Chapter 81

The fight between Kokichi and Mahito intensifies. For a stretch the puppeteer takes control of the duel, his tactics genuinely grinding the special grade curse down. Then, with the dream he has chased for years almost in his grasp, Kokichi blindly gives Mahito the chance the spirit had been waiting for.

Reaching out, Mahito clamps onto the head of Mode: Absolute and rams a cursed-energy punch into it, shaking the cockpit so violently that Kokichi grants the spirit could shatter the puppet's plating. In reply he runs a cursed technique charge through a tube, opens a fingertip, and fires a spiked round that buries itself in Mahito as the spirit flies on wings. Mahito brushes off the hit until his wing explodes, exposing him to a heavy swat that throws him crashing through the trees, mystified that his soul was harmed.

A storm of fast punches drives Mahito into retreat as a bird, and Kokichi catches him reshaping his form to hide the injury, which only stiffens the pilot's belief that victory is near. Even Pseudo-Geto, watching from the side, allows that the sorcerer is skilled and his plans are working. Kokichi then triggers a five-year charge, Pigeon Viola, firing five cursed-energy cannons toward the spirit. Mahito shifts shape to slip past the beams but is caught off guard when Mechamaru crushes down from above, then follows with a second hit that knocks him back into the woods. Reshaping a finger into a spike and certain he will at last meet everyone again, Kokichi instead faces the worst outcome as the spirit triggers a Domain Expansion that embodies his idea of perfection.

Part of the Shibuya Incident Arc, this chapter ran in issue 48 of 2019 and was adapted into Episode 31. Flashbacks feature Aoi Todo, Utahime Iori, Mai Zenin, Momo Nishimiya, Kasumi Miwa, and Noritoshi Kamo. Showcased techniques include Puppet Manipulation, Pigeon Viola, Idle Transfiguration, and the debut of Mahito's Domain Expansion.