You staggered back on your feet, but you couldn't stand up straight because Sukuna's cursed energy rivaled against your cursed energy, causing you to feel so weak like you haven't eaten for days and you crumbled on the ground. You shook in cold sweats, trying to catch your breath and stay conscious. "Ahh… The person I've been looking for," you tiredly chirped, directly staring at him with a fake smile. He orchestrated everything so you could kill the higher ups and be in Sukuna's hand. Though he may have helped you discover the truth, it doesn't change the fact he did this for his own personal gains.

You couldn't believe taking in Sukuna's power would result in this, but you shouldn't be too surprised when Kameko couldn't kill him either. You're just glad that it hadn't killed you once it came into contact with your energy. However, now you're in no condition to fight Kenjaku as you hoped. You can't finish him off even if you wanted to lift a finger up and conjure something from your exhausted body. If you hadn't taken Yuji's cursed energy then facing off Kenjaku would've been fine.

Kenjaku sneered at you. "Y/n, you don't deserve him. He's better off without you." Then he began walking towards you with his eerie aura behind him.

Did that bastard just wanted me to pour out my feelings by saying that? I obviously know I don't deserve him now, but he won't see me cry because I'm too good for that. Moreover, you're annoyed by his presence since he decided to bring that up than anything else you two could talk about.

Controlling your breathing and forcing your eyes to stay awake, you knew it was over since he's here to take you back to Sukuna. You'll just have a conversation with him instead because it's been too long since you guys last saw each other. "I'm surprised you didn't show up until the very end. I tampered too much and foiled your plan… You disappoint me. Maybe that's why you were never relevant in Kameko's memories."

A tick mark appeared on Kenjaku's forehead as it pissed him off that you brought up Kameko. You had no idea what he felt about her but you didn't care. She's dead and gone, you can't revive the dead. Kenjaku hissed in between his teeth, "I wanted to see how far you'd make it but it seemed I underestimated you. I tried throwing things in your way but you exceeded my expectations." He forced a heavy laughter out as his eyes stared daggers at you. You knew he wanted to kill you on the spot for ruining everything and probably hated you for it. If you hadn't been in the way more carnage would've erupted and spread like wildfire.

"You're such a people pleaser, you mutt. How long are you going to follow Sukuna to get on his good side? Now, you're going to send me back because he wants me. What. A. Good. Dog. Making sure his owner is pleased." You manically laughed to spite his ancient soul.

He's doing all of this to butter up Sukuna? How pathetic! He should get a new fucking life! You wanted to taunt him even more but you had no more energy to do so. You were on the brinks of passing out from the energies inside your body clashing.

When Kenjaku was about to pick you up and take you back to Sukuna, your savior Megumi intervened and caused him to retreat. Kenjaku knew better not to mess with a shadow user because he had encountered some in his past and was defeated by them.

"I'll get you next time, y/n!"

Once Kenjaku ran off, Megumi sat you up so you're now looking at him. He saw how lethargic you seemed as your eyes kept rolling to the side instead of focusing on him. The first thing you said to him was something he wasn't expecting. "Oof, what happened to you? You're all bloody. Did you get your skull cracked open?"

Megumi's face scrunched up as his skin wrinkled from your words. It threw him off while vexing him. He assumed he was going to be greeted with surprise but no it wasn't. "Really? You're asking me about my appearance? Look at you! You look like the devil's child! And you stink! Don't come after me when you look way worse!" He snapped back to put you in your place.

You groaned and explained what you've been up to. You also informed him what you did to Yuji while you undid the barrier with the little strength you had. Megumi did the same and told you that he and others participated in the cullen game to find a sorcerer who could break Gojo out from the prison realm.

"Did you see a sorcerer who resembled an angel?"

Taking your hand off the ground from breaking the curse, you shook your head as you never heard about that person. "No. I killed everyone in all colonies and I think I would've seen one… Maybe she died? I don't know, but either way she doesn't matter because I'm here! I can help break Satoru free." You pushed yourself on your feet so you can go. "I'll see you later in the new world—" one step forward and you blacked out. Your body couldn't stay active and needed to rest.

/

The next morning you woke up at Master Tengen's altar with your peers: Maki, Yuji, Yuta, Hikari, Kirara, Panda, Choso, Megumi, Yuki, and Master Tengen surrounding you. "I'm back to where I started." You said, staring at all of them as you only remembered your rampage of killing many sorcerers. You were engulfed in your high emotions, letting that pull you around and control your every movement. "It's good to know that everyone is alright and alive," you plastered a forced smile as you felt awkward given the fact they're all looking at you. "Wow Maki, you look badass with that new look you're rocking…"

"Yeah, I got burned by a volcano curse! Fortunately, I survived unlike some sorcerers who were with me." Maki bitterly spoke, recalling the Shibuya incident and now you felt horrible for saying that.

