In the Academy as Sukuna

"Every descent has its own reckoning; every battle, its final blow."

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"Holy shit," a student muttered, her voice as nervous as could be.

Everyone gazed upon the room with wide open eyes, their hearts beating faster with every passing second. The air was filled with the stench of decay and blood.

On the circumference of the room, there were present many little creatures that added to its intimidating presence.

Hovering in the air, there were uncountable, fist-sized beetles. Their green armor shining in the dim light.

They moved in swarms, their little wings creating an irritating sound, while their bites could poison the strongest fighters. This poison, though not lethal, would slow down even the most agile ones.

Hanging from the dome shape by almost invisible threads, were venomous spiders.

With black bodies and a coating of hard armor, they suddenly dropped on unsuspecting victims and trap them in webs which were excruciatingly difficult to get out of.

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Right in the middle of the room was the master of the ruins, the monster at whom if one glances for even a second, they would feel an overwhelming sense of dread and fear.

The Centipede King - A colossal being with a body reaching a length close to 100 meters. Its exoskeleton shone like polished black gems, with countless spikes throughout it.

It had an uncountable number of legs, each so strong yet so sharp that they made little holes in the stone floor when it moved.

Its head was a nightmare in physical form, antennae coming out of it, creating a curved shape. Its mouth had sharp teeth which could seemingly tear through anything with ease.

Its whole body seemed to have no weaknesses. Looking at it, some students immediately lost their will to fight, and tried to retreat back outside to safety.

But regrettably, he door behind them had closed without anyone noticing, without making a single sound.

"Formation!" Silvas shouted, which marked the beginning of the final battle.

Sukuna shot to the left, while Nect to the right, all the other students and instructors surrounded the centipede, who was now awake and ready to battle, which was indicated by the low growling sounds it made.

The room erupted into chaos as the students attacked the centipede king, their battle cries filling the chamber.

Sukuna and Nect had been given the essential job of eliminating all the small creatures so that everyone can fight the boss freely.

Sukuna believed that this was not a good idea, but agreed to it nonetheless, since he wanted to try out some of his new moves.

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Nect walked close to the edge of the room, killing every creature that came into her view.

Her movements were more refined than the ones she displayed in the battle with the ghouls.

Her emotional turmoil had caused her to mature mid-battle and create new muscle memory that aided her in the battle.

However, the targets were too small and too numerous. The more she killed, the more appeared.

She could improve her efficiency tenfold if she could liquify mana again, as it acted akin to a blast, killing everything in its range.

Nect shot to the right, standing on the edge of the battlefield. Her breaths were ragged, as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

She looked within herself, trying to summon mana in the same way she had done in the fight with ghouls.

"Focus," she muttered to herself, mana converging on top of her hand.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't achieve the same fluidity that the mana had flowed with at that time.

She might not be able to liquify the mana, but she was able to feel it inside her, throbbing, waiting to be unleashed.

Mana converged on top of her hand, gaining the form of a translucent gas as she poured more into it.

She noticed a horde of little beetles and bugs coming her way, their eyes glowing with bloodthirst as they came closer.

Her lips curled up into a twisted smile.

Looking at Sukuna, she had unknowingly been influenced by his spirit during battle, feeling the exhilaration that he feels.

She extended her hand forward, the mist of mana vibrating, waiting to be released.

She let the creatures get closer, their sounds of buzzing reverberating in her ears.

Looking at them, her eyes glinted in excitement.

She released the concentrated mana, which went out towards the monster like a beam.

As soon as the monsters made contact with the overwhelming amount of mana, their bodies burned and shed.

First the armor, then the skin, all the way down to bones until they were reduced to atoms.

Nect grinned widely at this scene, glad that her attack had worked.

Her eyes caught the sight of Sukuna, who nodded at her in silent acknowledgement.

She felt something cryptic in that nod, but had no time to ask.

She started working on converging more mana into her palms, running around, ready to blast any creature that came in her way.

However, her sense of euphoria was broken as she glanced at the students fighting the Centipede King.

She realized that this was just the beginning, her limits would be tested today.

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The Centipede King roared, its thunderous cry overshadowing the shouts of the desperate students.

The students fought to survive, their every breath felt like a struggle. The air was thick with tension as they continued their relentless attacks.

The students attacked with everything they had, but they weren't able to put even a scratch on the centipede.

