Rhaast

Atop a high-rise.

A cold wind howled through the darkness, sweeping toward the countless lights in the distance.

Araki Itsuki stood casually in Ryomen Sukuna's way, a playful smile on his face.

Suddenly.

Yuji Itadori's body stiffened. His right hand clamped around his own throat, and he began inexplicably talking to himself.

"Huh?"

"What are you trying to do with my body? Give it back!"

"How can you still move?"

"It was my body to begin with!"

Ryomen Sukuna was astonished. Just what was this vessel, to be able to forcibly suppress his will?

Araki Itsuki knew Yuji Itadori was fighting Ryomen Sukuna for control of his body.

"Itadori, for the sake of those pickled chicken feet, don't suppress Ryomen Sukuna just yet. Let me see what this King of Curses is really made of."

"Who knows whether that title is just his own empty bragging?"

Yuji Itadori had a good impression of Araki Itsuki. Without his help, Sasaki and Iguchi, his seniors, would surely have been injured or even killed.

"Be careful, Araki."

Yuji Itadori worriedly warned Araki to stay safe, then handed control of his body over to Ryomen Sukuna.

His kind, cheerful face turned crazed and savage once more.

Ryomen Sukuna logged on.

"I don't know what's going on with this body, but you've got a big mouth, brat. Die!"

The air shuddered. Ryomen Sukuna vanished from his spot and appeared before Araki Itsuki in an instant.

His body bent like a drawn bow, an arrow ready to pierce the heavens. His right fist clenched like a hammer that could shatter the sky.

A straight punch slammed into Araki Itsuki's exposed chest.

Bam!

Waves of air erupted across the sky behind Araki Itsuki. Dust billowed, and a deafening explosion swept in every direction.

"So fast! My eyes can't even follow their movements!"

Fushiguro crossed his arms in front of his face. Only when the blast subsided did he lower them, his face filled with shock.

Then the dust cleared.

Ryomen Sukuna crouched halfway down, his powerful fist resting against the surface of Araki Itsuki's chest.

The mocking expression on Araki Itsuki's face remained unchanged as he looked down at Ryomen Sukuna.

Then he violently twisted his body, and his fist, its power concealed within his muscles, appeared before Ryomen Sukuna's face in an instant.

Bam!

The arms Ryomen Sukuna raised to block burst apart. Mangled flesh and droplets of blood sprayed out as his body flew backward, crashing through several floors before finally stopping.

Is that strength seriously coming from a body like his?

But Ryomen Sukuna was extraordinarily proficient with Reverse Cursed Technique. He repaired his body in an instant and charged at Araki Itsuki again.

At the same time, he rapidly analyzed Araki Itsuki's abilities.

Why didn't I hurt him? Limitless? But I didn't see the Six Eyes.

And that brat doesn't have a trace of cursed energy. Is it a heavenly restriction?

Although those with such a heavenly restriction could not generate cursed energy, their physiques received an enormous boost, making them something like miniature superhumans.

As he rapidly thought it through, the two collided fiercely once more.

The clashes were thunderous, deafening explosions echoing through the air.

Araki Itsuki's neck snapped back as he took Ryomen Sukuna's punch head-on. Then excitement spread across his face, and he smashed Sukuna away!

Ryomen Sukuna steadied himself and asked in confusion:

"With your attack speed, you should be able to dodge my attacks. Why take them head-on?"

Araki Itsuki raised his right hand and examined his fist with satisfaction.

"To test how tough this body is."

"Besides, don't you think trading punches that really land gets your blood pumping?!"

"Hahaha!"

Araki Itsuki laughed wildly and pushed off with his feet. Floor slabs shattered beneath him, revealing terrifying, web-like cracks.

His figure flashed before Ryomen Sukuna, and he sent him flying with a single punch.

"Welcome to a man's world!"

Ryomen Sukuna smashed through several buildings before barely managing to stop himself. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sharply swept his right hand:

"Dismantle!"

Araki Itsuki hadn't expected Ryomen Sukuna to fight dirty. Their hand-to-hand clash was in full swing, yet Sukuna had suddenly ambushed him with a slash.

Caught off guard, he failed to dodge.

Slash.

A bone-deep gash opened across his exposed chest, and blood poured out without stopping.

Fushiguro's expression changed. Believing Araki Itsuki had been defeated, he formed a hand sign for his cursed technique and prepared to rescue him.

"I'm fine."

Araki Itsuki curiously looked at the blood on his chest. He could even faintly see his internal organs beneath their protective layer of fat.

He gripped the edges of his split chest with both hands and curiously eased them outward, letting in more moonlight so he could see more clearly.

"This is amazing! Fushiguro, this is the first time I've seen my own heart and organs."

"They're all bloody, but they're pretty cute too."

Fushiguro froze, unable to believe his eyes. Sasaki clapped her hands tightly over her mouth in terror, not daring to make a sound.

"Enough of your tricks!"

Ryomen Sukuna scoffed and unleashed his cursed technique again, intending to cut down the brat who had dared provoke him.

"Dismantle!"

But then.

Clang!

A soft ring sounded.

The attack that could sever anything in the world had actually been blocked.

An aura of brutality, slaughter, calamity, bloodshed, terror, curses, hatred, resentment, annihilation, and destruction suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield.

Even Fushiguro, a jujutsu sorcerer, trembled with fear. Sasaki and Iguchi fainted outright.

A blood-red scythe nearly as tall as a person had appeared without warning in Araki Itsuki's hand, blocking Ryomen Sukuna's slash.

The instant the enormous scythe appeared, its terrifying aura swept across the battlefield.

Its long, narrow shaft had a slight metallic curve, and its enormous blade looked capable of slicing through anything-elegant and cruel.

There was no doubt.

This was a weapon of slaughter, a weapon of war.

The wound across Araki Itsuki's chest had already vanished. He raised the vicious-looking scythe and pointed it straight at Ryomen Sukuna.

"Rhaast, he really likes slashing things too, just like you."

Just as Fushiguro wondered why Araki Itsuki was talking to a weapon.

A single savage eye opened in the middle of the monstrous scythe.

Its gaze swept rapidly over everyone, its malice and aggression completely undisguised.

Then it locked onto Ryomen Sukuna.

"Bring him to his knees!!!"

"Haha, all right!"

Araki Itsuki laughed wildly, brutality gleaming in his eyes. He violently swung the enormous scythe through the air at Ryomen Sukuna.

Sensing an invisible blade slashing toward him, Ryomen Sukuna hurriedly leaped into the air to dodge.

Boom!

A streak of blood-red light swept through the building behind him, instantly reducing it to rubble.

"I am the corrupter bound by the Death Omen Star, the pinnacle of unholy creation!"

"Your life is mine!"

Rhaast laughed maniacally, making no attempt to conceal his cruelty.

He took control of the body Araki Itsuki offered him and relentlessly slashed at Ryomen Sukuna, indiscriminately destroying everything around them.

"I shall feast on the marrow of this filthy world!"

"Love! Hope! Fear! I want it all!"

Rhaast was a weapon forged from the remnants of a dead star. The hatred of the stars before their annihilation and the power of the Death Omen Star had given him life.

This bloodthirsty demon's only desire was slaughter.