Sukuna was still standing in the exact same spot. Not moved an inch. That brief smile he'd worn when delivering the devastating punch was gone, replaced once again by that cold, uninterested expression. Like he was waiting to see if this insect would get back up or simply die.
That look. That fucking look.
Rage boiled up through Lucien's pain, hotter than the burns covering his body.
He'd been looked at like that before—by the researchers in the facility, by people who thought he was nothing more than a lab rat to be experimented on. The memory of those cold, clinical stares mixed with Sukuna's bored indifference, and something inside him snapped.
He reached up with one hand and pushed his blood-matted hair back from his forehead, his eyes never leaving Sukuna's face.
"You think this is boring?" he said, his voice hoarse but filled with venom.
He raised his Knight Killer, the red blade gleaming in the torchlight as he pointed it directly at the King of Curses.
"That uninterested face of yours," Lucien continued, his grip tightening on the weapon. "I will break it. I will fucking break it."
Then he did something unexpected. Instead of charging in with his dagger, he dismissed both weapons entirely, letting them vanish back into his inventory.
Sukuna's four eyes tracked the movement, showing the first hint of curiosity he'd displayed since the fight began.
Lucien grabbed one of the massive stone pillars that his earlier impact had cracked. With his enhanced strength, he ripped it free from its moorings and hurled it at Sukuna like a spear.
The King of Curses didn't even bother to dodge. He simply raised one hand and caught the massive chunk of stone, stopping its momentum completely. The pillar crumbled to dust in his grip, and he brushed the debris from his palm with casual indifference.
Lucien was already moving. He began circling Sukuna in a wide arc, grabbing more pieces of broken stone and hurling them in rapid succession. Chunks of pillar, pieces of the floor, anything he could get his hands on, became a projectile.
Sukuna's four eyes followed him around the circular path, tracking his movements. But occasionally, for just a few seconds, those red orbs would focus on the incoming debris, and Sukuna would casually swat the stones aside or catch them in his multiple hands.
The attacks weren't even making him move from his position. Using the environment to harm an opponent was useless when that opponent was this strong.
But harming Sukuna with the debris wasn't Lucien's intention.
He grabbed two particularly large chunks of pillar, each one the size of a small car.
With both hands, he hurled them at Sukuna simultaneously, the massive stones flying toward the King of Curses from slightly different angles.
For the first time in the fight, the projectiles were large enough to completely block Sukuna's line of sight. The stones created a momentary wall between them, cutting off his view entirely.
Sukuna dealt with them the same way he'd handled everything else—a casual gesture that reduced both chunks to rubble. But when the dust cleared, something was different.
Lucien was gone.
Sukuna's eyes widened slightly, the first real expression of surprise crossing his features. He immediately began scanning the chamber, those four red orbs searching every shadow, every corner, every possible hiding spot.
But there was nothing. Just empty air and the echo of settling stone dust.
Then pain exploded through his left shoulder.
Sukuna looked down to see his left arm—the one holding Kamutoke—sliding away from his body in a spray of dark blood. The limb hit the ground with a wet thud, the lightning weapon clattering across the stone floor.
He spun around, searching for his attacker, but still saw nothing. Where the hell was—
Then, Kamutoke disappeared from the ground.
One moment it was lying on the ground twenty feet away, the next it had simply vanished as if it had never existed. Sukuna's eyes narrowed as he began to understand. Some kind of stealth technique, combined with spatial storage abilities.
This insect was more interesting than he'd thought.
Sukuna immediately launched into action, his remaining three arms moving in complex patterns as he began unleashing a barrage of slashes.
Invisible blades of energy cut through the air in all directions, carving deep grooves in the stone walls and floor. If his opponent was hidden, he'd simply attack everything.
Lucien, on the other hand, had just stored Kamutoke in his inventory, so Sukuna could not use it again.
The Stealth skill was draining Lucien's mana faster than he'd expected. He could sense the incoming slashes through his perception, the deadly energy passing inches from his body as he twisted and weaved through the attacks.
The barrage intensified, forcing him to activate his Dash skill. He was slipping between the incoming slashes, but it was getting harder.
His stealth was going to disappear soon as his mana was running low, and when that happens, he would just be a moving chicken waiting to be cooked, with Sukuna being the Chef.
That's when he decided to pull off one final gambit.
Lucien drew both his daggers and burst forward, his remaining stealth flickering around him like a dying flame. He aimed straight for Sukuna's chest, putting everything he had into this one attack.
