The moment their attacks collide, the battlefield ruptures. A razor-thin shockwave tears through the city, splitting buildings cleanly apart as the street beneath them fractures into jagged scars. Dust and mist explode outward, swallowing everything.
At the center, Ryomen Sukuna and Astra stand inches apart.
Astra's line rests against Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna's delayed slash presses against Astra's neck.
Both lethal.
Both incomplete.
For one silent second, neither moves.
Then blood falls.
A thin cut opens across Sukuna's torso while Astra's shoulder tears open under Sukuna's hidden strike. The two separate instantly, sliding backward across broken ground.
Silence.
Then Sukuna laughs.
Low.
Genuine.
"…Excellent."
Blood trails down his chest as cursed energy flickers around him like black fire. "You're the first one in a long time who's actually made me think during a fight."
Astra steadies himself, expression calm despite the blood running down his arm. "You adapted faster than expected."
Sukuna grins wider. "And you rely too much on certainty."
The markings across Yuji's face darken as his cursed energy rises again. The pressure becomes so dense that even the rubble around him begins cracking apart.
Nearby, Mirai's fingers twitch weakly against the ground. Her vision is barely functioning, but even she can feel it.
"…Monstrous…"
A few meters away, Izuku Midoriya forces one eye open. His body refuses to move. Not from injury.
From instinct.
The fight ahead feels beyond human.
Back at the center, Sukuna slowly raises one hand.
This time, the slashes don't appear.
Astra notices immediately.
"…You compressed them."
Sukuna smiles. "I was wondering when you'd notice."
The space around Sukuna's fingertips distorts unnaturally as multiple invisible cuts overlap into a single point.
One strike.
Containing dozens.
Then Sukuna vanishes.
The ground explodes beneath where he stood as he appears directly in front of Astra and swings.
The compressed slash erupts instantly.
Astra reacts, multiple invisible lines forming to redirect the attack—
—but the moment they touch—
The slash splits apart.
One becomes five.
Five become dozens.
The attack changes inside Astra's controlled path.
Astra's eyes narrow.
Impact.
The city behind him disappears beneath overlapping destruction as Astra is launched backward through collapsing debris.
Mirai's eyes widen weakly. "…He hit him…"
Smoke fills the battlefield.
Silence follows.
Then Astra walks out.
Bleeding.
Cuts run across his coat and shoulder while blood drips steadily from one arm.
But he's still standing.
Sukuna's grin sharpens. "There it is. Now you finally look human."
Astra stares at him quietly.
Then—
For the first time—
He smiles.
Small.
Cold.
"…You really are the King of Curses."
The atmosphere changes instantly.
Not heavier.
Sharper.
The rubble around Astra begins splitting apart into perfect pieces without even being touched.
Sukuna notices immediately.
"…So you were holding back too."
Astra slowly raises one hand.
Thin black lines begin appearing across the battlefield.
Through buildings.
Across the streets.
Even through the air itself.
Like invisible fractures spreading across reality.
Sukuna's smile fades slightly.
"…Interesting."
More lines appear.
The entire battlefield begins looking like shattered glass moments before breaking.
Astra's gaze sharpens.
"You said I rely on prediction."
The black fractures tighten around the battlefield.
"…So let me show you…"
The lines spread further.
"…what happens when there's nowhere left to move."
For the first time since the fight began—
Sukuna stops smiling completely.
Astra standing in the center of a battlefield covered in black fracture-like lines stretching through the air itself while Sukuna watches silently, eyes narrowed in genuine focus.
The Vice-Captain…
Has finally become serious.