The smoke hadn't settled yet.
The warmth of Nanami's fading light still clung to the air.
Yuji Itadori stood motionless.
Mahito tilted his head, lips curled in that same crooked grin, soaked in mockery and malice.
"Are you broken already?" he cooed. "Did watching another one of your comrades die finally crack the little porcelain doll?"
Yuji didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe.
And then—
He looked up. Slowly. Eyes empty, yet burning.
Voice low, tight, and trembling with grief:
"What do you find so amusing in killing people?"
Mahito raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
Yuji took one step forward.
"You talk about souls. You talk about shape. But what do these people weigh in your heart?"
"Nanami…Nobara…Junpei…all of them. You laugh when they die. Why?"
Mahito's smile faltered for the first time.
"What is their worth to you?"
"To me—they're everything."
Yuji charged.
Faster than before.
His fist cracked across Mahito's face, sending the curse flying through a wall.
Mahito flipped midair, but Yuji was already above him, slamming him into the floor, shaking the earth.
Mahito skidded, reforming his body—
But Yuji was relentless.
"SHUT UP!"
Another punch.
"For JUNPEI!"
Another.
"For NANAMI!"
Another.
The platform trembled under the weight of Yuji's grief and fury.
He wasn't holding back anymore.
Mahito snarled. This was no longer fun.
He thrust out both palms and unleashed a massive wave of cursed energy.
Yuji pushed straight through it—unfazed.
Then Mahito's eyes widened.
He was being overpowered.
"This—this isn't normal. You were supposed to break!"
Yuji grabbed Mahito by the collar.
"I'm not breaking. I'm becoming who I have to be."
And with that—
He slammed Mahito's face into the ground.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Mahito screeched and suddenly—activated a technique.
Yuji staggered. A flash of blue cursed energy pierced his mind—
And then—
Darkness.
His body crumpled to the ground.
From the corner of the ruins, a figure stepped forward—Jogo.
Mahito stretched and brushed dust off his body.
"That kid's getting annoying. I'll leave the rest to you, fireface."
Jogo glanced at the unconscious Yuji.
"Hmph. Weak."
Mahito walked off into the smoke, vanishing once more.
And now, the platform belonged to one—
Jogo vs. Itadori Yuji.
Only one would walk away.