"Mukuro… Fushiguro?"
That special grade sorcerer?!
Mahito froze mid-step. The foot that had been moving toward the owl and Kokichi stopped cold, and even his legs began to tremble.
The moment he heard that name, the old man's words echoed in his mind.
"If you ever run into Satoru Gojo or Mukuro Fushiguro, you only have two choices. Run, or die. Most of the time, it's the latter, because you don't really get to choose."
His heartbeat started to race.
The other man hadn't done anything. He was just standing there, calmly looking at him. Yet an overwhelming pressure surged forward like a deep ocean, crashing down and making it hard to breathe.
This guy… he's absurdly strong.
At this point, Mahito no longer cared why he was here.
"Stand down. I'll handle this one."
"Yes!"
Mukuro jumped down from the tree, placed the owl on Kokichi's shoulder, then slowly walked toward Mahito.
Step by step.
The steps were small, but each one forced Mahito backward.
'Damn it… what am I even afraid of?'
As if realizing how wrong his state of mind was, wings burst from Mahito's back. He beat them hard and shot straight into the sky.
If he wasn't likely to win, then running was enough. When he set up the curtain, he hadn't restricted cursed spirits from entering or leaving.
What he didn't consider was this.
If the curtain couldn't stop that man from entering, how could it possibly stop him from leaving?
As he flew with all his strength, Mahito kept glancing back.
"See you around, you two!"
Only after confirming that neither of them could fly, and that they weren't chasing from the ground, did a bright smile finally spread across his face.
The edge of the curtain was right ahead.
The next moment, he flew straight out of it.
But the glow of the setting sun never touched his face. What slammed into him instead was a whip-like kick, hard as steel.
Bang!
Mahito's entire body was blasted into the river, embedded deep into the riverbed.
"I… I definitely… flew out just now…"
He shot up from the ground and glanced back at his wings.
It felt strange. He had clearly left the curtain's range, so where did that kick come from?
But there was no time to think, because Mukuro was already standing in front of him.
"Enjoy your pain and fear."
Boom!
Another casual slap landed on Mahito's face, sending him flying again. He rolled across the riverbank dozens of times before finally coming to a stop.
Then he slowly sat up.
This time, there was no fear on his face.
Instead, it twisted into wild, manic laughter. His eyes rolled as he looked at the figure walking toward him.
"Hehehehaha! Say, you don't have any cursed energy at all, do you?"
Mahito had noticed it.
The other man was terrifyingly strong. His speed was so fast it was impossible to dodge, and his strength was enough to send him flying dozens of meters with a single hit.
But…
It didn't hurt.
Mahito was special. As long as his soul wasn't erased, he wouldn't die. Still, attacks infused with cursed energy always caused some pain.
Those last two blows looked brutal, yet they didn't hurt at all.
And there was no extra flow of cursed energy around that man. That meant he wasn't carrying any cursed tools either.
So this was one of the Twin Tyrants the old man talked about?
As long as he stayed careful of that ultimate weapon in Kokichi's hands… this could work.
Mahito formed a new plan.
No more running.
He would kill this special grade sorcerer right here.
"There isn't a clear line between truth and falsehood. What you see may not exist. What you doubt may not be false. Hope is nothing more than a fantasy weak ones cling to when cornered. But you probably won't understand. I never expected a mere cursed spirit to understand my words anyway."
Mahito's thoughts were obvious without a second glance. Mukuro simply smiled faintly, then raised a hand. A sharp dagger formed out of thin air in front of him.
"A weapon created from nothing?!"
The manic grin on Mahito's face froze instantly.
The dagger gave off no cursed energy, yet it made his instincts scream. It felt disturbingly similar to cursed power.
"Sorry. I really don't want to use anything smaller than this, and for you, this is more than enough."
Mukuro spoke calmly, mockery clear on his face as Mahito stared at the blade.
A light breeze passed. The bangs over Mukuro's forehead shifted, and the number "1" appeared clearly in his right eye.
"Don't look down on me!"
Without cursed energy to protect his opponent, all Mahito had to do was wait until the technique burnout ended. One touch, and he'd stop being human.
Mahito's right fist swelled in an instant, growing larger than a human body, then slammed forward with full force.
Puff!
Before he could even see what happened, Mukuro was already behind him. A violent gust roared past.
At the same time, Mahito's body split open along its stitched seams. Flesh tore apart as blood sprayed everywhere.
The swollen fist was chopped into several pieces.
'It's over… I can't keep up with his movements!'
Only now did Mahito realize how naive his earlier thoughts had been.
If this kept up, just repairing his body would drain all his cursed energy. Not to mention, he had just used his domain. His reserves were already far lower than usual.
'Think… now!'
Running was still the only choice.
Following the path of the blade, he blew his body apart, scattering into chunks of flesh that crawled in different directions at high speed.
Only one piece carried his true consciousness.
As long as his soul wasn't destroyed, he could escape and reshape himself later.
"Fushiguro-sensei! As long as his soul isn't destroyed—"
Kokichi shouted anxiously. He was afraid his teacher might let Mahito escape due to not fully understanding his ability. He had nearly paid the price for that himself.
"Deva Path."
But before Kokichi could finish, Mukuro raised a hand and cut him off.
The number in his crimson right eye shifted from "1" to "6".
The power of the Deva Path could touch the soul. By controlling consciousness, it could command the body.
And cursed spirits didn't truly have bodies to begin with. They were closer to souls formed from condensed hatred.
So… Mukuro pressed down lightly.
The writhing mass beneath his foot was crushed into a pool of pulp. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere.
Puff!
The lump of flesh that carried Mahito's true self was hit by sudden, intense pain. He screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood..
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