man walking towards the gallows.
"Yes, the trace is strongest here. The demon killed these innocents." Kyojuro Sugawara nodded at his foreman and motioned for him to rejoin the rest of the unit back outside the village. Him and nineteen other men had been sent out by his lord-brother to find and kill the demon that had been plaguing this area of their lands- ahem, the emperor's lands.
And now they have confirmation that the creature is a Curse, because there would be no reason to butcher people like they had clearly been here. The alley was filled with a gory scene, the men that had been killed with perfect swipes of some kind of blade obviously having put up little to no resistance.
The Cursed Energy residuals were as pungent as they came. Pure power and malevolence was what remained here. For the good of the realm, he would kill this evildoer. Stepping back out into the open street, he looked at the crowd of people that had gathered. "People of Kengona village, the Sugawara clan hereby vows to kill the perpetrator! Your husbands, fathers and brothers that have been slain here today will find vengeance."
There was a loud cheer at his announcement and with that, Kyojuro made his way back outside the village, where he met up with his unit. It was mainly composed of Grade Two Sorcerers, most lacking their Techniques, but thanks to his drills, they are masters at the basics of Jujutsu.
Only he and his second in command, Ama Sugawara, had their techniques unlocked and with them, combined with their prowess over said basics, earned them the rank of Special Grade and Grade One respectively. "We head east, the remnants point that way."
Ama nodded in understanding and turned to rally the rest of the unit. Kyojuro turned his gaze to the forest and vowed that he would kill the demon… if only for the fame and boost in political support it would get him. Maybe he can assume his rightful place as Head of Arms in their clan, then.
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Before you point it out yourself, I know that Minamoto no Raikou is born a little later than the time period I've settled for with Michizane's existence, but I'm changing things up a bit for flavor. Rakiou, in my world, is a returning Cursed Spirit, the first Curse to ever achieve human language. We'll encounter them in the modern era (oooo~ ominous!) and you'll get more lore on them in future chapters but for now, I'm just telling yall this to forestall the 'acktchually' comments. Not that I dislike it, I leave my request for corrections to my historical knowledge unspoken but it is there nonetheless- I aim to better the quality and factuality of my fics with every factoid I get!
"Something's off." I held up my hand and hunched, Cursed Energy flowing into my body and enhancing my every muscle. The air smelled of people, despite the fact that we were hours away from the nearest settlement. And the smell was neither my own, nor Uraume's icy one.
My lover stopped at my command and coated her fists in compressed ice, a technique we developed together during our spars as I tried to get her to be as proficient in close combat as she is at ranged combat. It was semi-successful, though it was evident that she would always be best as a supportive distance fighter.
Then, I sensed a flash of Cursed Energy. Immediately, I swung around to where it came from, two of my arms primed to throw a barrage of Dismantles. "We know you're here." I announced in a low growl. I leaned down to Uraume's ear and whispered. "Stay close to me, there's somebody strong there." She tensed and I took that as her heeding my warning.
Out of the treeline came a figure decked in long white hair and combat robes. A symbol was knit predominantly over the garb, a simplified eye. "I am Kyojuro Sugawara and I am here to exercise you, Curse." A Sugawara? My first encounter with the clans, then.
"You will die if you face me." I announced it factually, not out of confidence but from knowledge birthed out of experience.
"Is that so? Good thing I will not battle you alone." The subdued signatures I'd felt flare up at his words all stepped out around us, the clearing now rimmed with a total of twenty men and women- all Sorcerers. But the only two that were of any notable strength was Kyojuro and another- a woman with short black hair. She was tall, taller than Kyojuro and her exposed forearms rippled with muscle.
"Let's just get this over with." I sighed. "Duck." Uraume followed my command the instant it was issued and with blurring limbs, I swiped my upper arms in half circles around me while pointing my lower ones at the leaders. "Dismantle."
The overcharged cutting attack swung outwards and I saw almost all of the mooks around me react too slowly to the almost instant technique. Most got themselves beheaded, some ducked enough to where their brains were cut in half, but in the end, only three stood alive.
