…Ryomen Sukuna could not comprehend the bizarre phenomenon occurring to him.
‘What on earth just happened?’
He had only just begun his true slaughter. He knew that human wretch possessed an extraordinary power beyond the other insects. He had seen it with his own eyes—how he had carved a path through the horde of yokai, advancing toward him.
And yet, he had chosen not to act, because he was certain that thing posed no threat to him.
It had been mere amusement.
After being sealed away for so long, Ryomen Sukuna had been drowning in overwhelming boredom.
From the very moment he reappeared in this world, he knew—at least within this forest—there was no one who could threaten him.
As an existence born solely for the annihilation of humanity, such a mundane reality was excruciatingly dull.
And yet…
‘Why am I like this?’
Ryomen Sukuna desperately attempted to restore his body, which had been torn apart into countless pieces. Ordinarily, he would have reformed into his original shape in an instant, but for some reason, his body refused to obey.
Something was wrong.
This had never happened before.
From his severed flesh, bubbles of energy boiled up.
Bubble, bubble.
Dark, smoke-like matter gathered together, only to immediately dissipate into mist. Unfathomable forces seeped into his entire body, gnawing away at him endlessly.
An agony he had never felt before engulfed him.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
It hurts.
He couldn’t understand.
He was a king.
He was born to kill humans.
To take revenge on the parents who abandoned him.
To take revenge on the cult leader who sought to use him as a tool.
[…]
Then what was this emotion?
What was this feeling supposed to be?
…Was he—
Was he truly feeling fear toward a mere human?
Lee Taeseong gazed down at Ryomen Sukuna, who now wriggled pathetically like an insect, torn to shreds. His crimson eyes gleamed ominously, like the final sun at the end of the world.
[…]
[This is strange. This isn’t possible. You are human. Yes, you are a wretched human… and I was created to eradicate you wretches. Yet, am I… feeling fear toward you? That is impossible. Something is wrong. Right, brother? No, that’s not right, is it? Hm? Ah… I see now. I am still incomplete.]
An existence created to curse this world.
[So that’s why.]
A living testament to the cruelty of humankind.
The most fearsome yokai who had survived a hundred years in the chamber of solitude known as the sealed jar.
But within that chamber, one had not survived—two had.
Which meant that solitude had never been truly fulfilled. The true completion of the solitude curse required that a single survivor be chosen in the end.
[To be complete, I must consume my brother. We were always incomplete from the very beginning. Rejoice, brother. I will make you—no, us—perfect.]
Crunch. Crack.
Chew. Chew.
Gulp.
The conjoined twins had finally become one.
Born into a single body, yet possessing two egos, the accursed brothers had at last become whole.
The curse of solitude, cast for centuries, had finally reached its conclusion. The younger brother, having devoured his elder, felt an intoxicating bliss unlike anything he had ever consumed before. A rush of delight, omnipotence, and utter fulfillment.
[We are now complete.]
The severed flesh of Sukuna slithered across the ground.
The writhing, crawling chunks of flesh fused together into a single mass, gradually taking form.
The newly reborn Sukuna bore the image of an angel descending to pass judgment upon the earth.
But there were a few… distinct differences.
Two horns extended out from his head.
From his toes to his skull, countless eyes were embedded into his skin.
The pristine white wings on his back were lined with an unnatural network of veins and bristling with rows of grotesque teeth.
[From this day forward, every last human in this world shall vanish.]
The declaration of the end.
Now that he had consumed his twin and fully ascended into a pure incarnation of curse, Ryomen Sukuna reaffirmed his purpose.
The moment he left this forest, he would erase all humans from the face of the earth.
Much time had passed, but the cult leader’s goal—to turn him into an ultimate force of solitude—had at last been achieved.
Calamity had arrived.
And the moment his presence manifested, every living being in the forest prostrated themselves.
Yokai, humans, beasts—without exception, all fell to the ground.
It was not a matter of force.
They moved of their own will, compelled purely by instinct.
“@#%§@#%^(Calamity has come).”
“@$!%¿#$^♬!(The end is near).”
“¿@@@!?¿?(Worship him).”
Their broken murmurs, a jumbled sound of incomprehensible tongues, resounded throughout the forest.
A anthem of death.
A requiem for the apocalypse.
It was enough to convince any witness that the world was truly about to end.
Among the chaos, only one man remained standing—watching it all.
Lee Taeseong.
With his searing gaze fixed on the ‘judge’ before him, he stood unshaken.
Ryomen Sukuna found this incomprehensible.
Why was that human able to face him without a shred of fear?
