Chapter 141 (Patreon)

“To think you could even avoid Soul Multiplicity: Body Repel. You really are impressive, Nanami.”

Kento Nanami ignored Mahito’s taunt.

Within twenty seconds, he eliminated every Polymorphic Soul Isomer surrounding him.

Boom!

Mahito suddenly closed the distance and struck him, sending Nanami flying across the hall.

“Guh...”

Nanami crashed into a pillar. Blood spilled from his mouth as cracks spread across the stone behind him.

“His power has increased... and he’s considerably faster than before.”

Nanami wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

“That’s only natural.”

Mahito disappeared from sight once more.

“You humans aren’t the only ones capable of growing stronger. Cursed Spirits are constantly evolving as well.”

He circled Nanami at terrifying speed.

“He’s searching for an opening...”

Nanami’s eyes moved carefully.

He could no longer follow Mahito’s movements, but the instant Mahito entered striking range, Nanami was still capable of reacting.

“There.”

Mahito noticed a gap behind Nanami’s left side.

It was a complete blind spot. Even if Nanami reacted at his absolute limit, it would take him at least 0.02 seconds to turn and defend himself.

“He stopped moving.”

Where is he?

A sonic boom suddenly erupted behind Nanami.

Gritting his teeth, Nanami turned and slashed with his wrapped blade.

“You fell for it.”

Mahito’s voice came from above.

He appeared directly over Nanami with both hands clasped together and brought them down with all his strength.

“Ngh!”

The one behind me was a decoy?

No...

There are two Mahitos.

“I forgot... he can separate part of himself into a clone.”

Attacked from the front and behind at the same time, Nanami was blasted away. He struck the floor and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

At the same moment, his blade sliced Mahito’s clone in half.

The two severed pieces fell to the floor.

“To destroy one of my clones with a counterattack like that... You really are remarkable.”

Mahito approached the bisected clone.

“Unfortunately, a fake is still a fake. It doesn’t matter what shape it takes.”

The two halves at his feet began to distort before gradually merging back into Mahito’s main body.

“Now die.”

Mahito walked toward Nanami.

With Idle Transfiguration, his arm twisted and lengthened, transforming into a sharp blade.

Splat!

Nanami suddenly passed straight through Mahito.

His wrapped blade was stained with blood.

Mahito lowered his head in disbelief. A gaping hole had been torn through his chest, and the organ within had been completely destroyed.

“How...?”

Nanami breathed heavily.

He placed a hand against his own chest, only to feel warm blood seeping between his fingers.

“Urgh...”

His knees gave way.

Nanami collapsed, and blood rapidly soaked through his clothes.

“Did you think I would say something like that?”

Mahito smiled.

The hole in his chest closed instantly as he reshaped his body with Idle Transfiguration. For a Cursed Spirit, repairing damage with cursed energy was a simple matter so long as the soul itself remained intact.

“I’ll give you credit for surviving against me for this long.”

Mahito extended his hand.

Idle Transfiguration gathered within his palm.

“And now... die with honor.”

Swoosh!

An afterimage flashed across Nanami’s vision.

A graceful figure appeared between him and Mahito.

“The one dying here is you, Cursed Spirit.”

Bang!

Before Mahito could react, he was struck with tremendous force.

His body tore through two enormous pillars before becoming embedded deep within the wall.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Rika Orimoto crouched beside Nanami, helped him sit upright, and carefully leaned him against the wall.

“No... You arrived at the right time...”

Nanami coughed painfully.

“Nanami-san, stay here. I’ll finish that Cursed Spirit.”

Rika began to rise, but Nanami reached out and caught her arm.

“Be careful. He has become stronger.”

“In the end, he’s still only a Cursed Spirit.”

Rika looked toward the ruined wall.

“I’ll take care of him.”

Nanami released her arm.

His gaze remained lowered as he watched her walk away.

“I was already planning to settle things with you.”

Mahito’s voice emerged from the rubble.

“I didn’t expect you to come looking for me so soon.”

At the moment Rika’s attack struck him, Mahito had altered the shape of his body into a liquid-like state, dispersing most of the impact through Idle Transfiguration.

“We’ve fought several times already.”

