"It's not over yet..."
The dust filling the air slowly dissipated. Mahito braced himself on one arm and barely managed to stand, the wounds on his face gradually healing.
As a Special Grade curse born from humanity's hatred toward humanity, Mahito possessed the greatest growth potential among the four Disaster Curses. That was why Jogo—whose strength was at least equivalent to eight or nine of Sukuna's fingers—still considered him their leader.
As a curse, Mahito had one trump card left unplayed. His ultimate secret technique.
"Yuji Itadori, do you know the biggest difference between humans and curses?"
Mahito grinned, a hideous smile spreading across his face.
"It's the instinct to survive!"
He suddenly spread his arms. They began to twist and deform.
But this time, Mahito didn't turn them into weapons. His arms gradually transformed into... a pair of wings.
"Humans will die for dignity, honor, and other meaningless illusions—praising such ridiculous behavior as 'courage'! But curses are different! We live just to live!"
Mahito kicked off the ground. The massive wings sprouting from his shoulder blades began to flap, lifting him into the air.
That's right. Mahito's ultimate secret technique was...
Running away.
"I'll be taking my leave!"
"?!"
Yuji looked up, watching the white figure soar higher and farther away. The corner of his mouth twitched.
This guy...
Has he no shame?
Just moments ago he'd been boasting about "beating you to the ground" and "completely destroying your dignity"—but after failing to withstand even three moves, he turns tail and runs?
Yuji had always known Mahito had no bottom line. But this still caught him off guard for a moment.
"Blood Manipulation: Convergence."
The experienced Yuji quickly countered. Scarlet blood gathered in his hands, forming a crimson orb.
Clap!
He pressed his palms together, compressing the blood between them.
"Piercing Blood!"
A sharp sonic boom split the air. The crimson blood transformed into an arrow and tore through the sky—its speed nearly impossible to track with the naked eye—shooting straight toward Mahito.
Squelch!
The blood arrow successfully pierced Mahito's wing. Yuji twisted his arm, attempting to adjust the trajectory and sever Mahito's head. But how could the curse let him have his way?
Mahito contorted his body mid-air and dove sharply, throwing off Piercing Blood's angle. The attack only managed to slice off half his wing.
"Tch!"
Mahito grunted. Maintaining flight wasn't easy. He quickly used cursed energy to patch the damaged wing, then continued flying toward the barrier's edge.
Piercing Blood.
Compress blood using Convergence, then release it from a single point.
Its initial velocity was extremely fast—Yuji's version could nearly reach the speed of sound.
But its advantage was limited to that initial burst. Once it missed the first strike, its speed dropped significantly, making trajectory adjustments difficult.
Yuji frowned. He broke into a sprint, chasing Mahito's flight path. He grabbed a broken streetlight pole from the battlefield wreckage, infused it with cursed energy, and hurled it skyward.
Whoosh—!
The pole tore through the air. But Mahito was too far away. The curse simply dodged sideways, and the pole brushed past his clothes before vanishing into the night.
"Hehe, your aim is off!"
Mahito chuckled, wings flapping as he flew toward the Curtain's edge.
His goal was the barrier trapping them—not far away now.
The person who'd set up this Curtain was probably just a weak auxiliary manager.
Breaking through something like that would be child's play.
Once outside, he could play hit-and-run with Yuji Itadori. Streets, residential buildings, underground passages... hiding spots everywhere.
When the time came, he'd just grab a few civilians as hostages. Yuji Itadori would have no choice but to submit.
"Hehe... Hehehehe..."
Mahito couldn't help but laugh.
He'd already figured out the formula for victory!
"Yuji Itadori, you're too green to fight me!"
Mahito arrived at the pitch-black barrier's edge. Just as he was about to break through the Curtain, he turned back to mock Yuji one last time.
But there was no sign of tension or panic on Yuji Itadori's face.
He simply looked at Mahito. Expressionless.
"Is that so?"
The pink-haired boy raised his arm toward Mahito, palm facing outward.
"Did you think you could escape?"
"...?"
Mahito froze. This guy... has another trick?
Piercing Blood had been used. The streetlight was thrown. He was about to break the Curtain.
What else could Yuji Itadori possibly do to stop him?
"Hmph. A bluff!"
Just as Mahito convinced himself Yuji was out of options—just as victory seemed certain—
Yuji clenched his fist and made a grabbing motion toward Mahito.
This was a new ability Yuji had developed over sixty-eight years. One that even his eldest brother Choso had never comprehended.
Cursed Technique Reversal. A skill a sorcerer could only use after unlocking the Reverse Cursed Technique. Unlike the standard output of positive energy, Cursed Technique Reversal produced an effect completely opposite to the innate technique's normal function.
What Yuji was about to use came from the Cursed Technique Reversal of Blood Manipulation.
Because its limitations were significant, Yuji didn't use this move often.
For the nearly omnipotent Blood Manipulation, this ability wasn't particularly powerful—only marginally better than nothing. But in this moment, it proved perfect for a surprise attack.
"Reverse Blood."
