Yang Jian stood quietly as the black shadow beneath his feet began rapidly contracting.
The pure blackness covering the stone steps receded at a visible pace, retreating along the edges of the light until it returned beneath Yang Jian's feet and became an ordinary shadow again.
The sky returned to its original blue. Sunlight spilled over the mountain path once more, and the wind rustled through the branches of the ancient trees.
The broken cedar lay across the edge of the steps, having smashed several bluestone slabs. Soil had been torn up from the ground. Blood trickled down the sloping slabs and pooled in shallow hollows.
Riko stood farther up the steps.
Her face was deathly pale with terror.
She looked at Satoru Gojo lying in a pool of blood, then turned toward Suguru Geto, unconscious and covered in blade wounds. Her whole body trembled.
"Yang Jian... please, save them." Riko's voice shook with tears as she pointed at the two on the ground.
Kuroi embraced Riko from behind, gently patting her back to soothe her.
Yang Jian turned to look at Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo lying nearby.
An unnaturally clean wound gaped in Satoru Gojo's chest, where a sharp weapon had severed his aorta in an instant.
The flesh of Suguru Geto's left arm hung torn open, and severe blood loss had left his breathing faint.
"I have no means of saving people." Yang Jian shook his head without approaching either body. "Stay here. I'll go get some outside help."
As his words fell silent, something changed.
Red light rose around Yang Jian and instantly expanded, engulfing his entire body. It even blocked out the surrounding natural light.
The light flashed and vanished.
Yang Jian disappeared into thin air.
The infirmary at Tokyo Metropolitan Jujutsu High.
The room smelled of disinfectant.
Shoko sat behind her desk, marking medical examination forms with a red pen.
Several extinguished cigarette butts filled the metal ashtray on the desk.
Heavy dark circles lay beneath her eyes.
Dazzling red light bloomed in the center of the room.
Shoko looked up.
Yang Jian stepped straight out of the red light and stopped in front of her desk.
He glanced at the files scattered across it before returning his gaze to Shoko's face.
Shoko froze for a second, then set down her pen.
"Weren't you off working as a bodyguard?" Shoko stood. "What happened?"
"Gojo is 'dead.'" Yang Jian's voice remained perfectly level. "Geto is badly injured and unconscious. Grab your medical kit and come with me."
Shoko's expression darkened instantly.
She skipped all further questions, turned, and pulled open the glass cabinet behind her. Lifting the silver, two-tier medical case with one hand, she returned to Yang Jian's side.
Red light flared again.
It swallowed the space around them.
The light contracted.
Silence returned to the infirmary.
The fatigue from their extended stay in Okinawa still lingered in Suguru Geto's mind.
Red light bloomed out of thin air over the stone steps.
Yang Jian and Shoko appeared beside the spot where Suguru Geto had fallen.
Shoko immediately dropped to one knee and unlatched the medical case with one hand.
A soft glow lit up her hands.
Positive energy from Reverse Cursed Technique flowed out, precisely covering every wound on Suguru Geto's body.
His flesh began rapidly repairing itself. Torn tissue drew together, the deep blade wound on his left arm gradually closed, and blood vessel walls reconnected and resumed carrying blood. Fresh skin covered the newly formed tissue.
His complexion visibly improved.
Yang Jian did not watch the treatment. He walked toward the other side.
He stopped beside Satoru Gojo.
Satoru Gojo's blood had stained half the steps red.
Yang Jian lowered his head, looking at the body that showed no signs of life.
A joint in Satoru Gojo's right index finger twitched faintly.
Yang Jian was not surprised.
The blood stopped flowing entirely.
Faint sounds of contracting muscle came from inside Satoru Gojo's chest. Damaged organ tissue rapidly reconstructed itself, neurons reconnected, and fresh tissue grew along the edges of the wound, filling the fatal cavity.
Satoru Gojo opened his eyes, opened his mouth wide, and sucked in a huge breath.
He sat up and reached out to touch the spot where his breastbone had been split open.
His clothes were torn and bloodstained, but the skin beneath was intact. He touched the right side of his neck as well. Not a single wound remained.
The corners of Satoru Gojo's mouth slowly lifted. He began chuckling, his laughter carrying through the woods and growing louder until it became unrestrained, wild laughter.
On the boundary between life and death, he had successfully grasped the workings of Reverse Cursed Technique.
"Congratulations," Yang Jian said as he watched him laugh. "You're the strongest now. No one in Jujutsu Society can beat you."
Satoru Gojo stopped laughing.
He stood upright, the fluctuations of cursed energy radiating from his body far exceeding anything he had produced before.
His eyes shone with exhilaration, and an overwhelming pressure surrounded him. "Where's that guy?"
"I bought him off." Yang Jian looked straight into Satoru Gojo's eyes. "He's gone to the Time Vessel Association's place. He'll take care of the loose ends."
Satoru Gojo understood the implications.
He raised an eyebrow, his teasing tone returning at once. "Since when were you so kind?"
"We each got what we wanted." Yang Jian slipped his hands into his uniform pockets. "He has a son. A very talented one. You can talk to him and pay to take the boy off his hands. Otherwise, the kid will be sold to the Zenin Clan."
