"Y-You… give that to me!"
Megumi Fushiguro finally snapped out of his shock.
Although he had witnessed the terrifying power displayed by the unfamiliar boy in front of him, the object in Yagami Sora's hand was far more alarming.
That was a Special Grade Cursed Object.
One of the preserved fingers of the ancient curse Ryomen Sukuna.
If the seal around it was completely broken, the consequences could be catastrophic.
"I can give it to you," Yagami Sora said casually while tossing the shriveled finger up and down in his palm, his expression slightly disgusted.
"This thing looks like dried bacon though. Are you seriously planning to eat something like that?"
"No! It's extremely poisonous!" Megumi shouted urgently.
"That's part of the King of Curses! Hand it over immediately! Retrieving that finger is my mission!"
"Oh… so it's a mission objective."
Yagami Sora shrugged.
Then he flicked his wrist.
The finger traced a smooth arc through the air toward Megumi.
Megumi quickly stepped forward and reached out to catch it.
But at that moment—
Something unexpected happened.
From the remains of the cursed spirit Sora had crushed earlier, several grotesque tentacles suddenly burst out.
The fragments of the spirit had not been fully exorcised.
The tentacles shot toward the airborne finger with astonishing speed.
"Watch out!" Megumi shouted.
He instantly formed a hand seal.
"Divine Dogs!"
A black shikigami wolf leapt forward, attempting to intercept the attack.
But another figure was even faster.
CRASH!
A body smashed through the window and rolled into the room.
"Itadori?!"
Megumi immediately recognized the newcomer.
It was Yuji Itadori.
He had climbed up the exterior wall of the school building to rescue his club seniors.
"Fushiguro! Catch!"
Yuji reacted instantly.
He grabbed Sukuna's finger out of mid-air and rolled across the floor, narrowly avoiding the grasping tentacles.
"Thanks!" Megumi breathed out in relief.
But that moment of relief lasted only a second.
The entire school building suddenly began to tremble.
A far denser surge of cursed energy flooded the room from above.
"Hehehe… found it…"
A chilling voice echoed through the corridor.
CRASH!
The ceiling exploded.
A gigantic cursed spirit covered in multiple eyes descended into the room.
The previous spirit had only been a weak scout.
This one was the real predator.
Drawn by the overwhelming cursed energy contained within Sukuna's finger.
Its gaze locked onto Yuji.
"Give… me… the finger…"
The cursed spirit roared as it swung its massive arm toward him.
"Run!" Megumi shouted.
His Divine Dog lunged forward again.
But the difference in power was overwhelming.
The cursed spirit swatted the shikigami away effortlessly.
The Divine Dog shattered into shadow.
Megumi suffered the backlash from the destroyed shikigami and slammed violently into the wall.
"Fushiguro!" Yuji shouted.
Yuji stared at the cursed finger in his hand.
Megumi's earlier words echoed in his mind.
"Cursed objects contain immense cursed energy…"
"If a human consumes one… they normally die."
Yuji clenched his fist.
Then he looked at the unconscious club members lying on the floor.
"If someone can be saved… by gaining cursed power…"
His eyes hardened.
"…then I'll take that risk."
Without hesitation—
He threw the finger into his mouth and swallowed it.
"STOP! THAT'S DEADLY POISON!" Megumi shouted in despair.
"Gulp."
Yuji's throat moved as the finger slid down.
For a moment—
Everything became silent.
Even the cursed spirit froze.
Then—
An overwhelming wave of malevolent cursed energy erupted from Yuji's body.
Black markings spread across his skin like tattoos.
His once clear eyes turned crimson.
A terrifying grin stretched across his face.
Ryomen Sukuna had awakened.
"Ahh… light… flesh…"
"This sensation is magnificent!"
Yuji—no, Sukuna—laughed wildly as he tore open his shirt.
With a casual flick of his hand—
The massive cursed spirit that had dominated the room instantly disintegrated.
It was annihilated without resistance.
The power gap was absolute.
Megumi's face turned pale.
His entire body trembled.
The worst-case scenario had become reality.
Yuji Itadori had survived the poison.
Which meant—
Sukuna had reincarnated.
The King of Curses from a thousand years ago now stood in front of him.
"Women… children…"
"This city is overflowing with delicious prey."
Sukuna stepped onto the window frame and gazed down at the brightly lit streets of Sendai.
His eyes gleamed with bloodlust.
"I'll slaughter them all—"
"Hey. You with the tattoos."
A lazy voice interrupted him.
Sukuna stopped mid-sentence.
Slowly, he turned his head.
His crimson eyes locked onto the boy leaning casually against the wall.
Yagami Sora lazily scratched his ear.
"What's with all the yelling in the middle of the night?"
"It's annoying."
Megumi's eyes widened in horror.
"RUN!" he shouted.
"That's not something you can fight!"
"That's Ryomen Sukuna! The King of Curses!"
Sukuna narrowed his eyes.
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"Oh?"
"There's still an insect here that doesn't fear death."
"Since you're so eager to die…"
"I'll grant your wish."
Sukuna casually raised his hand.
He didn't even touch Sora.
But the air instantly filled with killing intent.
A slash.
An invisible slash.
A cursed technique capable of slicing through steel.
The attack streaked directly toward Yagami Sora's neck.
Megumi closed his eyes.
It was over.
But—
No blood appeared.
CLANG!
A sharp metallic sound echoed through the room.
Megumi's eyes snapped open.
What he saw froze him in place.
Yagami Sora was still leaning lazily against the wall.
His posture had not changed at all.
But several centimeters in front of his neck—
The air distorted.
A spark erupted.
Sukuna's slash had not cut him.
It had been deflected.
The redirected attack flew sideways and sliced clean through a nearby support pillar.
The cut surface was perfectly smooth.
"This is what you call a slash?"
Yagami Sora brushed imaginary dust from his shoulder.
A mocking smile appeared.
"Not bad."
"Just enough to tickle."
The entire room fell silent.
Even Sukuna's expression froze briefly.
"…It rebounded."
The amusement in his eyes deepened.
"So that's your technique."
In an instant—
Sukuna vanished.
He appeared directly in front of Sora and threw a punch filled with monstrous cursed energy.
A strike powerful enough to destroy armored vehicles.
"Too slow."
Sora didn't dodge.
He didn't even raise a hand.
He simply let the punch land.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
But Sora didn't move an inch.
Instead—
A sharp cracking sound echoed.
Sukuna's arm twisted unnaturally.
The force of his own strike had been reflected back.
The King of Curses was blasted backward.
He crashed through three walls before landing heavily on the playground outside.
Megumi stared in total disbelief.
"…This… this can't be real."
Someone had just beaten up Sukuna.
Who exactly was this transfer student?
Yagami Sora slowly walked to the broken window.
He looked down at Sukuna rising from the playground below.
His gaze was calm.
Indifferent.
As if he were observing a small insect.
"Listen carefully, tattooed man."
"You might be able to run wild in this world."
"But in front of me…"
"This is a one-way street."
"Accelerator."