───

     "FUCKING HELL! WHY THE FUCK CAN'T I break through this shit?!", sukuna obnoxiously cursed, kicking the dark skeletons around, as even the air was ominous.

the inside of the prison realm actually resembled sukuna's innate domain quite a bit, with skulls all over the place and nowhere to sit.

"stupid ass cube. once I get out, I'm wrecking havoc!", sukuna grumbled to himself, sitting in the middle of skulls, as he sighed, knowing time didn't pass in here.

     the demon king then leaned back, silently groaning.

     "she better not be dead by the time I get out".

all zen'ins were shit — except a few selected ones of course — according to himari.

the woman couldn't believe that the zen'ins were literally at each other's throats, trying to gain the upper hand of the situation, so that they could be the next ruler.

most had no concern for the people, nor their own comrades; nothing mattered but the throne.

"NAOYA, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! IS BULLYING GIRLS YOUR KINK?!", himari shouted, to which the green-haired male had clenched his teeth, trying to slice off the woman's head.

     "SHUT UP, YOU WHORE! YOU DARE TO HAVE THE AUDACITY TO INSULT ME AFTER FAKING MY FIANCÉE'S DEATH IN ATTEMPTS TO TRY TO CATCH MY ATTENTION?!"

himari suddenly realized that miwa was here — in a male disguise — due to the woman's execution, but no one would've guessed that this was how things would've turned out.

"BITCH, I DON'T WANT YOU!", himari replied, clashing her sword against naoya's katana, as the tension had caused sparks to sprinkle from the two blades.

     "I was just relieving kasumi from being married to the likes of you!", himari muttered, to which naoya had glared at the woman.

"don't pretend that you didn't want me six months ago! your lying skills are just as deplorable as your swordsmanship!"

the haughty male then proceeded to push himari back, causing her to stumble a bit, as she regained her footing, glancing around the area for a moment to check on the others.

though many of the palace samurais were wounded, the ones that she cared more about were still safe, and that was all that mattered.

"oh my gege...how many times do I have to repeat myself?! I. DON'T. SIMP. FOR. YOU. ANYMORE!!!", himari grunted, swinging more violently than usual, as she managed to catch naoya by surprise with her intense strength.

after six months of constant practicing and late night trainings, it had seemed to pay off quite a bit.

the two continued to bicker while going at each other, meanwhile getō had merely chuckled, darkly.

     "amusing...you're really amusing, mahito", the man had hummed, causing mahito to grin, as he thought that he had perhaps convinced the man of what to do.

"to be honest, I didn't want to show my bad side, especially since himari's not too far away. however, you're really starting to piss me off with all the talk about satoru being better", getō muttered, cracking his knuckles, as he calmly walked towards mahito — who had just playfully smiled.

     as long as it wasn't gojō satoru, he was certain that he would be fin—

getō had immediately pulled mahito's lakeshore hair, clenching onto a fistful, as he harshly punched the demon in the stomach.

mahito's saliva disgustingly spewed out, as his heterochromia eyes widened in shock.

a handful of punches, palm strikes, and hard chops were received, as getō had boastfully watched mahito unable to reciprocate, until his mouth had widely opened, showcasing a pair of miniature hands.

"domain expansion: self-embodiment of perfection!"

immediately, the dark-haired male was entrapped in a black sphere of hands, where he stood in the center of a palm, meanwhile mahito had many other hands outstretched like a peacock's feather behind him.

"it's such a pity that you chose to deny my offer, as I had a feeling that we would've really gotten along", mahito sighed, feigning sorrow.

     getō merely scoffed, crossing his arms, as he loosened his bun, allowing his hair to frame his bloodied face — blood that was not his own of course.

     though before neither side could say any more, a harsh thumping and loud screaming was heard.

"YOU SHIGARAKI WANNABE!! LET SUGURU OUT!!", himari shouted, to which tōji — who had arrived late due to him searching for the man with a stitch across their forehead — had started using the playful cloud, after sharpening it, to stab through the demon's domain.

     naoya was temporarily knocked out by tōji, meanwhile getō had smiled, even laughing, as he watched a hole break at the top of mahito's domain.

     the dark-haired male then witnessed tōji carrying himari with one arm, helping her into the blue-haired male's contraption, as she pointed her sword at mahito.

"you raggedy sewers rat! how dare you try to seduce suguru in my presence?!", himari huffed, causing getō to snort, as he walked over to the red-haired woman.

tōji simply yawned, as he could visibly see the sweat dripping from on the demon's head. however, it was as if a realization had formed, as the lakeshore-haired demon had grinned.

"no...it's not over yet...the true essence of my soul...HAS YET TO BE REVEALED!!"

instantly, the man had started molding his body, even as to brutally ripping his face off, to which himari had suddenly remembered that mahito was a highly skilled demon — giving both itadori and tōdō a run for their (nonexistent) money.

a more muscular and monstrous body with a hard exterior was showcased — bearing much resemblance to the deceased hanami — as sharp blades emitted from the elbows of the demon.

'instant spirit body of distorted killing...shit!', himari grimaced.

showing no mercy, getō had hastily summoned hanami, from when he had swallowed the dark ball back up in the snowy mountains.

with the flower demon attacking mahito, he stood no chance, as mahito had quickly crushed the latter, meanwhile tōji and getō had started engaging into a hand-to-hand combat with him.

     the auburn-haired woman calmed her breathing, gripping tightly onto the hilt of the sword, as she suppressed her nerves.

     the two men then spun their heads around to himari, as they yelled in sync.

     "HIMARI!!"

     snapping open her eyes, the woman had singlehandedly stabbed straight through mahito's tough skin, penetrating through his muscles and into his most important organ: the heart.

     it was as if the blade had glimmered red in fury, because that was certainly how himari had felt.

     dark maroon blood had then spluttered onto himari's face, though the woman didn't even flinch in the slightest.

     "this was for yuki, bitch".