Chapter 185 (Patreon)

“This Saint Graph…”

Ragnar Kagenou studied the pure-white light surrounding his body.

“Saver.”

Within Sukuna’s triple-layered barrier, every aspect of Ragnar’s power had been severely suppressed. Even with the support of numerous Noble Phantasms, he had only barely managed to fight Sukuna on equal terms.

The moment his Saint Graph changed, however, power began surging from the depths of the planet.

An endless stream of energy rose from the earth and poured into Ragnar’s body.

“That is impossible.”

The cursed eyes growing along the branches of the Anti-Savior Beast narrowed.

“The laws of this world have already been rewritten by the Genesis of Curses. How can the Planet still grant you its power?”

The Anti-Savior Beast—【Curse Tree: Second Saint Graph】—watched as Ragnar’s depleted reserves were restored in seconds.

Every wound closed.

His diminished aura erupted once more, flooding the interior of the Prison Realm with light.

Ragnar raised his head.

“Mongrel.”

Golden ripples spread behind him.

“Let the second round begin.”

Sukuna’s laughter thundered from within the Curse Tree.

“Hahahahaha! Now this is more like it, Ragnar Kagenou! If you had died from that single attack, this battle would have ended far too quickly.”

“Then come.”

Ragnar extended one hand.

“And receive your death.”

A contemptuous laugh emerged from the depths of the tree.

“You speak boldly for someone trapped inside three of my barriers.”

The first layer—

【Final Judgment—Genesis of Curses】.

A barrier that judged human civilization and refined the power of the Seven Deadly Sins. Every phenomenon within it possessed an overwhelming conceptual advantage against humanity.

The second layer—

【Anti-Genesis—Malevolent Shrine】.

A barrier enveloping the entire Earth. It rewrote the laws of reality, reconstructed civilization, and transformed Sukuna into a perpetual-motion source of cursed energy capable of sustaining world-ending power.

The third layer—

【Prison Realm—Human Instrumentality】.

A barrier that compressed the Earth, halted the continuation of human civilization, and created a Perfect World trapped within an eternal cycle. Its ultimate purpose was to freeze human history and replace it with a civilization of curses.

Crack.

Black crystallized fragments of cursed energy peeled away from the Curse Tree.

Beneath the corrupted outer layer, pure-white bark was revealed.

“The hour of judgment has arrived.”

The enormous tree unfolded.

Cracks spread along its roots, and countless masses of black cursed energy rose into the air before descending like a shower of dark stars.

“Let the end fall upon this world.”

Ragnar raised his hand and once again unfolded the Rite of Salvation.

“The craft of the Divine Realm—manifest here.”

An enormous magical foundation appeared beneath him.

“Dragon Vein Incineration Armament—loaded.”

A storm began to gather.

Within moments, wind and snow swept across the Curse Tree, transforming several thousand meters of the surrounding world into a frozen domain.

“Sacred Lances of the Round Table—parallel anchors released.”

At the center of the storm, a brilliant blue star ignited before Ragnar.

“Lances of prayer. Sword of salvation.”

Another twelve stars appeared around him.

Thirteen blue stars now surrounded Ragnar, each transforming into a vast, multicolored magical circle.

“Become the light that washes away all sin.”

The thirteen circles rotated and connected.

Their individual formulas merged into a single grand magecraft array powerful enough to strike down a god.

“Blade of hope, inheritor of every unfulfilled wish!”

A raging torrent of light erupted from the completed array.

The descending meteors of cursed energy disappeared the instant they touched it.

The torrent continued onward and swallowed the entire Curse Tree.

Sizzle—!

A thin crack appeared across its pale bark.

The fracture rapidly spread, branching across the surface of the colossal tree until the entire towering structure was covered in fissures.

“What a pity, Ragnar Kagenou.”

Sukuna’s burning body began fading from the world.

“Your time has run out.”

At the final moment before his true body was incinerated, the twenty-one-second manifestation window ended.

Sukuna vanished back into the isolated space where his true body had been concealed.

Ragnar lowered his hand.

“A creature that hides between worlds, unable even to face the light.”

His eyes remained fixed on the empty space Sukuna had left behind.

“How fitting.”

“The new world has no need for light,” Sukuna replied from beyond the barrier. “Eternal night will become its only law.”

Bang!

The fractured white bark exploded.

The Curse Tree expanded through every crack, revealing the crimson-black core concealed beneath its surface.

Darkness spread from the tree.

The sky changed, taking on the same bloody color as its interior.

“Salvation…”

Sukuna sensed the power continuously flowing from Ragnar’s Saver-class Saint Graph.

His mouth stretched into a terrible smile.

“How absurd.”

The crimson-black core began beating like a heart.

“Savior, vanish alongside those pathetic ideals of yours.”

“Authority of the Beast—Nega-Messiah!”

“Guh!”

Ragnar clutched his chest.

Black blood seeped through the surface of his skin.

“A curse…”

The power of Nega-Messiah was invading both his body and soul.

His Saver-class Saint Graph resisted the corruption, but the Authority had been present since the battle began. It had quietly accumulated within him, waiting for the moment when his transformation made him the embodiment of salvation.

