Chapter 29
The elders knew better.
Never stay in the locations you are known for.
Which is why they decided to hold out in an old castle. Granted, the castle is still in use, mainly for the general public and a tourist spot. Yet deep, under it all, there is a bunker of sorts. Created long before the castle was even constructed, and used by sorcerers throughout generations to hold secret meetings and talks among themselves and ranks.
Toyama Castle was defiantly a good place to wait out the on coming storm.
The ground shook.
The walls began to push out dusts that have lingered in the cracks for generations. And yet, the elders were confident, they have managed to get as far away from the schools as they could. "At least the idea of starting a new is already done for us, burn the earth and start again,"
"Indeed, now, the fact remains is that we need to rebuild our legions…"
"It is a good thing we went into hiding after the strike on Tooru, but for rebuilding legions…"
Crunch…. Munch… munch… munch…
The room came to a pause, no one entered it with snacks, and they are forbidden! The room alone was over 2000 years old and no one is permitted to bring anything within it. After all, there's a separate room for dining when in hiding! Yet, they turned and saw her… sitting there… rather contently.
The tall, robust woman who had ruined their plans before by being a distraction!
"You… that woman from the last time!"
"Tiamat, my name is Tiamat," she said in a very dry tone. "It doesn't matter if you know my name or not, it's not going to mean much anyway…"
"Tiamat… the dragon… goddess Tiamat?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yes," she said gently, just as the ground trembled around them. "You've upset my sons,"
"Sons?"
"Yuuji and Suiryu Itadori… MY sons," she said and made certain she emphasized that they were hers. "You of all people should know how difficult it is for one to cultivate to a certain level. As well, you are aware that both of them had died, but came back stronger. That's because I made them new bodies. I devoured their old ones, took in their souls and gave birth to them as my children… not difficult for me to do, yet impossible to wrap your minds around isn't it?" she teased but then smiled as the tremors grew. "Such a shame, when they are like this, they can't see clearly, let alone stop their actions. I am grateful though, they have restrained themselves to a barrier and won't damage or kill anyone beyond it. At the same time… I am curious."
Their nerves were on edge, the elders glared at her. "You are sending our location to them! Aren't you?!"
"Me? No," she said innocently enough. "These are the events taken place on their own accord on earth. I cannot interfere. I am merely curious." She said and partook in her bag of snacks.
"Curious?!" the room demanded. "What are you curious about?"
"To see who is going to find you first. As much as I would like my sons to have their moment to vent their anger upon you, I know it would be over far too soon; you will die quickly and without much pain. That's too good for you, especially with what you put Yua Tooru through."
They smirked. "Oh? You know it was us?"
She sighed. "A Tooru, when traumatized, will only utter the last words they hear before the trauma they endure… the elders send their regards. She will only utter those words until… or if she breaks out of her rut in a sense. You must know for a Tooru, trauma they endure is worst than any sorcerer or human will ever feel. Some even died this way, I have no doubt you were aiming for such a goal…"
"So it was us, what will you do about it? Are you bringing Satoru Gojo to our door?" one asked.
The tremors suddenly grew… and they were local.
Lady Tiamat paused, as a small smile came over her. "Oh good, just as I hoped…"
"You brought Gojo didn't you!?"
"He won't leave his wife's side, for he too lost family by your attack. No, this one… I have good faith in… they won't kill you so quickly."
The walls shook, the ground cracked, but the elders froze as the entrance they took, suddenly felt as if death waited behind the door.
The walls themselves were two feet thick, bounded in the strongest stone and enchanted for protection. But they all jumped as four massive hands plowed through without much effort.
The wall was ripped out!
As the dust began to clear and settle, none of the elders could believe their eyes. What stood before them… why was THAT here?
At first, he peered into the chamber before easing himself in. His eyes bore into the elders before his right eyes saw the dragon sitting in the same room. "Am I to hold off and allow THEM to do this?"
She shook her head. "I am aware of the agreement, and I will hold them to it, you found them first, they are yours… just make sure…"
He bore a devious grin. "You don't have to tell me…"
"Su… Sukuna… SUKUNA IS HERE!?"
"How did we not sense him?!"
"It's impossible for him to hide his curse energy!"
"Tch, I doubt you would even believe me even if I told you… but it doesn't matter anymore now, does it? You have no where to run, no where to hide from me…"
#
He saw the looks in their face, complete and utter fear.
Just the way he likes is!
Sukuna began to bare a devious grin. "I'm in the mood to play a game… it's called truth and punishment…"
"Game? What is the meaning of this Sukuna? Why have you come after us when Tooru still lives?"
Ah, they don't know do they? Then again he killed everyone the last time that happened, when he revealed himself to the masses. But it doesn't matter if they know now or not. "About that, I am certain you have all brushed up on your history… and you would know that the Toorus and I… we weren't enemies at one point. In fact… they considered me family."
The room became deathly silent. "YOU? FAMILY!?" they demanded as some even dared to snort out a laugh. "You expect us to believe…"
"I remember everything,"
There was a pause in the room. So much so it forced Sukuna to smirk himself. "And you all must have known about it too… it was something you absolutely feared. That fear hasn't left your minds either, it's been engrained into your technique, your curse energy by those you called elders before you… isn't that right?" he asked in a callous tone.
There was silence, except for Lady Tiamat munching away on snacks. He couldn't help but feel he was in a soap opera or something.
"Now, for my game, truth and punishment… speak the truth, your punishment will be less, lie, and you will be put through great pain. Sounds like fun?" he asked sarcastically.
"We refuse to play this game! We're…" it became very dark all of a sudden.
There was no longer a room, there were no doors or a way in or out of this place. Sukuna's arms crossed as he bore a grin of his own. "This is a domain for my game… the only way out is to play… so… PLAY!" he demanded. The elders froze to his tone, but they also realized that they had no way out of this. "First question, it was you who ordered the attack on Yua Tooru, was it not?" he asked.
No one answered.
"Oh? Silent treatment? Very well then…" he uncrossed his dominate arms, the elders gasped in shock. Their clothing suddenly began to stick to their bodies oddly. Peering over themselves, the elders found they were covered in small cuts. Even their clothing bore the same making on their skin! Strange thing was, it was no deeper than a paper cut, and yet the wounds healed up quickly.
They smirked. "It appears the former king of curses has lost his edge!" one snickered aloud.
But he smiled back at them. "Oh, I am aware that was pitifully weak, this is just foreplay. For each question I ask… the cuts get deeper." He said in a warning tone. "Use reverse jujutsu all you like on yourselves, I won't be leaving here until I am satisfied…"
Lady Tiamat appeared to have found more snacks. "Do you mind if I watch?" she asked of him.
"Your realm, like hell I can tell you no otherwise…" Sukuna muttered. "Now, next question…"
