A massive flaming meteor descended.
Slow.
Inevitable.
The intense heat ignited the air itself.
The underground station became a gigantic furnace.
Steel beams melted.
Concrete walls cracked and collapsed.
Everything seemed to be dissolving under the overwhelming heat.
It felt like the end of the world.
To the sorcerers watching from afar—
It was pure despair.
Like an ant being thrown into a blast furnace.
"Die!"
"Burn to ashes!"
Jogo laughed wildly.
His single eye burned with madness.
This was his Maximum Technique.
The attack he used when fighting Gojo Satoru himself.
Even Gojo had chosen to evade rather than take it head-on.
Jogo wanted to erase everything here.
The station.
The sorcerers.
Yagami Sora.
All of it.
"This…"
He roared.
"…is the wrath of a curse!"
Then—
Something impossible happened.
The meteor stopped.
Just three meters above Yagami Sora's head.
Frozen in midair.
As if time itself had been paused.
Then the flames began to twist.
Warping violently.
Like a whirlpool of fire.
And slowly—
The blazing inferno began flowing toward Sora's palm.
Like water being drawn into a vortex.
"What…?!"
Jogo's laughter stopped instantly.
His eye widened in disbelief.
He could feel it clearly.
Not only had he lost control of the flames—
The very space surrounding the meteor had been seized.
"Thermal energy…"
Yagami Sora spoke calmly through the sea of fire.
"…is still energy."
"And every form of energy has vectors."
He slowly closed his fingers.
The flames obeyed his motion like obedient servants.
"As long as it has direction…"
"…it belongs to me."
"Vector Manipulation — Thermal Conversion."
WHOOSH.
The massive meteor vanished.
In only a few seconds—
All of its energy had been compressed.
Into a single point.
A small sphere hovered above Sora's palm.
No larger than a ping-pong ball.
But its brightness was blinding.
Pure white.
The temperature inside it surpassed imagination.
Possibly rivaling the surface of the sun.
The surrounding air distorted violently.
Thin black cracks flickered around the sphere.
Evidence that even space struggled to withstand the pressure.
Sora studied the sphere quietly.
Almost like an artist admiring his work.
"See?"
He said softly.
"This…"
"…is what pure energy looks like."
"Compression."
"Collapse."
"And finally…"
"Disintegration."
He flicked his finger.
"Here."
The sphere shot forward.
Faster than the eye could follow.
Where it passed—
The air itself burned away.
Leaving a vacuum trail.
Jogo instinctively tried to dodge.
"Oh no—!"
But the sphere seemed to lock onto him.
The surrounding space tightened like a cage.
He couldn't move.
Then—
It struck.
BOOM.
There was no huge explosion.
No roaring shockwave.
Only a horrible sizzling sound.
The sound of matter vaporizing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Jogo screamed.
For the first time in his existence—
The fire curse was being burned.
Half his body vanished instantly.
The remaining half was charred black.
Smoke poured from the wounds.
His cursed energy core was severely damaged.
His life force draining rapidly.
"H-how…"
Jogo collapsed to the ground.
Barely conscious.
"My flames…"
"Why…"
Sora walked toward him slowly.
Each step echoed in the ruined station.
"People who play with fire…"
He said calmly.
"…usually end up burned."
"You scattered your heat everywhere."
"I simply concentrated it for you."
He crouched beside the dying curse.
Looking down like one might observe a crushed insect.
"This level of heat…"
"…isn't even enough to light my cigarette."
"So."
Sora tilted his head slightly.
"Any last words?"
Jogo's rage faded.
Replaced by fear.
This human—
Was a monster.
Even more terrifying than Gojo Satoru.
With trembling hands—
He pulled something from his robes.
Several shriveled fingers.
Ten of them.
The cursed fingers of Ryomen Sukuna.
Originally—
They were meant to revive Sukuna to defeat Gojo.
But now—
They were Jogo's final gamble.
"Oh?"
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Calling for backup?"
He didn't stop him.
Instead—
He watched with interest.
"Good."
"I was curious anyway."
"How strong is the so-called King of Curses?"
"I hope he lasts longer than you."
"Otherwise…"
Sora smiled faintly.
"…I might get bored."
With his final strength—
Jogo threw the fingers.
They flew through the air—
Toward Yuji Itadori, who had just arrived.
"Swallow them…"
Jogo whispered.
"…boy."
Yuji instinctively caught them.
Then—
An overwhelming aura exploded from his body.
Black markings spread across his skin.
His eyes changed.
Two becoming four.
The King of Curses had awakened.
Ryomen Sukuna.
A true battle between monsters—
Was about to begin.
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