Megumi has been teasing us with the summoning of Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga since early in the series. He’s also often at the brink of death a lot. Using his intellect he manages to just barely escape with his life. In the last episode Megumi found himself in a dire situation after fight against Dagon and then his father Toji. Luckily for Megumi his father came to and killed himself rather than harm his child. This moment of relief was short lived as Shigemo attack him from the shadows, leaving Megumi no choice but to finally summon the great Mahoraga. Sukuna has also hinted at a need to keep Megumi alive. It’s not made clear why but he notes that Megumi is special often. When Megumi’s life force begins to fade Sukuna rushes to save him.
Save is probably too positive as Sukuna clearly has sinister plans for him. Sukuna saves the panicking Shigemo and realizes if Shigemo dies then Megumi (who already dying) will die as well due to the ritual requiring both participants death to end. Sukuna, who’s “outside” the ritual can end it by killing Mahoraga. He aims to do just that. The animation from MAPPA continues to be top tier but I want to note that they didn’t simply animate what was in the manga. The added action scenes, emphasized the death and destruction of the city of Shibuya and its citizens, and used creative style.
Sukuna’s brutal dismantle
Mahoraga’s ability to adapt to “any and all phenomena” makes it incredibly difficult to harm and certainly kill. After it adapts, Mahoraga will counter the users technique if used a second time. It can do this on offense and defense. All this couple with raw strength and the “sword of extermination,” that’s specifically effective against cursed spirits. In order to defeat Mahoraga, Sukuna uses his Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine which “relentlessly attacks anything in range. It cuts down anything with cursed energy using Cleave and hits all inanimate objects with Dismantle.”
He needs to surprise Mahoraga with another technique the shikigami hasn’t adapted to. With dismantle and slashing techniques out of the question, all that remains is his fire ability he used against Jogo. He fires a massive version causing a massive explosion finally obliterating the shikigami. Only devastation remains after this fight, while Megumi is handed to Yaga and Shoko for healing, Shigemo finally runs out of luck, but it’s a heartbroken Yuji that witnessed Sukuna rampage who’s left to deal with the carnage.
