Keishirou vs Sukuna edit

Firstly, to describe this place with one word it would be — kaleidoscope.
As far as one can see, the sky is covered with a complex geometric pattern. Uneven colors hurt the eye, and it feels unpleasant just to look at it.
It might look like a controlled chaos. As if you cut a few different pictures, and then made a single pattern out of all of them.
It's twisted, distorted, and yet, the unshaken core of this place shows a weird law. A conflicting antinomy, this place is shaped like the paradox…
— Yeah, this is my hell [world].
Yes, this is for sure the inner world of this demon, Keishirou thought.
In the depth of his soul, something was throbbing.
— Yo. I’m here, just like you wanted.
— What are you saying, idiot? It was you who wanted it.
— Look, there’s a shine in your eyes. Must be good, being young, you’re full of vigor. Makes me happy that you chose the right enemy to bite.
— I see a shadow of death on you, brat. Haven’t seen any who’ve survived after that.
— Shut up.
With those words Keishirou sent a dark stake flying at his opponent.
The first shot was launched as fast as it was sharp, aimed to break Sukuna’s temper. It flew straight at him, with unparalleled violence.
— Hey, hey, that’s not cool at all.
After being half-eaten mid-flight by the air around it, the stake was easily thrown aside with just fingertips, and disappeared.
— Learn a little bit. If it didn't work before, then it wouldn’t work here for sure, right?
— I told you, this is my hell [world]. Your distortions, the ones you’re so proud of, won't not work on me without any exceptions.
This heretic’s law is even more weird than it looks like. The masked god who poisoned the eastern people all this time, until the very end keeps his aloof attitude.
No wonder he made fun of the stake when it was used there. Sukuna’s origin erases every distortion aside from his own, without exceptions, and so every supernatural power there would instantly disappear.
Even after just one activation, it’s already feels like Keishirou’s eyes are boiling. And this was because that previous attack was just a waste of power.
— Come on, go all out. Even this laughable power might do something if you use it wil all your might. Think of how to use it right.
— If you keep shooting like that, you’ll run out of ammunition very soon. Isn’t it a little dumb to do something like that?
— This is our long-awaited rematch, aren’t you having fun? I'm having plenty.
— Tsk…
While clicking his tongue, Keishirou still agreed with what Sukuna was saying deep inside his mind. It wasn’t even a wish to get revenge for the past loss, it was something much deeper.
A-ah, damn annoying! Deep hatred comes boiling up from inside. The wish to break his skull and scrap his brain out with my bare hands.
For example, he knew that his previous attack would be useless even before doing it. It wasn’t a planned action, it’s just that Keishirou could not contain his anger.
— This’s the damn worst. Oi, bastard, what the hell did you do to me?
— Everything's different from usual. Some useless things are appearing at the back of my eyelids. What the hell is this?
— Are you stupid? That’s your enthusiasm for a rematch. Remember the fight you lost.
— Fuck off, I haven’t lost to the likes of you.
Again. Feels sick.
Naturally changing to a fighting posture, Keishirou felt a strange insincerity in himself. Those caustic words before — it’s like they made him feel something uncomfortable in his own words. They felt weirdly thin.
Despite all the big talking, Keishirou felt like something was off.
— Haven’t lost, huh. Well, this is fine too. For you, who was always robbed of things, talking of winning ain’t easy.
— Alright, then let’s hear your name. That’s your kind of thing, isn’t it? What was it called? The etiquette of the battlefield?
— Etiquette?
This question felt the most sacrastic.
— Ha, I don’t know anything like that. Whose words are those?
— Now, just whose were they? I forgot.
Keishirou felt like he almost lost his patience, just from the crude provocation that was followed by a laugh, despite it being cheap and obvious. Calm on the surface, but with a burning rage raising inside.
Keishirou felt something madly screaming deep inside of him. Telling him to pierce, tear, break, to return the debt.
However, he could not let himself be consumed by this anger. Keishirou knew perfectly well what would happen if he uses the rose blooming in darkness. And because he knew, he couldn't use it.
— If I was using my full power… three. No, two.
Two shots probably would be his limit.
He needed to end it in a single strike. Otherwise, his woman’s life would be the price.
And he could not let it happen. In contrast with Sukuna’s relaxed state, Keishirou, without any sound, changed in a single second.
