*Clap. Clap. Clap.*
Mahito applauded slowly, honoring the battle between Satoru Gojo and Ryomen Sukuna.
"When Mahoraga appeared, I honestly thought you were finished, Satoru," Mahito praised genuinely. "But you clawed your way out of absolute despair and delivered a truly magnificent battle."
Gojo gently smoothed out the fabric of his Kesa, like a gentleman adjusting his tuxedo for a grand ball.
He had just fought a brutal, apocalyptic deathmatch against Ryomen Sukuna, yet his Kesa didn't have a single tear. This proved that from start to finish, Sukuna hadn't actually managed to land a single lethal blow. Gojo had possessed so much surplus capacity during the fight that he could even actively protect his own clothing.
Ryomen Sukuna was the undisputed ceiling of power in the original timeline. Even the original Satoru Gojo had died by his hands. But now, Gojo's rate of evolution had far surpassed anything Sukuna could have comprehended. By evaluating Gojo through the lens of their past encounters, Sukuna had proven that he hadn't taken the fight seriously enough.
Sukuna's true target, from the very beginning, had always been Mahito, the King of Cursed Spirits. The [Futsu-no-Mitama] was prepared explicitly for Mahito. In Sukuna's eyes, Gojo was merely a mundane obstacle he could crush with just a little extra effort.
Ryomen Sukuna's cause of death was identical to the original Satoru Gojo's—he died of his own arrogance.
"I could say the same to you." Gojo looked at Mahito. "I didn't expect you to dispose of Suguru and Yuta so easily."
Mahito slowly strolled forward. A half-step behind him walked Mirokuji Kirigiri. She was still in the form of the rabbit-eared maid, holding a straight-bladed greatsword taller than herself—her true body.
Because eliminating Suguru Geto and Yuta Okkotsu had taken so little time, Mahito had been watching Gojo and Sukuna's fight for quite a while. In all fairness, Ryomen Sukuna had lost rather pathetically.
The current Ryomen Sukuna was leagues beyond his original counterpart in terms of raw power. If both sides had full access to each other's intelligence, Sukuna could have at least fought Gojo to a standstill. And as the battle dragged on, Sukuna, with his vastly superior mastery of Binding Vows, genuinely had a chance to turn the tables and secure the kill.
But Gojo never gave him that chance.
The [Futsu-no-Mitama], a divine blade prepared specifically for Mahito, was reduced to a mere blunt instrument to clash against the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey]. His Mimicry Technique was hidden away so thoroughly it failed to serve as a surprise attack, remaining concealed until his death. The Ten Shadows Technique was degraded into nothing more than a battery for [Eleven Lives] and a [Mahoraga] launcher; the other Shikigami didn't even get a chance to manifest.
As for his most prized technique, Shrine... he only ever utilized the slashing aspect. The flames of Furnace were completely absent. [The Slash that Divides the World] was undeniably a lethal, one-hit kill, but Gojo had completely sealed it from the very start. Three Space-Cleaving slashes fired, zero effect.
Sukuna hadn't even managed to utilize thirty percent of his true combat potential. What did that prove?
It proved Satoru Gojo's absolute, terrifying composure. His true combat strength now vastly exceeded Ryomen Sukuna's. He had defeated the King of Curses relying on nothing but his fundamental foundation as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, without even needing to resort to his Domain Expansion.
In Gojo's past life, there was a perennial debate within the *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* fandom: *If Jotaro Kujo hadn't slacked off, if he had actively continued to train his body and his Stand, and if he had maintained his sharp combat instincts... would Father Pucci have ever stood a chance against him?*
The Satoru Gojo standing here right now had definitively answered that question.
No slacking. No arrogance. Maintaining absolute vigilance. He had slaughtered the opponent destined to kill him with overwhelming, undisputed superiority. He had truly surpassed the past. He had shattered his original Fate.
"Yuta Okkotsu made the classic mistake of every sorcerer with overwhelmingly powerful defensive and survival abilities," Mahito said slowly. "He assumed I had no way to kill him, so he deliberately let me get close. And as a result, I one-shot him."
