Finis Chaldea

[Bloodedge]

Ereshkigal and Elysia had no more use of Ishtar. They would proceed to dress themselves, or rather, each other while leaving Sukuna to his ultimate work. So then, how exactly would he be approaching this? Well according to Elysia, he should make sure it hurt. Easily done. "Since you asked, I'll make it a thousand times more painful," he said. Apparently, Sukuna had become willing enough to answer requests by the death goddesses.

Onto Ishtar, she continued attempting to call the death goddesses by an old name she'd been made incapable of finishing without injury. At her current rate of decay, she would have done best erring on the side of caution. Sukuna figured it wouldn't be long until she actually bit her tongue off, but he wouldn't leave her alive for very long anyway. That is... he didn't intend to. Desperation and rage reached previously unseen heights, and Ishtar spoke of possessing her own demon. Oh? Demons didn't work that way. "Shut up. If you actually had one, his mana would have made you strong enough to fight back. You don't─" Oh. That name, he knew it. Malleus was a name attributed to the one other creature Sukuna would call repugnant. Who could have guessed he was connected to this one? Amused as Sukuna had been this entire day, his expression turned notably sour the moment he heard that single name.

By Ishtar's command, the 'demon' Malleus tore through a previously-unseen barrier surrounding the area. A sickly green flame jettisoned its way to Ishtar's side, bursting upon landing into the form of a man. Glowing green eyes with slit pupils came into being first, followed by curved black horns and dark, slick, green-tinted hair. This male wore the visage of a scholar, a mage even, with a hood bearing holes for his horns. This Malleus as he was called, first saw Ishtar and scoffed. Then... he saw a scowling Demon Lord just ahead. "What... in the absolute hell is going on here? Mortal, have you been messing with my experiments?" he asked as if short on patience.

[Apollymi]

Upon hearing the request of Elysia to cause Ishtar extra pain, Sukuna offered to make it a thousand times worse. What an exciting prospect. "This one earned a trip to paradise," she said happily giving Ereshkigal a high five. Again, Ereshkigal wasn't necessarily a sadist, but Ishtar managed to bring the most hateful parts of her personality to the forefront. Ah, speaking of doing that she'd called the goddesses and tried to use their original name. She was quite certain that this one was going to lose a tongue, "It's going to fall off..." Ereshkigal said shaking her head from left to right. That moment would be left and they'd go back to getting dressed. Both of them had their clothing adjusted by the other until they were both pleased by how they looked.

Ah, but Ishtar claimed to have her own demon. And upon using the name Malleus A man with black hair and green slit pupils showed up. He had horns and was surrounded by green flames. That was interesting. More interesting than that, was what this man had to say upon his entrance. Did he just show up and call Ishtar a mortal? Was she so used to taking abuse she just allowed it everyone or anyone? That attitude was just as haughty as Ishtar's. The eyes of both of these goddesses widened and Ishtar misinterpreted the entirety of this situation. From the looks on Kur's faces to the words originally spoken by Sukuna! "I was summoned here. But... Yeah! Look who's talking now! You aren't so high and mighty anymore are you? All of you will suffer now. I am the only one who can be chosen. You'll see! I bet he'll be able to break her! If you managed all you did with Ku- " a bite to her tongue had it nearly severed from her jaw. "Weeee. fixsh it. I'm hurt!" that was her first command to this demon she was bound to. Of course she couldn't read this room, but now Ereshkigal and Elysia were wondering if the this 'demon' as he was being called was really as dumb as Ishtar was herself.

[Bloodedge]

Malleus had appeared near Ishtar as she sported a form he couldn't even recognize, hovering just ahead of his top experiment who appeared to be in an unstable state. Apparently, she was summoned here. How? That didn't make sense, as one who could draw out Ishtar could not have reached his... oh. Another glance in the presumed experiment's direction, and that scowl made perfect sense... but no, that couldn't be, could it?

Ishtar began to gloat. It seemed she thought this half-assed attempt at making a demon was something that could thwart Sukuna, or even save Ishtar herself. She even thought that same halfling could break Ereshkigal/Elysia, as if anyone but Sukuna himself could manage that. Yet again, she attempted to use the wrong name, only to nearly lose her tongue. Sukuna supposed he wouldn't be having fun with this after all. "I'm sick of your shit. Ladek vensh sif!" he chanted. Sukuna's Cursed Speech in this instance held an intensity that could function against a Source. By the time he opened his mouth though, Malleus had come to understand what was going on here. Sukuna's words were likely to be heard, but the effect would be skipped as Malleus ported Ishtar away in an instant. He'd be dealing with her cursed self at a later time. "Sukuna the Obscene. Isn't your time long past?"

