Round Two

The purple landscape of the Flaxan world trembled as two titans squared off.

Mahoraga stood imposingly behind Megumi, its wheel spinning with hypnotic precision, while Nolan hovered several feet above the shattered ground, reassessing his opponent with newfound wariness.

"Round two?" Nolan's mustache twitched with a humorless smile. "You've shown impressive abilities, I'll grant you that. But you're still human - enhanced, evolved perhaps, but human nonetheless."

Megumi's eyes gleamed battle thirst. "You keep using that word. 'Human.' As if it's a limitation rather than something with its own strengths and potential."

Without warning, Mahoraga launched forward with impossible speed, its massive fist aimed directly at Nolan's chest. The Viltrumite dodged, but barely - the shikigami's attack clipping his shoulder with enough force to send him spiraling through the air.

Nolan righted himself, genuine surprise registering on his face. "Faster than before."

"Adaptation," Megumi explained - to strengthen Mahoraga's ability - advancing steadily as Mahoraga circled back to his side.

"The Divine General learns from every encounter, every phenomenon it experiences. You've shown it your speed - now it understands." 

Nolan's eyes narrowed. "Interesting. But understanding isn't matching."

He disappeared in a blur of white and red, reappearing behind Megumi with his fist already in motion. But Megumi had anticipated this, sinking into his shadow at the last possible moment.

Nolan's strike passed through empty air as Mahoraga pivoted, its wheel spinning faster as it launched a counterattack.

The Viltrumite caught Mahoraga's massive arm, straining visibly against the shikigami's strength. "Impressive construct," he grunted, before hurling the Divine General into a distant structure. "But still just a puppet."

"Is that what you think?" Megumi emerged from shadow thirty meters away, cursed energy swirling around his hands. "Dismantle!"

The cutting technique sliced through the air, and this time Nolan wasn't quite fast enough. A deep gash opened across his chest, Viltrumite blood spattering the purple stones beneath him.

Nolan touched the wound, examining his blood with something like fascination. "Few beings can harm a Viltrumite. Your energy... it bypasses our cellular density somehow."

"As I said, for the third time now," Megumi replied, "there are forces beyond the physical. You really have trouble accepting that don't you?"

Nolan's expression hardened. "Perhaps." he began, ignoring Sukuna's taunt, "But physical force still has its uses."

He launched forward again, this time moving in an unpredictable zigzag pattern that even Sukuna's perception struggled to track.

The impact when it came was devastating - Nolan's fist connecting with Megumi's midsection, driving the air from his lungs and sending him crashing through multiple structures.

Pain exploded through Megumi's body, but even as he flew backward, he was already channeling Reversed Cursed Technique, healing the worst of the damage like earlier.

He crashed through a final wall and rolled to his feet, blood trickling from his mouth but otherwise intact.

Mahoraga appeared beside him, having traversed the distance with uncanny speed. The shikigami's wheel spun rapidly, and Megumi felt its adaptive energy resonating with his own cursed energy.

"You heal quickly," Nolan observed, hovering above the rubble. "But each healing depletes your reserves, doesn't it? I can hit you indefinitely. How long can you repair yourself?"

Instead of answering, Megumi placed his hand on Mahoraga's leg. Cursed energy flowed between them, and the shikigami's form seemed to solidify further, its red aura intensifying.

"Let me show you something interesting," Megumi said, his voice carrying that distinctive blend of arrogance and anticipation that had once made sorcerers tremble. "Mahoraga doesn't just adapt to phenomena it experiences directly."

The Divine General's wheel spun faster, glowing with ethereal light.

"It adapts to phenomena I understand as well."

Nolan's eyes widened slightly as Mahoraga suddenly accelerated, moving with Viltrumite-like speed. The shikigami's fist connected with his chest before he could dodge, the impact sending him hurtling into the amber sky.

Megumi didn't waste the opening. "Dismantle!"

