Jujutsu Kaisen: Nozomi no Sora

Far underground in Kyoto, Kokichi and he were panting heavily.

The endless barrage of gunfire finally ceased.

The blazing flames engulfed the surrounding temples and pavilions, and the steel shell called "Ultimate Machine Maru" had its arms turned into a pool of molten iron, dripping onto the cracked floor tiles.

Inside the maintenance chamber, his entire body was wrapped in bandages, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the dwindling reserves of spell power on the panel, yet the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

"Heh, even that guy... under this kind of firepower, he should be burned to ashes by now, right?"

"That's not enough!"

However, a cold voice completely extinguished the hope that had just been ignited in his heart.

"This level is far from enough."

Kokichi's pupils suddenly contracted.

Amidst the charred ruins, the real man stood up with a sinister grin.

Although half of his body was charred and broken, the bits of flesh were wriggling and regenerating like worms. He raised his large hand, which had turned into a heavy iron hammer, and slammed it down heavily on the unsuspecting mechanical ball!

boom!

The already shattered mechanical remains disintegrated completely under this attack, with parts flying everywhere.

The real man stood with one foot on the remaining upper body of the mechanical ball, looking down at the sparking head with an exaggerated and distorted smile.

"Since you've spent so much time playing with me... I'll pay you a visit next time."

However, a scent that felt both familiar and repulsive caused him to abruptly stop in his tracks.

The man moved his foot away, slowly turned his head, and cast his gaze toward the stone steps not far away.

The steady footsteps were exceptionally clear on the deathly silent battlefield.

Tap, tap, tap.

His eyes widened as he waited, like a mad beast that had caught the scent of its prey.

And the moment that figure finally stepped onto the last stone step, the face of Nishio Genichiro came into view in Masato's vision—

"Ah...ah! You're still alive, Genichi Nishio!"

He laughed wildly and charged toward Xuan Yi as if in a frenzy! His hands twisted and deformed as he ran, transforming into two enormous blades that slashed wildly with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

"I can't believe this happened!"

I just... can't calm down for a moment longer—

The urge to kill you!

Despite the madness raging in front of the real person, Xuan Yi's face remained expressionless.

His eyes were as cold as a deep pool of water.

Faced with the opponent's aggressive offensive, Xuan Yi's steps remained steady. He calmly observed the opponent's rhythm—the seemingly chaotic attacks actually had obvious signs each time due to the surge of curse power.

Sidestep, slide, lean back.

The blade grazed the tip of his nose, and Xuan Yi could even smell the burnt smell that remained on it.

He suddenly raised his foot, delivering a fierce whip kick towards Zhenren's lower body. Zhenren leaped to dodge, but Xuan Yi had already used the momentum of his charge to close in, landing a powerful punch on Zhenren's chest!

The real man crossed his arms to block, but was forced back two steps by the force.

Before the opponent could regain his footing, Xuan Yi grabbed the black scythe that had just materialized and slashed upwards at an angle!

Clang!

The blade and the sickle collided, sparks flying everywhere.

Using the momentum, Zhenren flipped backward, but was immediately suppressed by Xuanyi upon landing. The two blades rained down like a storm, and the clanging of metal echoed through the ruins.

After a fierce collision, the two simultaneously took several steps back, creating distance between them.

A line of blood slowly seeped out from the real person's cheek.

On Xuan Yi's left arm, the sleeve was torn, leaving only a shallow knife wound.

The real man remained silent for a moment, a scrutinizing look appearing in his manic eyes.

"This little brat... wasn't he just a chick a few days ago?"

In just a few days, the shape of the soul... has become even more distinct.

He tilted his head, and the stitches around his mouth stretched to his ears.

"Since that's the case—"

The man opened his mouth and spat out several cyborgs, compressed to their extreme and covered in mucus. These cyborgs were kneaded and fused together in his hands like mud, gradually forming several bizarre yet complete bodies.

"This move was not originally intended to be used in advance."

But before that... using you to test the completion of the procedure wouldn't be bad!

"Multiple Souls"

"Several souls in different forms!"

A cyborg, forcibly fused with multiple souls, instantly swelled to a normal size, exuding an extreme destructive power, and roared as it charged toward Xuan Yi!

Xuan Yi knew the characteristics of these monsters.

By selecting the soul with the least repulsive force for fusion, this opposite-sex experience can burn through multiple souls in a very short time, unleashing terrifying attack power.

The only downside is its extremely poor durability!

So before that alien body with several souls rushed towards Xuan Yi, his body had already moved.

Instead of retreating, he went to meet him!

He channeled his magical power into his fist and delivered a powerful punch to the monster's face!

boom!

Before it could even roar, the monster's skull shattered under the blow imbued with cursed power, and it collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Almost simultaneously, two more identical opposite-sex bodies appeared, flanking from the left and right sides!

Xuan Yi swiftly swung his scythe, but the two monsters seemed to have anticipated this, simultaneously extending their fists and launching a powerful punch at Xuan Yi without any defense!

An irresistible brute force struck, and Xuan Yi's body was thrown high into the air!