Rika lowered her center of gravity and assumed a fighting stance. Every muscle in her body tensed, prepared to move at any moment.

“I’m starting to grow tired of seeing you.”

“I understand.”

Mahito transformed both hands into sharp blades.

He slowly ran his tongue along one of their edges.

“Because you kept forcing me into dangerous situations, my growth has accelerated considerably.”

“There’s nothing left for us to discuss.”

Rika’s eyes hardened.

“Let’s kill each other.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

The floor beneath them shattered.

Their figures disappeared simultaneously.

Two afterimages collided again and again throughout the hall. Blades carved deep marks into the walls, while the force behind their punches tore apart everything around them.

Mahito transformed his left hand into an enormous hammer-like fist.

He intended to overpower Rika in a direct exchange.

Bang!

However, Mahito had underestimated her.

The special-grade Cursed Spirit surrounding Rika like living armor was not merely compact and agile. It possessed immense physical strength, and the amount of cursed energy it carried surpassed Mahito’s own.

The living armor around Rika’s arm contracted instantly.

The moment Mahito’s hammer fist collided with her punch, his wrist shattered.

Blood and fragments of bone scattered through the air.

In their first direct clash, Mahito was sent flying dozens of meters.

Swoosh!

Before he landed, his shattered wrist changed shape.

His arm stretched into a long whip that snapped toward Rika’s head.

Rika tilted her head and allowed it to pass beside her face.

“As expected, your reflexes are fast.”

Mahito tightened the muscles within his transformed arm.

“But that doesn’t mean I need to hit you with it.”

Using the tension in his whip-like arm, Mahito pulled himself forward like a cannonball.

Close-Quarters Technique—Rising Elbow!

Bang!

A layer of white bone erupted from Mahito’s chest, forcibly absorbing Rika’s elbow strike.

“My combat experience is increasing as well.”

Before his words had even finished, Mahito’s other arm transformed into a sharp claw.

Bone-white spikes extended from his fingers and pressed against Rika’s living armor.

“Too slow.”

Rika stepped forward and punched the joint of Mahito’s arm.

Snap!

The claw broke like a dry bamboo stalk.

“Useless!”

In the blink of an eye, Mahito restored his arm to its original form.

It immediately transformed into another hammer fist and swung toward Rika’s back.

“Hmph.”

Rika turned with the momentum of her previous strike.

Her straight punch met Mahito’s hammer fist head-on.

This time, Mahito was forced back two steps.

His shattered wrist recovered once again, and he immediately threw another punch at Rika.

Rika raised one arm and blocked it.

Without pausing, she pivoted and delivered a side kick.

“Guh!”

Mahito’s cheek shattered beneath the impact.

Even with half his face crushed, his arm continued moving without hesitation. It expanded instantly before smashing down toward Rika.

Rika met it with an elbow strike.

Mahito had not expected even that attack to be blocked. The tremendous impact knocked him off balance and sent him staggering backward.

Close-Quarters Technique—Crushing Shoulder Charge!

Rumble!

Rika drove her entire body into Mahito.

The explosive force passed through every layer of his body at once, leaving him no opportunity to disperse or neutralize it.

“Is that all you can do?”

Rika looked toward the ruins where Mahito had disappeared.

“You keep using the same techniques.”

Her expression remained cold.

“Is copying their outward form really the limit of your ability to learn?”

Bang!

Mahito shot out of the rubble.

He stepped forward and threw a hook directly toward Rika’s cheek.

“I already told you.”

Rika stepped inside his reach and intercepted the hook with a hammering block.

“What use is copying the appearance of a technique when you don’t understand what makes it work?”

The force of Mahito’s punch was redirected and dispersed throughout his own body.

Close-Quarters Technique—Heart-Piercing Elbow!

Bam!

Rika’s elbow drove into Mahito’s chest.

His torso exploded open, and his entire body was reduced to a mass of mangled flesh that splattered against the wall.

Even after being beaten into pulp, Mahito remained alive.

As a Cursed Spirit capable of using Idle Transfiguration, the scattered mass had already begun twisting and gathering together, gradually returning to a human shape.

Bang!

Before Mahito could fully reconstruct himself, Rika struck him with a straight punch and sent him flying once again.