But my chant was meant for two sets of attacks, the other a net of Dismantles that sprung forwards, tearing through the ground to create deep gouges in the earth. Kyojuro's eyes widened, while he couldn't see my technique, he sure felt it and dodged out of the way. His companion was less lucky, she sprung to the side too late and shouted in pain as her right arm was caught in the tail-end of my attack, the limb being diced into itty bitty little cubes of flesh and blood.
"Take care of the chumps." I told Uraume and she nodded, erecting a wall of ice at me back as the trio of still-living goons tried to sneak-attack me. Of course, I'd noticed their approach but I felt my lover was preparing counter measures and so, decided to let her take care of them. To let her stretch her legs a bit. I felt the ice wall behind me chip and crack under the strain of three enhanced attacks but disregarded that particular problem in favor of the actually worrying opponents-
!!!
The ground beneath me cratered as I jumped out of the way of the danger I had sensed, Uraume gripped at the scruff of her yukata thingy and taken with me. We landed next to one of the goon's corpses and I got to observe the attack that would've hit us if I had been too slow to react.
A gigantic, translucent and clawed hand about the size of a car had crushed the spot I had been standing in along with the ice wall. My eyes turned to the side to see the woman I'd disarmed looking at where I'd been standing not a second ago, her remaining hand outstretched, a furious look on her face.
I swiped two of my arms again, one at the trio of survivors that had begun running towards our new position and the other at that woman. These Dismantles lacked a Chant, so the goons only lost a few limbs in total while the woman dodged fully. "Mas-!"
My reaction came before Uraume could finish her warning. I spun around and caught the foot of Kyojuro in my palm, meeting his equally furious gaze. I grinned and didn't bother chanting. Cleave ripped through most of his shin in a moment, the fact that he had pretty good Cursed Energy Enhancement forestalling instant death for a second long enough for him to jump backwards.
His panicked retreat was uncontrolled and his back smashed into a tree. He tried to find footing but foolishly relied on the leg that had been taken from him, smashing face-first into the forest floor. Then, I felt the same pattern of Cursed Energy build up that had preluded the ghost arm and so did Uraume. This time, I didn't need to drag her away for her to dodge, my student dashing out of the way of the swipe from above while also approaching the downed weakling Sorcerers.
Having had the time to analyze the properties of this technique, I simply held my ground. As the hand approached me from above, I held out my right arm. My stance buckled for a moment as I caught the huge palm, then I steadied. "Huh. Weaker than expected." This attack wouldn't have even broken a bone if I'd let it hit. "I panicked too much. Cleave." Since it was a construct of Cursed Energy and Cleave target things being infused, possessing or being made of the stuff, this technique was a perfectly viable target.
Through the translucency of the hand, I saw the remaining arm of the woman being cut up and exploding with blood in synchronicity with the ghost hand. She looked utterly defeated as I approached her. "Y-You're a monster…" She growled up at me, having fallen to her knees.
I scoffed. "To you, yeah." Her head disappeared off her shoulders as I layered a dozen Dismantles to kill her. Turning back around, I saw Uraume had created an iceberg that towered over the nearby trees, three people trapped inside and bleeding the surrounding ice red. She looked at me with a neutral expression, but I saw the need for approval in her eyes. "You did well." I gave her an appreciative nod as I walked past her and towards the dislegged Sorcerer.
Now, I know there exists the Sun, Moon and Stars Squads, led by Takako Uro, and that I'd most likely come into contact with them in the future and that killing them would cement my reputation as this era's strongest. So, why not expedite that process? I was only really missing my Domain Expansion and some miscellaneous techniques but otherwise, I felt pretty confident.
Kyojuro hadn't used his technique, but I didn't care, simply walking over to his downed form as he bled into the grass. "You'll be delivering a message." I stretched out my hand and sent a Dismantle, cutting off his left arm. He screamed in agony. "To all Sorcerer Clans. I am Sukuna. Anybody who stands against me will die, so you may try until I tire of you."
His eyes were looking up at me with unconcealed fury, but there was also terror there.