Just one wish. To defeat this demon, and free his woman from those chains of shadow.
— What now, you've already lost it? Don’t you want to enjoy this worthless talk a bit more?
— There might be something surprising… you might learn something about yourself. Some unexpected funny things.
— I don’t wanna listen to you. You’re annoying.
Omnious darkness started to surround Keishirou when he spit this answer through the sharp canine-looking teeth.
— Out of you all, you are the worst, talking like that.
— I don’t get what you’re saying. In addition, I don’t get what exactly going on and why I’m so annoyed.
— Hey, you. To you, we look rotten, right?
— You said it. Really damn disgusting.
— That’s how it is. So for me, you’re the most disgusting.
— I just can’t calm down unless I break you with those hands.
— Are you really sure?
Suddenly, Sukuna’s expression turned emotionless, like a noh mask.
A wave of emotions filled the head of Keishirou. This existence sees right through me.
— Huh, I get is, so that’s how it is. Then, let’s try the poke the very core.
The face that was without any trace of emotions the moment before, once more changed into the mocking expression.
— Your precious thing, what it is?
In response to that question, Keishirou's entire nature violently exploded.
Changing into the beastly figure, the slim figure attacked like a violent hurricane with a dark surge. With the torrent of the dark red distortion resembling the flower petals in the night, a rose of darkness revealed itself.
There’s not a slightest sign of unseriousness in this attack. Separated from a body, the distortion is instantly erased and has no meaning. Knowing this from the first attack, this time Keishirou used all his power to strengthen himself.
Without exaggeration, this hit is enough to pierce the mountain. Rushing like a stake, a completely deadly attack.
— Whoa, now, calm down there, “big brother”.
However, the two-faced demon is unharmed.
With the same mocking face, not shaken even a little, he was holding the blades with just his fingertips. It felt like the blades were stuck in a rock.
— It’s not like I said that I’ll take it from you. You'll lose it yourself, if you keep going like that. Don’t blame me for it.
— Everything you desire always slipping through your fingers, losing all you wished for. Don’t pretend that you didn't notice it. That’s just so uncool.
— You first gotta admit it.
Even after being attacked from close range with his free hand, Sukuna still looked at Keishirou with a smile.
— You feel this weird anxiety, right? Even if you get something, it spills out. After being like that for eternity, you still hesitate to get your hands on a woman.
— You were born under such a star. You’ll be robbed of everything for all of eternity.
— You’re damn annoying, stop spouting nonsense!
Resembling a shadow stake as huge as a tree, a violent surge of strikes rose.
Piercing, penetrating, spiking, bursting. In a split second, multiple attacks were made.
There’s no doubt that each and every one of those strikes was strong enough to split the clouds, cut an ocean, and pierce a mountain.
Reflecting Keishirou’s nature, it was a waterfall of destruction.
All of those hits, naturally, had an extremely low chance to fail. Like a typhoon strong enough to destroy the whole city, with a cruelty exceeding the one of a natural disaster, that attack should’ve destroyed Sukuna’s body.
— For example, those things you use.
Despite all of that, not moving even a little, the demon kept talking after receiving a direct hit from the dark wave, seemingly feeling no pain at all.
— Shifting your misfortune to another. Even if someone close would suffer the same disaster… The true intent is pretty clear.
— “I do not need such unhappiness”. In other words, you are fed up with the curses surrounding you, not letting you accomplish anything.
— Living beside such an ultimate disaster, you're like that. Full of anger and resentment, you want to break free. That’s how you are.
— What, are you missing your precious Golden Beast so much?
There was a bit of self-deprecation in Sukuna’s words.
— Well, I guess I’m not in any place to say that.
— Tsk, heya!
Taking a chance while Sukuna’s head was bowed, with a heel covered in distortion, Keishirou landed a hit on the backside of Sukuna’s neck.
The strength of this hit was enough to break a giant tree. Even if the enemy is a Tenma, a hit such as that would certainly erase their existence…
— Ha-a, all of you are stupid. Honestly, what a worthless story. Stop talking about the past you miss so much.
— Such a thing is no longer in this world.
Sukuna hasn't moved. Strengthening his surge just a little bit, he completely erased the whole power behind Keishirou’s attack.