The cutting technique sliced through the air where Nolan was tumbling. This time, the cuts that appeared across Nolan's body were deeper, drawing more blood. Having had more cursed energy in them than before.

Nolan stabilized himself in mid-air, his white costume now stained with crimson. His expression had shifted from confident to calculating, the look of a warrior who has unexpectedly encountered a worthy opponent.

"Adaptation through proxy," he mused, wiping blood from his face. "Fascinating. Your abilities are more sophisticated than I initially assessed."

"You have no idea," Megumi replied, the cursed energy around him pulsing.

Nolan descended slowly, his cape billowing in the hot wind that carried the scent of destruction. "I'm curious, Megumi. With such power at your disposal, why align yourself with Earth's defenders? Why play at being a hero when you could rule?"

"Who says I'm playing?" Megumi countered, circling slowly as Mahoraga mirrored his movements.

"I've seen your true nature," Nolan pressed. "In combat, when the restraints fall away. There's something ancient in your eyes, something that understands dominance, hierarchy. Something not unlike a Viltrumite."

Megumi's lips curled into a cold smile. "Perhaps. But unlike you, I choose my path rather than following orders blindly."

Nolan's expression hardened. "You know nothing of my choices."

"I know enough," Megumi replied. "I know you're preparing to betray Earth. To eliminate its defenders and prepare it for conquest. For your precious Viltrum Empire."

The words hung in the air between them, a challenge and an accusation. For a moment, Nolan seemed almost surprised at the directness of the statement.

Then his posture shifted, becoming more predatory, more alien.

"And if I am?" he asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous register. "What then? Will you try to stop me? Alert the Guardians? Tell my son?"

"That depends," Megumi said, maintaining his calm despite the tension crackling between them. "On whether you're capable of reconsidering."

Nolan's laugh was harsh, devoid of humor. "Reconsidering? My mission has been in progress for twenty years. Earth's evaluation is complete. The time for action approaches."

"And your family?" Megumi pressed. "Debbie? Mark? Are they just collateral damage in your grand mission?"

Something flickered across Nolan's face - a momentary hesitation, quickly suppressed. "They are... complications. But ultimately irrelevant to the greater purpose."

"Are they?" Megumi took a step forward, Mahoraga moving with him.

"Is that why you've delayed your mission? Why you've played the devoted husband and father for two decades instead of simply conquering Earth upon arrival?"

Nolan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You presume much."

"I observe," Megumi corrected. "The spiritual conflict within you is visible to my perception. You care for them, despite your conditioning. Despite your mission."

"Enough!" Nolan roared, launching forward with renewed fury.

The clash that followed was cataclysmic. Nolan's fist met Mahoraga's, the impact generating a shockwave that leveled what few structures remained standing in the vicinity.

The ground beneath them cratered further, purple stone pulverized into dust.

Megumi used the momentary distraction to execute his own attack. "Sacred Flame!"

The supernatural fire erupted from his palm, not as an arrow this time but as a wave that engulfed Nolan before he could dodge.

The Viltrumite roared in pain as the flame seared his supposedly invulnerable skin - though they were weaker, as he reversed the binding vow of using them only as an arrow. Yet still they were enough to harm Nolan.

But Omni-Man was far from defeated. With a burst of speed, he flew upward, breaking free of the flames, then dive-bombed directly at Megumi.

The impact was devastating, driving Megumi deep into the ground and creating a crater nearly fifty meters wide.

Blood filled Megumi's mouth as several ribs shattered, his internal organs rupturing once again from the force. Even with Reversed Cursed Technique, the damage was severe enough that healing took precious seconds - seconds in which Nolan pressed his advantage.

The Viltrumite grabbed Megumi by the throat, lifting him from the crater. "Your abilities are remarkable, but you lack the physical resilience comparable to mine. One solid hit is all it takes."

