Tyrant's Favorite | Sukuna Ryomen x Reader

021. Between Sword and Wall

A curse announced that they had finally arrived at the kingdom of Jogo from the crow's nest. You ran to the side of the ship that was pointing east to see the land you would visit for the first time. Your mouth fell to the ground when you saw the great kingdom that awaited your arrival. A great town that was built between volcanic rocks that surrounded the colossal castle that was lost among the gray clouds that camouflages itself among the night sky. The grayish clouds of the afternoon were slightly dyed in a bright red shadow from the active volcano in the distance. It was a dark place that had a special, mysterious charm.

"Welcome to the Jogo kingdom, lady!" Mahito announced excitedly, arriving at your side.

"It's bigger than the castle in Sukuna's kingdom," you commented, still in shock, without taking your eyes off the immense building.

"This castle has existed for 800 years. King Jogo made it with his own hands and technique," Mahito explained.

That a single curse could make such a colossal infrastructure that would last for so many years was genuinely impressive. The power that the king must have had to be from another world and that Sukuna was powerful enough to overthrow said king in less than a week was terrifying. You couldn't really visualize what it really meant. You had seen the king cut off heads at most, but he was surely much more powerful than that. What would Sukuna's power look like at 100% of its potential?

The closer they got to the port, the more noticeable the difference in temperatures between the two kingdoms was. Sukuna's kingdom had a chill weather, the skies are reddish when it's not cloudy and the wind is cool most of the year. On the other hand, the Jogo kingdom was a dry place, the clouds were heavy, and your entire body felt the heat from the smoke of the constantly burning lava.

Along the bay, several curses could be seen waiting for the arrival of their new and respected king. The happiness of the curses contrasted with the waves crashing against the dock as they got off the ship. A carriage was waiting to take them to the castle. The dark stone paths were long, while hundreds of curses welcomed the king with cheers and loud applause. You looked curiously out the window and, as expected, there was no human in sight. "Is there a commune here too?" You wondered.

The heat intensified as soon as you reached a river of lava that protected the perimeter of the castle. Lady Inoue and you were sweating all over. A giant drawbridge lowered to let you into the castle, being welcomed by the curses working as knights. Everything in the castle was made of stone, the floors, the walls, the chains, everything except for the asymmetrical windows that stretched across the entire surface.

You got off the carriage and someone was already waiting for you there. A large tan curse with black lines running all over its body. It had a helmet-shaped head that didn't cover its teeth, branches where its eyes are supposed to be, and two black lines zigzagging across its face. It wore baggy black pants secured by a white sash tied around its waist and a white cloth draped over its left arm.

"Welcome to the Jogo Kingdom. We were hoping you'd visit us again," they bowed to the king.

"This is the other commander of the Jogo kingdom, Hanami." Kenjaku introduced them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mrs. Inoue and you greeted at the same time.

"What a nice meal you brought with you, my king," they commented before licking their snout, but Kenjaku quickly shut them up with a smack on the head.

"Oh, you wish, Hanami." Mahito scolded them with a smack on the back.

"I'm sorry, the curses here aren't used to seeing humans." Kenjaku smiled.

"That means there's no commune here," you thought in surprise. That meant that this entire kingdom had been created by and for curses. It was really impressive that what you thought all your life were monsters that only ate people could build a kingdom imposing and strong enough to face the other kingdoms.