Although Sukuna didn't know what was happening to Tomioka and had no concept of marks or anything like that, he could still clearly tell that Tomioka had become somewhat stronger—a fairly significant improvement.
Sukuna had initially thought this world might have some kind of recovery ability similar to Reverse Cursed Technique, but it seemed that wasn't the case. At the very least, the warrior in front of him didn't have it.
Which meant he had to be careful not to kill this man.
Facing Tomioka wielding the red water dragon with Tenth Form: Constant Flux, Sukuna unleashed another casual slash.
This «Dismantle» severed the Nichirin Blade in Tomioka's hand once while also severing the surging water dragon of Constant Flux and Tomioka's right arm.
With his right arm gone, Tomioka lost his balance and collapsed into the snow.
Lying on his back looking up at the sky, Tomioka didn't despair. He could already see the sunlight rising in the distance. He strained his neck to look at Sukuna, wanting to confirm whether Sukuna would choose to flee. He hoped his desperate attempt to hold the demon back had been worthwhile.
He didn't lift his head straight up, but slowly raised it from a tilted position.
First, Tomioka saw the chunks of the girl's body that Sukuna had diced up in the distance, rapidly dissolving under the sunlight.
Then his gaze fell on Sukuna's slowly walking feet. His pace was steady, with no sign of panic.
Tomioka's heart sank. The sun had already risen, yet his opponent remained so composed. Had he not noticed dawn?
Tomioka's gaze continued upward, and then he saw the sight that shattered his sanity completely.
Sukuna raised his hand to shield his eyes, looked at the sun, and muttered to himself.
"Winter sun is still this bright..."
Aside from that one complaint, Sukuna's body showed no change whatsoever after being exposed to the sunlight.
"...How can a demon not fear the sun?!"
Tomioka felt his understanding of the world crumble. He didn't dare imagine what kind of disaster any demon unaffected by sunlight could cause, let alone one as powerful as the one before him.
Sukuna chuckled lightly and said, "Don't mistake me for one of those things.
"What ar... urgh—!"
Sukuna didn't give Tomioka a chance to mutter to himself. He simply stomped on his chest.
Sukuna controlled the force of that stomp, not crushing Tomioka outright. That would leave no one to answer his questions.
But it still broke three of Tomioka's ribs, and blood gushed from his mouth.
"Just answer my questions. Where can I find someone stronger than you?"
"Urgh... in your dreams, I'd never—!"
Before Tomioka could finish, Sukuna severed both his legs. If not for the freezing temperature and the boost from Breathing Technique, Tomioka might have already died.
Sukuna grabbed Tomioka by his collar and lifted him up. Originally, Tomioka was slightly taller than Sukuna, but after removing the excess parts, he was much easier to carry.
"As long as you answer my questions honestly, maybe I'll be in a good enough mood to let you live. Understand?"
But the kind Sukuna's kindness was met with only one sentence from Tomioka.
"Kill me."
The next second, Tomioka, still dangling from Sukuna's hand, was reduced to chunks of flesh by a «Cleave».
Sukuna scratched his head and muttered to himself.
"I shouldn't have expected anything. As expected, most of these warriors are stubborn fools."
Sukuna looked up at the sun.
"He was so intent on throwing his life away just to wait for sunrise, because demons fear sunlight..."
Sukuna glanced at the footprints Tomioka had left behind and slowly walked in that direction, organizing the information he had just gathered in his mind.
Ordinary people could be turned into demons. Demons feared sunlight. The warriors who hunted demons used strange techniques.
Because Nezuko was too weak, Sukuna was more interested in the swordsmen with these weird techniques than in demons.
He really needed to find a warrior stronger than that brat and experience the charm of this world.
As for why he didn't bother trying to make a different choice as he had considered earlier?
It was because he had come to this world as the King of Curses, not as someone reborn into a new life.
Doing good deeds and accumulating virtue could wait for his next life. As a curse himself, he should be doing cursed things.
But aside from finding other strong fighters, Sukuna also needed to locate a place where many demons gathered and use their blood to perform a Bath on this body.
Although based on the current situation, the original soul of this body had already sunk, Sukuna still wanted to take precautions. He had already been burned once by Megumi Fushiguro back there, and he didn't want the same thing to happen twice. So Sukuna's objectives for the coming days were clear: find demons and find strong swordsmen.
What about ordinary people?
If he compared fighting to food, his experiences in the modern era—battles with Gojo Satoru, the players, Yuji, and the others—were a grand feast. It was hard to get excited about slaughtering ordinary people.
But if they were food, that was a different matter.
Just then, at the bottom of the mountain, Sukuna encountered the family who had lent Tanjiro bamboo and straw in the original story.
The man, out early to work his fields, saw Sukuna from a distance, his clothes covered in blood.
His wife also noticed her husband's unease and followed his gaze to Sukuna.
"That's Tanjiro, isn't it? Those dark stains on his clothes... could that be blood?"
The man stared at Sukuna, unease rising in his heart. He tightened his grip on his hoe.
The woman saw more clearly now and spoke with concern.
"Could that child be injured?"
She started to walk forward, but the man grabbed her arm.
"Wait. Something's wrong. What are those markings on his face? And what's that below his eyes?"
The man was referring, of course, to Sukuna's second pair of eyes.
"...Do you think that child has turned into a demon? And those bloodstains are from when he killed his family... Ow, ow, ow! Why did you hit me?"
The woman rolled her eyes at her husband.
"Idiot. When have you ever heard of someone encountering a demon in broad daylight?"
The man paused, then realized she had a point.
The woman pulled free from her husband's grasp and ran toward Sukuna