The Time Vessel Association's Saintess, Ronova!

Suguru Geto explained everything to Ronova.

One by one, she learned of those people's crimes.

Then she killed them all without hesitation.

Through it all, Ronova guessed what Geto was really planning.

Clearly, he wanted her to develop a hatred of humanity so he could manipulate her later into helping him carry out his plan.

To wipe out every human being.

And create a world where no Cursed Spirits would be born.

Geto's plan, she had to admit, had a decent chance of working.

Because Ronova really could wipe out humanity.

As the Death Curse Spirit, Ronova grew stronger by witnessing death.

And it didn't matter how those deaths came about.

If Ronova were ruthless enough, she could simply start killing people herself.

The more she killed, the stronger she would become.

Unless Satoru Gojo found her and put her down the moment she started killing, that was.

Otherwise, once Ronova grew strong enough,

even Gojo would end up shining her shoes.

If Ronova agreed to cooperate, Geto's plan to exterminate humanity really could succeed.

The one thing Geto hadn't accounted for was that Ronova had been human before becoming a Cursed Spirit.

So she wouldn't be swayed by him.

But if Ronova really had been nothing more than a newborn Death Curse Spirit,

then after Geto's careful guidance,

he might genuinely have talked her into going on a killing spree.

Given the Death Curse Spirit's unique nature, Gojo would have to realize the danger and eliminate her before she got started.

Otherwise, whether the world would end was hard to say, but humanity would probably be finished.

In a way, Ronova had saved all of humanity.

She had kept herself from wiping humanity out. How did that not count as saving it?

After playing saintess for a while and executing another batch of scum,

Ronova soon returned to Shoko Ieiri's home.

Shoko hadn't finished work yet, so Ronova had the place to herself.

She was about to play a couple of games to unwind

when Gojo suddenly teleported in.

The moment he arrived, he noticed something different about her.

"You killed someone?"

Gojo looked straight at Ronova.

For a Cursed Spirit born from the concept of death,

this was the first time Ronova had killed anyone since her birth.

She hadn't exactly been living up to the name "Death Curse Spirit."

Ronova had intended to keep it quiet, but since Gojo had noticed, she simply admitted it.

"Yes. I killed some vile scum."

Gojo's pupils contracted.

"Some?"

As someone who knew what Ronova was,

his greatest fear was that she would go down the wrong path.

If Ronova turned evil, the consequences would be terrifying.

Even Gojo would have to eliminate her early. Once she grew strong enough, he might not be able to stop her.

In that instant, his killing intent surged.

Even Ronova felt a chill, but she forced herself to stay calm and explained, "Yes. Geto took me to a Time Vessel Association base."

"He brought in a dozen or so pieces of scum for me to deal with."

"Once I confirmed what they were, I killed them."

Gojo's killing intent eased a little at her explanation.

Gojo himself was hardly softhearted.

He could be decisive when it came to killing, too.

If someone deserved to die, he wouldn't hesitate.

But Ronova was different.

She was the Death Curse Spirit.

If she came to enjoy killing people, the consequences would be disastrous.

So even after accepting her explanation, Gojo pressed her. "How did killing that many people make you feel?"

"How did it make me feel?"

Ronova thought for a moment. "Pretty good!"

"Good?"

Gojo's heart sank. That sounded bad.

Then Ronova went on, "When I think about how I killed those monsters and let their victims finally rest in peace,"

"I can't help smiling!"

Gojo breathed a sigh of relief. So that was what made her feel good.

He had thought the act of killing itself brought her pleasure.

That would have been terrifying.

Still, although he accepted Ronova's reasoning, Gojo couldn't help feeling wary of her.

He couldn't simply set that concern aside.

After all, Ronova was a Cursed Spirit, not a human.

He couldn't assume she would always think like one.

In fact, Gojo had already begun thinking of ways to place some limits on her.

If she kept growing unchecked, things could spiral out of control.

Ronova, meanwhile, was thinking much the same thing.

She was looking for a chance to get out of there.

Sure, living off Shoko was comfortable.

But she was the Death Curse Spirit. Did she really need someone else to support her?

Besides, she was a Cursed Spirit. She could be friends with humans, but she couldn't stay by their side forever.

There had to be some distance between them.

For now, it wasn't a problem.

But as Ronova grew stronger, even the Cursed Energy that leaked from her unconsciously would become a disaster for Jujutsu Sorcerers.

An overwhelmingly powerful being could force her surroundings to adapt to her.

One day, Ronova would do the same.

Even if she did nothing, her presence alone would drastically change the environment around her.

Cursed Spirits could benefit from those changes.

Whether ordinary humans and Jujutsu Sorcerers could was another matter.

So even without Gojo, Ronova needed to find a chance to leave.

Some birds simply weren't meant to be caged!

Her conversation with Gojo soon ended.

Ronova quickly settled back into her usual routine.

At home, she played the sweetheart around Shoko and shamelessly lived off her.

When she had time, she went out with Geto and played the saintess for his followers.

She had to admit, she was getting better and better at being the Time Vessel Association's saintess.

During that time, Geto showed Ronova many more examples of the so-called "evil of humanity."

Even though Ronova had braced herself, some of them nearly broke her.

There was no need to go into the details. Suffice it to say, they were deeply disturbing.

Because of that, Ronova inevitably came to agree with part of Geto's thinking.

Some humans really did deserve to be wiped out.

But only part of it.

Some humans really did deserve to die.

There was one other thing worth mentioning.

Gojo later found time to take Ronova on several more missions.

Megumi Fushiguro came along each time.

Yes, Gojo was still trying to help them form a bond.

As for the results, there was essentially nothing to show for it.

Neither Ronova nor Megumi was especially warm or outgoing.

With both of them so reserved, how were they supposed to form a bond easily?

If either Ronova or Megumi had been Yuji Itadori instead, it might have worked.

The Tiger Heavenly Emperor had thick skin. He would have taken the initiative to break the ice.