Meanwhile, at a large, abandoned underground parking lot in Shibuya.
"BOOM!!!"
Accompanied by a heavy, dull explosion, the air in the entire underground space seemed to be sucked out instantly.
A curse user wearing a bizarre, pale mask flew backward like a kite with its string cut.
His body tumbled uncontrollably through the air before slamming violently into a thick support pillar.
*Crack! Crunch!*
The agonizing sound of shattering echoed through the empty parking lot.
The reinforced concrete pillar, strong enough to support dozens of tons, actually developed massive spider-web-like cracks from the terrifying impact, sending countless fragments of stone and dust cascading down.
"Cough... Argh..."
The curse user slid down the pillar like a heap of mud, hacking up a large mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs.
The mask that was supposed to hide his identity had shattered nearly halfway from the intense impact, revealing a distorted face filled with extreme terror.
"How is this possible..."
The curse user stared fixedly at the tall figure slowly stepping out from the shadows, his voice trembling so much his teeth were chattering.
"The intel clearly said... you were just a cripple, a waste of space because of a Heavenly Restriction..."
"That you could only hide in dark corners like a rat, fighting with those scrap metal puppets..."
"How is it... How can you have such physical strength and cursed energy output?!"
"This doesn't make sense! This is completely impossible!!!"
The curse user shrieked in despair, trying to use his voice to mask the fear in his heart.
However, the only response he received was the heavy, oppressive sound of metal grinding.
*Clang... Clang... Clang...*
Emerging from the shadows was a humanoid figure over two meters tall, encased in thick, high-tech metal armor.
It was Ultimate Mechamaru, controlled by the Kyoto School second-year, Kokichi Muta.
However, unlike the previous ordinary puppets that could only be controlled remotely and moved with slight stiffness...
...the one standing before the curse user now was a Special Grade combat suit. Kokichi Muta himself sat in the cockpit, perfectly integrating all his cursed energy with the machinery after his body was healed by Mahito's Idle Transfiguration!
"A waste?"
Mechamaru's cold, emotionless electronic voice echoed in the cavernous underground parking lot, laced with a trace of condescending mockery.
"It's true. Once, I was indeed a waste who couldn't even touch the sunlight."
Mechamaru slowly raised a steel arm—scarred yet still indestructible—as a heart-stopping, eerie blue glow of cursed energy flowed across the armor's surface.
"In the face of Instructor Yoru's absolute power, which rivals the gods, we are all nothing more than insignificant dust."
"But..."
"For crushing a piece of trash like you—who only knows how to cause destruction and scavenge in the shadows like a rat—it's more than enough."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mechamaru's arm armor suddenly emitted a crisp sound of mechanical transformation.
The thick metal forearm bloomed like a lotus, revealing a dark, ominous barrel flickering with a piercing light of cursed energy.
"Ultra Cannon—Maximum Output!"
"BOOM!!!"
A beam of eerie blue cursed energy, as dazzling as a scorching sun, instantly tore through the dim underground parking lot.
Wherever the beam passed, even the air was violently distorted by the intense heat.
"No! Wait—"
The curse user widened his eyes in despair, trying to beg for mercy one last time.
However, the beam was simply too fast—so fast that he didn't even have time to scream before being completely swallowed.
*Sizzle...*
The beam pierced through the curse user's chest and, without slowing down, slammed into the wall behind him, melting a massive, charred hole.
When the blinding light faded, the curse user had been completely reduced to a piece of charcoal, leaving behind not a single trace of residual cursed energy.
"Target neutralized."
Watching the charred corpse lying in a pool of blood, Mechamaru slowly lowered his arm, wisps of white smoke still rising from the barrel.
Although this encounter was won easily—one could even call it a one-sided slaughter—
—there wasn't even a hint of joy on the face hidden beneath that heavy metal helmet.
Because he knew better than anyone that in Shibuya right now, a curse user of this level didn't even have the right to be cannon fodder.
At most, they were just a pack of hyenas coming out to scavenge amidst the chaos.
The real monsters...
...the Special Grade cursed spirits capable of easily tearing cities apart and slaughtering tens of thousands, and Kenjaku, the one hiding behind the scenes controlling everything...
...were all in the central area where the Curtain had been dropped!
"Instructor Yoru..."
Inside the cockpit, Kokichi Muta watched the ruined landscape on his tactical screens, his hands subconsciously tightening around the control levers.
"What kind of powerful enemies are you facing right now?"
Recalling that black-haired, red-eyed man who always seemed composed, a complex surge of emotion welled up in Kokichi's heart.
If Instructor Yoru hadn't appeared, cut through Mahito's scheme with a single strike, and pulled him from the abyss,
then he, Kokichi Muta, would likely have become a cold corpse long ago, forever burdened with the name of a traitor, rotting away in the darkness.
"My life and this healthy body were both given to me by Instructor Yoru."
Kokichi took a deep breath, his gaze becoming more determined than ever before.
"So, even if I have to put everything on the line, I must prove my value in this war!"
Just as Mechamaru prepared to engage his thrusters to move to the next combat zone for support...
*Patter, patter, patter...*
"Who's there?!"
Mechamaru's radar instantly locked onto the target. The barrel was raised again, and the cold electronic eyes flickered with a dangerous red light.
