Chapter 49: NO. 49 - Sukuna vs. Overhaul, Round 2

Chapter 49: NO. 49 - Sukuna vs. Overhaul, Round 2

"Dismantle."

The incoming wave of spikes instantly crumbled into thousands of tiny cubes as my invisible attack sliced through the air. My attack had also cut through the sides of the buildings around us. Off down the street, Overhaul stood in bewilderment as his golden eyes stared into my own.

[+65 SP]

[+35 SP]

[+15 SP]

[+45 SP]

[+55 SP]

"It can't be... you're alive?"

"Yup. Still alive and kicking." I grinned at the six-armed man and waved my newly healed right arm. "I even grew myself a new arm. Pretty neat, ain't it?"

[+35 SP]

"Impossible." Overhaul glared at me as he scanned my body. "How is this possible? Do you have some healing Quirk as well?!"

"Nope. It's called the Reverse Cursed Technique!" I motioned to my healed body, then pointed at my head with a crazed smile. "You should have chopped my head off or broken me down. Now, you're going to lose, Chisaki."

[+50 SP]

"I'm going to lose?" Chisaki looked offended at my use of his name and began walking toward me. "No, I'm going to obliterate you until there's not even a single atom of you left!"

Behind me, Himiko and Jin looked at me in shock and joy while Kaina stood in disbelief. Eri, who wasn't familiar with me, just stared at my back with surprise. Around Kaina's shoulders, Zaiko looked at me with relieved, derpy eyes. "Is that... really you, Sukuna-kun?" Himiko asked in a small, scared voice. As if afraid, she was currently hallucinating what she was seeing.

"It can't be," Kaina muttered as Jin rubbed his eyes. "I saw your body with my own eyes. You were dead!"

"S-Souta?" Jin asked.

"Yup, It's me. Sorry about that little scare back there." I said without turning around, my focus aimed at Chisaki. I swiped my hand behind me and sent a Dismantle at the large wall behind the four. My attack swiftly shattered the concrete wall into pieces, leaving them all room to escape unimpeded. "Now, you all need to get out of here. I'll handle things from here."

[+25 SP]

[+55 SP]

[+36 SP]

[+50 SP]

"You can't," Eri said as she made Kaina place her on the ground. Turning back, I looked at the small, scared girl with a tender smile. I had to struggle to hold my manic grin away so I wouldn't unsettle Eri. "He's too strong! You'll die! This is enough... I'll go back to him. I don't want any of you to die. Not for... someone like me."

"The girls, right," Chisaki said as he continued walking towards us. "Give her back, and I'll consider showing you all a modicum of merc-"

Slice!

Suddenly, the bottom half of Chisaki's body was cut in half.

With no lower body support, the Head of the Shie Hassaikai fell onto the ground in shock. Blood and organs splashing below him. The man gasped in pain as he looked down at his sliced body.

"Be quiet, trash." I ignored Chisaki and walked over to Eri. Kneeling down beside her and Kaina, I placed a comforting hand on Eri's head. "It's okay, Eri. I'm not going to die. We all came here to save you, which means we won't stop until you're safe and sound. Now, big sis Kaina here is going to take you somewhere safe, okay?"

"But-"

"No buts!" I smiled and brushed her uncombed hair back with a grin. Compelling the girl to look up at me with large, hopeful eyes. "Just leave this to your big brother, Souta!"

[+30 SP]

Rising up, I looked over to Kaina's expression and saw that she was in a state of disbelief and doubt. Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder. Cementing the fact that I was indeed standing in front of her. "It's really me. Sorry about the scare back then. But right now isn't really the time for explanations." I turned back to watch as Chisaki finished restoring his lower body. "You all need to get out of here. Now."

[+15 SP]

"...okay." Kaina nodded and placed a hand over my own. "I'll hold you to that."

"We won't!" Himiko yelled as tears ran down her face. "I won't just leave you here to die! I can't... I can't go through that again."

Smiling at the blonde, I walked over to her and hugged her. "I'm sorry about scaring you, Himiko. But trust me, I won't lose. I'll never lose again."

Turning to Jin, I grinned at him before placing a finger on Himiko's forehead, much to her confusion. Using precise curse energy control, I painlessly knocked her out. Sliding my arms under her slumbering body, I handed her off to Jin, who struggled to carry her over his shoulder despite his broken arm.

"Don't worry, bro. I got this."

[+40 SP]

Jin stared at my face for several seconds before nodding. "Okay. You better win, then. Otherwise, Toga-chan will bring you back just so she can kill you herself."

"Don't worry, I know." I nodded as I walked away from the four of them.

With nothing more to be said, Kaina picked Eri up, and the four of them began speeding down the street. As they fled, Chisaki and I restarted our little staring contest before I gave the man a grin.

"Sorry about the hold-up. That was really considerate of you to give my friends and me time to talk."

Chisaki glowered at me as he flexed his arms. "Consider it a parting gift. Once I'm done with you, I'll find them and kill them all before taking Eri back."

"Is that so?" I rubbed the back of my head and gave him an amused look. "Well then, let's get started. Shall we?"

Dashing toward him, I slammed a fist straight into his stomach with incredible power. Chisaki's eyes bulged out of his head as he flew back through one of the buildings behind him with a loud crack. Sending rubble and dust all around him.

Woah! That wasn't even a full-powered strike!

