The moment the wisp of essence Doma had become seared its way down Yaha's throat, he knew he was in trouble.
This was no ordinary overload. Two utterly incompatible forces had collided inside him. The three batches of essence from Upper Rank One, Upper Rank Four, and Gyokko had already pushed his body close to its limit. Adding Doma's share shattered that threshold outright.
Something inside his spine was pushing outward.
The air behind him bulged. The phantom of a fourth arm forcibly tore its way into shape at his shoulder blade, and black Cursed Markings crawled from his cervical spine to the back of his head, hissing as they burned through the roots of his hair.
The floor was charring.
Exposed to the intense heat of the cursed energy spilling out of him, the stone beneath his feet turned from grayish white to scorched brown, giving off the smell of roasting rock.
Yaha clenched his teeth.
He bit through the tip of his tongue, and the taste of blood spread through his mouth. The pain thinned the scarlet haze before his eyes, then thinned it again-but only a little. Sukuna's bloodthirsty instincts still churned beneath it.
Right in front of him.
Shinobu Kocho stood three meters away, her Nichirin Blade in hand, her purple eyes fixed on him. She did not retreat.
"Get away."
The voice leaking through his teeth no longer sounded human. It was hoarse, with a coarse rasp ground up from somewhere deep inside.
"Stay the hell away from me."
Shinobu Kocho threw down her blade.
Its tip stabbed into the blackened floor, and the hilt wobbled twice. She was already moving toward him, her steps unhurried but steady.
She narrowed her eyes as the heat washed over her. A fine, prickling pain spread across her