The Sakurajima Colony.
A barren volcanic wasteland.
Ash blanketed the ground like gray snow.
Sulfur fumes drifted through the air, burning the lungs with every breath.
Cracks spread across the earth, releasing bursts of scorching steam.
It looked less like Japan—
And more like the entrance to hell.
Across this wasteland—
A brutal chase unfolded.
"Maki! Maki! Maki!"
"Why won't you look at me?!"
A grotesque mass of flesh screamed through the sky.
Tentacles twisted around a swollen body.
At its center—
A familiar face warped by hatred.
Naoya Zenin
Now reborn as a curse.
His once handsome features had become monstrous.
Veins bulged.
Eyes bloodshot.
His smile was pure madness.
"I was stronger than you!"
"Why did you kill me?!"
"Why did you become something like THAT?!"
Below him—
Maki Zenin sprinted across the volcanic terrain.
The Split Soul Katana gleamed in her hand.
She moved like a hunting cheetah.
Each leap spanning dozens of meters.
Behind her ran Noritoshi Kamo.
His breathing was uneven.
Two blood packs at his waist were already empty.
"Maki!"
"This won't work!"
Naoya's monstrous body streaked overhead like a meteor.
His speed had surpassed Mach 3.
Each movement detonated a sonic boom.
"He's evolving!"
Kamo shouted.
"From a cocoon to a complete form!"
"If this keeps going we'll die!"
"I know."
Maki's voice remained calm.
But sweat rolled down her temple.
"He's learning."
"Every move I make…"
"He's adapting."
If this continued—
The cursed spirit would surpass them completely.
Suddenly—
A shadow fell from above.
BOOM!!!
Naoya slammed into the ground where Maki had stood moments earlier.
The explosion sent both fighters flying.
"Got you!"
Naoya shrieked.
Tentacles lashed outward like spears.
Maki twisted mid-air.
Her blade flashed.
CLANG!
The Split Soul Katana struck the tentacle.
But the impact barely cut through.
"His body hardened again…"
Maki's eyes narrowed.
"USELESS!"
Naoya howled.
Tentacles rained down like a storm.
"I've surpassed Toji Zenin!"
"I'm the strongest!"
"I'll rip you apart piece by piece!!!"
Just as Maki prepared for a desperate counter—
Something sliced through the air.
SHHHK!
A black blade of wind.
Compressed cursed energy.
One of Naoya's tentacles fell instantly.
"AAARGH!"
Naoya shrieked.
His head snapped toward the sky.
"Who did that?!"
A figure descended slowly.
Black wings unfolding like a fallen angel.
Yagami Sora.
He glanced at Maki and Kamo.
Both covered in ash and blood.
"…Looks like I arrived on time."
Maki exhaled in relief.
"Sora."
"Be careful."
"That thing is insanely fast."
"Fast?"
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Good."
"Speed happens to be my specialty."
He turned toward Naoya.
Examining the grotesque sphere of flesh.
"…Wow."
"That's what you look like now?"
"That's not revenge."
"That's a biological accident."
Naoya's face turned purple with rage.
"I'LL KILL YOU!"
His body vanished.
Projection Sorcery.
Naoya divided time into 24 frames per second.
Within each frame—
His speed surpassed sound.
He accelerated toward Sora like a living missile.
Mach 3 impact.
But Sora didn't move.
Not even slightly.
Just before the collision—
A transparent barrier appeared.
Vector Shield.
But this time—
It wasn't just defense.
"Vector Manipulation."
"Kinetic Reversal."
BOOM!!!
The shockwave doubled.
Naoya slammed into an invisible wall.
Every ounce of his momentum—
Reflected back.
The curse shot backward faster than before.
CRASH!!!
He smashed into the volcanic cliff.
The entire mountain shook.
Kamo stared in shock.
"…What the hell."
"That was a full-power special-grade impact."
Sora dusted his coat calmly.
"I told you."
"You're about twenty thousand years too early to compete with me in speed."
He walked toward the crater.
Each step echoing across the battlefield.
"You compare yourself to Toji?"
His eyes turned cold.
"He was a man who broke the limits of heaven itself."
"And you…"
"You're just a worm choking on jealousy."
Inside the crater—
Naoya began laughing.
Half his body was torn open.
Yet the cursed energy around him surged violently.
"Reflection…"
"So that's your trick…"
His grin widened.
"Then let's see if you can reflect this."
His hands formed seals.
A disgusting surge of cursed energy exploded outward.
"Domain Expansion—"
"Time Cell Moon Palace."
The world changed.
The volcanic wasteland vanished.
In its place appeared a grotesque chamber of cells and eyeballs.
Time slowed.
Every second divided into 24 frames.
Anyone who failed to obey the motion rule—
Would freeze for one second.
And in that one second—
Naoya could kill them instantly.
"This is my world!"
Naoya shrieked.
"Here—"
"I am GOD!"
Kamo froze.
His limbs locked.
"…A guaranteed-hit domain."
Despair filled his eyes.
But Sora only sighed.
"…That's the ugliest domain I've ever seen."
He raised one hand.
Light gathered at his fingertips.
"You think rules make you a god?"
A cold smile appeared.
"Then I'll show you something interesting."
"I can't expand a domain."
"But…"
"I can break one."
"Vector Manipulation."
"Maximum Output—"
"Spatial Oscillation."
The light collapsed inward.
Not outward.
The entire domain trembled.
CRACK.
Like glass shattering.
Naoya's smile froze.
His domain—
The ultimate technique of a special-grade curse—
Was breaking apart.
"How—"
"How is this possible?!"
Sora's voice echoed calmly.
"Before absolute force…"
"Rules mean nothing."
"Break."
BOOM!!!
The domain shattered completely.
Reality returned.
Naoya collapsed.
Cursed energy leaking from his body.
His trump card was gone.
Now he was nothing more than a dying insect.
Sora turned toward Maki.
"Your fight."
"Finish it."
Maki inhaled slowly.
Her grip tightened on the Split Soul Katana.
Her eyes were calm.
Clear.
Unshakable.
She stepped forward.
"Naoya."
"This time…"
"…it's really over."
One flash.
One strike.
THUD.
Naoya's head flew into the air.
His expression frozen in disbelief.
Even in death—
He couldn't understand.
Why he lost.
The answer had always been simple.
Because strength was never about pride.
Or bloodline.
Or arrogance.
It was about resolve.
The cursed spirit dissolved.
Ash scattered across the volcanic wind.
[System Notification]
Special-Grade Curse Naoya Zenin eliminated
Points +50
Maki wiped blood from her blade.
For the first time in her life—
The shadow of the Zenin family vanished from her heart.
She wasn't anyone's replacement.
Not Mai's shadow.
Not the clan's failure.
She was simply—
Maki.
Sora patted her shoulder lightly.
"Nice work."
Maki smirked.
"Yeah."
Then she asked quietly.
"So what now?"
Sora looked toward the sky.
His gaze turned serious.
"Now…"
"We prepare."
"For what?"
Sora's answer was simple.
"The final stage."
Because only a few enemies remained.
The mastermind behind the Culling Game—
Kenjaku
The ancient sorcerer possessing Megumi's fate—
Sukuna
And the war that would decide everything.
The end of the Culling Game—
Was approaching.