Once the most bustling area in all of Tokyo, it had now completely devolved into a silent purgatory.
Broken car shells and collapsed building debris were scattered across the scorching asphalt.
The air was thick with the nauseating scent of blood and the acrid stench of burning.
And at the very center of this wasteland...
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit Jogo was kneeling, his body trembling uncontrollably.
His massive single eye was fixed on the figure standing not far ahead, a silhouette like a demon god.
The King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna.
Sukuna was shirtless, strange black markings slithering across his skin like living things.
He stood with his hands casually stuffed in his black trouser pockets, looking down at the kneeling Jogo, his crimson eyes filled with pure, absolute indifference.
"Su... Lord Sukuna..."
Jogo forced back the tremors rising from the depths of his soul and swallowed a non-existent lump of saliva, trying to break the suffocating silence.
"I am Jogo, the curse representing the earth—"
"Shut up."
Sukuna spat out the words coldly, cutting off Jogo's introduction.
"I know who you are, small fry."
Sukuna's voice wasn't loud, but to Jogo, it exploded in his mind like a thunderclap.
Small fry.
As a Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from the fears of countless living beings, Jogo had always held himself in high regard, even once desiring a direct confrontation with Sukuna.
But only upon facing this legendary man did he finally understand how fragile and pathetic his petty pride was in the face of true power!
The chasm-like difference in strength was so great that he was on the verge of losing even the courage to look him in the eye.
"However..."
Just as Jogo thought he would be erased in an instant...
Sukuna suddenly dropped his cold expression, his lips curling into a cruel, mocking smile.
He slowly withdrew his right hand from his pocket and beckoned Jogo with his index finger.
"I'll give you a chance."
"If you can land even a single touch on me..."
Sukuna's grin widened, revealing a mouthful of pearly white teeth.
"I'll show some mercy and join your side."
Land one touch... and he'll join us?!
At those words, Jogo's heart—constricted by fear—began to pound violently!
His lifelong ambition was to establish a world ruled purely by Cursed Spirits.
If they could secure the aid of the King of Curses, not even Satoru Gojo—not even that Yoru with the strange red blade—could stand in their way!
"You said it, Sukuna!"
Jogo roared. His body, previously pinned down by that terrifying pressure, actually forced itself upright under the stimulus of extreme excitement and fanaticism!
Boom—!
As Jogo rose, the volcano-like crater on his head instantly erupted with a blinding, brilliant red light!
The air, already scorched from previous battles, became like a powder keg suddenly ignited. The temperature skyrocketed exponentially.
Sizzle—!
The asphalt beneath Jogo's feet began to melt and boil in large patches, giving off pungent black smoke.
"Keep that promise firmly in mind!"
Jogo slammed both hands onto the ground, a bestial growl tearing from his throat.
"Maximum... Scorching Fire!"
Rumble!
A massive pillar of fire over ten meters in diameter, condensed from pure, ultra-high temperature magma and flames.
Like a tsunami surging from the depths of the earth, it swept toward the nearby Sukuna with a devastating and terrifying force!
The temperature of this fire pillar was absurdly high.
Wherever it passed, whether abandoned cars or solid concrete, everything was instantly vaporized into nothingness!
Flames soared into the sky!
The blinding red light even ignited several surrounding blocks in an instant. The heart of Shibuya felt as though it had become a giant furnace!
"Die! Die! Die!"
Jogo frantically poured his cursed energy out, pushing the power of the fire pillar to its absolute limit.
He refused to believe that under such a wide-range, dead-end, ultra-high temperature attack, Sukuna—no matter how strong—could avoid getting even a corner of his clothes touched!
However.
Facing this overwhelming sea of deathly flames...
Sukuna remained with his hands in his pockets, standing calmly in place. He didn't even assume a defensive or evasive posture.
Boom—!
The massive fire pillar instantly swallowed Sukuna's silhouette!
"Did I hit him?!"
A flash of wild joy crossed Jogo's single eye.
But in the next second, his smile froze completely.
In the midst of that boiling sea of fire...
Sukuna walked out of the flames capable of melting steel as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in his own backyard.
The violent flames didn't even touch the edge of his clothes. As if meeting some terrifying repulsive force, they automatically diverted around his body on both sides!
"How is this possible..."
Jogo stared blankly at the unscathed Sukuna, his mind a complete void.
"Is this all you're capable of?"
Sukuna looked at Jogo, a hint of disdain in his eyes.
"In that case, let's end this."
The moment the words left his lips...
Sukuna's figure vanished from Jogo's field of vision without warning!
"Where is he?!"
Jogo looked around in terror, sparks flying from the volcano on his head due to his extreme anxiety.
"Where are you looking, small fry?"
Just as Jogo was frantically searching for Sukuna's silhouette...
That nightmare-like voice echoed softly right in his ear!
The hairs on Jogo's body stood on end as a chill raced from his head to his heels!
He whipped his head around.
Sukuna had appeared beside him like a phantom at some unknown moment, the distance between them less than half a meter!
"Too slow."
Sukuna sneered.
Bang—!
Followed by the sickening sound of shattering bone!
Sukuna's right hand, which had seemed to rise casually, slammed into Jogo's cheek with a terrifying speed that the naked eye couldn't even track!
Crack!
Under Sukuna's seemingly effortless punch, Jogo's incredibly hard volcanic head shattered like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer!
Half of his head, along with that massive single eye, disintegrated in mid-air into a spray of mangled flesh and purple blood.
"Aaaaaaagh—!"
Jogo let out a shrill, agonizing scream, his body sent flying like a broken kite by the terrifying force.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Jogo's body smashed through the load-bearing walls of three consecutive buildings before finally crashing into the wreckage of an abandoned shopping mall, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
A one-shot.
A complete sport; pure dominance.
In the presence of the King of Curses, even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit like Jogo—the embodiment of the earth's wrath—was as fragile as a toddler who had just learned to walk.