Though out of consideration for the still occupied homes, businesses, and schools in the distance. I restrained the effect to a 100-meter radius limited to the surface.

As soon as my Domain appeared, thousands upon thousands of nonstop Cleaves and Dismantles ripped Chisaki, and everything caught within the Domain's 100-meter radius into pieces, slices, chunks, and ribbons. All up to the point, nothing remained.

As I watched the relentless destruction with my hands pressed together, I laughed as Chisaki continued to rebuild himself after being torn to shreds in a repeating cycle of pain and violence.

The reason his body had managed to hold out for so long was that I was restricting the output of my Domain where he stood. Ensuring he would get caught in a nonstop cycle of pain and agony.

[...]

[+50 SP]

[+90 SP]

[+120 SP]

[+145 SP]

[...]

Hooh... look at all those points.

Chisaki screamed a silent scream as his mind was all but shattered at this point. It was only due to his body's biological need to survive that he continued to rebuild himself again and again unconsciously.

"Not bad, Chisaki," I said as I released the hand sign and made several pacts with myself to ensure the effects of my next move were similar to the real Sukuna's. Holding my hands in front of me, I watched with a grin as powerful flames sprang to life all around me. Scorching and liquefying my surroundings in their intense heat.

"This may be overkill... but I don't care. I want to watch it all burn."

Holding my hands out, I collected my flames into a large flaming arrow at my side. Due to the effects of my flames, everything within the Domain began to heat up and burn to extreme levels. Melting and distorting solid steel and rock into liquid.

Raising my fire arrow, I aimed at Chisaki's repeatedly rebuilding body, which had been reduced to his normal human state due to all the lost biomass.

"...Open."

x x x

[General POV]

"What the hell is going on over there?!"

"I don't know! Let's hurry!"

Dashing through the streets, several pro heroes who had answered the police calls for help dashed as fast as they could down the abandoned city streets. As they all ran, the loud sounds of destruction and explosions resounded out in front of them. The nonstop tremors that rocked the ground below them caused them to struggle to remain on their feet.

"Hey... what the hell is that?" One of the heroes, a woman with sea-green hair that reaches just past her shoulders and a short fringe with splayed ends held down by an orange bandanna, said with wide eyes. This was the Pro Hero, Fukukado Emi, otherwise known as Ms. Joke.

At her remark, all the assembled heroes paused and gazed up at the sky as orange and red light spread across the horizon. Suddenly, the distant ruins of the destroyed city several meters ahead ignited in bright, scalding flames, followed by a massive pillar of fire that shot up into the heavens. Simultaneously, a powerful tremor shook the ground around them as if a mighty earthquake had struck, sending them all sprawling to the ground.

Burning streams of fire danced around the pillar of flames as if celebrating its very creation. The pro heroes could do nothing but watch in frozen terror until the divine pillar slowly faded, leaving behind several columns of dark smoke in its destructive wake.

"...l-lets go! S-someone might need help!" It was only due to her many years as a pro that Ms. Joke was able to break out of her stupor. Despite her shaking legs, she forced herself to run forward.

Seeing Ms. Joke move, the rest of the heroes nodded shakily and followed after her. Running as fast as they could, the heroes all quickly reached the source of the flames.

"...h-hey?" One of the heroes, a man dressed in a yellow and black costume, muttered. "W-wasn't there... several buildings right here?"

No one had the courage to respond as the heroes looked around the expansive, empty area in front of them.

There was nothing left within the 100-meter lot of space. Nothing but charred rock and bellowing pillars of smoke. Off in the background, ruined buildings lay in tatters with long cut-like gouges strewn across their surfaces. The level of destruction was on a completely different scale that no one present had ever seen outside a natural disaster. It wasn't far off to say that the scene before the heroes resembled that of an apocalyptic war zone.

"Hold on!" Ms. Joke yelled as she spotted a figure somehow standing in the center of the destruction. "You there! Are you okay?!"

Standing behind several pillars of smoke, a shirtless figure turned to them with a grin. Due to the distance, the pros weren't able to make out any details other than the white, bloody, baggy martial arts pants and the several black tattoos covering his body.

"...hold on, tattoos? Isn't that!?" A hero dressed as a firefighter, sporting a long yellow jacket with high-visibility lines running down the center along his sleeve cuffs, hem, and high collar, as well as a red fireman hat said. This was the pro hero, Backdraft. "Is that... Sukuna!?"

At his statement, the far-off figure grinned and turned around. Seeing Sukuna trying to escape, all the pro heroes moved in.

"Stop him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

"Hold it right there!"

As fast as they could, they all reached Sukuna's position. However, when they arrived, they quickly found that no one was there. Looking around in a panic, they all searched for the man they suspected to be responsible for the catastrophic attack.

"Find him! Don't let him get away!" Backdraft yelled as he searched everywhere, but the pillars of smoke made it hard to see anything within the radius of the destruction. "Come back here, you Villian!"

Off above a rooftop several dozen meters away, Sukuna watched the heroes run around wildly in search of him.

With nothing more to do, Sukuna turned around and vanished.

-

AN:

And with that, the Shie Hassaikai arc has come to an end.

Personally, I listened to the Malevolent Shrine and Thunderclap OST while writing this. Hopefully, you all read this while listening to the OST. It makes it more immersive.

Please leave me plenty of comments on today's Chapter!

Until next time!