Just as it did with Horus, Sukuna's spar with Vulkan paused as his fellow Primarch stared at the flickering blue energies that'd suddenly enveloped his fists. Sukuna huffed. This wasn't how Jujutsu Sorcerers were supposed to come about, which meant he could somehow infect his fellow Primarchs with the gift of Jujutsu or that every Primarch already had the potential for Jujutsu Sorcery within them, which they awakened by proximity. Was it the same for all of them? Would his supposed siblings all unlock their Innate Techniques just by being around him? How did such a thing even work? The Emperor, for instance, was most definitely not a Jujutsu Sorcerer, but otherwise wielded a similar power – not greater, just different, less focused. The Emperor, after all, did not even possess his own domain until he performed that ridiculous feat of biomancy in his own brain to turn himself into a Jujutsu Sorcerer temporarily. And if all the Primarchs held even a sliver of the same potential as the Emperor, then it was entirely possible that all of them, or – at the very least – most of them had the potential to awaken Jujutsu.
That was... interesting – very interesting. It was an odd thing, Sukuna mused, to be the only Jujutsu Sorcerer among his siblings. Hopefully, most of them would awaken some kind of power. Otherwise, most of them weren't worth his attention or time, save for the ones known as Magnus and Sanguinius, who stood out from the rest, just like Sukuna himself.
Vulkan breathed in and, much like Horus, demonstrated a level of control over his Cursed Energy that would usually take many-many decades to master, shaping it into whatever he wanted with the barest amounts of concentration, like a once-in-a-lifetime genius of Jujutsu Sorcery. Vulkan, for a moment played around with his Cursed Energy, shaping them into a variety of weapons and armor, even shaping it into an Astartes, complete with weapons and armor. At a glance, Sukuna figured that Vulkan's Cursed Energy reserves were about a fourth of his own, monstrous even by Primarch standards as Horus's reserves were only half of Vulkan's and, even then, that wasn't exactly a small amount.
However, Vulkan's output was ridiculous, seeing as it was half of Sukuna's output.
Monstrous. And, if Vulkan was anything like himself, then he'd not reached even a sliver of his full potential, which meant he'd grow even stronger in the future. Unlike himself, however, no one worshiped Vulkan – the same way no one worshiped Horus. In time, their strength would plateau, while Sukuna just grew stronger and stronger, an infinite amount of Cursed Energy flooding into his reserves from the faith of those who worshiped him.
Vulkan chuckled to himself as his replica of an Astartes, made entirely of Cursed Energy, began marching from one point to another.
Perfect. Vulkan's control was perfect, easily on par with Sukuna's – well, almost, but not quite there yet.
"How does it feel?" Sukuna asked, smiling as he stepped forward.
"It feels amazing," Vulkan answered, smile wider than it'd ever been since they met. And then, his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. Sukuna knew that look. Realization. "It feels like I can... do more. So much more."
A burst of Cursed Energy exploded right out of Vulkan, which then surged into the life-sized Astartes model he'd created out of Cursed Energy. The model solidified, turning into solid stone, though parts of it were jet-black and gleaming. Vulkan's Cursed Energy reserves dipped, a good chunk of it just disappearing. Sukuna's eyes narrowed. It's like Yorozu's but... far more efficient – a higher form of Construction, I suppose. That's... very interesting.
Vulkan breathed in and approached his creation, eyes wide and filled with wonder and confusion and curiosity. Knowing how Primarch brains functioned, Sukuna wouldn't be surprised if Vulkan already figured out exactly how his Innate Technique worked. "I created this...? Yes... I did create this. How... odd."
Vulkan closed his eyes and channeled a large volume of Cursed Energy into his palm, which he then shaped into a Bolter Pistol – the basic, general design of one, but scaled up to fit his grasp. With a grunt, Vulkan sent yet another surge of Cursed Energy outwards, focusing it into his pistol construct, which then solidified, becoming an actual Bolter Pistol, but monochromatic, seemingly carved from the same material all throughout. Vulkan's Cursed Energy reserves dipped, now hovering about two-thirds of what it used to be, which was still a lot. "That ability is... ancient, by your standards, at least. It's called Construction; it allows you to create any material you can think of, in exchange for Cursed Energy. The more complex materials or constructs will require greater amounts of Cursed Energy to manifest, like your Astartes Statue over here."
Sukuna took a step towards the stone space marine and tapped it once with his pointer finger. "I'm guessing it's made entirely of ceramite?"
Vulkan nodded and stepped towards the statue as well. "Yes, indeed, brother mine; I thought of ceramite and it came true to life. Amazing. Is this Jujutsu?"
Sukuna smiled, but then shook his head. "Not quite. You're not practicing true Jujutsu until you learn to expand your Inner Domain. Once you can do that, then you've reached the realm of Jujutsu Sorcery as it was intended to be."
"Very well, then, brother mine; I shall endeavor to master this new ability of mine, until I reach the same level of mastery as you." Vulkan breathed in, nodded, and tossed his newly-created Bolter Pistol to one of his lieutenants, before turning to Sukuna and settling into a boxing stance, both fists ablaze with Cursed Energy. He didn't know how to use it for Cursed Augmentation – not yet, anyway. But Primarchs were intuitive monsters that surpassed even his Heian Era self with how quickly they grasped the basic concepts of Cursed Energy Manipulation, which meant it wouldn't be particularly surprising if Horus already knew how to manifest his domain.
Sukuna grinned. "And here I thought you were finished."
"We were sidetracked by a shiny thing," Vulkan grinned back. "But not anymore."