The Maximum Technique of the Immortality Technique was an ability that never existed in the original timeline, and Yuta had never displayed it during the Dream Migration. Mahito truly hadn't known about it.
But simultaneously, Yuta had no idea that Mahito would suddenly pull Cursed Spirit Manipulation out of his arsenal.
More precisely, Yuta had fundamentally failed to realize that using Maximum: Vajra would push his physical state so close to that of a Cursed Spirit. He lacked a profound, academic understanding of the metaphysical boundary between human and Curse. Yuta possessed peerless innate talent as a sorcerer, yes, but he was a late bloomer. His total time actively operating as a Jujutsu Sorcerer was less than two years.
His foundational jujutsu knowledge was woefully inadequate. And because of that, his own ignorance had trapped him.
"That's my fault," Gojo sighed. "Yuta has plenty of combat experience, but he desperately needed to brush up on his fundamental jujutsu theory. We failed to recognize that. We should have made him study for the past two months instead of using him as my sparring partner."
"That was never going to happen." Mahito stopped less than five meters away from Gojo. He said flatly, "You were all far too desperate to eliminate me. Therefore, any sorcerer guaranteed to step onto this final battlefield—like Yuta Okkotsu—was inevitably going to undergo intensive combat training rather than academic study. Your ultimate objective dictated your priorities."
Gojo sighed again, knowing Mahito's deduction was flawless.
Jujutsu theory was incredibly important, yet paradoxically, it also didn't matter at all. The most glaring example was Fumihiko Takaba. The moment Takaba awakened his Innate Technique, [Ubermensch], Kenjaku explicitly stated in his internal monologue that Takaba's technique completely subverted a thousand years of established jujutsu logic, rendering all of Kenjaku's vast experience entirely useless.
Takaba was a special case, but not an entirely unique one. He was just the most extreme example. Other sorcerers, while less extreme, still massively subverted orthodox jujutsu traditions. Kinji Hakari's Domain Expansion was the most famous example. Because his technique was so unorthodox, Hakari was ostracized by the conservative jujutsu establishment. Not even Satoru Gojo, a Special Grade Sorcerer, could protect his standing, forcing Hakari to go underground and run an illegal fight club.
Because of this, it was inevitable that Yuta wouldn't realize his Maximum: Vajra would cause him to be classified as a 'Quasi-Cursed Spirit'. Even if he hadn't known Mahito possessed Cursed Spirit Manipulation, even if he *had* known, he couldn't have formulated a defense against it.
He was a textbook example of a failure in a traditional jujutsu battle: he lacked critical information, and he died because of it.
"I had a feeling Suguru was going to die, but Yuta shouldn't be dead, right?" Gojo asked.
Mahito raised a hand. Hovering just above his palm was a small, dense orb of Cursed Energy. Gojo's Six Eyes pierced through the orb's exterior, seeing its true essence.
Yuta Okkotsu was that Cursed Energy orb.
"The intermediate absorption state of Cursed Spirit Manipulation," Gojo noted. "I've seen Suguru use it countless times. If it's a low-grade Curse, he can instantly condense it into an orb and swallow it. If it's a high-grade Curse, he has to beat it into submission first before he can condense it. The fact that you managed to turn Yuta into an orb without even fighting him means only one thing:"
"The gap in Cursed Energy output between you and Yuta is greater than the gap between a Special Grade Sorcerer and a Grade 3 Curse."
Even as Gojo spoke the words, he struggled to suppress his shock. Yuta Okkotsu's Cursed Energy reserves surpassed even Gojo's own. Yuta was hailed as the sorcerer with the largest Cursed Energy pool in the modern era. Had Ryomen Sukuna not incarnated, Yuta's reserves would arguably rank first in the entire history of jujutsu. In the original timeline, even Sukuna used Yuta as the benchmark for Cursed Energy volume.
The terrifying aspect of Cursed Spirit Manipulation was that it could completely ignore the target's specific traits and abilities; as long as the gap in Cursed Energy was vast enough, the target could be absorbed instantly. But even Kenjaku at his absolute peak couldn't forcibly absorb the Disaster Curses.
Kenjaku only managed to absorb Mahito after Yuji Itadori had beaten Mahito so thoroughly that his Cursed Energy was virtually depleted.