Ah, if I'd unlocked the Reversed Cursed Technique, I could've healed his leg, but I guess he'll have to hobble back to his clan, or at least a nearby village. "C'mon, let's go find something to eat." I waved at Uraume to follow me. Her eyes lingered on Kyojuro for a moment with disgust, then she nodded and did so.
"The entire unit?" His old friend asked in something akin to shock, though there wasn't truly any present. Tengen had seen too much to be truly taken aback by news such as these. The tea set that had appeared between them in the white void his old friend had created in the tomb below this mountain had refilled twice over, their conversation had dragged on.
Kenjaku nodded. "Sukuna is an unusual person- hailing from a sorry little shrine and growing strong through merit and blessed talent alone. Soon, he will be too strong to contain. He hasn't even unlocked the Reversal techniques yet." He chuckled, the woman whose body he was currently possessing had a pretty high pitched voice.
Her technique was perfect to start scouting for candidates for the plan he'd been thinking of for a while now- depending on the strength of the individual he was targeting, he could gain some of their memories through eye contact alone.
Tengen nodded, the body of the latest Star Plasma Vessel he merged with being of a young, blonde boy. "Such a being would not be conducive to my aims."
"This 'academy' you've been thinking of?" Kenjaku prodded for elaboration. They'd been at this game ever since they'd met. While they couldn't be more on the opposite side of the moral spectrum from each other, they were also the only two immortal beings currently alive and with Tengen's aversion to combat and Kenjaku's need for the fellow immortal to remain alive for a while yet, they occasionally met for tea.
Mostly to discuss the current happenings, but sometimes just out of boredom.
Tengen nodded, taking a sip of his tea. Kenjaku continued. "Well, you could convince the Fujiwara to send their prized Void captains, or better yet, their celestial squads to take care of it." Though Kenjaku didn't truly want Sukuna to die, since he was the perfect participant for his plans, but if the Sorcerer did perish against the mentioned forces then he wasn't worth it to begin with.
"Maybe…" Tengen trailed off.
The trees barely buckled under our weight as we jumped from branch to branch, Kyojuro Sugawara hobbling through the forest below us, clearly delirious from blood loss. "Why are we following him, Sukuna? I thought we're letting him deliver a message?"
I chuckled. "And leave their reaction up to chance? No, I don't think so. We're following him back to his clan and then we're taking care of the biggest guy there is- Sugawara no Michizane." Even Uraume flinched at the name. Apparently, for people who lived in actual civilization, that name had weight.
"I would never dare doubt your strength, Sukuna, but maybe…?" She trailed off, not wanting to insinuate anything.
I laughed, though I kept it low so as to not alert the barely conscious man below us that we've been following for two days now- Uraume was already pretty sleepless and I am about to just have him tell us which way his clan's estate is. But I never underestimate the power of a sneak attack and, despite my confidence, I am sure Michizane is extremely powerful. He wouldn't be the Heian era's strongest before me otherwise.
"Well, Jujutsu develops best in combat, so I'm hoping facing somebody that could challenge me will let me take another step towards achieving my potential." Despite the absurd stupidity in that statement, Uraume nodded and took it as wise gospel.
Thankfully, Kyojuro eventually led us to our destination, the clan compound apparently not that far away. From the slightly elevated position from atop the trees, we could see it in its entirety. A regular, if large and visibly prosperous, village stood as a bulwark against nature and in the middle, walled-off from the rest, was another, miniature village- the Sugawara Clan Compound, I was guessing.
The four-story tall manor smack-dab in the middle really made it obvious what kind of lifestyle the upper class of this world are living. Comparatively, the single-story houses that I could spy having mold in some places and the homeless people hanging around near the gate made it pretty obvious that classism was alive and well.
Well, I just got moral justification for killing Michizane. I saw Kyojuro hobble up to the far better equipped gate guards, who looked visibly panicked at his appearance. "Lord Sugawara!"
"I-" The man collapsed.
"W-We need to get him medical attention!" One guard hurriedly picked their 'lord' up.
Another panickedly dabbed at his forehead, past his helmet, as nervous sweat beaded at his skin. "Who did this to him?" He wondered out loud.
