After Mukuro finished the summoning chant, the atmosphere around them began to change.
The underground passage, which still had some light, seemed to be disturbed by an unknown force, and the lights began to flicker.
Zzzt!
The sound of electricity echoed sharply through the silence.
Awooo!
A sudden wolf's howl rang across the empty underground level.
The shadow beneath Mukuro stretched outward, and on both sides of the path ahead, Divine Dogs and Toads began appearing one after another.
Behind him, within the darkness, Max Elephant, Nue, and several blurry shikigami flickered in and out of sight, all seeming to wait.
In the next moment, a nearly three-meter-tall mummy appeared behind him out of thin air, wrapped tightly in bandages from head to toe. At this time, it was bound by countless thin threads so fine they were almost invisible. It looked as if something terrifying was sealed inside.
The instant it appeared, all the other shikigami shadows vanished, as if acknowledging its dominance.
Crack, crack, crack…
A series of crisp snapping sounds followed, and under the pale moonlight, Sukuna could clearly see the threads breaking rapidly.
Boom!
Suddenly, the bandages at the top burst open, revealing a mouth filled with sharp, saw-like teeth.
Right after that, all the threads snapped apart, and from its back, two pairs of thin wings slowly unfolded, like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.
Once the bandages fell away, the true form of the shikigami was revealed.
It had no eyes, horns shaped like wings on its forehead, a pale white body, and a tail-like shape hanging behind its head. Its upper body was bare, and behind it floated a dharma wheel.
As soon as its feet touched the ground, it was like thunder had struck.
This was the strongest shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique, a being no one in the Zenin clan had ever successfully tamed. Five hundred years ago, it had even killed the heads of both the Zenin and Gojo clans.
The ultimate trump card, Mahoraga.
"So this is Megumi Fushiguro's trump card. The presence is impressive…" Sukuna spoke lightly, but his eyes shone with an indescribable excitement.
Wasn't this the very thing that fascinated him about that boy? Even without direct contact, it had made him feel a faint sense of threat back then.
"Don't worry. The ritual didn't pull you in."
Mukuro didn't even glance at the massive shadow behind him. Instead, he looked at Sukuna with a hint of provocation.
"But I won't let you stay out of it."
Mahoraga's subjugation ritual was completely different from the other shikigami of the Ten Shadows Technique.
The others could be subdued with overwhelming power and then brought under control, but Mahoraga had to be defeated head-on, and its taming came with strict rules. There were two types, solo taming and group taming.
In a solo ritual, only the Ten Shadows user could fight, and the result depended entirely on the outcome of that battle.
In a group ritual, even if Mahoraga was killed together, it could not be tamed. The same applied if an outsider killed it.
Once the ritual began, one side had to win, otherwise it would never end.
This also involved the boundary between "solo" and "group." As the Ten Shadows user, Mukuro could decide who nearby would be included in the ritual, and he did not include Sukuna.
Because here, he would personally tame Mahoraga for his nephew, which was also one of the reasons he did not descend in his true body.
His own body was too powerful, and it would completely overshadow Megumi's cursed energy and physical presence, to the point that Mahoraga might not even detect Megumi's existence through him.
"Then come on. Let me see it properly."
Sukuna spread his arms as he replied.
Simultaneously, Mahoraga moved, its arm swinging down toward Mukuro.
Boom!
But in the next second, the figure in front of it vanished, and a powerful force struck from behind, kicking Mahoraga's massive body and sending it flying toward Sukuna.
He did not dodge, simply raising his hand as he watched it fly toward him. With a light motion, several slashes shot out from his fingers.
Pshhk!
Blood burst into the air, and several deep wounds appeared across Mahoraga's body, nearly piercing through it. The force of the slashes pushed it back, stopping it between Sukuna and Mukuro.
But in just a moment, the wounds on its chest healed completely. At the same time, the wheel behind it turned slightly.
Mahoraga paused, its head tilting from side to side as if deciding who to attack, before finally stomping forward and charging at Mukuro.
"What is this? You brought out an uncontrollable monster just for fun?"
Seeing this, Sukuna grew even more excited as he laughed and followed right behind it.
Getting a chance like this to gang up on an arrogant person like Mukuro was too good to pass up, and there was no way he'd just sit back and watch.
"Nue."
Mukuro made a hand sign.
But Nue did not appear.
The Ten Shadows Technique used shadows as a medium to summon shikigami, but now, he blurred the boundary between the shikigami and his own shadow, merging the technique with himself.
In the next moment, Nue's wings grew from Mukuro's back, and with a light flap, he rose into the air, avoiding Mahoraga's attack.
The fist slammed into the ground, and the impact shattered dozens of meters of floor, its arm sinking deep into the earth.
"Dismantle!"
Sukuna raised his right hand and swept upward, sending five massive slashes cutting through the air, each one stretching for dozens of meters. Even Mahoraga below was caught in the range.
"Max Elephant: Piercing Water."
The wings behind Mukuro disappeared as he hovered in the air and brought his palms together.
The weight and water ability of Max Elephant were compressed into his hands as water formed and was compressed further.
Mukuro's own strength, combined with Megumi's cursed energy, pushed it to the limit.
The principle was the same as Piercing Blood, but instead of blood, it was water. The control was weaker, but there was one advantage: the water could be generated continuously through the shikigami.
Clang!
The compressed stream collided with the slashes, producing a sound like blades clashing.
The water was cut apart, and the ceiling above was pierced through in several places, but the middle portion of the slashes was weakened.
Below, Mahoraga had just pulled its arm out of the ground, and at that moment, it took both attacks head-on.
Sukuna's slashes and Mukuro's Piercing Water struck simultaneously, blood spraying out violently as its body was blasted backward and crashed into a train car in the distance.
"Come again, Mukuro Fushiguro!"
Sukuna shot upward, his excitement at its peak.
This had nothing to do with who had more cursed energy, it was a true clash of techniques.
Boom!
But before he could reach Mukuro, something flew out from below.
Both men looked down as two train carriages burst out of the thick smoke and rushed straight toward them.
Sukuna casually waved his hand. The carriage aimed at him was instantly sliced into dozens of pieces, brushing past him.
Mukuro, meanwhile, twisted his body midair and kicked the other carriage back.
From within the smoke, Mahoraga charged out, dragging another carriage in its hand. With brute force, it smashed away the one Mukuro had sent back, then leapt into the air toward both of them.
Until the ritual ended, Mahoraga would kill anything in its way.
At this moment, all three stood as enemies against each other.
**
**
**
Thank you for reading! If you'd like access to extra chapters and want to support my work, you can visit my P@treon:
P@treon/SilverShark769
Vote with Power Stones for Bonus Chapters!
Your support means a lot, thank you!