Great yokai who had lived for centuries, monsters who had transcended their species’ limits—every last being in this forest bowed before him in reverence.
[And yet, why… are you unaffected? Do you not fear me?]
A pure question.
Even Ryomen Sukuna, who had now shed the veil of mortal existence, could not answer this mystery.
He was omnipotent.
If he so much as waved his hand, he could erase that man’s very essence from existence.
He was certain of it.
And yet…
‘Why does he still look at me like that?’
Lee Taeseong spoke, his expression calm.
“Why don’t I fear you?”
[Yes. Do you not understand the gap in our power? Are you still clinging to delusions of hope? Then abandon them now. You will not leave this place alive. Your parents, your siblings, your children—every human you have ever loved will be erased from this world today.]
“I don’t need to fear you.”
[…]
[……?]
“Why should I be afraid of a mere mass of grudges?”
[Has he lost his mind in fear…?]
“Did you ask if I couldn’t sense the difference in strength? Impossible. I was thrown into this damned world and spent half my life struggling to return home. I stole lives to survive, devoured memories, consumed power. I’ve lived as the weakest of the weak—do you think I wouldn’t be able to tell?”
Ryomen Sukuna stared at Lee Taeseong with an empty gaze.
[…]
…How utterly dull.
So, in the end, this human was merely pretending to be composed. Was he desperately holding back his fear all along?
Unfortunately, Sukuna no longer found any interest in conversing with Lee Taeseong. Knowing now that he was just another insect, paralyzed by terror and unable to think rationally, further conversation was pointless.
Having lost all amusement, Sukuna decided it was time to kill Taeseong and leave this forest to slaughter every human one by one. He flapped his wings.
Then, Taeseong spoke.
“There’s no need for that.”
[…Our conversation is meaningless now. Die.]
“It’s not I who doesn’t understand the gap in power—it’s you.”
The moment he finished speaking, Lee Taeseong swung his sword toward the sky.
The blade, carrying no visible energy, carved through the air with flawless precision.
A single, unwavering slash.
…
And yet, nothing happened.
The sword merely cut through empty space, its curve seemingly meaningless.
Ryomen Sukuna, watching the scene, sneered.
[What are you doing? Your blade can no longer reach me.]
He acknowledged that this human was exceptional. If he hadn’t attained his final realization, this man might have posed a real threat.
Yes. Among all the humans he had ever encountered, this one was the strongest.
He admitted it.
But it no longer mattered.
Now that he had awakened, no human in this world could challenge him.
Omnipotence.
[Behold—this absolute power.]
Sukuna slowly raised his hand. With just a casual motion, he now possessed the ability to slice through entire spaces. Not merely sending out invisible slashes, but severing space itself. Blocking was impossible. Dodging, a futile effort.
And yet—
Sukuna, hand still raised, found himself frozen, staring blankly at the sky.
Though he hadn’t looked at Taeseong, he somehow knew.
The man was smiling.
“Are you afraid?”
The sky, once covered in murky energy, had inexplicably cleared.
Cloudless and pristine, an unmistakable rift had been carved into the very heavens, staring down at Sukuna like a great, unblinking eye.
Lee Taeseong’s blade had cleaved not just the sky, but space itself.
Through the rift, an abyss of utter darkness stretched endlessly.
And then—
Beyond the event horizon, countless specks of light flickered into existence, blinking in unison like a grand, celestial symphony.
Staring at this overwhelming brilliance, Sukuna gasped.
He finally understood what those lights were.
The eternal cycle of birth and death.
Stars.
Planets.
What he was seeing—
Was the cosmos.
Indeed.
Through that rift, he was glimpsing a fragment of the universe itself.
And the moment he realized this, his vision snapped back to reality.
[…]
Just moments ago, he had believed himself to be omnipotent.
Now, he felt as insignificant as an ant.
He had seen a new world.
And in recognizing its vastness, he grasped how truly small he was.
Staring at the heavens, Ryomen Sukuna muttered softly.
By now, shadows had already consumed half of Aokigahara Forest.
[…The insect was me.]
A colossal presence filled the sky.
It had emerged from the rift.
Something beyond comprehension loomed over Sukuna.
[Why… are you wearing the shell of a human?]
That was the last thing Ryomen Sukuna ever said.
KWAANG!
The moment ‘it’ descended, Sukuna was erased—reduced to mere particles.
The aftermath obliterated two-thirds of Aokigahara Forest without a trace.
Sukuna had mistaken ‘it’ for an incomprehensible entity due to its sheer enormity.
But in truth—
It was not a living being.
It was merely the front paw of some great beast.
