Angel

"Aaah!!! My hand!"

Umechuan Kuko's obese body rolled ceaselessly across the floor, his blood staining it red as beads of sweat the size of soybeans streamed down his forehead.

But no one could spare a thought for helping him up. They all stared at Sukuna in terror, suddenly feeling as though they had already been swallowed up by an enormous conspiracy.

"Your Majesty, what is the meaning of this?"

One family head was the first to recover from his terror and demanded an explanation from the Emperor, who stood beside the seat of honor.

"I already told you. You can only agree. You have no right to refuse. You're the ones who didn't believe me." The Emperor spread his hands, as if he were helpless too.

"You fucking..."

Just as he was about to curse the Emperor, the air rippled, and his ear fell to the floor without warning.

"Aaah!!"

With those two examples before them, the others obediently returned to their seats. Only one person remained composed: Abe Jinyuan.

Lady Angel was right. The King of Curses really did appear this time.

Sukuna glanced at the two men rolling on the floor and uttered a single word: "Noisy!"

Some family heads who knew how to read the room immediately rushed over to clamp their hands over the men's mouths, then dragged them back to their seats like dead pigs.

"May I ask what brings you here, divine one? I don't believe you were invited to this royal banquet." Clinging to her last shred of hope, Yoshiko Kawashima cautiously questioned Sukuna. She truly hoped he was merely passing through.

"In the name of a god, I command you to gather all your families' elite forces and attack those barbarians."

Sukuna swept his gaze over the Thirteen Family Heads seated before him, his eyes brimming with menace. Terrifying cursed energy erupted from his body, making even these thirteen ordinary people feel death closing in.

Faced with death, no one dared stick their neck out. Even Abe Jinyuan did not dare say no.

"Yes!"

"Have your subordinates gather all your families' elite forces. The Emperor will take good care of you in the meantime."

Sukuna glanced at the Emperor beside him, whose eyes were filled with excitement, and inwardly sneered. A useless fool who could not even hide his emotions had no hope of outmaneuvering these family heads.

"We shall obey your divine decree. We will summon our elite forces to attack the barbarians and do our part for peace in Japan."

Their fear now matched their earlier defiance. Ryomen Sukuna's infamy had long since spread throughout Japan. They even suspected that a single wrong word would prompt him to cut off their heads and use them as wine jugs.

The Thirteen Family Heads wore bitter expressions, but one of them suddenly laughed inwardly. Angel had answered him!

Just when everything seemed settled, a tall woman flew down from the restaurant's roof. Quite literally-she actually flew.

Pure white wings spread behind the woman, and a halo hovered above her head. She looked utterly sacred. Standing over six feet tall, she seemed like a giant among this gathering of short people. Sukuna was the only person in the room taller than her.

"The Fallen, it's time we settled our grudge."

Angel looked at Sukuna in the seat of honor and spoke slowly. Although she felt something about him had changed, she merely assumed something had gone wrong during his resurrection. She did not realize that his soul had been replaced.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Angel. After hiding all these years, you've finally come out."

Sukuna's face was full of mockery, as if he thought nothing of Angel. Fuck, I really ran into Angel this time. I'd better be careful. I can't let her kill me outright. In truth, Sukuna was rather nervous. His previous few battles had all been overwhelming victories, but this time, he faced a genuine fight to the death.

Although Angel was not as strong as him, she had a way to counter him.

"[Cleave]"

A powerful, vicious slash appeared directly in front of Angel. Since he had little confidence in winning, he would launch a surprise attack!

Caught off guard, Angel failed to dodge the slash and was sent flying, a bloody wound opening on her arm.

Sukuna immediately shot forward and engaged Angel in hand-to-hand combat.

But Angel was plainly no match for Sukuna in close combat. After all, he had four arms. Within minutes, the sacred Angel was covered in dust from the beating, and countless streets had been destroyed.

Seizing that brief advantage, Sukuna hurriedly formed a hand sign. "[Domain Expansion]"

Unfortunately, his domain failed to expand. Angel nullified it outright.

"Hahaha! After all these years, you're still as feeble as ever. You haven't improved at all!"

His failed Domain Expansion naturally dented his confidence, but his taunts remained as defiant as ever.

"The Fallen, you've changed quite a bit, involving yourself in something so pointless."

Sukuna knew she meant his plan to make them tear each other apart.

"Hahaha! How ridiculous. Don't tell me you actually care whether those people live or die?"

As though he had heard something hilarious, Sukuna sneered, "Do you think you can save everyone?"

A trace of gravity crossed Angel's face. She was no match for Sukuna, and this body could no longer hold out.

"Then let's fight to the death!"

She flapped the little wings behind her and flew into the air, chanting her jujutsu. "[Evil-Repelling Heavenly Ladder]"

Wave after wave of powerful cursed energy converged on Sukuna.

"Aaah!!! Aah!"

On the ground, Sukuna felt an unprecedented force scouring his soul. So this is the legendary soul-stripping technique? How fascinating!

Sukuna braced himself against the ground with three hands, his expression shifting constantly. Within his innate domain, his soul howled in agony. He had never experienced pain like this before, yet a glint of cunning flashed through his eyes.

"The Fallen, descend into the depths of hell with me!"

Resolve flashed in Angel's eyes. She knew perfectly well that this technique could not kill Sukuna outright while he was at his peak. Only by staking her life on mutual destruction could she gain the slightest chance of success.

As the two sides struggled against each other, Sukuna's soul was dragged out of his body. Yet an arrogant smile remained on his face. "Angel, you're still as naive as you were all those years ago. You haven't improved one bit!"

"What?!"

Angel finally sensed a ripple of cursed energy. She had focused all her attention on Sukuna and failed to notice the faint fluctuation behind her.

The instant she turned in alarm, a composed face filled her vision. She knew exactly who it was-Uraume, who had been hiding in the shadows all along!

"Phew... Good thing I still had an ace up my sleeve, or I'd have been done for today."

"Kamutoke! The Fallen even gave you that Cursed Tool?"

Pain crossed Angel's face. She could already feel this body breaking down. The instant Kamutoke pierced her body, Uraume retreated, while bolts of lightning crashed down from above without pause. At such close range, she had no way to defend herself.

"The Fallen!"

At last, her body could no longer function, and Kamutoke fell from the air.

Sukuna's soul drifted back into his body. He stretched his muscles and joints, then stepped straight up into the air.

"Hahaha! Angel, let's meet again in a thousand years!"

Then he reached out with one hand, grabbed Angel's head, and squeezed hard, crushing it to pieces.

The Thirteen Family Heads, who had been watching from the sidelines, shuddered at Angel's demise and hurried back to their seats. Only Abe Jinyuan felt anguish to his very core. He had squandered his family's greatest trump card, its strongest power. Now, damn it, his family was in the same predicament as the Fujiwara Northern House, with its top combatant dead.

"Everyone, I need you to gather all your families' elite forces within ten days. Don't even think about playing tricks on me."

As he spoke, he crushed a servant kneeling on the ground into a pulp, successfully intimidating the Thirteen Family Heads.

"Yes."