Weren't you just beaten miserably by me?
Mahito really wanted to retort with that, but he didn't.
He breathed slowly and formed a hand sign.
Idle Transfiguration activated silently, and his body began to grow and deform.
A dark shadow gradually covered Kinji Hakari's body.
Though Kinji was currently blind, his Cursed Energy perception had been enhanced instead.
His head gradually tilted up because a massive creature was now occupying the entire fighting arena.
Just to "see" the full shadow, he had to raise his head high.
Suddenly, two bright lanterns lit up in the dust.
In Kinji Hakari's Cursed Energy vision, these two lanterns were like vortices of Cursed Energy, with countless amounts of it being sucked in and then spat back out as the lights pulsed slowly.
"Hey, hey... I know you can turn into all sorts of beasts, but can you even turn into something like this?"
Kinji Hakari's expression was dazed, as if he were seeing a fairy tale come to life.
Those weren't two lanterns;
they were a pair of heterochromatic eyes, massive as lanterns.
One gold and one blue pupil shone through the mist.
In Kinji Hakari's Cursed Energy perception, a massive amount of Cursed Energy was spreading outward in circular shockwaves like ocean tides.
A colossal creature was bobbing within those waves of Cursed Energy, like a ten-thousand-ton ship settling onto the sea.
That snake-like giant creature suddenly shook its body, sending the settling dust flying.
The snake's body was covered in overlapping fish scales, which now emitted a soft hum.
The air was sliced open by the scales, and broken currents of air wrapped around the snake's torso like swirling clouds.
Eagle claws reached out from the clouds and mist.
These were five-fingered eagle claws with palms like a tiger.
Deer antlers broke through the frame, standing atop the majestic head like ancient trees.
A lion-like mane extended from the sides of the head, and a pair of long whiskers were caught in the air currents, fluttering in the wind.
Horns like a deer, head like a camel, eyes like a rabbit, neck like a snake, belly like a clam, scales like a fish, claws like an eagle, palms like a tiger, ears like an ox—the worldly image of a dragon, with a horse's head and a snake's body.
A dragon.
It was a dragon that existed only in mythology.
(T/N: I know dragons are cool and all but damn the Chinese are obsessed with them.)
In the history of the jujutsu world, there had been various Imaginary Cursed Spirits, including those related to dragons.
Among them, the deceased Special Grade Curse User Geto Suguru had a dragon-shaped Cursed Spirit called the Rainbow Dragon.
That dragon-shaped Imaginary Cursed Spirit possessed extremely high defensive capabilities; among the Cursed Spirits in Geto Suguru's hands, its defensive performance was even higher than that of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
The dragon form was undoubtedly at the highest level of strength in this country.
The Rainbow Dragon was only a Grade 1 Imaginary Cursed Spirit.
And what Kinji Hakari was seeing now was the strongest level of dragon form reproduced by Mahito.
The highest level of strength and the strongest dragon form—
this was...
the Special Grade mythological Imaginary Cursed Spirit, Dragon.
Kinji Hakari found it hard to believe the creature he was sensing in his Cursed Energy perception.
It was as if myths and legends were playing out before his eyes.
Because of his blindness, he couldn't see the full appearance of this majestic creature, but his Cursed Energy perception had already mapped out its entire body.
Kinji Hakari heard a sound—
the sound of dragon scales closing.
In an instant, a massive amount of Cursed Energy spread outward, causing the entire fighting arena to vibrate, as if the whole world were trembling in fear.
"My Cursed Technique is called Idle Transfiguration."
Suddenly, the dragon spoke.
The voice was deep, ancient, and weathered, like the distant cry of a whale.
"Simply by touching, I can change the shape of the soul I contact, thereby achieving the effect of remodeling the flesh."
"It is the same principle for the transformations into beasts you've seen; as long as I transform my soul into the shape of a beast, the flesh will also become a beast due to the soul's pull."
"And while transformed, all my physiological capabilities are identical to the beasts, as are my movements and instincts."
Without Mahito needing to explain, Kinji Hakari understood the secret of "soul evolution."
"Of course, you can also change the souls of humans, making them closer to a higher level of soul so their flesh can evolve."
"That's how you can make ordinary people evolve into Jujutsu Sorcerers and take existing Jujutsu Sorcerers to the next level, right?"
"Correct."
The dragon's voice was calm.
"And then, as you can see, if one transforms their own soul even further to bring it closer to a mythological creature, this phenomenon occurs."
