Becoming Sukuna

"Hey, little girl, something's coming."

"What is it…"

As soon as Sukuna's words fell, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately felt an indescribable presence. If she had to describe it, it felt like suddenly sinking into a quagmire, with her body slowly descending into an endless abyss.

The spacious apartment seemed to transform into a cage, and a cold, evil aura slowly washed over her body like a tide, bringing with it a suffocating sensation.

"Grade 3, no, maybe Grade 2? The aura is too weak to tell clearly."

But as Sukuna's voice rang out, the discomfort Yukinoshita Yukino had felt vanished instantly, as though it had never been there, a mere illusion.

However, the unsettling presence did not disappear.

"What exactly is it that you're talking about?" Yukinoshita Yukino closed the book, stood up from the couch, and anxiously looked around, but aside from the familiar furniture, she couldn't see anything.

"A cursed spirit, a monster born from human negative emotions. Sorcerers classify them into five grades, from Grade 4 to Special Grade," Sukuna explained. "By the way, sorcerers also follow this grading, and I'm is Special Grade."

"So what? Where's that monster you mentioned?"

Yukinoshita Yukino nervously opened the apartment door and peeked outside, but the hallway on the 15th floor was still empty. She closed the door and returned inside.

"Generally speaking, if there was a Grade 2 cursed spirit in this building, there should have been a lot of casualties by now, and it would've been sealed off. So, it must have appeared suddenly, right?"

Sukuna continued his explanation, but Yukinoshita Yukino wasn't in the mood to listen to his lecture. She glanced at the white nightgown she was wearing and quickly went to her room to get changed into a set of athletic clothes.

After hesitating for a few seconds, considering that she might not be able to get rid of Sukuna, she decided to just give in and changed into the more practical athletic wear.

"Thinking about it, just after I woke up, a Grade 2 cursed spirit appeared here. It probably absorbed the curse energy leaking from me and evolved quickly. Now, it wants to devour you to become stronger."

"It's just like a pervert chasing after a girl because of the hormonal scent of youth. So disgusting."

Thankfully, Sukuna kept chattering on, seemingly oblivious to her changing clothes, and Yukinoshita Yukino secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, little ones are cute too."

"…"

This guy is really infuriating!

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that; her unease grew stronger. After putting on her sports clothes, she went to the living room and put on her shoes, preparing for whatever sudden situation might occur.

Seeing the girl so tense, Sukuna couldn't help but chuckle: "You really don't need to be so nervous. If you just let me take over, this would be an easy fix."

Yukinoshita Yukino's expression turned cold: "That's what you really want, isn't it? I'm—"

Before she could finish, Sukuna interrupted: "Up there."

Instinctively, Yukinoshita Yukino looked up and saw a black ripple spread across the ceiling. Soon after, an ugly, enormous head poked out from the ripple.

It was called a head, but it was actually a mass of revolting lumps of flesh, crudely stuck together, with two gigantic dead fish eyes glued on top, its appearance more abstract than a child's mud sculpture. A large gap split open, revealing sharp, yellowed teeth. Sticky green slime dripped from its open mouth, and a foul, pungent odor immediately wafted toward her.

"Still not running?"

Yukinoshita Yukino shuddered and, upon Sukuna's reminder, quickly reacted. She sidestepped to avoid the revolting slime from dripping on her.

The slime landed on the ground with a sizzling sound, corroding the carpet and creating holes that released steam.

"Is this… a cursed spirit?" The black-haired girl trembled.

"It's just a Grade 2, newly born. It's pretty weak," Sukuna replied casually. "Don't want to run? Ah, but if you run, the other residents of this building might get killed."

The cursed spirit dropped from the ceiling. The height of the living room couldn't accommodate it, and its hunched back pressed against the ceiling. Its eight claws easily crushed the glass coffee table into pieces.

It looked like a beast-shaped cursed spirit, and in terms of appearance, it resembled a rotting stray dog from a zombie movie.

"Is this… really weak?"