Yet Yuta Okkotsu, whose Cursed Energy reserves dwarfed the original Mahito's, had just been effortlessly absorbed by the current Mahito. What did that mean?
The difference in their power was a dimensional chasm. *This is truly...*
Gojo expected to feel tense, but he didn't. Instead, his blood ignited. His Cursed Energy instantly began to circulate with a feral, uninhibited rhythm. He was excited. An uncontrollable, visceral thrill washed over him.
Ryomen Sukuna had only managed to evoke this feeling in the final moments before his death, pushing Gojo to use a Black Flash. But the very second Gojo laid eyes on Mahito, the very second he comprehended the sheer impossibility of Mahito effortlessly absorbing Yuta... his body responded with pure, unadulterated excitement.
*Yes... this is exactly it!*
*This is the ultimate battle I've been waiting for—!*
Gojo tilted his head slightly. "Can I have Yuta back?"
It was an incredibly arrogant, unreasonable demand. Gojo knew that if he had asked Sukuna this, the King of Curses would have roared with laughter and immediately devoured Yuta right in front of him. Sukuna might have even weaponized Yuta's abilities against Gojo just to inflict maximum psychological agony.
Sukuna wouldn't have done it out of tactical necessity; he would have done it purely to torture Gojo, to force him to drown in regret and despair. That was exactly the kind of creature Ryomen Sukuna was.
A King of Curses who constantly radiated malice, thirsting to drown the world in suffering!
But if it was Mahito...
Gojo smiled warmly at Mahito.
Mahito casually tossed the Cursed Energy orb onto the sand beside Gojo. There wasn't a shred of hesitation on his face.
*I knew it.* Gojo felt a surge of validation. Mahito would absolutely do something like this.
"You're putting yourself at a massive disadvantage by doing that, Mahito," Gojo chuckled.
"Consider it the luxury of the strong." Mahito smiled back. "If I didn't do this, wouldn't it be far too boring? Satoru, you are my one and only fated rival in this world. I refuse to let our battle be tainted by impurities. Our absolute fanaticism should not be diluted by cheap tricks and treachery. Our boiling blood should not be cooled by petty anger and despair."
"How utterly laughable—!" A voice suddenly roared.
It was Yuta Okkotsu.
He materialized from the Cursed Energy orb. He looked battered, but there wasn't a trace of despair on his face. On the contrary, his expression was harder and more resolute than ever before. He remembered everything he had been through. He remembered the first time he received intel on the King of Cursed Spirits. He remembered witnessing the path the Curse had carved to reach this point. He remembered Gojo's evaluation of the Curse. And finally, he remembered the words Gojo had spoken to him.
*['This is my absolute duty as the strongest!']*
"I am a Special Grade Sorcerer! I am humanity's final hope!" Yuta declared with ironclad conviction. "Did you think that just because you spared me, I would politely step aside and watch you fight Gojo-sensei like a good little boy? Don't make me laugh! I am going to scrutinize every single move you make. If Gojo-sensei falls, I will re-engage you using Maximum: Vajra. And since I now know you can absorb me with Cursed Spirit Manipulation, I will specifically restructure my biology to render that impossible! You will never get the chance to absorb me again!"
Yuta was dead serious.
He didn't feel an ounce of gratitude for being spared. He just thought Mahito was completely delusional! *What do you think we're doing here? Playing some honorable dueling game?*
*This is a war for the survival of our species! This is a battle to determine if humanity remains the apex predator of this planet! All notions of mercy and honor should be completely discarded in favor of ruthless, underhanded pragmatism! That's how war works!*
Yuta shot a furtive glance at Gojo, swallowing the rest of his tirade.
"'I'm not going to catch whatever melodramatic, literary-angst disease Gojo-sensei is suffering from!'" Mahito mocked, perfectly mimicking Yuta's tone. He laughed. "That's what you wanted to say next, isn't it?"
Yuta's face went completely blank. He didn't say a word.
Mahito glanced at Gojo. "You've raised an excellent student."
Gojo puffed out his chest, utterly shameless. "I'm very proud of him!"
"Aren't you going to discipline him?" Mahito asked.