Well, fuck now this is awkward… I don't know what to say or do. They're all staring at me, making me feel so nervous. I'm cracking from their pressure like please let me breathe! You internally died, wishing you could run out of this room.

Then Yuji got your attention, stepping in front of you as you anchored your head up to see his face. "Y/n, what did you do to me?" He flexed his fingers, knowing his body wasn't normal. You're the only person who would know since you're the last one who interacted with him before he blacked out.

You knew this would break his heart but you said it anyway. "I absorbed Sukuna's power out of your body. Thank goodness you guys weren't fused together or else you would've died too."

Yuji was disheartened that you had to go that route and push him away because you didn't believe or trust him.

So you pushed yourself up from the ground and announced what Sukuna has been up to since you knew they're all curious. You gave them a run down of your well being there and what you've been through. "I'll tell you this, Sukuna has never spoken about his plans in front of me. It was always a place outside where I lived. So I don't know what he has under his sleeves, but I know it's to annihilate humanity for Kameko. Also, he's not at his full strength since half of his power was inside of Yuji until I took it away." You explained how your absorbing technique worked and what it does to your body. "I think resting did help my body break down his energy into mine, but my strength isn't fully there like before yet I'm still able to fight." You don't know how long it's going to take for you to get better, and you're a bit scared since this has never happened to you before.

Yuki chimed in, "So are you going to use that technique and kill Sukuna for good?"

"Well, that's the plan! I'm not too sure how I'm going to take down Ken—"

Panda interrupted you, "Y/n, you're not doing this by yourself. We're not going to let you fight two enemies. You took down all the colonies within a few days which means you're worn out. Focus on taking down Sukuna and we'll get Kenjaku."

Megumi added in his thoughts too. "You look horrible and you literally collapsed after getting up. Why would we let you go by yourself? You're crazy to think we're gonna sit back and relax. This is our responsibility too."

"I saw how you killed many players in my colony, y/n. You have the inhuman strength to take down whatever's in your path, but since you stated you aren't fully recovered, we can't let you do this on your own." Yuta implied as he did see you from afar but decided to retreat instead of getting in your way. That was the best course of action to save himself from getting tangled in your situation.

Your eyes narrowed at everyone who spoke up. As much as you wanted to refuse their help, they're all right because you're in no condition to fight two powerful sorcerers. It's better to have help and multiple brains to take down everyone's enemies.

But before you guys could talk about the final plan, you wanted to clean up since you felt disgusted in your own skin. The junihitoe laying on your body made you want to gag. It smelled bad and it was itchy, and you still had many layers you didn't take off because it was cold outside.

/

You were taking a bath in a big area where it reminded you of an onsen but enclosed. The place was colored in a pastel yellow with a hint of a gold undertone. On the ceiling was a picture painted of the golden age where sorcerers were thriving. You saw men and a few women exorcizing curses, and you had a gut feeling that one of the women there was Kameko. She should be in there since this is Master Tengen's bathhouse. The pillars holding this place up were engraved with words of the past and its rich history.

"What a shame… This place has history but it's kept in his altar…" You knew the inscription could educate new sorcerers about the truth history and not the coverup story. It's truly a beautiful place hidden so it wouldn't be tainted by those who dare to misuse this.

You were also glad this place filtered the water because the moment you stepped inside the bath, it immediately turned red and murky. It made you cringe at how dirty you were. Luckily the warm water made it easier to get the blood off, but you had to scrub really hard which the abrasion made your skin very sensitive afterwards. Now you didn't have to worry about you smelling or your hair feeling oily and crusty.

It felt very calming and the water had some aromatics to promote healthy and glowing skin. This felt better than Sukuna's estate because you're alone. You don't have his servants breathing down your neck. They're more scared of him that they will watch you like a hawk if you were to escape.

Suddenly, Yuji positioned himself against a pillar where he couldn't see you but hear your voice. He couldn't wait for you to be done with your bath; he needed to talk to you. "I don't get it y/n. You don't have to protect me. I'm confident with my own abilities to protect myself from harm. You're treating me as if I'm useless now!"

