For Mahiru, the trickiest thing about Mahoraga wasn't that Sword of Extermination it wielded, but rather its ability to adapt to all things.
Attack Mahoraga with flames, and it would adapt to flames.
Attack Mahoraga with [Idle Transfiguration], and it would adapt to [Idle Transfiguration]. To deal with Mahoraga, you had to strike before it adapted to a given move, using enough overwhelming firepower to kill it in a single blow.
And once you failed to finish it instantly—once you let Mahoraga adapt to a move—the damage that move could deal the next time would be halved at the very least. And people would have even less chance of defeating it.
—Click. The wheel atop Mahoraga's head turned.
Amid the chaotic light and darkness, that holy yet grotesque monster slowly rose, its silhouette reflected in Mahiru's eyes.
The girl's expression was grim.
"...It's not dead?" Mahiru gritted her teeth. The turning of the wheel meant it had completed one adaptation.
Mahiru had held out immense hope that this Black Hole Singularity, all but torn apart by Satoru Gojo, could kill Mahoraga in one stroke. But regrettably, the power of that Black Hole ultimately wasn't enough.
In an instant it had ripped Mahoraga's body to shreds, but the very next second, Mahoraga's body was restored to its original state once more.
If only the power had been a little stronger, if only the destructive force had been a little greater.
The original Black Hole probably could have done it, but this one had been dismantled first by Satoru Gojo and then by Mahiru, so its power was no longer enough. Mahiru began to brainstorm.
What high-firepower techniques did they have left that stood a chance of killing Mahoraga?
Jogo's Ultimate Form counted as one.
Toji Fushiguro going in to behead it with the Split Soul Katana might stand a chance too.
And then... there was Mahiru's own technique.
But honestly, Mahiru didn't hold much hope for the firepower of her own technique—what's more, she was still far from fully recovered.
Right now, they had to find a way to trap Mahoraga, so that Toji or Jogo could land their fatal blow.
"Furube..." Behind Mahiru, Fushiguro gritted her teeth, forming the hand gesture of two clenched fists, one above the other. "Yura yura..."
She recited the incantation to summon Mahoraga, trying to call forth her own Mahoraga to counter the one before them. If she could truly pull this off, the tide would turn. She tried.
Shadows spread beneath Fushiguro's feet, and Cursed Energy surged around her.
She cried out the final words of the incantation—
"—Eight-Handled Sword · Divergent Sila Divine General—Mahoraga!"
But... it was useless. Her summoning drew no response at all.
She had sent a request to another world, but since Mahoraga had already answered one person's summons, the next response would demand a hundredfold—even greater—price from Fushiguro. And with the girl's current strength, that was simply impossible.
The summoning came up empty, the ritual array collapsed, fleeting as a flash in the pan.
Meanwhile, Mahoraga let out a roar, completely breaking free of the Singularity's gravity, and hurtled toward the girls like a meteor.
Mahiru abruptly shoved Fushiguro aside, then her body burst forward like an arrow, charging head-on at Mahoraga.
Since killing Mahoraga required the firepower of Jogo or a special-grade cursed tool, then for the rest of the battle—unless it came to the final moment—Jogo and Fushiguro absolutely could not strike again, lest their moves be adapted to by Mahoraga once more.
So the one to hold Mahoraga back in the early stage could only be Mahiru herself!
The girl closed in swiftly, and behind her countless rabbits poured out, transforming into an endless sky full of trumpets. Mahiru opened her mouth, a cursed seal surfacing on the tip of her tongue, and upon the countless trumpets behind her the same cursed seal appeared in unison.
"—[Freeze]!!" The Cursed Speech ran at full power, the same words layering and echoing among the nearly hundred trumpets.
Under the forced control of the Cursed Speech, Mahoraga's body froze for a moment.
The price of the Cursed Speech blew the girl's throat wide open. Good! She'd successfully controlled it for an instant! Taking advantage of Mahoraga's immobility, she leapt and vaulted over the top of its head.
Palms pressed together, she brewed an ultra-compressed bead of blood in her hands, her fingertips aimed at the very center of the wheel.
—[Piercing Blood]!!
A red line streaked across the night sky; Piercing Blood undoubtedly struck the target, even punching clean through from the top of its head to its lower jaw. But it still didn't work.
The wound healed in an instant, and Mahoraga, as if provoked, flew into a rage, spinning around and swinging the Blade of Extermination. "Positive Energy" mixed with Cursed Energy as it slashed out.
"Hey!!" Jogo's pupils shrank as he cried out, watching Mahiru meet the attack, his heart nearly stopping.
Mahiru gritted her teeth and retreated violently. Of course she knew how much danger she was in—one touch from Mahoraga's attack meant death!
Mahiru covered her mouth with both palms.