However, the moment he saw the person who arrived, the cursed energy beam about to be fired froze within the barrel.
"Muta!"
A girl with long blue hair and straight-cut bangs, wearing a black business-suit school uniform, ran in gasping for air.
It was Kasumi Miwa.
At this moment, she no longer had her usual airheaded, energetic appearance.
Her clothes were covered in dust and blood, and a thin scratch had been carved into her fair cheek, making her look quite disheveled.
"Huff... huff..."
Kasumi Miwa bent over, hands on her knees, panting heavily.
She looked up, seeing the messy battlefield, the nearly snapped support pillar, and the charred corpse of the curse user. Her eyes were filled with unmistakable worry and lingering fear.
"Are you okay? I heard on the comms that you were under attack, and then there was a huge explosion..."
Kasumi's voice carried a hint of a sob.
"I was afraid something happened to you, so I came right over..."
Looking at the girl who had run until she was drenched in sweat and had lost her composure just because she was worried about him...
Mechamaru's cold electronic eyes flickered slightly, emitting a faint hum.
Inside the cockpit,
Kokichi stared blankly at the familiar face on the screen, his heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.
He instinctively wanted to make Mechamaru take a step forward, to reach out and wipe the dirt from the girl's face.
But when his hand touched the cold control lever, logic finally triumphed over impulse.
He froze in place.
"Don't come any closer, Kasumi."
Mechamaru spoke through the external speakers in a low, raspy voice.
"The smell of blood here is too strong; it's likely to attract other cursed spirits."
"With your current strength, staying here will only make you a burden. Retreat to safety immediately!"
Kokichi deliberately made his voice sound cold and heartless, attempting to drive Kasumi Miwa away.
Because he knew very well that the Shibuya to come would turn into a true hell.
He didn't want this girl, who was as warm as sunlight, to be caught in this cruel slaughter.
"But..."
Kasumi Miwa bit her lip, her eyes turning red.
She didn't turn around and leave as Kokichi had expected. Instead, she stubbornly looked up, staring directly at the cold steel machine.
"I know I'm weak..."
"I know I might not be able to help much, and I might even hold you back..."
"But how could I possibly leave you here alone!"
Though Kasumi's voice wavered, it was filled with a moving firmness.
"Aren't we comrades?"
"Didn't we promise to go back to Kyoto together?!"
'Comrades...'
Hearing the girl's sincere words, Kokichi's heart jolted.
Once, because of his broken, light-shunning body, he had kept himself closed off in that dark basement, cursing the world like a bitter soul.
He envied everyone.
He envied them for being able to run freely in the sun.
He envied them for having healthy bodies to embrace the people they loved.
He had even been willing to betray Jujutsu High just to obtain a normal body, making a deal with a Special Grade cursed spirit like Mahito.
He felt like a complete monster, someone who didn't deserve comrades or feelings.
But Kasumi Miwa had never looked at him with judgment in her eyes.
During the winter break...
Kokichi took a deep breath, feeling his eyes sting.
He slowly raised those heavy mechanical arms and, to Kasumi Miwa's surprise, reached for the head.
*Click... Hiss—*
Accompanied by the sound of a pressure valve releasing, the thick metal helmet that had always covered the head was removed bit by bit.
This was the first time since Kokichi had healed his body.
The first time he had shown his true face in front of a comrade—in front of the girl he cared about most.
"Muta... your face..."
Kasumi Miwa was momentarily stunned as she looked at the young, resolute face. Though it was still covered in burn scars left by his Heavenly Restriction, it was firm.
Then, her eyes instantly turned red.
She didn't feel afraid.
She didn't feel disgust.
There was only uncontrollable heartache.
"Sorry, did I scare you?"
Kokichi looked into Kasumi's clear eyes, forcing a slightly stiff smile to his lips.
Though his body had healed, the inferiority complex carved into the depths of his soul wouldn't vanish overnight.
"Actually, there's something I've always wanted to say to you."
He controlled Mechamaru to take a large step forward, stepping over the rubble and blood to stand before Kasumi Miwa.
In those eyes that had once been gloomy from long-term darkness, a previously unseen tender light now flickered.
"Kasumi,"
Kokichi called her name softly. His voice was no longer that cold electronic drone, but his own true, slightly raspy voice.
"If only I could have had this body sooner..."
"If only I could have stood in the sunlight sooner..."
"If only I could have said this sooner..."
Kasumi Miwa stared blankly at the youth before her. Hearing his words full of deep affection, her heart couldn't help but race.
*Thump, thump... Thump, thump...*
Although Kokichi's words were not yet finished,
a girl's intuition told her that the words she was about to hear would be the most important confession of her life.
"Muta..."
Kasumi Miwa lowered her head slightly, a lovely flush creeping onto her cheeks, and her breathing became rapid.
"Thank you, Kasumi."
Kokichi looked at her with overflowing tenderness.
He summoned every ounce of courage he had.
"Thank you for always staying by the side of a monster like me."
"The truth is, I've always—"
"BOOM—!!!!!"
However, just as Kokichi was about to speak the words 'I love you' hidden in the deepest part of his heart!
A sudden change occurred!