Curse Return: Swordsmith Start

The rain was still falling around them, and the gray-black raindrops fell on the vitreous depression, making a frosty sound.

Gojo Satoru stood on the dark brown natural glass, staring blankly at Sukuna across from him.

At this moment, he probably still had less than 10% of his curse power left, but that was enough. To kill a Su Nuo whose curse power was zero, 10% was no different from being at full strength.

Sukuna didn't speak. He simply leaned against the wall, his one still-moving eye quietly watching Gojo Satoru, a feeling that was hard to describe. He was like someone who had just finished watching a great movie and was leaning back in his chair, savoring the experience.

He knew his chances were slim and that his opponent would not let him go. Even though Gojo Satoru might be exhausted, he still had Kawasaki Etsuto by his side.

To be honest, of the two, the one he least wanted to face was him. The way that guy looked at him was completely different from Gojo Satoru. Gojo Satoru was an opponent, but that boy looked at him as if he were the boss. Fighting him would take away a lot of the fun...

Fortunately, there's no need to dwell on it now. Although Gojo Satoru's actions in this battle still show signs of the other party's involvement, the King of Curses doesn't mind. Battles are about using any means necessary. The fact that the brat was able to provide Gojo Satoru with information as a teammate is a matter of luck, and luck is naturally part of strength.

Although he lost, he was undoubtedly satisfied.

"If you're going to do it, do it quickly. Are you hesitating?"

Gojo Satoru took a step forward.

"Lord Su Nuo!"

The sound came from the other side of the ruins, sharp, urgent, and filled with an almost instinctive fear.

"Ice-Freezing Spell - Frostnagi"

The chill spread instantly, and with the sudden entry of a figure, the trend of freezing everything rushed towards Gojo Satoru.

But the latter didn't move because someone else had done it first.

This violent, flood-like frost spread in all directions, cracking the ground and freezing the air into white mist. Then, as if alive, countless huge ice crystals continued to grow, creating an imposing sight.

But—just a moment before the cold air was about to touch Gojo Satoru.

A beam of light cut in from the side.

The Yue man fell from the height of the ruins, landing right behind the running Rimei.

His feet clattered on the gravel, and Rime, who had been running anxiously, gradually stopped, her expression turning to one of confusion.

Because the sword had already fallen.

Without a sound, the light, like the dawn, emanating from the surface of the Yuanhong Blade, swept across Li Mei's neck like a paper cutter slicing through a thin sheet of paper.

Faced with Lord Sukuna, who was only a few meters away from him, Rime froze. His fingers were still raised, ice crystals were still forming on his fingertips, his eyes were still open, and Sukuna's image was still reflected in his pupils.

Then he collapsed.

He fell straight forward like a sawn-off log.

His face slammed into the ice wall, his head and body separated, shattering the already cracked ice wall that had lost its magical power. The shards of ice fell on him, at Su Nuo's feet, and into the gray-black rain.

His vision flickered between light and darkness, and finally, he saw the Lord Sukuna he had been longing for, but from a distance, looking up at him from Sukuna's feet.

Oh, have I been beheaded? What a pity...

"Lord Sukuna, I'm sorry, it's Rime who's useless..."

Su Nuo looked down at Ri Mei's head, which had rolled to the side of him. His face was expressionless, but his only still-moving eye blinked slowly, as if in regret.

Rime, why not choose to wait this time...?

She already had the answer in her heart, because this time was different. This body was not a physical body; it was almost identical to Sukuna's original body. This time, Sukuna's death was truly permanent, with no possibility of resurrection.

Amidst the soft hum of the longsword being swung, Yueren walked to Gojo Satoru's side.

Two people stood in front of Su Nuo, one with white hair and the other with black hair; one had six eyes that were still glowing, and the other held a sword in one hand.

Looking at Sukuna, who was already at his last gasp, Echizen was not surprised by this outcome. In fact, it would have been surprising if Gojo Satoru had lost the battle.

On their side, Su Nuo's techniques had already been explained to Yue Ren in advance, including the information that the domain was open.

On Sukuna's side, without possessing Fukuro Megumi, there is no Makura. Without adapting to the mechanism, facing Gojo Satoru's unscrupulousness, as long as he doesn't give the opponent a chance to remove the "untouchable" state, Gojo Satoru has an absolute advantage.

Therefore, in Yue Ren's mind, this was actually a battle that Gojo Satoru would win as long as he didn't make any stupid mistakes.

The situation looks pretty good now. Gojo Satoru and Sukuna's reactions have exceeded expectations. Both of them have undoubtedly performed exceptionally well in this battle. If Gojo Satoru hadn't been so tenacious, and Sukuna had been given a little more time, he might have been able to unleash the "Space Slash" again.

Although Gojo Satoru should theoretically have some resistance to "Space Slash" after being trained by Echigo, who can say for sure in a battle?

However... looking at the disheveled Su Nuo before him, and the lackey who had just desperately protected his master only to be beheaded by him, why did he have this feeling that he was the one who deserved to die...?

"Shall we do it, or shall we?" Gojo Satoru asked.