I smirked and launched myself off the tree. I landed in a crater and heard the ambient rustling of armor still as I announced myself. "I did." I reveled in their fear- if that makes me evil, then so be it. The sheer terror on their faces as a towering figure of pure malice like me appeared between them was to savor.
"YOU-!" The third guard, who had been observing the scene from back at the gate, raised his spear and started yelling. Without hesitation, I swiped my hand and his head slid off his body.
I humorously raised an eyebrow as I heard Uraume walk up to my side. "Wanna end like him?" They shakily shook their heads, survival instincts finally prevailing. "Good. Let me through." They almost threw themselves away from me. With that, Uraume and I were free to enter the village, and so we did.
This time, I unashamedly showed off my form, much to the terror of the people around us. The main street quickly cleared itself of any people, most screaming, some simply passing out- those were the elderly. It didn't take long for a trio of Sorcerers to appear as we neared the clan compound's gates. "Y-You injured K-Kyojuro, demon! I-In the nam-"
"You all sound the same." I began, ignoring him and continuing my approach towards the gate. "'You did X, so in the name of Y I'm going to slay you now, foul demon!' or something. Honestly, I've heard it so many times now that I'm even having nightmares about it." I heard Uraume stifle a chuckle and I gave her a playfully baleful glare in response.
The Sorcerers whose faces I'll have forgotten in five minutes stood stock still as I passed them by. I laid my hand on one of their shoulders. "Go. Do something productive with your life." That seemed to shake him out of his stupor.
"Y-Yes! Right away!" Eager to escape me, he started running away from his compound, loyalties and honor forgotten in the face of terror. Oh how quickly humans shed their frivolities when faced with death!
"Why did you let him escape?" Uruame asks as she pulls her hand out of the stomach of the other Sorcerer. I snorted and she blinked in confusion, then I pointed at the running man. Before he could make it more than twenty meters away, he collapsed into a hundred tiny meat cubes like a brittle LEGO tower, my incredibly precise and delayed Cleave taking effect.
Despite the gruesome scene, Uraume giggled in amusement.
Only one guy was left now… or not, there was a spear of ice running through his head. "Huh, thanks Uraume." Saves me the trouble!
The gates into the compound stood unguarded, so I guessed those guys were the guards. From then on, it was all a blur. Some guys came at me with Cursed Weapons of all kinds- they fell to lazy Dismantles- others with a few uses of their Techniques. One could blind me in return for blinding himself, not that it mattered, it just meant that I fired an AOE Cleave and took him and the entire building I was walking next to with us. Another was controlling some sort of gas, not for long as I cut him down like all the others.
I think I went through most of the Sugawara clan by sheer virtue of the slow pace I kept walking in while approaching the largest building. Turns out, we didn't even have to enter the mansion, as Michizane had presented himself on the front porch.
How did I know it was him? Well,
"I am Sugawara no Michizane! Be honored to die to me this day, Sukuna, the Demon!" He completely disregarded the graveyard around us- a hundred or so corpses strewn around on my warpath towards him.
"Finally! You'll show me something I haven't seen yet, right?" I asked as adrenaline starters surging. I knew this guy was strong, his Cursed Energy wasn't anywhere near as large as my own, but his eyes… Well, he didn't need stores as big as mine, since his control was unprecedented. A terrific idea flashed through my mind… surely, nobody has tried what I am going to try, right?
If you can pass around Sharingan like candy in one shonen, why can't I do the same with the Six Eyes in this one?
"Clean up the rest of these guys and run if it gets too bad." I informed my companion, who looked at me affronted. She wanted to stay, to help, but she also knew how much I needed this fight, so she simply nodded and disappeared in a flash.
"Hah! DISMANTLE!" The sheer anticipation in my voice was tangible in the air as I swung out my first attack, a slash wide enough to cut Michizane and the building behind him in half. Sadly, it only did the latter, completely dearing through wood and stone like it was paper, the structure collapsing in on itself as the support pillars no longer fulfilled their purpose.