"Pfft!"
The instant the words left his mouth, Mahito suddenly vomited blood. His eyes went wide with shock. Every blood vessel in his body bulged, as if something was churning inside him. Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, and ears.
"...?"
Blood Manipulation's forward rotation manipulated blood.
Its Cursed Technique Reversal derived the ability "Reverse Blood"—which could use a certain "medium" to cause another person's blood to flow backward, resulting in burst damage and a brief incapacitating effect.
The "medium" Yuji had used was precisely what he'd shot into Mahito's body with Piercing Blood earlier.
His own blood.
"BLERGH!"
Mahito's eyes rolled back. While vomiting blood, he lost the strength to flap his wings. His body began to plummet, finally crashing hard onto the ground.
BOOM—!
The effect of Reverse Blood could be sustained.
But because Mahito was a cursed spirit, his body structure differed from a human's. Given enough time, he could expel Yuji's blood completely and break free from the control.
However, Yuji's goal was never to win with this move alone. He only needed to immobilize Mahito for a split second.
"...Damn it! Blegh—!"
Mahito cursed, punching his own chest. He retched and successfully expelled Yuji's blood using cursed energy.
He scrambled to his feet, ready to take flight again—but Yuji, sprinting at full speed, arrived directly in front of him in the blink of an eye.
Crap... no time to transform!
The smile on Mahito's face had long vanished. Replaced by a wave of pure terror.
No—the smile hadn't vanished.
It had simply transferred to another person's face.
"Black Flash!"
Pitch-black lightning exploded!
BANG—!
The curse's face twisted and deformed, exposing scarlet flesh. His neck stretched outward like a noodle. But it wasn't over. Yuji grabbed his shoulder, yanked him back, and drove his knee upward—
BANG!
Another knee strike to the face. Mahito's body fell backward, limp.
No chance... to create a body double...
BANG! BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The Special Grade curse swayed like a leaf in a storm. Under Yuji's deliberately paced assault, his unbalanced body lurched left and right with every punch. Black lightning flickered intermittently, its dark glow reflecting in his sclera.
BANG—!
Mahito's body was ravaged beyond recognition. Blood sprayed into the air like a fountain. The curse's eyes rolled back—but Yuji's attacks continued, fists landing heavily on Mahito's torso again and again.
No no no...
I'm going to die... I'm going to lose...
No... no...!
If this continues, I really will be beaten into a pulp...
I have to do something... if this keeps up, I'll actually die...
The Special Grade curse Mahito—who had looked down on humans from birth and toyed with them for entertainment—experienced the feeling of approaching death for the first time.
He was afraid. Terrified. Lost. Facing this once-in-a-millennium genius of the jujutsu world, even he had been defeated.
However...
I don't want to die... I don't want to die!
It hurts so much... it's unbearable... I hate this... I hate you! I despise you, Yuji Itadori!
On the verge of death, Mahito—who possessed talent rivaling Yuji's own—burst forth with a spark of "inspiration" born from desperation.
Is this feeling... "death"?
For some reason, as true death approached, the fear in Mahito's heart suddenly dissipated. Replaced by unprecedented focus.
BANG!
As Yuji's strike sent him reeling backward, Mahito looked up at the night sky vacantly. Then he opened his mouth.
"Domain Expansion..."
Two miniature arms grew inside his mouth using Idle Transfiguration, each forming a hand sign.
Simultaneously, several pitch-black giant hands—as tall as a person—erupted from the ground behind Mahito. They multiplied rapidly at a visible rate. Yuji snorted coldly, dodged their attacks, and retreated swiftly.
A pitch-black Domain formed overhead, enveloping them like a curtain.
"Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"
The hands bloomed like flowers—growing, dividing, intertwining—spreading throughout the entire barrier like a spider web.
Mahito's Domain was complete.
Dark purple light illuminated his face. The chaotic hands seemed to form some kind of order, clasping each other, floating in the barrier, supporting the empty space beneath their feet.
"Yuji Itadori."
The wounds on Mahito's body gradually healed. A faint smile returned to the curse's face.
"Right now, I only want to thank you."
"..."
Yuji was momentarily stunned. Although Mahito had displayed this kind of talent in his past life, he hadn't expected such rapid growth this time.
However, Mahito didn't realize—
Touching Yuji Itadori's soul meant simultaneously touching the soul of a terrifying existence dwelling within him.
"Gulp—!"
In that instant, Mahito suddenly lost focus. When he came back to his senses—
Beneath his feet was a pool of scarlet water. Before him stood a small hill constructed of cattle and sheep skulls.
A man who looked exactly like Yuji Itadori—but with an expression of absolute arrogance—sat cross-legged atop the hill, looking down at him.
"You've got some nerve, cursed spirit."
Sukuna rested his chin on one hand, gazing down at the curse below with cold indifference. His voice echoed through the empty Innate Domain.
"Daring to touch my soul."
At this moment, Yuji knew.
The battle was over.
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~ Evey 150 PS = Bonus Chapter
~ ush the Story forward with your [Power Stones]