On the back of her hand, a new mouth actually split open, replacing the throat that had been ruined from using Cursed Speech.
"—[Switch with Me]!!"
This line of Cursed Speech wasn't shouted at Mahoraga, but at another person.
As the sound fell, a clap of hands rang out not far away, and Mahiru's figure instantly vanished, swapped for a stone imbued with Cursed Energy.
The next second, sword aura and Cursed Energy slashed across like a hurricane, landing on a skyscraper behind where Mahiru had stood, cleaving that building clean in half.
An entire block of buildings was reduced to ash in the impact. Rumble, rumble— The earth trembled.
The power of that attack was truly terrifying.
Honestly, even if that slash hadn't contained positive energy, it would have been enough to wound Mahiru and Jogo.
The whole district quaked; the ordinary civilians in the shelters were so frightened by the commotion that they trembled and wept together.
"Damn, what the hell is that thing?" Ishiryuu watched from afar, an expression of shock and excitement on his face. "Hey! White-*-head! What in the world is that?!"
Meanwhile, off to the side, Rime had just smashed Hakari Kinji down with an iceberg. Hearing Ishiryuu's voice, she gritted her teeth and looked toward Mahoraga's direction.
"Damn it, Lord Sukuna was actually..."
She had no interest in what became of Mahoraga.
At this moment, Rime's mind was entirely filled with the image of Sukuna being devoured by the Black Hole just now.
"Huh? I didn't catch what you said—what exactly is that white shikigami?" Ishiryuu landed beside Rime, smiling. "Feels insanely badass!"
Rime's expression shifted, and finally she gritted her teeth. "...Retreat."
"Huh? What?" Ishiryuu was caught off guard.
"Retreat!" Rime shouted loudly. "Lord Sukuna won't die so easily! He'll definitely come back! Retreat! Preserve the results of the Culling Game!"
Besides, Mahoraga had already marked them as targets of its ritual as well.
If they stayed here any longer, they'd only interfere with Mahoraga's slaughter.
Retreating didn't matter anyway.
Kenjaku was dead, Sukuna's fate was unknown, but Satoru Gojo had likewise been sealed.
Now, all they had to do was wait for Mahoraga to slaughter everyone here.
"Move!"
The Curse Users retreated as a group.
On the ground, Mahoraga discovered that it had utterly failed to hit that blue-haired girl, and let out a low, puzzled growl.
Turning its head as its Cursed Energy senses stretched out, it saw Todo, Itadori, and Mahiru standing atop the roof of a building on the other side. Because Mahoraga had not been the target of Todo's technique earlier, it had not yet completed its adaptation to Boogie Woogie.
But as a war machine, it naturally possessed the wisdom to read the battle at all times.
Its subconscious told it that among all the enemies present, that blue Cursed Spirit posed the highest threat and had to be dealt with first. Once again Mahoraga hurtled toward Mahiru and the others like a missile.
"It took the bait," Mahiru murmured.
The three immediately scattered across the rooftop. Wings suddenly unfurled behind Mahiru's back, and she shuttled at high speed between the buildings, deliberately luring Mahoraga in a direction away from the civilian shelters.
Mahoraga was extremely fast, biting close on her heels, the distance between them rapidly shrinking.
It looked about to launch another attack. —Clap. A clap of hands rang out.
Mahiru was swapped away again by Todo, appearing out of thin air somewhere else.
Mahoraga's attack came up empty, and Mahiru struck it once more with Piercing Blood.
It grew even more furious and kept chasing Mahiru. A chase and a swap. A swap.
Chase again, and another swap.
Mahoraga's position was gradually pulled farther and farther away.
And in this process, through that "adaptation" and evolution, Mahoraga's speed kept climbing, its reactions to the "position swap" getting faster and faster.
Each of its attacks drew ever closer to Mahiru, and each output of Cursed Energy carried enough power to level several buildings.
And for Mahiru, every dodge was like dancing on the edge of a knife. Clap. Another swap. "...?"
The Divergent Sila Divine General seemed to sense something, the ritual array atop its head trembling.
Mahiru's eyes went wide—clearly Mahoraga had already begun adapting to "Boogie Woogie." This fast?? Are you serious??
Sure enough—the next time Todo clapped, Mahoraga actually sensed the landing point of the swap in advance, rushing at Mahiru first while reaching out to rip a massive boulder straight from the ground and hurl it at her.
Mahiru was caught off guard and struck by the boulder. The next second, Mahoraga had already charged up close, terrifying Cursed Energy surging skyward, about to engulf both Mahiru and the boulder together.
Mahiru used Cursed Speech once more: "—[Come Here]!!" Bam!
Hakari Kinji, wrapped in Cursed Energy, came rushing over at high speed with the aid of Mahiru's Cursed Speech, and with one kick sent Mahoraga flying.
