Atop the ruins, Ryomen Sukuna retracted the invisible slashes he had been casually unleashing.
He looked at the massive white magic general before him—its wounds completely healed, its body now covered in an eerie barrier—and a pure battle mania burned in his eyes.
"Since you've already seen through my slashes, let's change things up a bit."
*BOOM!*
Before the words even left his mouth, the ground beneath Ryomen Sukuna's feet shattered.
Without using any technique, and without a hint of warning, Ryomen Sukuna's relatively compact frame transformed into a black afterimage that tore through the air.
Pure physical explosive power!
Having possessed the superhuman body of Yuji Itadori, Ryomen Sukuna's close-combat capabilities had reached a terrifying realm.
*CRACK!*
At the exact moment he broke the sound barrier, Ryomen Sukuna appeared before Mahoraga like a ghost.
His right fist, covered in black cursed markings, carried enough kinetic energy to level a small mountain as it drove straight toward Mahoraga's face!
The air in its path was compressed to the extreme, letting out a shriek-like sonic boom.
*ROAR!*
Mahoraga let out a world-shaking howl.
Faced with Ryomen Sukuna's lightning-fast strike, its reaction was not slow in the least.
The ancient-looking Sword of Extermination was swung by its thick right arm, held horizontally like a massive iron gate in front of its body.
*CLANG—!!!*
The moment the fist collided with the blade, a roar erupted that was more deafening than a thunderclap.
A visible white shockwave exploded outward, centered on the two of them!
*CRUNCH! RUMBLE!*
Within hundreds of meters, not only did the glass on every remaining building shatter, but even the reinforced concrete frames of nearby skyscrapers buckled and collapsed under the sheer force of the impact!
Dust and debris rained down like a torrential storm, instantly swallowing them both.
"Oh? You blocked it?"
Amidst the dust, Ryomen Sukuna pulled back his lips into a gruesome grin.
"Then how about this?!"
*BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!*
Ryomen Sukuna's fists instantly turned into a blur of afterimages. With every punch, a physical ring of white sonic boom clouds formed in the air!
There were no flashy moves, only the most extreme power and speed!
Each strike carried the terrifying power to destroy heaven and earth, crashing like a violent storm against the broad blade of the Sword of Extermination.
Mahoraga's mountain-like body was actually forced back under this unreasonable display of brute force.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
With every step back it took, the hard asphalt road beneath its feet shattered like a spiderweb, and even the subway tunnels deep underground collapsed under the weight of those heavy footfalls.
Giant sinkholes formed one after another!
'Damn it, is he being suppressed even in close combat?'
Watching from a distance, Suguru Geto felt cold sweat bead on his forehead.
His hands flew into a series of mudras, attempting to command several Special Grade Imaginary Cursed Spirits hidden in the shadows to launch a sneak attack from behind Ryomen Sukuna, hoping to relieve the pressure on Mahoraga.
*SWISH!*
However, it was as if Ryomen Sukuna had eyes in the back of his head.
In the brief gaps between his frantic punches, he simply made a casual backhand swipe.
Several invisible arcs of Dismantle instantly cut through the air, shredding the Special Grade Cursed Spirits that were attempting to ambush him into pieces.
"Don't get in my way, brat who plays with cursed spirits!"
Ryomen Sukuna let out a cold laugh, continuing to pour the violent rain of punches onto Mahoraga.
On the other side of the battlefield...
Kento Nanami held Megumi Fushiguro, who was in a state of suspended animation, hiding behind a relatively intact piece of cover.
He stared fixedly at the center of the battlefield, his forehead drenched in sweat.
"Just what kind of monster is this...?"
Watching the white magic general—which refused to fall despite Ryomen Sukuna's relentless bombardment—Kento Nanami's heart was filled with shock.
*COUGH!*
Just then, Megumi Fushiguro, cradled in Kento Nanami's arms, coughed up a large amount of blood.
Though in a near-death state, as the one who had summoned Mahoraga, he was still passively bearing the terrifying drain of cursed energy required to maintain this ultimate shikigami.
His body convulsed violently, and his life signs were fading at a dangerously fast rate.
As an un-exorcised shikigami, Mahoraga was fighting purely on rampaging instinct, endlessly squeezing the life force out of its master.
*CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK...*
In the midst of Ryomen Sukuna's violent rain of punches, the Sacred Dharma Wheel on Mahoraga's back suddenly began to spin at a frantic speed!
One turn... two turns... three turns!
"Hm?"
Ryomen Sukuna's movements paused slightly.
He keenly sensed that the power he was slamming into the Sword of Extermination was being gradually neutralized by an eerie force!
Not only that, but Mahoraga's retreating footsteps came to a dead halt!
*ROAR—!!!*
Mahoraga suddenly snapped its head up, a terrifying, murderous light exploding from the eyes hidden behind its white mask.
It had completely adapted to Ryomen Sukuna's close-combat rhythm!
*WHOOSH!*
Mahoraga's massive frame suddenly moved with an incredible agility, forcing its way out of Ryomen Sukuna's web of punches.
Immediately after, the Sword of Extermination on its right arm, carrying a terrifying sword qi that could tear through space itself, slashed downward from above, aimed straight at Ryomen Sukuna's skull!
"That's more like it!"
Ryomen Sukuna laughed wildly, charging forward instead of retreating.
He crossed his arms over his head, a layer of cursed energy so dense it was practically solid instantly covering his forearms.
*BOOM—!!!*
The blade collided with his arms.
This time, it wasn't Mahoraga who was pushed back.
Ryomen Sukuna's body was forced backward over a dozen meters by the terrifying force of the Sword of Extermination, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the ground.
"Now's the chance!"
Seeing this, Suguru Geto did not hesitate to release all the remaining cursed spirits within his body.
Countless cursed spirits of various forms swarmed toward Ryomen Sukuna like a black tide from all directions, joining Mahoraga in a frantic siege of the King of Curses!
The three-way free-for-all reached its peak at this moment!
The center of Shibuya had transformed into a giant meat grinder; any life caught within it would be instantly crushed.
While Suguru Geto commanded his army of cursed spirits to fight Ryomen Sukuna, he also directed several Special Grade Cursed Spirits with defensive abilities to build a solid line of defense at the edge of the battlefield.
He was determined to protect the innocent civilians who hadn't had time to evacuate.
*RUMBLE!*
The earth trembled and the sky roared.
Kento Nanami watched Mahoraga trading blows with Ryomen Sukuna, but his heart didn't relax in the slightest.
He could feel this monster's aura becoming more and more terrifying.
'Can it... adapt to all of that monster's attacks?'
That was the biggest question in Kento Nanami's mind at that moment.
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