After three hours of constant, wanton slaughter, stopped. A few meters away from him, drenched head to toe in the blood of xenos, stood Skarbrand, the red-skinned Cursed Spirit now sporting hundreds of wounds, each one healing slower than the others. They'd killed millions and millions, hundreds of millions even, and still the shroud that diminished his Cursed Energy output remained; hell, Sukuna was rather certain that they'd barely dented the shroud's intensity. Just how many of these things were there, anyway?
Trillions, most likely. Dozens of trillions so that no matter how many he and Skarbrand killed, it'd hardly put a dent in their numbers. Truth be told, this whole slaughter was now more about his competition with Skarbrand than anything else. Killing the monstrous aliens was fun for the first hour, but then it quickly got stale. After that, Sukuna stopped caring as he picked the most efficient methods to killing as many of them at once, like opening his Domain several times in a row or hurling several Burning Arrows. Skarbrand, meanwhile, made use only of his axes, blazing and blurring across the battlefield like a crimson meteor, somehow keeping up with Sukuna's kill count, which was amazing.
Briefly, Sukuna wondered what Skarbrand's Innate Technique was or if the Cursed Spirit had one at all. Because he never used one at all, preferring only to use his axes, fists, teeth, and hooves, to deal with his enemies. Sukuna could respect a good old fashioned brawl to get things done, but... eh, it might've just been him, but he preferred at least some variety to his mode of slaughter. Then again, it wasn't as though Skarbrand needed an Innate Technique. The Cursed Spirit was strong enough as he was, without the need for one.
Sukuna breathed in and sighed as he cut down another thousand or so, including a mountain, with Cleave. At this rate, he was going to run out of Cursed Energy before he even killed a fourth of these aliens and that wasn't even considering the possibility that they were still reproducing. Truly, quantity was quality in itself. Still, for now at least, the aliens appeared to cease their constant onslaught, likely realizing – perhaps a little late – that their swarm tactics weren't quite working in their favor. And Sukuna wasn't so depleted that he couldn't open his Domain for at least another fifty times if necessary.
And that still wouldn't kill enough of them to lessen the shroud enough for his legionnaires to come and finish the job. No, a Virus Bombing was the best course of action here. And, besides, their competition was up. And Sukuna was rather certain of the fact that he'd won.
"Three hours," Skarbrand stopped moving as he stomped and crushed the head of a particularly large alien. The creature shuddered and moved erratically for a moment, before dropping dead, a large pool of hissing blood forming around and under it. Skarbrand then let loose a bellow of thunderous laughter, shaking the ground and causing the very skies above them to rumble. "You are the winner of this challenge, Ryomen Sukuna – by a hair."
"How many did you kill, big guy?" Sukuna asked, idly noting that the skulls of all those Skarbrand had killed were now missing. Curious.
"Close to two hundred million, perhaps, maybe more – maybe less," Skarbrand shrugged, before once again descending into a laughing fit. "You killed dozens more – not even hundreds, mere dozens. Victory is yours, my friend."
"Ha! That was fun – the competition, not the monotonous slaughter of these aliens. We should do this again, some other time, buddy." Sukuna grinned. Skarbrand was a cool dude to be around. No pointless small talk. No questions. No formalities. Just slaughter and battle and death. What a swell guy, that one. "Now, unfortunately, I'm gonna have to cut this reunion short. Gotta Virus Bomb this planet and set it on fire, before I move onto the next one. You know how it is, buddy."
"Of course," Skarbrand nodded. "Blood and death and slaughter follow your every step, Ryomen Sukuna! I would be honored to fight with you and your progeny! Blood for the blood god! Skulls for the skull throne!"
Sukuna huffed. "Sure, whatever pal. See ya around."
And with that, Sukuna activated the teleportation module on his Power Armor and, in a flash of blue, reappeared back on the bridge of his vessel. Alien blood splattered all over the floor where he stood. Sukuna frowned. "Ugh, I need a shower."
Standing a few meters from him was Loktar Shahid, the captain of his ship, waiting for orders. Idly, Sukuna wondered how long the man had been standing there, just waiting for him to finish his fun. "Tell the fleet to start dropping the Virus Bombs; we're done here."
"As you command, Prince Sukuna," Loktar Shahid sprang into action. Without another word, the captain relayed the order across the fleet's communication channels. The response was immediate and efficient. Good, Sukuna mused. He didn't like it when his underlings moved slowly. If nothing else, Captain Loktar was proving himself a decent commander. Whoever put the man in charge clearly knew what they were doing.
Sukuna turned away, stepping towards his private quarters. His blood-drenched armor clinked with each step, leaving a trail of alien ichor on the pristine deck. As he walked, he visualized the upcoming spectacle of devastation. His fingers twitched with anticipation, his thoughts already shifting to the next challenge, the next conquest. Hopefully, the next one wouldn't be nearly as tedious as the planet below. He liked a good fight, not a slog. And a world that's comprised entirely of trillions of ravenous alien creatures with only one thought in mind was very much a slog. Also, his Power Armor was broken, torn apart when Sukuna augmented himself with Cursed Energy and the contraption broke apart, unable to contain the strength in his limbs, breaking apart and becoming little more than a fancy chunk of metal that just so happened to have a teleporter and some other things that he'd already forgotten about.