Megumi's response was to direct Mahoraga with a thought. The Divine General appeared behind Nolan, its massive arms wrapping around the Viltrumite in a crushing bear hug.

"Physical resilience isn't everything," Megumi gasped as Nolan's grip loosened. "Strategy counts too."

He placed his palm against Nolan's chest. "Cleave."

The adaptive cutting technique at such close range should have been a near killing blow - if Sukuna intended Nolan's death, but he twisted at the last moment, the invisible force slicing through his shoulder rather than his heart.

He roared in pain but managed to break free of Mahoraga's grip with a burst of strength, blood streaming from the deep wound.

For a moment, both combatants separated, each assessing the damage they'd sustained. Nolan's white costume was now more red than white, torn in multiple places to reveal lacerated Viltrumite flesh beneath.

Megumi's clothing was similarly shredded, though Reversed Cursed Technique had closed his wounds, leaving only blood-stained skin as evidence of the damage he'd taken.

"You fight well," Nolan acknowledged, his breathing slightly labored. "Better than any human I've encountered. But you must realize the futility of your resistance. Even if you somehow defeated me, the Viltrum Empire would send others. Earth's fate is sealed."

"Nothing is sealed until it happens," Megumi replied, wiping blood from his mouth. "And you haven't answered my question about your family."

Nolan's expression darkened. "What would you have me say? That I care for them? Perhaps I do, in my way.

But they are temporary. Fragile. Debbie will age and die in a handful of decades. A blink in a Viltrumite lifetime."

"And Mark?" Megumi pressed. "Your son? He has your heritage, your potential longevity."

"Mark will understand, eventually," Nolan said, though a hint of uncertainty entered his voice. "He is a Viltrumite. Once he embraces his heritage, he'll see the necessity of our mission."

"Will he?" Megumi took a step forward, cursed energy swirling around him. "Will he understand when you tell him his mother was just a tool?

When you explain that the world he loves must be subjugated for the glory of an empire he's never seen?"

Rage flashed across Nolan's face. "You know nothing of Viltrum, of our greatness, of our purpose!"

"I know enough," Megumi countered. "I know it's a dying empire clinging to outdated ideologies. I know you're not here to protect Earth but to evaluate its breeding potential. To replenish your dwindling numbers with half-breed offspring."

Nolan's eyes widened slightly. "How could you possibly-"

"As I said," Megumi interrupted, "I see more than most."

The Viltrumite's expression hardened into something truly alien, the facade of humanity dropping away completely. "Then you understand why resistance is pointless. Viltrum has conquered thousands of worlds. Earth is just one more."

"And yet, here you are," Megumi observed, "hesitating. Delaying. Still finding excuses to postpone the inevitable. Why?"

"Enough talk!" Nolan snarled, launching himself forward once more.

This time, Megumi was ready. He and Mahoraga moved in perfect synchronization, their attacks coordinated.

As Nolan approached, Megumi dropped into shadow while Mahoraga pivoted, its massive fist connecting with the Viltrumite's jaw.

The impact sent Nolan careening sideways, directly into the path of Megumi's emerging attack. "Dismantle!"

The technique sliced across Nolan's back, drawing a roar of pain and fury. The Viltrumite spun in mid-air, blood spraying from his wounds, and charged again - only to meet another devastating blow from Mahoraga.

The battle escalated, both combatants moving with such speed and ferocity that the very air around them seemed to warp and distort.

Nolan's raw physical power was matched against Megumi's tactical precision and Mahoraga's adaptive capabilities.

Buildings crumbled, the ground shook, and the few remaining Flaxans fled in terror as their world became the battlefield for powers beyond their comprehension.

Throughout it all, Megumi continued to press Nolan psychologically as well as physically. "You've built a life here," he said between exchanges. "A real life, not just a cover. Are you truly willing to destroy it all for an empire that sees you as nothing more than a tool?"