"Get lost, you ugly thing!"
This man, who had only been able to make it over because of Rime's retreat, was surging with endless Cursed Energy—he was still in the jackpot phase of that "infinite Cursed Energy."
Facing Mahoraga, far from retreating, he charged head-on, throwing punch after punch wrapped in Cursed Energy, forcibly smashing Mahoraga into the ground. "Roar!!—"
Mahoraga raged, forcing itself up despite Hakari Kinji's attacks, and in return smashed Hakari into the earth, blood spraying.
But before it could catch its breath, Hakari Kinji's body had already recovered completely unscathed, and in turn yanked Mahoraga down.
The two tangled together on the ground, brawling fiercely, tearing at each other's bodies, dripping with blood. Now was the moment.
Toji Fushiguro's figure appeared silently, without a sound, behind Mahoraga.
This man without Cursed Energy was like an invisible presence in Cursed Energy perception; only the Split Soul Katana in his hand gave off an eerie aura of Cursed Energy that Mahoraga could faintly detect.
Mahoraga jerked its head around, but it was already too late.
Light flashed in Toji Fushiguro's eyes, and the blade of the Split Soul Katana slid straight across Mahoraga's neck.
Unlike Maki, who had not yet fully awakened and could not yet see souls, Toji Fushiguro could bring out the full power of the Split Soul Katana.
And so, with a single stroke he severed Mahoraga's neck. Clap. Another clap and swap.
Mahiru appeared behind Mahoraga, reached out, and pressed her palm against its spine, instantly activating Idle Transfiguration at full power, pouring all the attacks aimed at the soul into Mahoraga's soul. "Roooar!!—"
Mahoraga let out an agonized roar.
"Jogo!!—"
And Mahiru cried out at the top of her lungs.
Mahoraga—its neck severed and its soul gravely wounded by Mahiru's Idle Transfiguration—still tried to struggle, but on the ground, countless sturdy vines had already wound their way up its body, clamping it firmly in place.
This was Hanami's technique.
In the sky, the crimson-haired magical girl lowered her head, gazing at the monster on the ground that still radiated an utterly terrifying pressure, took a deep breath, and raised her magic wand high.
She began to chant the incantation.
"To purify the evils of this world..."
To this day, Jogo had to admit that her stance had already come to stand on the side of humanity.
"To protect the peace of this world..."
Before she'd even realized it... all these changes had crept in imperceptibly, silently nourishing like rain, and by the time she came to her senses, all she could do was grumble at Mahiru a few more times... and never go back to how things once were.
"I—the magical girl Jogo—shall, with this move, carry through my conviction..."
It was actually pretty good.
Because if Jogo asked herself honestly, the reason she had walked this far was, in the end, nothing more than because of Mahiru.
Mahiru wanted to help humanity, so she would help Mahiru.
Whoever Mahiru deemed an enemy, she would aim her flames at.
In truth, faced with a natural predator like Mahoraga, Jogo normally wouldn't fight it to the death. But there was no other way—she couldn't just stand by and watch Mahiru fight alone and be killed by Mahoraga, could she? So... offer up all her power.
Pink flames gathered in the sky, coalescing into a colossal meteor, its radius exceeding the streets, its light outshining the sun. —Reveal yourself, [Ultimate Form].
"—Magic Heaven · Sacred Fallen Star!!"
The meteor came crashing down—majestically bearing a heaven-destroying, earth-shattering momentum.
Except for Mahoraga, trapped in place, and Toji Fushiguro, who extracted himself on his own, everyone else was swapped away by a clap of Todo's hand.
The next instant, the pink meteor truly landed.
Everyone within a hundred-kilometer radius around the Tokyo area felt the ground beneath their feet shaking violently.
This entire tectonic plate had been smashed into trembling. Mahiru and the others all stood far away, watching the earth shatter, watching Mahoraga's tiny figure be swallowed by the enormous meteor.
They steadied themselves, waiting for the force of the attack to subside.
They observed the battlefield, watching to see how Mahoraga fared.
Full-power Idle Transfiguration, the Heavenly Tyrant's surprise attack backed by a special-grade cursed tool, and Jogo's [Ultimate Form]—its strength further enhanced after her transformation into a magical girl... They had used nearly every high-firepower means at their disposal; there was nothing more left to give.
This time, Mahoraga surely couldn't survive, right?
Mahiru's eyes trembled.
The girl bared her teeth. "Shit..." A familiar ripple of Cursed Energy rose from beneath the meteor.
Everyone present wore an expression of shock.
A tremendous force cracked the meteor apart, and near-endless Cursed Energy poured out from the fissures.
With a "click," the wheel turned.
Together they watched as Mahoraga rose up from the fissure.
—It still hadn't died.
____
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