"We have our path, and he has his." Gojo said lightly. "I won't obstruct my student's path, as long as it hasn't become twisted."
"Even though we admire each other, we cannot deny the severe reality of this species war. Both you and I have absolute reasons why we cannot lose. We have chosen the path of honor. But I will not condemn my student for choosing the path of darkness. If, after I die, my student steps over my corpse to defeat you, I won't have a single complaint."
Yuta looked at Gojo, deeply moved. "Gojo-sensei...!"
Gojo rubbed his arms awkwardly, violently shivering. "Don't give me that sappy look! If you're going to walk your own path, walk it with conviction. You might earn nothing but the scorn of others, but as long as you believe you are right, ignore the noise. Use your own original intent to judge your actions. Use your own awareness to validate your deeds. And finally... use your own suffering to experience every single consequence of that path!"
"Yes, Sensei!" Yuta roared, grinding his teeth.
*This guy...* Mahito couldn't help but chuckle.
Mahito recalled the dynamic between Gojo and Yuta in the original timeline. When Yuta proposed using Kenjaku's brain-hopping technique to hijack Gojo's corpse if he lost, the other sorcerers were horrified and vehemently condemned him. Yuta had practically snapped, screaming that if it meant achieving victory, he was fully prepared to desecrate his mentor's corpse.
And the only person in that room who supported him... was the very man whose corpse was going to be desecrated, Satoru Gojo.
*The more things change, the more they stay the same.*
Mahito felt a profound sense of familiarity wash over him. In this timeline, because the narrative had been completely derailed, everyone had experienced drastically different character arcs. Gojo wielded the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey]. Sukuna had bound himself with new Vows. Even Yuta had acquired the Immortality Technique, something he never possessed in the original story.
But despite all of that, the core of their convictions and their fundamental personalities remained completely unchanged. They were still exactly who they were.
A wave of profound emotion swelled within Mahito. It was as if, at this very moment, he finally truly realized that these people weren't just characters living in a manga—they were living, breathing entities standing right in front of him.
The characters from the pages had stepped out of the frame and into reality.
Mahito spoke slowly, his voice taking on a poetic, resonant cadence. "['Do not seek beauty in battle.']"
"['Do not seek virtue in death.']"
"['Do not focus solely on preserving your own life.']"
"['If you wish to protect that which is worthy of protection, then strike down the enemy who must be defeated from behind!']"
The poetic recitation instantly drew Gojo and Yuta's attention back to Mahito.
"...That's from *Bleach*," Gojo murmured. "The Shino Academy Textbook: The Shinigami's Guide to Conduct. The revised edition."
Yuta looked back and forth between Gojo and Mahito in total confusion. "What's *Bleach*?"
Right. Even though Yuta was technically the younger generation, when it came to pop culture, the severely bullied kid who was immediately thrust into the grueling life of a constantly-deployed Jujutsu Sorcerer was leagues behind Satoru Gojo. Gojo knew exactly what Mahito was referencing; Yuta hadn't a clue.
Mahito smiled. "Do you mind if I educate your student for a moment, Satoru?"
Gojo extended a hand. "Be my guest."
Mahito looked directly into Yuta's eyes. "Yuta. Do you believe the poem I just recited is correct?"
*Do not seek beauty in battle...* Yuta involuntarily shot another glance at Gojo. Gojo stared back with a deadpan expression. Yuta immediately snapped his gaze back to Mahito.
"It is correct!" Yuta declared loudly. "As long as you have identified the enemy, you should use any means necessary. You should fight ugly to secure victory! At the end of the day, victory isn't defined by honor. If it brings victory, then any method is justified. Because the victor becomes justice!"
A faint smile curled Mahito's lips, but it vanished instantly.
He asked calmly, "In that case... imagine a child is standing between us right now. You know that while I wouldn't kill myself over a child's life, I would genuinely mourn their death. Would you slaughter that innocent child just to throw me off balance and secure a 1% increase in your chances of victory?"
Yuta opened his mouth, but no words came out.
