The entire fourth-floor workshop instantly returned to a dead silence. Only the drifting dust remained, along with the faint smell of char and Cursed Energy residue that had not yet fully dissipated.
Sukuna, controlling Utaha's hand, caught the finger handed over by the invisible hand.
He felt the call of the same-source power from his fingertips, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Then, as if it were a small snack, he casually stuffed it into the mouth on Utaha's face, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.
[Confirmed recovery of special grade cursed object: Sukuna's Finger]
[Collection Value Judgment: Extremely High]
[Reward: One finger's worth of Cursed Energy, Soul Slash]
[Collected Special Grade Cursed Spirit]
[Collection Value Judgment: High]
[Reward: Soul Devouring Talent]
The cold system notification rang in Sukuna's mind.
?
He ate one finger and gained one finger's worth of Cursed Energy, and then was rewarded with another finger's worth of Cursed Energy. This meant he got two portions of Cursed Energy for every finger.
Calculating it this way, once he collected all the Cursed Energy, he would have at least thirty-nine fingers' worth.
And Soul Slash? Wasn't that Yuji's version of Dismantle from later on?
He got his grand-nephew's technique?
[Soul Devouring Talent: Can turn spiritual bodies into soul nourishment to nourish the soul.]
All this—from Sukuna's appearance to his crushing insta-kill of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit and the recovery of the finger—happened within a mere ten seconds.
Kasumi and Mai witnessed this entire inconceivable scene that overturned everything they knew. The two were frozen in place like statues, mouths agape, having forgotten even to breathe.
Insta-killing... a Special Grade Cursed Spirit?
What did that girl just eat?
After the extreme shock came a deeper fear.
What on earth was that monster?
Sukuna seemed to only just remember there were two "spectators" present. He slowly turned around, his four crimson eyes coldly scanning the slumped, terror-stricken Mai and Kasumi.
"Oh? There are still two little mice that haven't been cleared out." His tone was as flat as if he were talking about stepping on two ants.
Feeling that cold gaze and blatant killing intent, Kasumi and Mai's hearts instantly leaped into their throats. The slight sense of relief they had felt from being saved was instantly drowned by an even greater despair.
Out of the wolf's den and into the tiger's mouth!
However, just as Sukuna was considering whether to solve these two nuisances in passing or keep them for some potential use...
"Sukuna-san!" Utaha's consciousness cried out urgently in his mind.
"They... they're just students and they didn't attack us."
Utaha had witnessed everything. Although she was terrified of Sukuna's power, seeing the two girls who were about her age on the brink of death and seeing Sukuna seemingly about to move against them, her strong sense of compassion and morality made her speak up to stop him.
Sukuna's movements paused slightly.
He looked at Kasumi and Mai again, the light of Kamiutsushi flickering slightly as he analyzed them from the inside out in an instant.
"Tch... from the Kyoto school? A girl from the Zenin clan? And another one... her sword technique is somewhat interesting, but her Cursed Energy is thin." He critiqued them like he was evaluating goods, then lost interest.
"Forget it, they're pathetically weak, there's no point in killing them. Besides, I am in a good mood today."
He withdrew his killing intent and controlled Utaha's body to turn away from the two nearly collapsed sorcerers, walking toward the stairs.
"Remember what you saw today."
Without looking back, Sukuna's cold voice clearly entered Kasumi and Mai's ears like a profound brand.
"If you don't want to die, keep your mouths shut."
"Otherwise, the next time we meet, I wouldn't mind stretching my limbs."
As the words fell, he had already vanished into the shadows of the stairs, as if he had never appeared.
In the workshop, only the two girls remained, having narrowly escaped death but left in a trance from witnessing such a horrific truth, surrounded by the mess and the lingering scent of despair in the air.
Kasumi and Mai slumped on the cold ground, looking at each other, both seeing endless fear and bewilderment in the other's eyes.
Everything that happened today completely overturned their understanding of "strength" and cast a thick, inseparable shadow over their future paths.
As for Sukuna, after recovering a finger, testing the combined application of Kamiutsushi and the Unseen Hand, and scaring two little sorcerers in passing, he vanished into the depths of Tokyo's night with Utaha, feeling quite satisfied.
— — —
Miko walked on her way home, the evening wind blowing through her hair.
The surroundings felt somewhat different from usual. Those low-level evil spirits that used to follow her like shadows, squirming in the corners of her vision, now seemed to have encountered something terrifying. They avoided her from a distance, not even daring to make eye contact.
This sudden 'cleanliness' brought an indescribable sense of relief after her initial uncertainty.
Is it because of the aura left behind by that being?
Although that experience hadn't been pleasant, the brief moment of peace it brought now allowed her nerves, which had been tense for so long, to finally relax.
Being able to avoid being constantly surrounded and peered at by those ugly, distorted things, even if only temporarily, was enough to provide her with a near-luxurious comfort.
'Although the process was terrifying, the result doesn't seem... entirely bad?' She thought silently, her steps unconsciously becoming a bit lighter.
However, the moment she pushed open the door and stepped into the entryway, a stronger, more subtle fluctuation emanated from the corner of the living room. It wasn't the foul sensation of an evil spirit, but a warm spiritual aura filled with worry and a protective intent—it was her deceased father, who had remained in the house as an earth-bound spirit due to his lingering attachments.
"I'm home." Miko said out of habit, her voice as calm as possible.
Her mother, Yotsuya Touko, who was busy in the kitchen, poked her head out and responded gently, "Welcome back, Miko. You seem a bit later than usual today?"
"Yeah, something... delayed me on the way." Miko looked down to change her shoes, avoiding her mother's inquisitive gaze for fear of her abnormality being noticed.
But the vast majority of her attention was drawn to the translucent figure on the sofa in the corner of the living room. Her father's spirit was the most complex existence for Miko within this home.
Even though he was technically a terrifying spirit, Miko felt happy that she could still see him. At the same time, she worried that if her father knew she could see him, he might be governed by the rules of spirits killing humans and turn into a mindless, malevolent spirit.
Miko had always been careful not to show that she could see her father.