"I have to get this information out!"
Inside the cockpit, Kokichi Muta's eyes were filled with unprecedented determination.
He controlled the massive Ultimate Mechamaru like a frenzied steel beast, launching a storm of attacks at Mahito.
"Sword Source Release: Sword Mountain Shield!"
Kokichi's hands operated the controls with lightning speed. The arm armor of Mechamaru flipped over, revealing a dense array of spikes.
Simultaneously, the rear thrusters outputted at full power.
Boom!
The massive machine charged at Mahito with a speed that defied physics, its spike-covered arms slamming down like a battering ram!
"Oh? Melee combat?"
Instead of retreating, Mahito lunged forward, his hands instantly transforming into massive bone hammers.
"Transfigured Human: Polymorphic Isomer!"
He spat out several highly compressed transfigured humans from his mouth. They expanded instantly in mid-air, becoming meat shields blocking Mechamaru's path.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Mechamaru's spikes easily pierced the meat shields, but Mahito's main body used the opportunity to slide to the side.
"I'm not finished!"
Kokichi roared.
"Double Ultra Cannon: Tracking Mode!"
The cannons on Mechamaru's shoulders lit up again. Dozens of beams, seemingly alive, traced eerie arcs through the air as they locked onto Mahito's position.
"Useless, useless!"
Mahito laughed wildly, his body mutating once more.
"Soul Multiplicity: Repel!"
His back burst open, and countless arms sprouted out, crawling across the ground with incredible speed like a spider.
The beams exploded behind him, tearing the ground to pieces, but they were always a step too slow.
"In that case..."
"I'll saturate everything!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Kokichi's eyes.
"Secret Technique: Triple Ultra Cannon - High-Dimension Snipe!"
The main cannons on Mechamaru's chest and shoulders charged simultaneously. Three massive pillars of light converged, forming a colossal orb of energy.
But that wasn't all.
The moment the energy orb fired, countless small floating pods ejected from all over the machine's body, forming a massive encirclement.
"Fire all batteries!"
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!
It was an indiscriminate bombardment covering the entire dam area.
There were no blind spots and no room to hide; even the air was ignited by the scorching cursed energy!
"Hahaha! Fun! This is so much fun!"
Amidst the inferno, Mahito's laughter remained clearly audible.
He no longer maintained a human form, instead turning into an irregular mass of flesh, drifting with the shockwaves of the explosions.
Although his body was constantly blown to bits, it reconstituted itself instantly the next second.
Not only that.
He used the flying debris as stepping stones, steadily closing the distance to Mechamaru itself.
"Your firepower is impressive."
"But..."
"It's meaningless if you can't hit the soul!"
Swish!
Mahito's figure suddenly appeared right in front of Mechamaru's cockpit.
His right hand transformed into a massive drill, enveloped in nauseating cursed energy.
"Found you, you cowardly pilot!"
Screech!
The ear-piercing sound of metal grinding rang out.
Even the specially made super-alloy armor began to crack under Mahito's soul-reinforced attack.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Kokichi roared, and a cylindrical device popped out from Mechamaru's chest.
It was a secret weapon he had developed specifically for this day, to deal with a soul manipulator like Mahito.
"New Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"
"Unsheathe!"
Hum!
A cylindrical barrier instantly expanded, trapping Mahito inside.
Within the barrier, all techniques were neutralized.
Idle Transfiguration failed at that very moment!
His proud soul invulnerability was exposed before the Simple Domain!
"What?!"
Mahito's expression changed drastically.
He felt it—the dangerous sensation of his soul being left bare!
"Die!"
Seizing the moment while Mahito was suppressed by the domain, Kokichi controlled one of Mechamaru's arms—a specially reinforced drill arm infused with cursed energy.
Inside the "tube" of the Simple Domain, this strike would hit the soul directly!
"Super Spiral Impact!"
Boom!
The drill slammed hard into Mahito's abdomen.
This time, Mahito couldn't dodge completely, nor could he recover instantly.
