Invincible Me Only Wants to Slack Off Chapter 17

"Hmm..." Sukuna (Fushiguro Megumi) tilted his head in satisfaction, letting out a pleased nasal hum.

He spread his arms, as if savoring the freedom this new vessel granted him, all three pairs of eyes fixing on Haguruma with pure mockery.

"Your domain," Sukuna's voice turned especially cold in Megumi's tone, "took away my cursed energy?" The corner of his mouth curled into a dangerous arc. "Why does it feel... so boring?"

Haguruma's face went ashen, his reason nearly shattered by this being that defied all rules.

He swung his right hand down sharply, once again condensing the symbolic Wooden Mallet of judgment in his palm!

"Judgment!" Haguruma's roar carried a murderous resolve as the mallet, wrapped in the domain's power, slammed viciously toward the ground!

A hand covered in black curse marks clamped down on Haguruma's wrist like an iron vise!

The mallet was mere inches from the ground, but it could no longer fall!

Haguruma's pupils quaked! He hadn't even seen when Sukuna crossed that distance!

Sukuna leaned in close to Haguruma's bitter-melon face, twisted by shock, his pupils gleaming with venomous light, his voice dripping with mock realization:

"Ah~ I forgot." He licked his lips, his smile cruel and delighted. "Your judgment can only judge those guilty of the 'same crime,' right?"

He applied slight pressure, and a crack echoed as Haguruma's wrist bones were squeezed tight.

"Hahaha!" Sukuna burst into wild laughter, echoing through the shattered courtroom ruins. "Because—that brat's just a vessel! The one who really went on a killing spree in Shibuya, crushing those twenty thousand ants..."

He paused, his eyes locking onto Haguruma's pupils, dilated with terror, and declared word by word:

"Was me! My Lord Judge!"

Haguruma's pupils violently contracted from the searing pain and shock! He infused his feet with cursed energy and kicked like a battle-axe at Sukuna (Fushiguro Megumi)'s abdomen, trying to break free from the deadly grip!

Thud! Thud!

Heavy, dull impacts! Sukuna didn't even shift his feet; his left hand, covered in curse marks, casually swatted down, blocking, precisely parrying Haguruma's kicks with an effortless grace, like brushing off dust. Under Sukuna's control, Megumi's body displayed a terrifying physique and reflexes far beyond normal!

"Ugh!" Haguruma grunted, his attack easily deflected, the crushing pain in his wrist nearly making him drop the mallet.

"How do I break this annoying domain of yours?" Sukuna tilted his head, a playful smile on his face, casually blocking Haguruma's subsequent storm of close-quarters kicks while leisurely asking.

His movements were always a beat faster than Haguruma's, like a teaching demonstration.

Haguruma gritted his teeth, sweat sliding from his brow, silent, but his attacks grew even more frenzied! Each kick carried the crack of cursed energy!

But Sukuna used only one hand, blocking or parrying with ease.

Only when Haguruma recklessly tried to gather the mallet again for judgment did Sukuna's right hand, still gripping his wrist, suddenly tighten, causing him such pain that his technique was interrupted.

Just as Sukuna was toying with Haguruma, a cruel smirk on his lips—

"Give him back!!!"

A shrill, desperate cry tore through the domain's oppressive silence!

Kurusu Hana floated midair, erupting in blazing golden light! The angelic halo above her head shone like a small sun, piercing through all darkness! Intense holy energy formed a tangible shockwave spreading outward!

The maiden angel cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone, her golden eyes burning with unprecedented fury and sorrow, locked onto Sukuna's body—Fushiguro Megumi—and screamed with all her might:

"Give Megumi—back to me!!!"

"Ladder of the Great!!!"

Boom—!!!

Before Kurusu's joined palms, space twisted violently!

A pillar of light, over ten meters in diameter, made purely of divine golden radiance that disintegrated everything, shot forth like a spear of divine punishment, instantly tearing through Haguruma's already crumbling domain!

The pillar, faster than thought, blasted toward Sukuna!

Too fast! Too close! Sukuna's mockery froze on his face!

He whipped his head around, only to see a devastating golden light filling his entire vision! He couldn't even fully release Haguruma's wrist—

"Uwaaaaaah—!!!"

Megumi's body was completely engulfed by the pillar of light! Sukuna let out a non-human shriek of pain and fury! The sound was twisted and grating, utterly inhuman, filled with unbelievable violence!

