Chapter 142 (Patreon)

"To think you'd actually attack me during a transformation..."

Mahito quickly put some distance between himself and Rika Orimoto. After what had just happened, he no longer dared to stay within her reach while she recovered.

Rika looked at him calmly.

"What is this, a tokusatsu show? You don't become invincible just because you're transforming."

The moment she finished speaking, Rika appeared in front of Mahito and forced him onto the defensive with a punch.

A rising blow knocked him off balance.

Then—

"ORA! ORA! ORA!"

Rika drove Mahito into the wall and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches. Cracks rapidly spread across the concrete behind him under the repeated impacts.

She finished with a charged uppercut.

BOOM!

Mahito was blasted straight through the ceiling of the subway station and sent flying onto the surface.

Thud!

He hit the ground and rolled several times before recovering.

"Cough, cough... No good. I really can't beat you in close combat."

Mahito glanced at his caved-in chest.

Swish!

Rika was already attacking again.

Whether Mahito wanted to talk or not had nothing to do with her.

Bang!

Her fist struck his abdomen, twisting the flesh around the point of impact before tearing straight through his torso.

"Cough... Domain Expansion!"

Mahito immediately formed the hand sign.

"Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"

Rika tried to retreat, but the Domain expanded too quickly and dragged her inside.

Mahito grinned.

"This is my Domain! No matter how strong you are in close combat, none of that matters here!"

Idle Transfiguration reshaped his body as two additional pairs of arms emerged from his torso.

The three pairs transformed separately into blades, flexible whip-like arms, and heavy hammer-like fists.

"I'll curse you to death right here!"

Mahito rushed forward.

Rika exhaled softly as the armor around her head retracted.

Mahito laughed.

"Giving up already? Smart choice."

Rika ignored him and brought her hands together, forming the Vajra Mudra.

"Domain Expansion..."

Mahito's expression changed.

"Vajradhatu."

"What?!"

According to everything they knew, Rika Orimoto couldn't use Domain Expansion.

Rika looked directly at him.

"Your defeat was decided a long time ago."

"Impossible!"

Mahito's surroundings changed in an instant.

He found himself standing on a perfectly still surface of water that stretched endlessly in every direction. A full moon hung behind Rika, its reflection spreading across the mirror-like surface beneath them.

By the time Mahito regained his focus, his body had already been sliced into five pieces.

Rika appeared before him, her fist covered in a soft white glow resembling a blooming lotus.

"Karma Breaker!"

A single warning screamed through Mahito's soul.

I'll die!

I'll die!

I'll die!

I have to resist!

The shape of my soul...

I can't die here!

My true form...

I haven't reached it yet!

I won't die to some human!

Mahito raised his fist almost instinctively as black and crimson Cursed Energy gathered around it.

"Black... Flash!"

Idle Transfiguration!

BANG!

The Domains collapsed.

Mahito landed on one knee as his body underwent a violent transformation. His muscles compressed, his flesh twisted, and a hardened biological armor formed around him until his entire body resembled a weapon designed purely for killing.

Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing.

Rika's Over-Cursed Vengeful Spirit Body resembled living bio-armor, while Mahito's transformed state was far more organic, formed entirely from hardened flesh and muscle.

Over-Cursed Vengeful Spirit Body.

Against—

Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing.

"Wonderful!"

Mahito spread his arms with an ecstatic grin.

"Rejoice! I've finally been reborn!"

He stared at his transformed body.

"That Black Flash... and the sensation of standing at the edge of death... I finally understand."

Mahito raised his head.

"The true shape of my soul. The self beneath everything else."

His grin widened.

"This is my true form!"

Rika's bio-armor expanded slightly before tightening around her body again.

"I didn't expect a Cursed Spirit like you to be capable of that much self-reflection."

"Heh... Not bad."

Mahito lowered his stance.

"But there's still one thing left—the finale."

His Cursed Energy surged.

"To celebrate my first true birth into this world, I'll use your death as the offering."

Swish!

Mahito disappeared.

His speed had risen dramatically, his movements becoming almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

Rika watched him approach.

"Now this is getting interesting."

The armor closed over her head, and she vanished as well.

BOOM!

They collided.

Their fists crashed together before both immediately shifted into another exchange, blows coming from every direction as they fought at close range.

After several rounds, Rika had already judged the extent of Mahito's transformation.

"Your speed and power have both increased significantly."

Mahito threw a straight punch.

Rika slipped beneath it, struck his chest with her shoulder to break his balance, and immediately followed with a series of chops and hooks.

"A nice evolution, but if that's all..."

Another hook snapped Mahito's head aside.

"...it's nowhere near enough."

After being suppressed for several exchanges, Mahito twisted around and threw a backward elbow, finally breaking out of Rika's offensive rhythm.

"Pah..."

He spat out a clot of blood and stepped forward with another punch aimed directly at her face.

Rika met him head-on.

She knocked his arm aside, drove an explosive elbow into his chest, then caught him in a grappling hold before he could recover.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several hooks smashed into Mahito's face, sending blood and fragments of transformed flesh through the air.

Neither backed away.

The fight became a direct contest of close-range violence, with both continuously trading blows.

Mahito took another solid hit and felt his transformed body beginning to give way.

"Black Flash!"

Swish!

One of his arms transformed into a blade and slashed forward with the distortion of Black Flash behind it.

Rika avoided the main strike, but several shallow cuts appeared across her armor.

"Black Flash, huh..."

Mahito swung again.

Rika leaned back beneath the blade and immediately kicked off the ground.

Bang!

Mahito was sent flying, but his arms transformed into long whip-like limbs and wrapped around a nearby structure.

He pulled himself back toward Rika like a cannonball.

His hands transformed again, becoming massive hammer-like fists as black and crimson Cursed Energy gathered around them.

Rika shattered the ground beneath her feet and charged forward.

Rather than meeting his fists directly, she drove her shoulder and elbow into the descending attack.

BANG!

Black Flash erupted at the point of impact.

The collision forced Rika back two steps.

Mahito immediately took advantage of it.

He launched himself dozens of meters into the air, then turned and came crashing back down toward her.

Rika looked up.

"The same move won't work twice."

Black and crimson Cursed Energy spiraled around her fist.

Heavenbreaker—Black Flash!

She punched upward.

BOOM!

Her fist met Mahito's descending attack at the exact instant Black Flash erupted.

CRACK!

Mahito's Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing shattered under the impact.

"Impossible..."

He stared in disbelief at his broken body.

It's over.

Rika stepped forward and carried the momentum directly into her next strike.

Tiger Fang—Black Flash!

BANG!

Mahito was launched backward, smashing through dozens of buildings before finally crashing into the ground and sending a massive cloud of dust into the air.

"Haa..."

Rika remained in her finishing stance as the biological scales covering her body expanded slightly, releasing a large amount of white mist.

"Cough, cough... Ugh!"

Mahito spat out an unrecognizable substance as he struggled back to his feet, his damaged body barely holding together.

"It's... not over yet. I... I can still..."

A voice suddenly came from nearby.

"Do you want me to save you, Mahito?"