Sukuna's Despair

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

.

The sky seemed red, as if it were bathing in blood. The sun seemed eerie, the usual warm rays now nowhere to be found.

Demons have invaded the human realm, their numbers seemingly endless as they attack the two lone fighters in the battlefield—Sukuna and Ren.

Reinforcements were coming in fast, hundreds of trained fighters rushing towards the frontlines of the battle, their determination shining like a candle of hope in the darkness of the peril the world was in.

Humans' fight with demons had reached its climax... or had it?

Whether that may be true or not, one thing is certain: This day will be a turning point for Sukuna, and he will never be the same.

.

(POV: Ryomen Sukuna)

A loud cry escaped my lips, my hands tightly grabbing the uncannily big jaws of the demon I collided with in the air.

I maneuvered quickly, planting my foot on his abdomen.

"Boom," I exclaimed with excitement, a huge grin present on my face as we landed on the ground, the force of my foot on his abdomen made him cough up blood, painting my fingers a deep red.

My grip on his jaw tightened, my eyes burning with an intent to kill like never before.

"First blood," I whispered, my hands trembling with exertion as I pulled them away from each other, ripping the demons whole face into two.

His lower jaw detached from his skull, landing a few feet away.

He fell, his landing kicking up a cloud of dust. His blood mixed with the sand, slowly flowing towards me.

It was a gruesome image, his innards were visible, even some of his esophagus torn apart.

Before I could marvel at the sight, I felt dozens of demons jump towards me, their mana burning into my skin as they exuded an aura of hunger.

My fingers twitched, sending a torrent of Dismantles their way. I lunged towards the demon in front of me, who looked like quite a young woman, following behind my slash.

However, the result was something I could have never imagined.

The Dismantles hit the demons, but they failed to go all the way through, stopping within their bodies, leaving them alive.

A few of the weaker ones fell, dead, their bodies connected by just tissues, my slash going more than halfway through.

Others, however, paused for a second, their wound slowly healing as blood flowed down their legs.

My grin slightly faltered at this revelation. I landed on the ground, my hand shooting towards the woman's chest.

The demon was busy healing the injury from Dismantle, a pool of blood slowly forming under her as she breathed unevenly.

Her eyes widened at the sight of my hand rushing towards her, her hands rising up, trying to protect herself.

Tears seemed to form in her eyes, her face morphing into one of utter fear and regret... regret of trying to face me.

However, if she believes that shedding a few tears works... she chose the wrong man.

My hand didn't stop. My extended fingers effortlessly impaled her arms, which were trying to cover her chest.

It didn't stop there, my fingers went to her chest, penetrating her skin, her muscles, and then her bones with ease.

"No—" She tried to speak, before cutting herself off.

A loud, primal scream escaped her throat, causing the demons around us to turn towards her, their faces slowly morphing into anger.

My hand came out from her back, and in my grasp was a beating heart.

The woman's screams slowly faded, her eyes slowly losing life.

A tear fell from her eye, rolling down her cheek as her body went limp.

I dropped he heart to the ground, pulling my arm out with a whip, her body falling to the floor with a thud.

There was a pause, as if time itself had stopped. The demons around stared at me, their eyes widened in both fear and anger.

"Come on," I exclaimed, my hands slightly trembling as I got into a stance. "You'll face the same end."

Demons lunged at me from all sides, my heart skipping a beat at the sight.

I sent as many Dismantles as I could, my vision blinded by the seemingly endless swarm of demons on top of me.

I could feel the combined weight of all their bodies pushing me to the ground, seemingly trying to bury me right here and now.

My breathing grew ragged, my hands planting on the ground, trying to push myself up.

I could hear demons falling around me, the Dismantles were working. However, it seemed to have no effect, the fallen demons were simply replaced by other who came.

My body was scratched, torn, impaled, my clothes tattered as I tried to push myself up, but to no avail.

I could sense my cursed energy reserves quickly being drained. I was sure... I will lose in a battle of attrition.

I closed my eyes, trying to steady my breathing. I could feel the lack of oxygen, buried under this pile of demons.

"Cleave," I muttered, my lips curling up back into a grin, the demons touching my skin immediately falling, being slashed into two.

My eyes slightly widened. I hadn't used Cleave that much... for most of what I did, Dismantle was enough... but that also meant that I was not skilled with Cleave at all.

The amount of cursed energy it took was many times that of Dismantle. Even though this wouldn't make too much of a difference because of the tremendous amount of cursed energy I posses... slowly, the effect would come up.

I tried my best, Cleaving the demons around me, tearing the others with my bare hands.

By now, I was covered in deep red, my hair falling onto my face, drenched with the blood of the demons.

Punching another demon to the ground with a grunt, her face caving in, killing her instantly, I got up, my breathing ragged.

I could feel the exertion, my muscles stung and burned like never before, and more importantly... I felt empty.

This was the first time I had used this much cursed energy... even though I had quite a bit left, such a big void made me feel... weird, to say the least.

I slowly turned around, sweat dripping from my forehead to the ground, my eyes darting around the battlefield.

I was surprised, there were almost no demons around me.

My gaze rose to the sky, my eyes widening in shock as I stared at the brightly glowing moon high up in the darkness of the atmosphere.

