I saw Mahoraga's form burning to a crisp and then withering away like it never existed in the first place, dissolving into shadows.
"Do I get his powers now?"
That was the million-dollar question, wasn't it?
As soon as my domain collapsed and I was back on the abandoned streets of Shibuya, I found myself questioning that.
Before I looked for answers though, I had to check on both Megumi and that boy he was fighting. Less on that blonde and more on Megumi, but still.
I quickly ran up to them and checked their pulses separately. I was no doctor, but I could tell when someone was dead.
To my surprise, both survived. How? I had no idea.
No, actually I might know how. Wasn't Megumi supposed to be in a state of animated death? He most likely would have died if Mahoraga had killed both the blondie here and me.
Which he, of course, failed. Mine was obvious, and as far as the blondie was concerned, I'd say one of those miracles of his saved him.
Yeah, it was slowly coming back to me, JJK and everything else related to it. And though I still couldn't recall his name yet, which honestly didn't matter, this blondie's technique was honestly one of the more unique ones in the entire show.
Mainly because it dealt with an abstract concept like luck.
"Should I take it?" I honestly thought to myself. Definitely could be useful.
But I shook my head. While having more lives is good, I'd rather have more firepower to save the one I have.
And I'd rather not kill needlessly for power, at least humans.
I turned towards Megumi. While alive, the poor bastard didn't have that blondie's luck to soften the blow from Mahoraga.
I brought my ear near his heart and it was barely responding.
"Yup, he is a goner." I shook my head and sighed.
If memory served right, then only Shoko could save him currently; however, I didn't know where she was stationed right now.
Searching for her alone would take more time than Fushiguro had. Sigh…
Part of me thought, why bother with him? After all, the boy unleashed Mahoraga on me, not to mention I had no obligation to help him.
But then the better part of me told me to help a fellow human being. The boy wasn't bad. And I was stuck in the middle of it all.
I thought about it for a while until I found a way. Well, at least I thought it was possible.
"Time to use what I got from my recent haul, I guess." A big grin formed on my face as I brought both of my hands up front and called.
"With this treasure, I summon."
The shadow below my foot seemed to come to life. My shadow moved on its own, and before I knew it, a giant figure emerged out of it.
"Mahoraga…" I grinned.
Yup… I got him in his entirety.
I was thinking more along the lines of his adaptations, but that didn't work. Perhaps a Shikigami's powers are not suitable for me to adapt or something—can't say for sure—but having him as my personal shikigami, who I could order around, was the next best thing.
And the good part, I didn't even need the Ten Shadows Technique to summon him. He just did everything Megumi could do with him for me, even without the actual technique.
I looked at the giant figure and then at the wheel and the sword, which were back on Mahoraga's person.
"Good…" I nodded in satisfaction.
"Mahoraga, can you try and heal this boy here? Use the reverse cursed energy from your sword. Make sure not to hurt him," I asked, hoping this would work because, besides this, I had no other option.
If only I had known how reverse cursed technique worked.
Mahoraga grunted, perfectly listening to me due to my technique binding him to me, and walked up to Megumi and slowly touched him with his sword.
The sword lit up with reverse cursed energy, and slowly it was poured into Megumi. I just watched in fascination as all of this took place. I wondered whether I could replicate what Mahoraga was doing by trial and error.
A thought for another day, I guess.
After a while, I checked on Fushiguro's pulse again, and sure enough, there was improvement.
Relief washed over me and I sighed in delight. I now seemed to have my own healer.
Now, what to do with both of them? Another irritating question. Megumi was out of trouble, I hoped, both were unconscious—should I leave them here?
I twisted and turned until finally coming to a decision.
"Mahoraga, carry them both and follow me," I ordered, and the monster obeyed.
Towards Shibuya station again then…
Just as I was about to move on, I had a feeling that I was forgetting something.
Am I?
Nothing came to mind, so I just let it go.
"Meh… shouldn't be that important anyways."
-x-
A little while after, a figure with white hair appeared at the same spot. There was clear distaste on her face.
"Kenjaku has to pay for this…."
The figure went ahead and started to search around, and soon found a bundle lying on the street.
"Tch… I'll not let him handle this matter anymore. I'll find Itadori Yuji myself," said the figure, and then along with the bundle, it was gone.
-x-
The walk back should have been simple. It should have been quiet, maybe even peaceful after everything I had just dragged myself through.
Unfortunately, I still couldn't map my way around the streets of Shibuya. It took me some time and a lot of brain cells to finally figure out where the station could be.
Mahoraga trailed behind me like a tamed disaster, carrying Megumi and that blond idiot as if they weighed nothing. I was just happy that I wasn't the one carrying them.
Both of them were still unconscious and completely at the mercy of whatever came next.
By the time I was really getting closer to the station—like this time for real—I felt this sensation.
The similar kind which only a cursed spirit could give off. A few more steps ahead and an unfortunate turn by the alley, and we came face to face with the source of that feeling.
