Chapter 148: Mahito’s Transformation!
The giant dragon of flame roared through the air.
Dagon's wings beat behind his waist as he twisted away, raising his right hand to release more Shikigami.
"The sea is the source of all things," Dagon said, his voice deep and cold. "My Cursed Technique, Death Swarm, produces Shikigami without end. You cannot touch me!"
The water below exploded into mist.
Countless fish-shaped Shikigami burst from the sea, surging upward in a swarm that blotted out the light. The moment their bodies formed, they rushed toward Yuji Itadori from every direction.
But they could not stop the dragon.
Flames tore through the swarm. Scales of fire, wings of heat, and swords at the center of it all cut apart every Shikigami in Yuji's path.
Demon Power condensed beneath his feet again and again, forming invisible footholds in the air as he accelerated.
Dagon watched Yuji grow closer.
His abdomen contracted.
Two special fish-shaped Shikigami emerged from his body and dove from the air into the sea. When they surfaced again, their size had multiplied several times.
Their heads alone were over ten meters long.
One of the giant Shikigami opened its bloody maw and leaped directly into Yuji's path. In a single bite, it swallowed the flames and the dragon whole.
Dagon's yellow vertical pupils narrowed.
"Hmph. Before the sea, your flames are nothing."
Below, Eso and Kechizu still had not fully recovered from the life-and-death crisis just now.
Eso stared at the place where Yuji had passed.
That strike could have killed both of them.
There had been no distance. No obstacle. One slash would have ended their lives.
So why had Yuji stopped?
And what was that expression on the boy's face right before he changed direction?
Eso could not understand.
"Onii-chan... Onii-chan..."
Kechizu's voice pulled him back.
Eso abandoned the thought for now.
This was not the time.
When he looked up again, the giant dragon had already pierced through the fish Shikigami's belly.
Flames exploded from inside the monster's body, tearing it open from within.
But Yuji's route had changed again.
His target was no longer Dagon.
It was Mahito, who was soaring through the air.
The pressure from the second forced turn was far more brutal than the first. Blood seeped uncontrollably from Yuji's eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, but his speed and power increased several times over.
At this speed, Mahito had no chance to dodge.
By the time he noticed Yuji's new trajectory, the flame dragon had already swallowed him.
Within the fire, the only thing waiting for him was Yuji's sword.
"Go to hell, Mahito!"
The twin swords fell.
Their figures crossed.
Yuji stopped in midair, Demon Power supporting his feet.
Behind him, Mahito's body was split in two at the waist. The upper and lower halves fell powerlessly from the sky, dropping into the ocean current below.
Asuramaru's voice sounded at the right moment.
"He's not dead."
"Thanks for the reminder!"
Yuji immediately poured power into the swords, preparing to follow up with Getsuga Tensho and finish the job.
"Mahito!"
Dagon shouted from not far away, but there was no response.
He had no time to mourn or hesitate.
Cursed Energy surged across the sea.
Fish-shaped Shikigami emerged from every direction and attacked Yuji at the center all at once.
Yuji did not move.
He finished charging the swords with both hands.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
He slashed downward with all his strength.
A pitch-black crescent more than ten meters long tore into the sea, plunging straight toward the depths.
But that opening was exactly what Dagon had been waiting for.
A mass of Shikigami swarmed Yuji in an instant, biting and tearing at his body from every side.
Yuji released Demon Power at once, blasting them away.
Even so, too much flesh had already been ripped from his body.
His left forearm had been gnawed down to white bone.
Yuji did not show pain on his face.
He only asked inwardly, "Asuramaru, is Mahito dead?"
"No."
Asuramaru answered immediately.
Deep beneath the sea, where the naked eye could not see clearly, Mahito's severed upper and lower halves merged back together in the current.
"That was close..."
Mahito's breathing was uneven, but his smile returned.
"Good thing I split my own body before that slash landed. Even so, that strike cut away thirty percent of my soul."
He looked toward the place where Getsuga Tensho had torn through the water.
"And that crescent slash shaved away another ten percent..."
His smile widened.
"But thanks to that, I finally felt it clearly."
The shape of my soul.
Mahito raised both hands and pressed them to his forehead.
"Idle Transfiguration."
His flesh surged.
For a moment, his body swelled into a grotesque mass of rotten meat, expanding and twisting like something on the verge of collapse.
Then, in the next instant, everything returned to stillness.
Mahito had transformed.
His original body was now covered in gray flesh armor. Sharp blades extended from both arms. A long tail grew from his back, swaying above the surface of the deep sea.
"Instant Spirit Body of Distorted Killing."
Mahito felt the power coursing through him.
His smile turned vicious.
He leaped from the sea and landed on the water's surface.
The first thing he saw was Yuji Itadori, still standing with both swords in hand.
Dagon, who was still releasing Shikigami, grew visibly excited when he saw Mahito return.
"Mahito, how do you feel?"
Mahito threw his head back and laughed.
"I've never felt better!"
Then he lowered his gaze and looked toward Yuji.
"It was your strike that let me see the essence of my own soul."
His grin stretched across his armored face.
"I should thank you."
His voice dropped.
"But only by killing you can I truly be born into this world."
The moment his words fell, Mahito charged.
He ran straight across the ocean surface, blades at his elbows aimed toward Yuji.
The blades lengthened and shot out.
Yuji was prepared.
"Hinokami Kagura: Sunflower Thrust!"
He stepped on the water.
The sword in his hand bloomed with scorching flame. Holding Arcana, Yuji thrust forward, and several rings of fire erupted from the edge, circling his body before bursting ahead.
The sharp extensions from Mahito's arms shattered instantly.
Mahito's eyes narrowed as he analyzed the attack.
Not only does that sword target the soul, it's extremely sharp too.
Only about forty percent of my soul remains.
If he hits me with another strike like before, I'll die.
I can't let him create distance and use that move again.
Once Mahito made his decision, he closed in without hesitation.
He chose close combat.
The blades on his arms swung with savage speed, forcing Yuji to meet him head-on.
At the same time, Yuji had to continuously release Demon Power to suppress the sure-hit effect of Dagon's Domain and destroy the Shikigami that attacked from all directions.
The consumption had already exceeded what his body could safely bear.
The consequence was obvious.
His Demonization deepened.
The time he could maintain it rapidly shortened.
If he could originally last an hour, then at his current output, he had little more than ten minutes left.
By now, nearly ten minutes had already passed since the battle began.
Dagon and the others felt the pressure of time as well.
The plan had been set to end within twenty minutes.
And half of that time was already gone.
.....
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