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Scene change—
Bokue had already brought the five people high into the air.
No need to construct a stage. There was one ready-made.
Specifically, the sky baby that Hagoromo-Gitsune had formed from demonic power when activating the rebirth ritual.
It had shattered due to Abe no Seimei's awakening. Now only a bare portion of the base still floated in the sky.
That was originally the sky baby's back. Now it had become a massive floating plaza—relatively flat overall but still carrying slight curvature.
The feeling was just like the battleground with Velkhana in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne.
Using it now for Sukuna and Abe no Seimei's duel across a thousand years happened to be perfectly suitable.
Atop the floating base in the sky, Bokue took the seat Yuji had vacated at the tea table.
He lightly clenched in the air, using matter reconstruction to create a brand new small teacup. Picking up the teapot, he filled it, then raised his cup toward the two confronting each other nearby.
"The curtain rises. The stage is prepared. Shall you two begin?"
"..."
"..."
No answer needed. The next moment, Abe no Seimei and Sukuna vanished simultaneously.
"...They just disappeared."
After waiting two seconds without hearing any commotion, Nobara muttered quietly.
They hadn't disappeared.
Bokue leisurely sipped his tea without acknowledging her.
This was just the ultra-high-speed battle between the two exceeding the limits of what normal eyes could capture, so it looked like they'd vanished.
Though the speed really was fast, admittedly.
In that single blink, Abe no Seimei and Sukuna had already reached a hundred meters away.
Sukuna raised his hand, summoning countless slashes toward the founder of Onmyōji in the sky. But Abe no Seimei merely had the six-pointed stars in his eyes rotate slowly to completely block the offensive.
"Destroy."
Abe no Seimei pointed lightly at the King of Curses who'd already charged before him. The single-word true name that had once terrified countless Great Demons during the Heian period slowly left his mouth. The golden six-pointed star rose from his eyes and expanded.
Then—
BOOOOM!!!!
A violent roar like Tendo Pain going all-out with Super Shinra Tensei rang out above the sky plaza.
When Nobara could see clearly again, she only saw a black silhouette in the distant sky crashing down at a forty-five-degree angle like a cannonball, slamming heavily into the base. It kicked up massive debris while momentum continued pushing it backward, carving a red chasm hundreds of meters long across the base's surface. It finally skidded to a stop about ten meters away, parallel to the tea table.
"That's..."
One glance and Megumi's pupils contracted.
Without question, the one knocked back to the ground in one hit was Sukuna. The clothes Yuji had been wearing had long since been ground away during the earlier slide, along with thinning Sukuna's entire body by half.
This was still the result after Sukuna frantically used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal. Yet even so, his recovery speed couldn't remotely keep pace with the rate his flesh was being worn away.
"Damn... it..."
Sukuna shakily climbed to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
He could barely stabilize his form, going all-out with Reverse Cursed Technique to repair his near-death body.
But at the same time, Abe no Seimei had already reached him once more. Just like how Bokue could teleport with a golden flash, Abe no Seimei appeared via the same method diagonally above the freshly-recovered Sukuna. The six-pointed stars in his eyes—more dazzling than the sun—rotated slowly. His golden, wavy long hair danced behind him in the wind, like a deity gazing down upon an insect on the ground.
"Do your best, King of Curses."
Bokue smiled, raising his cup from afar in encouragement.
"Your entire soul is here now. If you die, you're really dead. So make absolutely sure you don't kick the bucket."
"Shut... up!"
Sukuna practically squeezed that sentence through his bloody teeth.
If he died this time, he'd really be done for. He understood the truth of that statement better than Bokue.
Unlike before when a bunch of fingers were still scattered outside, the current Sukuna had gathered all nineteen fingers existing in this era. If he got killed in this state, his soul would directly enter the reincarnation cycle. And he'd have no chance to do what he did a thousand years ago—split his soul into twenty fingers, turn them into cursed objects, and circulate them for another millennium.
So why the hell did this have to happen??
Sukuna's mentality had completely collapsed.
He was still the same as a thousand years ago—giving his all yet still unable to let his proud claws touch the other party even slightly. Instead, he was being beaten like a mutt!
To this day, Sukuna still remembered that ancient humiliation. He'd been invited to the capital as the only hope possibly capable of dealing with Abe no Seimei after the latter betrayed into demonic ways. In the capital, he'd received worship and offerings before heading off to subjugate Abe no Seimei.
The result? His initial confidence had been beaten down to roadside trash. In the end, he'd only managed to survive because the other party simply didn't care—fleeing back to the capital like a stray dog.
After that, doubts about him never stopped. Everyone questioned whether he could actually handle Abe no Seimei.
Fortunately, Sukuna himself was ruthless enough. He killed everyone who dared mention Abe no Seimei before him, until finally no one dared bring it up anymore.
Yet even so, people's doubts hadn't dissolved—they'd only grown larger, eventually transforming into vicious curses.
Sukuna knew very well he could never defeat Abe no Seimei in this lifetime. To escape, he'd ultimately chosen to fake an early death—splitting his soul into twenty parts and infusing them into fingers, waiting for revival a thousand years later.
Yes, he'd successfully revived. And his strength as King of Curses—even in this era a thousand years later—remained the strongest existence among all Onmyōji and Jujutsu Sorcerers.
But what Sukuna hadn't expected was that damned Abe no Seimei had made the same decision, finding alternate methods to transfer himself to the world a thousand years later.
What shit-tier fate!
And then there was that monster called Bokue Keikain.
So why, why, why... why the hell did this have to happen??
Finally recognizing his current predicament, Sukuna's pride completely crumbled.
Once, he'd felt anger at Abe no Seimei's dismissiveness. But now he actually hoped Abe no Seimei would be dismissive.
Banking on the gamble that Abe no Seimei simply didn't care enough to stop him from deploying his Domain, the nearly-despairing Sukuna clasped his hands together with final hope.
"Domain Expansion..."
This was his only path to victory. As long as he could successfully deploy his Domain, he'd still have one last thread of—
SLASH!
Like a blade piercing flesh, Sukuna—who'd just finished healing his body—suddenly lurched forward slightly. Dark red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Looking down, he saw a broad-bladed sword had pierced through his chest, its bloodied tip breaking through his sternum and exposed to open air.
At the same time, a young man's indifferent voice came from behind.
"Originally thought both of you at full strength should be somewhat entertaining. Didn't expect your final trump card to be this. Forget it then."
"Not really interesting to watch. You can die now."
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