Megumi's body possessed cursed energy. With Mukuro's Asura Path layered on top of it, along with his own combat experience and talent, the previous shortage of cursed energy was no longer a concern.
The extreme physical boost from the Asura Path made up for it.
And so, what stood before Sukuna now was a fighter who combined cursed energy with raw physical strength.
'His presence changed again…'
There was no visible change to the body, yet the shift in the number within Mukuro's right eye, coupled with the oppressive aura he gave off, was obvious to anyone with experience.
"What are you looking at?"
In the very next instant, despite having been several steps away, Mukuro had already closed the distance and appeared right in front of Sukuna.
"Dis—"
Sukuna raised his fingers to release a slash, but before he could complete it, his arm was abruptly knocked off course. The resulting wind blade shot upward at an angle.
Everything along that trajectory was cut apart effortlessly. Streetlights, walls, and entire building sections split cleanly, leaving behind a massive scar across a nearby skyscraper, almost severing it in half.
Below, as he deflected Sukuna's arm, Mukuro's fist was already heading straight for his face.
But after his earlier fight with Toji, Sukuna was prepared for that speed. Just as the attack came, he stepped back lightly and tilted his head, evading the punch, while the fingers of his other hand flicked forward slightly.
Whoosh!
A burst of wind followed, sharp and invisible.
Mukuro twisted his body mid-motion, slipping through more than a dozen wind blades in one seamless movement. Without breaking rhythm, he appeared behind Sukuna, his leg already whipping toward the man's waist.
'I knew you'd go for this…'
Sukuna didn't even turn around. He had already predicted it.
Mukuro had no weapon, or at least, he wasn't using any ability to create one capable of countering the slashes. To evade such close-range attacks, the only options were to leap upward, move sideways, or go behind the opponent.
And given his fighting style, he would most likely counterattack while dodging.
Which made the rear position the most logical choice.
Sukuna suddenly crouched and slammed his palm onto the ground.
"Cleave!"
Perfectly patterned, spiderweb-like cracks spread instantly.
The entire ground was sliced apart and collapsed in an instant, while the aftershock spread outward, tearing through the ceiling of the entire underground fifth level.
The ground caved in like a massive circle, and with no support beneath them, the two fell one after the other.
'With no footing… how are you going to dodge?'
With the barrier already gone, moonlight poured in through the hole above, shining directly on them.
Falling faster than Mukuro, Sukuna was covered by the shadow cast from above, yet he turned his back to the direction of the fall.
Grabbing his right wrist with his left hand, he spread the fingers of his right palm wide. He was going to use the sudden loss of balance and falling momentum to catch his opponent off guard.
At this distance, he would unleash a large-scale Cleave.
Psshk!
But something unexpected happened.
When Sukuna's attack was released, the Mukuro above did not even dodge. His body was instantly shredded, torn apart by the overwhelming cutting force as if he had no defense at all.
'That's impossible… with that level of physical strength… it shouldn't…'
That was what shocked Sukuna the most.
Judging from the physical strength he sensed, even if Cleave had powerful cutting force, it shouldn't have been enough to instantly kill someone at that level.
As Sukuna focused and carefully sensed the strange presence above, Mukuro's shredded body suddenly turned into countless cherry blossoms, scattering through the air.
"Think about it. We were both falling. How could our falling speeds be that different?"
Mukuro's voice sounded right beside him.
The shadow in Sukuna's vision expanded rapidly, and a hand had already reached out and grabbed his face.
'Number one… an illusion?!'
Through the gaps between Mukuro's fingers, Sukuna caught sight of that right eye. In that instant, everything fell into place.
The last time they fought, he had already seen this ability. It was something that could only be described as miraculous.
Mukuro could even recreate the brat's missing heart out of nothing and make it function like normal. Compared to that, forming an illusion in an instant was effortless.
From the very moment they began falling, he had likely already been trapped inside the illusion. But because of the satisfaction of his plan working, and the familiarity of Megumi's face, he had momentarily forgotten just how troublesome Mukuro's ability was.
Boom!
With a loud crash, the two finally hit the ground of the underground fifth level.
Mukuro's hand was still pressed against Sukuna's face, driving his entire body deep into the ground. The level of destruction was no less than the Cleave the latter had unleashed earlier.
A thin line of blood seeped from Sukuna's head.
"Max Elephant."
As Mukuro pulled back, the massive pink elephant crashed down again from above, this time in its complete form.
"Dismantle!"
At that moment, Sukuna's hands were still pinned into the ground, his palms facing down.
He suddenly unleashed a slash, cutting apart the stone beneath him, then flipped out in one motion, dodging the crushing weight of Max Elephant before flicking his fingers again.
Zzzt!
Before the slash could even reach it, Max Elephant vanished.
A crackling sound of electricity came from behind Sukuna.
He turned just in time to see Nue, wrapped in lightning, slam into his abdomen and send him flying.
'That brat…'
Sukuna could clearly see it.
Mukuro was fully capable of fighting using close combat and illusion alone, yet he still chose to use shikigami.
Attacks like these, limited by Megumi's cursed energy, posed almost no real threat to him. And yet, precisely because it was Mukuro using them, it irritated him.
Just as he was about to destroy Nue, it dissolved into shadows as expected.
Sukuna landed again, standing a short distance in front of Mukuro.
"Switching after every hit is pretty boring. It doesn't hurt me. But if my hands touch them, they're gone."
Sukuna raised his hand, signaling his opponent to stop this pointless warm-up.
"Fair enough. Then let's make things a bit more interesting."
Mukuro didn't deny it.
"Hey… don't tell me!"
Sukuna's pupils widened, excitement almost spilling out of his eyes.
Mukuro brought his fists together in front of him, one angled upward and the other downward.
"With this treasure, I summon… Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General… Mahoraga!"
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