Suddenly, the ancient dragon let out a long breath.
Kinji Hakari subconsciously put his hands in front of his eyes to block, but the breath didn't hit him.
Instead, it passed by his side—
a torrent-like force swept past him, like an unstoppable Cursed Energy cannon blast.
In a thunderous roar, the wall of the fighting arena behind him, along with the outer wall of the entire multi-story parking garage, exploded.
Rubble and dust swallowed him from behind in an instant.
That was dragon's breath.
"Maximum Technique: Descent."
The dragon made a sound like a tolling bell.
A Maximum Technique—this is the highest level of Cursed Technique profundity besides Domain Expansion.
If Domain Expansion is the realm of geniuses, then a Maximum Technique is the final product of intensive research into a Cursed Technique.
Unlike Domain Expansion, a Maximum Technique has no additional attributes; it is simply the power obtained by pushing the effects of one's own Cursed Technique to the absolute limit.
Kenjaku calls it the profundity of a Cursed Technique.
Idle Transfiguration is a Cursed Technique that can freely change the soul to pull the flesh along with it.
Its ultimate form is the ability to even reproduce creatures from myths and legends.
Literally, a mythological descent.
Kinji Hakari hadn't expected to witness a Maximum Technique from a Cursed Spirit.
The shock this gave him was even greater than having his own Domain Expansion destroyed.
He could comfort himself that his Domain being destroyed was due to being countered, but the research and effort required for a Maximum Technique could not be denied.
It only showed that the Cursed Spirit before him possessed intelligence and talent far beyond his imagination.
The dragon lowered its majestic head, its flickering heterochromatic eyes fixed on Kinji Hakari, its voice sounding like a distant Sanskrit chant.
"Kinji Hakari, I will give you one more chance."
"Now, submit to me."
Suddenly, a black shadow landed on the ground, roaring loudly.
"Kinji, I'm here to help you!"
Kirara.
They crashed down at maximum speed.
Kinji Hakari turned his head; he had already gone blind, but he could still perceive Kirara's injuries through Cursed Energy perception.
Half of Kirara's body was wrapped in a flame-like Cursed Energy, indicating they had been severely burned and were almost unable to move, yet they had still come here, wanting to share Kinji Hakari's burden.
Kinji Hakari smiled from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't think you can escape so easily!"
Jogo howled in the sky.
Beside the dragon, Jogo and Hanami landed with a massive thud.
Jogo looked up at the dragon and said through gritted teeth,
"Forgive me, Mahito, I failed to stop that human."
"No, it is enough," the dragon said flatly.
"Because Kinji will not let them take action again."
"Kinji!"
Kirara hurriedly tried to say something.
But Kinji Hakari cut them off with a shout.
"Enough!"
Kirara froze.
"This is our battle, right, King of Curses?" Kinji Hakari asked.
"Indeed, this is our battle, and it has been from the very beginning," the dragon responded.
This time it was Jogo's turn to be anxious.
"Mahito, I—!"
"Jogo."
The dragon emitted a sound like a tolling bell, its voice shaking the heavens and the earth.
"This is a battle between him and me."
Jogo froze.
Hanami stepped forward and gently pulled Jogo away.
Kinji Hakari breathed slowly.
"Rest for a bit, Kirara."
"It won't take too long."
"Kinji—!"
"Do I have to be blunt, Kirara?"
Kinji Hakari suddenly roared.
"Right now, are you truly qualified to step into my battle with the King of Curses?!"
Kirara was stunned.
They looked up at Mahito in his dragon form, then looked back at Kinji Hakari.
Feeling the pain all over their body, they finally collapsed to the ground in a daze.
"Yes... I understand."
"Good."
Kinji Hakari exhaled slowly.
He took his stance, pushing his Cursed Energy perception to the maximum, making his final preparations.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, King of Curses."
"Owner of the underground fighting arena at the old multi-story parking garage site in Itaki Prefecture."
"Kinji Hakari."
"Please guide me."
A sonorous laugh erupted from the dragon's mouth, the sound spreading like a wild gale and echoing through the underground fighting arena.
This self-introduction made him feel as if they were in an ancient samurai duel, making him laugh from the bottom of his heart.
"The manifestation of humanity's curses toward humanity."
"Mahito."
"Please guide me."
Both Kinji Hakari and Mahito pressed their stopwatches simultaneously.
Seventeen seconds of the thirty had already passed, leaving thirteen seconds.
The countdown begins.
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