Amongst the Eight Great Temna, you won’t find a single one more troublesome than this. Yato aside, the others are somehow manageable.
Even if the distortion is erased, you can at least get something from using it in the first place. But here, Sukuna just destroys it.
The big trump card of victory is prohibited here.
Therefore anyone, even all of Yatsukahagi, cannot defeat Sukuna. To defeat this fiend you need to kill him without using any distortion.
— You’re the most distorted of all, bastard…
This is the nature of that person. Everything deviated from normal, painted with the weird and complicated geometric pattern.
Just like the way this hell is painted. And if you are caught into that, you will be destroyed with the artistic perfection.
— Are you not motivated? It’s irrItating to hit a scarecrow, I’m already bored.
— You've been talking to yourself all that time… aren’t you in a hurry there?
— You still don’t understand? You still don’t remember? Hey, hey, that’s cold. Well, then…
As if saying that there’s no other choice, Sukuna scratched his head.
— [It’s time to wake up, Wilhelm!]
— A-argh…!
In a second, all signs of humor disappeared from the demon’s face.
A casual hit with his fist accompanied with a strange weight behind it sent Keishirou flying while vomiting blood.
The protective shell of his distortion? Worthless, crushed like paper. Even with the damage reduced to thirty percent with the luck stealing, his internal organs and bones were crushed.
The two-faced heretical demon. Sukuna’s divine power finally started moving.
— Even after I prepared all that for you, you're still not waking up… What the hell's that? There should be a limit to disappointment.
— Hey! Hello there! You can hear me, stop pretend you're asleep. Why the fuck're you playing a good boy? It’s a good place to let go, RIGHT?!
— A-agh-a…!
His broken ribs penetrated his inner organs. Countless broken bones sticking out from his sides and back like spears.
— Do you get it now? He's not there. Your beloved, exalted Gold, and his worthless heretical mantle, they're not here anymore. You get it, right?
— So, stop already with this game of calling yourself Kyougetsu or whatever. I was born again, remembered what is love and now I'm all over that girl?
— Ah-ha, it's fucking hilarious. Such a balant lie... Come at me with your real self.
— Y-you… what are you…
— You want to continue, don't you?
In response to that question, there was surely a cry of joy inside Keishirou.
Something that's sleeping deep within. Something most pure and stern from which Kyougetsu Keishirou is made, spills out from his soul.
Fists, without a second of delay were mercelessly breaking his bones, crushing his internal organs. His restoration wasn’t fast enough. Two fists, simply breaking through the defence, kept piercing Keishirou.
Amongst all that, voice resounded.
— Alright, let’s do this. I told you that I'd join you. I also didn't like it. We're both utterly unsatisftied by being interrupted before the conclusion
— That damn trickster isn’t there anymore. It's time to let loose. There’s no more Snake to stop us.
— Why don't we all go out together in the end? Come on, snap out of it!
— A-argh...
While talking like that in a bright voice, Sukuna kept crushing Keishirou to death.
The power plundering that happened just before impacts was completely useless. Insanely high endurance and durability and even stealing the life-force of others meant nothing to Sukuna.
All the power just to not die, every bit of strength for the counterattack disappeared before noticing. Because otherwise, there would be no way to survive.
And for some reason, amongst this violent assault, the words sounded…
— You know, I’m actually trying not to hurt you too much, and I’m getting tired of it. Wake up already. I'm not feeling any challenge.
— If you don’t…
Sukuna grabbed Keishirou’s neck and crudely lifted him up.
— I’ll break this shell.
A merciless hit with his fist crushed his entrails.
— A-a-a-a-a-a-a-agh!
Blood everywhere from his bleeding arms and legs, Keishirou’s vision was colored by rage thanks to this humiliation.
Don’t screw with me, stop pretending to look cool.
This weird thought that came up felt out of place. But somehow, it felt true.
Keishirou is weaker, and Sukuna is stronger. Despite it obviously being like that, he somehow started convincing himself that he was the one who was stronger.
It’s not the strength of his spirit. It wasn’t such a baseless thing, it was just a simple fact. Kyougetsu Keishirou… The rose of the dead forest was excited for a victory.
That’s right, this was the only way to win. It was a weird feeling, but this was for sure the only way for Kyougetsu Keishirou to obtain a chance for victory.
There’s no one other than a demon who could defeat a demon.