The most aggressive one was Ryogaku. His weapon was clutched tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.

His previous injuries had been healed, but they still pained him, the healers didn't have time to completely cure him.

But, what hurt him more than the physical wounds was the hole in his heart.

Alexia and Johan - his only two remaining friends - had died in this place, much like many others.

His chest burned with grief, worse than any physical wound. But he knew that he couldn't give in.

He would continue their legacy, getting better, so that somewhere, all three of them can look at him and be proud.

He channeled all of that pain, that anger, into the fight against the Centipede King.

His sword burned brighter than ever, some blue sparks emitting from it from time to time.

His eyes were locked on the Centipede King with a hatred and anger that was close to insanity.

The King lunged at him, its legs making rhythmic metallic sounds on the stone floor.

Ryogaku didn't even flinch...he wanted it to get closer. He wanted to feel its blood on his hands.

Every time he looked at his fallen comrades in the room, their faces overlapped with Alexia, Johan, and Anny's.

He wanted to make it pay for all the lives it had taken.

The King roared, thrusting its head towards him, intending to end him with pure brute force.

The King's great roar echoed off the walls, sending a chill down the spines of everyone who heard it.

As if mirroring the King, Ryogaku leaped towards its incoming head, a battle cry erupting from his throat, not inferior to the roar of the King.

It seemed like a battle of two Gods.

Ryogaku swung his sword downwards, towards the King's head. His sword was now coated in a light blue flame.

He didn't notice this, his mind was completely focused on his target, which was right in front of him.

Though, from another end of the battlefield, a voice muttered to itself. "Another upgrade, huh?"

Ryogaku and the King met in the air, the metallic ring of their collision sent a shockwave throughout the room.

The stones on the ground were rattling, it seemed as if time had slowed down.

The light blue flames that enveloped Ryogaku's sword burned brighter, being fed by his raw fury.

Every last drop of his grief, of his anger, was channeled into that single strike.

It was as if all the pain, all the loss he had endured, had become one, transforming into a power that defied logic.

The King's body recoiled, feeling damage for the first time.

The flames burnt its head, its antennas turning to ash as it retreated, its legs digging into the floor, making a metallic sound.

A loud screech erupted from its mouth, reverberating in the dark chamber.

A deep scar had been carved into its exoskeleton. The once shining obsidian black armor were now cracked under the force of his attack.

Ryogaku landed on the ground with a thud, his legs were trembling but he stood with unwavering intensity in his eyes.

The King erupted in a deafening roar as it regained its composure. Its anger was directed at Ryogaku as it lunged at him at a speed much faster than expected by its size.

Ryogaku was ready, he sidestepped the attack, swinging his sword in a beautiful arc, he aimed for the creatures leg.

The sword connected with the King's leg, cutting it off cleanly.

The beast let out a piercing shriek, its balance momentarily thrown off. Ryogaku didn't stop, his attacks fueled by unwavering determination.

Eva, looking at the efforts of Ryogaku, doubled her own.

Her focus was taken up by a spell she was chanting, mana concentrating on her palms as she extended them towards the King's head.

The sound of ice crackling erupted from the converging mana as ice formed in front of her hands.

She finished the spell, releasing it, as a beam of ice hit the King at the scar left by Ryogaku's attack with a blinding light, deepening the wound.

A sound of clashing echoed in the room as Eva's spell hit the King.

Purple blood flowed out of the wound as the ice created by Eva started to melt.

The sight of the King's blood sent a jolt of confidence through the students' minds.

Seeing that damaging this seemingly invincible beast was possible, they were filled with a courage they could never muster before, their attacks getting harder and faster. They started seeing victory close by.

From the other side of the room, Sukuna muttered something to himself. "Why isn't it using its full strength?"

Eva didn't waste any time, creating ice on the King's legs, temporarily disabling its movement.

The beast started thrashing around, trying to get out of her hold.

"Now!" She screamed, her voice traveling throughout the room.

Silvas, hearing the voice, did not waste a single second, bending down in a pose, his muscles bulging out of his clothes.

He shot up towards the King at an overwhelming speed, the ground where he was just standing cracking from the force.

As if within a moment, he appeared in front of the King's head, slashing his sword downward with full force.

Silvas's sword glinted with a dim glow as the sheer force behind his swing created a sonic boom that echoed throughout the chamber.

Everyone held their breath, watching the blow that could potentially decide the battle's result.

