The wind howled like a warning.

Ash and dust curled in the dying sunlight as Gojo Satoru stood motionless, a rare sharpness cutting through his usual arrogance. Beside him, Megumi Fushiguro kept his jaw clenched, his gaze fixed on the figure that now stood confidently on the metal railing, barefoot and smiling like a devil from an old scroll.

Yuji Itadori was gone.

Or rather, buried.

Because standing there now — tattoos crawling like cursed ink across pale skin, eyes gleaming with cruel amusement, and mouth curved in a sneer — was Sukuna. The King of Curses.

He stretched lazily, arms rolling like he'd just woken from a deep slumber. Blood coated his fingers. The curse he'd obliterated lay in a grotesque heap nearby, steam rising off its remains.

“Ahhh…” Sukuna exhaled, voice rich, deep, and laced with condescension. “Now this is a body worth taking.”

His crimson eyes darted toward Megumi, then Gojo. His grin widened.

“Tell me…” Sukuna tilted his head, sharp teeth flashing. “Where are the people?” A beat. “The women?”

Before either sorcerer could respond, the air shifted. A pressure descended — powerful, feminine, and absolutely unbothered.

From above, a shadow dropped like a comet.

CRACK.

A pair of boots landed on the rooftop with a casual thud, the shingles beneath them cracking slightly under the force. The figure straightened.

She was a young woman, unmistakably a sorcerer — bandages wrapped around her left eye.

She blinked once, as if registering the scene: Megumi tense with a shikigami flaring behind him, Gojo standing still but dangerous, and Sukuna, with blood on his hands and mockery on his lips.

Then she wrinkled her nose.

“Why does it smell like shit over here?”

Her voice cut through the tension like a blade.

She glanced around, spotted the smoldering remains of the cursed spirit Sukuna had reduced to sludge, and nodded slowly.

“…That explains it,” she muttered, expression flat.

Sukuna stared at her, intrigued.

Gojo chuckled under his breath. “Took you long enough, princess.”

Megumi blinked in disbelief. “You’re seriously joking right now?”

The girl ignored them both and instead tilted her head at Sukuna with an unimpressed look, eyes sharp with experience. “Let me guess,” she said slowly. “You’re the freeloading bastard that took over Yuji?”

Sukuna’s grin turned predatory. “And you are…?”