My instincts alerted me to an attack coming from my left, so I turned and caught the punch thrown by the white-haired man. My arm rippled as the sheer force was registered- he is strong, not stronger than me, but certainly dangerously so. Cuts opened themselves on his fist but didn't go too deep nor too far up his arm, my Cleave facing carefully placed applications of this man's own Cursed Energy to counteract its approach.
"Hoh?" The curiosity in my tone was evident. You could stop my Cleave like this? Well, I'll just have to overwhelm his concentration, then! My lower arms flashed forwards to tackle his stomach, but he twisted his body upwards and jumped, fist still gripped in my palm.
Then-
I felt the world around me grow insurmountably heavier and my legs buckled underneath me- gravity had just increased. Looking up, I saw that Michizane was grinning down at me, his palm still pointing towards me as he landed. My limbs were shaking under the weight of the planet's amplified pull. "Your Cursed Technique-" I grunted. "-I'm guessin'?"
"Indeed it is! It allows me to control the very forces that demand your feet to tread upon the earth, your pen's ink to write itself onto your pages!" Ah, I forgot, Gravity itself wasn't yet common knowledge. Well, I guess it limits his imagination, so it's a good thing for me. No black holes or split atoms thrown at me, then.
But I could still move my body, and he was keeping his right hand outstretched, which meant that maybe he needed a somatic component to his technique to keep it going. I only bothered with the hand motions because they drastically increased the strength of my attacks, but they weren't strictly necessary.
As such, I launched a hail of Dismantles at great cost to my reserves. His eyes allowed him to see the attack but with him standing not a meter away from me, the current strongest Sorcerer had too little time to react. His gilded robe was torn to pieces as blood splattered against the ground. "Gah-!" His hand fell to his chest and my theory proved right, gravity normalizing once again.
My foot was already in his lacerated stomach before he realized his mistake, launching him into the ruins of his palace. I contemplated using the Divine Flames as I saw him crawl out of the crater but dismissed it. I'd rather have his eyes be preserved if I am to try what I want to try, but I'm not ruling it out if this is a losing battle.
His technique seems pretty strong and, judging from the fact that the visible cuts on his chest are actively closing up again- a white aura of inverse energy flowing around the injuries briefly- he had unlocked RCT. He'd obviously earned his title and grasped his opulent lifestyle through his power. "You're strong." I commented.
"You are too. I haven't had such a battle since Minamoto no Raikou! Ah, you remind me so much of him, his own cutting technique might have required a sword style upon which his sect in the Fujiwara clan is based upon, but it bears similarities to yours regardless! Let's see if you stack up to the foe that marked my legend!" A crazed grin of his own was etched onto his normally regal appearance.
In an odd mirror to my own swipes of the arm, he slashed his from left to right. My stomach twisted with vertigo and I looked to the left. The clan compound buildings that fenced the main street I had caked with death shook, the wood and stone creaking, before ripping themselves to shreds. Instead of falling to the ground and collapsing like the ruins I'd launched my foe into, they fell towards me with surprising speeds.
A paper wall crashed into me, but I stood steady, the thing exploding into splinters and torn pieces upon meeting my body. But then the foundation of the buildings ripped themselves out of the ground. Those I found myself dodging and weaving around. One duck low, then jumping high as roofing tiles flew towards me like arrows.
When I dodged into the path of a maplewood support tree, I was forced to cut it into tiny pieces with Dismantle. To my left, as a rock flew past, Michizane revealed himself to have used it as cover to close the distance between us, a kick flying out and crashing against my chest. I felt my ribcage splinter at the sheer force of the attack and I was launched into the twofold ruins of the two sets of buildings.
I coughed out sawdust and splinters out of both my mouths and resolved myself. "Sure, let's do this."
"Dismantle." My secondary mouth started whispering relentlessly as all four of my arms became a blur. The ground became a garden of lacerations and anything around me seemingly dissolved into dust as I launched hundreds, if not thousands of tiny slashes at the world around me. Nothing to hide behind now, Michizane!
The rubble of the buildings I had crashed into myself was now a flat crater, as well as about 60% of the entire compound around me. Buildings at the edge of my area of effect attack stood cut down several angles like an autopsy, revealing their insides as if they were doll houses.