Sukuna stepped forward, his grin widening as he resumed his stance, fingers twitching in anticipation. Even now, the King of Curses found himself both annoyed and impressed by his apparent sibling's ability to just brush off any wound he received, even the ones that should've rattled his bones and sent him to the ground, screaming in pain, but nothing he'd done worked simply because Vulkan honestly seemed functionally immortal, but Sukuna intended to push him to the brink, regardless. Vulkan's regeneration was obscene, but no regeneration was perfect, the same way anything that was alive inevitably died. If he focused on attacking and overwhelmed Vulkan to a point that he could no longer do anything, then – perhaps – a measure of victory was possible.
Without warning, Sukuna lunged forward. His steps gouging the very ground at his feet, shaking the earth and leaving deep furrows. His strikes came in a flurry, each blow aimed at vital points, testing Vulkan's defenses.
A palm strike slammed into Vulkan's forearm, deflecting his guard and allowing Sukuna to snap a vicious knee into his ribs, forcing him to stumble back. But, of course, that wasn't enough. He followed up his attack with a punch to the gut, before pivoting and sending a kick to Vulkan's exposed leg, before yet again pivoting away and sending a bone-crushing elbow strike right into his apparent sibling's back. Sukuna then stepped to the side, leapt high, and threw a Curse Augmented punch right into Vulkan's right temple, sending the much-taller Primarch onto the ground, kneeling.
The whole flurry of attacks occurred in less than a second.
Once Vulkan was on the ground, Sukuna sent a kick into his fellow Primarch's lower jaw, finally and fully downing the Lord of Salamanders – and probably outright breaking his jaw. Not that any of his injuries actually mattered or that Vulkan cared for any of them. Though, all things considered, that just meant Sukuna could go all out on his hand to hand and not have to worry.
Vulkan grunted but recovered quickly, pushing himself up and swinging a broad punch that Sukuna ducked beneath with fluid grace. Sukuna's elbow lashed out, catching Vulkan on the chin, but the Lord of the Salamanders barely reacted, absorbing the blow like it was nothing. Vulkan sent a flurry of one-two combinations, but Sukuna avoided all of them, bobbing and weaving, before then responding with his own flurry of left and right hooks from the stored momentum, breaking through Vulkan's guard and then breaking his face with a seemingly infinite combination.
Vulkan let loose a powerful kick, which Sukuna avoided with a simple lean backwards. And so, Vulkan sent another one.
"Sloppy," Sukuna taunted, twisting to avoid Vulkan's next strike. His fists lashed out in a blur, landing several punishing blows to Vulkan's torso. Each strike reverberated with Cursed Energy, forcing the larger Primarch to retreat, his defenses strained under the relentless assault.
The ground was drenched, Sukuna noted, with the blood of his fellow Primarch, who appeared – of course – immaculately unharmed. But Vulkan's eyes were sharp, studying every movement. He wasn't just absorbing the hits—he was learning.
Sukuna smirked. "You're tough, I'll give you that, but you're still too slow."
Another flurry of blows, faster this time. Sukuna's fists blurred as they pummeled into Vulkan's guard, targeting weak points in his stance. Vulkan grunted as a powerful kick crashed into his side, followed by a brutal uppercut that sent him staggering backward, which was then followed up with an axe kick right into Vulkan's torso that sent him right back into the ground, cracking stone and rending earth, forming a giant crater upon impact.
For a moment, it seemed like the fight was entirely one-sided. Sukuna's martial prowess was unmatched, and even Vulkan's prodigious strength and ridiculous regeneration couldn't keep up with Sukuna's overwhelming martial skill. After all, what good was power when your hits kept missing? What good was strength when it was turned against you?
Then, Vulkan's eyes flashed with realization.
Sukuna noticed it a second too late.
With a roar, Vulkan's fists flared with Cursed Energy, but this time it wasn't just raw power. His movements sharpened, becoming more focused. The ground beneath him cracked as he surged forward, his fist driving straight toward Sukuna with a newfound force.
Sukuna smirked, dodging the strike with ease, but as Vulkan followed up, the punch came faster than before. His movements were smoother, more refined—a clear sign he'd begun to tap into Cursed Energy Augmentation. Sukuna barely had time to block when the next punch connected with his forearm, the impact reverberating through his bones.
The grin slipped from Sukuna's face.
Vulkan pressed the advantage, his fists now blazing with augmented strength. Each punch landed heavier than the last, and Sukuna found himself on the defensive. He ducked and weaved, but Vulkan's strikes were coming too fast, too strong.
Then, in a moment of brilliance, Vulkan unleashed a devastating punch aimed straight at Sukuna's chest. The blow was amplified by Cursed Energy, far more potent than before. Sukuna raised his arms in an attempt to block, but the impact shattered the bones in his forearms and sent him hurtling backward, crashing through several trees before finally skidding to a stop, dust and debris clouding the air.
Sukuna's body screamed in pain, his bones cracked and shattered. For a moment, he lay still, absorbing the shock of the blow. Then, slowly, he began to chuckle. It started as a low, rumbling sound, but quickly grew into a full-blown laugh as he struggled to his feet, his body healing rapidly from the damage.
"Now that," Sukuna said, cracking his neck with a grin, "was interesting."
His eyes gleamed with a mixture of pain and excitement, even as his broken bones snapped back into place, healing and mending.
Vulkan, standing tall, his fists still crackling with Cursed Energy, grinned back. "I told you, brother mine. I'm just getting started."
AN: Chapter 38 is out on (Pat)reon!