At his core, he was a fundamentally kind person. He was more than willing to sacrifice his *own* humanity to secure victory. But sacrificing an innocent? He would inevitably hesitate. It was the exact same reason why, in the original timeline, even though he knew executing Yuji Itadori for real would earn him the complete trust of the higher-ups, he still chose to fake Yuji's death.
Yuta didn't care about using underhanded or dark methods, but his moral bottom line had never shifted. He knew exactly what he could and could not do.
"HOW UTTERLY FOOLISH!" Mahito suddenly roared, his voice detonating like thunder.
He bellowed with the fury of a rolling storm, "It is *precisely* because we wield the absolute pinnacle of power in this world that we must rigidly adhere to our ideals and beliefs! It is *precisely* why we must resolutely walk the path of seeking beauty in battle!"
"A battle devoid of honor must absolutely never be fought!"
"A cause that is not acknowledged by both friend and foe must absolutely never be validated!"
"We must never be hypocrites! We must never use our violence to unilaterally oppress others!"
"We must never be despicable! We must never use treacherous schemes to domesticate others!"
"We must never allow our own self-righteous delusions to dictate the lives of others! We must abide by the vast majority of this world's laws! We must respect the vast majority of this world's rules! We must respect the freedom and rights of all people! We must absolutely never destroy the beauty and compassion of this world, and we must absolutely never succumb to the burden of moral compromise!"
"Let me say it again: We *must* seek beauty in battle! We *must* pursue virtue in death!"
"Every single time we strike, it must be after profound deliberation."
"Every single time we wield violence, it must be justified and righteous."
"We must become the paragons of this world. We must use true justice and fairness to uphold whatever light remains in this world."
"We must become the torchbearers!"
"Because we are the strong! Because we are the towering trees that provide shelter!"
"If even we—the absolute apex entities of this world—are forced to rely on shamelessness and depravity to fight, then the entire world will plummet into an abyss where the despicable are revered as noble."
"Can you even imagine it? Children wouldn't be protected; they would be reduced to hostages. Teachers wouldn't be respected; they would be reduced to corpses driven by profit. Doctors would abandon their ethics and become soulless husks worshipping money."
"If killing one person granted power, they would kill."
"If slaughtering a million people made them strong, they would slaughter a million people."
"If eradicating everyone on earth allowed them to become a god—"
Mahito glared at Yuta, questioning him with terrifying, divine majesty. "Does that mean I should slaughter every single human on this planet?!"
Yuta stumbled backward, thoroughly shaken. Kenjaku's words suddenly echoed in his mind. Kenjaku had stated that his true goal wasn't the Dream Migration, but the original Culling Game. If the true Culling Game had manifested, what kind of horrific tragedy would have befallen Japan?
The Culling Game would have manifested in reality! And there wouldn't have been just four colonies—there would have been ten, engulfing almost every major metropolitan area in Japan.
One million dead? Ten million? Or... would the entire population of Japan be exterminated?
"I refused to do that, purely because of my own benevolence," Mahito stated coldly. "The morality in my heart forbade me from committing such an atrocity."
"And because of that, the Cursed Spirits and Curse Users under my command recognized my moral bottom line. They worked tirelessly to ensure I wouldn't plummet into that abyss, ultimately developing the entirely new barrier system known as the Dream Migration."
"If I were truly evil, if I truly refused to seek beauty in battle and virtue in death as you suggest, you wouldn't even possess the qualifications to stand before me. You would all simply be forced to bear the apocalyptic consequences of my ascension to godhood without even understanding why. And if I ascended? In my unbridled arrogance, the entirety of Japan would be wiped off the map."
"Do you understand now?"
"The weak can claim that being despicable is the passport of the despicable. Because they have no choices. Because they have no room for upward mobility. They are forced to be so. To protect themselves, they must exhaust every single dark method and treacherous scheme available to them."
"But we are the strong. We absolutely cannot do that."
"We are the paragons. We must show the rest of the world that order and morality are the only sustainable paths."
"We are divine retribution. We must show the rest of the world that anyone who dares to embrace depravity and cruelty will be slaughtered."
"We must maintain the honor of battle. We must uphold the virtue of death."