Patchwork skin. Blue hair. That disgusting smile while playing with his disfigured human toys…
Mahito.
For a moment, neither of us moved. His eyes flickered from me to Mahoraga, to the unconscious bodies being carried behind me, and then back to me again.
I was the same, just staring at him, not even surprised anymore. Gods know nothing can surprise me anymore at this point.
I was dangerously starting to get used to bad luck. Sigh.
I just kept looking at him with boredom and disinterest. I really didn't wish to go through him again. Wasn't there enough fighting for today?
Mahito's eyes finally landed on me, and then, just like that, his grin widened, stretching across his face like he had just stumbled upon the greatest entertainment of his life.
"Wow… what a jackpot," he muttered, tilting his head, his gaze practically sparkling. "A strong sorcerer, two broken toys, and… that thing behind you. Can I touch them?"
"No…" I just offhandedly denied him, wanting to get it over with soon.
It seemed that cursed spirits don't take denial very well. As soon as I said no, he was already moving.
That was his nature. A blur of motion as he launched himself toward me, hand outstretched, fingers twitching eagerly, ready to twist, distort and reshape my soul.
My body moved before my thoughts could catch up. Cursed energy wrapped around me, and I threw the meanest punch I could muster right at his face.
My fist met his face exactly mid-lunge, and the impact was, dare I say… very satisfying.
His head snapped to the side, his entire body folding around the force before he was sent flying, crashing through the air and slamming into a wall hard enough to crack it open. The sound echoed down the empty street, debris falling around him as his body slid down to the ground.
I exhaled slowly.
"…Finally, damn, that felt good," I said with clear happiness.
Mahito didn't get up immediately. When he did, it wasn't with that same careless confidence. His hand rose to his face, fingers brushing over the damage, and for the first time, there was confusion in his eyes.
"…You hit me," he said, almost to himself. "You actually hit my soul."
His gaze snapped back to me, sharp now, analyzing, understanding dawning far too quickly.
He saw the cursed energy around me and realized what I was doing almost instantly.
"Domain Amplification," he whispered with clear surprise.
"Yup…" I nodded.
"Courtesy of your friend Jogo, I know this technique. Gotta say, it's very useful, isn't it?"
His earlier joyous face was gone before I knew it. And now I was the one smiling.
"It's about damn time you bastards get some payback…"
"Mahoraga… keep those two safe for now…" I ordered and moved.
I was on him before he could finish whatever twisted thought was forming in that broken mind of his. My fist slammed into his gut, folding him in half before he could react, and before he could even process the pain, my knee drove into his face, snapping his head back with a sickening crack.
He tried to shift. I wouldn't let him though.
Another punch right at his face.
Then another.
His arm stretched, twisted into a blade, and I caught it mid-swing, crushing it in my grip before driving my fist straight through his chest, cursed energy tearing through him like a storm. He gagged, choked, his body trying to reform, trying to adapt, trying to survive.
"Like hell I would let you."
Punch after punch after punch, I drove him back, all that frustration coming out on him.
"You think this is fun?" I growled, slamming him into the ground hard enough to crater it beneath him. "Getting jumped by special grade curses like you guys, one after the next."
My foot came down on his arm, pinning him in place as he struggled, his body warping uselessly under the pressure.
"I got dragged into this mess, thrown into one fight after another, barely surviving, you little shit—" another punch cut him off, his face caving in before reforming again, slower this time, weaker "—and you're out here playing with people's lives like it's a game?"
He was foaming from the mouth now, his body could no longer shift.
I grabbed him by the face, lifting him up just enough to bring his face level with mine. Almost reminded me of Nanami.
And then I drove my fist into him again, and again, and again, until his form started to lose shape entirely.
"Die, you mother*cker, you b*tch."
His body flickered, his form unstable, and then, right in my grip, he started to dissolve. Not regenerate—dissolve like he was made of ice.
I quickly shook his rapidly liquefying body away with disgust and then looked at him with mild curiosity.
What was going on…?
"Did I kill him?"
I shook my head. That wasn't possible, right? So? What was going on?
And then it hit me.
"…A clone?" I muttered, watching as his body broke apart, piece by piece, like ash in the wind.
That was when I recalled that the bastard could make clones of himself. It was too late by the time he was gone though.
I stood there for a moment, breathing heavily, staring at the empty space where he had been. My hands were still clenched. I was not satisfied with that payback.
I needed more. What I did didn't even begin to cover how much trouble I had faced until now.
"…Of course," I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. "Of course it's not that easy."
I turned back, my eyes drifting to Megumi and the blond idiot still hanging off him, unconscious, completely defenseless.
I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
"Sorry, but I've got a cursed spirit to hunt. Mahoraga, put those two down there behind that garbage can. And follow me. We're going to hunt that f*cker down." I shouted, already running away, while Mahoraga did exactly what I asked him to do before following me.
