The creative competition was going reasonably well, actually, Sukuna mused as he found himself clapping at a stage performance by ten Legionnaires, one that almost reminded him of the plays he so frequently enjoyed from the Heian Era. Somehow, the Legionnaires had come up with a story that, eerily enough, was near-identical to the story of Emperor Jimmu, who was a Jujutsu Sorcerer that claimed descent from a bloodline of gods. Sukuna wished he had the chance to fight that guy, because – as far as he was aware – Kenjaku was one of Jimmu's bastard children, having developed a CT that was similar to what the First Emperor of Japan supposedly wielded, but then Sukuna wasn't too sure of that particular myth anymore, considering how much time had eroded the truth, blending lies and myths and fancies together.
Whatever the case, the presentation was amazing. Actually, thus far, every single artistic pursuit demonstrated, performed, or showcased by his legionnaires has been simply amazing. Begrudgingly, Sukuna had to admit that, most likely, the Devourers inherited this knack for artistry and design and theatricality from Sukuna himself, likely something they received from his gene-seed. It was...something, he supposed; though the thought of it irked him somewhat, there was no denying that his legionnaires were growing to become more and more like his old self, masters of many crafts, admirers of art, beauty, and just about everything under the sun.
Even the ones who'd presented him with culinary delights had done so amazingly, creating dishes that would've put Uraume to shame. Sukuna himself had a deep appreciation for the moresubdued,more personal, forms of art, such as cooking, embroidery, knitting, music, poetry or writing in general, and even just plain sketching with charcoal on paper, simply because those forms of art had been the first he was able to learn, the grander arts were expensive, after all – or, at the very least, required materials that were difficult to procure. Thus far, every single form of art his Legionnaires had presented him were all things he'd done before, even if they felt as though they'd discovered it themselves, which was... interesting.
Whatever the case, no other legionnaire or group of legionnaires was presenting today. The system they'd come up with was that a bunch of them would schedule their performances or presentations for the day and do so on time. According to his schedule, it'd be another... two days before the next presentation, something about marble carving, which Sukuna had done about a dozen times but wasn't overly fond of, since marble was not at all common in Japan and the tools with which they were carved were often of poor quality, usually iron or bronze, both of which were annoying to use; though, admittedly, his legionnaires had access to far better tools than he did, during the Heian Era.
So, Sukuna shrugged, he supposed that would be rather exciting.
Actually, looking back, the King of Curses was also known to be merciful to artists and artisans, back in the day. Many were the times he'd stroll through a village and, more often than not, spare those who created wondrous and interesting things, blacksmiths and painters or whatever they might've been. Of course, he still ate women and children, but Sukuna usually left the creatives alone. Or those who dedicated their whole lives in the pursuit of the perfection of a singular craft, like swordsmiths or armorers. In fact, Sukuna was pretty sure that, among his many terrible titles, he was known as the Cursed Artist.
Yeah... he was called that once – just once, by an old peasant who did not fear him and addressed him as an equal. Sukuna huffed. In the Heian Era, there were very few who did not tremble at the mere sight or mention of him, very few who stood their ground, and even fewer still were those who did so without Jujutsu. The humans who stood their ground, in particular, amused him to no end. It wasn't that he respected them or other such nonsense, but the novelty of it very often led to him sparing their lives. That said, there were a few whom Sukuna actively respected, the brave and the daring, those who looked death in the eye and did not flinch, the humans who possessed the hearts of Jujutsu Sorcerers, same as that old man who called him the Cursed Artist, right before jumping and trying to kill him with, of all things, a shovel, just to protect his family.
Sukuna gave him a warrior's death and, in turn, spared the man's family. Because he felt like it.
His data-pad pinged and Sukuna glanced down and found that, oddly, he'd just received a message from another legion, from one of his apparentsiblings, who was requesting his legion's support for a particularly difficult campaign. That... usually never happened, Sukuna mused; Primarchs were, for all their power, terribly prideful people who'd probably rather burn themselves alive before asking for help... except maybe one or two who weren't too stuck up on their pride, at least, according to Malcador and the Primarch Profile he'd gotten. And that also meant that this message could only come from two possible legions: the Salamanders or the Thousand Sons. Sukuna had only ever met Horus, who – no doubt – was likely enjoying the use of Kamutoke now. But Magnus and Vulkan were known to be particularly friendly to their fellow Primarchs. Though, between the two, Magnuswasprideful, but he was blind to necessities and would ask for help if itwasnecessary. Vulkan, on the other hand, actively enjoyed going on campaigns with his brothers. Sukuna raised a brow as opened the full message and reviewed the details.
The message unraveled and it was not, in fact, a written message, but a video... of a bald man with black skin – as in as black as coals and eyes like... well... burning coals. Vulkan. Sukuna raised a brow. He was right, then. It was from the Salamanders. Odd. The impression he'd garnered was that theirs was one of the most powerful legions; the situation must've been rather dire, indeed.
"Greetings, brother mine, it is I, Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders. I would like to formally request your assistance in the Agurash Campaign. We are experiencing far greater resistance than we previously expected. The Agurasi Xenos are cunning and numerous, and I believe your Devourers would be the perfect addition that will bring us final victory over the xenos. Specifically, we tried a hammer and anvil tactic and it didn't work; I would like to see how the xenos would like it if there were two hammers, instead. Your aid would be greatly appreciated, brother mine."