What a ridiculous question. This little pretender could only even think of calling himself a demon because Sukuna was sealed beforehand. Shouldn't he be bending the knee already, while speaking with the one who gifted him? "Malleus the Cunt. Where are my fingers?" an impatient Sukuna asked. To that, Malleus held a gentle hand to his own chest, wearing a mocking expression upon his face. "Mind yourself, decrepit little demon. Four are here, just as four are in your current body. I am sure we can all count," said Malleus, who went on to inspect the forms of both remaining women. "Oh? You've made one of them into a Demon God? It seems you've done part of my job for me. I may want one of these. One chance. I exercise my authority as a Great Spirit and a Demon Lord. I will take one of these, you other two may continue living as you are, and you Sukuna, can even keep the four fingers you currently have. Shall we agree on these simple terms?"

[Apollymi]

At the point where Ishtar started to gloat it seemed that Sukuna reached his maximum level of discontent. He uttered words in a way which made both Ereskigal and Elysia look wide eyed with excitement. They were curious what kind of way Ishtar would kill herself given her already rough and mangled state. Ah but then she disappeared. Ishtar herself was rather surprised to find herself in the floor of a room in Dis, writhing as she was given an order to kill herself. 'How could he actually want me dead? What did that bitch do to him?' these were her only questions. This 'demon' that came to her rescue at least had the good sense to know when things weren't going his way. Ah, too bad... Ishtar had escaped. Oh well, she'd make sure that one received more torture of a different sort and she very well wouldn't be uttering her former name at all so that was good.

Now then what wasn't good. Apparently the man that the two forms of death had been bound to, was known as Sukuna the Obscene. That was a strange name but if his nature was obscene acts it made sense of how he approached her in the first place. She wasn't necessarily against his nature at all and as such this didn't bother her. Ah, but this one called Malleus seemed to be just the wrong side of appreciable as a person. He made Sukuna a strange offer, wanting to take one of the goddesses off his hands in exchange for leaving Sukuna be with the other one. Both girls reacted the same way without prior thought. "Eww..." they said at the same time. "He reminds me of Enki," said Ereshkigal. "Yeah. Well we didn't have high hopes or anything. He is connected to Ishtar," said Elysia. Ah, that was interesting. Neither of these women seemed to fear being handed over to the other man. But they also saw themselves as belonging to Sukuna and knew they were simply two sides of the same coin. There was no one without the other. But as they stood here they had more questions, like why was there a 'Great Spirit' here who was trying to make a deal? That went directly against what a young 'Kur' had been told by her mother about the Great Spirits.

[Bloodedge]

Sukuna's gaze was burning and piercing all at once, all aimed at the one who called himself a Great Spirit and Demon Lord. It had to be an interesting feeling, to possess the traits of two great species and be unwanted by both of them. No matter; Sukuna was not here to console a bastard, nor was he here to do anything about the situation. He wanted his missing fingers, and Malleus had four on his person right now. "So you've got four..."

Mathematically, Malleus had a point. Sukuna had four fingers, and he had four fingers while originally being a Spirit, great though he was not. Realistically though, that math held no weight whatsoever. Realistically, Malleus still didn't hold a candle to Sukuna no matter how much of the demon's power he possessed. "I just finished telling that meat-bag you answered the call of: those two are like my personal sluts now. Actually, if you tried one of them, you might fall in and drown. We'll never find out for sure though. You won't make it long enough," Sukuna declared.

Malleus wasted no further time. This old demon would discover the truth via direct example. Those sickly green flames spread around Malleus' body. Surprisingly, they disappeared immediately. One male was surprised by this, and it was not Sukuna. Malleus' eyes widened, and then... there was an arm hooked around his neck. "What is─" Malleus tried to speak, but that arm tightened around his throat. Large breasts were squeezed against his back, and blonde hair was draped over his shoulder, just in view. The goddess who suffered a destroyed Source earlier had been reanimated by Sukuna, at least physically. Her body was officially Sukuna's puppet, empowered by his Curse Energy and apparently more powerful than Malleus as a result. Sukuna even forced a bit of flexibility into the goddess' body, making it contort until her legs wrapped around Malleus' arms to pin them. Sukuna would then step closer. "So here's the real deal," he said, slowly pushing one hand into Malleus' chest. Much to his satisfaction, the alleged spirit/demon winced, gurgled and screamed. This was not a spiritual insertion, after all; Sukuna was truly stabbing a hole into the other male's chest slowly with his hand. "I'm taking these back. Then I'll figure out what I'm doing about you getting in my way." That was as much of a deal as Sukuna would offer, given as he casually plucked a single finger from within the other male's torso. He tossed the first into his own mouth as if it were a snack, then went digging for the second. Ah, he had something to say to Ereshkigal and Elysia as well. "Finger?" he asked as if offering.

