Before the words had faded, Satoru Gojo was already standing in front of Jogo and the other two.
His hands were in his pockets.
"Yo."
"You guys all right?"
Jogo and the other two had just gotten up from the ground.
The arm torn off Jogo had already regrown from his shoulder, and the cracks around Hanami's wrists had mostly healed.
The scorch marks on Mahito's chest were still slowly recovering, but at least outwardly, they no longer seemed to impede his movements.
Jogo raised his head and looked at the smiling man before him, gritting his teeth.
"You bastard..."
"He's so strong!"
Hanami's voice was low, edged with urgency.
"We're in danger."
"Now we..."
She did not finish.
Because her gaze shifted in that instant.
It passed over Satoru Gojo's shoulder, toward the area behind him.
Jogo and Mahito followed her gaze.
The muscles at the corner of Jogo's mouth twitched slightly, then slowly curved upward.
"Dagon and the other three are here."
Satoru Gojo's eyebrow twitched.
He turned his head, following their gazes in that direction.
Four figures stood on the hillside.
The one at the front was a nearly transparent humanoid, tall but possessing only a hazy outline.
The most striking feature was the very center of his chest.
There was a fist-sized core of light there, slowly pulsing like a miniature nuclear reactor.
Beside him stood a girl of about fifteen or sixteen, wearing a dark kimono with pale gold patterns embroidered on the cuffs and hem.
Her long hair fell over her shoulders, its ends curling slightly.
To the girl's left was a stooped old man.
He was gaunt, but carried a pitch-black scythe a full three meters long at his side.
On the far right was a short, fat, octopus-like creature, a pair of