Yeah, he was definitely getting rid of it. No point in wearing Power Armor if it broke under the strain of his own movements, which was rather ironic, actually, since the whole point of it was to enhance his movements. He'd take it to the tech-priest guy later when he felt like it.
But first, the obliteration of Morhogg.
Well, no, not really. First, he took a shower, got dressed in loose clothes, and then made his way to the viewing platform of his ship's command deck, overlooking the entirety of Morhogg. Sukuna sat on his throne and waited. Idly, the King of Curses wondered how the bombs would affect Skarbrand, considering the Cursed Spirit's nature. He didn't know. But, what he did know was that, even if he was obliterated, Skarbrand would come back eventually. Cursed Spirits always did. It was their very nature to not die no matter how many times they were exorcised.
High above the planet, Sukuna's fleet adjusted its formation. Massive ships realigned their trajectories, ensuring optimal dispersal for maximum coverage. The Virus Bombs, silent harbingers of death, were primed and ready. They glowed ominously in their launch bays, a chilling contrast to the cold, unfeeling void of space. This would be the first time, Sukuna mused, that he'd witness just how powerful the Imperium's weapons actually were. Bolters were all well and good, but the ability to cleanse an entire planet of life was... beautiful.
He needed to see this.
One by one, the bombs were released. They plummeted through the planet's atmosphere, their descent cloaked in an eerie silence. Upon contact with the surface, the Virus Bombs detonated, releasing a virulent mist that spread with unnatural speed. The mist permeated everything, seeping into every crevice and orifice, into every cave and cavern, into the tunnels deep within mountains and whatever subterranean formations lingered beneath the ground. Within moments, the virus began its gruesome work.
Upon his throne, Sukuna watched as the virus clouds began spreading across the entire world. The jungles and forests of Morhogg, once teeming with life, began to rot and collapse into pools of viscous sludge. Alien beasts, caught in the path of the virus, disintegrated almost instantly, their flesh melting away to reveal stark, skeletal remains before even those were reduced to nothingness. Beautiful, Sukuna thought. This sort of destruction was utterly beautiful, like a painting.
The air thickened with the haze of decay, and the ground turned into a churning sea of organic matter breaking down at an astonishing rate. Tremendous amounts of flammable gas were released into the atmosphere as the virus continued its relentless assault on the planet's biosphere.
Sukuna could see the change from orbit. The vibrant, albeit hostile, landscape of Morhogg was transforming into a dark, churning mass. The planet's once breathable atmosphere was becoming a toxic mix of gases. More importantly, Sukuna felt the dimming of the Shroud that'd once lingered over the planet, rapidly disappearing and dissipating as the creatures that'd once sustained it were rendered extinct. The final phase was imminent.
Deep within the toxic sludge, the gases ignited. It began as a small flicker, a single spark, but quickly escalated into a cataclysmic blaze. Firestorms erupted across the planet's surface, a chain reaction of explosions that turned the atmosphere into a sea of flames. The fire spread with unstoppable ferocity, consuming everything in its path, forming epic and gargantuan blazes that set the very skies alight with fire and death. For a moment, Sukuna felt the births of thousands and thousands of death-aligned curses, before they too were destroyed in the flames.
Sukuna laughed at that bit. The newborn curses barely had time to think before they were wiped out.
Massive infernos swept through the remains of the alien horde, reducing their bodies to ash. The flames raged unchecked, searing the surface to bare rock. Entire mountain ranges melted away, oceans evaporated, and the skies burned red with the intensity of the heat. The very air itself seemed to scream in agony as it was stripped of oxygen to fuel the growing firestorm.
Sukuna watched impassively as Morhogg was engulfed in flames, wondering how long it'd take before the whole world was burnt to cinders. His satisfaction was tempered by the knowledge that this was a necessary step, a calculated move, no matter how boring it might've been. Ultimately, after all, his orders were to cleanse and 'conquer' as many worlds for the Imperium as quickly as he could – with an emphasis on the 'quickly' part. Yet, there was a certain beauty to the destruction, a raw, unfiltered manifestation of power that he found undeniably captivating.
The fires continued to rage until there was nothing left to burn. Morhogg's surface was a smoldering wasteland, the once hostile planet now a barren rock devoid of any trace of life. The shroud that had dampened his Cursed Energy was gone, the alien threat extinguished. It would've been nice to have figured out how it was exactly that such creatures were even able to create such a shroud, considering the fact that it affected even Skarbrand. Something definitely had been quite odd about it.
But, they were all dead now and it no longer mattered. If he ever faced such creatures again, then he'd just have to make use of more physical methods of dealing with them, like the Virus Bomb.
Sukuna turned away from the viewport, his mind already moving to the next conquest.
"Prepare for departure," he ordered. Sukuna grabbed another data pad and raised a brow. After Morhogg, he was supposed to conquer an entire system, which meant he'd be dealing with more than one planet. This system, known as the Naraka System, had been conquered by Orks many hundreds of years ago, its human inhabitants slaughtered to the last. Orks. Horus warned him about them. They seemed like fun enemies to fight.
The crew sprang into action, their efficiency a reflection of his own relentless drive. As the fleet began to move, leaving the desolate remains of Morhogg behind, Sukuna allowed himself a small, satisfied grin.
There was always more blood to be spilled, more worlds to conquer. And he wouldn't have it any other way.
AN: Chapter 27 is up on (Pat)reon!