— Hurts? It hurts, doesn't it? Come on, cry the tears of joy!
There’s no choice but to raise to the same rank as this Tenma.
— That’s right, brother… From the beginning, this was the only path.
— Please, use this soul. Sakuya was always ready for that moment.
In the ears of the Keishirou’s broken body, a beautiful voice resounded.
Below the battlefield, Sakuya offered up a prayer — a special restoration technique, soul absorption.
There was not a single visible wound, but the spirit of that woman had almost run out. The pure white skin of a body that has almost ended it’s life, as if the blood for a mistake flowed into the figure from the white wax, she resembled a red spider lily.
This is the body of the dead. The skin of the deceased. And still, holding her trembling hands together, she prays.
— I will become brother’s Kessenka [Blood Dyed Flower].
There’s no other way that let this bond forged by misfortune, this flower of blood pledged to bloom. Sakuya whispered to her beloved man, on the verge of death.
Now, it was this very moment that Kyougetsu Sakuya understood the reason why she had lived all this time.
— There is nothing to be sad about. This is just a natural thing, the natural way of things, I'm just going back to the place where I should be. This is all that can be said.
— This vessel called a body would be lost, yes. But this is not separation, instead, we'll be even closer.
— I am only to interweave with brother, to make his wings whole. This soul was always a cornerstone for the immortality.
— Why am I not a thing that belongs to brother? I no longer need to think about it.
Touching is not enough, embracing is not enough, making love is not enough — she was so happy that she was losing her mind, and yet, it was not enough. It is still too far away, thought Sakuya.
If there’s loneliness even when they’re connected, then there’s only one place left. Sakuya’s wish pierced Keishirou’s broken ears.
— I want to be brother’s Sakuya forever.
— I won't let anyone torment you. I won’t allow anyone to raise a hand on you. Even if we cannot touch each other, it just means that we'll never be separated again.
With that, she offered her life as a sacrifice.
The complete form of a selflessly devoted love, gentle yet endlessly fierce. The fusion of a maternity and love reached the fighting man.
— So, please, take it. Frightening brother… dear brother.
— I beg you, make me bloom…
The pulsating voice of this soul reached the blood-covered Keishirou.
— Kh-ha. Ha-ha. That’s right, certainly.
Then, that’s it. There’s already no other way.
No, let’s start this way then. With the crushed body and pieces of meat that vaguely reminded of his original appearance, Keishirou stood up wiping the blood from his lips.
Blood dipping from his canine-like teeth made him look very demon-like.
— I’m not going to lose, and I don’t care if you’re ready or not.
— Well said, Sakuya. I will answer you now. That dream… I will fulfill it.
His belly decided. The one whom Sakuya’s prayer has reched was not the bewitched man.
— Yeah, that’s it. You’ve finally noticed.
Sukuna, looking happy, glared at the rising Keishirou.
An explosive conflict of two man with boiling blood. While the dark surge raised before his eyes, Sukuna watched with a broad smile. This was the real beginning.
— That's the right answer. You have no other ways to win, albino bastard.
— How it was, again? The phoenix that flies in the night? The blood-sucking demon who steal lives, the endless night, ha-ha-ha! It feels so nostalgic.
The rising, crude nostalgic words bore a key to reality.
Back, further, and further. Even before birth, before this current world, to grasp his original self.
The shade around Keishirou flickered, and along with his body, it started to corrode the air around. Dark germs pulsating as if they were a separate life-form made from blood appeared.
Little by little, little by little. At the price of a beloved woman, the domain of the night began to spread.
— H-ha-ha.
— Ah-ha-ha. Yeah, that’s right.
I wish for the night to never end.
Even through the dizziness of liberation, the laugh still comes out by itself.
I will go. I will return. Through the transmigration of a soul, my whole existence. A moment before he was still himself, but now, more than anything, he felt the love for the darkness.
In this second, finally.
— Wither to ashes, O my love.
Remembering the magic words.
— May the world behold your remains.
With words most suited to Keishirou, the greatest cure was brought back.
Before and now. Overlapping with a dead person’s soul, his whole body took the form of an unholy stake.
He could hear the pleasant blessing sound. The image of a bloody fountain in the center of a garden full of red roses revives the pleasant feeling of the first craving.
