The grin on his face widened.
"You're not running away?" Sukuna asked, voice laced with amusement, like I was a toy he didn't expect to speak. "Bold of you… little sorcerer."
I took a step forward, my palms slowly glowing with golden flame sigils—the markings of my clan's sealing technique. My heart was pounding, but I wasn't going to show fear. Not in front of him.
"I'm not here to run," I said calmly, pulling my cursed energy to the surface like threads from my veins. "I'm here to put you down before you go any further."
Sukuna laughed. Not a mocking laugh—a delighted one.
"Oh? A member of that clan?" he tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Now things are getting interesting."
He didn't wait.
He lunged.
I threw up a sealing barrier just in time, his claws slashing against the golden shield, sparks flying on impact. My knees buckled slightly—his strength was insane. But the seal held.
He clicked his tongue, clearly impressed. "That's not a half-bad seal. You're stronger than you look."
"You have no idea," I whispered, and launched forward.
I didn't give him a second.
My cursed technique activated—Infernal Binding—chains of gold erupted from my arms, searing hot, engraved with the ancient sigils of my clan. They struck toward him like snakes, wrapping around his wrists, tightening.
But Sukuna just smiled.
With a burst of cursed energy, he shattered the first few chains, but I anticipated that. I rushed in close, twisting mid-air, slamming my palm down on the ground—
"Seal Fragment: Ground Lock!"
A massive binding circle glowed beneath us, glowing gold and red, and for a second, Sukuna's feet were trapped, his cursed energy humming with resistance.
"Clever girl," he muttered.
He countered with Dismantle, his slash technique slicing the space in front of him—but I already leapt back, flipping midair, chanting another seal under my breath.
He followed.
He was fast—too fast—but not faster than my instincts.
We clashed.
His claw met my burning sigil. Sparks flew. My forearm bled. His jaw bruised. His excitement only grew.
"You're better than the last one," he said, referring to Megumi. "You've got control. Technique. Temper."His eyes narrowed, and then his grin turned dark."Let's see what happens when I break that temper."
With a roar, he activated his domain expansion partially, the environment distorting slightly, like reality was shattering—but I clapped my hands together.
"Counter Seal: Reversal Loop!"
A new sigil appeared behind me, pushing his domain back before it could fully activate.
He blinked.
"You're full of surprises."
I was panting hard, blood dripping down my cheek, arms trembling—but I didn't lower my stance. My energy was flickering, but I still had one final move.
"I'm ending this."
Golden light exploded behind me—my clan's ancestral sealing flame, passed down from my mother. The temperature rose. The ground burned beneath our feet.
Even Sukuna paused—his expression shifting into something unreadable.
Maybe awe.
Maybe something deeper.
But he raised his arms again.
"Come on then, Dia... Show me why your blood is feared.
I staggered back, blood dripping from my lip, but my gaze never left him. Sukuna stood tall, relaxed, like he was just enjoying a walk in the park.
"You're still standing," he smirked, flexing his fingers like they were bored. "Impressive. Most don't last five seconds."
I didn't reply. I couldn't waste breath. My cursed energy flared, ready to strike again.
His grin widened. " The one that used to seal domain spaces with their eyes closed. Golden seals, forbidden texts. Ahhh… i want to have my hands on that thing"
I took a step forward. "You talk too much."
"And you think you're ready for me." His eyes gleamed, two red moons slicing through the smoke. "Tell me, what's your little plan? Gonna shackle the King of Curses like your ancestors tried?"
I launched forward—Chains of Heaven swirled from my hands, golden and roaring with energy.
Sukuna sidestepped lazily. "Predictable."
He caught the chain mid-air and yanked it, pulling me off balance. I twisted and landed, slamming my palm to the ground—
"Curse Seal: Iron Lotus!"
Spikes of glowing script burst upward like spears. One grazed Sukuna's cheek. He wiped the blood with interest.
"Ah… now that's more like it." His expression changed slightly—still amused, but something deeper shimmered beneath it. Curiosity? Respect?
"Tell me," he asked, circling me, "why do you fight so hard? For them?" He gestured toward the ruins—where Nobara, Megumi, and Yuji had fought. "For your clan's legacy? Or just to prove you're more than a little girl who got lucky with her bloodline?"
I didn't flinch. "I fight because I choose to."
He laughed. "Brave answer. Stupid, but brave."
We clashed again. Sparks flew. Sigils lit up the dark. My body moved before my thoughts could catch up—every attack a gamble, every defense a breath away from death.
"You're not bad," Sukuna admitted, blocking a kick, "but you're wasting your potential."
He leaned in close.
"You should join me. Imagine it—your power, your seals, your blood… used properly. I'd make you something the world fears."
I gritted my teeth, shoving him back. "I'm not interested in being feared. I'm not you."
"Too bad," he said. "Because you're already starting to sound like me."
I launched one last desperate attack, a full-body curse seal—Final Spiral Seal: Heavenbreaker.
The area exploded in golden light, a dome of ancient power crashing down over him.
When the dust cleared… he was still standing.
Unharmed.
And then—like in the anime—he pulled Yuji's heart out. Slowly. Like it was a casual gesture.
I screamed.
"Let's see how you deal with this," Sukuna said
The moment I saw him pull Yuji's heart out—Time didn't slow.It stopped.