"I am Viltrumite!" Nolan roared, his fist connecting with Megumi's face despite Mahoraga's attempt to intercept. "Our purpose is conquest, expansion, perfection! Personal attachments are weakness!"

Megumi went flying backward, blood erupting from his mouth, but even as he tumbled through the air, he continued his psychological assault. "Is that why you've maintained those attachments for twenty years? Because they're weaknesses?"

He crashed through a partially standing structure, immediately channeling Reversed Cursed Technique to heal the damage. The effort was becoming more taxing, his reserves of cursed energy dwindling with each major healing.

Nolan pursued, his expression a mask of fury. "You understand nothing! My mission-"

"Your mission has become your excuse," Megumi interrupted, rising from the rubble. "Your justification for eventually destroying what you've come to value."

"Debbie is a pet!" Nolan bellowed, the words echoing across the ruined landscape. "A temporary diversion! Nothing more!"

"Then why protect her?" Megumi demanded. "Why maintain the charade for decades when you could have completed your mission in months?

Why give her a child if she means nothing? Why only have Mark and not go and test out many other descendants to see if they would've developed what you sought earlier?"

Nolan's response was a wordless roar as he charged again, his attacks becoming less precise, more fueled by emotion than tactical consideration. It was exactly what Megumi had been aiming for.

As the Viltrumite approached, Megumi and Mahoraga executed their most coordinated attack yet. The Divine General intercepted Nolan from above while Megumi attacked from below, both landing devastating blows simultaneously.

The impact sent Nolan crashing into the ground with enough force to create yet another crater in the already devastated landscape. Before he could recover, Megumi was on him, hands glowing with cursed energy.

"Dismantle!"

The cutting technique sliced across Nolan's chest, deeper than before, drawing a howl of pain. The Viltrumite lashed out blindly, his fist connecting with Megumi's shoulder and shattering the joint.

Both combatants separated again, each wounded, each struggling to recover. Nolan's breathing was labored, blood streaming from multiple deep cuts across his body.

Megumi's right arm hung useless at his side until Reversed Cursed Technique could repair the damaged joint.

"You're... stronger than you should be," Nolan gasped, genuine respect entering his voice despite his fury. "What are you, truly?"

Megumi's smile was cold, ancient. "I told you. I am what I am."

"No human should be able to challenge a Viltrumite like this," Nolan insisted. "Your abilities... they represent something I've never encountered before. A different evolutionary path, perhaps. Not just physical enhancement, but spiritual."

"Perhaps," Megumi acknowledged. "Or perhaps I'm just the first of my kind you've encountered."

Nolan's eyes narrowed thoughtfully despite the pain of his wounds. "A spiritual evolutionary path... it affects the biology, which means it could be replicated in descendants."

The calculation in his gaze was clear, and Megumi laughed coldly. "Already thinking of breeding applications? How very Viltrumite of you."

"Our species survives through adaptation," Nolan replied unapologetically. "Incorporating beneficial traits is logical."

"And that's all that matters to you?" Megumi asked, his shoulder finally healed enough to move normally again. "The survival of your species? At any cost?"

"What else is there?" Nolan countered, rising unsteadily to his feet. "Individual lives are temporary. Species endure."

"Some individuals leave marks that outlast species," Megumi replied. "Some choices echo through eternity."

Their eyes met across the battlefield, two beings of immense power recognizing something of themselves in the other. For a moment, there was almost understanding between them - two predators acknowledging each other's nature.

Then Nolan charged again, and the moment passed.

The final phase of their battle was brutal, primal. Both had exhausted their reserves, both were wounded beyond what most beings could endure.

Nolan's Viltrumite physiology was pushed to its limits, while Sukuna's cursed energy reserves were nearly depleted.

They exchanged blows that would have shattered moons, techniques that defied physical laws. Mahoraga fought alongside Megumi, its adaptive capabilities allowing it to match even Nolan's desperate fury and in some ways surpass him.

The landscape around them was transformed - no longer recognizable as a city or even as a habitable environment.