A single woman stands in that crimson paradise.
In a worn-out cloth, happily smiling, a young and beautiful girl.
Pouring lust into the delusion — exposing a pitifully broken, ephemeral appearence.
And somehow, extremely irritating.
The regression [transformation] goes on. From inside Keishirou, another person’s breath beging to rise. The pulsation of awakening comes close.
Therefore, this time, completely breaking his self, following the way to Hades, it comes back to bloom once again.
That’s right. To bloom. This omnisously beautiful, blooming in the darkness, Kessenka.
— Brother...
The price is just her alone.
By sacrificing Kyougetsu Sakuya, demon of the rose would rise again.
— Now, I’m coming to your side.
— From this moment… forever, we'll never be separated again.
— Taikyoku.
With that trigger, Keishirou’s soul returned to it’s origins…
— ...ugh…
On the verge of that...
— Let… me... go…
A scene dyed in red flashed in his mind.
— Don’t mess with me-e-e-e-e!
The surfacing phantom of someone, this man trampled with all his might.
Shaking off the evil darkness enveloping him, scattering away the whole resurrecting surge, Keishirou yelled.
— …
— Ha-a… Ha-a-a-a...
— Don’t... mess with me.
— Don’t mess with me! Go back, you bastard, you’re in the way.
Breathing heavily, with his shoulders trembling from fatigue, Keishirou spit out his words.
In the abyss of his soul, the white-haired phantom was astonished. Along with the bloodstained woman, he could not believe what had happened.
Sakuya, who stopped her prayer, and Sukuna, both stared at Keishirou who abandoned his distortion, as if he was some unknown monster.
He was going to betray this excitement inside him. The desire for conflict, for blood from his very bones, a cry of joy from devouring his loved woman.
This shout, rising from inside him, promising to turn his defeat into victory…
— Shut up, who the hell are you?!
Keishirou arrogantly answered.
— Phoenix of darkness? Vampire? What the hell is this, I've never heard of it, I don’t care!
— That’s right… that's the first time I've heard it. My name's never been pronounced with that accent.
— From my very birth, I don’t remember a single time I've been called by that worthlessly long foreign name!
Because he is different. That’s what his oath was.
— I am…
Even if it means getting rid of the unnatural power supporting him.
— I! Am!
Even if it means forever throwing away everything he was until that moment.
— My name is!
To not lose the one and only thing important to his present self.
— Keishirou! Kyougetsu Keishirou! This is my one and only truth!
Not hesitating a single bit, he exclaimed his name with pride, without any regrets.
Because the compensation for that power was...
...the life of the woman that Keishirou loved.
- That’s right… I’m different.
— I'm different from you. Absolutely different. I’m not a demon that devours the life of his beloved woman and laughs happily afterwards.
— I’m not a completely empty bastard who only divides things based on what he can or cannot break.
— Disappear, phantom! My, no, our souls are not some remains for you to use as you like!
With the wave of wrath, the legacy of the past disappeared.
There was no agony in that death. Something violent and prideful inside the Keishirou’s soul just disappeared like it was never there.
The distortion that enveloped his body and was making him stronger — disappeared. It felt like some great cavity appeared in his chest. The false power that supported him all that time was broken.
This was the rejection of Shuradou — and liberation from Tengu Dou.
A soul that does not belong anywhere, now had nowhere to go. Keishirou became just a simple human, fragile, alone, and without god’s protection.
He had only himself to rely on now.
It should’ve been an unbearbale pain for Keishirou, and yet…
— He's himself, and I'm me. We have nothing do with each other, and it’s fine like that.
— Isn’t that right, Sakuya?
Somehow, his mind was calm. And there was no need to name the reason.
— Ha, ha-ha-ha.
— Got out, huh. Just like that, hah-ha. Out of them all, you… ah-ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha!
— A-ah, and just when I thought that we’d finally met again... My hands are shaking. You've got some nerve.
— I’ll praise you: you truly are the greatest idiot!
With these words, Sukuna started slowly going forward.
His whole body radiated anger while he approached Keishirou, cracking his fists. And Keishirou understood how much pain and power those fists had in them.
Without his evil armor, he knew perfectly well that his body would tear just like rotten rope.
— You think I’ll step back?
And still, no matter how terrifying it sounded, he could not afford to lose.
