Curtain call

In an instant, a mass of "nothingness" enveloped a ten-meter radius around Rihito, but unlike a true domain, it did not form a sphere.

With his current reserves of cursed energy, he could maintain it for only a minute or two at most. If Mahito wanted to, he could escape in just two seconds.

"Unfortunately, it's only an incomplete domain. It doesn't have a sure-hit effect, either."

"But it's enough to kill you!"

Rihito gave Mahito no time to react. Almost the instant he expanded his domain, he attacked.

Static Universe worked just like the Zero Coffin technique: it forcibly stole the heat from its surroundings, driving the temperature ever closer to absolute zero.

Though the incomplete domain's effect was less extreme, it was more than enough to restrict Mahito.

With the domain's amplification, Rihito's cursed energy output increased severalfold.

"How...?"

Watching the fist grow larger in his vision, Mahito tried to block, only to discover in horror that the cold had made his limbs unbearably stiff. His attempt to raise his arm came a beat too late.

Bam!

The fist, coated in cursed energy, struck Mahito squarely.

"Gah-" Mahito's face flushed red as he spat out a mouthful of blood and slammed into the ground.

Kick him while he was down. Finish him while he was weak.

Rihito knew perfectly well that he could not give a cursed spirit with such tenacious survival abilities even a moment to breathe.

But several dark figures suddenly appeared beside him, disrupting his plan.

They were three grotesquely distorted transfigured humans.

Under Mahito's control, they charged fearlessly into the domain and threw punches at Rihito.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Caught off guard, Rihito took a punch, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Get away from me!!"

Rihito stamped his foot, unleashing a wave of extreme cold that froze the transfigured human.

The danger had not passed.

Even with the domain slowing their movements, the other two transfigured humans could still cause Rihito considerable trouble.

No, I can't let up. If I give Mahito a chance to breathe, everything I've done will be wasted!

Rihito knew with absolute clarity that if he stopped attacking Mahito now and turned to deal with the two transfigured humans,

Mahito would quickly recover, and another opportunity like this would be hard to come by.

Besides, his own cursed energy was nearly depleted. Never mind killing Mahito-simply staying alive would become a problem.

"Just... die already!!!"

Blood ran from the corner of Rihito's mouth, gradually soaking his shirt.

Yet his punches at Mahito never slowed. Each cursed-energy-infused blow inflicted another devastating injury.

At the same time, the effects of Withering continued to erode Mahito's soul.

Realizing he was cornered, Mahito tried to reshape his soul, turning his hands into weapons as he had before to drive Rihito back.

But the moment his limbs transformed, Rihito's fist came down, slamming into his body.

I'll die... I'm going to die!

Mahito knew perfectly well that if this continued,

Rihito would grind away his cursed energy-and even his soul-one punch at a time, until he died.

His eyes rolled white. Between the freezing cold and the relentless blows, his body had no time to react.

Time gradually slowed in Mahito's awareness. He could clearly feel his body dying.

It was a sensation he had never experienced since his birth...

My joints are stiff. There's no chance to fight back.

My soul is wearing away. My regeneration can't keep up anymore...

What a fresh sensation. Could this... be... death?

Time seemed to truly slow down.

Mahito's eyes shifted as understanding dawned within them. Then he opened his mouth. Three pairs of tiny hands appeared inside it out of nowhere and formed a complex hand sign.

"Now I can do it, too."

Rihito's pupils contracted sharply.

With Mahito's shout, his worst fear instantly became reality.

"Domain Expansion-Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"

In the next instant, enormous hands appeared throughout the space, overlapping in endless layers.

In less than two seconds, they covered the surroundings and formed a perfect sphere.

"So I failed after all." Looking at the bizarre space around him, Rihito instead grew calm.

Static Universe had already collapsed, and he had exhausted his cursed energy in his attempt to kill Mahito.

Was he afraid?

He was!

But he feared even more that, despite giving everything he had, he had failed to do right by Junpei.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Mahito's footsteps slowly rang out.

He walked toward Rihito, step by step, a surprising reluctance deep in his eyes.