Because of the Simple Domain's neutralizing effect, his soul took genuine damage!
"Pfft!"
Mahito spat out a mouthful of purplish-black blood. He was sent flying like a cannonball, crashing violently into the dam's concrete wall.
The wall collapsed, burying him underneath.
"Did I succeed?!"
Kokichi felt a surge of joy.
As long as he could break Mahito's invincible defense, he had a chance to win!
However, just as he was about to press the advantage, a terrifying burst of black lightning suddenly erupted from the ruins.
It was the ultimate explosion of cursed energy.
The divine realm that even Special Grade sorcerers dreamed of reaching.
"Black Flash!"
Boom!
Mahito charged out of the ruins, twice as fast as before!
Black electrical arcs swirled around his fist. It wasn't just a physical reinforcement, but an elevation of his soul!
At this moment, on the brink of life and death, Mahito had grasped the core of cursed energy.
He was evolving!
"Thank you, Mechamaru."
A fanatical smile spread across Mahito's face—a look of pure obsession with power.
"You allowed me to taste the scent of death."
"In return..."
"I'll make your death truly artistic!"
Thud!
The Black Flash erupted.
Mahito's fist slammed into the armor of Mechamaru's cockpit.
Crack!
This time, the indestructible super-alloy armor shattered like glass, instantly covered in cracks.
Then came the second punch!
The third punch!
Consecutive Black Flashes!
Every punch was accompanied by the distortion of space and black lightning—absolute destruction of the material world!
[WARNING: ARMOR DAMAGE AT 80%!]
[WARNING: SIMPLE DOMAIN COLLAPSING!]
Inside the cockpit, red lights flashed, and the alarm was deafening.
Kokichi stared at the thinning glass before him and the demonic smile outside, feeling a deep sense of powerlessness.
'Is this what a genius is? A being favored by curses?'
Simply by fighting, he could continuously evolve and grow stronger.
Meanwhile, his own trump card, built with seventeen years of blood and sweat, was so fragile before this opponent.
'Am I going to lose...'
Kokichi's hands trembled.
He wasn't afraid to die, but he feared dying without purpose. He hadn't passed the information to Satoru Gojo yet.
He hadn't... personally said "goodbye" to Miwa.
That blue-haired girl, the one who always gently called him "Mechamaru"...
"No!"
"I can't die here!"
Kokichi bit his tongue hard. The sharp pain cleared his mind.
If he couldn't win, he would take the enemy with him!
He funneled all his remaining cursed energy into Mechamaru's core reactor.
"Self-destruct sequence... initiate!"
"Oh? You want to self-destruct?"
Mahito seemed to see through his intentions.
"Too slow."
Swish!
With one final Black Flash, the cockpit armor shattered completely.
Mahito's stitched hand reached out toward Kokichi. With just a touch...
Idle Transfiguration would trigger.
Kokichi's soul would be twisted into a pile of rotten meat.
"Farewell, Mechamaru."
Mahito's fingertips were less than a centimeter from Kokichi's forehead.
The scent of death filled the air, and Kokichi closed his eyes in despair.
'Miwa... I'm sorry.'
However, at that very instant, just before the fatal blow could land...
An incredibly scorching slash descended from the sky without warning!
There was no sound.
Even the air was instantly evaporated by the intense heat.
Only a thin red line sliced with pinpoint precision across Mahito's arm.
Squelch!
Blood sprayed.
The arm that was only a centimeter away from Kokichi was severed cleanly at the shoulder!
It fell onto the cockpit floor, still twitching slightly.
"What?!"
Mahito's pupils shrank. He retreated dozens of meters in an instant, staring at the sky in terror.
That sensation...
That searing pain in his soul...
It was his life's greatest nightmare!
Amidst the swirling sparks in the sky...
A figure wearing a Jujutsu High uniform with a jet-black tachi at his waist stood quietly on Mechamaru's massive shoulder.
Black hair fluttered in the heat, and his red eyes reflected Mahito's terrified face.
"Yo."
"Such a big toy."
"Mind if I play too?"