For the first time, for the very first time since he was born, Keishirou desired victory with all his nature. He wanted to survive.
Instead of blindly believing in his own victory, as if it was natural, he wanted to win and to survive, to protect until the end. Not because of some narcissism, but because he made a decicion that he could not let Sakuya be sad.
His legs were trembling, and his breathing was disordered. Keishirou glared at his enemy, collecting all his spirit to oppose him, thinking of the person he needed to protect.
His own figure, unsightly, and without any powers. Smiling with a bitter self-scorn, as if mocking himself.
I won't let this demon have my woman. With only this thought supporting him…
— H-e-e-e-e-e-eya!
Throwing away his broken weapon, Keishirou rushed forward with just his bare hands.
Even after seeing his suicide attack, Sukuna still mercilessly moved forward…
— Well then, good-bye.
At the same time, two fists flew through the air.
Fists flew through the air. The fists of two men, bearing their whole power, crossed each other.
On one side, a simple human. On the other, the Great Tenma of Yatsukahagi. The result of this fight should’ve be decided in a single strike.
But it was still possible to land a single hit. As if hearing the scream of his woman in the distance, Keishirou put all of his might in that attack.
And…
— Agh..ha…
— Gh..ha?
There was a scene completely opposite of what anyone could’ve imagine.
Shocked, Keishirou looked at his hand. The feeling of hitting someone still remained here.
— This…
Keishirou could not believe that Sukuna staggered back from his hit, obviously in pain.
In that figure, wiping the blood from his mouth, Keishirou could not feel any god-like majesty.
Yes, it disappeared. The pressure of Sukuna’s soul was not there anymore.
The supernatural power that could crush Keishirou with a single glance, was disappearing like a mist.
— Hey… hey, wait, what the hell. Are you underestimating me?
— Don’t start cutting corners when we’re that far. What is this, are you trying to be considerate? Who the hell asked you to, are you going to make fun of me until the end?!
— Ha-ha, iiiiidiot. I’m not messing with you.
— This is my full, absolute power. Ha-ha, that was a nice hit. Worked really well.
— What the hell?
His mind didn't seem to be able to keep up with those events. Despite getting weaker, Sukuna looked happy.
For Keishirou, this was complete nonsense. However…
— Hey, hey, don’t space out now!
— G-h-ha, you bastard!
From the straight hit in a jaw, Keishirou’s will to fight blazed again.
Forgetting that his whole body below the neck was broken, he burrowed his knee into Sukuna’s side.
— K-ha-ha! Not bad!
It worked just as it should. Skin that felt like diamond before, was now just simple flesh.
— Alright then, clench your teeth now!
— K-h-h...gh-ha…
Just like before, a backhand that hit the side of his head with the strength of a normal human filled Keishirou’s body with pain.
Still being suspicious of what was happening, Keishirou didn't stop. Reminded of a fight like this in the past, screaming, breaking fists, legs, elbows, knees, and hitting foreheads.
From this point, it was just a brawl.
Bringing out their full strenght, staggering, yelling at each other.
There’s not skill or strategy, it's simply a stubborn fight. Trying to grab the opponent, collecting all oftheir power for a single hit.
With each hit skin ripped, and blood flowed. But compared to the fight before, all of that damage was overwhelmingly small. It was no longer a fight of demons, just a brawl between two simple humans.
— What the hell is this, what happened to you?!
That’s what Keishirou could not understand. He could not understand the reason why Sukuna now possessed a fraction of his former strength.
— Ha, what, you don’t get it? But you know, for me it’s completely normal.
With a warped expression, Keishirou’s opponent laughed. Not stopping the fight, Sukuna answered with a smile that had no tones of mockery in it.
— Normal? For you it’s normal to mock your enemy like that?
— No way, it’s not that. My carving distortion [wish] was like that in the first place. My craving, from the depth of my heart. Anyway, the secret is very simple.
— I'll never acknowledge someone who's not really alive.
— Because I hate those who rely on gods.
— This guy, until now, was still holding onto his pride. Eh, anyway, that’s annoying, so, basically…
— Honest fights like this are my hobby!
Sukuna’s kick blew air out of Keishirou’s lungs, but the pain only cleared his thoughts.
God, in other words, something overwhelmingly more powerful than you. And here, he proclaimed his rejection of that.
