Sukuna looked at the head still rolling futilely on the ground, and a cruel, joyful curve appeared on the face he controlled. He gently raised one hand, and with a slender finger pointing at the head, he made a light flicking motion in the air.
"Noisy."
Along with this contemptuous whisper, the frantically rolling eyeballs on the Devil's head instantly froze. A cut as smooth as a mirror appeared silently in the center of the head, splitting it in two.
The Ghost Devil's last remaining trace of consciousness, along with its twisted existence, was completely annihilated under this absolute slash.
Within the domain, a deathly silence fell. All that remained was the slight writhing of the bloody dome, the sound of drool dripping from the shrine's giant mouth, and the uncontrollable, violent heartbeats and chattering teeth of the Exorcism Division members.
However, what puzzled Utaha was that, besides the Ghost Devil being instantly dismembered and annihilated, all the humans in the domain—including the members of the Exorcism Division and even she herself—were completely unharmed.
"Are you wondering?" Sukuna's voice, carrying a playful cruelty, echoed in the deathly silent domain. "Wondering why they can still breathe?"
He seemed to be providing an answer, yet also showing off his god-like control.
"What was used to handle that inferior toy just now was nothing more than a casually thrown Dismantle." Sukuna said lightheartedly, as if talking about swatting a fly.
"Dismantle?" Utaha's heart shook violently.
She had never heard this term before, but she instinctively understood the terror contained within it.
A casual throw could instantly slice that Ghost Devil, which had wiped out an entire special forces unit, into pieces?
Sukuna seemed to enjoy Utaha's emotions, continuing to explain in his low voice, "Dismantle is my most basic slashing technique. It can be activated at will, with no limit on the number of times. It is invisible and intangible. The trajectory, range, and intensity of the slash are all determined by my will. Whether it is non-living things, Cursed Spirits, Jujutsu Sorcerers, or ordinary humans like you, in front of it, you are no different from paper."
"If I wished, every single Dismantle just now would have been enough to cut all of you, along with that piece of trash, into uniform pieces of meat."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the remains of the Ghost Devil that were rapidly evaporating on the ground, his tone carrying a hint of waning interest. "As for that thing that doesn't even count as small fry, it didn't even have the right to make me use Cleave."
"Cleave?"
Another unfamiliar, yet bone-chilling word.
"Heh." Sukuna let out an unintelligible chuckle.
"Cleave is a slash that automatically adjusts its power based on the target's Cursed Energy intensity and technique resilience. As for its power..."
His gaze seemed to pierce through the barriers of the domain, looking into the void far away, with a hint of reminiscent cruelty.
"It is enough to instantly divide a so-called Special Grade Cursed Spirit into several neat pieces, like cutting butter. That is the way of death worthy of an opponent I take slightly seriously."
Sukuna shook his head, ending his boasting.
He slowly turned around, those cold eyes for the first time formally casting a scrutinizing look at the collapsed Himeno and the other survivors.
"Well then..."
His voice echoed in this bloody slaughterhouse, carrying a hint of playfulness, like a cat sizing up the mice under its claws.
"Next, it is time to deal with you ants who accidentally saw me."
...
The domain dissipated as abruptly and silently as it appeared.
The dark red sky, the pale white skeletal foundation, the grotesque gaping maw... all supernatural horrors receded like a tide, revealing once more the dilapidated nightscape of the sealed-off district.
The city lights in the distance and the sparse starlight once again cast faint glows, but the lingering, faint scent of blood in the air and the tremor at a soul level reminded the survivors that everything that had just happened was by no means an illusion.
Several members of the Public Security Exorcist Division collapsed to the ground as if exhausted, panting heavily, cold sweat soaking their tactical suits, their bodies still trembling involuntarily. The relief of surviving a calamity intertwined with the terror of facing an unspeakable horror, leaving them momentarily speechless.
The captain, bracing his almost buckling legs, used his still slightly trembling hand to support himself against the cold wall beside her. He looked at the black-haired girl still standing quietly in front, as if she had merely taken a stroll, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would shatter his ribs. He knew he had to say something, do something.
Regardless, it was this... "existence" that had appeared at the last moment, crushing the Ghost Devil that had nearly wiped out their entire team, even though the methods and the power she displayed were equally terrifying.
He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, staggered a step forward, and with all his might, squeezed out a look as respectful as possible, his voice hoarse as he spoke, "Th-thank you for your assistance. The Public Security Exorcist Division will never forget this life-saving kindness."
However, the response he received was a cold gaze, filled with undisguised annoyance and condescension.
"Standing too tall." Sukuna controlled Utaha's lips, uttering words devoid of warmth.
In those eyes, there was only displeasure at the audacity of an ant.
The captain's body stiffened, instantly feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He immediately understood what the other party meant.
Without the slightest hesitation, and disregarding any dignity or image, he spun around and hissed at the still stunned team members behind him, "Kneel! Everyone, kneel down!"
Thud!
Before his words even finished, he had already dropped, his knees heavily hitting the cold, rough ground.
The other surviving team members were startled at first, then infected by the extreme fear in the captain's tone, and frantically followed suit, kneeling down, lowering their heads, not daring to look directly at the figure in front.
Even Himeno, who was badly injured, was helped by her comrades and prostrated herself on the ground.
For a moment, in the sealed-off area, there was only the dull sound of bodies hitting the ground, and the extremely suppressed, heavy breathing.
In this deathly silence of prostration, deep within Sukuna's consciousness, a cold system prompt, audible only to him, rang out.
[Detected that the host has successfully collected the anomalous individual "Ghost Devil" and its core concept.]
[Value judgment: Medium-high.]
[Reward issued: Special Ability: Unseen Hands]
[Reward issued: Physique: Devil Body]
[Unseen Hands: Can summon and control a certain number of invisible arms, which can be used for attack, restraint, or assistance.]
Sukuna was speechless.
He already had four hands, did he need a few more? Was he planning to become a Thousand-Armed Guanyin?
Or a Thousand-Armed Asura?
[Detected that the host has successfully fused the core concept of "Ghost Devil" and deeply bound it to their own existential concept "Ryomen Sukuna." Special conditions met... Hidden trait activated...]
[Devil Body (Core Trait): The host has touched the root rules of "Devil." Based on the core concepts already held (Ghost, Ryomen Sukuna), you will gain the "Conceptual Immortality" characteristic. As long as there is life in the world that fears the concept of "Ghost," or holds dread for the existence of "Ryomen Sukuna," your consciousness and existence will not be completely annihilated. Even if your current form is destroyed, you will re-condense and revive at the conceptual level based on lingering fear and cognition.]