So she raised her voice and howled.
"Toji Fushiguro, you have no class! Picking on a minor-what kind of example are you setting for your son?"
"Huh?"
What the hell was she babbling about when her life was hanging by a thread?
To his surprise, Miwa Chisei tightened her grip even further, cold sweat covering her face as the Inverted Spear of Heaven tugged at her wound.
"You're using the Inverted Spear of Heaven to stop me from using jujutsu again. You're scared of dying too, aren't you?"
"Scared I'll Counter-Curse you back? Maybe I'll even Counter-Curse little Megumi."
"Coward!"
With his body endowed by a heavenly restriction, Toji Fushiguro had long been known as the Sorcerer Killer, taking sorcerers' heads with a single stroke of his blade.
His hand-to-hand combat skills were virtually unmatched, but this was the first time a sorcerer had started hurling insults at him in the middle of a fight.
He considered himself plenty devious and underhanded, but he had never seen such a low-down way of fighting. Couldn't beat him, so she resorted to insults?
"Keep talking. You won't be able to once your tongue's cut out, will you?"
Miwa Chisei fell silent for a second, then pressed on without fear.
"Scumbag. A reject the Zenin Clan threw away, desperate to feel important somewhere else."
"What kind of man relies on sneak attacks? You couldn't actually beat Gojo, could you? Pathetic!"
Toji Fushiguro tightened his grip on the Inverted Spear of Heaven. He knew the girl was saying these things to draw his attention, but he really did seem to be getting a little angry.
So he bent down and squeezed Miwa Chisei's cheeks, a vicious gleam in his eyes.
"You're too damn loud. Might as well cut it off."
Toji Fushiguro was so strong that Miwa Chisei couldn't close her mouth at all. She could only let him force her lips and teeth apart, exposing the endlessly chattering source of all evil to him.
He even thoughtfully took out a small dagger, pressing its icy blade against Miwa Chisei's skin.
"I'll send you to join the Gojo Clan's young master in a moment."
Only two thoughts remained in Miwa Chisei's mind-she had gambled wrong, and Toji Fushiguro really did kill without batting an eye.
The second was whether she still had a chance to escape.
Miwa Chisei didn't know if she was imagining it, but Toji Fushiguro was moving slowly, almost dawdling, in stark contrast to his usual swift precision.
Just as Miwa Chisei's teeth touched the hard weapon, a familiar voice erupted beside them, carrying wild, defiant laughter.
"Hey, hey. I sure as hell don't want to see that brat down there."
Toji Fushiguro froze. His hands stopped moving, and he looked up at the silver-haired boy standing there unharmed. The fatal wound on his neck had healed, but his body was covered in blood.
The boy's eyes were now filled with a crazed intent to kill.
"Seriously?"
The silver-haired boy he had stabbed to death was standing before him, alive and well.
"Seriously. I'm feeling fantastic right now."
Satoru Gojo swept his hair aside, revealing a clearly visible, still-unhealed scab on his forehead.
It had been left by the dagger driven into his head earlier.
Toji Fushiguro hesitated for a moment. Only that technique could have healed his wounds so quickly.
"Reverse Cursed Technique...?"
Miwa Chisei was forced to gape, wide-eyed. She really wanted to turn around and see what the guy who had cheated death looked like now. Was he really all right? Surely he wasn't standing there looking ridiculous with a dagger still stuck in his head?
"Correct-I couldn't use it before, either!"
But judging by his voice alone, he sounded full of energy. Maybe even a little too full of it.
Toji Fushiguro sneered, relaxing his grip and releasing Miwa Chisei.
Finally able to catch her breath, she glanced back at Satoru Gojo.
Blood stained the now-uninjured boy's silver hair, and the white shirt beneath his Jujutsu High uniform was spattered with it too. Yet an indescribable excitement lit his face.
Meeting Miwa Chisei's gaze, Satoru Gojo actually raised a hand in greeting.
"Miwa, I'm so glad you're not dead."
A jumble of emotions filled Miwa Chisei's heart, but in the end, they melted into a single thought.
I'm so glad this guy isn't dead either.
Toji Fushiguro glanced at the dead weight clinging to his leg, and Miwa Chisei let go without expression. He even saw an infuriating hint of provocation in the girl's eyes.
And Miwa Chisei understood that something about Satoru Gojo's presence had changed.
"You lost because you didn't cut my head off, and because you didn't use that cursed tool when you stabbed me in the head."
Satoru Gojo tilted his head with a smile and pointed at it.
Hearing this, Miwa Chisei suddenly realized that Toji Fushiguro really had left Satoru Gojo a chance to survive, because he hadn't used a method that would guarantee his death.
What was he playing at? I really can't figure this man out.
Miwa Chisei coughed a few times and weakly took two steps to the side. She felt that Satoru Gojo no longer needed her help.
If he had learned Reverse Cursed Technique, that meant he could heal himself as long as he still had a breath left in him.
Ah... he learned it before me after all. Looks like he's still more talented than I am.
Despite her grumbling, a gentle smile curved Miwa Chisei's lips.
Thank goodness you learned it, you idiot.
Before you continue