The gloomy sky hung low, as if it could collapse at any moment.
The massive concrete dam stood like a silent behemoth, severing the rushing river and choking the life out of the landscape.
Yet in a hidden space beneath the dam, a life-and-death transaction was taking place.
"The binding vow has been established."
"Now, fulfill your promise, Mahito."
The speaker was a youth wrapped in bandages, his skin as pale as paper.
He lay inside a bathtub-like life-support device, his body as frail and withered as a dried branch. Only his eyes burned with a manic desire for a healthy body.
Kokichi Muta.
A second-year student at the Kyoto School and the operator of the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Ultimate Mechamaru.
The possessor of a Heavenly Restriction.
In exchange for a crippled body, he was granted a vast range and output of cursed energy—but he never wanted this power.
He only wanted... to stand under the sun like a normal person.
To see that person.
"Yeah, yeah, don't be in such a rush."
Mahito stood by the life-support device, a nauseatingly casual smile plastered on his face.
"Even though you're a traitor, I'm a cursed spirit who keeps his word."
As he spoke, he reached out.
His palm, covered in stitches, lightly touched Kokichi Muta's forehead.
"Idle Transfiguration."
Voom!
A bizarre cursed energy instantly flooded Kokichi Muta's body.
It wasn't destroying; it was reshaping.
His originally missing right arm began to grow, his withered legs filled with muscle once more, and his burn-scarred skin rapidly became smooth and refined.
This was a miracle that even the Reverse Cursed Technique could not achieve.
It was also the most terrifying aspect of the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Mahito—absolute control over the soul and flesh.
"Is this... a healthy body?"
A moment later.
A slender youth with clean-cut features stepped out of the life-support device.
He looked at his intact hands and felt the sensation of his feet firmly on the ground as tears flowed uncontrollably.
Seventeen years.
He had spent seventeen years barely surviving in the darkness just for this moment!
"Miwa..."
He whispered the name, a flash of tenderness crossing his eyes.
As long as he could return to everyone with this body, he wouldn't care if he was branded a traitor or had to pay with his life. He would—
"Alright, the sentimental moment is over."
Suguru Geto stood not far away, hands tucked into the sleeves of his monk's robes, watching the scene coldly.
"Since your body is healed, then..."
"...die."
Boom!
Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Mahito struck.
Without any warning, his arm instantly transformed into a massive spiked whip, shrieking as it tore through the air, aimed straight for Kokichi Muta's throat!
This was the word of a curse user.
The moment the deal was finalized was the moment the silencing began.
"I knew you'd do this!"
Kokichi Muta's gaze hardened as his body leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.
Though he had just gained a healthy body, he was still a semi-grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer; his combat instincts were etched into his very soul.
Furthermore...
He never intended to leave this place alive.
Or rather, he had long since prepared for a mutual destruction!
"Ultimate Mechamaru: Prototype 0!"
"Activate!"
Rumble—!
Following Kokichi Muta's roar, the entire dam began to shake violently.
The water below the dam exploded as if some massive entity was awakening.
Tons of lake water were displaced, creating a magnificent artificial waterfall.
From within the splashing spray, a giant mecha dozens of meters tall broke through the surface!
It was no ordinary puppet.
It was the ultimate weapon Kokichi Muta had forged using seventeen years of accumulated cursed energy and his entire life's work!
The massive metallic frame blotted out the sun, its crimson mono-eye radiating a suffocating pressure under the gloomy sky.
Every armor plate was inscribed with intricate cursed seals, glowing with a deep blue cursed energy.
"Oh-ho?"
Mahito whistled, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
"Is this your trump card?"
"It looks pretty intimidating."
"But..."
"No matter how big the toy is, it's still just a toy."
Mahito's body blurred as he charged toward the giant mecha like a phantom.
In his eyes, such a clunky giant was nothing more than a perfect target.
As long as he reached the cockpit and gave the pilot a gentle touch with Idle Transfiguration, the man inside would turn into a heap of rotting meat.
"A toy?"
Inside the cockpit, Kokichi Muta donned a specialized control helmet, and countless streams of data flashed across the holographic screen before him.
Through this system, his nerves were fully integrated with the mecha, moving as naturally as his own limbs.
"Then I'll show you..."
"...the weight of seventeen years!"
"Floating Cannons: Dance of Chaos!"
Clack, clack, clack!
The armor plates on Mechamaru's back slid open, and dozens of small floating cannons launched out, spreading across the sky like a swarm of bees.
Each floating cannon locked onto Mahito's position.
"Fire!"
Shuu, shuu, shuu, shuu!
Dense beams of cursed energy poured down like a deluge, sealing off all of Mahito's avenues for escape.
This wasn't just simple suppressive fire; it was a precision-calculated ballistic net!
"My, my, how passionate."
Mahito cackled, his body suddenly twisting like a soft-bodied mollusk.
He wove through the dense barrage, at times becoming as flat as a sheet of paper and at others as slender as a snake; those beams that could punch through steel plates couldn't even graze his clothes!
"Soul Multiplicity: Repel!"
Mahito casually tossed out several miniaturized transfigured humans that expanded in mid-air, blocking the beams he couldn't avoid.
Boom, boom, boom!
Flames from the explosions bloomed in the sky, but Mahito's figure emerged from the smoke completely unscathed.
"He really is troublesome..."
Kokichi Muta gritted his teeth.
But he didn't panic for a second.
This was only a probe. The true killing blow was starting now!
"Ultra Cannon!"
Zzzzt!
The massive muzzle on the mecha's chest was instantly fully charged.
It wasn't an ordinary beam of cursed energy.
It was one year's worth of compressed cursed energy, a destructive light cannon comparable to a full-power strike from a Special Grade Cursed Spirit!
The surrounding air began to distort from the sheer concentration of cursed energy, emitting a grating hum.
"You won't dodge this strike!"
BOOM—!
A massive pillar of light pierced through the heavens and the earth.
Wherever the pillar passed, the lake water evaporated instantly, and the concrete structure of the dam crumbled like tofu.
Mahito didn't even have time to evade before he was swallowed whole by the terrifying energy.
The light cannon's momentum didn't stop, striking a distant mountain peak directly.
The entire mountaintop...
Vanished in an instant! Not a trace remained!
The terrifying shockwave swept outward, uprooting the trees in the forest.
"How's that?!"
Kokichi Muta stared intensely at the smoke-filled area ahead.
Even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit couldn't emerge unscathed from an attack like that!
To fire that shot, he had exhausted an entire year's worth of his cursed energy reserves!
However, when the dust settled, that figure was still standing there.
Though half his body had been vaporized and he looked a mess—
Mahito was still laughing, even more manic and excited than before.
"That hurts..."
"It really hurts..."
His mangled body began to wriggle rapidly as flesh buds intertwined. In less than two seconds, he was completely restored!
This was the truth of the soul.
As long as the soul remains intact, no matter how severe the physical injury, the body can be restructured in an instant!
"Is this the power of a Special Grade?"
Kokichi Muta's heart sank.
But he did not despair, for he knew the battle had only just begun.
This wasn't just for survival.
It was for his dignity, and for the sake of seeing that person again...
"It's not over yet!"
"Special Grade Cursed Spirit!"
"If one year's worth won't kill you..."
"Then I'll use two years! Five! Ten!"
Ultimate Mechamaru's arms transformed again, revealing even more menacing muzzles.
"I'll blast you into dust until you can't regenerate anymore!"
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