Chapter 9

"Sir, I don't understand." DD, equipped with an emotion-simulation program, was bewildered.

"Not a single program, not a single line of logic can tell me why you give everything for humanity."

An Xinyi lowered his eyes. "Who knows?"

Why had the original Little Prince, and imitations like him-the An Xinyis who had inherited his longing and abilities and ultimately died in this distant, foreign land-given everything for a home that had never been theirs?

"I... we simply love humanity."

And so, no matter what, they never wanted this beautiful yet ugly, resilient yet fragile, intelligent yet foolish species to disappear.

"Mr. An Xinyi is so gentle..." Atsushi Nakajima couldn't help remarking. Every Mr. An Xinyi was gentle.

Ranpo Edogawa curled his lip. "He's just a big idiot."

Satoru Gojo propped his chin on his hand, intrigued. What a contradiction. Was someone like this, a love like that, really normal?

He believed, after all, that love was the most twisted curse of all.

An Xinyi knew better than anyone that he was dreaming.

This was a dream without light or hope. Yet it was not merely a dream, but something he had truly experienced himself.

So, this was the most powerful ability in the world, the most invincible ability.

Even though it was also the very ability that condemned him to cycle through this vicious circle forever.

Refusing to accept things was a sin; being unable to let go was an evil.

Yes, his ability's name was very straightforward.

It was the profound emotion that had welled up in the Little Prince's heart as, before his death, he gazed toward his vanished B-612, the home he could never return to.

It was called "Regret."

An ability that completely overwrote everything that had already happened.

"Hey, hey, does that mean what I think it means?" Chūya Nakahara's azure eyes widened. "No matter how you look at it, that's way too unfair."

Ayatsuji Yukito frowned. "Just as I thought. Now it all fits." The intense sense that something was off about An Xinyi, his inexplicable familiarity with them and his feelings toward them-it all made sense now.

Because, without their ever knowing, he had met them countless times, until he no longer wanted to see them again.

Osamu Dazai idly toyed with his bangs. "How presumptuous." Transference? Well, reluctant as he was to admit it, Osamu Dazai was the sort of person who would do the same. Precisely because something was too beautiful, he would refuse to take even a single step closer.

Santoka Taneda sucked in a breath, unable to stop himself from considering whether this ability had any weaknesses. The answer was-there was no counter to it.

They could at least attempt to keep a special class-A threat like Ayatsuji Yukito under supervision, but An Xinyi was utterly invincible. No method, no strategy, could defeat someone capable of using Regret.

Mori Ougai immediately cast his earlier plans to recruit An Xinyi to the winds. Like Santoka Taneda, he pondered how to deal with him, only to press a hand to his forehead in defeat. "That's too much. Far too much." He was only a lowly □□ boss. There was absolutely nothing he could do against an ability that amounted to cheating.

Yosano Akiko's expression grew desolate as well. She thought back to her days as the Angel of Death, her thoughts tangled into a knot before she finally sighed. "That really is an ability that tramples on life and cheapens it even more than mine."

If everything could be undone through Regret, was there anything left worth caring about?

In a spot no one noticed, a Calico Cat sat in a corner, watching the screen. His constantly swishing tail betrayed his inner unrest.

Over on the Jujutsu Kaisen side, the mood was entirely different.

"I'm so jealous! If I had an ability like that, I could win the lottery whenever I wanted." Nobara Kugisaki was practically weeping with envy. "Then I could buy any handbag I wanted!" And... my big sister...

"'Regret'... If I had an ability like that..." Yoshino wouldn't have died either, would he? Yuji Itadori, too, struggled to conceal how shaken he was.

Even Satoru Gojo couldn't help wavering. If he had that ability, could he have saved that girl and prevented his best friend from leaving?

He didn't know. But that was impossible now, anyway.

Yet this invincible ability with no counter was also the most sickening, most vicious ability in the world.

Without it, perhaps he could have lived an ordinary life. In the end, even if he remained unwilling to accept things, unable to let go, he could still have met his own end.

But now, he was imprisoned within this circle of repetition. His life, everything he was, would never reach an endpoint again.

Yes, all he had to do was refrain from using his ability. All he had to do was let go of his resentment and simply die. But he couldn't do it.

Dying was easy. Not dying was hard.

How could he possibly give up like this? How could he possibly just die?

Because, before he could meet the death that should have been his-

Humanity had been wiped out.

What??