Mahito

On campus, at a turn in the stairwell.

While Kenjaku and the Fifth Calamity were fighting, Yuji Itadori reached a turning point of his own on the other side of the city.

"A human with stitches on his face..."

"That guy is..."

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Itadori looked up at Mahito, who had appeared above him. Kento Nanami's warning suddenly flashed through his mind.

"A special grade cursed spirit!!!"

Itadori's pupils abruptly contracted, but before he could react, Mahito's right hand rapidly swelled to an enormous size and reached toward him, pinning him deep into the wall...

"Junpei! Run! Whatever your relationship with this guy is!"

"Run!!!!"

Yuji Itadori's desperate screams received no response from Junpei.

Instead, the boy before him, who still regarded Mahito as his "savior," continued making excuses for him...

"Mr. Mahito isn't what you think! I can..."

Before Junpei could finish, a chill ran through him as an icy hand settled on his shoulder.

Then, with a sudden whoosh, every light in the stairwell went out...

"Hm?"

Both humans and the cursed spirit froze at the loss of the lights.

This was not part of Mahito's plan. He had intended to seize the opportunity to take hold of Junpei's soul, activate his soul-altering cursed technique, and kill him, breaking through Itadori's emotional defenses...

But the pitch-black darkness before him was clearly unsuitable for attacking Itadori with a sight that would shake him to his core.

So he grinned, intending to introduce himself first:

"Nice to meet you, Sukuna's vessel~"

"This guy seems to be an important friend of yours~"

The instant Mahito finished speaking, a fierce gust suddenly swept past his face.

With a tremendous crash, the sensation of a shoulder beneath his palm vanished, and the lights abruptly flickered back on...

"..."

Silence.

After the silence came an explosion of rage:

"I'm going to kill you!!! You bastard!!!"

Before Itadori's bloodshot eyes, a trail of scarlet blood stretched from in front of Mahito all the way to the wall beside him.

The enormous hole smashed through the wall by brute force, and the blood spattered all around it, left no room for doubt-

This bastard had killed Junpei under cover of darkness.

"Huh?!"

The speechlessness and regret on Mahito's face were not an act.

The blood covering the floor and the huge hole beside him genuinely were not his handiwork.

But he was the only special grade cursed spirit present, and Junpei had been right beside his hand just moments ago. Even if Mahito denied killing him, Itadori probably would not believe it.

"Tch, the plan's gone a little off course~"

Mahito's words were full of dissatisfaction and grievance, but a gleam of delighted surprise soon returned to his eyes as he looked at Itadori-the enraged boy forcibly broke free of his grip and swung a fist packed with cursed energy.

Junpei's death had drawn out more of Itadori's potential, something Mahito found both fascinating and surprising.

"Won't work, won't work~"

With a bang, Itadori's heavy punch landed squarely on Mahito's face and knocked him back, but Mahito merely rolled his neck and twisted his waist, dismissing the blow.

He taunted Itadori while pulling faces at him, but soon, a trickle of blood spilling from his mouth made him freeze...

This guy's attack...

Changed the shape of my soul?!

As the member of the Four Calamities with the highest theoretical physical defense, Mahito relied on something entirely different from Hanami.

Mahito used the shape and strength of his soul to maintain his outward form.

As long as his soul suffered no serious damage and his cursed energy did not run dry.

Then, no matter how much damage his exterior sustained, he could restore himself instantly...

This defense built into his very mechanics was far more sophisticated than Hanami's approach of simply piling on physical toughness.

But conversely.

Once he encountered an enemy whose attacks could damage his soul, the defense Mahito took such pride in would cease to work...

Yuji Itadori happened to be exactly that kind of opponent.

As Sukuna's vessel, he could easily perceive the contours of a soul, allowing his attacks to strike the soul instinctively.

"Good, good, good..."

The gap between their mechanics had now closed, putting them on the same starting line.

What came next was for Itadori and Mahito to analyze each other's movements and approach to attacking, then engage in a battle of wits...

"What a boring fight."

On a tree branch, Hajime Kashimo was observing the battle between the human and the cursed spirit through the fluctuations of cursed energy.

He had absolutely no intention of intervening-

Saving the life of the guy beneath his feet already counted as following Jujutsu High's ideals to the letter.

"Did I hit him a little too hard?"

He lowered his gaze to the unconscious Junpei beneath his feet. Warm smears and droplets of Junpei's own blood still lingered at the corners of his mouth and on his chest.

Kashimo's blindingly fast punch was simply more than Junpei's body could withstand.

Although an externally applied Reverse Cursed Technique had quickly repaired the damage to his body, Junpei still could not endure the agonizing pain and had passed out...

"Whatever. The good part's about to start."

As Kashimo finished speaking, the battle inside the school had reached a fever pitch.

Although Yuji Itadori was Mahito's "natural enemy" both in name and in terms of their mechanics.

Mahito only needed to keep changing his shape, keeping the parts Itadori could strike out of reach, to effectively counter his attacks.

After all, no matter how powerful an attack was, it meant nothing if it could not land.

"Idle Transfiguration."

A punch left Itadori momentarily stunned, and Mahito unhesitatingly pressed his hand against Itadori's chest, right over his heart.

As his cursed technique activated, Mahito successfully touched "Itadori's" soul...

"Who gave you permission to go touching whatever you please?"

"There won't be a next time."

Overwhelming spiritual power knocked Mahito's hand away.

That power belonged to the other soul inside Itadori-[Ryomen Sukuna].

As the King of Curses, he was more than happy to watch Itadori suffer at Mahito's hands, but that did not mean Mahito could touch his soul as he pleased.

Interrupting the cursed technique with absolute spiritual power and sending a tremor through Mahito's soul was Sukuna's warning to him.

Bang!!!

Itadori's fist sent Mahito's body flying into the air.

Though he had no idea what had happened, he intended to seize this chance to finish off Junpei's murderer...

But he had failed to notice that an enormous spiked club, formed from flesh, had already appeared above his head...

He split apart?!

The spiked club fell rapidly. By the time Itadori reacted, he could no longer dodge the blow.

"Got you!!"

Mahito laughed savagely, but just as his attack was about to land on Itadori's head, a clearly divided seven-to-three strike cut squarely into his shoulder.

Rip-!!

Flesh tore apart, yet no blood spilled.

Kento Nanami rapidly closed in on Mahito, who had lost an arm, and mercilessly planted a kick squarely in his abdomen.

The attack, even more powerful than Itadori's, sent Mahito flying dozens of meters away. But it had not touched his soul, so he soon climbed back to his feet.

"Report the situation."

Kento Nanami tugged at his constricting collar. This was his second encounter with Mahito.

As a Grade 1 Sorcerer, he knew full well that this special grade cursed spirit possessed terrifying talent and strength.

So, if at all possible...

He had to be exorcised today!!!