Step.
Awasaka advanced again.
The sudden attack just now hadn't made him timid; on the contrary, his spirits were high and his frenzy was extraordinary!
He even felt that he had never had such a high-spirited moment in his life.
His enemy was the Lord of Curses who harbored the ambition to ascend the Throne of God.
He had a premonition that he would never have such a hearty battle again in his life.
Step.
Mahito also began to advance.
He had long since deactivated the frenzy-inducing technique released from his eyes.
Awasaka didn't need guidance anymore; the frenzied emotions had completely swallowed his reason.
Mahito felt his body expand with every slow breath.
He could feel the vibration of his Cursed Energy core.
He was growing, growing at high speed, as if he were undergoing Ascension!
At the same time, the two men, who had been walking slowly, suddenly broke into a run.
Inverse!
Idle Transfiguration!
Awasaka suddenly leapt up and threw a powerful punch in mid-air.
He unreservedly concentrated his Cursed Energy into his fist.
If a Jujutsu Sorcerer were to focus, they would clearly see an ominous Black Light swirling around his fist—the state of overflowing Cursed Energy.
This time, however, Mahito did not choose to block; he reached his hands forward.
Suddenly, Awasaka disappeared from Mahito's sight.
A fierce wind from a punch swept in from Mahito's side—the Rotation Step!
In fighting techniques across the world, this is a footwork of considerable difficulty.
It allows one to rotate their body through an instantaneous burst of the ankle.
From the opponent's perspective, it's as if they suddenly vanished, only to strike from the side taking advantage of the opening.
He dodged!
No, it should be said that he 'calmed down.'
The hands Mahito had extended to use Idle Transfiguration became a wasted effort.
Although Awasaka was currently extraordinarily fanatical, his mind was becoming increasingly calm.
By maintaining composure amidst his frenzy, he was able to exert abilities that surpassed his usual self.
He had completely transcended his normal state; he was now more perfect and more powerful.
Awasaka had already stepped onto his own peak, all for the sake of this exhilarating battle!
Mahito drifted to the side like a weightless phantom.
The storm-like fists immediately followed.
Awasaka punched continuously amidst his wild roars.
He was like a shadow following a form, like a massive, surging wave.
His fists never strayed more than half a foot from Mahito.
In the eyes of the audience, their movements kicked up a massive howling wind, and the spectators on the second floor could even feel the killing intent washing over them.
Everyone raised their hands high and roared loudly.
Suddenly, Mahito raised his leg—a knee strike!
Awasaka reacted instantly, lifting his own leg at the same time to perfectly block Mahito's knee.
During their first exchange, Awasaka had been too concerned with Mahito's hands; he had to ensure those hands didn't touch him, so his attention had been fixed there.
But this was the second time, and he wouldn't make another mistake.
He blocked this sudden knee strike.
In the next instant, Mahito's fist came howling!
Awasaka originally didn't need to dodge; his Inverse technique could turn this powerful blow into a gentle breeze.
Yet, he still dodged.
He clearly remembered Mahito's ability—'As long as he touches you, he can reshape the human Soul.'
Even with a nearly invincible Innate Technique like Inverse, if the opponent's attack wasn't direct but indirect, his technique wouldn't work.
'Even so, the advantage is mine!' Awasaka roared inwardly.
'Because combat experience is my true weapon.'
That's right, Awasaka had already seen through it.
Although Mahito's physical fitness was extremely powerful, it seemed this was his first time fighting someone.
His attacks were straightforward.
While there were flashes of brilliance, most of the time he just aimed for the face.
As long as he kept this in mind, the more experienced Awasaka couldn't possibly lose.
Next, he just needed to slowly increase the pressure and use his rich experience to defeat his opponent.
'It's my victory!'
The corners of Awasaka's mouth curled up into a bloodthirsty smile.
He couldn't wait to see the high-and-mighty King of Curses crawling on the ground.
That would surely be a moment worth remembering for a lifetime.
A left hook suddenly arrived.
Awasaka concentrated on dodging, preparing to counterattack.
Then came an uppercut.
Then a heavy right punch.
A left jab.
A knee strike.
A series of continuous thrusting punches.
And finally—the Roundhouse Kick!
'Ugh—!'
Awasaka retreated.
Fortunately, the final strike was a kick.
He used Inverse to block it in time, so the impact didn't deform his movements, but it allowed Mahito to use the reaction force to retreat a great distance.
Then Mahito leaped up, swinging his fists like a gale, swaying left and right as if a raging tide were approaching.
Awasaka could only retreat, defend, and dodge.
W-what's going on?
What is happening?
Awasaka dodged repeatedly.
He had clearly been attacking continuously just now, but since dodging Mahito's sudden knee strike, he seemed unable to fight back?
Moreover, he had a familiar feeling, as if—
"Ah, I understand," Mahito suddenly spoke mid-punch.
He didn't seem troubled by the breathing rhythm of the exchange, speaking leisurely.
"I see... so this is martial arts."
Awasaka was enveloped by a massive fear.
No wonder he felt the opposing fists were familiar; wasn't this exactly the routine he had used to attack Mahito just now?
A storm-like barrage of hits interspersed with sudden heavy strikes.
The only difference was that he almost never used his legs because the openings were too large, but Mahito was different.
He used both hands and feet, delivering wide, heavy strikes without hesitation or concern.
