Chapter 84 (Patreon)

“It’s you.”

Sukuna’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw Ragnar Kagenou.

He remembered him.

The brat who had bound him with chains the first time he took over Yuji Itadori’s body.

Ragnar walked toward him without the slightest hesitation.

“Exorcising Cursed Spirits is a sorcerer’s job,” Ragnar said calmly. “Since when did you start doing volunteer work?”

Sukuna’s mouth twisted into a grin.

“Brat. Everyone who runs their mouth in front of me ends up in pieces.”

Ragnar smiled faintly.

“And everyone who bares their fangs at me usually doesn’t get the luxury of dying cleanly.”

The air between them tightened.

Sukuna’s grin widened, his killing intent rising—

“Wait.”

Sukuna paused.

“What? Getting cold feet?”

Ragnar glanced past him, toward the Special Grade Cursed Spirit.

“That thing is annoying. Let’s get rid of it first.”

Sukuna followed his gaze, then clicked his tongue with amusement.

“You’re ordering me around now?”

“I’m saying it’s in the way.”

Ragnar raised one hand.

Golden ripples spread through the air behind him.

From within them, he drew out a radiant golden holy sword.

Excalibur.

The moment the blade appeared, Sukuna’s expression shifted slightly.

“…Interesting.”

His eyes fixed on the sword.

“I don’t sense any cursed energy from that weapon.”

“It’s a holy sword,” Ragnar replied. “It would be stranger if you did.”

Sukuna stared at it with rare curiosity.

A weapon that did not rely on cursed energy.

That alone was enough to catch his attention.

Ragnar lifted his other hand.

The Chains of Heaven shot forward, wrapping around the Special Grade Cursed Spirit before it could even react. The creature struggled violently, but the chains held firm.

Ragnar raised Excalibur high.

Light began to gather.

“Breath of the planet…”

Golden particles drifted around him like fragments of starlight.

“Light of life gathered beneath the stars.”

The radiance surged into the holy sword.

Sukuna watched in silence.

For the first time, his grin carried something closer to genuine interest.

Ragnar brought the blade down.

“Excalibur.”

A torrent of golden light erupted.

The beam swallowed the Special Grade Cursed Spirit in an instant. Its body lasted only a breath before being erased completely, leaving nothing behind.

The light continued upward, tearing through the ceiling and piercing the sky.

For a moment, the entire area was dyed gold.

Sukuna looked at the holy sword in Ragnar’s hand.

“What the hell was that?”

His voice was low, but there was no fear in it.

Only curiosity.

“A power you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.”

Clatter.

Something fell to the ground.

A Sukuna Finger.

Ragnar glanced down.

“Kenjaku really is thorough when it comes to bringing you back.”

He walked over and picked it up.

“Your finger survived that. Impressive.”

Sukuna looked amused.

“Special Grades are not all equal. I’ve been beyond that level for a long time.”

“Even when you’re not fully resurrected?”

Ragnar tossed the finger toward him.

“Catch.”

Sukuna caught it and opened his hand.

It was truly one of his own fingers.

His eyes sharpened.

“What are you playing at?”

“Nothing complicated,” Ragnar said. “You’re not giving Itadori’s body back just because I ask.”

He looked straight at Sukuna.

“So before that, I’ll let you recover a little.”

Sukuna stared at him.

Then he laughed.

A deep, pleased laugh that echoed through the ruined space.

“You’re insane.”

Ragnar did not deny it.

Sukuna’s grin turned vicious.

“You think handing me more power will help you? You really believe those pretty toys can kill me?”

Ragnar’s eyes remained calm.

“What makes you think you can stand above humanity’s strongest fantasy?”

Sukuna’s expression darkened with contempt.

“Humanity?”

He laughed again.

“A swarm of insects calling their delusions strength.”

Ragnar’s gaze cooled.

“That arrogance of yours is only impressive because of how ignorant it is.”

Sukuna’s cursed energy flared.

“Then I’ll show you exactly how fragile humans are.”

Drip.

A single drop of water fell into the puddle between them.

The next instant, both of them moved.

Their figures vanished.

Steel flashed.

Blood scattered.

Sukuna’s arm flew through the air.

He looked at the severed limb, his expression finally changing.

“…Oh?”

Ragnar held Excalibur at his side.

“If you keep testing me carelessly, you’ll die.”

Sukuna’s severed arm regenerated in an instant.

This was not the time to make things difficult for Itadori.

The man in front of him was strong.

Strong enough to make Sukuna want to fight properly.

“Good.”

His grin widened.

“Keep going.”

Sukuna shattered the ground beneath his feet and closed the distance in a blink.

His fists tore through the air.

Each blow carried enough force to split stone. The pressure alone carved lines through the surrounding walls and floor.

Ragnar met him head-on.

Cursed energy flowed along Excalibur’s blade.

Sukuna twisted away as a streak of golden light swept past him, erasing everything behind him.

The holy sword came for his neck.

Splat!

Sukuna crossed both arms and forced the blade aside.

Even so, a deep sword wound opened across his chest.

“Not bad,” Sukuna said.

The wound on his chest closed.

His hands healed.

Then he formed a mudra.

The air changed.

Ragnar’s eyes narrowed.

Sukuna’s smile became monstrous.

“Domain Expansion.”

A shrine of bones and twisted mouths rose behind him.

“Malevolent Shrine.”

There was no barrier.

Only slaughter given form.

Invisible slashes descended.

“Rho Aias.”

Seven translucent petals unfolded around Ragnar like a shield of blooming light.

Crack.

The first layer shattered.

Then the second.

Then the third.

Sukuna’s eyes sharpened.

“A Simple Domain? No… that’s different.”

Ragnar looked at the shrine behind him.

“An open-barrier domain.”

Sukuna’s grin deepened.

“You know about it?”

The slashes came again.

Ragnar dismissed Rho Aias and stepped forward.

Sukuna laughed.

“You’re leaving your little shield? Walking into my domain on purpose?”

Ragnar gripped Excalibur in reverse.

“If I stay back there, how am I supposed to beat you down?”

The invisible slashes rushed toward him.

Ragnar swung.

Excalibur tore through them.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

A web of slashes closed in from every direction.

Ragnar planted his foot.

Golden light erupted from the holy sword.

“Excalibur.”

The torrent of light burst forward, devouring the slashes and sweeping toward Sukuna like a dragon of pure radiance.

Outside the juvenile detention center, Nobara Kugisaki and Kiyotaka Ijichi saw the golden beam erupt from within once again.

The light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds before exploding outward and blowing the darkness apart.

“Again?!”

This time, both of them reacted at once and dove into the car.

A violent gale slammed into the vehicle.

The car rocked violently, creaking as though it might be torn apart at any second.

Nobara grabbed the seat and shouted over the wind.

“What kind of fight is going on in there?!”

Ijichi’s face had gone pale.

“I-I don’t know! And I really don’t want to know!”

Noble Phantasm: Excalibur

Rank: A++

Type: Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm

The greatest Noble Phantasm of the King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon.

A holy sword forged by the planet itself, not by human hands.

It stands at the pinnacle of holy swords, crystallized from humanity’s prayers and faith as the Strongest Fantasy.

By converting the wielder’s energy into light, it releases that gathered radiance from the tip of the blade as a destructive beam capable of annihilating everything in its path.