The Great Cursed Spirit began to use its final resort. Its form changed completely, transforming into a massive golden cocoon of light that enveloped the sun, composed of countless layers of barriers, attempting to completely seal, freeze, and assimilate Sukuna along with this space.
Sukuna stopped. He looked at the sacred cocoon of light before him, which seemed as if it were about to give birth to a "New God."
Then, he opened his mouth and began to sing. It was an ancient, obscure chant filled with malice and blasphemy. It was a war song that the King of Curses had hummed casually a thousand years ago while slaughtering humans and bathing in blood.
As he chanted, the Hell Mark on his back came to life. It extended and expanded, transforming into a massive, dark red, inverted phantom that covered half the solar system, seemingly composed of countless devil corpses and cursed runes.
That was the projection of Hell. It was the true authority Sukuna had obtained after becoming the King of Hell.
Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine: Modified: Hell Scroll!
There was no closed space, no Sure-Hit slash. There was only the overwriting of reality, dragging it into the Hell Scroll.
The dark red phantom of Hell pressed down upon the golden cocoon of light. Then came the erosion, the devouring, the digestion.
Perfect Barrier? Eternal Stasis? Universal Harmony?
Before the malice of Hell, the filth of the Curse, and Sukuna's "I alone am the honored one" will, they were all just food.
The cocoon of light began to tremble, crack, and dim. From within came the silent wails of billions of souls being eroded and digested by Hell.
"No! Impossible! This is the perfect evolution! This is the ultimate form! Sukuna! You—"
The collective consciousness of Kenjaku and Tengen, fused together, let out a final, unwilling roar.
Sukuna's chanting reached its climax. His four arms simultaneously pierced into the core of the cocoon of light and he tore open the very concept of the Great Cursed Spirit.
The golden radiance, like shattered glass, exploded silently in the vacuum of space, turning into billions of points of light, which were then rapidly devoured and absorbed by the dark red phantom of Hell.
Sukuna stood amidst the shattered remains of light, his four arms raised high, clutching that final bit of golden light belonging to the core of the Great Cursed Spirit.
Within the ball of light, one could faintly see the distorted, fused, and gradually separating faces of Kenjaku and Tengen.
Sukuna looked down at that point of light, his tone terrifyingly calm. "Kenjaku, your thousand-year dream tastes not bad."
Then, he stuffed the ball of light into his mouth.
The dark red phantom of Hell receded like a tide back into Sukuna's body. His aura surged once more, becoming even more, terrifying.
On his skin, in addition to the original black Cursed markings, there were now some flowing, pale golden markings that belonged to the concept of Barrier.
The sun was revealed once more, burning quietly.
Space returned to silence.
Sukuna floated in the vacuum, looking back at that distant blue planet.
Where the Japanese Archipelago had been, there remained only a massive, bottomless pit flooded by seawater. One hundred and twenty million people, along with that land, had completely vanished, becoming part of the Great Cursed Spirit, and then, becoming part of Sukuna.
On Earth, in the other countries that had survived and were not swept up in the barrier sacrifice, all satellites, all probes, and all astronomical telescopes had recorded the scene that had just occurred near the sun, a scene like a war of gods.
The whole world fell into a deathly silence and unspeakable fear.
Sukuna watched the pit for a moment, then cast his gaze toward another part of Earth. His gaze pierced through the atmosphere and landed on the roof of an ordinary apartment building.
There, Makima stood, looking up at the starry sky. Her face had lost that effortless composure, leaving only an incomprehensible bewilderment.
Her contract had failed.
Because the Japanese citizens, the object of that contract, no longer existed.
Sukuna's figure vanished from space. The next moment, he appeared before Makima.
Makima looked at him, opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.
Sukuna did not give her the chance. He simply extended a finger and tapped it on her forehead.
"Woman, your 'Control' has been a joke before me from the very beginning. Now, it's not even a joke anymore."
Makima's body began to crumble inch by inch from her fingertips, turning into flying ash.
The last thing she saw was Sukuna's pair of scarlet eyes, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, looking at her as if she were a bug.
The wind blew the ashes away.
Sukuna stood alone on the roof, overlooking the world below, which was in complete chaos and panic due to the series of cataclysms.
He had won.
He had killed all the devils in Hell and become the sole King of Hell.
He had killed Kenjaku and Tengen, who had fused with one hundred and twenty million people and evolved into the Great Cursed Spirit, and devoured them.
He had killed the last eyesore, Makima.
There was no longer any being in this world capable of fighting him.
An unprecedented emptiness, like a cold tide, engulfed him.
The fervor of battle and the pleasure of devouring a powerful enemy had faded by now. All that remained was this ruin, these ants, this... uninteresting world.
He looked up at the starry sky. The universe is vast, perhaps there are other interesting fellows out there?
But... he couldn't be bothered to look.
Just as Sukuna was feeling bored, and even starting to consider whether he should just crush this planet to see if it would be a bit more interesting—
[Ding!]
A crisp notification sound, as if ringing directly in the depths of his soul.
Immediately after, a semi-transparent interface, shimmering with a faint blue light, unfolded in his field of vision without warning.
The interface was simple, carrying a cold, technological feel that did not belong to this world.
[Detecting high-dimensional individual life form...]
[Meets the conditions for Special Recruitment under Article 7, Section 3 of the Collector's Protocol...]
[Individual Identifier: Ryomen Sukuna (King of Curses / Lord of Hell)]
[Strength Assessment: █ █ █ █ (Beyond the framework of the current world)]
[Combat Intent Status: Extremely empty (craving worthy opponents)]
[Meets the connection standards for the Endless Battle Domain...]
[Respected Uncrowned One, congratulations, you have conquered your current world with absolute power and will but battle is endless.
Vaster battlefields, more powerful enemies, and more extreme battles await in the Endless Battle Domain. There, there are behemoths that devour stars, gods who wield laws, travelers who reverse time, and powerhouses from countless dimensions who, like you, have reached the pinnacle.
There, you will find what you crave—true, exhilarating battles, and perhaps, existences capable of killing you.]
[Do you accept the recruitment to proceed to the Endless Battle Domain?]
[Yes / No]
[Countdown: 10... 9... 8...]
Sukuna was stunned. His four eyes stared fixedly at that interface, especially at the words "existences capable of killing you."
Then—
"Hahahaha!!!"
He laughed wildly toward the sky, his laughter shattered the surrounding glass and echoed throughout the dead-silent city.
Emptiness? Loneliness? Boredom?
So, it was just that this world was too small. So small that he had shattered it just by rolling over.
So, there were larger ponds. More big fish. Perhaps even... monsters that could bite him to death.
"Interesting! Too interesting!!!"
He laughed until tears came out. Then, he extended his trembling finger—not trembling from fear, but from extreme excitement—and without hesitation, tapped that faint blue screen.
Yes.