Of course he didn't need to be concerned, because his physical body was inherently superior to Awasaka's.
Even if he used a routine with wide, heavy strikes, he didn't worry about being countered because his neural reflexes could keep up with the speed needed to cover any openings.
Awasaka was the exact opposite; if he dared to use a heavy strike, the resulting opening would inevitably be seized by Mahito, and then Idle Transfiguration would decide the match in one blow!
The time Awasaka and Mahito had been fighting was less than five minutes, yet within those five minutes, Mahito had completely mastered Awasaka's Taijutsu.
He had even modified it based on his own physical attributes, making it more suited to himself—perfect and flawless.
What terrifying learning ability!
'Ugh!'
Awasaka concentrated on not letting himself touch Mahito's hands, trying his best to tank the kicks with his body.
Although Mahito's kicks were powerful, under the protection of Inverse, the kicks were actually the most insignificant damage.
Mahito attacked to his heart's content.
The roar from the audience grew louder with each passing moment, like an approaching tsunami.
Accompanied by the waves of cheering, Mahito's combos became faster and his punch patterns more familiar.
Suddenly, Mahito disappeared from Awasaka's sight.
The Rotation Step!
Awasaka took a punch to the side of his face.
Just one punch.
Awasaka's vision suddenly went dark; he was blind.
Idle Transfiguration!
There was a detail in the original work: when Mahito first fought Nanami, his hand clearly touched Nanami, yet Nanami wasn't instantly turned into a transfigured human.
This was because even if a Jujutsu Sorcerer doesn't know how to protect their Soul, they will subconsciously protect it the moment another's Cursed Energy contacts it.
This prevented Mahito from reshaping Nanami's Soul upon the first touch.
According to the original work, this kind of contact only needs to happen two or three times to break through.
But in a brief exchange, where would those two or three times come from?
If hit by a Black Flash, the match could be decided in a single blow.
Two or three times was too long—long enough to decide life and death!
Mahito reflected on this and modified the way he used Idle Transfiguration.
Instead of directly making major changes to the Soul, he isolated the barrier between the Soul and the flesh.
This wasn't reshaping the Soul; on the contrary, the 'isolated' Soul was actually harder to injure.
For the Soul, this was a protective layer.
Mahito achieved this.
It was more difficult than he had imagined.
His approach was equivalent to a virus entering the body but not destroying it, instead choosing to disguise itself as an immune cell to work alongside others, isolating the sorted cells during the process.
For the Soul, this was protection.
Since it was protection, it couldn't possibly trigger Cursed Energy defense.
Therefore, he succeeded.
Awasaka didn't know exactly what had happened, but he guessed it must be because contact with Mahito's hands had caused his Soul to be reshaped.
He didn't know if this blindness was permanent or temporary, but for him, it made no difference.
Because this brief moment of daze had already decided the outcome.
'First, vision,' Mahito said.
'Hearing.'
'Smell.'
'Taste.'
'Touch.'
By the fifth punch, Awasaka had fallen completely into darkness.
His five senses were entirely sealed.
He was in a vast darkness, unable even to feel his own limbs, as if he had been sunk into the deepest trench in the world, floating in infinite darkness.
A sliver of despair was expanding in his mind at an alarming rate, finally exploding.
He wanted to beg for mercy, but he didn't even know how to speak.
He wanted to surrender, but he couldn't even perform the action of raising his hand.
He had lost the five senses a human should have, with only the abyss for company.
He could not escape; he could only sink, sinking infinitely!
In the eyes of the audience, since taking that first punch, Awasaka had been hit continuously by Mahito like a wooden stake.
Clearly, the first few punches hadn't caused Awasaka any damage—of course, the audience didn't know that the Inverse technique was in effect—but the subsequent punches hit home, and Awasaka was beaten until he was foaming at the mouth.
Mahito finally used a Rising Dragon Punch.
Awasaka's feet almost left the ground; his head tilted back and his eyes rolled white.
This wasn't because he lost consciousness from the blow to his brain, but simply because he could no longer feel anything from the outside world.
In the darkness, he couldn't even feel the concussion, because by now even his sense of touch had vanished.
At the moment Awasaka was rising, Mahito suddenly stomped his foot.
He flipped his body, spinning once on the spot like a ballet dancer.
He raised his leg before the spin and kicked out violently after completing the rotation.
This was the most aesthetic kick in all of martial arts—
'Finally, consciousness,' he said.
—Roundhouse Kick!
Thud.
Mahito's foot embedded deeply into Awasaka's abdomen.
Without any sensation, Awasaka was struck by the roundhouse kick, flying backward through the air like a howling cannonball until he slammed into the wall of the arena.
This time, the force was completely concentrated, and Awasaka's body took all the damage.
He was embedded in the wall as if hanging there, cracks spreading across the surface like a spiderweb.
For a full three seconds, he stayed there before his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.
Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind.
The Six Roots of Purification!
'Who says... I can't use my technique with my feet?' Mahito slowly withdrew his kick and landed steadily.
Bang.
Awasaka fell from the wall and crashed onto the ground with a loud thud.
'The, the winner is—'
The host regained his senses and shouted at the top of his lungs:
'The Fanatic, the Pure White Evil, The Man Who Aspires to the Throne of God—'
'MA—HI—TO!'
The audience erupted in a tsunami-like roar, as if they were going to flip the entire arena over.