The battlefield trembled.
Millions of shadows roared like thunder behind Sung Jin-Woo.
Across from them, the twisted, alien army of Itarim responded with unholy shrieks, salivating for blood.
But Jin-Woo didn't move.
He simply stood on a jagged ridge of stone, arms crossed, watching from the high ground like a black-hooded god.
"Beru," he said calmly. "Go."
The ant-king screeched.
In an instant, Beru vanished in a sonic boom and slammed into the enemy's frontlines.
Bones shattered. Craters formed.
A monstrous warbeast swung a spiked flail at him.
Beru ducked under it, ripped the beast's arm off, and hurled it into the air. He clicked his claws together and lunged forward, tearing through three Apostles in a blur.
From the other side, one of the Apostle Generals stepped forward twice Beru's size, plated in obsidian armor, with a scythe humming with cursed flame.
Their claws clashed.
The shockwave flattened the battlefield around them.
From the cliffs above, the Jujutsu sorcerers watched, breathless.
Yuji swallowed. "That thing… it's fighting like a demon, but it's loyal to Jin-Woo?"
Gojo stared with narrowed eyes. "He's not leading an army."
"He's commanding a kingdom."
Back on the field, Beru shrieked with glee as he was pushed back. Blood sprayed from one of his arms but he regenerated instantly, laughing.
The Apostle General snarled and raised its scythe again, speaking in its native tongue. "You serve a false king, shadow-beast."
Beru's eyes glowed. "My king is the absolute."
He roared, and lightning burst from his claws.
Sung Jin-Woo watched it all without a word.
He didn't need to intervene.
Not yet.
Because this wasn't just a fight.
This was a message:
The Shadow Monarch didn't need to lift a finger…
to shake the world.
The ground trembled with every clash.
Beru, the former Ant King, now the Commander of the Shadow Legion, danced like a living storm through Itarim's army his claws ripping, his wings slicing, his shrieks echoing across the field.
From the high ridge, Sung Jin-Woo stood still, watching.
Arms crossed. Unmoved. Untouched.
"Unbelievable…" Yuji whispered from the cliff above.
"He's not even moving. He knows he doesn't need to."
Gojo's gaze was sharp. "That's what real power looks like. He commands, and the world obeys."
But below
One of the Apostles of Itarim had other plans.
A cloaked figure cloaked in cosmic flame broke from the ranks.
He didn't scream or charge.
He teleported a flash of white fire aimed straight at Sung Jin-Woo's position.
A direct assassination attempt.
But in that instant
Time seemed to stop.
Beru vanished from the frontlines, abandoning even his battle mid-strike.
A heartbeat later, he reappeared mid-air, between the Apostle and Jin-Woo, arms wide, claws extended.
CLASH.
Flames burst. Shadows howled.
Beru caught the Apostle's blade with both hands, even as it burned through his chitin.
He screamed not in pain, but fury.
"NO ONE… TOUCHES… MY KING!"
With a pulse of black lightning, Beru's body erupted in rage.
The Apostle was blasted backward, crashing through three of his own soldiers before skidding to a halt, hissing.
Beru dropped to a knee for a moment scorched, but still breathing.
Jin-Woo's voice, low and commanding, broke the silence.
"You tried to touch me. That was your second mistake."
The Apostle growled. "And the first?"
Sung Jin-Woo raised his hand.
"Existing in front of my army."
Behind him, a new wave of shadows rose.
The battlefield darkened.
The war was just beginning.
Shadow soldiers clashed with monstrous horrors from beyond the stars millions of lives locked in one colossal war.
From the high cliffs above, Yuji Itadori and the others watched, silent and stunned.
And at the center of it all, unmoving Sung Jin-Woo.
He stood tall upon a jagged ridge, arms crossed, a sovereign unmoved by the chaos below. His dark cloak fluttered in the storm winds of battle. He hadn't drawn a weapon. He hadn't spoken since the command was given.
"Is he really not going to fight?" Panda whispered.
"No," Gojo replied, eyes narrowed. "He doesn't need to."
Because in his place… Beru fought like a beast unleashed.
He tore through enemies with primal screams, wings slicing, claws ripping. Lightning erupted with each slash. Even generals of Itarim fell before him.
Until he appeared.
One of the Apostles of Itarim a towering creature clad in void-armor, horns spiraling toward the sky, and a blade forged from celestial decay.
He didn't roar.
He simply appeared behind Beru.
The strike was instant.
Beru barely twisted in time and his right arm was sliced clean off.
The Shadow Commander screeched in pain as he tumbled back, landing hard and skidding across the battlefield.
From above, Yuji gasped. "Beru?!"
The Apostle advanced, blade crackling with dark heat. "You're powerful… but not enough."
Beru growled, reforming his arm mid-air with shadow mist, but his breathing was heavy now.
This Apostle wasn't like the others.
