The reckoning

"B... Brother..."

Noticing the figure perched on the eaves, Nanika, whose features were pitch-black, broke into a delighted grin. Her shrill, grating voice reached him in broken bursts, like a distorted torrent of static.

As she smiled, Tasuimaru's body before her crumpled like fabric, pulled and compressed into overlapping folds by an invisible force.

Like weeds flattened by a hurricane, he had no time to react before that irresistible force twisted his body into a burst of blood that splattered in every direction.

It all seemed to take forever, yet only two breaths had passed. That piercing laughter rang like a bell, sending a shudder through the souls of everyone from the Fujiwara Clan present.

She...

What had Lady Nanika called him?

Brother?

That two-faced, four-armed monster? The monster they had held this ritual to destroy?

Under their terrified gazes, Ryomen Sukuna propped his chin on one hand where he sat on the roof and coolly lifted his eyelids. "You've caused me plenty of trouble. Where's that other one?"

Seeing that they truly knew each other, several Fujiwara Clan elders huddled together in terror. The Shadow Guards noticed something amiss at the altar and immediately surrounded them, shielding them behind their backs.

"What a bunch of fools."

The atmosphere in the courtyard grew heavy. At some point, dark clouds had swallowed the once-bright sky.

Ryomen Sukuna stood on the blue roof tiles, his exposed black curse markings brazenly displayed. Amid their despair and panic, he stepped forward and floated down onto the altar as though walking on level ground.

"T... trouble?"

Nanika tilted her head, thinking sluggishly. Clear confusion filled her thin, shrill voice, and her whole body froze into a grayish white.

She seemed to stall for several seconds. Her hollow black features rolled like balls of yarn before she returned the body to Alluka.

Alluka was back.

She opened her eyes excitedly and looked toward him, her moist eyes brimming with hope.

"Brother! Did you come to take me home?"

Unlike when she interacted with the Fujiwara Clan, Alluka's feelings were real now, no longer veiled behind distant clouds. But that very difference frightened them even more.

Ryomen Sukuna did not answer her. His crimson eyes swept over them, and the instant a few tried to flee, he appeared in front of them.

"Did I say you could leave?"

His low, displeased voice held a note of casual mockery.

His unrestrained killing intent bore down on them. The palpable pressure of the strongest Curse User made these pampered dignitaries' skin sting and their bodies tremble, their faces turning white in an instant.

Facing the legendary two-faced, four-armed monster for the first time, they stumbled backward in panic, only to collapse as their strength deserted them.

At that very moment, they were consumed by regret, inwardly cursing Fujiwara Michimitsu for holding this unnecessary ritual.

They never could have imagined that Lady Alluka, whom they had always worshipped, was this monster's sister.

Thinking of the wishes the Fujiwara Clan had made through the Black-Haired Boy, and the blame they had pinned on Ryomen Sukuna...

Their hair stood on end.

It was as though a pair of hands had reached out of the darkness and torn everything apart. Everything they had stolen had to be repaid. The day of reckoning had finally come.

But...

If they were siblings, why hadn't they been together?

Why hadn't Alluka spoken up when the Former Clan Head framed Ryomen Sukuna?

Right. None of them seemed to have ever mentioned Ryomen Sukuna to her.

They stared at Alluka, whose moist eyes made her look like a happy puppy, and felt as though they were staring straight into all the malice in the world.

"Quite obedient, aren't you?"

Seeing that they were not as clueless as the Extermination Squad, Ryomen Sukuna gave an amused snort and leisurely picked Alluka up by the scruff of her neck like a kitten.

He walked toward the altar's exit at an unhurried pace, every step making the hearts of everyone present tremble.

They watched Ryomen Sukuna's back as he moved farther away, step by step. Just as their taut nerves began to relax a little-

Crack, crack.

A few soft sounds rang out. Slashes too fast for the eye to follow descended with the rain from the dark clouds. Before the crowd's stunned eyes, lines of blood suddenly appeared across their forearms, thighs, necks, and even their heads.

They did not even have time to scream in pain.

Amid the sound of gushing blood, neatly cut chunks fell onto the gravel-covered ground, as though weeds had been trimmed away.

"..."

Dangling from Sukuna's hand, Alluka glanced back in mild confusion, as though she had noticed something.

The blood splashing through the air avoided Ryomen Sukuna completely. He walked through the crimson spray, both he and Alluka remaining spotless.

"Lord Sukuna!"

Uraume, who had hurried over from the Daijō-sai, respectfully dropped to one knee before Sukuna.

He paid no attention to the sea of blood before him, as though it were an everyday sight.

Back at the festival, his lord had suddenly darted away as though he had discovered something. A woman had held Uraume up, delaying his arrival.

"Take her away."

Ryomen Sukuna glanced at Uraume and tossed Alluka onto the ground.

Uraume had already noticed that Lord Sukuna was carrying something, but out of respect, he had not looked closely. At the command, he raised his eyes slightly and met an extraordinarily familiar pair of eyes.

"Little Ume! I missed you so much!"

As a complicated expression crossed Uraume's face, Alluka called out in a bright, happy voice and threw herself at him, ignoring the dust on her kimono.

Uraume instinctively reached out, just as he had back when they had depended on each other to survive.

With no news of Alluka all this time, Uraume had once believed the Sugawara Clan had already executed her as the killer.

He had never expected that they would one day meet again.

With his arms folded, Ryomen Sukuna spared them a glance as though granting a favor. That single look made Uraume go rigid, nearly losing control of his expression.

He hesitated, then could not help asking, "L-Lord Sukuna, is she an ingredient too?"

Ryomen Sukuna had kept Uraume by his side not because of his strength, but because his cooking skills were special. Sukuna would simply toss any difficult-to-prepare ingredients his way.

Setting Alluka down, Uraume's heart suddenly tightened. For the first time, he was afraid to hear Lord Sukuna's answer.

"Little Ume, what's an ingredient?"

A radiant smile spread across Alluka's face, untouched by any shadow.

Looking into those gray-blue eyes brimming with curiosity, Uraume found the words caught in his throat, as though he had lost the ability to speak.

He hesitated for two seconds and was just about to ask Lord Sukuna for instructions, only to find that the figure had already gone far away.