Now it erupted all at once.

“Salvation is nothing more than a fleeting delusion,” Sukuna declared. “Humanity was always destined to disappear.”

Rip—!

Crimson branches erupted from the earth like spears.

Golden light flashed around Ragnar, but the branches tore through his remaining defenses and pierced his arms, legs, and torso.

“Let your death celebrate the birth of our new world of curses.”

Ragnar coughed, blackened blood running from his wounds.

“Mongrel…”

He slowly lifted his head.

“You continue to speak far beyond your station.”

The crimson branches held his body above the ground.

The black blood spreading across him revealed the extent of Sukuna’s corruption. Nega-Messiah had been eroding him from the beginning, and the accumulated curse had finally overwhelmed his defenses.

“Ragnar!”

Gojo’s eyes widened in fury.

“How could this happen…?”

Shoko stood frozen, unable to look away from Ragnar’s impaled body.

“Damn it!”

Geto gritted his teeth.

Sukuna’s triumphant voice resounded across the world.

“This is the final chapter of the old world.”

An immeasurable tide of black cursed energy poured from the Curse Tree.

It engulfed the sky and earth alike.

Several sorcerers were touched by the approaching tide. Their bodies immediately began transforming, cursed energy rewriting their flesh into that of cursed spirits.

“Don’t let that cursed energy touch you!” Geto shouted. “It will assimilate you!”

He formed a hand seal.

“Domain Expansion!”

Geto’s open-barrier Domain spread across the battlefield.

The moment its cursed energy came into contact with the power of the Curse Tree, the two began merging.

Geto’s expression changed.

“My Domain is being assimilated too!”

No barrier constructed from cursed energy could resist Sukuna’s influence. Any technique that touched the black tide was absorbed and converted into part of the new world.

Gojo brought his hands together.

“Cursed Technique Reversal: Red!”

Repulsive force erupted from his body.

Instead of releasing Red as a projectile, Gojo expanded its force into a hollow spherical shell around the surviving sorcerers.

The black tide crashed against it.

Sizzle—!

Red’s repulsion temporarily held back the corrupting cursed energy.

“We stopped it!”

“No.” Geto stared at the shrinking space between them and the black tide. “Red is losing ground.”

The cursed energy continued advancing, compressing Gojo’s defensive sphere from every direction.

Rumble—!

Blazing fire suddenly swept across the battlefield.

The flames consumed the Curse Tree’s cursed energy on contact, burning the black tide away until nothing remained.

Within the darkened world, a small sun appeared.

A familiar voice came from the heart of its flames.

“To be honest, I had no desire to use this Noble Phantasm.”

Sukuna’s cursed eyes turned toward the sun.

“You survived that?”

The surface of the Curse Tree warped beneath the unbearable heat.

“Ragnar!”

Gojo’s anger immediately gave way to relief.

“If you’re alive, you could at least say something!”

Shoko released the breath she had been holding.

“I knew you wouldn’t die here.”

“My apologies, Satoru.”

Ragnar’s voice remained composed despite his condition.

“Maintain Red at maximum output. I have no intention of burning all of you along with the enemy.”

The miniature sun expanded.

Ragnar emerged from its core.

“Now, receive a strike of absolute destruction.”

The golden armor covering his body began to separate.

Kavacha and Kundala had become fused with his Saint Graph, transforming into an ultimate defense that existed as part of his flesh.

To manifest the spear, that armor had to be surrendered.

Golden plates tore away from Ragnar’s body one after another. Blood followed them, staining the light gathering around him.

A pillar of fire erupted from the ground and pierced the heavens.

Waves of heat spread across the world, incinerating the cursed energy released by the Curse Tree.

The entire world became an endless sea of flames.

Within that sacred fire, no evil could approach.

Crimson lightning covered the sky, forming a stark contrast with the burning earth below.

A blazing solar halo appeared behind Ragnar.

Red lightning danced around it.

“Know the mercy of the King of Gods.”

The fire converged around his outstretched hand.

“Extinction is contained within this single strike.”

The crimson lightning descended.

It condensed within Ragnar’s grasp and transformed into a spear forged to slay the divine.

“Indra…”

Ragnar drew the spear back.

“Bear witness.”

The solar halo blazed with its final light.

“Burn away all things.”

Ragnar thrust the divine spear forward.

“Vasavi Shakti—O Sun, Abide to Death!”

——————

Noble Phantasm: Vasavi Shakti—O Sun, Abide to Death

Rank: EX

Type: Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm

Description:

A single-use spear of light possessing enough power to strike down the gods.

The Spear of Inevitable Destruction, formed from the divine lightning of Indra.

Vasavi Shakti can manifest only after its wielder relinquishes Kavacha and Kundala—the golden armor and earrings that provide an almost insurmountable defense.

By sacrificing that protection, the wielder obtains a supreme Anti-Divine weapon capable of annihilating nearly anything struck by its light.

It is a spear of such overwhelming power that even the King of Gods could not wield it carelessly.

When released, the armor fused to the wielder’s body is stripped away.

The resulting bloodstained strike burns through every obstruction and sweeps away all corruption in its path.