No one got much sleep that night since Kobeni was constantly worrying about what Sukuna had said. Delta wasn't in the mood to sleep while Sukuna and Makima didn't need to sleep all that much so they stayed up and alert.
When morning rolled around, Sukuna began to grin as his extraordinary ability to detect Cursed and Negative Energy had stopped having many differences to him at this point. He had been sitting on the floor meditating and now he could feel the approaching sources of Negative Energy.
As for Makima, her little spies had begun to see particular movements from the Devil Hunters of Dallas itself. Since she was laying down on the bed, she called out to him.
"Ryomen, you can feel that right?"
When he opened his four eyes he grinned.
"Of course I can. It seems that they fell for my trap. I knew they couldn't help take the bait."
One of her eyebrows got raised as she got off the bed.
"Bait? Would that be me?"
As he stood up he stretched a bit before shaking his head.
"Nah, you're the cherry on top, I am the full Sunday. Is it arrogant to consider myself more of a worthwhile target than the Control Devil? Maybe. Is it true? Most certainly."
She smiled as that was something she both loved and disliked about him. It was his indomitable spirit and ability to remind her that he was never going to be below her. Her equal maybe, but he would always remind her of his position.
"So what is the plan?"
Now that he was up, he did have one.
"First of all, Kobeni. Sad to say you are going to be the biggest target out of the three of us. That is why, I am going to have you go into my shadow."
Kobeni didn't mind that as she didn't want to be a burden to him.
"Will I be awake?"
He glanced over at Makima who knew what he was asking.
"I got it. I will use my powers as the Control Devil to simply put you to asleep. In that state, you won't have to remain in the darkness of Ryomen's shadow. That will keep you safe. As for the rest of us, we are going to be out fighting."
Ryomen reached out and placed his hand on Makima's shoulder.
"I am trusting you, don't break it."
She reached up and held his hand.
"I won't."
She smiled at him, but it wasn't the smile she gave to everyone else. It was a genuine, sweet smile that made him smile back.
"Thanks, Makima."
He removed his hand and allowed her to walk over to Kobeni. Makima reached out and held both sides of Kobeni's head.
"Sleep."
Instantly, Kobeni became woozy and she passed out into Makima's arms. She picked up the small girl and carried her over to Ryomen.
"Here, in this state, she is in a state of hibernation and will be able to remain like this nearly indefinitely. As long as she remains in your shadow, she will be fine."
He took Kobeni from her arms and he gently lowered her toward his shadow. From his Shadow, two large muscular white arms gently took her and dragged her inside.
"Thanks, Mahoraga."
Once she was safely in his infinite Shadow, the gigantic thumb of the Divine General emerged in response. With his only liability taken care of, he could begin to prepare in earnest.
"Alright then, us three against an entire country. Seems like a fair and fun fight."
Delta began to rub her hands together as that did sound fun.
"Are we going to get to eat?"
He nodded with a big smile.
"Yes, we will dine on the entrails of Devils till we can't. Makima, can you also gain power by eating Humans, Devils, or Fiends?"
She shook her head as she put on her shoes. She was currently wearing a black dress that outlined her figure, very similar to the one she wore when she faced the Gun Devil in the Chainsaw Man Manga.
"No, I don't gain power through that method, my method is Control. I take control over beings I consider beneath me which is most things. War can make weapons from things she cares about, Famine can control those she can starve, as for Death, she controls what she kills.
He nodded as he had an idea.
"I see, well try it anyway."
He reached for his right hand and he tore off two of his fingers. He tossed one to Delta who grabbed the finger and instantly began chewing. If there was one thing that worked like an elixir to a Devil, was his Flesh.
Especially after the big amp of power, he got from eating the massive chunk of the Gun Devil from Japan. He handed the finger to Makima after regenerating his fingers with the Reverse Cursed Technique.
"Try it anyway."
As Makima held his finger she opened her mouth and tossed it into her mouth. She began to chew down on it, crunching his bones and flesh. When she swallowed it, a dense stream of Cursed Energy flowed through her body.
To him, it was just a finger, to her, it was a quite substantial enhancement. She quickly brought her Negative Energy under control, but this was quite substantial. She glanced over at Delta who didn't struggle too much as she had constantly fed on his blood, flesh, and Cursed Energy since he met her.
"I see, that explains why she is so powerful despite being a mere Wolf Devil."
He nodded.
"Exactly. Now then, let us all get to the roof. We will get the high ground and strike first."
He extended his hand and when they took his hands, he teleported them to the roof through Shadow Travel. When the three of them got to the roof, he took a deep breath as she walked toward the ledge.
He glanced all around the city as he could feel so many sources of Negative Energy gathering.
"Right then. I guess I should start us off."
"Totality Nue and Great Serpent."