Yukinoshita Yukino stepped back, her body trembling. As an ordinary person who had never seen such a terrifying creature, she had already displayed admirable courage by standing her ground. Not to mention, the cursed spirit's dog-like form was the one she feared most.

She wanted to turn and run, but she couldn't, at least not without endangering innocent lives.

"You said I wouldn't die, right?" The girl swallowed nervously.

"You won't die, but it will hurt a lot," Sukuna's tone was playful. "If you want to experience what it's like to be torn apart by a wild dog, I don't mind."

"…"

Yukinoshita Yukino said nothing, but Sukuna suddenly realized that he could control her body.

Remaining silent was her final act of defiance.

"It would've been better if you'd done this sooner."

A series of black markings appeared on the black-haired girl's face. Her eyes filled with a brutal aura, and her sharp canine teeth protruded from the corners of her mouth, resembling a vampire's, giving her an eerie beauty.

The moment Sukuna took control of Yukinoshita Yukino's body, the cursed spirit seemed to sense something. It, which had intended to attack, now shrank back in fear like a frightened puppy, whining pitifully.

"Beast instincts are pretty sharp."

Sukuna chuckled twice and casually waved his hand. Before the cursed spirit could react, its body was sliced into several pieces. Purple blood gushed from the neat cuts.

From looking like a terrifying monster that sought to devour, it had now turned into a pile of broken flesh on the floor.

Sukuna snapped his fingers, and flames suddenly engulfed the broken corpse, quickly incinerating it until there wasn't even a trace of ash left.

"Well, you'll have to clean up afterward."

Saying that, he voluntarily relinquished control. The black markings on the girl's face slowly disappeared, and even the extra eyes closed, leaving behind faint scars beneath her eyelids.

"Is it… over?"

Regaining control of her body, Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the mess Sukuna had left behind. She blinked.

"Sukuna? Sukuna-kun? Mr. Scumbag?"

But no matter how she called out, the talkative Sukuna remained silent, as though he had disappeared entirely.

He was just playing the part of the silent expert.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Cleaning up the curse spirit's blood was quite troublesome. Moreover, since the curse spirit had been cut into several pieces by Sukuna, purple blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain. By the time it was dinner time, Yukinoshita Yukino had finally cleaned the entire living room. Even the glass coffee table, which had been shattered by a stomp, was cleaned and taken to the hallway trash area.

After tidying up the house, she immediately began preparing dinner for herself. Despite working non-stop the entire afternoon, she didn't feel tired at all.

Yukinoshita Yukino had always considered a lack of physical stamina to be her only flaw, but now it seemed that this flaw had disappeared.

After dinner, while washing an apple, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly heard the sound of chewing. Looking at the apple in her left hand, sure enough, there was a bite mark on the once-red apple, and on her right hand, a mouth was chewing.

"Of course," Sukuna, who had been silent all afternoon, suddenly spoke up. "Now, you exist as a container for me. Forget how it was before, but at least now, your body has surpassed that of an ordinary human."

Yukinoshita Yukino, who was about to get angry, paused for a moment upon hearing this. Then, as if she realized something, she anxiously asked, "Will I turn into that monster in the future?"

"That won't happen," Sukuna said while taking another bite of the sweet and juicy apple. "What I mean is, your body's strength has already far exceeded that of an ordinary person, and over time, it will only get stronger."

"In the end, you may even reach my level of physical strength."

"I see."

Yukinoshita Yukino had a complicated expression. She couldn't say whether the changes happening to her were good or bad.

In Sukuna's view, the reason she looked like this was because she was still clinging to her human identity. If she could be as decisive as him and simply stop being human, she would probably feel immense joy from the changes.

From the moment Sukuna took over, and inexplicably woke up inside Yukinoshita Yukino's body, her ordinary life had already come to an end.

She had been swept into an abnormal world, and in such a world, power was everything.

Soon, Yukinoshita Yukino would understand this for herself.

Meanwhile, Sukuna had quietly eaten almost half of the apple.