— I see.. That’s what…you are...
— Rejection of the divine...so you’re thinking that the desired effect is to calm the wild deceased souls?
— You think I’ll lose to some self-centred distortion of a curse like yours? My mental image is magnificent? What the hell are you talking about, are you drunk?!
The revealed truth is very ironic.
Even if you have no choice but to rely on distortion in those lands, with that distortion, you cannot win versus Sukuna. No matter how strong the distortion, it would be still scattered away. This existence, is the very embodiment of inequality.
And so...no, and that’s why...
— The only one who can kill me is a “Human”.
No matter how absolute the power one clings to, the only person who can defeat Sukuna is one who stands on his own legs.
A craving born from hunger. And, if the conditions are met, the demon also becomes part of it.
— What’s with that, god’s puppets, toys… worthless, are we all just supporting roles? Can’t you write your story yourself?
— That’s why I'll never be killed by his cells. That’s right. Humans are not like that. Even in the most unbearable reality, still standing on their own legs, with pride in their chests.
— You know, I was always weak for those types… They're just too dazzling, charming, and irresistable.
And so, now, Sukuna narrowed his eyes looking at something dazzling, something he has never seen before.
— That’s cool, isn’t it, Kyougetsu Keishirou?
— Right now, I can clearly see you. It looks really good. A real man’s face.
— Well… it's still not as good as mine.
— ...
Keishirou lost all his words hearing that.
And it was, surely, because this was the first moment that someone from this land acknowledged his name.
— Ha-a...
Overcoming the weird feeling, Keishirou answered.
— I’m really amazed now. You’re seriously trying to make fun of me. Your brain's fried or what?
— What’s up with you, boasting your warped contradictory aesthetic sense?
— I won’t deny it. Tastes are like that, aren’t they?
A-ah, yes, it’s like that. Always wishing for something you don’t have.
Somehow, the atmosphere relaxed a bit. And then tensed up again when two opponents looked at each other again.
— So, let’s continue now. From this point, for real.
— Without distortion or blades. If you’re a real man, you have to settle it with your fists!
— K-ha, stop joking around, you bastard. Just die already, from that which fascinates you so much!
Yells resounded in the hell without demons. Just two ruffians fought there.
— Yeah, that’s right… even if you’re tired, even if you’re thirsting, that’s fine!
While hitting, while being hit, Sukuna shouted.
As if trying to convey something. And is if trying to entrust something very important. He kept spitting out his thoughts from deep inside.
— Living when everything you eat and everything you drink is still not enough. But you know, that’s alright! Naive!
— Bowing your head to gods, getting some mysterious power, and thinking that you’re so awesome because of that? Are you fucking kidding me, have you got no guts at all? I’ll fucking cut your balls off!
Moments that cannot become phantasms are beautiful.
Sukuna loudly praised that way of life.
— You understand, right? The way you are, you'll surely understand what I’m saying.
— Shut it! How the hell would I understand? You’re spouting nonsense!
— I just have baggage that I cannot let some demon like you to destroy.
— That’s right… I have my hands full there, you know!
He can only rely on himself. For Keishirou, who just noticed it, it was surprisingly heavy.
And yet he had to endure it, to protect the woman he held dear.
— Ha-ha-ha, that’s great. A woman? Rejoice. That type of thing makes you really strong. It reminds me of that big idiot.
— Like I told you, you bastard, stop comparing me to someone else!
— I told you. I am me, even if I look the same as some coward you knew...
— Agh-h-h...
Keishirou’s insult was cut short by Sukuna’s fist.
— My bad. But that’s forbidden, “big brother”.
— Coward? You’re getting a bit ahead of yourself. Don’t bother him more than what's needed. I bet it’s painful enough for him already.
— Ha, what’s wrong? Don’t like when people make fun of your old friends?
— Yeah, that’s right. Ha, even though you used to be so honest and straight, you’ve really came a long way.
— At this point I’m really worried, you know. Ignoring me, at least be honest to the person you love. Learn how to show your real virtue.
— Get over that already! With that know-it-all tone of yours...
He clenched his fist so hard that his bones cracked.
— You’re damn annoying!
A fist came crushing Sukuna’s face like a hammer.
Keishirou lost track of time for how long they were fighting.