From his shadow emerged the merged Totality of the two Shikigami. Just like in Jujutsu Kaisen, the Totality from Nue and the Great Serpent was gigantic. Almost like a gigantic Kaiju and it had been enhanced because of him eating a large amount of the Gun Devil.
Delta and Makima observed the gigantic Shikigami that they were standing under.
"Nue, bring the lightning."
---
Down Dallas, the few teams of Devil Hunters that operated in Dallas had been ordered to surround a particular hotel in the City Center. Dallas was a safe city so it had very few Devils so most Devil Hunters left for more work.
Some didn't which included Charles, the self-imposed strongest Devil Hunter in Dallas. He had managed to sign a Contract with the Tornado Devil which was now captured by the Nation.
While it wasn't a Primordial Fear or a Horse Men, it was still a strong Devil so in exchange for its power, it took his right arm as payment. He and his small group of Devil Hunters were just one of a few Teams that bothered to stay in Dallas.
As he gazed at the hotel, he pulled out a cigarette with his remaining hand. Next to him, his long-time girlfriend lit it for him.
"Why are we here again Charles?"
He shrugged.
"Beasts me, some big shot from the National Beuro called all Devil Hunters in the City to surround that Hotel. Two powerful Devils are inside."
As she looked at the hotel, she began to notice something. Unlike Charles who contracted the Tornado Devil, she had managed to get a contract with the Witch Devil. The fear of Witches was common enough for a Devil to pop up, and in exchange, the Devil required some of her flesh or blood in exchange.
She drew on her contract and used to apply a 'spell' to her eyes to zoom in on the Hotel. However, she didn't even need to do that as she saw a massive surge of shadows on the roof which quickly took shape into a gigantic masked bird moth thing.
The monster even had a gigantic writhing snake for a tail which spun around and hissed. The sound echoed through the city causing the common people to panic. They began to flee as they all knew what it meant.
A Devil and a powerful one had materialized in their city and they were on the chopping block. Charles spat out his cigarette as he raised his left hand.
"What is that?"
Already the team that was in Dallas all began to prepare to fight. However, Sukuna knew where they were and soon the sky was full of thunder clouds. What had been a sunny day was now enveloped in dark clouds that thundered with Curse Energy-infused Purple Thunder.
Charles and his girlfriend were just one team and already they began to feel like things were way out of hand.
"WE GOT TO GET OUT!"
Charles was prepared to use his Contract to fly them away, but before he could the sky thundered. From the clouds, ten sky-scraper-sized pillars of Cursed Energy infused Lightning struck with such force that the ground was vaporized.
As he gazed up, he was blinded by the flesh of purple that struck him and his girlfriend. They didn't even feel as if they were vaporized leaving not a trace of them. They were not the only ones as the other teams had faced the same fate.
Each strike was like a railgun that obliterated buildings, and exploded in a sea of Purple Thunder through Dallas. Sukuna who had directed everything began to sneer as in one move he had taken out all the Devil Hunters in Dallas.
"There we are, one blow."
Makima glanced up at the Nue Totality which from the look of things was proud of itself.
"How many creatures have you got in your Shadow?"
"A couple with unique abillities. This is one of my better ones."
Delta was clapping as that was awesome.
"The lightning just smashed into the city, it was amazing."
He smiled as that was just the start.
"Thanks. Now, I think it is time I sent a real message."
Cursed Energy began to surge from his body in droves and in a titanic pillar of black and purple Cursed Energy, he reverted into his True Heian Era form. When he returned to his 9'10 height with four arms, two mouths, and four eyes he felt at his peak.
---
Currently, on an armored train en route to Texas, a sealed metal box was wrapped up in chains with several Devil Hunters standing guard around it. Inside the small box, the Fiend raised its masked head.
Much like the Violence Fiend, it needed this appearance to make it somewhat controllable.
"Oh, how delightful. It seems things are going to be fun."
Hearing this monster talk, made one of the Devil Hunters shiver.
"You are to remain silent until further notice, Suffocation."
A chilling laugh echoed in the box as the Suffocation Fiend laughed.
"You humans have no idea what you are up against. None of you will survive. I will."
The same Devil Hunter kicked the box causing the chains to rattle.
"Oh yeah, don't forget we hold your leash. Those explosives in your body will kill you the moment you try to betray us. You're just a Fiend now, not even a Devil."
Suffocation didn't respond as she could sense Sukuna and Makima. Sukuna's transformation also carried with it a message. Fight me and you will die, and you will be spared.
'Things were going to get interesting.'
Suffocation was just one of the dangerous Devils and Fiends being sent to Texas. In a C-130 another Devil was sealed in such a transportation cage. The Mutilation Devil. Normally not a Devil America would send to the field, but this was a special opportunity.
They were not going to hold back and neither would Sukuna.