Help, What Do I Do Now That He's Even More Appealing?

When Megumi Fushiguro reached Kugisaki, she had just used her last nail.

"Perfect timing! Switch out, quick, quick!"

Kugisaki hurried over to Megumi Fushiguro, warily watching the huge swarm of mask-faced cursed spirits floating in front of them, their numbers barely diminished.

"How did things go upstairs?"

She squeezed in the question.

Megumi Fushiguro stared at the densely packed curses overhead, his body tense as he answered quickly.

"Sukuna's dealing with that Special Grade."

Nobara looked startled, then delighted, before letting out a mournful cry. "Aww! What a waste!"

Megumi Fushiguro said, "What's wrong?"

Nobara looked utterly aggrieved. "I missed him! I wanted to meet Sukuna too. Wait, am I the only one who hasn't met him yet?"

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

Huh?

Is Sukuna some kind of celebrity? Why does everyone want to meet him?

Their oblivious conversation enraged the cursed spirits opposite them. A huge swarm immediately charged, making their presence known.

"Great Serpent!" "Nue!"

Megumi Fushiguro quickly summoned two shikigami. The serpent and the eagle immediately rushed forward to block the charging cursed spirits, while he directed his two Divine Dogs to protect the now-unarmed Nobara as they swiftly retreated.

Summoning several shikigami at once left Megumi Fushiguro slightly breathless.

Although the curses before him looked like a swarm of Grade 3 and Grade 2 cursed spirits, there was probably a Grade 1 among them continuously splitting off these individuals. Attacking the copies would pose no threat to the original. He had to find the original first.

But Nobara was behind him, no longer able to fight, while overhead, the Special Grade Sukuna and the cursed womb were still battling.

Their top priority was to leave immediately. They absolutely could not get caught in the fallout of a Special Grade battle.

"Kugisaki, get ready to retreat!"

Crack!

Just as he said that, their surroundings suddenly changed. The cold, eerie atmosphere gradually faded, and the concrete walls returned to their original color.

Megumi Fushiguro froze.

...The cursed womb's innate domain came undone?

...Did Sukuna win?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when an unbroken series of crashes rang out, drawing steadily closer.

Boom!!

A huge hole suddenly burst open in the ceiling.

Sukuna appeared in the opening and, in a flash, landed beside Megumi Fushiguro.

He looked at the curses opposite them, a carefree grin curling his lips. His posture was natural and relaxed as he casually asked,

"Yo, you two all right?"

Megumi Fushiguro: "Suku..."

"Sukuna?!"

Nobara's excited shout drowned out Megumi Fushiguro's voice, her eyes sparkling.

Oh my god, so this is Sukuna... He's actually so much hotter than Itadori!

And, and, isn't this that legendary classic scene-

A. Hero. Saving. A. Damsel?!!

-Who knew I'd get to be the damsel in distress one day!

Of course, she would never admit to herself that Megumi Fushiguro was probably the more likely candidate for that "damsel."

The expression on Nobara's face was so sincere that Sukuna paused, not having expected such a friendly look from her.

Something inside him seemed to relax, and his expression softened along with it.

He raised a hand and smiled in greeting.

"Kugisaki, this is your first time seeing me like this, right?"

"I'll be counting on you from now on, too."

...Just don't give me pure dark chocolate again. He really didn't like that bitter stuff...

-If it's chocolate, I want milk chocolate!!

Kugisaki: "!!! Sure!-"

...Sukuna! He actually said hello to me!!

And he's just as incredibly polite as before!!!

Aaaaaah, help, what do I do now that he's even more appealing?!!

...Even if you're a cursed spirit, I'll support you all the way!!!

Kugisaki covered her face, shedding tears of excitement.

She had completely forgotten... how she had turned her nose up at him when they first met-

-Huh? You mean the finger-eating thing?

-Itadori was the one who ate the finger! What does that have to do with Sukuna?

Sukuna couldn't hear her thoughts, and his gaze soon returned to the cursed spirits.

Better finish this quickly. He still had a finger on him waiting to be washed clean.

He raised one hand, pointing upward with his index and middle fingers pressed together.

As cursed energy flowed, flames in red, yellow, and purple surged up, engulfing every cursed spirit before him along with the Grade 1 hidden behind them.

Countless cursed spirits dissolved in midair within the flames' bright, warm glow.

The breathtaking, dazzling sight burned itself into Megumi Fushiguro's and Kugisaki's eyes, sending a tremor through both their hearts.

What beautiful flames.

Warm, yet terrifying.

"All right, all right, the curses are taken care of."

Sukuna casually clapped his hands.

"Let's hurry up and find the other two targets, then get back."

After thinking for a moment, he added, "But I didn't sense any living things here, so they're probably dead."

Sukuna felt rather rueful. This mission had really accomplished nothing. All the targets were dead, and the only thing he'd gained was a finger.

Oh, right. I need to report that to Megumi Fushiguro, too.

He pulled the finger from his pocket and waved it in front of Megumi Fushiguro.

"Megumi Fushiguro, that Special Grade had one of my fingers inside it. I'm going to eat it, okay?"

"You can tell Gojo we've recovered the third one."

As he spoke, he turned and headed out, continuing,

"Oh, right, there should be water here, shouldn't there? I'd better wash it and eat it right away before anything goes wrong. It'd be bad if I accidentally lost it."

"I'll go find a faucet. You two look for those people. There aren't any curses left here, so it's safe."

With that, he strode casually away, leaving Megumi Fushiguro too stunned to speak, utterly bewildered.

Megumi Fushiguro: "..."

He found... the third finger?

...Wash it and eat it?

Where am I even supposed to start... Wait, isn't this supposed to be a really serious matter??

Why are you talking about it like you just bought a bag of fries on the street???