To the Death

"Will Satoru and the others be okay?"

Riko Amanai kept glancing back as Suguru Geto pulled her along at a brisk run.

Geto's expression was grim. "Not okay! This is serious!"

"Huh?"

Riko looked confused.

"Aren't you two best friends? Even if you have to lie, shouldn't you say something reassuring at a time like this?!"

Geto took a deep breath. "In the past, I wouldn't have worried at all about Sawa and Satoru, but..."

Geto recalled what Gojo Sawa had said to him yesterday at the beach.

"I don't know if Sawa can actually see the future, but clearly, this is the crisis he was talking about!"

"So we need to hurry!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, I can't keep up... Wait, this isn't the way to the Tombs of the Star Corridor, is it?"

Geto turned to look at her. "What? Do you really want to merge with Master Tengen?"

"Huh?"

"'Merging' isn't 'dying'—existing in another form. That kind of talk is just meant to fool kids, isn't it?!"

A smile tugged at Geto's lips. "This is your life. You should choose how to live it yourself."

"No matter what choice you make, we'll guarantee your future!"

Riko froze, memories flooding her mind.

Classmates, teachers, friends, Misato Kuroi, and those three new friends—Gojo Satoru and the others.

"I really..."

Riko's nose stung, and tears welled up in her reddened eyes, falling in large drops.

"Still want to stay together with everyone!"

Geto's smile turned relieved. "Good. Then follow me!"

The two quickly arrived at an open space, where two figures had already been waiting for some time.

"Misato!"

Riko was startled at first, then broke into a delighted smile.

Misato Kuroi, seeing Riko, immediately burst into tears and pulled her into a tight hug. "Miss! Waaah..."

"So that's how it is, Teacher Yaga!"

Geto smiled as he looked at the man before him—his own teacher, Masamichi Yaga!

"Interfering with the merging of Master Tengen and the Star Plasma Vessel... can you really pull this off, Teacher? You'll definitely kiss your promotion to principal goodbye!"

Yaga sighed. "That Sawa... forget it. This old bones of mine will join you youngsters in one last wild ride!"

Yaga summoned a rabbit as tall as a person. "This is an isolation-type Cursed Corpse Sawa asked me to make."

He unzipped the rabbit's belly and beckoned to Riko. "I don't know what method they're using to track the Star Plasma Vessel, but it's definitely a technique."

"This Cursed Corpse will seal off your presence and all cursed energy fluctuations. You'll have to stay inside for a while."

Riko nodded, curled up, and crawled in.

Yaga zipped the rabbit shut, then turned to Geto, who was about to leave. "You're going back?"

Geto turned with a smile. "Those two are still fighting. How could I miss out on the Strongest Trio?"

Yaga nodded in warning. "Be careful."

Then he led Misato and the rabbit Cursed Corpse away from the spot.

Geto retraced his steps. When he reached the Tombs of the Star Corridor, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

Geto's eyes sharpened. "You! Where are Sawa and Satoru?"

Toji Fushiguro grinned. "Those two brothers? Let me think... they should be dead by now!"

"Speaking of which, where's the girl?"

Veins bulged on Geto's forehead as he ignored Fushiguro's question.

Even though Gojo Sawa had foreseen this possibility, Geto couldn't suppress his rage.

"Then you... die too!"

Behind Geto, countless terrifying curses revealed their true forms.

"Sand Worm: Earth Burial Void Devour!"

The ground suddenly split open. A massive sand worm, its maw lined with serrated teeth, opened wide and swallowed Fushiguro whole in one gulp.

Boom!!!

But the next moment, the sand worm was carved into pieces from the inside by Fushiguro's Soul Liberation Blade!

The purple blood of the cursed spirit soaked every inch of Toji's body.

"ROAR—"

The Rainbow Dragon charged forward with a roar, carrying Toji Fushiguro into the air.

But Toji Fushiguro whipped out the Soul Liberation Blade in a backhanded grip and split the Rainbow Dragon in two along its body.

Suguru Geto was stunned. "What? That was the hardest Rainbow Dragon!"

Toji Fushiguro rose slowly, about to continue his assault, when a woman's voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"I ask you, am... am... am I beautiful?"