"Rihito, how bored will I be if you die? But now I have to kill you. What a difficult choice." He stopped, looking utterly conflicted.

Rihito said nothing. He knew this was nothing more than Mahito's twisted sense of fun.

His life was in Mahito's hands now. There was nothing left to say.

"Rihito, you're not as fun as you used to be. Oh well. Just be good and die." Mahito shook his head, then raised a hand and aimed his palm at Rihito.

Sensing death approach, Rihito tensed. He was not as composed as he had imagined he would be.

But things had come to this. However unwilling he was, he could only accept it.

"Idle..."

Thud!

A muffled crash came from outside the domain, as though something had slammed hard into its outer wall.

Mahito's hand stopped in midair.

He turned his head, confusion appearing in his pallid eyes for the first time.

Crack!

A sound like shattering glass came from the domain's barrier above Rihito, accompanied by a faint gleam. Mahito's cursed technique was forcibly interrupted.

Brute force had punched a basketball-sized hole through the top of the domain from outside. Fragments rained down as an arm swiftly withdrew through the opening.

Then a pink-haired boy poked his head inside, looking utterly bewildered.

"Huh? Why does it look like this in here?"

Yuji Itadori blinked, finally taking in the scene inside the domain-a cursed spirit covered in stitches and a boy covered in wounds.

Yuji

Itadori? What's he doing here?

Looking at Itadori's sudden arrival, Rihito needed only a second to piece everything together.

In the original story, after Mahito killed the three students in the movie theater, Kento Nanami and Itadori came to investigate. And his own battle with Mahito was taking place near that theater.

The fluctuations in cursed energy from their fight must have drawn them here. But why was Itadori alone? Where was Kento Nanami?

As Itadori jumped inside, Mahito froze on the spot.

"Why can he get in? Isn't this my domain?"

Having only just expanded his first domain, Mahito naturally did not know that a domain's defenses against the outside and the inside were complete opposites.

It was incredibly sturdy from within, making escape a pipe dream. From outside, however, it was so fragile that a light punch could pierce it completely, making intrusion extremely easy.

Itadori's actions were the perfect example.

Shhk!

Without warning, an invisible slash pierced Mahito's chest before his stunned eyes. Within seconds, the entire domain shattered piece by piece until it vanished completely.

"Sukuna... how!?"

Cold blood gushed wildly from Mahito's chest. He sank to one knee, his face filled with disbelief.

Itadori was completely bewildered by the sight.

"I didn't do anything. Why's this cursed spirit suddenly dying?"

Rihito was speechless, but his attention never strayed from Mahito for even an instant.

"That's the cursed spirit who killed the three students in the movie theater! Kill him!"

The instant Mahito's domain shattered, Rihito shouted at Itadori.

Movie theater? Cursed spirit?

Itadori understood immediately, and his gaze turned furious as he looked at Mahito.

"So it was you. You killed those three innocent students." As he spoke, he approached Mahito, flames of cursed energy rising from both fists.

"He's going to escape! The sewer!" Rihito warned loudly.

In the original story, Mahito had survived by feinting and escaping through the sewer.

"Ri... Rihito, you're as lovable as ever. Heh, heh... stay alive. I hope you'll make me happy the next time we meet."

Rihito's heart sank.

Only now did he remember a fact he had overlooked: in the original story, Mahito had been overwhelmed by both Kento Nanami and Itadori, eventually exhausting his cursed energy and fleeing in disgrace.

But this time, he had fought Rihito alone. His cursed energy expenditure might not have been nearly as great.

And with Kento Nanami absent, stopping him with Itadori alone would be all but impossible.

"Bye~bye~"

The next second, Mahito's body swelled wildly like a balloon.

"I'll kill you!" Without hesitation, Itadori shot toward Mahito like a cannonball.

He raised his hand and threw a punch...

Bam!

As Itadori's fist came down, Mahito instantly "burst" like a balloon.

But they could clearly see that Itadori had not caused the "explosion." Mahito had deliberately detonated himself after swelling to a certain size.

A moment later, the shock waves faded. The place where Mahito had stood was empty.

"Junpei, I let you down..."