"Aaaaaaah!!!"
Accompanied by the terrifying sound of a fracturing skull, Mahito let out a shrill scream of absolute agony.
Yuji's Black Flash, which struck the temple with pinpoint precision, carried a space-distorting, violent force. Like a sledgehammer smashing a watermelon, it directly pulverized the seemingly indestructible pale armor covering Mahito's head.
Purple-black blood, mixed with bone fragments and brain matter, rained down through the air like a macabre storm.
"Impossible... I am... the soul's perfected form!"
Mahito's massive frame shook violently in mid-air. He clutched the half of his head that had been pulverized, true fear reflecting in his eyes for the first time.
The pain, striking directly at the depths of his soul, made him feel the encroaching approach of death.
'I have to run... I must escape!'
Mahito endured the excruciating pain and twisted his giant body, attempting to use the recoil to retreat and flee from this terrifying vessel of a brat.
"Don't even think about running!"
Amidst the ruins, Aoi Todo let out a raspy roar.
His wild face was covered in blood, and his eyes were bloodshot from overexertion.
"Boogie Woogie!"
Clap!
Even though his body was trembling violently from the backlash of cursed energy, and the wound on his abdomen was bleeding profusely...
Todo still gritted his teeth and forced out one final activation of his technique!
Swish!
Just as Mahito's body leaped backward, he was instantly swapped with a piece of rubble lying at Yuji's feet!
Once again, he was forced back right in front of Yuji!
"Nice work, Todo-senpai!"
Yuji took a deep breath, squeezing out every last drop of cursed energy remaining in his body without reservation!
Blue cursed energy burned wildly on his fists, even faintly flickering with a violent black aura.
"This is the final blow!"
Yuji's gaze became colder and more determined than ever before.
He remembered Junpei's tragic death, the innocent civilians transformed into monsters, and how Yoru and Todo had risked everything to create this opening for him.
"Black Flash!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Yuji's fists struck like a torrential storm!
No longer just a single hit, but a continuous, devastating barrage of Black Flashes!
Every punch landed with surgical precision on Mahito's already cracked bone armor!
Black lightning ravaged Mahito's massive frame, shattering his arrogant Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing piece by piece!
"Aaaah—forgive me! Spare me!"
Mahito wailed in despair. His proud defense was useless under the barrage of consecutive Black Flashes.
His body began to crumble like a melting candle, large chunks of flesh peeling away to reveal the twisted soul core within.
"Die!!!"
Yuji roared, his right fist carrying world-ending power as it plunged through Mahito's chest!
Crack!
Mahito's soul core was completely pulverized by that single punch!
That demon-like giant frame deflated like a punctured balloon, reverting back to his human form covered in stitched lines.
Yuji gasped for air, looking down at the dying Mahito. Steam was still rising from his blood-soaked fists.
"It's over..."
He had finally done it.
With Todo's assistance and Yoru's guidance, he had personally crushed this demon who toyed with souls.
However.
Just as Yuji was about to step forward to deliver the finishing blow and exorcise Mahito completely...
"My, my. You really look pathetic, Mahito."
A playful, relaxed voice suddenly rang out over the silent ruins.
Hum!
The space behind Yuji suddenly rippled like water.
A pitch-black spatial rift appeared out of thin air.
A man with an ordinary face but a hideous stitched scar across his forehead stepped out from the rift with a smile.
Though he no longer inhabited Suguru Geto's body, that nauseating soul aura still revealed his identity.
The mastermind... Kenjaku!
"Kenjaku?!"
Far away, kneeling on the ground, Yoru's pupils constricted to the limit.
He never expected that this brain, who had just been forced out of a Special Grade body by Suguru Geto's lingering will, would find a new host so quickly.
And that he would return so soon!
"You bastard... what do you think you're doing!"
Yuji roared, forcing his exhausted body to move as he raised his fists to charge at Kenjaku.
"Shh. Be quiet, brat."
Kenjaku smiled and held a finger to his lips. He didn't even spare Yuji a glance, turning his eyes toward the dying Mahito on the ground.
"You..."
Mahito looked at Kenjaku, extreme terror flashing in his hollow eyes.
He could feel that even though the other had changed skins, that absolute desire for dominance over cursed spirits had become even more terrifying.
"Trying to run?"
Kenjaku smiled and extended his right hand. A strange and massive suction force suddenly erupted from his palm!
That fluctuation... was identical to Suguru Geto's Cursed Spirit Manipulation!
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation? No... that's a mimicry!"
Yoru instantly perceived the truth through the Transparent World.
That was the ultimate core ability Kenjaku had obtained after seizing Rika Orimoto's body in the past timeline—
Mimicry!
Leveraging Rika's nearly infinite cursed energy capacity and mimicry traits, he had forcibly replicated Suguru Geto's innate technique!
"No! Stop!"
Mahito screamed in despair as his broken body began to violently twist and shrink under the pull of the suction.
"Maximum: Uzumaki!"
Swish!
In an instant, the once-unrivaled Special Grade Cursed Spirit Mahito was compressed into a black Cursed Spirit Orb by Kenjaku's mimicked technique.
He swallowed it in a single gulp!
"The taste is as disgusting as ever."
Kenjaku smacked his lips, revealing a satisfied smile.
"You bastard! What did you do to Mahito!" Yuji roared in fury.
"Just collecting some useful materials."
Kenjaku turned his head, his deep gaze lingering on the distant Yoru.
"Thanks to you all pushing him to the brink, I was able to absorb 'Idle Transfiguration' so easily."
"As a token of my gratitude, I won't play with you anymore today."
Kenjaku turned his head, his deep gaze lingering on the distant Yoru.
"But..."
His tone suddenly shifted, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Leaving you nuisances alive is still somewhat of a hindrance to my next plan."
"Since you are all drained, you can stay here and keep that useless Mahito company in the afterlife."
Hum—!
Kenjaku slowly raised his right hand. A bizarre power fluctuation began to coalesce in his palm.
Although he lacked Suguru Geto's perfect Special Grade body, the pressure of his cursed energy had become even more unfathomable after absorbing Mahito.
"Damn it!"
Yoru slammed a fist into the ground, trying to force himself to swing his blade, but his body had reached its limit. Even standing was extremely difficult.
Yuji and Todo couldn't even move a finger.
A dead end!
True despair gripped everyone's throats in this moment.
However, just as Kenjaku was about to deliver the killing blow!
"BOOM—!!!"
Amidst the dawn's first light, a violent surge of cursed energy capable of tearing through the sky crashed down without warning, landing precisely between Kenjaku and the group!
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
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