Upon hearing this, Yue Ren turned to look at him with some confusion.

Gojo Satoru's face was covered in wounds, but his eyes were calm, like the sea after a storm.

What do you mean? You only care about dealing damage, not getting kills? Is there really such a good deal?

"If you don't mind me stealing kills, of course I can do it for you."

The Yue man stepped forward with his sword, and a dazzling flame ignited on the "Yuanhong" sword.

The fact that the former did not object clearly indicates their intention.

Su Nuo raised his head, his only still-moving eye looking at Yue Ren, and his lips twitched slightly.

The outcome is decided.

"This ending doesn't seem so bad. I'll concede then, this era belongs to you, brats."

The Yue man looked at him, and the next moment he sheathed his sword.

Instead of sheathing it, he swung the sword, the blade slicing across Su Nuo's neck, across his skin, across his muscles, and across the gap between his cervical vertebrae.

There was no sound. Su Nuo's head slid off his shoulder and hit the ground with a dull thud. There was no blood at the cut—the blood had been burned away.

"This is our era."

The Yue man sheathed his sword. On Su Nuo's face, in his still-open eye, there was no pain, no fear, only a gaze that was gradually being burned.

He is the purest form of evil, using power as a means to demonstrate his own significance. In the face of defeat against equal forces, he has no complaints; it is how it should be, and he should accept the outcome.

The flames exploded, engulfing the body that bore the full force of all twenty fingers. The flesh and bones crackled in the flames, like firewood burning in a fireplace.

The same goes for Rimei's corpse. Unlike Itajima, Rimei's body was taken from an ordinary human, and the time that had passed had long since caused her original soul to dissipate, making her irretrievable.

In less than ten seconds, everything was gone.

There was only a small patch of ground that had been burned white, and a faint smell of burning lingered in the air.

Gojo Satoru glanced at it, then turned away.

"Let's go."

Yue Ren nodded. Although he still had some doubts, he could ask along the way.

The two people, one in front of the other, disappeared into the end of the ruins.

The rain was still falling, a dark gray color with a burnt smell. The raindrops fell on the vitreous puddles, making rhythmic sounds. If it weren't for the fact that the scene had been turned upside down, it would have been just an ordinary drizzle.

After half an hour.

The rain lessened, and the dust in the sky began to settle. The small patch of pale blue expanded, like a piece of glass being slowly wiped clean.

The wind blew from the east, carrying the salty smell of the sea and the fishy smell of the earth, swirling up the still-scattering ashes and making them spin in the air.

After the war ends, this area will likely be transformed into a habitable environment again over time.

But at that moment, a figure appeared at the edge of the ruins.

Lu Suo.

Her kimono trailed on the ground, stained with grayish-black mud, but she didn't care.

Her pace was leisurely, as if she were strolling in her own backyard. Her face was almost expressionless, but there was a slight curve at the corner of her mouth, which was her habit to increase the friendliness when communicating with people.

She walked to the spot where Su Nuo had disappeared and squatted down. She touched the patch of ground that had been burned white with her finger.

"Ugh...it's completely burned to ashes, is that alright?"

Her voice was very soft, so soft it was like she was talking to herself. In the end, she used her magic to put away the grayish-white mass.

After she had done all that, she stood up, turned around, and looked at the ruins.

The residential area called Shibuya no longer exists.

It was erased from the map, like a pencil mark that had been wiped off.

"It truly lives up to its reputation as a clash between the strongest forces of our time; the scale of it is simply outrageous."

To avoid being discovered, she stayed far away from Shibuya during the battle, but she was still able to detect the situation in that direction. In particular, the clash of the strongest moves at the end made her applaud her decision to stay away from the battlefield.

Although the ending was a bit of a disappointment, the exciting battle certainly gave her a lot of fun, so she didn't ask for anything more.

"But it's not over yet."

She carefully wrapped the ashes again, stuffed them into her sleeve, turned, and walked deeper into the ruins.

"The era of Ryoumen Sukuna is over."

"But the age of curses—has only just begun, so let me borrow it for a moment, Lord Sukuna!"

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, falling onto the vitreous depression and shattering into countless golden specks, like a broken mirror trying to piece itself back together.

Higher Vocational Education

The sound from Principal Moth's office was a roaring noise.

"Has the logistics support not caught up yet? The disaster has spread to the entire Tokyo metropolitan area. If this continues, order will collapse...!"

"The specific arrangements will be made with a local level-one sorcerer. There is only one requirement: to remove the curse and ensure the safety of the people as much as possible."

"The specific arrangements will be made with a local level-one sorcerer. There is only one requirement: to remove the curse and ensure the safety of the people as much as possible."

"..."

After hanging up the phone, the man's dark circles were clearly visible, but he remained highly tense and dared not relax, as everything required his coordination.

The enemy's numbers were beyond imagination; their numbers... were simply insufficient.

The pressure they face in this war is far greater than they imagined; things have arguably deteriorated to an extreme degree.

Fortunately, things can't get any worse. The two main forces have dealt with the strongest threat, but what should be done next...?

The headache of noctuid moths