---
There was nothing left of the battlefield.
No sky.
No ground.
No direction.
Just fragments—of land, of space, of reality itself—floating in a broken void that barely held together.
And in that silence—
they stood again.
---
Ryomen Sukuna straightened slowly, blood running down his face—but his smile had changed.
It wasn't playful anymore.
It was sharp.
Focused.
Dangerous.
---
Across from him—
Meliodas rolled his shoulders, his body still repairing itself, though slower now. The darkness around him pulsed like a heartbeat, unstable… but powerful.
---
They didn't speak immediately.
Because now—
they understood each other.
---
This wasn't about power anymore.
Not even about survival.
---
It was about ending the other first.
---
Sukuna moved first.
But this time—
there was no flash.
No burst.
No visible motion.
---
He simply—
appeared.
---
Right in front of Meliodas.
---
His hand already mid-swing.
---
Cleave.
---
Not like before.
Not even close.
---
This one didn't just target durability.
Didn't just adapt.
---
It understood.
---
It cut based on everything Sukuna had learned in this fight—Meliodas' regeneration, his resistance, his endurance, even the rhythm of his movements.
---
It was a killing blow.
---
It landed.
---
Meliodas' body—
split cleanly down the center.
---
No explosion.
No shockwave.
Just a perfect, silent cut.
---
For a moment—
everything froze.
---
Then—
Meliodas' body began to fall apart.
---
Sukuna exhaled slowly.
---
> "Got you."
---
But—
---
Something was wrong.
---
The pieces didn't fall.
---
They stopped.
---
Hovered.
---
Then—
darkness swallowed them.
---
Not from outside—
from within.
---
The pieces of Meliodas' body dissolved into black energy—
then—
reformed.
---
Whole again.
---
Standing.
---
Eyes glowing brighter than before.
---
Sukuna's grin widened.
---
> "So that's how it is."
---
Meliodas cracked his neck slowly.
---
> "You're not the only one who adapts."
---
The pressure exploded again.
---
This time—
Meliodas moved first.
---
And Sukuna—
for the first time—
was late.
---
Meliodas' hand grabbed his face.
---
Not fast.
Not flashy.
---
Just unavoidable.
---
And then—
---
He slammed Sukuna downward.
---
But there was no ground to hit.
---
So he kept going.
---
Driving him through layers of broken space—
each impact collapsing fragments of reality like glass under pressure.
---
Sukuna retaliated—
slashing wildly—
precisely—
desperately—
---
But Meliodas didn't stop.
---
Didn't flinch.
---
Didn't slow.
---
Until—
---
He threw Sukuna.
---
Hard.
---
So hard that Sukuna vanished into the distance—
a streak of destruction tearing through what little remained of the world.
---
Silence.
---
For half a second.
---
Then—
---
The sky split again.
---
Sukuna returned.
---
Faster.
Sharper.
Worse.
---
His cursed energy had changed again.
Compressed.
Refined.
---
Dangerous in a way it hadn't been before.
---
> "You forced it out…"
---
He raised his hand.
---
Not for a domain.
---
For something else.
---
The air twisted.
---
A slash formed—
but it didn't expand outward.
---
It collapsed inward—
like all of its power had been condensed into a single invisible line.
---
> "Let's see if you survive this."
---
He swung.
---
There was no sound.
---
No flash.
---
No visible attack.
---
But the space in front of him—
ceased to exist.
---
Meliodas' eyes widened—
just slightly—
---
He moved—
but not fast enough.
---
The attack passed through him.
---
And everything behind him—
was gone.
---
A clean void.
---
Meliodas stood still.
---
Then—
blood poured from his body.
---
His torso—
severed again.
---
Deeper this time.
---
Worse.
---
His regeneration—
struggled.
---
Slowed.
---
For the first time—
he dropped to one knee.
---
Breathing heavier now.
---
Sukuna stepped forward.
---
Slow.
Confident.
---
> "That one reached deeper."
---
Meliodas laughed.
---
Actually laughed.
---
Even now.
---
> "Yeah…"
---
He stood back up.
---
Slowly.
---
Painfully.
---
But fully.
---
> "…but not deep enough."
---
The darkness around him exploded again—
wilder—
less controlled—
but far more powerful.
---
His power surged past what it had been before.
---
Not stable.
---
But overwhelming.
---
Sukuna's eyes sharpened.
---
> "So this is your limit…"
---
Meliodas shook his head.
---
> "No."
---
He stepped forward.
---
> "This is me ignoring it."
---
They moved at the same time.
---
No hesitation.
---
No defense.
---
Just offense.
---
Sukuna's slash—
Meliodas' strike—
---
Both landed.
---
At the same time.
---
A single moment—
where everything stopped.
---
Then—
---
The world collapsed.
---
Completely.
---
Nothing left.
---
Just silence.
---
And in that silence—
two figures stood.
---
Barely.
---
Still alive.
---
Still smiling.
---
Still ready.
---
Because neither of them—
had fallen yet.
---
And neither of them—
was willing to.
---
The fight wasn't over.
---
But now—
it had reached its end.