"Only when the leaders at the absolute summit conduct themselves with such rigid morality will those beneath them understand the stakes. Only then will they voluntarily maintain order. Only then will they reject the darkness. Only then will they honestly admit their mistakes instead of manufacturing excuses. Only then will it become exponentially harder for criminal syndicates to form. Only then will those who amass wealth through despicable means be forced to hide in the sewers like rats, living their days in constant terror."
"This... is our absolute duty!"
Yuta was utterly speechless.
He desperately wanted to retort, to tell Mahito he was full of shit. He wanted to scream, *How the hell are we supposed to defeat a god-candidate like you without fighting dirty?!* But he couldn't force the words out. Every ounce of his righteous fury had completely evaporated.
Because exactly as the Lord of Cursed Spirits had said—it truly was because of his benevolence. If Mahito weren't benevolent, what horrific atrocities would the Cursed Spirits and Curse Users under his command inflict upon the world? If not for his benevolence, what apocalyptic nightmare would the Dream Migration have been? If not for his benevolence, he would have absorbed Yuta hours ago. Yuta wouldn't even be standing here having this conversation.
Mahito's benevolence was the sole reason the world hadn't ended.
And now, Yuta Okkotsu was trying to condemn that very benevolence? He was the one actively being shielded by the King of Cursed Spirits' mercy!
Gojo suddenly clapped Yuta on the shoulder, startling the boy out of his spiraling thoughts. Yuta turned to look at Gojo, finding that his sensei's confident smile hadn't wavered in the slightest. Gojo looked as if he found Mahito's entire speech perfectly natural.
"Sensei... did you know about the King of Cursed Spirits' ideology all along?" Yuta asked unconsciously.
Gojo asked lightly, "Why do you think I've left the higher-ups alive all this time? Did you really think I couldn't obliterate the entire jujutsu establishment by myself?"
Of course he could.
But Gojo hadn't done it.
Gojo had publicly declared, time and time again, that he was raising his students to replace the higher-ups. Only when his students were fully matured and ready to take the reins would he cleanly and efficiently slaughter the entire corrupt establishment, placing his students in those seats of power.
The higher-ups were fully aware of this plan. Did they want to resist? No, they chose to passively accept it precisely because any resistance was futile.
In fact, in the original timeline, had the higher-ups not initiated a bloody purge of Gojo's faction after his sealing was confirmed, Gojo might not have actually slaughtered them all upon his return from the Prison Realm.
As long as you didn't cross his absolute bottom line, Satoru Gojo was an unexpectedly simple and amicable person. In a very fundamental way, Gojo and the Lord of Cursed Spirits possessed the exact same personality.
*'It is precisely because we are the strong that we must bear the duties of the strong.'* This was the absolute ideology shared by Satoru Gojo and Mahito, and they had both rigidly adhered to it up until this very moment.
Mahito laughed. "Satoru is way too soft, honestly. If I were in his position, I would have slaughtered those decrepit old men at Jujutsu Headquarters years ago. I will gladly shoulder the duties of the strong, but I will absolutely exercise the inherent privileges of the strong as well."
"But Satoru rarely exercises his authority. If he had just occasionally flexed his power—crushed a few mountains to scare the tigers—he wouldn't have had to endure so much pathetic bureaucratic red tape all these years."
Mahito wasn't lying. Even though Gojo had raised the banner of rebellion early on and appeared incredibly arrogant and willful, in reality, he was an absolute workhorse in the original timeline, constantly working himself to the bone. The author's notes in the original manga explicitly stated:
*[He rarely gets a full day off. His daily sleep schedule is incredibly short, roughly three hours (sleeping at 4 AM, waking at 7 AM). And it's like this every single day. If his Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't constantly repair his brain and nervous system, he would have died from exhaustion long ago.]*
Ironically, the past two months of intensive training had been far more relaxing for him than his usual daily routine.
Yuki Tsukumo calling Gojo a 'man-child' wasn't entirely wrong. The higher-ups had pushed him to such ridiculous extremes, yet all he did was yell about rebelling without ever actually killing anyone. Honestly, he was kind to a fault.
This was exactly why, in the original timeline, when Yuji Itadori died due to the higher-ups deliberately withholding critical intel (before Sukuna revived him), Gojo had coldly considered just slaughtering the entire upper echelon right then and there.
