Killing Domain

"Bang! Bang! Bang—"

Mahito swung his scythe-whip wildly. Though it had been transformed from flesh, it was incredibly sharp, slicing through thick walls as easily as tofu.

Lin Mu activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and dismissed the chakra-draining Susanoo, relying on nimble footwork to evade Mahito's attacks.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to bring Itadori and Junpei inside the Susanoo, which would have easily neutralized Mahito's attacks. He simply needed to reserve enough chakra to deal with Mahito's Domain.

He wasn't worried in the slightest about Itadori being pulled into the Domain. Sukuna inside Itadori would never allow anyone to touch his soul.

Moreover, because of Lin Mu's appearance this time, Mahito had failed to mock Itadori together with Sukuna. If Mahito touched Itadori now, Sukuna might severely injure him the moment they met!

That would save Lin Mu a great deal of trouble.

What worried Lin Mu more was Junpei. If he were dragged into the Domain, he would definitely have no ability to fight back. At that point, Lin Mu would have to activate Susanoo and cover him as well.

If he ran out of chakra, they might both perish.

Mahito really was much stronger than last time. Faced with the crisscrossing scythe strikes, even Lin Mu had to get a little serious.

But Itadori and Junpei were nowhere near as relaxed as Lin Mu. Under Mahito's assault, sweat streamed down Itadori's forehead, and his head was nearly sliced off several times.

Junpei had only become a jujutsu sorcerer recently. His physical abilities were no different from an ordinary person's—perhaps even worse, after years of bullying at school.

Fortunately, the cursed spirit Junpei had summoned had strong enough defenses. It had barely blocked several fatal attacks for him.

But his cursed spirit would not hold out for much longer. The Jellyfish Shikigami already had several enormous gashes across its body. If it was hit a few more times, both it and Junpei would surely be cut in half!

Watching the three of them scramble about beneath his attacks, Mahito's lips curled upward. "How about it? It was thanks to you that I was able to comprehend all this."

"You personally helped a cursed spirit grow. Without you, I might not have been able to kill so many people."

Itadori frowned. "Lin Mu, don't listen to him. Those people's deaths have nothing to do with you. He's just saying that on purpose to make you let your guard down!"

Lin Mu said nothing. He understood Mahito's personality far better than Itadori did. The more Mahito said now, the more excited Lin Mu became at the thought of the face he would make while begging for mercy when Lin Mu exorcised him later.

"Itadori, Junpei, jump outside."

Itadori immediately understood what Lin Mu intended to do. Without another word, he grabbed Junpei and leaped out the window, using Junpei's Jellyfish Shikigami as a cushion to land safely.

And the instant they landed, the floor they had just been on was instantly engulfed in flames!

"Boom—!!"

Fire burst from the entire floor, and the massive explosion left their ears ringing.

"What the hell was that?" It was Junpei's first time witnessing such a scene, and his expression froze. "You jujutsu sorcerers carry explosives around with you?"

Itadori gave an awkward smile. "How could that be? Lin Mu's technique is just like that. Though sometimes I wonder whether he secretly keeps explosives on him too..."

"Take a deep breath. Feeling dizzy is normal. You'll get used to it after going through it a few more times."

"With Lin Mu here, there's nothing to worry about."

Junpei froze slightly. Only then did he realize that he was no longer in mortal danger. The fear Mahito had given him still lingered in his heart, refusing to fade.

It was only after Lin Mu appeared that he gradually calmed down. Looking at the dim sky, which was still countless times brighter than the life he had once lived, tears slid past the corners of his upturned lips.

"Itadori, thank you!"

Inside the charred school building, Mahito's burned skin rapidly regenerated. Attacks that could not harm his soul posed almost no threat to him.

As long as the injury was not outrageously fatal, he could recover quickly. Even against attacks of that level, he could alter the shape of his body to evade them.

"Lin Mu, stop struggling. Your attacks are useless against me."

"Let me properly repay your kindness. I'll remodel you very gently."

With a twisted smile on his face, Mahito continuously scanned his surroundings. His hands had now transformed into two cleavers.

"Found you!"

Mahito laughed loudly and swung the cleaver in his hand toward the ceiling.

"Boom—"

The 'Lin Mu' on the ceiling dodged the attack with all his strength, then pulled out a kunai from his waist pouch and threw it at Mahito.

"Pathetic. Do you still think this kind of attack will work on me?"

Mahito casually slapped away the incoming kunai. The cleaver formed by his other hand shot forward, piercing straight through the 'Lin Mu's' chest.

"Got you!"

"Hahahaha! Looks like you're already at the end of your rope. The information I gave Kenjaku really wasn't wasted."

Mahito mocked himself for having worried too much earlier. Even if Lin Mu had some new technique capable of defeating Kenjaku, using it must have consumed a great deal of cursed energy. After staying around Kenjaku for so long, he had become overly suspicious himself.

The cleaver formed from his hand twisted inside the 'Lin Mu's' body. "Hahaha, how does that feel?"

Mahito's expression gradually became one of enjoyment as he reveled in the thrill of toying with others.

Yet the pierced 'Lin Mu' showed not the slightest hint of pain, merely looking at Mahito with amusement.

"Bang—"

A burst of white smoke exploded, and the 'Lin Mu' Mahito had pierced vanished without a trace!

Before Mahito could figure out what was happening, a tremendous force struck its back, kicking it straight off the building.

"Huh? What was that just now, a fake body? And who kicked me?"

As Mahito fell, it gradually made out the situation below.

Lin Mu and Itadori were standing quietly beneath it, waiting, while Itadori wore a smug grin.

"I was played?" The thought filled Mahito with uncontrollable rage.

"You damn brats!"

Mahito turned one hand into a hammer, steadied itself, and smashed downward.

"Lin Mu!" Itadori shouted.

"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"

Dozens of trees as thick as thighs burst from the ground and rapidly stretched upward, tightly seizing the falling Mahito. No matter how it struggled, it could not break free.

Itadori chuckled, then leaped high into the air and slammed a full-force blow into Mahito's face.

"Divergent Fist!"

Because of his special physique, Itadori's attacks could reach Mahito's soul, dealing effective damage to its fragile spirit. It could be said that Itadori was Mahito's natural nemesis!

Lin Mu had known this all along. At present, he had no specialized means of dealing with souls, and seriously injuring the much stronger Mahito would cost him greatly.

So he had summoned a clone to keep Mahito occupied while informing Itadori of this plan.

Itadori did not ask why someone as strong as Lin Mu needed his help. Lin Mu must have had his reasons, and besides, Itadori had disliked Mahito for a long time.

He had been worrying over not having the chance to properly smack that big face of Mahito's.

Bang—

The iron fist Itadori swung with all his strength wasted not even the slightest bit of force. Every ounce of it landed on Mahito's head.

The soul-damaging attack nearly knocked Mahito unconscious, and blood gushed out wildly.

Just as Itadori prepared to throw a second punch, Mahito's body shrank drastically, instantly slipping free from the trees' restraints.

"I'm tired of playing. You can all die now!" Mahito suddenly appeared between the three of them, forming hand seals with both hands.

"Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"