Buildings were reduced to dust, the ground cratered and scorched, the very air superheated by the forces they unleashed.

In the end, it came down to a single, decisive exchange.

Nolan, bleeding from dozens of wounds but still terrifyingly powerful, gathered the last of his strength for one final charge. Sukuna, equally bloodied but coldly determined, prepared his counter.

Mahoraga dispersed, as it could no longer be sustained.

As the Viltrumite approached, Megumi dropped into shadow one last time - not to dodge, but to position himself. He emerged directly in Nolan's path, cursed energy concentrated in his fist.

"Dismantle!"

The adaptive cutting technique met Nolan's charge head-on, the invisible force slicing through Viltrumite flesh even as Nolan's fist connected with Megumi's chest. Both warriors were sent flying backward by the impact, both grievously wounded.

They crashed to the ground meters apart, neither able to rise immediately. Blood pooled beneath them, Viltrumite and human alike pushed beyond normal endurance.

Megumi recovered first, channeling his remaining cursed energy into one final healing. It wasn't enough to repair all the damage - his body was a mass of partially healed wounds and exhausted muscle - but it was enough to allow him to move.

He crawled to where Nolan lay, the Viltrumite's white costume now completely red with blood, his breathing labored but his eyes still defiant. With the last of his strength, Megumi positioned himself above Nolan, pinning the wounded conqueror to the ground.

"It's over," Megumi gasped, blood trickling from his mouth. "You've lost."

Nolan stared up at him, his expression a mixture of pain, fury, and something like respect. "Have I? Or have you merely delayed the inevitable?"

"Perhaps," Megumi acknowledged. "But delay can become defeat with the right strategy."

For a long moment, they remained locked in that position - Megumi barely maintaining his hold, Nolan too wounded to break free. Around them, the ruined Flaxan world burned, a testament to the scale of their conflict.

"Do you truly believe," Nolan asked finally, his voice quiet, almost contemplative, "that you can stand against the entire Viltrum Empire? That any force on Earth could resist when they come in full strength?"

Sukuna's laugh was soft, pained, but carried an edge of genuine amusement. "This isn't even my full power, Nolan. I just need more time to access all my potential."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a near whisper. "Together with you and Mark, with what we know, what we can prepare... Earth can win."

Nolan's eyes widened slightly. "Together? You think I would betray my people?"

"I think," Megumi replied, "that you already have, in your heart. Why else delay your mission for twenty years? Why else build a life you knew you'd have to destroy?"

The Viltrumite said nothing, but something flickered in his eyes - doubt, perhaps, or recognition of a truth he'd been avoiding.

"You have a choice, Nolan," Megumi continued, his voice steady despite his exhaustion. "Complete your mission, destroy everything you've built, everything you've come to value... or help us find another way."

"There is no other way," Nolan insisted, though with less conviction than before. "Viltrum's will is absolute."

"Nothing is absolute," Megumi countered. "I've lived long enough to know that."

'Even I, the strongest - who nearly brought down the Heavens would've lost after all. To that brat, Itadori Yuji, my blood nephew - spiritual son of all people.' Sukuna thought to himself.

For twins were in spirit - in the eyes of cursed energy, the Laws of Heaven - a single entity, and Itadori Yuji was his twin's son.

They fell silent then, two broken warriors on a burning world, each contemplating choices that would reshape worlds.

Above them, the red sky of the Flaxan dimension swirled with smoke and ash, while around them, the ruins of a civilization stood as mute testament to the price of conquest.

The King won, now the Conquerer only needed to admit it and submit.

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

(Author note: Hello everyone! I hope you all liked the chapter!

Okay, that was tough!

Man give me philosophy,

give me dialogue,

but don't give me fight scenes cause then I wanna retire!

Hope it wasn't too repetitive and bad.

So yeah, do tell me how you found it and I hope to see you all later,

Bye!)