I froze, breath stuck in my throat, my eyes wide as the heart—still beating—rested in Sukuna's palm like it meant nothing.
Yuji...
That child.
My body screamed in pain. Blood ran from a gash on my side. My curse techniques were fading. But I didn't care. I didn't feel the pain.I felt something else.
Guilt. Rage. Grief. And something deeper—older.Something ancient inside me stirred awake.
I clenched my fists. "I should've saved him. I should've been faster."
"You're still here?" Sukuna tilted his head. "I thought you'd run away by now. Or died properly."
I raised my eyes, fire burning behind them. "You think this is over?"
He blinked once. "You're shaking."
"I'm not shaking because I'm scared," I growled. "I'm shaking because I'm trying not to destroy everything around me."
My hands slammed into the earth, harder this time—
Seal Unleashed: Crimson Vein Awakening.It hurt. It ripped me open from the inside, but I didn't stop.
Golden seals burst from my skin, my bones glowing, burning with rage-fueled cursed energy that came from within—from the bloodline of warriors, protectors, and divine retribution.
Sukuna… laughed.
"Ohhhh... now that's what I've been waiting for," he purred, cracking his neck. "Come on then, little flame. Let me see what you truly are."
I didn't wait. I charged. Every step cracked the ground.The chains returned—no longer gold, but laced with fire-red script, pulsing like a heartbeat. They wrapped around him, and this time, they held—for a second.
I slammed my palm into his chest.
"Reversal Technique: Divine Seal!"
The blast tore through the air, shaking the field, the symbols etching into his body like scars.
But Sukuna just… laughed.
He broke the chains, staggered back, and grinned like a devil seeing God bleed.
"You can hurt me." His tone shifted. "You might actually become something interesting."
"You're talking too much again."
He lunged. I met him halfway. Our fists clashed, curses colliding like thunderclouds.
"I won't let this be Yuji's end," I shouted mid-swing.
"Then let's make it yours," he snarled.
The fight turned brutal. Feral. His claws slashed across my shoulder. I kneed him in the gut. Blood, earth, curses—it all blurred.
And yet… he was still faster. Stronger. Endless.
I landed, panting, coughing blood. But I stood tall.
"You're insane," I whispered.
"I'm a God," he corrected, licking blood from his fingers—mine.
"Then I'll become the Devil."
His eyes sparkled. "Now you're finally speaking my language."
And as we clashed again under the dark sky, I stopped being a girl fighting a monster.
I became a sorcerer with nothing left to lose.
I couldn't move anymore.
I had nothing left.
My blood painted the ground beneath me, and every breath clawed its way out of my chest like a curse trying to escape. My limbs trembled, broken and heavy. The golden seals that once burned so brightly were now flickering like dying embers.
And Sukuna still stood.
Untouched. Unbothered. Smiling.
"You fought harder than I expected," he said, brushing off his shoulder. "But in the end, you're just another weak little sorcerer with a big ego."
I closed my eyes. Maybe… he was right.
Fighting him made one thing painfully clear.
I am not the strongest.I never was.
I was a fool to think I could win this. A fool to believe I could protect anyone. A fool to drag myself into a battle written for monsters while pretending to be a warrior.
And worst of all—I let that child die.
Yuji...
Tears stung my eyes, and they weren't from the pain. I gritted my teeth and pushed my body up from the ground, shaking. There was still one thing I hadn't used.
The scroll.
The one my mother sealed away.
The one she warned me never to touch.
The one she said would burn my soul in exchange for a curse no one could undo.
But I opened it. Once.I had read it—just once, in secret—and I remembered every line, every symbol, every consequence.
If I use it now, I won't survive.
But maybe I don't want to.
I muttered the incantation under my breath, blood spilling from my lips.
"Last resort… for a last failure."
Sukuna tilted his head, amused. "Oh? Something new?"
The scroll's script began glowing beneath my skin, symbols wrapping around my arms, my ribs, my throat. My cursed energy swelled so violently, the air itself began to crack.
The ground beneath us screamed. The earth split open. The technique was activating.
And then—A spark.
A flicker.
Yuji.
I felt it first — the sudden jolt of life rushing back into the cursed space. I turned, my vision blurry, and there he was.
Standing.
Breathing.
Alive.
Yuji Itadori… was back.
Sukuna's smile dropped. "Tch. That brat again?"
Yuji's voice shook, but his fists were clenched. "Enough."
"You dare—" Sukuna hissed.
"No. I don't care what deal we made. I'm taking my body back," Yuji growled.
Sukuna's smirk twitched. "You'll never hold me forever."
"Then I'll keep holding you until I die."
And just like that—Sukuna vanished.His presence evaporated like ash in the wind.
Yuji collapsed to his knees. His chest heaving. His hand covering the hole where his heart used to be.
I stared in disbelief, my body trembling from the technique I never unleashed.
"You're alive…" I whispered, tears flooding down my cheeks.
He turned to me, forcing a smile. "Sorry… I made you cry."
And then—he fell.
Right in front of me.
"Yuji—!!"
I crawled to him, fingers brushing against his hand as darkness clawed at my vision. My body gave out. I couldn't hold on any longer. Everything inside me shattered.
And just before I blacked out—I reached his hand.
And held it.