It took some time, but I found him exactly where I expected—running.
The bastard was trying to run away.
The moment I stepped into the exit of the station, cutting him off, his entire body froze mid-motion. I was breathing a little heavier than I would have liked, my chest rising and falling, but the look on my face must have said enough because his expression shifted instantly.
Fear.
A grin stretched across my face before I could stop it, wide and feral, my eyes locked onto him like I had finally found what I was hunting.
That was the feeling—I liked it.
"Why are you running? Ain't we gonna play?" I asked, amused at his surprised face.
He turned without replying, ready to bolt back. However, that was when the wall beside him exploded.
Mahoraga emerged like a force of nature, tearing through concrete and steel as if it were nothing, his massive form blocking the only path Mahito had left. Dust and debris filled the air, but even through it, that towering figure stood clear, unmoving, inevitable.
He was trapped.
He had no other option but to fight for his life, like once I did.
The only difference though—he wouldn't leave alive to tell the tale.
He aimed for Mahoraga first since he knew with Domain Amplification, his technique wouldn't work on me.
Mahoraga didn't hesitate.
That massive hand caught him mid-air and slammed him into the ground with enough force to rupture the street beneath him, cracks spreading out like a web. Mahito screamed, his body distorting, trying to slip away, but the moment he tried to reshape himself, Mahoraga's blade came down.
The Sword of Extermination burned.
Reverse cursed energy tore through Mahito's form, and this time, it wasn't something he could just shrug off. His body convulsed, pieces of him disintegrating where the blade touched, his regeneration lagging, failing.
"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh~"
A guttural scream tore through him, almost like music to my ears.
He tried to touch Mahoraga.
I saw it—that desperate reach, fingers stretching out to twist the soul of the shikigami itself.
It worked. Even though he had taken enough damage already after his clone died and his output was lower, still Mahoraga's leg twisted and morphed into something else entirely.
He couldn't affect his entire body though. The Divine General's soul wasn't something just anyone could touch.
A smile appeared on his face, seeing it worked, but the next second that was wiped off when the wheel on top of Mahoraga's head turned.
The next second, Mahoraga's leg was back to normal, like it had never taken damage.
And then Mahoraga moved again, faster, sharper, his strikes landing with a precision that wasn't there before.
Though none of his current attacks did much damage outside the Sword of Extermination.
But I had to stop that. I wasn't planning to just let him die after all.
So I tag-teamed with Mahoraga again to beat the shit out of him.
Every attempt to escape was cut off, every transformation beaten down before it could stabilize. I drove my fist into his side, folding him, and Mahoraga followed with a downward slash that nearly split him in two.
Mahito staggered back, barely holding himself together now.
And then he snapped—desperation leading to only one end.
"DOMAIN EXPANSION!"
His world unfolded instantly, that grotesque, suffocating space wrapping around us, hands reaching, twisting, ready to tear everything apart.
"Yeah," I exhaled, my grin never fading as I raised my hand.
"I was about to do that anyways."
"DOMAIN EXPANSION."
Darkness bloomed.
My domain pushed back against his, the two colliding, grinding against each other.
To even my surprise, mine was better. I could feel it—his entire domain was shaking when it came into contact with mine.
My refinement was better than his. That was something.
Though it wasn't enough to outright crush his domain, it might happen—but it would take a long, dragged-out clash between our domains, which I'd rather not have. It was a waste of time.
Mahoraga stepped forward.
The wheel turned again, and then he swung.
That single strike broke the balance. Mahito's domain shuddered, cracked, and then collapsed under the pressure, unable to withstand both my domain and Mahoraga's adapted assault.
Mahito fell to his knees with blood pooling from his mouth.
In that moment, the image of me in his eyes changed.
The giant cross behind me and the darkness surrounding gave him a fear he had never experienced before.
He dragged himself backward as I slowly approached him. My domain had already landed—there was no going back.
"No… stay back…" he shouted, voice trembling.
"Stay back…" I mused. That almost sounded human there, hehehe…!
"Mahoraga…" I ordered.
And the Divine General moved again, bringing down the Sword of Extermination on him one last time.
And by now, he had adapted enough to damage his soul.
"Farewell, curse. You will not be missed."
xXx
A/N : Too easy… isn't it. Mc really would have grown to this level if he kept on stacking power. By the way, some might say killing Mahito is not good for the story since Culling games wouldn't happen the same without him.
I agree, and that why you're reading this in a Omake, and not the main fic.
As for those who will say, Mahito can't die, Kenjaku will save him.
I absolutely agree, 9 out of 10 times Kenjaku will intervene. Considering this that one time he didn't.
As for why ?
Cause I didn't wish to add one more fight to this Omake then there already was. That's simple.
I mean, I rather put that effort of the main fic correct.
Any guess, who he is fighting after this ? The last of the Shibuya and arguably the fic entirely if this was the canon of my fic ?
Would appreciate stones if you can spare any. Thank you.
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