Minutes, hours. The fight seemed to go on forever, without anything to stop it.
Bones broken one by one and their skin full of heavy bruises. However, still not wanting to admit defeat, the two men continued their fight.
— Ha-ha... Ha-ha-ha-ha...
— More… go all out, you shitty brat!
And all that time, Sukuna laughed.
Even after being hit, even in a bad spot, his smile still remained. It might’ve been because he was satisfied with what was happening. He was enjoying this simple and primitive fight.
It was as if that duel of souls healed his old wounds.
— Kh-h-a, hor-r-ra!
And so, the balance started to lean towards the side that pursued victory.
Ten hits, eleven hits. Twelve hits, thirteen hits. With something he had to protect, with that absolute resolution to win, Keishirou pushed forward.
I want to have a family. With that small and empty-looking dream he was able to stand his ground.
Refusing to fall no matter how many times he was kicked. A resolve to not collapse, to not lose.
For the first time in his life, Keishirou fought for someone else’s sake.
— Ha...Ha...H-h-haa...
— ...
Vomiting blood, not even being able to clench a fist — surely, a laughable appearance.
Awkward, shabby, totally not like the figure of a hero someone might imagine.
Surely not graceful or strong, caught in a vain struggle, and yet...
— H-ha-a...
He understood fealings. Understood others. Understood his own state.
And still he could not afford to lose against this irrational demon.
— Ha, damn, I got hit...
Receiving a mind-shattering hit, Sukuna faintly muttered.
— After all, humans are great...
In front of this complete human, the power of this demon, who was so far from his own ideals, faded.
He smiled with a fulfilled expression. Clenching his fist, looking at the opponent.
— U-o-o-o-o-o-a-a-a-a!
And a completely normal strike hit Sukuna’s face.
It was embarrassingly unrefined. But somehow manly and refreshing. Being completely defeated, demon of pleasure fell to his knees.
— K-h-ha, tch...
— H-ha-ha, aren’t you looing good, man...
— Ha-ha, back at you.
Both of their faces were full of scratches and bruises, and Sukuna easily turned around Keishirou’s winning ridicule.
Because of how normal everything was, Keishirou obviously felt suspicious.
— Something stinks. Are you really dying? Somehow, I don’t feel like I won.
— What’s wrong with aiming at victory in the last moment… I also have pride, you know.
— But anyway, if you’re still in doubt, look around. It’s already collapsing.
Just as he said, Sukuna’s hell started to become thin. Just like drops of water, it started to evaporate.
— So, that’s it. It’s time for me to go.
— Everything dies like that… and so, I also...
— What, you don’t like something?
— Wrong. In the end, I always get what I want. And now, at the end, I got what I wanted again.
— Victory and death are different things, you know? A-ah, anyway, we don’t have time for that.
After looking at this own evaporating body, Sukuna switched his gaze back at Keishirou.
All signs of ridicule disappered from his face. And his eyes looked very serious.
— Alright, listen carefully now. You're the keystone for everything.
Until the end, Keishirou could not understand what Sukuna was saying.
— In this world, it was guaranteed that there would be a rivalry like mine with that idiot. And the result would be the same. After all, the signs are already there.
— But that alone is not enough. Breaking it is just the first step. And if by some mistake it ends up being a mutual destruction, the only thing that would be left is a blank sheet of paper without any color.
Stopping for a second there, Sukuna continued with a sudden evil-looking smile.
— So, you make it. And show them all.
— Just how great the power of humans is.
— Until the very end, you are damn drunk.
— I’m saying all that exactly because I’m sober.
Completely unfit for those lands, Sukuna’s smile became very clear and transparent.
It was by no means the expression of the defeated. It looked like the appropriate face for a man who had struggled for a victory, and achieved it in the end.
Gently closing his eyes, Sukuna looked at the sky that was breaking along with him.
— [Well, let’s go then, Ellie. We shouldn’t make them wait.]
— [Anyway, come on, Ren, don’t be so gloomy. Believe in me. I'm telling you, it’ll work out in the end.]
— Cry as much as you want. And one day, when you get tired of crying...
At that day, at this place. Embraced by the nostalgic Twilight that we’ve won together.
— Let's hang out with those familiar faces again someday.
With those words echoing only in himself, One of Great Tenma, Sukuna, faded into the pale light.