As for going to war against every Jujutsu Sorcerer, Uraume had long expected that day to come. In his eyes, everyone in this era combined was no match for Lord Sukuna, and he had always firmly believed that.
It was just...
He glanced at the girl kneeling at the dining table, whose every movement seemed to follow noble dining etiquette.
Uraume sighed silently.
"Little Ume, are you worried about Brother?"
Alluka set down her spoon, tiny flecks of light shimmering in her beautiful gray-blue eyes.
Before her sat the vegetable porridge Uraume had specially prepared. After their ordeal with rotten cooked food, even Uraume now felt queasy at the sight of meat.
"No, not at all."
Noticing Ryomen Sukuna's chopsticks pause for an instant, Uraume stiffened. At some point, cold sweat had begun trickling down his forehead.
He only thought Alluka might get hurt in a chaotic battle like that. How could he possibly be worried about the invincible Lord Sukuna?
An enormous cursed spirit resided inside Alluka. Her body was soft and lacked muscle, and she had been born without any of the cursed energy Jujutsu Sorcerers possessed.
After several failed attempts to improve Alluka's constitution, Uraume decided it might be an unusual binding vow.
A binding vow was an oath that imposed an exchange of costs on a Jujutsu Sorcerer. It could be innate or self-imposed. Some exchanged all their cursed energy for an extraordinary physique, while others traded a healthy body for vast quantities of cursed energy.
Uraume did not know what sort of binding vow had allowed Alluka and Nanika to coexist, but the child had clearly exchanged all her cursed energy for the ability to grant wishes, losing her eligibility to become a Jujutsu Sorcerer in the process.
Through his conversations with Alluka, Uraume had learned that she had been well protected over the years and had never faced any life-threatening danger.
So far, on both occasions when he had seen Nanika appear, it had been to grant someone else's wish. Neither time had demonstrated any combat ability.
Uraume did not know whether Nanika would emerge to protect Alluka if she truly faced danger. If neither of them could fight, that would be a problem.
"Neither of you is coming. Useless trash would only get in my way."
Ryomen Sukuna rolled the wine cup between his fingers and leisurely glanced at the two eating their vegetarian meals, undisguised mockery in his voice.
"Okay, Brother. I'll be good and stay home."
Despite having just been insulted by Sukuna, Alluka smiled without a trace of gloom, as though nothing had happened.
"At least you have some self-awareness."
Ryomen Sukuna tossed aside his wine cup and shot them a disdainful glance. Without another word, he turned and walked straight out.
"How could you dare say that?"
After Sukuna left, Uraume steadied the wine cup, looking utterly incredulous. He could not shake the feeling that Alluka had left Lord Sukuna speechless.
"But Little Ume, you told me to stay away from Brother's domain."
Alluka tilted her head in confusion.
Over the past two days, Uraume had given her a crash course in the knowledge Jujutsu Sorcerers needed to learn, and domains were part of it. Using Lord Sukuna's domain as an example, Uraume had told her to run far away if she saw it, so she would die a little more slowly.
Alluka did not quite understand the difference between Cleave and Dismantle, but she knew they were indiscriminate attacks. If she stood there, she would be sliced into tiny pieces in an instant.
"You... Never mind."
Uraume rubbed his forehead, at a loss for what to say.
He was not surprised that Alluka had been excluded. Unfortunately, Lord Sukuna now regarded him with utter disdain as well, lumping him in every time he hurled insults.
Uraume was truly frustrated. Before Alluka arrived, he had never been scolded like this.
When the day of the decisive battle finally arrived, Lord Sukuna left Uraume at home, just as expected.
Alluka lay draped over the table, writing and drawing.
The teachers at the Shrine had taught her to read and write, but her handwriting was so crooked that no one besides her could really make out what she had written.
At some point, rain had begun falling outside, thin streams dripping from the edges of the bracket-supported, upturned eaves. Beneath the gathering clouds, everything outside looked pitch-black. Only the candles burning indoors cast their long shadows.
Ryomen Sukuna had placed a barrier around this room, so there was little reason to worry.
Uraume leaned drowsily against the couch, thinking about what food he should prepare for Lord Sukuna later.
Black veins appeared across the barrier.
With a sharp crack, the transparent barrier shattered inch by inch, its fragments peeling away in a chaotic web.
The fragments splashed against the newcomer's snow-white hem. Uraume shielded Alluka behind him and looked up into a very familiar pair of ice-blue eyes.
He would recognize this man even if he were reduced to ashes.
"Oh, you're still alive."
Sugawara Satoru waved the folding fan in his hand and made an inscrutable remark.
"Long time no see, kid~"
He beckoned, flashing a broad smile at Alluka as she peeked out from behind Uraume.
Uraume frowned and wasted no words.
"Ice Formation-Frozen Star."
A massive icicle plunged from the clouds at tremendous speed, piercing the roof beams as it hurtled straight toward Sugawara Satoru. Under its crushing pressure, the entire building collapsed with a roar. The ground trembled, and every tile and chunk of rubble went flying.
"Seriously? Why are you attacking right away?"
Sugawara Satoru did not dodge. He did not even move. The icicle stopped a few centimeters above his head, suspended there, unable to advance any farther.
"I only came to take this child back. Do you really need to be so hostile?"
He pointed at Alluka, his blue eyes smiling, as though he really had only come to collect a child he knew.
"Drop the act. Only an idiot would believe you when you barge in at a time like this."
Uraume gave him a disgusted look, his mocking tone sharp and cutting.
He had considered the possibility that some suicidal Jujutsu Sorcerer might attempt a sneak attack, but he had never expected it to be the very enemy who had abandoned him on the Tōsandō all those years ago.
Uraume glared at him, his eyes blazing. Of all the nobles, he hated the Sugawara Clan most. Over the years, he had killed many of their remaining followers, but this so-called young master had always been elusive, leaving no trail he could find. And now he had fallen right into Uraume's lap.
"Oh dear, you saw through me already? Well, it can't be helped. The people above me only told me to bring her back, after all."
Sugawara Satoru cast a bland glance at Alluka. His tone suggested they were old acquaintances, but the cold viciousness in his eyes let Uraume catch a hint of killing intent.
This man had another objective.
Of that, Uraume was absolutely certain.
Before you continue