Chapter 181 - 181: One Grasp, Instant Refinement

Time was running out.

He didn't know how Gojo Satoru had located him, nor did he understand how he had been exposed. But Gojo Satoru's strength was truly etched into Mahito's being in a manner that could only be described as invincible—manifesting as wound after wound upon his body, each nearly fatal.

However...

"I can handle this! I can handle this!!"

Being hunted by Gojo Satoru, Mahito laughed with wild, reckless abandon, as if he didn't even care about the man pursuing him from behind. In the process of his flight, Mahito—who had intended to cause a massive incident to draw the attention of the sorcerers and had specifically chosen a major city within Japan—charged into crowded areas as if no one could stop him.

Every human he came into contact with was transformed by his [Idle Transfiguration] technique into transfigured humans who obeyed his every whim, sent forth to intercept Gojo Satoru.

"I've heard that the more danger humans are in, the easier it is for their potential to be sparked.

I've also heard that to save a grandson pinned under a car, an old human woman can suddenly become strong enough to lift the vehicle...

If that's the case, can I, who am currently being pushed into a corner by you, Gojo Satoru, also spark the potential within me? Heh heh heh, ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

I can! It's so easy—!!"

Sensing the shift, and with his understanding of [Idle Transfiguration] deepening through constant use of the technique, Mahito laughed even louder. It was because of the margin for error.

[Idle Transfiguration] was not just a technique that allowed Mahito to kill with a single touch when attacking. It was also a technique that allowed him to constantly repair his body as long as his soul was not completely destroyed—a state even more inexplicable than a sorcerer's Reverse Cursed Technique or a cursed spirit's ability to heal with cursed energy.

The reason Mahito had not been killed by Gojo Satoru yet was precisely due to the survival capability of [Idle Transfiguration].

Unless Gojo Satoru expanded his domain and used the mental shock of [Unlimited Void] to directly attack Mahito's consciousness, depriving him of the chance to use his technique, even Gojo found him difficult to put down. While Gojo's [Limitless] perfectly countered

Mahito—rendering a touch-based technique like

Furthermore, with a massive number of ordinary humans around being used as shields by Mahito, Gojo Satoru found it difficult to resolve to sacrifice others unless absolutely necessary. After all, Gojo Satoru was the strongest. Having grown accustomed to the fact that wherever he was, anything could be accomplished without the cost of sacrifice, making such a difficult choice for the first time took time.

In that window of time, Mahito, whose nerves were taut from the hunt, began to evolve.

Just as Hanami, born from the fear of nature, was more like an elemental than a typical cursed spirit and could blend her presence into nature, Mahito, born from the fear humans felt toward other humans, possessed human traits. He could evolve continuously in this desperate situation!

"Just a little more, just a little more!"

Fleeing while creating transfigured humans to set up obstacles, Mahito felt his understanding of the soul and his own technique becoming deeper and deeper. At this moment, he felt as though he truly perceived his own soul—perceived the mysteries of the soul itself.

And then, he felt...

"—[Osiris]!!"

"...!?"

'What... happened...'

This was the final thought emitted by Mahito's consciousness at the very last moment. Because in the next second, within the perspective visible only to Stand users, a dark-green muscular figure suddenly appeared before Mahito. It lunged forward, grabbed his soul, ripped it out, and turned it into a soul chip to bring back to its master.

With Mahito's soul extracted, his body—more thoroughly and rapidly than the cursed spirits who had merely had their DISCs removed by [Pseudo-White Snake]—suddenly exploded, dissipating into a cloud of useless cursed energy.

Gojo Satoru, who had finally steeled his resolve—or rather, after seeing Mahito attack humans and create so many transfigured humans who could never be restored, realized that letting Mahito continue would only lead to more sacrifices—had been just about to activate [Unlimited Void].

He was prepared to complete the kill in the shortest possible time to minimize the information overload on the surrounding innocents, when he suddenly saw the cursed spirit Mahito blow apart into a mist of energy.

"...!?"

[

Idle Transfiguration

]

meaningless—it was equally difficult for Gojo to actually finish Mahito off.

"A clone? ...Or a trap?"

Unable to see Stands and not understanding how broken the ability of [Pseudo-Osiris] truly was, Gojo Satoru hurriedly used his [Six Eyes] to scan the surroundings in a daze, trying to see if Mahito had hidden himself using some unknown method.

Coincidentally, the reason Mahito had chosen to appear in a large city was to draw the attention of Gojo and his allies—though that plan had been intercepted prematurely by Gojo and Emiya Shirou's illogical [Pseudo-Hermit Purple] spirit photography.

But it wasn't just to create an opening for Granny Ogami and the others to infiltrate Jujutsu High. It was also because Dagon, one of the four Disaster Curses, needed to absorb sufficient nourishment to grow from a cursed womb into a true cursed spirit. In other words, he needed to devour a sufficient number of humans.

In a normal modern nation, this was nearly impossible. It wasn't a lack of people, but rather that under modern technology, once Dagon began devouring, it would be difficult to keep hidden. Thus, Mahito served as the bait in the open.

But now, Dagon—who was lurking in a concert venue where the foot traffic was immense and the doors could be closed to prevent escape, waiting for the show to begin so he could start feeding—experienced the same fate before the concert even started.

"—[Osiris]!!"

Under that voice that suddenly appeared by his ear, his soul was forcibly seized by [Pseudo-Osiris] along with Mahito's!

One, two, three...

The numerous cursed spirits and curse users that Kenjaku had gathered in a short time using his network and Special Grade cursed objects like the [Prison Realm]... not a single one escaped the dark-green hands of [Pseudo-Osiris].

Every one of them, humans and spirits alike, heard that voice—like the God of the Underworld from Egyptian mythology claiming their lives:

"—[Osiris]!!!"

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