Sukuna chuckled. The idea of hammer and anvil tactics, applied on the same scale of warfare conducted by the Astartes Legions and the Imperial Legions was almost laughable. But then, when thinking further, the concept of it would be applicable to just about anything. The Devourers, Vulkan correctly deduced, was very much a legion of hammers – very deadly, very heavy hammers at that. Smiling, Sukuna sent a quick message to the captain, informing him of the shift in destination. Captain Loktar replied with a simple confirmation of Sukuna's command.
Vulkan, Malcador noted, was the most physically powerful of the Primarchs by a very wide margin – not the bestfighteror duelist, Sukuna noted, just the physically strongest. Oddly, the Salamanders were also known to be the mosthumanout of all the legions, at least, according to Malcador, which was why they were often sent to deal with other human factions, unlike Sukuna who was most definitely not allowed to try and deal with other human factions, despite him explaining that he wasn't out to butcher entire worlds for no reason.
Whatever the case, Vulkan included plenty of additional details about the Agurasi Xenos and the latest updates of the Agurashi Campaign itself. As it turned out, the Agurasi were some kind of insectoid race that shared a Hivemind of sorts, which possessed the ability for instantaneous transfer of information across light years, which – Sukuna figured – must've been annoying to deal with and the likely source of Vulkan's difficulties, since their coordination would've been unparalleled. Mostly, the Agurasi relied on chitinous spires to transmit information between swarms, heavily guarded and numerous – some kind of organic FTL communications device that baffled even the brightest minds of the Magos Biologis. The xenos also had about a hundred different forms, each one uniquely tailored for a very specific role – ranging from combat, support, or building. Like the xenos he'd gleefully slaughtered with Skarbrand, however, the Agurasi maintained anaestheticamong all their forms. Though, unlike the skittering aliens he'd slaughtered by the millions, the Agurasi actually maintained some form of civilization, one that has allowed them to spread to other planets.
The campaign itself was... well... it wasn't going badly, but itwasgrinding down to a standstill, due to the superior coordination of the Agurasi. The Agurashi System, which had once been a human-controlled system, was comprised of twenty planets, which was honestly amazing, and the Agurasi controlledfifteenof them, whilst Vulkan's legion controlled the rest. It became very clear that the war, which was supposed to be over quickly, was becoming a war of attrition, a meat grinder, something Astartes were not meant to be partaking in. Then again, the Devourerswereperfectly capable of engaging in such wars.
And, in a battle of attrition, a Hiveminded enemy with the ability to manufacture drone soldiers was always going to win. And, as far as he was aware, the Salamanders were not particularly known for ferocity or savagery, lacking the punching power necessary to change the tides of war. Based entirely on what Sukuna knew about the legions, the Ultramarines, the Iron Warriors, the Imperial Fists, andmaybethe Death Guard were the best Astartes Legions to wage such wars. But, then again, Sukuna didn't know the other legions beyond what the data sheets spoke of. To be honest, he wasn't entirely certain why training wasn't more standardized. Though, he supposed, it kind of made sense that differing legions, which were separated from each other across light years and were under the total control of very different individuals, would develop their own quirks and gimmicks.
Whatever the case, Sukuna was happy to help. One of the Emperor's commands, after all, was to aid his apparent siblings if or when he could. And, well, Vulkan askednicely.Shrugging, Sukuna then sent the information to every single one of his legionnaires. And then, he spoke into their communications unit, syncing himself up with all of them. "Attention, all of you; we'll be taking a detour to assist the Salamanders in a campaign that's grinding into a war of attrition – something they're not... equipped to deal. Learn and prepare. We'll show our dear brothers and cousins what true slaughter is."
The Devourers were closer, in function, to the World Eaters. The only difference was that Sukuna's legionnaires were far better at their job than Angron's. After all, they conquered an entire system in a week, a system that was under the control of a powerful Ork Empire. They didn't even need the help of the Imperial Legion. His Devourers, individually, were worth at least a hundrednormalSpace Marines in terms of combat prowess and efficiency, able to push themselves to extremes that no other transhuman warriors were capable of, simply due to their mastery of RCT, which was precisely why Sukuna had them train with it first. In conclusion, they were akin to the World Eaters, but better in every conceivable way.
A week later, Sukuna's fleet returned to realspace, right outside the Agurashi System, a few thousand miles away from a world that was under the control of the Salamanders, now garrisoned by the Imperial Legion and the Mechanicus. Standing on the bridge of his flag ship, arms crossed over his chest, Ryomen Sukuna frowned as they received a transmission from the Primarch, Vulkan, of the Salamanders.
Sukuna shrugged as the jet-black face of his apparent sibling appeared on the screen. Briefly, Sukuna wondered if Vulkan, like Horus, would develop his own Jujutsu Sorcery through proximity and, if so, what Cursed Technique he'd receive. "Yo."
"Greetings, brother mine! And welcome to the Agurashi System."
AN: Chapter 33 is out on (Pat)reon!