He was equal.
The two clashed again. Claws met blade. Each impact shook the mountains.
Beru was fast but the Apostle matched him.
Beru struck with lightning but the Apostle wielded voidfire.
Slowly inch by inch Beru was pushed back.
Then the Apostle turned his eyes to Jin-Woo.
"I'll just remove your master. The rest will fall."
He broke toward the ridge racing up the battlefield in a straight line.
Jin-Woo still didn't move.
But Beru wounded, staggering screamed and surged with power.
His wings cracked the sky as he intercepted the Apostle mid-charge.
"I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
He tackled the enemy midair, crashing them both into a shattered ruin of black stone.
Flames and shadows exploded.
Beru lay there, panting, beaten but his claws were still locked on the Apostle's throat.
"You… will never touch… my King…"
And Jin-Woo?
He still watched.
His eyes didn't show worry.
Only patience.
Beru, the former Ant King and Shadow Commander, clashed violently with an Apostle of Itarim a being equal in power, cloaked in void-armor and wielding a blade of celestial fire.
Lightning and voidflames danced across the battlefield, shaking mountains and splitting the sky.
But far beyond the fight
The world was watching.
High above, unnoticed by the combatants, several human satellites had captured the clash. It began as strange seismic activity. Then, one satellite feed went viral.
Live news outlets couldn't believe what they saw:
> "We're receiving footage now this isn't CGI this is live… something… something massive is happening in Japan"
> "What you're seeing are two non-human entities, one insectoid, the other demonic, clashing at speeds we can't measure"
> "My God… did that one just regrow an arm?!"
Screens across the world lit up.
In Seoul. In New York. In Cairo. In London.
People froze.
Some screamed.
Some fell to their knees.
Military bases scrambled for answers. Presidents demanded explanations. Churches began praying.
"Is this the Apocalypse?"
"Are these gods? Monsters? Aliens?"
Meanwhile
Back on the battlefield, Beru fought with his entire soul.
His right arm was severed again he regenerated it mid-scream. He bled shadows but didn't stop. His enemy moved with ruthless precision, each strike meant to end him.
Still, Beru blocked them all.
Not because he was stronger.
But because his heart was screaming louder.
"You will not touch my King!"
Above, Jin-Woo remained still silent, unreadable.
Gojo, Yuji, and the others watched from a distant cliff, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
"It's… being broadcasted," Megumi whispered, holding up a phone. "The world is seeing all of this."
Gojo chuckled, bitterly.
"Then they'll finally understand…"
He looked at Jin-Woo.
"...That we're not the strongest anymore."
Beru, the commander of the Shadow Army, tore across the field in a thunderstorm of claws and shrieks. But even he was struggling. The Apostles of Itarim elite emissaries of the Absolute Being matched him in speed, brutality, and bloodlust.
For the first time, Beru bled shadows.
Claws cracked against cosmic steel. Wings shattered against cursed fire.
From the ridge above, Sung Jin-Woo stood unmoved arms folded, silent.
He watched.
Not with concern.
But with calculation.
And then…
Cameras caught it.
A live satellite feed picked up the battlefield.
It streamed to TVs and phones across the globe.
> "Breaking News: Massive unidentified beings are fighting outside Japan. This footage is live this is not a movie."
> "One appears insectoid the other, armored, demonic… wait what is that army behind them?!"
> "Are these the gods we've feared?"
> "Is this… the end?"
The world stared, paralyzed.
But back on the battlefield
The sorcerers moved.
Yuji Itadori, Gojo Satoru, Megumi, and Yuta exchanged nods.
"We can't just watch," Yuji growled. "If they're trying to kill him, they'll go for us next."
They leapt from the cliff.
In a blur, Gojo opened a Limitless barrier as they blitzed toward the nearest Apostle.
Their cursed energy flared maximum output.
The Apostle didn't even flinch.
He simply turned his head.
One blink.
Gojo's barrier shattered.
Yuji's body nearly split in half from an invisible force.
Yuta coughed blood. Megumi's shadow beasts were erased in an instant.
They were going to die.
Until
CLANG.
A crimson sword intercepted the Apostle's claw.
A knight in obsidian armor stood between them, cape fluttering in the storm of shadows.
Igris.
The loyal knight didn't speak. He didn't need to.
He slashed the air and the Apostle was pushed back five meters.
The sorcerers fell to their knees, breathing hard, stunned by how close they'd come to death.
The Apostles regrouped now, ignoring everyone.
Their glowing eyes turned to the unmoving figure on the cliff.
Sung Jin-Woo.
One stepped forward.
"You send servants to fight. But we came for you."
Another raised its blade.
"Your soldiers bleed. Your ants fall. But you hide behind your throne."
A pause.
A breath.
Then Jin-Woo raised his head.
And smirked.
"…Very well."
"Come then."
"Face your king."