Hours had passed... but it felt like mere minutes.

I could feel my vision slightly blur, my eyes coming back down to the battlefield, my eyes meeting the lone figure of Ren, fighting with a seemingly endless swarm of demons, just like I was.

I realized... the demons that came for me had already died... and the only ones left were targeting Ren, possibly scared of me.

Usually, I would grin, but my face muscles were sore. I ran towards his figure, my legs trembling as I slightly fumbled my steps.

On the way, I could see a bunch of demons laying all around the battlefield... but among them were humans too.

I looked around, my eyes burning with exhilaration. The reinforcements sent were dying quickly, struggling to fight even a few demons together.

My eyes caught sight of something... Nyra, Lucian, and Eleanor fighting in the distance.

I couldn't see it clearly, my vision focusing and unfocusing involuntarily, but it was clear that they had just arrived.

Before I knew it, I had reached Ren, jumping towards him with a silent battle cry.

Cleave.

Two demons fell apart, their bodies divided into multiple pieces before they even had the chance to notice me.

My eyes met with Ren, who looked as if he was in the same condition I was.

His breathing was ragged, a string of drool falling down his mouth as he swung his sword around.

His movements were sluggish, the previous graceful motions no longer to be seen.

The same could be said for me, my punches were slow, my vision uncertain.

I grit my teeth in annoyance... I was pushed to such a limit by mere demons... such weak ones that there are thousands of them to spare.

I ran around, my steps fatigued. I felt drowsy, I felt... tired.

I ripped apart demons' bodies, limb, faces as I ran, but it was no longer affecting me... I had done this too much today.

"Finally," I muttered, noticing that no more demons were coming... if we kill these ones, it'll be over.

I cleaved a demon lunging at me, my steps slow, yet not stopping.

Suddenly, my eyes widened in realization... I had less than half my cursed energy remaining now.

How is that possible? I used only Dismantle and Cleave... or did I use them just so much that...

My thoughts trailed off, interrupted by another demon who I immediately punched into the ground.

It was still alive, so I finished it off with a Cleave, a final growl leaving its mouth before it died.

However, I realized... my eyes widening in both confusion and irritation.

The power of Cleave was much lower than before.

I got up, blood dripping from my head.

My cursed energy output was dwindling. Am I... losing?

My teeth were grit in frustration. "No."

There are only a few dozen demons left, I've won... I can never lose to these—

A gasp escaped my lips, my head slowly lowering as I felt my body tremble.

My eyes landed on an arm, a big, bloody arm. The blood on it was... mine.

From behind, a demon had impaled my back, his going through my body and leaving through my chest, creating a huge hole.

Blood trickled from my mouth. The demon pulled its arm back, making me fall to the floor, my eyes widened in... fear.

I felt a fear I had never felt before... me, of all people.

I tried to desperately heal my wound, blood gushing out of it like a river.

However, my output was low, which means that the speed of healing was too slow for comfort.

I was losing a lot of blood, my mind completely focused on reverse cursed technique.

I could feel the demon raising its arms for a final blow, a huge grin on its face, like I had when I was killing them.

For the first time in my life... I felt like prey.

If I stopped reverse cursed technique, the injury would get fatal. If I didn't defend, I would be killed.

I was panicking, my breathing getting faster and shallower, my hands trembling as I tried to crawl away.

Suddenly, a knee hit the demons face, sending it flying meters away, its limbs bending unnaturally.

Eleanor.

She had saved me at the last minute... without her, I would be dead.

Nyra rushed to me, her eyes widening as she saw my injury, her hands trembling and fidgeting, confused and panicking.

"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice trembling. Her eyes were filled with concern... these were the only words she could think of.

I didn't respond, my breathing slowly calming down as I managed to heal my injury fully.

I fell to the ground, my eyes slowly scanning the battlefield... it was over.

I brought my hand to my face... and I could feel it still trembling.

Nyra, noticing that I was fine, glanced at me worriedly before rushing away, trying to check if any civilians were still alive.

I was still on the ground, my blood painting the sand a deep red. My teeth were grit so hard that I drew blood from my gums.

Pathetic.

I feel utterly humiliated.

I scratched my own face in frustration, the marks immediately healing, as if it was instinct.

I was thoroughly pathetic... trembling in front of a worthless demon... needing another person to save me...

My hands curled up into fists, my nails digging into my flesh, blood dripping out of the wound.

"How can you be so..." I whispered to myself, my face distorted in anger as I punched the floor, slightly cracking it. "...pitiful?"

The rage I felt now was something I had never felt before... I was still far too weak.

The rage within me burned hotter, but this time, it wasn't aimed outside, but at myself.

I felt so... disappointed with myself. I believed myself to be an invincible force... but was simply a... poser.

No.

My eyes shut close tightly, my teeth grinding against each other.

I will become strong... no, I will become the strongest.

My eyes opened, turning to Eleanor, just looking at her made me feel completely humiliated.

"I don't need you to save me." I muttered, my voice filled with a darkness even I was surprised by, such immeasurable grief as if I had met Oizys. "I... don't need you."

I could feel my pride shatter away, along with myself... or the person I believed to be myself... slowly crumbling into pieces.