Deadly Sentencing!

Hiromi Higuruma stared blankly at Kinji Hakari's outstretched hand.

What was with this guy?! How could he ask so bluntly and without the slightest politeness?!

Ever since childhood, Hiromi Higuruma had always been a good child in his parents' eyes and a good student in his teachers' eyes. From birth to getting into the University of Tokyo and becoming a lawyer, everyone he met had been of high caliber.

The only people with poorer character were the clients he defended as a lawyer. But those people needed Hiromi Higuruma and hoped he would defend them.

So they had always been rather restrained and humble in their attitudes.

A shameless thug like Kinji Hakari was something Hiromi Higuruma had barely encountered in his thirty years of life!

Hiromi Higuruma's words caught in his throat, and for a moment, he had no idea what to say.

He was not truly an asshole. He was merely playing the part of one.

But before an experienced, veteran asshole like Kinji Hakari, he could not bring himself to say any of the asshole things he had prepared!

Hiromi Higuruma took a deep breath.

"What do you want my points for?"

"To save people."

Hiromi Higuruma turned to look at Kinji Hakari in astonishment, his gaze sweeping him up and down strangely. Though he said nothing, the meaning was obvious.

You said you wanted to save people?

You don't look like it.

Are you sure you're not here to kill people?

Kinji Hakari did not mind. He told Hiromi Higuruma about the additional rules.

He explained that they intended to use mutual point transfers to avoid the Culling Game's rule-based executions.

After saying that, he looked at Hiromi Higuruma with a threatening expression.

"Mr. Lawyer, you wouldn't want the people in the Barrier to keep killing each other because of you, would you?"

Hiromi Higuruma instinctively felt as though he had walked onto the wrong set.

This was not the Culling Game. It was some unspeakable, evil movie world.

He stared at Kinji Hakari. "What you said makes a lot of sense, but... I refuse!"

Hiromi Higuruma lay back in the bathtub without a care.

"Whether the people in the Barrier live or die has nothing to do with me. Why should I give up my points for their lives?"

"You have a point." Kinji Hakari nodded in agreement. "But I made an agreement with someone. I have to help him secure points, so if you won't hand them over willingly, I'll have to use force."

Hiromi Higuruma looked at Kinji Hakari with some surprise.

"Couldn't tell. A person like you helps others too?"

Kinji Hakari laughed awkwardly.

"Hahaha, not exactly. Someone promised that if I helped him get the points, he'd help legalize my underground casino."

Naturally, that was not actually the case.

It was all Kinji Hakari's own idea. Megumi Fushiguro had never agreed to help legalize Kinji Hakari's underground casino.

But Hiromi Higuruma did not know that.

The moment he heard the word casino, his gaze turned cold, and the faint wavering in his heart vanished.

He slowly climbed out of the bathtub and walked down from the theater stage.

"Didn't expect you to be a casino owner."

"Not really an owner." Kinji Hakari also got into a fighting stance. "I just lead a few sorcerers in underground boxing matches."

"It's all the same. You're not a good person either way."

"I won't deny that."

Kinji Hakari watched Hiromi Higuruma with great interest.

From their conversation just now, he could tell that Hiromi Higuruma was not an ancient sorcerer revived through Kenjaku's incarnation.

He had also never heard the name Hiromi Higuruma before, so it was clear that he was a sorcerer who had awakened after the Culling Game began.

But how had someone who had awakened his cursed technique less than twelve days ago accumulated 102 points in the Culling Game?

How had he done it?

Just as Kinji Hakari was wondering what Hiromi Higuruma's cursed technique was, a small judge's gavel suddenly appeared in Hiromi Higuruma's hand, while a shikigami emerged behind him.

The shikigami's face was deathly pale, its eyes tightly shut, making it look as though it wore a mask.

It held a dish in each hand. From afar, it resembled a set of scales and did not seem to have much combat ability.

Just as Kinji Hakari was guessing what attack methods the shikigami behind Hiromi Higuruma possessed, Higuruma suddenly spoke words he had never expected.

"Domain Expansion: Deadly Sentencing!"

"W-What did you say?!"

In Tokyo No. 2 Colony, Yuji Itadori stammered as he questioned Jie Jian.

He wondered if he had misheard. Jie Jian had actually asked him whether he had people ready to be killed?!

Jie Jian spoke in surprise.

"Is that hard to understand? I don't have enough points yet. I need a few more people to make up 100 points."

"I-I'm not talking about the people! I mean, why do I have to prepare them?!"

"Isn't that obvious?" Jie Jian looked at Yuji Itadori as though it were only natural. "You're the one who needs me to kill people, so naturally, you're the one who has to prepare them."

"When did I need you to kill—"

Yuji Itadori froze before he could finish.

That was right. He was the one who needed 100 points right now to add a rule.

And since Jie Jian did not have enough points, didn't that subconsciously mean he had to kill a few more people?

Seeing Yuji Itadori's troubled expression, Jie Jian said thoughtfully:

"Yuji Itadori, you don't need to rush. It's only the twelfth day. There are still seven days before the rule requiring a point change within nineteen days kicks in."

"But you'd better hurry. Otherwise, I'm afraid some people will get impatient and go out early to earn points."

Seeing Yuji Itadori's grim expression, Jie Jian suddenly seemed to recall something. He raised a hand and pointed at the crowd present, speaking with a hint of malice.

"How about this? There are quite a few people here. Pick four of them and sentence them to death. Then I'll have enough for 100 points."

"What did you say?!"

Yuji Itadori stared at Jie Jian in shock.

Weren't these people his companions? How could he say something like that?!

The crowd also erupted into commotion because of Jie Jian's words.

Quite a few people took a frightened step back, looking at Jie Jian with fear in their eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Jie Jian smiled at Yuji Itadori.

"Don't you want to save people? The sooner, the better, right? A few sacrifices now are for the sake of saving even more people later."

"Th-This..."

Yuji Itadori instinctively wanted to argue.

But Jie Jian cut him off halfway through.

"Yuji Itadori, have you ever heard of the Trolley Problem?"

Seeing Yuji Itadori's confused expression, Jie Jian helplessly shook his head.

As expected of a Japanese high school student. This happy education was way too severe. How could he not even know something like this?

Panda spoke up from the side and explained the Trolley Problem to Yuji Itadori.

Listening to the hypothetical choice between saving five people and saving one person, Yuji Itadori immediately fell into hesitation.

Before Yuji Itadori had even thought things through, Jie Jian once again posed a question that struck at his soul.

"Yuji Itadori, let's change the question."

"If one day in the future, your friend endangered many people's lives for some reason, what would you do?"

"Would you risk everyone's lives trying to stop him, or would you leave him alone, call everyone over, and kill him together?"