The blade collided with the King's skull, sending out a shockwave that shook the stones in the walls.

The centipede's skull was cracked, it slowly fell to the ground with a deafening thud.

It felt as if the King glanced somewhere while falling, its eyes glinting with an unknown light.

The students cheered. They had won...they had succeeded in defeating this unbelievable monster.

But, Silvas knew better.

"Brace yourself!" He screamed, his voice overshadowed by the loud shriek emanating from the King.

The King's body suddenly lifted off the ground, lifting Silvas, his sword still embedded in its head, with it.

The force of the rise caused Silvas to lose grip of his sword as he got swung into the air.

But, while in the air, he felt something, a tension that wasn't there before.

He couldn't tell what it was, but he knew that it was going to be big.

He landed on the ground with a thud, sustaining quite a lot of injuries as he barely held onto his consciousness.

The centipede screamed, its roar echoing in the room, its mouth wide open as if congratulating the humans to push it this far.

Suddenly, above the head of the King, a silhouette appeared, falling downwards at an incredible speed.

As the dim light reflected on his face, a huge, almost maniacal, grin was displayed, the tattoos on his face glowing ominously.

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(POV: Ryomen Sukuna - Some time ago...)

The room was a storm of chaos, the irritating sound of buzzing wings assaulting my ears.

Clashes of metal echoed in the room as the students did their best to combat the huge centipede.

I had a smile on my face as a group of beetles swarmed towards me.

"Haven't tried this one," I muttered, cursed energy concentrating into my hands, taking a deep-yellow color.

I pulled my hands back, before pushing them out towards the swarm, the concentration of cursed energy bursting out.

As the creatures made contact with my cursed energy, their bodies seemed to disintegrate into powder, the wall behind them being scarred due to the effects of my attack.

I grinned. This attack was quite useful.

I started running around the room, continually using this attack to clear out the small-fry, while also keeping an eye on the battle.

I occasionally looked for Nect and Eva, making sure they were safe.

They both seemed to have improved drastically, Nect's growth being more apparent.

She had apparently found a way to 'liquify' mana, which should be possible since mana is considered a physical object.

In that case, is mana solidification possible?

This opens a whole new web of possibilities that I am eager to explore.

I continue observing the battlefield and see something, Ryogaku's sword was not glowing in it's normal red and orange glow, but in a blue one.

A smirk laced my face as I muttered to myself. "Another upgrade, huh?"

I continued to kill the smaller creatures, waiting for the battle to take an interesting turn.

I heard a deafening metal clash echo in the room, turning my head to the centipede's head, I saw Ryogaku's attack hit it.

My brows furrowed. "Why isn't it using its full strength?" I muttered as I stared at the retreating centipede.

I felt that something was holding the centipede back, there was some reason that it didn't use its full strength.

But I couldn't figure out why...

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(At present...)

I was watching the ongoing battle from my vantage point.

Silvas slashed the centipede, its body was falling onto the floor, the faces of the students started to be filled with joy.

But, as the centipede was falling, he looked at me, our eyes connected with each other, as if looking deep into each others' soul.

Something flashed in the centipede's eyes, which almost felt like...nostalgia.

The centipede fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Silvas seemed to have defeated the centipede, but I new better, the mild rumbling of the ground as it started to get up alerted me.

Silvas, a seasoned warrior, also seems to have noticed this, and commanded the students to cover themselves.

The centipede got up with a loud shriek.

A huge grin formed on my face as I found this the perfect opportunity for me to jump in.

Although I was curious about the centipede holding its strength back, I had to defeat it to get back to my world.

I bent down, my muscles bulging out of my clothes as I calculated my trajectory.

With exceptional force, I propelled myself upwards, the ground cracking beneath me.

Though, the sound was lost in the chaos of the battle, nobody seemed to have noticed me.

Silvas was launched high above as I got closer and closer to the centipede.

He landed on the ground with a painful thud, but by that time, I had reached my destination...right above the centipede's mouth.

I could see the gaping mouths of all the students as I fell through the centipede's teeth, the twisted grin not leaving my face.

I slid down its digestive tract, slightly bothered by the gross smell of rotting flesh and the sticky liquids floating around.

The centipede's insides tightened in an attempt to crush me to death.

In response my grin only widened, uttering a single word that only I, and the centipede, heard.

"Open"

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Give me power stones, please :3

2750 words :>

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