The holy flames madly seared the King of Curses' soul and the body he possessed!

The massive golden pillar pierced through the entire shattered courtroom domain, its momentum unabated, shooting into the sky, briefly tearing apart the gloom shrouding the city!

Everyone held their breath, staring at the pillar's center.

Within the light, a wavering figure emerged.

"Hana..." A weak but familiar voice sounded.

Kurusu Hana was struck as if by lightning! The light around her instantly dimmed, the pillar dissipating: "Hana... Megumi?!"

The smoke cleared, revealing a battered Fushiguro Megumi standing there, his skin charred and cracked, smoking, but his eyes—freed from crimson—looked at her with dazed exhaustion.

"I remember... everything..." He raised a severely burned hand toward her.

A tidal wave of immense joy and the rush of recovery flooded Kurusu Hana!

Tears burst forth like a dam! "Megumi!!!" She flapped her wings recklessly, turning into a streak of light, diving toward that figure!

"Don't go!!!" Nanami Kento and Haguruma's sharp shouts exploded simultaneously!

Haguruma clutched his right arm, burned where the edge of the light pillar had grazed it, while Nanami's heart raced with frantic urgency.

Kurusu Hana crashed into "Fushiguro Megumi's" chest, her arms wrapping tightly around his charred neck as she buried her face and sobbed, "Thank goodness... thank goodness..."

The moment her guard fully dropped—

Beneath the lingering burn scars on "Fushiguro Megumi's" face, the eerie black curse marks spread and deepened like living things in an instant!

The corners of his mouth split into a grin that tore to his ears, dripping with sheer malice, as four crimson eyes snapped open with savage ferocity under the scorched skin.

"Heh..." A twisted, guttural sneer—Sukuna's—forced its way from "Fushiguro Megumi's" throat!

His remaining right arm coiled around Kurusu Hana's slender waist like a massive serpent, locking her every struggle in place!

At the same time, his grotesque head jerked back, his fang-filled maw gaping to a horrifying angle, and with a reeking gust, he sank his teeth toward Kurusu Hana's defenseless white neck!

"Kurusu Hana—!!!" Nanami's eyes nearly split at the edges!

Whoosh—crack!?

A frigid blade of light tore through space without warning!

The strike sliced precisely into the elbow joint of the arm pinning Kurusu Hana!

The curse-marked left forearm severed clean at the elbow! Black blood sprayed!

"Gwaaah—!!!" Sukuna roared in savage agony! The searing pain forced him to release Kurusu Hana instinctively, his body blurring backward in a frantic retreat!

Kurusu Hana lost her support and crumpled limply toward the ground, caught just in time by Nanami Kento as he rushed over.

Her eyes were wide, pupils unfocused—crushed by terror and the agony of betrayal, she was utterly lost, tears streaming silently down her face.

Sukuna halted dozens of meters away, the severed wound on his left hand already clotting as muscles writhed. He snapped his head up, crimson eyes blazing with towering fury, fixed on a figure that had appeared midair without warning.

The man hovered, a long blade in hand. Beneath white hair, his eyes gleamed with mockery, and a contemptuous smirk curled his lips.

"You damned scum..." Sukuna's voice dripped with murderous venom, every word steeped in the King of Curses' rage, "Nero!"

"Didn't you say you wouldn't stop my recovery?! What the hell are you doing now!!!"

Chapter 18: We'll Win

"You damned scum..." Sukuna's voice dripped with murderous venom, every word steeped in the King of Curses' rage, "Nero!"

"Didn't you say you wouldn't stop my recovery?! What the hell are you doing now!!!"

Sukuna's roar, thick with tangible malice, shook the ruins.

Midair, the white-haired man—Chen Tian—let out a faint, derisive chuckle. The laughter dripped with scorn, carrying clearly to everyone's ears.

He descended slowly, his posture impossibly casual and arrogant, the tips of his shoes tapping lightly against the ground, stirring up dust.

He lifted his chin, and in those eyes, there was not a flicker of emotion—only the disdain of one looking down on a cheap plaything.

"I wasn't planning to interfere," Chen Tian said, his voice calm.

"But Sukuna," he tilted his head slightly, a few strands of white hair slipping free, "you're too slow."

"Fifteen whole days since Shibuya." Chen Tian raised a finger, his tone laced with undisguised disappointment and irritation. "And you're still in this..."

