"Damn it… this curtain doesn't just block vision… even electromagnetic waves are cut off. Nothing can get through. How did they pull this off? Some kind of strange Binding Vow?"
Kokichi Muta, now fully healed, piloted a massive humanoid machine nearly ten stories tall, resembling a white Unit-01: the "Ultimate Mechamaru Absolute Form Armored Puppet Prototype No. 1." Six pure-white, simply designed escort units circled around it.
Just moments ago, those escort units, each capable of firing a [Ultra Cannon], had blasted away Mahito, who had been trying to launch a sneak attack using his body.
But attacks that didn't target the soul meant nothing to Mahito. He simply rode the impact, slipping to the edge of the forest and using the darkness within the curtain and the complex terrain to hide.
Inside the cockpit, Kokichi Muta paused to think.
With this much noise, and such an obvious curtain in place, no one had come in from outside yet. Either the teachers hadn't received any information… or they simply couldn't get in.
Then I'll finish off this Cursed Spirit first…
"Escort Units One through Four, switch Ultra Cannon output ports to Cursed Energy detection mode. Form a grid and sweep outward."
[Command input complete]
The escort units weren't being directly puppeteered. To avoid the backlash of his Heavenly Restriction stripping away its benefits, Kokichi Muta had integrated them into the "Ultimate Mechamaru" itself. The immense Cursed Energy he had accumulated over seventeen years of immobility served as a backup power source.
As the escort units' detection grids overlapped, Mahito had no choice but to reveal himself. At the same time, he hurled two lumps of flesh toward them. The moment they landed, they expanded into transfigured humans, destroying the escort units beneath them.
But the instant Mahito exposed himself, a massive mechanical hand turned toward him, its palm aimed directly at his position.
"Remaining escort units, deploy Cursed Energy nets to intercept.
Charging one year's worth of Cursed Energy… Ultra Cannon!!"
The order had barely left Kokichi Muta's mouth when the remaining four escort units spread net-like constructs, sealing off Mahito's escape routes. A torrent of Cursed Energy engulfed him completely.
When the [Ultra Cannon] subsided, a winged Mahito burst out of the smoke and roar.
Except now there were six of him.
He had split into one larger body and five smaller ones, slipping through the gaps in the Cursed Energy net.
Imitating the escort units, Mahito created five winged "mini Mahitos" that circled around him, then sent them to orbit Mechamaru, searching for weaknesses.
The clones couldn't use [Idle Transfiguration], but as long as their forms were set before splitting, that was enough.
Mahito regenerated all the skin he had lost in the [Ultra Cannon]. In simple terms, he had only expended some Cursed Energy.
"Trying to wear down my Cursed Energy?"
Mahito grinned exaggeratedly at the towering machine.
"Then let's see who's got more firepower!!"
His hands morphed into gun barrels. This wasn't just an imitation. He had fully replicated the internal structure of firearms using his own body.
Dodging Mechamaru's heavy punch, Mahito shouted, "biubiubiu~" as he fired the humans he had stored as ammunition.
In just five seconds, the entire surface of the massive machine was crawling with transfigured humans.
Kokichi Muta immediately ordered the escort units to clear them off, but the moment the units approached, the transfigured humans detonated all at once. Though they were made of flesh, reinforced by Mahito's Cursed Energy, the explosions blasted the surface of Mechamaru into craters and wiped out the remaining escort units in a single wave.
Mahito stood off to the side, watching the fallen machine.
More precisely, he was observing Kokichi Muta inside it, using his ability to perceive souls.
"Surprised? I picked this up from a certain 'Seven-Three Sorcerer.' Wonder if you know him? He pours Cursed Energy and a technique into a wall, then triggers it… I think he calls it 'Expansion'?
It's simple, really. Input the technique twice. First to alter the form, then to make it expand until it explodes, with just a slight delay in between.
Boom. Done. Surprised?"
Inside the cockpit, Kokichi Muta operated the controls, forcing Mechamaru back onto its feet.
"I don't want to hear a single word from a disgusting thing like you.
Charge for five years. Pigeon Viola!"
The moment the giant Mechamaru regained its footing, it launched five red light projectiles from its back. The homing shots tracked Mahito relentlessly, forcing him to keep changing shape to evade them. In the end, he sent three of the smaller Mahitos to intercept them head-on, detonating all five in midair…
As the battle drew closer and closer to the forest, Kokichi Muta suddenly spotted a blue-haired figure lying at the edge of the barrier. He quickly maneuvered Mechamaru away as naturally as possible while continuing to pressure Mahito back.
But the sudden shift in his attack pattern still tipped Mahito off.
"Trying to move the battlefield away from here? You can't fool me. Your soul is wavering~~ It's her, right?"
The moment Mahito rushed toward Kasumi Miwa at the edge of the barrier, Kokichi Muta stopped worrying about concealment and immediately drove the giant Mechamaru forward, using its massive frame to shield her underneath.
Seeing the giant Mechamaru half-crouched over the ground in a bent posture, Mahito turned both hands into massive hammers and began smashing at its armor with all his strength.