I saw a woman and child huddling in fear inside one. My jaw clenched, my heart going out to them. What little humanity prevailed over my battle lust manifested in my eyes as I tried to convey the 'GTFO' in my eyes. The woman nodded, receiving the message and, despite her fear, started dragging her kid to the stairs at the still-standing back end of the building.
I didn't have the time to watch them run to safety as I felt the familiar build-up of Cursed Energy all around me- Gravity was about to crash down upon me with fervor spurned by Michizane's Cursed Technique. I was gone before it could trigger, though the spherical crater within my own, a hundred times larger crater that appeared where I had stood made it clear that I wasn't schizophrenic for dodging there.
Michizane had taken a lot of damage, standing hobbled on top of the clan's outer walls, bleeding predominantly from his right side, where his arm was cut off at the elbow, although it was slowly bubbling back to life with a faint glow of RCT.
My whispers did not stop as I ran towards him in a dead sprint, Dismantles launched with eagerness. He was gone before they could arrive, though the wall was decimated a thousand times over. My eyes trailed the path I saw a flicker of skin travel, letting me turn around before he could blitz me with a punch to my spine.
"Getting slow?" I asked with a grin as I caught his fist once again.
"Die, you infuriating insect!" He roared in frustration. When I launched Cleave this time, I tried to do so multiple times at different speeds. The fact that I saw it cut down into his knuckles and trail up to his bicep before his eyes widened with panic and he adjusted his own flow of Cursed Energy with prodigious and instinctual speed and precision attested to the success of my deviation.
His step-back allowed me to move into his guard, launching three punches in rapid succession, hearing bone crack upon the third. I spun around and delivered a round-house kick, lacing it with Cleave, and the shockwave that resounded like a gunshot upon its connection was orgasmic. Michizane flew through the air and tumbled, ramming into the ten-foot high wall of the crater I had made with my wild slashes.
"RRRRRAAARGH!" The man roared and blanketed the entire area in his technique. My eyes widened but I didn't have the time to react before gravity disappeared. That feeling of vertigo increased dramatically as my stomach dropped. I started floating and couldn't find footing anywhere to stop my ascent. "DIE!" He was above me and, devoid of anything to use as leverage, I was forced to lift my arms in a cross guard to try and block his punch.
But then-
BLACK FLASH!
My forearms shattered and my body shook as sparks of vanta lined with crimson flowed out in crackling arcs from the center of the man's punch. Pain subsumed me briefly but, as his other hand clenched into a fist, gravity normalized and I fell onto the ground. While I did so, my chest caved inwards as he delivered a finishing axe kick, forcing me to crash into the bedrock with a spine-shattering impact.
"That was-" I hacked up blood as my broken ribs stabbed into my lungs, the feeling like breathing burning needles. I had just been at the wrong end of a Black Flash and it is not somewhere you want to be.
I forced my body to comply with my demands despite my injured state and I stood up quickly, groaning only lightly in pain. Out of the corner of my eye, far away and deep into the village, I saw a ginormous pillar of ice suddenly stretch itself into the sky. At least Uraume's fine, but I'm having my own fun here!
My upper arms were now useless, so I was forced to block the next punch Michizane sent as he closed the distance between us with one of the lower ones. His eyes were unfocused but entirely locked onto me, as if this moment was all that mattered to him in life.
As we engaged in a series of blocked or tanked punches on both sides, I noticed that I wasn't going to win this if we kept this up. He was healing from each attack, only his clothing remained bloodied and torn, while I had no such advantage. So either I crush his head, make him run out of Cursed Energy, which is basically impossible due to the Six Eyes, or I simply die.
There was no other way I could see right now.
Instead of throwing out another punch after I recognized his faint, he opened his palm in front of my guard and the world rippled. Before I knew it, I was flying upwards. Looking down, my lower left arm was now shattered too, making me the first person in history to be able to say that they've had three broken arms at once, before I reached the zenith of my arc and started falling down again.
