"Bastard! What are you laughing at? What is so funny about butchering the lives of others?"
The brutal deaths of civilians and the injuries suffered by his companions filled Yuji Itadori with overwhelming rage. His hatred for Mahito burned in his chest like a wildfire.
Mahito only laughed.
"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?" he said lightly. "Do you remember how many slices of bread you've eaten?"
He tilted his head with a mocking smile.
"Or would it make you feel better if I killed people while looking sad, maybe even apologizing?"
His eyes narrowed with cruel amusement.
"Who do you think you are? Some janitor exterminating pests? Or a hero from a fairy tale who punishes evil and protects the weak?"
Mahito's grin widened.
"With that shallow understanding, you still dared to come to Shibuya?"
His voice suddenly dropped.
"Itadori, don't you realize it yet? You are me."
Yuji froze for a moment before anger exploded from him.
"What kind of joke is that? I save people. You kill them. We're complete opposites!"
Mahito sighed and shook his head as if disappointed.
"How naive."
A shadow rushed forward.
"Kento Nanami!"
Nanami stepped in front of Mahito and swung his blade down with precise control.
"Ratio Technique."
Mahito's body twisted violently from the strike, curling like a shrimp as the impact landed.
A hand suddenly rested on Yuji's shoulder.
"Brother," Aoi Todo said firmly, "whatever resolve you're carrying right now, fighting alongside your allies is what matters."
Yuji blinked, then clenched his fists. The hesitation in his eyes disappeared.
"I understand. Let's go, brother!"
"Ohhh!"
Nearby, Megumi Fushiguro and Nobara Kugisaki exchanged a glance.
"Let's move."
The five of them attacked Mahito together.
Mahito quickly leapt backward, laughing wildly as he looked straight at Yuji.
"Yes! That's it! Itadori, I came here specifically to find you!"
His voice rang with excitement.
"Come on. Let's curse each other!"
"You're talking way too much."
Todo stepped forward with a laugh, his fist wrapped in dense Cursed Energy as it smashed toward Mahito's face.
Mahito's face warped like soft clay from the impact, but his counterattack came instantly. His arm twisted forward, aiming directly at Todo's ribs.
"Idle Transfiguration!"
Knowing he couldn't dodge, Todo smiled calmly.
Clap.
"Boogie Woogie!"
In an instant, Todo switched places with Yuji.
Mahito's strike missed by the smallest margin.
"Divergent Fist!"
Yuji roared as his fist crashed into Mahito's face, the delayed impact of his cursed energy shaking Mahito's body through the air like a rag doll.
Nanami stepped in again.
"Ratio Technique."
Taking advantage of the opening, he slashed precisely at Mahito's weak point.
Slash.
Mahito's arm was severed cleanly, and Nanami kicked him away immediately.
The severed limb spun through the air before landing directly in front of Nobara.
"Kugisaki!"
Nanami's voice rang out.
Nobara did not hesitate. She immediately pulled out three nails.
"Straw Doll Technique."
Just as she prepared to strike, Mahito let out a sinister chuckle.
Nanami's eyes widened.
"Oh no. Get away from it, Kugisaki!"
The severed arm suddenly expanded, twisting unnaturally before forming another Mahito.
"Idle Transfiguration, Clone."
The clone could no longer use Idle Transfiguration on others, but it could still reshape its own body freely.
Grinning, the clone rushed toward Nobara. Its arms morphed into two massive blade-like weapons that swung down viciously.
"Kugisaki!"
Just as the blades were about to strike her, a long tongue shot out.
"Toad!"
The tongue wrapped around Nobara's waist and yanked her backward before the shikigami swallowed her whole.
"So gross!" Nobara complained immediately.
Megumi rolled his eyes.
"I just saved you."
"Tch. That didn't work?"
Mahito clicked his tongue in irritation.
Among the five of them, Nobara's technique posed the greatest threat to him. If she was eliminated first, the rest would be much easier to handle.
From the beginning, Mahito kept provoking Yuji to draw everyone's attention while preparing to target Nobara.
He had not expected the ambush to fail.
Megumi suddenly realized something.
"Everyone! Attack the clone!"
Mahito's eye twitched.
Just as he tried to move forward, Yuji and Todo blocked him like immovable guardians.
"Go reflect on your sins in hell!"
"Black Flash!"
Both fists struck simultaneously.
Black lightning erupted.
Even though the attack did not directly damage his soul, the overwhelming force still launched Mahito backward.
At the same moment, Nanami rushed toward the clone.
His blade cut down sharply.
The clone barely dodged, but two figures suddenly lunged from behind.
The black and white Divine Dogs tore into the clone with claws like scythes, ripping its body apart instantly.
Nobara stepped forward without hesitation.
A nail pierced a chunk of Mahito's flesh.
"Straw Doll Technique, Resonance!"
Blood exploded from Mahito's main body as two massive spikes erupted from within him.
The remaining flesh of the clone trembled violently before gathering into a writhing mass that tried to escape.
"I don't think I've used this one yet."
Nobara snapped her fingers with a confident grin.
"Hairpin."
The nail embedded in the flesh ignited with cursed energy and drilled through the mass.
Squelch.
Mahito's chest exploded with a hole large enough to fit a bowl.
"Blegh!"
Mahito coughed up blood, his expression twisting as he looked at the five sorcerers surrounding him.
Just as Nanami and the others prepared to finish him off, a swarm of Transfigured Humans suddenly appeared.
They grabbed nearby civilians and threw them toward the sorcerers.
"Hahahaha!"
Mahito staggered to his feet and tossed an office worker forward.
At the moment of contact, he activated Idle Transfiguration, turning the human body into a living bomb.
Watching the scene unfold again, Yuji trembled with fury.
His eyes burned with rage.
"Why?" he shouted. "Why do you keep treating human lives like they're nothing?"
Mahito looked at him as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"You're way too idealistic, kid."
He suddenly rushed forward with incredible speed.
This time even Nanami and Todo could not react.
Black lightning flashed again as Mahito's twisted smile filled Yuji's vision.
Yuji hurriedly focused his cursed energy, barely protecting his soul.
Bang!
But Mahito did not use Idle Transfiguration.
Instead, he struck with a perfect Black Flash.
Mahito froze for a moment.
"So this is Black Flash..."
For an instant, he felt as if he had stepped into an entirely new realm. His control over cursed energy became smoother, more natural.
Looking at Yuji kneeling on the ground and coughing blood, Mahito burst into hysterical laughter.
"Itadori, is this your justice?"
He spread his arms wide.
"Are you kidding me? What do you think we're doing here?"
"This is war."
"Not a war to correct mistakes. A war where each side forces its own justice onto the other."
His voice grew colder.
"I told you before. You are me."
"I don't remember how many humans I've killed. You don't remember how many Cursed Spirits you've exorcised."
"Because numbers like that don't matter."
"You save people. I kill them."
"Those are simply our instincts."
Mahito leaned forward slightly.
"And you think your current resolve is enough to defeat me?"
"How ridiculous."
"That's enough!"
Nanami, Todo, Megumi, and Nobara attacked at the same time.
Their blows struck Mahito all at once.
The dust slowly cleared.
Mahito stood there unharmed.
His expression had changed completely.
His body trembled with manic excitement.
"Slaughter... battle stances... death... the desperate desire to live..."
He inhaled deeply, his voice filled with ecstasy.
"Ah, it's all so wonderful."
"Itadori, you still don't understand."
"This is the resolve to enjoy war."
Mahito spread his arms as the flesh across his body began to twist and reshape like living worms.
"Idle Transfiguration..."
His body rapidly transformed.
"Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing."
===
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