[Apollymi]

For a little while it seemed like there was some kind of standoff taking place. All the while both Ereshkigal and Elysia watched and listened for Sukuna's reply to the supposed offered deal. Of course, he said no. But it wasn't just a no. It was a no that involved a certain amount of ownership. They belonged to him, as much as such a thing could apply and he wouldn't be turning them over. Didn't that create some kind of warm fuzzy feeling within the chests of both these individuals. To be chosen twice in a single day, and to have it reinforced that was just the best wasn't it? Even if the words he chose to use were a bit abrasive, the meaning of them was still the same. Bascially, Sukuna had told the man he couldn't be replaced. Ah, but it wasn't all.

In the same moment they both got to see a new curse in action. Watching as this spirit tried and failed at whatever he was doing only to end up, arms pinned to his sides being strangled. Sukuna reanimated the corpse of the fallen goddess, which Sukuna used to pin this Spirit/Demon hybrid and then he commenced to reclaiming what belonged to him. "That really was a lot like Enki," Ereshkigal said remembering the day her brother had approached her like he was in charge and then gotten himself dragged into the underworld. "Yeah, that was a pretty interesting curse though..." said Elysia as she watched on with a similar amount of interest. It was a sight to see, Sukuna ingesting his fingers gaining more of his power as he did so. He'd also basically pushed a hole into this creatures chest. It really did seem like he wasn't much of anything at all. Having successfully dressed each other, Ereshkigal and Elysia held hands seeming to find comfort in doing so. He even offered them one which got two startling different reactions. "No thank you," said Ereshkigal. But Elysia's face became one of the slightest hints of sadism. "She means we'll just take the mana afterwards~" she said with a grin. "Why are we like this?!" was the exclamation of Ereshkigal which only caused laughter. Once again this scene seemed to be one of mild amusement instead of a life or death situation.

[Bloodedge]

Malleus would have tried speech, but all that came from him was a gurgled mess of noises while Sukuna searched his soul for the next finger. Luckily for Malleus, there was pause taken. Ingesting that first finger had an unusual effect. He felt... a little out of sorts. With the lack of a hand actively moving around in his torso, Malleus became a bit smug. "What's wrong, Sukuna? Did you think you could reclaim those fingers after they've blended with the power of a Spirit? I will control you," he gloated. True enough, it seemed Malleus' essence was making its way into Sukuna's body at a rapid pace. So... this was what Spirits were capable of? There was all the potential for the Demon Lord of Obscenity to be overtaken by this energy. It possessed a strong sense of self, as if it consciously rejected the idea of being less than his power as a Destroyer.

... He'd have been worried if Malleus had the power of a Spirit.

Instead, Sukuna laughed. This was no cause for concern; he could even take time to converse with the... twins? Twins. "Suit yourselves. These have a little spice added. It's not too bad, I guess," he quipped. The fact that he'd yet to be possessed was upsetting to Malleus, who went about freeing himself from the dead goddess' clutches. Her body snapped in multiple places across multiple limbs, falling to Malleus' rear as his hands clasped together. "It seems the Void has made you stronger No matter. Let's see how you fare in my Domain." As Malleus spoke, a great darkness spread from him. Said darkness appeared all-encompassing until it formed a barrier around Malleus, Sukuna and the goddesses. "Welcome to the Bane of Mortality," he stated. Within this barrier of his, there was an ancient-looking castle surrounding the group, and numerous chandeliers sporting that trademark green flame of Malleus. The atmosphere of this place was sickening, and caused aging of all physical bodies. Even so, Sukuna remained motionless and unbothered. "This will be the end for at least two of you. None can escape the Domain of a Spirit. Mine in particular is infallible."

"So... this is how those things are made, huh," Sukuna mused as apathetically as ever. There was no decay or anything of the sort occurring on his end. In fact, he was at the height of relaxation, stretching before bringing his hands together in a similar fashion to Malleus... yet quite different. His middle and ring fingers were extended and held parallel, while his fore and pinky fingers curled in toward his palms. Sukuna appeared to be working on something, but... what exactly was it?

[Apollymi]

Malleus was a self-assured individual. He was quite certain he'd be able to gain control of Sukuna. But as Ereshkigal and Elysia watched onwards they realized something important. There was quite a bit of power missing from an exchange like this, it didn't even remind them of their earlier sexual terror at the hands of Sukuna. Perhaps they were still under the effects of Sukuna's mana and thus desensitized to the severity of this situation? Well, no... that couldn't be Sukuna was still laughing even when it was mentioned that Malleus intended to try and control him. Ah, there was nothing to worry about.

What was more, Sukuna implied that that the fingers that had come out of Malleus were just a bit spicy instead of being anything else. It was a joke he made to the pair. And it would be met by one of the twins who had a habit of speaking up to say outrageous things, "I assure you, there is only one kind of spice we like... and it's not whatever that is~" these were Elysia's words in the moment and it left Ereshkigal red in the face. "Can we not flirt right now?" she asked of herself. "As if there's a better time~" This was apparently par for the course, as far as their conversation type was concerned. But serious moments became more serious by the moment.

