Shibuya was a Grand Stage.
Zenin Mirai viewed his role at this moment as equivalent to that of a stage manager. The script had gone astray due to the unexpected arrivals of Yuta Okkotsu and Kinji Hakari. It needed to be violently adjusted back to its proper form.
The journey to the throne was the beginning of Mirai's path. It was the necessary road to becoming a god.
Plot deviations didn't matter. Violence was the best corrective tool.
"Scram."
A single, flat word, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, struck the Sorcerers like a thunderclap.
Nanami, Maki, Nobara, and Megumi turned stiffly. They met those utterly indifferent, blood-red eyes in terror.
He was looking down at them like one casually observes ants crawling by their feet. It didn't matter to him whether they lived or died. It was the exact same way Dagon had viewed ordinary humans.
As Sorcerers, their last remaining dignity was humiliated. But the desperate cry of their survival instinct compelled them to take a step back.
"Mirai... brother."
Maki instinctively spoke, opening her mouth but not knowing what to say.
Should she ask why he sealed Gojo Satoru? Should she beg him to release him?
The same applied to Nanami and Megumi.
Facing an opponent of this caliber... what else could they do but wait silently for him to dictate their fate? They certainly didn't possess the power of ants to shake the heavens.
Ignoring Nanami and the others, Mirai looked at White Zetsu.
"I don't care about your personal affairs," Mirai said indifferently. "But keep a close eye on those three."
By expanding his Domain to crush Dagon, Zetsu had distracted himself from the surveillance network covering the barrier.
Mirai, as the stage manager, would control the overall direction of the Shibuya Incident. But he needed Zetsu to act as the "acting coach." In this small theater where problems could arise at any time, Zetsu had to step in to make adjustments.
"Okay, okay," Zetsu replied, feigning displeasure.
The three people Mirai mentioned were Megumi, Maki, and Nobara.
The purpose was to ensure their destined growth occurred, and if necessary, to protect them from premature death. Mirai had outlined these future plans to White Zetsu long ago.
Mirai's gaze lingered briefly on Megumi and Maki.
Then, with a light step, he entered the void.
...
The second basement level (B2F). The subway ticket gates.
The floor and walls were covered with narrow gashes cut by a sharp weapon, with large patches of scarlet blood still wet.
In a dimly lit corner, beneath flickering lights, a near-dead, unconscious Yuji Itadori lay sprawled on the ground. He had just been brutalized by his older half-brother, Choso.
Jogo knelt beside the boy. He gently pinched Yuji's chin, forcing his mouth open.
Without hesitation, Jogo shoved ten of Sukuna's fingers down Yuji's throat all at once.
I want Cursed Spirits to stand proudly in the world... I want curses to become the true rulers...
I want to defeat that monster, Zenin Mirai!
Jogo placed his last hope on the King of Curses.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jogo saw the teenage twins, Nanako and Mimiko, who had also fed Yuji a finger moments before. Jogo stood up, intending to incinerate them to finish the job, but stopped dead in his tracks.
He stared blankly at his right wrist. It had been smoothly severed. Purple blood flowed silently.
Before the excruciating pain could even register, a terrifying surge of Cursed Energy erupted from Itadori's body!
The vessel slowly rose to its feet.
Jogo's trembling single eye reflected the black, tribal tattoos appearing on the boy's face. A second pair of eyes opened, looking down on everything in the world with absolute arrogance.
This was Ryomen Sukuna.
A malevolence that defied human comprehension saturated the room, pinning everyone to the spot. Jogo, Nanako, and Mimiko felt their breathing stop. Cold sweat instantly covered their bodies.
Their survival instincts screamed. Unable to control himself, Jogo scrambled to the side, landing next to the twins.
Unlike Gojo Satoru or Zenin Mirai, who were formidable... the existence of Sukuna was an evil that made the soul itself tremble.
"Your heads are held too high," Sukuna brushed aside his pink bangs and spoke softly.
Hearing the absolute command, the three Curses/Curse Users immediately fell to their knees!
The next second—
BOOM!!!
Jogo, Nanako, and Mimiko stared blankly up at the ceiling.
A huge hole had been blasted straight up through the concrete! Looking up from B2F, they could see the night sky covered by the barrier directly through the floors!
Sukuna—the King of Curses who had just filled them with immense fear—had been violently blasted off the subway platform in a single blow!
The culprit? An enormous Shikigami with a golden, eight-handled wheel above its head: Mahoraga.
Tap... tap... tap...
Under the flickering lights, a pair of blood-red eyes slowly approached from the dust.
Whoosh!
Jogo suddenly scrambled backward. Nanako and Mimiko beside him were instantly swallowed up by a spiraling spatial distortion. Their fate was unknown.
Jogo's pupil trembled violently as he looked at the man who had just appeared before him.
Zenin Mirai.
"Let's go somewhere else," Mirai said. "It's rather claustrophobic down here for a cemetery."
With a light step, the wind whistled.
When Jogo came to his senses milliseconds later, he found himself standing on the rooftop of a steel skyscraper in the center of Shibuya.
...
Out of the corner of his eye, Jogo saw long, slender fingers resting on his shoulder. His heart turned ice-cold.
Cemetery...
Looking up and meeting those cold, blood-red eyes, Jogo realized his impending fate.
But even so...
BOOM!!!
Flames capable of incinerating a human body to ash exploded from Jogo! A pillar of hellfire erupted from the top of the building all the way down the sides!
Like a rocket detonating in the heart of the city, the towering flames instantly illuminated Shibuya!
"AHHH!!!"
There were an estimated 30,000 ordinary humans trapped in the Shibuya barrier.
Only a very few could see Cursed Spirits. But they could all see the horrific bombing! It instilled pure, unadulterated terror in them.
The crowds fleeing through the streets below resembled swarms of ants, screaming and trampling each other to get away from the infernal building.
On the rooftop.
Jogo breathed heavily, partly from the exertion, but mostly from the sheer pressure radiating from Mirai.
Jogo trembled uncontrollably as he stared at the figure standing amidst the flames.
Unharmed.
Mirai squinted his eyes, spreading his arms wide.
The void that opened up beside him didn't devour physical matter; it devoured the ambient Cursed Energy filling the barrier... and the massive surge of negative emotions radiating from the fleeing, terrified crowd below.
The negative emotions were funneled directly into Mirai's scarlet left eye (the Mangekyou Sharingan).
The slightly warm, pleasant sensation of the dark energy rushing into his optic nerve made Mirai look quite pleased.
This was why he hadn't instantly killed Jogo in the subway.
This was Jogo's only remaining value. The panic he created was a bountiful harvest.
Mirai turned his head to look at the terrified Curse. He smiled.
"Come on. This is your last chance to show off."
Seeing the despair on Jogo's face, Mirai added, "I promise I won't use Kamui to dodge your next attack."
"This is your one and only chance to hurt me. Cherish it."
Mirai didn't care how many ordinary humans died in the crossfire. The terror generated by Jogo's ultimate attack would be a feast for his eyes.
Gazing intently at Mirai's relaxed expression, Jogo silently mobilized every last drop of Cursed Energy in his body.
He didn't know if Mirai was lying. But the consequence of refusing was death anyway!
It's worth a try. Maybe I can hurt this monster just once!
It seems I will never have the chance to witness the Age of Curses...
With a death wish, Jogo's face contorted into a ferocious, weeping expression. He squeezed out the very core of his soul!
A terrifying surge of thermal Cursed Energy shot straight into the sky!
The final strike, carrying all the hopes and grief of the Disaster Curses, flashed with a blinding red light high above the city.
"Maximum... METEOR!!!"
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