Satoru Gojo rubbed his chin and thought for two seconds. "Really? That sounds interesting."
Suguru Geto opened his eyes.
The rise and fall of his chest steadied. He sat up, bracing himself against the ground.
He had heard their entire conversation.
Suguru Geto looked down at his uninjured body and fell briefly silent.
Shoko stood.
She closed the metal medical case and looked at Satoru Gojo, who was full of energy, and Suguru Geto, who had already gotten up. Showing little emotion, she said, "Since everything's settled, I'll head back. I still have a report to rewrite."
Carrying her case, Shoko passed the others and stopped before Yang Jian. "Aren't you going to take me back?"
With a flash of red light, Shoko was gone.
Once they had rested, the group headed into the barrier.
They passed through the building's corridors and entered a large service elevator.
A button was pressed.
The mechanical cables rumbled against the pulleys.
The elevator began its steady descent.
The indicator lights on the wall kept changing.
They arrived at the Tombs of the Star Corridor, deep underground.
The elevator doors slid open to either side.
A main path paved with stone slabs stretched before them, lined with dim floor lights. The surrounding air was cold and clammy.
The four followed the stone path forward.
Kuroi walked beside Riko.
At the entrance to a long, narrow passage, Kuroi stopped.
She turned to face Riko.
Kuroi bent at the waist and bowed deeply. "Lady Riko, this is as far as I can accompany you. Please..."
The rest of her words caught on her lips.
Riko rushed forward and threw her arms around Kuroi's neck.
She buried her face in Kuroi's shoulder and began sobbing rapidly, her voice muffled by tears.
"Kuroi... I love you most of all. I always have, and I always will."
Kuroi wrapped her arms around Riko's back, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The two held each other tightly.
Yang Jian, Satoru Gojo, and Suguru Geto stood three paces away. None of them spoke.
After a moment, Riko let go.
She fiercely wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, turned, and walked into the passage.
She did not look back.
The farewell was over.
They continued toward the barrier's core.
The group's mood remained subdued.
[Tombs of the Star Corridor · Main hall]
The path ended, and the space suddenly opened up.
An immense underground hall appeared before them.
An enormous ancient tree grew at its center. Its trunk was impossibly thick, and massive, tangled roots burrowed into the rock beneath the floor. Dense cursed energy filled the entire space.
Suguru Geto stopped and pointed out the way to Riko.
"This is the foundation of the country's barriers, at Master Tengen's feet." Suguru Geto pointed to the junction at the base of the tree. "Go down the stairs, pass through that door, and walk to the roots of that tree. That's inside a special barrier. Only those invited can enter. Master Tengen will protect you until the merger is complete."
Riko looked at the door.
The light faded completely from her eyes, and her feet stopped moving.
No other sound remained in the main hall.
Suguru Geto turned his head to look at Riko's profile.
"Or you can turn back and go home with Miss Kuroi."
Those words broke the silence.
Riko abruptly raised her head.
She looked at Suguru Geto. A little light returned to her eyes.
Suguru Geto's expression was calm. "Our teacher feels guilty about this. Like Yang Jian, he sees the 'merger' as 'erasure.' So we talked it over. Whatever choice you make, we'll make sure you have a future."
Riko's breathing caught.
Her lips trembled slightly.
"Ever since I was born, everyone has told me I'm 'special,' different from other people." Riko clenched the hem of her skirt in both hands. "But to me, being 'special' was just normal. I avoided danger as much as I could and lived all this time for this day. I don't remember when my parents died, and I don't feel sad or lonely about it."
Riko kept her head lowered, her voice gradually rising.
"So I thought that even if I merged and had to leave everyone, I'd be okay. No matter how painful it was, someday the sadness and loneliness would fade."
Large tears spilled from her eyes and struck the stone slabs.
Riko burst into sobs.
"But I really do want to spend more time with everyone. I want to go to more places with you, see all kinds of sights, and stay a little longer..."
Suguru Geto held out his right hand, palm up.
"Let's go back, Riko."
Riko nodded firmly.
She reached out and gripped Suguru Geto's hand tightly.
"What a little crybaby." Satoru Gojo's voice cut through the sorrowful atmosphere. He strode between them and vigorously ruffled Riko's long hair.
Riko wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and protested.
She swung her other hand at Satoru Gojo's arm.
Satoru Gojo stepped back to dodge and kept teasing her.
Riko clenched her fists and chased after him.
The two began fooling around beside the ancient tree in the main hall, completely dispelling the earlier gloom.
Yang Jian stood a short distance away, quietly watching without intervening.
A pale blue panel suddenly appeared on Yang Jian's retinas.
The system's notification text appeared line by line.
[Mission complete. Rewards will be distributed based on the host's performance.] [Toji Fushiguro survived and became a partner.] [Satoru Gojo awakened Reverse Cursed Technique.] [Star Plasma Vessel Riko Amanai survived.] [Plot deviation has reached the highest rating.] [Reward points: 500,000.] [The supernatural invasion will begin in 15 days.]
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