Shibuya Station — B1F Underground Passage.
The air was thick with the smell of blood.
Burnt flesh.
And cursed energy.
"Haa… haa…"
Kento Nanami struggled to breathe.
Every inhale burned his lungs.
The left side of his body had already been severely damaged.
The injuries came from the flames of the Special Grade cursed spirit Jogo earlier.
Much of his skin had been carbonized.
His nerves barely responded.
His vision blurred.
His once immaculate suit was torn beyond recognition.
The blunt blade he carried was stained purple with cursed spirit blood.
Nanami leaned against the cold tiled wall.
Slowly sliding downward.
He was exhausted.
Truly exhausted.
As a sorcerer—
He had always treated his work as labor.
A job performed in a cruel world filled with curses.
But today—
That labor seemed finally ready to end.
"Oh?"
A cheerful voice echoed down the hallway.
"Still alive?"
A blue-haired figure skipped casually through the corridor.
His clothes were stitched together like a grotesque doll.
His smile was innocent.
Cruel.
Childlike.
In his hands he casually tossed several small twisted humanoid figures.
Victims transformed by his cursed technique.
The Special Grade cursed spirit—
Mahito.
"You're really persistent."
Mahito tilted his head curiously.
"A Grade 1 sorcerer… still breathing after all that?"
"But your soul…"
He squinted playfully.
"It's dried out like an old rag."
"No matter how much I squeeze it…"
"There's nothing left."
Nanami didn't answer.
He barely had the strength.
Through cracked glasses—
He stared silently at the monster.
Suddenly—
The world around him faded.
The ruined subway vanished.
Replaced by sunlight.
Warm wind.
And a golden beach.
Kuantan.
Malaysia.
The retirement destination he had imagined countless times after overtime.
A small house near the sea.
A bookshelf full of novels.
Cold beer waiting in the fridge.
No curses.
No missions.
No deaths.
Just peace.
"Nanami."
A voice called out.
Nanami turned.
Standing on the beach—
Was Haibara Yu.
His former junior.
Long dead.
Still smiling the same carefree smile.
Haibara raised a hand.
Pointing somewhere.
Nanami followed the direction.
At the far end of the real corridor—
A figure was running toward him.
Yuji Itadori.
Nanami sighed quietly.
"No, Haibara…"
"If I say something here…"
"That kid will be cursed."
But he didn't have the strength to speak anymore.
Mahito's arm transformed grotesquely.
Stretching.
Twisting.
Forming a massive scythe.
"Let's celebrate our reunion!"
He laughed.
The blade screamed through the air.
Aimed directly at Nanami's neck.
Death was certain.
Time slowed.
Nanami calmly accepted the outcome.
Preparing to sink into darkness.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A violent explosion shattered the corridor.
Like a missile detonating underground.
The expected pain never came.
Nanami opened his eyes.
Mahito's blade had stopped.
Less than one centimeter from his neck.
But something invisible blocked it.
Like an immovable wall.
Then—
The scythe shattered.
Fragments of cursed flesh scattered everywhere.
"What—?!"
Mahito's smile froze.
Before he could react—
A massive force struck him.
BANG!!!
His body shot backward.
Like a cannonball.
Smashing through three reinforced walls.
Before embedding deep into concrete a hundred meters away.
Dust filled the corridor.
From within the smoke—
A figure emerged slowly.
A black trench coat fluttered in the turbulent air.
His eyes burned with icy fury.
Yagami Sora.
"Trying to kill my senior?"
His voice was calm.
But terrifyingly cold.
He stepped over the rubble.
Walking toward Nanami.
"Did you ask my permission?"
"You piece of trash."
"Sora-nii!"
Yuji rushed into the corridor.
Breathing hard.
When he saw Nanami still alive—
Tears immediately filled his eyes.
"Nanami!!"
"Thank goodness…"
Nanami stared at the back of the figure protecting him.
Tall.
Reliable.
Just like someone he once knew.
"…Yagami… Itadori…"
A faint smile appeared on Nanami's lips.
His body finally relaxed.
Sliding to the floor.
"You're… late…"
"No."
Sora replied gently.
"Just in time."
He looked down at the battered Grade 1 sorcerer.
Seeing the horrifying injuries.
His expression darkened.
But his voice remained calm.
"Leave the rest to us."
"Nanami-san."
"Your overtime is finished."
"You can rest now."
Nanami paused.
Then closed his eyes.
Within seconds—
He was asleep.
He truly had nothing left.
After confirming Nanami was merely unconscious—
Sora turned around.
Mahito was slowly pulling himself out of the broken wall.
His chest had caved inward.
But it was already regenerating.
Sora cracked his knuckles.
Invisible vector vortices forming around his fingers.
"Now…"
"Let's finish cleaning up the trash."
He walked forward slowly.
"Mahito."
"Letting you escape once before…"
"Was the biggest mistake of my life."
"Tonight I'll grind your soul into dust."
"So thoroughly…"
"You won't even have the chance to reincarnate as a curse."
Mahito laughed wildly.
Blood dripping from his mouth.
"Hahahaha!"
"Yagami Sora!"
"You again!"
"I knew you'd show up!"
His cursed energy surged violently.
Boiling like magma.
"Before…"
He continued.
"I would've run away the moment I saw you."
"Your technique is basically cheating."
"But now…"
His grin widened.
"Things are different."
"On the edge of death…"
"When Itadori's Black Flash struck me…"
"I finally understood something."
"The essence of the soul."
"The limits of the body."
CRACK!
CRACK!
Mahito's bones shifted violently.
His body mutated rapidly.
Armor-like keratin formed across his skin.
His limbs elongated.
Muscles bulged grotesquely.
A thick tail smashed into the ground—
Creating a massive crater.
An overwhelming pressure burst from his body.
"Yagami Sora!"
Mahito roared excitedly.
"This evolution…"
"Is thanks to you and Itadori!"
"So let me show you!"
"This is the true form of the soul!"
"A body stripped of everything unnecessary!"
"Existing only for slaughter!"
Mahito spread his arms.
Madness burning in his eyes.
"The Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing!"
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