The blades punched through Sukuna's torso just below the ribcage, sinking deep into flesh and muscle. Dark red blood poured from the wounds as Sukuna's barrage of slashes came to an abrupt halt.
Sukuna looked down at the daggers protruding from his chest, his expression shifting from surprise to something that might have been respect. He could sense his attacker now, close enough to grab.
His hands moved to seize the invisible figure, but Lucien wasn't there. He ripped one dagger free and spun around Sukuna's side, the blade finding its mark across the King of Curses' throat in a spray of crimson.
But just as he was going for the killing blow, Sukuna's remaining arms unleashed another burst of slashes. Lucien threw himself backward, barely avoiding decapitation, but he'd done what he'd come to do.
He deactivated his stealth skill and reappeared about ten meters away, breathing hard but grinning with savage satisfaction.
Sukuna stood in the center of the chamber, one arm missing, one dagger still embedded in his chest, and his throat half-severed.
Lucien wanted to rip his head clean off, but at that range, the slashes would have torn him apart too.
Still, seeing the King of Curses losing blood like that, watching him sway slightly on his feet, Lucien knew it was only a matter of time.
"I win!" he declared, his voice echoing through the chamber with triumphant confidence.
Then, Sukuna started to laugh.
It began as a low chuckle, but quickly escalated into full-blown maniacal laughter that bounced off the walls and seemed to come from everywhere at once.
The sound was wrong, twisted, filled with a kind of dark joy that made Lucien's skin crawl.
Confusion replaced triumph on Lucien's face.
Why was Sukuna laughing? He was dying, bleeding out from multiple fatal wounds. What could possibly be funny about—
The wounds began to close.
Lucien watched in horror as Sukuna's throat knitted itself back together, the gaping slash sealing as if it had never existed.
The hole in his chest shrank and disappeared, pushing out the embedded dagger. Even his severed arm began to regenerate, new flesh and bone growing from the stump with nauseating speed.
Within seconds, Sukuna stood whole and unmarked, not even a scar to show where Lucien's attacks had landed.
Lucien stared in horror at the complete regeneration. This monster could heal from anything.
The King of Curses brought his hands together in a complex gesture, fingers interlocking in patterns that seemed to hurt to look at directly.
The world changed.
Invisible slashes filled the air, but these weren't like before.
They were precise this time and aimed at specific parts of Lucien's body with deadly accuracy. Some targeted his legs to cripple his movement. Others aimed for his arms to disable his weapons, and a few sought his torso and head for killing blows.
Lucien moved desperately, trying to dodge the invisible barrage, but there were too many attacks coming from too many angles. He could feel the air itself being carved apart around him.
That's when Sukuna pulled the same trick Lucien had used earlier. A massive chunk of broken pillar came flying through the air, forcing Lucien to dive aside.
But as he moved, he felt something was wrong. His balance was off, and his left leg wouldn't respond properly. He looked down to see his own foot lying several meters away, cleanly severed at the ankle.
Before the sight could fully register, pain exploded across his chest. A diagonal slash opened him from shoulder to hip, the wound so deep he could see his own ribs through the gaping flesh.
Then his arms were gone.
Both limbs fell away in sprays of blood, severed so quickly and cleanly that for a moment, Lucien didn't even feel it. He just watched his hands—still gripping his daggers—bounce across the stone floor like discarded toys.
He looked at Sukuna as he collapsed backward, his ruined body hitting the ground with a wet sound. Above him, the chamber ceiling disappeared into endless darkness, like staring into an abyss that went on forever.
His strength was gone. His will to fight was gone. Everything was gone.
Lucien coughed, and blood splattered across his lips and chin. His vision began to dim around the edges.
He wanted to think, wanted to understand what had gone wrong, wanted to process how completely he'd been outmatched. But he was just too tired. The darkness was so inviting, so peaceful compared to the agony wracking his destroyed body.
His eyes began to close, consciousness slipping away like water through a sieve.
Then, a system notification popped up,
[HP: 1]
The numbers burned themselves into his retinas as another notification came, but before he could read it, everything went black.
.....
POWER STONE GOAL: 700 ( 1 Extra Chapter)
Want to read ahead of the public release? Support me on Patreon at "https://www.patreon.com/FreakyHaru" and get access to:
5 and 10 chapters of all my fanfictions.
Ongoing Projects:
Marvel: Shadow Monarch
Upcoming Projects:
DC/MARVEL: The Kryptonian Emperor(Started Publishing on Pa t re on)
Your support helps me keep writing and brings you more content faster!
Thank You