His gaze swept over Sukuna's occupied vessel—Fushiguro Megumi's charred, broken body—and finally landed on the face twisted with rage. He spat out a frigid verdict:

"...pitiful state."

"What's more," Chen Tian's lips curled into a faint, mocking smirk, "you had to resort to such a cheap trick—sinking your teeth into a broken girl's throat just to find some amusement?"

He no longer looked at Sukuna, whose face had turned iron-gray, his cursed energy boiling unstable with fury. Instead, he walked straight toward Kurusu Hana, who sat on the ground.

In stark contrast to the soul-freezing cold he'd shown Sukuna, Chen Tian stopped before Kurusu Hana, naturally bent down, and extended his hand to her.

The lines of his face seemed to melt in an instant, like spring thawing frost, replaced by a warm, radiant smile as gentle as a star.

"It's alright, Miss Kurusu Hana." His voice was low and soft, carrying a power that soothed the heart. "Can you stand?"

Kurusu Hana's unfocused pupils slowly sharpened, meeting Chen Tian's eyes—now looking remarkably steady and reliable.

"Ne... Nero?" Kurusu Hana sat on the ground, staring at the man offering his hand. She knew him well. Very well.

Because she never missed a single one of his concerts.

Chen Tian kept his gentle smile, his hand still extended to her. "Yeah, it's me. My fan, Miss."

Kurusu Hana stared at him in disbelief. "You... you... you knew?"

She had never bought a ticket to get into Chen Tian's concerts.

Chen Tian nodded. "Of course. Every one of my concerts, you were hiding on the scaffolding above the stage. And I know—every signing event, you were there too."

Kurusu Hana's eyes reddened at the rims. "I... I love your music so much. I couldn't afford tickets, so I had to watch your shows that way..."

Chen Tian gently took her hand and helped her up. "It's fine. I've felt your sincerity."

Chen Tian's palm carved a pitch-black rift through the air, tearing space apart like cloth. Uraume tumbled out of the crack in disarray, his white monk's robe stained with blood.

"Lord Sukuna!" Uraume cried out in shock, but the next second, Chen Tian kicked him flying, his body crashing into Sukuna like a ragdoll.

Sukuna's four crimson eyes narrowed, a savage grin splitting his face. "Interesting..." He caught Uraume, his nails digging deep into the man's shoulder. "You really do get me, Nero."

Chen Tian shoved his hands into his pockets, jerking his chin at Uraume. "Eat up. Let me see if you at your peak can entertain me."

Uraume trembled as he drew a pitch-black wooden box from his bosom; the lid sprang open on its own—three withered fingers and a decayed head lay quietly inside.

Sukuna's pupils abruptly contracted. That was... his own head!

"Hahaha!" Sukuna burst into wild laughter, snatching the box in one hand. "If that's the case, this one will grant your wish!"

He opened his maw wide and shoved the fingers, along with the head, into his mouth.

A bone-chilling crunching sound echoed out.

Fushiguro Megumi's body began to writhe violently, more sinister curse marks surfacing across his skin. Sukuna's cursed energy erupted like a tsunami, the entire space trembling!

Sukuna's cursed energy swept through the space like a volcanic eruption.

"So this is... Sukuna at his peak?" Yuji Itadori dropped to one knee, cold sweat soaking his back. Just standing at the edge of the storm made every cell in his body scream danger.

Chen Tian tilted his head, however. "Seems like... something's still missing?" He turned to look at Yuji. "What about the Prison Realm?"

"It's... still in Shibuya!" Yuji answered instinctively.

Chen Tian traced a casual line through the air—space peeled open like a curtain, and a black cube carved with eerie patterns slammed onto the ground with a thud.

The Enma Sword slid an inch from its sheath; a flash of cold light struck the Prison Realm—

Boom! A cloud of smoke burst apart!

"Ah~ I'm out, I'm out~" A flippant voice cut through the smoke, and the White-haired Man stepped out slowly, stretching his arms. Beneath his disheveled white hair, the corner of his mouth curved into a familiar smirk. "This nap ran a bit long."

"Gojo-sensei?!" Yuji's cry and Sukuna's laughter exploded at the same time.

Sukuna's four eyes narrowed simultaneously, his cursed energy boiling even more violently. "Satoru Gojo!" He tore open his shirt in one motion, revealing a body covered in curse marks. "Perfect timing! Let this one tear you and that damn pretty boy to shreds!!"