Although his weapon blocked the two punches in time, the terrifying power still made Xuan Yi feel a tightness in his chest.

Below, the real person grinned maliciously as he slammed a large number of soul cores onto the ground.

"Grow!"

In an instant, countless sharp bone spikes erupted from the ground, like a deadly jungle, piercing towards Xuan Yi in mid-air!

Xuan's eyes sharpened, and he forcefully twisted his body in mid-air, severing several nearby spikes with his scythe. But the broken bone spikes sprouted up again like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, with no end in sight.

He gritted his teeth.

"Azure!"

A bright blue light erupted from his palm, and the immense magical power transformed into a gravitational force that compressed space, crushing and devouring the spikes several meters in diameter below him, along with the two cyborgs!

But the moment Xuan Yi landed, the real person's figure reappeared behind him like a ghost!

Suddenly turning around, the blade on Zhenren's arm clashed violently with Xuanyi's scythe once again.

But this time, the real person's mouth suddenly split open.

A sharp blade suddenly shot out from his mouth, aimed straight at Xuan Yi's throat!

Xuan Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and he turned his head abruptly. The blade grazed his neck, leaving a stinging bloody mark.

The real man, having succeeded in his attack, grinned smugly. Enraged, Xuan Yi kicked the real man hard in the stomach, sending him flying!

Clutching the wound on his neck, Xuan gasped for breath.

The "Azure" spell consumes too much magical power. Without a chance of hitting the target, frequent use will only deplete your own energy.

As for the ritual of mourning...

The effectiveness he can exert right now is barely scratching the surface.

Recalling the previous battle with Nishimiya Momo.

The opponent's "Scythe of Divergence" technique has a completely different effect than his own.

Was that wide-range attack because she was manipulating a broom?

It's because brooms are naturally good at stirring up dust and sand...

Is it related to the "characteristics" of the object being manipulated itself...?

Features?

Yup!

Xuan Yi looked down at the black scythe in his hand.

Unconsciously, I recalled what Nishimiya Sousuke had once said—

"Although there isn't much magical power inside, it has still been nurtured for a period of time. It might come in handy when we're on a mission later..."

It was the "restraint" set up by Mr. Nishimiya Sousuke at that time!

Suddenly, he understood something.

"I see... I understand now!"

He looked at the real man who had gotten up from the ground and swung his scythe again.

"The sickle is broken".

Faced with the several afterimages that came flying at him, the True Man raised his arms to defend himself, but a mocking expression appeared on his face.

"Should we continue using this ineffective attack?"

"You seem to have misunderstood something." However, Xuan Yi pointed the scythe at the real person, his eyes terrifyingly calm. "Thanks to you, I've died once! Now, you're not the only one who can see the outline of a soul."

Fresh blood suddenly spurted from the real person's wound.

The smile on his face froze.

In an instant, he clearly felt something slowly seeping into his body through the wound, like some kind of cold aura, gradually eroding his soul.

He subconsciously raised his hand, his fingertips touching the first cut on his cheek.

Warm and moist.

It's still bleeding.

"Really?"

There was a hint of wavering in his voice.

Xuan Yi didn't give him time to think.

The black figure had already darted to the real man like lightning, raising the scythe high and slashing down fiercely at the real man's head!

The deadly sense of crisis made every cell in the real person's body scream.

At the critical moment, he deliberately severed his head from his body! Then, a tiny figure made of soul crawled out of the headless shell and rolled away in a sorry state.

Just as Xuan Yi was about to give chase, he discovered that the headless body left behind had grown a new head in the blink of an eye!

A huge fist swung up from below!

Xuan Yi flipped over to dodge, and the moment he landed, his eyes were as cold as frost.

"Harvesting."

hum!

A violent tremor from the depths of his soul froze the real man and his clone, who was about to launch an attack, in place!

Several wisps of visible black energy rapidly drifted out from the wounds on the real person's body inflicted by Xuan Yi, as if drawn by an invisible force, and continuously flowed into Xuan Yi's scythe.

As the real person felt the rapidly draining of the cursed power within his body, the expression on his face turned gloomy for the first time.

"What's going on?"

Xuan Yi, carrying a sickle, approached step by step.

"Tsukumogami" is a technique that integrates magical power into objects. The special spells associated with this technique also require objects that are nourished with magical power to be activated.

Objects imbued with cursed power will, at the cost of absorbing the cursed power, exhibit a form and effect consistent with their original characteristics, according to the "binding" established by the caster.

Therefore, the same spell can have different effects depending on the object and the user.

But most importantly—

You made me look directly at my own 'soul'!

But I won't thank you!

Therefore, the unchangeable effect bestowed upon "Scythe of Destruction" solely for the purpose of exorcising you—"

Xuan Yi raised his scythe, the blade wreathed with black energy drawn from the real person's body, like the scepter of death.

It is the "harvesting" of souls!

Once you are struck by my scythe, my curse power will leave a 'mark' on your soul, continuously drawing curse power from you until the curse power that exists as a curse is also completely harvested by me, until you are completely dead!

"You're real! You're my prey! I'll never let you go!"