Because in Gojo's mind, *I am following the rules, so you must follow the rules. When you break the rules, don't blame me when I break them too.*
But the moment Yuji came back to life, Gojo immediately abandoned the thought of a massacre. He was just...
He was simply too kind.
Gojo rested the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] against his shoulder and stretched his limbs with a massive yawn. His joints popped and cracked like a dormant giant finally awakening. He gripped the staff once more and flicked his wide sleeves. A sudden gust of wind exploded outward—the raw physical manifestation of his overflowing Cursed Energy.
"Alright, chitchat's over, Mahito. Let's decide right now whether or not I actually manage to save the world." Gojo tapped the base of the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] against the ground. The staff hummed, and a golden halo of purification slowly expanded outward.
The rabbit-eared maid dropped to one knee. Her long, pristine hair cascaded onto the white sand, the white tips blending seamlessly with the desert floor. She raised both hands reverently, offering up her true body—the straight-bladed greatsword.
Mahito gripped the hilt with one hand. The blade let out a sharp, metallic trill. He casually flicked the sword. Under the moonlight, the blade traced a flawless silver arc through the air, looking like a shimmering silver fish darting through water. It was as beautiful as a painting.
The rabbit-eared maid dissolved into shadows, sinking back into Mahito's silhouette. Mahito exhaled slowly. With that single breath, a crushing, suffocating pressure instantly flooded the entire space, as heavy and deep as the abyssal ocean. Yuta Okkotsu's teeth involuntarily began to chatter, emitting a rapid *click-clack* sound. Despite being a Special Grade Sorcerer, he suddenly felt like an absolute novice who had just stumbled into the jujutsu world, standing before an ancient, insurmountable divinity.
"A duel this sacred should not be tainted by extraneous variables," Mahito said flatly. "Out of respect for Satoru, I won't kill you. But your part in this play is over. Exit the stage."
A spike of absolute, primal terror pierced Yuta's heart. He instinctively pushed the Immortality Technique into maximum overdrive. While the Immortality Technique couldn't solve every problem, within the domain of 'not dying', it was omnipotent. As long as the technique was active, neither his body nor his soul could perish.
Mahito lightly cast a single glance at Yuta.
Just one single glance.
Yuta froze completely.
Gojo immediately reacted, slamming the [Six Perfections' Eastward Journey] down. The golden halo of the Purifying Chime enveloped Yuta. Even though this would forcibly shut down Yuta's Immortality Technique, it would simultaneously completely eradicate whatever curse Mahito had just inflicted upon him with that glance.
—Or so he thought.
Yuta Okkotsu's body turned completely transparent. Like dispersing particles of light, he slowly faded away.
This was the visual phenomenon of a player dying within the Dream Migration.
Yuta Okkotsu... died.
Gojo's face twisted in shock. "How did you do that?! The technique you just used on Yuta should have been purified by my staff!"
Mahito smiled. "You shouldn't have used the Purifying Chime on him. If you hadn't, he would have simply remained in a vegetative state until our battle concluded. But you insisted on interfering with the Purifying Chime. The moment his Immortality Technique was forcibly deactivated, he died."
Gojo's heart sank as he comprehended Mahito's words.
With that single glance, Mahito had already *completed the cursing process*. The only reason Yuta hadn't died instantly was because the Immortality Technique was forcefully sustaining his life. But the moment the Purifying Chime shut down the Immortality Technique, there was nothing left to hold back the lethal curse. Yuta died instantly.
"Satoru. When it comes to you, I will not hold a single thing back." Mahito violently swung Kirigiri to the side. Pristine white armor rapidly began to encase his body. [Hollow Technique: Soul Creation Dragon Spirit Body]! Mahito wasn't going to test the waters. He was deploying his Dragon God form from the very first second of the fight. "Come! Let us forge the Title of the Savior you desire!"
"The curse of humanity upon humanity." Mahito declared.
His voice exploded with the fury of a divine thunderclap: "HAS—ARRIVED—!"
***
[Author's Note]:
Ancient Leaf:
Switching to updating every two days is definitely a lot less stressful. A rare 8,500+ word chapter! The final battle begins!