"This is what humans are like. Completely obsessed with the soul's 'secretions'…
How pathetic, not even being able to see your own true 'shape'~~"
Talking didn't slow Mahito down in the slightest. Every hammer blow rang out with a deafening crash, and cracks began spreading across Mechamaru's armor.
Kokichi Muta hurriedly brought Kasumi Miwa into Mechamaru's interior. She slowly opened her eyes, rubbing her neck as she looked around in confusion.
Did I get sent into the future or something?
"Uh…"
Kokichi Muta worried the sight might scare her. After all, this was the first time she had seen what he really looked like.
"Miwa, don't be afraid. I'm…"
"You're Mechamaru?"
Kokichi Muta swallowed the rest of his words.
She had never seen his real appearance before, yet she had called him by name immediately…
That left him fumbling, suddenly unsure what to say.
But Kasumi Miwa hadn't thought that deeply about it at all. In her mind, high-tech meant Mechamaru, and this place was obviously high-tech, so the classmate she had never seen before, who knew her name and was inside a giant robot, had to be Mechamaru…
Listening to the explosions outside and the sound of armor breaking apart, Kokichi Muta finally snapped back to the reality of the situation.
But if Miwa was here…
"Miwa, there's a very strong Cursed Spirit outside. I need your help…"
"Huh? My help?"
Kasumi Miwa looked bewildered. She was just an ordinary Grade 3 Jujutsu Sorcerer… This thing already looked overwhelmingly powerful, so why would it need her?
"In a moment, I'm going to hand control of Ultimate Mechamaru over to you. Just fight the way you usually do."
"This giant robot? I… can really do that?"
"Absolutely!"
[I have no idea. But at the very end, getting to see you one more time makes it so that whether I win or lose doesn't even matter anymore…]
Mechamaru glanced toward the inside of the cockpit. There was an escape device there. As long as it launched upward, Sensei would definitely see it.
As long as Sensei sees it, no matter what happens, you'll be safe…
"I-I'll do my best!"
"Thank you."
Kasumi Miwa reached behind her head and rubbed the back of it.
"Hehe… you don't have to be so formal…"
Kokichi Muta had already realized what made Mahito different. He could heal his body with an ability tied to the soul, and after taking that many attacks, he still hadn't suffered any real damage. That meant he needed a special method to kill him.
[A Domain can neutralize techniques. A Simple Domain… If I can drag this Cursed Spirit into a Simple Domain…
No… I can use Sensei's [Double Barrier] to deploy the Simple Domain inside the Cursed Spirit's body. If that works, it might kill it outright!]
Sitting at the control console, Kokichi Muta slotted a capsule-shaped blue cylinder into one of the ports.
"Ultimate Mechamaru, switching operators. Input: Kasumi Miwa!"
[Command: switching main body operator]
[Inputting target information]
[Target jujutsu system connected]
[Warning: synchronization rate below 70%]
"…Load target behavioral patterns for movement compensation."
[Information loaded successfully]
[Movement systems linked]
[Synchronization compensation complete. Operation authorized]
[Main control platform retains Cursed Energy output and external loading permissions]
[Beginning unit synchronization]
[Miwa, being able to see you with my own eyes at the very end… no matter what happens now, I have no regrets.]
"Miwa! Don't be nervous.
Just swing your sword. Leave the rest to me!"
Then Mechamaru added in a voice only he himself could hear:
"Thank you."
Standing within the blue control space, Kasumi Miwa's gaze sharpened with resolve.
"Understood! I won't let your trust in me go to waste!"
Kasumi Miwa lowered her stance slightly, one hand resting on her sword as she stared through the giant screen at Mahito.
Kokichi Muta pushed the Cursed Energy output authorization, and the number beside it instantly dropped from 11 years to 3 years.
A circular opening appeared in Ultimate Mechamaru's hand. Inside it was the capsule-shaped blue cylinder, from which a thirty-meter blade of light extended.
The entire machine moved in perfect sync with Kasumi Miwa's actions.
A blue ring of light a hundred meters across appeared beneath Ultimate Mechamaru's feet, enveloping Mahito completely.
With the support of the [Double Barrier] device, tiny blue crystals began rising continuously from the blue ring of the Simple Domain.
Those barrier crystals gathered like flowing light, weaving themselves into the blade of light.
"Hm?! This is…"
Sensing danger on instinct, Mahito, driven by the threat of death, hurriedly grew hands from inside his mouth and began forming signs.
"Domain Expansion: [Self-Embodiment of Perfection]"
"New Shadow Style: Draw Sword!"
Backed by an enormous supply of Cursed Energy, the New Shadow Style Simple Domain, and the effects of [Double Barrier], the blade of light came down at a speed that defied intuition.
Mahito, unable to expand his Domain in time, was cut diagonally from his right shoulder to the left side of his abdomen, split into two uneven pieces.
At that exact instant, the blue Simple Domain completely transformed into tiny crystals and surged into Mahito's body along the blade of light. Mahito abruptly lost control of his body. It twisted, collapsed, and rotted away, until all that remained was a cloud of blood mist…