Yukinoshita Yukino sighed helplessly, feeding the rest of the apple to him, then sat back down on the sofa to read her book.

"I'm so bored, turn on the TV," Sukuna said after losing interest in reading.

"I refuse. It'll disturb my reading," Yukinoshita Yukino replied.

"..."

"..."

A vein popped up on the girl's forehead. In the end, she gave in and turned on the TV, lowering the volume. "What do you want to watch?"

"Anything."

"Then let's watch this one."

"Not interesting, change it."

"What do you want to watch?"

"Anything."

"…"

Yukinoshita Yukino finally couldn't take it anymore. She accidentally crushed the remote control in her hand and said, "Please stop! I'm not your babysitter!"

"You're mistaken," Sukuna said nonchalantly. "We are a dual existence, you contain me, and I contain you. It's not that you're my babysitter, but that you're your own babysitter!"

"Stop saying such disgusting things. You're just a shameless parasite," Yukinoshita Yukino snorted.

"Hey, hey, don't forget who saved your life today." Sukuna remarked, amused by Yukinoshita's quick change in attitude.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation!"

Sukuna thought for a moment, and it did seem to be true.

However, he certainly couldn't admit that out loud, so he calmly countered, "You simply caught a glimpse of the true nature of this world through me. Before today, you didn't even know curses and cursed spirits actually exist, did you?"

"Every year, countless people die in strange ways because of curses. Are you so sure that in your future life, you won't encounter any of this? Are you willing to bet your life on so-called luck?!"

The pair of eyes belonging to Sukuna flashed with a gleam of wisdom as they gazed at Yukino: "You only see what you want to see, but beneath the calm surface, dangerous currents swirl! This is the true face of this world!"

It must be said that Yukino was indeed convinced. After all, she had no knowledge about curses and cursed spirits.

"However, what you said is not wrong. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been attacked by the cursed spirit today." Sukuna didn't push further; instead, he cleverly backed off. "The truth is also a curse. Knowing more doesn't make you happier, but ignorance can bring happiness."

He said sincerely, "Here's an opportunity for you to choose. I can erase all your memories of curses and fall into a deep sleep. That way, your life's trajectory will return to normal."

"Yukino, live a blissful life without knowing the truth."

"Hmph, how do I know whether you're lying or pulling some trick?" Yukino retorted. "After all, you're a villain who has done nothing but evil for thousands of years."

"I can make a Binding Vow. For sorcerers, Binding Vows are rules that must be followed. If broken, it leads to severe backlash."

"No need. Even if this is the reality of the world, I won't choose to escape." Yukino's gaze flickered for a moment, as if she was contemplating the future Sukuna had described for her, but then she said seriously, "If I'm weak, I'll learn to grow stronger; if society is unfair, I'll work to improve it; if the world is wrong, I'll find a way to change it!"

"Because the real world is frightening and dangerous, it's meaningless and incorrect to bury your head in the sand like an ostrich and try to escape. It won't help!"

Yukino spoke resolutely, her tone firm, her eyes clear and full of determination, as if she radiated a bright glow.

However, Sukuna could only smile.

He didn't know where Yukino's confidence came from.

In his eyes, Yukino was like a cute little kitten demanding to rule over humanity, wanting to turn all of mankind into the slaves of the cats—both naive and adorable.

"Ah, you crushed the remote. Now you can't change the channel," Sukuna said, totally unconcerned.

Yukino's energy immediately deflated, as if she'd just been punched in the stomach. She felt both frustrated and embarrassed.

This guy was truly a master at irritating people. After just a few words, Yukino was already sweating with frustration.

"Go take a shower."

When she stood at the bathroom door with a change of clothes, she suddenly realized the issue.

"Come on, why aren't you going? There are no man-eating monsters in there." Sukuna laughed like a seasoned elder from the Spirit Hall.

Ignoring the mocking laughter echoing in her ears, Yukino took several deep breaths to calm her unsteady chest. Then, she bit her lip, and with firm resolve, she walked into the bathroom.