A sour expression took over your face as you wanted your own personal peace, but today's not your lucky day. "And you couldn't wait until I was done bathing to ask me this?"

"No, because I'm hurt! I'm hurt that you don't trust me!" You heard Yuji's frustration vibrating in the tranquil air.

An exasperated sigh slipped from your lips. You were getting annoyed how he wasn't understanding you. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's because I don't want to see you die if I'm not there to save you! If you haven't noticed, I'm the one who can kill Sukuna! I took his power out from you because he knows you're my weakness. I'm scared to fail you like I did with my grandma! Keeping you out of this makes me feel better even if you don't like it…" You didn't want to imagine the what if's. It broke your heart to even think about it. He's too precious to be killed by that demon.

Yuji closed his eyes and bit his lips from your words. As much as he knew you wanted him out, he just can't do that. "I get it, y/n. But I started with Sukuna inside of me so I'm going to take him down too! He was my responsibility and I failed everyone when he escaped. I have to end it with you, whether you like it or not. I know things would've been different if he hadn't escaped. No matter what you say, I'm coming."

Ultimately, he won. You're not going to fight it if that's how he saw it. "Fine, just don't get yourself killed."

"What will you do once Kenjaku and Sukuna are gone?"

You blatantly told your plan to him. "Let the surviving sorcerers figure this world out because I don't want to be a part of it anymore. I destroyed what Kameko created because it only hurt us at the end. Just because I eliminated most of the bad sorcerers doesn't mean curse users don't exist. It's inevitable to prevent curse users, but it gives you guys the upper hand to change this."

"What's going to happen to you?"

You knew he was going to ask that because he has so much love for you. "I don't know… I haven't figured that out yet, whether I should die or escape this country and start a new life. I really don't have a plan. You already know how drained and tired I am,"

Yuji walked away angrily because he doesn't want you to die, but he knew his words couldn't stop you from thinking like that. He will find a way to make you stay or change your mind once the enemies are gone. It sounded selfish of him, but he didn't want you to slip away either. You should be able to live your fullest life in a world where you're protected and cared for.

Sighing, you got out of your bath. "I'm done… My mood has plummeted."

/

After the bath and getting a new pair of clothes, you meet up with everyone to discuss the final plan of taking down Kenjaku and Sukuna. Everyone knew it's a mission where it was going to be fatal since you killed the majority of the sorcerers left in Japan.

"The best course of action is for me, Megumi, and Yuji to attack Sukuna while the rest goes for Kenjaku. Sukuna has an obsession with us so it makes sense for that to happen. Plus the second years faced the body of Geto Suguru last year, so I don't see why it shouldn't be a problem." You laid out the gist of the plan.

Yuta agreed with it. "Having a big force against Kenjaku would be better because he has curse manipulation. The more people we have on board, the easier it'll be for us to take down his curses and reach him."

Then Yuki interrupted to ask about Master Tengen. "What about him? I don't think he can fight because he's close enough to being a curse."

"I know a place where he can hide!" Panda exclaimed.

Nobody questioned him since it's supposed to be a secret, and the conversation continued on.

Later, when everyone was on the same page about the final battle, you told them something that would give your peers the upper hand. "I'll make two weapons for you guys to use to break Satoru out. You guys can strategize how it's going to work out on your end while I make the weapons."

Effortlessly creating the weapons, Megumi and Yuji were talking to you about how to take down Sukuna. "Well, for sure he's going to target me. I'm the person he really wants. He's going to know that Yuji doesn't have his power anymore and will use him against me—"

"And you don't have to worry about that because I will fight back!" Yuji interjected. "I'm not going to let him kill me."

"That's easier said than done," Megumi said, smacking Yuji's head for thinking this was child's play. "Don't get yourself killed."

Suddenly, you noticed someone missing in the group. You stopped what you were doing and looked around. "Where's Nobara?" That's when the two boys fell silent, and from their reaction you knew it wasn't good. You expected to hear bad news from them.

Megumi expressed in a gloomy tone. "She's in the intensive care unit right now. There's a slim chance of her making it out alive from the damage she sustained but we're praying she makes it alive."

This casted dark clouds over your heart. Now you have to fight for Nobara too. "I know she's going to make it. We can't disappoint Nobara!"

After creating two weapons from your own cursed energy that can break the sealment of Gojo, you gave it to Yuta to keep. You trusted him to give Kenjaku the final blow.

Tomorrow will be the day where they die.

A/N: there's 2 more chapters left before this book ends! Then Yuta's story is next!