Malevolent Intentions

"The pursuit of ultimate power is a game where the price is steep, and the only players are those willing to gamble everything."

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(A day ago...with Sukuna)

The sun was just beginning to set, casting a picturesque golden glow on the grass and the flowing river.

Sukuna had chosen this spot, a peaceful place under a large tree, for his meeting with Eva.

He had asked her to go on a date in the morning, just a few hours ago, and he steeled his resolve, deciding to reveal his intentions head-on.

He stood there, slightly nervous as he thought how Eva would react.

The light crunch of soil hit his ears. He turned to the left, seeing Eva slowly walking towards him, her expression softening as she looked at him.

"Hey," she said, her eyes locked with his as she sensed the seriousness in the atmosphere.

"Eva," Sukuna said, moving closer to Eva, the tension in the environment doubling as her mind raced. "This is about our date... something important."

She nodded, looking into his eyes, her gaze unwavering. "What is it?"

Sukuna hesitated, finding it difficult to get the words out. "I'm planning something... big."

Her brows furrowed at the vague answer, her mind racing, searching for possibilities. "What do you mean?"

Sukuna took a deep breath, pausing before responding. "I've been killing people, Eva, but the results are growing smaller."

At these words, Eva's face didn't change. Ever since Sukuna had told her about devouring souls, she knew that he would probably do this.

She waited for him to continue silently, her confident gaze unchanging.

"The increase is my soul's size is getting smaller the more I kill," Sukuna said, his voice growing colder by the second. "So I need to do something big."

A chill ran down Eva's spine as she saw the malicious glint in his eyes, her heart beating faster with each passing second.

"What exactly... are you planning?"

"There's a town in the outskirts," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "I'll massacre everyone there, and devour their souls."

Eva's eyes widened as she instinctively took a step back.

Sukuna felt a jolt of pain in his heart as he watched her back away.

"A... whole town?" She asked, her voice shaking, struggling to process what he was saying.

Sukuna composed himself. "I'll leave a portion of souls for you, it will help us grow stronger," he said, his eyes staring into hers.

Her mind was conflicted.

Ever since she first met him, she knew that he was not the most moral person, but this... a whole town...

"But... they're innocent people... even children," she managed to speak, her voice trembling as she imagined the scene.

"Innocence is irrelevant," Sukuna said, his voice unwavering, his gaze piercing. "Strength is the only thing that matters in this world."

Eva's heart beat harder at these words.

She knew it better than anyone. Her only goal in life was to avenge her family, and she had pursued strength forever.

Eva had always admired his strength, his resolve to grow stronger with any opportunity.

But this was different.

As she looked into his eyes, she saw no hesitation. His eyes seemed to say that what he was doing was right.

"I don't know," she whispered out. "It's... wrong."

Sukuna held her hand in his own, pulling her closer.

"You understand me better than anyone, Eva," he said, his voice soft. "This is necessary."

He paused for a second, thinking of the right words to say.

"With this power, we can protect what matters to us, I want to protect you, I want to be with you, forever."

These words hit her heart. She felt tears welling up in her eyes at his confession.

She wanted to believe him, to support him, always, but a part of her mind knew that this was wrong.

"But... killing so many people..." she said, her voice barely audible.

Sukuna's grip on her tightened. "I know what I'm doing, Eva, and it's for our own good."

Eva looked up into his eyes, his unwavering gaze giving her confidence.

Her heart, her mind, her everything screamed at her to refuse, to run away, to say no.

But, she found herself nodding, her head bobbing up and down almost automatically. "I'll help you."

Sukuna pulled her into a deep hug. "Thank you, Eva."

She buried her face in his chest, her heart still heavy from the implications of what they were about to do.

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The silence between them stayed for a few minutes.

Eva pulled away, breaking the hug as tear marks stained her face and Sukuna's shirt.

She looked up into his eyes. His gaze was unwavering, but there was something else filling them.

She knew that the talk was not over yet.

"I need to explain something more," he said, as if reading her thoughts.

Eva nodded slowly, her heart beating in her chest.

"We'll not immediately destroy the town," he said, his voice low.

"We will go around it, like a normal couple, and look for promising people, especially children," he said, his voice carrying a calculating undertone.

Eva listened attentively, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"If we find someone with potential, like with a different soul, multiple souls, a lot of mana, good control over mana, and so on, we take them with us," he said, his tone emotionless.

Eva's brows furrowed. "And if we don't find any?" She knew what the answer was, but wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"Then the original plan goes," he said matter-of-factly. "I'll destroy the town with my ultimate attack."

"Your ultimate attack?" She asked, curiosity taking over her thoughts.

I nodded. "It'll cover an area, like a dome above ground, annihilating everything inside it."

A chill went down her spine at his words, the amount of destruction the attack would cause making her stomach churn.

"How big will the dome be?" She asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"That's your job," Sukuna said, looking into her eyes. "You will go at least 500 meters away, and check the distance it reaches. I need to know the exact distance."

Eva nodded slowly, her mind remembering all the information. "I'll do it."

Sukuna's expression softened as he leaned in, pressing his lips into her forehead. "Thank you, Eva."

Eva closed her eyes, a small smile crept onto her face as the warmth of the kiss spread through her.

"Let's go," Sukuna said, his voice reassuring as he led the way.

Eva nodded, following him, her mood better with the kiss.

The night was creeping into the sky as stars became visible. Eva and Sukuna walked silently towards the city, their hearts beating as they got lost in each other's company.

.

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[POV: Ryomen Sukuna] (At present...)

"Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine"

As soon as those words were spoken, the landscape around us got covered in complete darkness.

The mouths of the children witnessing this opened in awe. It was as if I was altering reality itself.

Their innocent faces, and sparkling eyes filled with excitement, incited no emotions in me... they were insignificant.

The space around us started to distort. The ground beneath the children's feet cracked.

The sky turned bright red, as if foreshadowing the bloodshed that would happen in a few seconds.

Then, the Shrine appeared.

Boasting in all its glory, the beautiful, ancient, otherworldly shrine appeared behind me.

The shrine exuded an aura, a presence, of pure malice, something that would fill the bravest of people with unending dread.

The children, who were filled with excitement just moments ago, were now shaking in fears, their small bodies trembling along with the ground as they stood frozen in fear.

Their eagerness turned into pure terror as they realized that this wasn't a game... it was death.

The faces on the shrine smiled as the attacks started.

The ground seemed to explode as an uncountable number of slashes appeared across the whole town.

Screams echoed in the air, ones of pure agony. Each cry was a plea for mercy, for life.

The children's desperate cries were overshadowed by the sound of destruction reverberating around me.

The children's bodies got shredded into pieces, their blood coating the ground in a beautiful, bright red, sinking slowly into the soil.

I looked at this bloodbath with no remorse.

The blood, to me, looked like a painting being made masterfully.

Not just people, but all the houses, all the buildings were shredded into dust, the once-lively town now a graveyard.

I stood in the center of this carnage, my hands connected together in a devious hand sign, a small smirk plastered on my face.

This was the price of power, the path I had chosen.

The absolute carnage continued for a whole minute, which was more than enough to decimate the whole town into a wasteland.

I looked around, all the happy people were turned into mere stains of blood on the ground, their souls sticking to those pools.

I slowly walked around the wasteland, the silence was loud.

I extended a hand, the warmth of a child's soul hitting my fingers before I devoured it without hesitation.

As soon as I saw Eva far away, I gestured for her to start devouring the souls as well.

Her eyes were wide with shock as she took in the amount of destruction that had taken place.

Her heart raced as she looked around, she was sure that she would puke. The slaughter was more grotesque than she had ever imagined.

But, deep down, she knew that she had agreed to this.

She quickly ran around, devouring all the souls she could see, her guilt rising with each soul she touched.

She knew that there was no backing away now.

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We devoured all the souls we could find, and we started running away quickly, jumping into the car and driving away.

Eva was affected deeply, her eyes were locked in the road for the whole trip, her hands trembling as the scene of the carnage replayed in her mind.

"How far?" I asked, my heart beating in exhilaration.

She gulped, turning towards me, her breathing uneven. "310 meters."

My eyes widened at the number.

I had made the distance the maximum I could, so this means that the limit for distance is not 200, but 310 meters.

I subconsciously accelerated the car further, adrenaline still coursing in my veins.

The air felt colder. Eva's hands were still trembling as she turned towards me.

She wanted to see if I felt anything at all, remorse, guilt, grief. But my expression was anything but readable.

"Sukuna," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Was this..."

"It was necessary," I cut her off, knowing what she was going to say.

She closed her eyes, her breathing uneven.

"Did we do the right thing?" She asked, but it seemed like she was asking this to herself more than to me.

"There is no right and wrong in this world, only strength," I responded, my heart still racing.

Eva nodded slightly, but the turmoil in her heart didn't subside.

But, it was done now, there was no going back, both me and Eva knew that.

Whatever happens next, we will face it together, we had crossed a line we could never return from.

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(The next day...)

I was woken up from my sleep by a loud, almost urgent knock on the door.

My eyes fluttered open, the sleeping face of Eva coming into view.

My eyes softened as I looked at her, she looked beautiful, I swiped a strand of hair from her face as I got up, getting out from her grip, making sure she doesn't wake up.

The person knocked again, it felt more urgent this time.

I opened the door, only to find a maid standing impatiently.

"Lord Sukuna," she said, her voice shaking. "Your parents have called for you."

I looked at her for a second before turning away. "I'll be there."

She quickly walked away, as if she didn't want to be in my presence.

As I looked at Eva again, a golden light being casted on her face by the sun, I couldn't help but feel glad.

I went to her, lightly kissing her forehead.

She shifted a little, but didn't wake up.

I went out of the room, silently shutting the door. I walked through the lavish corridors, taking deep breaths, readying my mind for the conversation I was to have with my parents.

I knew that they probably have gotten the news, and have deduced that I was the culprit of the massacre.

As I walked to the living room, I saw both my parents, Amaya and Eiji, sitting beside each other on the couch.

Their faces were eerily serious, their gaze unwavering as they gestured me to sit in front of them.

I sat down silently on the couch in front of them.

The tension in the air was palpable. Their gazes bore into my soul as I leaned forward.

"Sukuna," my father started, his voice as low as it could go. "The massacre..." He hesitated in speaking.

He sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked me straight in the eyes.

I had expected man things from this, disappointment, anger, reprimand.

They would interrogate me about it, maybe even cry about why I had done this.

But, the next words that came out of his mouth left me speechless.

I had noticed it in my parents, but I was still not ready for this question.

...

"How do you know about the Soul?"

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What do you think of this chapter?

Sukuna's parents know about the soul?!??!?

Anyhow, 2300 words.

ALSO, I was curious so I put this chapter into an AI detector and it says that 40% IS AI GENERATED... WHAT?

I took three lines... THREE LINES from AI... bruuuuh.

gimme POWWER STOOONES :3

cya next chapter :>