Malleus fought off the corpse that was the former fertility goddess. Ah and then the domain of a Spirit was shown. How intense. Both Ereshkigal and Elysia looked around at it with wide eyes. It was quite the gloomy looking place fitting with their general tolerance of things, but it was also rather lacking in a way they couldn't really figure out. Perhaps the name of it gave them a strange idea but didn't quite meet up to the idea that they were used to. "Bane of Mortality..." these were the words of Ereshkigal but Elysia seemed to be giving it a bit of thought. Ah the power here was supposed to be decaying what was within. It was claimed by this man that only two people would survive? Hm, should they play along with it? They were giving it consideration at least. Elysia was more than happy to pretend allowing her natural glow to dim a bit in the green lights here, as a conscious effort.

[Bloodedge]

The one called Elysia mentioned a specific preference for things considered spicy. Oh, was that what it tasted like? He hadn't even been wondering, but it sounded like she was making a direct reference to his mana. "Then you can have that now if you want it. I'm not too busy," Sukuna said ever so casually. Indeed, he thought little enough of Malleus to offer himself up to both goddesses while... technically in the middle of a fight. "Actually. Either way, both of you, come over here."

With his offer, Sukuna gestured with his head toward either side of himself. He'd ideally have one goddess to his left, and the other to his right while completing whatever technique he was working on. He'd give enough time for them to take whatever position they intended, and then... "Got it. Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine!" the demon chanted. Sukuna was not to create a separate space within a barrier, as most Spirit Domains were. Like an artist drawing on air instead of a canvas, he directly manifested his would-be Domain onto reality. A sea of still, dark water appeared in place of a floor beneath them all. Where Sukuna and presumably the twin goddesses stood, the main feature of his Domain appeared as a Buddhist shrine that had been disfigured to enshrine a demon such as Sukuna himself. The shrine had horns on the roof, skulls hanging at each of the corners of the roof, mouths coming out of each side of it, and was surrounded with bull-shaped skulls. The shrine's opening seemed to be a massive, open mouth, beyond which Sukuna would be seen sitting atop a long Chrysanthemum throne. There was plenty of room upon said throne for both Ereshkigal and Elysia to be seated, or even stretched out to either side if they saw fit.

As a consequence to Sukuna's Domain Expansion technique, Malleus' own Domain was shredded to bits. How?! Sukuna was no Spirit; he could not make use of a Domain. Moreover, this was not a conventional Domain at all. "What the hell is this?! You make a farce, cancel my Domain, and have the nerve to call this a Domain? Domains are meant to be inescapable; I could just walk out of this on a whim!"

Malleus was right. Domains were expected to have barriers to enable a certain-hit technique within. Malleus obviously didn't notice the true power of Sukuna's technique. This Domain of his stretched far and wide. By not constructing a barrier, Sukuna was able to make a more personal decision. "I made a Binding Vow. This thing here is about 200 meters long. Run if you want~"

[Apollymi]

Sukuna and Elysia were content to flirt and embarrass the hell out of Ereskigal in the process. The admission by Sukuna that he could afford to split his attention and feed them at this point was an interesting bit of news to Elysia. All the while Ereshkigal managed only to bury her face in her hands. "I'm pretty sure we're still full... but that is great information to have~" said Elysia. "You're doing this on purpose..." Ereshkigal said the full weight of her face bright red in the interim. She was content enough in this situation that she was experiencing embarrassment instead of direct concern about her life. Ereshkigal managed to look mortified as they held hands and moved to either side of him, continuing to hold hands behind his back as Ereshkigal ended up on his left-hand side, and Elysia ended up on his right.

After joining him, Sukuna went on to do something he called a domain expansion. Ah. That was interesting, the little space around them had been shredded replaced by a japanese style buddhist shrine complete with a Chrysanthemum throne big enough for the three of them to share in the most relaxed way possible. It looked so cool and so much better than the one that had been erected around them before. "Woah! Sweet!" both Ereshkigal and Elysia seemed to be quite enthused by what they were seeing. "Look at the bones!" Ereshkigal maintained a childish level of excitement in the moment. Elysia could only smile given the amount of pure joy currently located in the other death goddess. They both sat down soon enough but it was all while looking around. The differences between them became obvious in the moment as one of them sat straight legs crossed at the ankles seemingly in review of this entire place even with her eyes wide. As opposed to the dark and regal mistress, the one dressed in light white clothing with her hair in a low ponytail, seemed apt to lounge about. Her body was relaxed and leaning against the still nude Sukuna seemingly content as she continued to hold her sisters hand behind his back. Both of them appeared to be rather relaxed given the situation.