I saw Michizane sprinting towards where I would land and twisted in a corkscrew motion in response, launching another chanted hail of Dismantles at him with my remaining hand. The Sorcerer visibly scowled as he was forced to abort his sprint to dodge backwards, avoiding the fate the ground experienced- of becoming an assortment of odd triangles and squares as cuts dug valleys into the rock.
I landed on my feet and locked eyes with my panting opponent. I noted how I was already exhausted myself, along with being heavily injured. I dug deep into my soul, into my very own technique, and spoke with both sets of lips-
"Crimson Corvus." My first chant shook him out of our deadlock and he began his sprint towards me.
"Half-moon." My body tilted to the side as my remaining arm stretched out and pointed at him. He wanted so desperately to stop me that he disregarded dodging whatever was coming to speed up his approach, his form starting to blur to my eyes.
"Ocean of torment."
If his pure focus was required for his technique to work, if he needed to keep certain hand motions in place to do certain things, then I'd break his mind with pain.
"Seration." I announced my first original technique as he finally came close, his forehead almost touching my outstretched fingers.
A Dismantle that was visible to the naked eye slashed into his head in an instant, a gigantic, flat pillar of pure red impacting his body. Instead of being cut in half, not that any Dismantle I could muster could pull that off with how durable he was, he was launched backwards, his momentum being stopped and then reversed.
But there was something a lot more important that came as a result of my technique-
"AAAAAARGGG! F-F-FUUUUCKKK!" The screams of a man in pure agony resounded out through the newly created valley. He writhed in pain, his back buckling upwards, before he even hit the ground, tumbling and rolling to a stop after skipping thrice like a flat stone lobbed at a lake.
I coughed up blood and noted how I was at three fourths of my total Cursed Energy, the lowest it had ever been. I had created a binding vow as I chanted, empowering the following slash with a multitude of requirements- I needed to stand still, I needed to chant, I needed to point at my target, and so on- that stated that my Dismantle would not do any physical damage in return for purely causing pain in the victim's nervous system.
It took a good five minutes before I'd painfully made my way to the other end of the crater without sprinting, the back-drop of nothingness accompanied by cries of perfect torment like music to my ears. I now stood above the writhing man. "I've learned a lot from you, Michizane. We'll see how much of yourself will remain etched into my own legend after today." With that, I stomped down my foot with all the force I could muster, right on his forehead, carefully to avoid the eyes.
Sugawara no Michizane never got the chance to use his Domain, whatever it was, against me, and I was glad for it. If the fight dragged on any longer, he'd have probably killed me with it or another move. His reckless abandon and disregard of proper caution killed him in the end.
His skull buckled and then gave away, the man seeming to not care as I crushed bone. His body stopped moving as my foot crushed brainmatter and flesh in one quick motion. "Fuck…" I breathed in victory, the air smelling so much more fresh in the advent of the glory and accomplishment I had earned today.
"Uraume." I had already heard her approach.
"Congradulations on your victory, Sukuna!" The genuine excitement unusual to her tone caught me off guard. "You are now the single strongest person alive, not that I ever doubted you."
"He never used his domain." I growled. Otherwise, I'd be dead.
"Domain?" I sighed but didn't explain further.
"Topic for another time. I want to preserve his eyes for an experiment, mind lending me some ice?" I asked and so we got to work. With how I absolutely destroyed his skull, fishing out the eyes past the already cold body past loose eyelids and destroyed back-end nerves was easy.
Uraume's jar of ice that she quickly filled with water- ice I melted with Divine Flame- and then semi-froze as well now housed a pair of Six Eyes for me to do something supremely stupid with in the near future. "Why are these eyeballs so important?" She asked.
"Some bullshit about fate and some unique traits." I turned around and left the corpse in its undug grave. I killed some civilians today, undoubtedly, and while I didn't really care, I still had some human empathy and felt emotionally and physically drained because of that and the fight, of course. "I just want to hunker down and figure out RCT, heal myself and then sleep."
I saw her smirk deviously. "Might I interest you in some… concentration aid?" The sultry tone made me chuckle, even through my blush.
"Sure."
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