The countless eyes beneath the Slit-Mouthed Woman's long hair, along with her beast-like split mouth, sent chills down the spine.

A phantom cursed spirit? Before answering the question, both parties were forcibly prevented from harming each other.

Toji Fushiguro glanced sideways and spoke flatly, "Let me think... you're not my type!"

"ROAR—"

The Slit-Mouthed Woman let out a piercing shriek as the scissors in her hand stabbed out like a streak of light.

Chii—

A lock of hair fell to the ground, and a trickle of blood seeped from the base of Toji's ear.

But he paid it no mind. In a backhanded motion, he drew the Inverted Spear of Heaven and instantly destroyed the Slit-Mouthed Woman's domain.

Yet just then, Suguru Geto appeared behind Toji Fushiguro and reached his hand toward the cursed spirit "Choubou" on Toji's body.

He had figured it out. Toji Fushiguro had no cursed energy, so he could only rely on cursed tools to harm cursed spirits.

And the tool he used to store those cursed tools was precisely this cursed spirit.

A low-grade cursed spirit like this—as long as he touched it, he could subdue it instantly!

But Toji Fushiguro didn't give him that chance.

His absurdly heightened reflexes made Toji turn and swing his blade without a second thought.

Cross-shaped blood lines instantly burst across Suguru Geto's chest, and the next moment, he was sent flying by Toji's kick.

Suguru Geto's body crashed through several buildings before finally coming to a stop.

Now he lay weakly in the rubble, his vision spinning, blood gushing from his wounds.

Toji Fushiguro stepped forward and planted his foot on Suguru Geto.

"A sorcerer won't die from a few slashes like that."

"Honestly, if you were a cursed spirit user, I'd kill you for sure. But since it's Cursed Spirit Manipulation..."

Toji shrugged. "Who knows what would happen to the spirits you've subdued if you died? Maybe they'd latch onto me, maybe there'd be some curse. I don't want that trouble!"

"Come to think of it, you guys being able to awaken techniques is entirely a gift from your parents. Too bad, even with those gifts, you still lose to a monkey like me who doesn't even have cursed energy!"

Toji Fushiguro mockingly ground his foot into Suguru Geto's face as he pulled the special-grade cursed tool, Playful Cloud, from his waist.

"I've been drooling over this thing for ages, but the eldest son of the Gojo Clan bought it first. Who'd have thought it'd end up in my hands after all this time!"

Stashing Playful Cloud back into Choubou's mouth, Toji Fushiguro looked down at Suguru Geto. "Alright, now can you tell me where the Star Plasma Vessel went?"

"I could take my time searching, but if you speak up, it'd save me a lot of trouble!"

Suguru Geto's eyes were half-lidded, and he didn't answer, seemingly on the verge of unconsciousness.

Toji Fushiguro scratched his head and let out a resigned sigh. "Fine, I'll find them myself."

He possessed senses a hundred times sharper than an ordinary person's and the rich experience of a hunter.

Tracking down the Star Plasma Vessel by following the faintest clues wasn't hard.

That was how he'd been trailing them this whole way.

But just as he was about to leave, his steps suddenly halted.

Looking down, he saw Suguru Geto's hand reaching out, gripping his ankle with a deathly hold.

"Only by approaching death can you awaken the truth of survival."

Suguru Geto recalled the words Gojo Sawa had spoken to him yesterday, and a surge of madness rose in his heart.

He flashed a mocking grin at Toji. "Get on your knees and beg me, and maybe I'll tell you where the Star Plasma Vessel is."

Toji Fushiguro's eyes turned cold. "Hey, you looking to die?"

Suguru Geto laughed wildly, bright red blood streaming down his cheeks, making him look crazed and ferocious.

"Then come on!"

"If I die, all the cursed spirits I've subdued will just dissipate. They won't cause you any trouble!"

"What do you say? Wanna try?"

A taunt?

Toji Fushiguro looked at Suguru Geto's expression and instantly confirmed—the bastard was telling the truth. His killing intent flared.

"You're asking for it!"

"Sorcerers really are strange creatures!"

Chii!

Toji drove the Soul Liberation Blade into Suguru Geto's heart, watching as his life force ebbed away bit by bit.