The situation left him no choice. If he talked, he might survive; if he refused, he would definitely die.
Although he had already lived a long time, everyone feared death. No one thought they had lived too long. After much deliberation, the face in the ghostly flame gave up resisting and spoke with a fawning expression.
"Yes, yes, sir. Ask me anything, and I'll answer. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Faced with a choice between life and death, he chose life.
Curse Users were an untrustworthy bunch to begin with. Betrayal was an everyday occurrence.
With his own life at stake, the face in the ghostly flame saw nothing shameful about his behavior. Backbone?
What was that?
Once his life was gone, it was gone for good.
Chingetsu watched the fawning face in the ghostly flame, a flicker of contempt crossing his eyes. "Curse Users. Heh..."
He strolled over to the sofa in the room and settled into a comfortable position. "First question: who are you?"
"I'm a Grade 2 Curse User affiliated with Q, specializing in mental jujutsu. My name is Kōhei Hachibonki..." This fellow certainly spilled everything readily.
Chingetsu looked at the groveling Kōhei Hachibonki with some amusement.
To stay alive, the fellow had nearly recounted eighteen generations of his ancestry. "Stop. Second question: what was your objective?"
Chingetsu interrupted Kōhei Hachibonki's endless chatter. "My objective? Uh, my objective..."
"Sir, I'm just a nobody in the organization. I saw the bounty on Satoru Gojo and lost my head for a moment. I wanted to invite you to visit the Q Organization."
"If I'd known someone as formidable as you was here, I wouldn't have dared take this mission even under threat of death!"
Tears streamed down Kōhei Hachibonki's ghastly green face. His words sounded utterly sincere, though whether he was putting on an act or simply terrified was unclear.
One thing was true, however: if he had known how terrifying Chingetsu was, he would never have dared provoke such a monster, even under threat of death.
"The Q Organization, huh..."
"I never came looking for trouble with you, yet you couldn't hold yourselves back." Chingetsu's tone was somewhat mocking.
Kōhei Hachibonki did not even dare breathe loudly. He lowered his head submissively, afraid the other party might take a dislike to him and wipe him out.
"All right, I've got the general picture. I'm very satisfied with your answers." "I keep my word. I'll let you go this time."
"R-really?"
Joy lit up Kōhei Hachibonki's face. He had already prepared himself for the other party to go back on his word, yet the boy had actually spared him.
Still a boy at heart, after all. So little experience of the world.
A trace of concealed hatred flashed through Kōhei Hachibonki's eyes, but he hid it well. "Of course. Aren't you leaving? Or do you want me to see you out?"
Chingetsu signaled Killer Queen to release his grip, freeing Kōhei Hachibonki. "One more thing. I want you to deliver a message to the Q Organization."
Chapter 15: "Second Bomb" Activated! (Ahem, this shameless little author begs for a monthly vote.) "He actually let me go?"
The ghostly flame returned to the old man's body. A trace of joy at having escaped death rose across Kōhei Hachibonki's face, then turned into wild laughter.
"What a joke! Someone actually believed a Curse User's words."
The fawning expression Kōhei Hachibonki had worn before Chingetsu instantly turned vicious and venomous.
"I miscalculated this time, but letting me go will be the stupidest decision you ever make!"
After casting a venomous glance toward Chingetsu's bar, Kōhei Hachibonki hurried toward the organization's branch. Although the boy had said he would spare him, there was no telling when he might change his mind.
At a time like this, only being inside the organization could give him a shred of security. As for the message Chingetsu wanted him to deliver...
He, Kōhei Hachibonki, was not that stupid. Doing so would certainly let the organization know he had failed his mission.
All he wanted now was to return to the organization and give an embellished account of his experience, preferably joining forces with its other members to deal with that hateful fellow.
Recalling the humiliation Chingetsu had inflicted on him, how he had groveled before Chingetsu and meekly awaited death, Kōhei Hachibonki's resentment surged like rivers bursting their banks.
But blinded by hatred, Kōhei Hachibonki failed to notice a bomb tank following close behind him.
Killer Queen's Stand ability, "Second Bomb": Sheer Heart Attack, activate!
An eerie red light flickered in the eye sockets of the skull atop the bomb tank. Its target was none other than the disheveled Kōhei Hachibonki. Chingetsu would never let a tiger return to its mountain.
He was no bleeding-heart saint who would think of forgiving someone after being walked all over. Chingetsu silently sensed the bomb tank's movements.
The moment the "Second Bomb" stopped moving would be when Kōhei Hachibonki returned to the Q Organization. This was a surprise for the Q Organization, a lavish gift he had carefully prepared.
As for his earlier promise to spare Kōhei Hachibonki, a cold curve formed at the corner of Chingetsu's mouth.
He would spare Kōhei Hachibonki, but he had never said Killer Queen would spare Kōhei Hachibonki. Yes, that was perfectly reasonable.
As for asking Kōhei Hachibonki to deliver a message, that was merely a pretext.
Since they had provoked him, the death of one Kōhei Hachibonki would not settle the matter. Chingetsu walked to the window and looked up at the moon in the sky.
He sensed the bomb tank gradually slowing down, which meant Kōhei Hachibonki was getting closer and closer to the Q Organization's meeting place.
Meanwhile, Kōhei Hachibonki had reached the Q Organization's gathering place. "Here. Almost there!"
Kōhei Hachibonki had never found the Q Organization so endearing. Chingetsu had already scared him out of his wits, and returning to the organization now felt as comforting as coming home.
"That bastard humiliated me like that. I'll make sure he dies a horrible death!" The more Kōhei Hachibonki feared Chingetsu, the deeper his hatred for him grew.
Kōhei Hachibonki straightened his clothes to make himself look less disheveled. "Everyone."
With a grief-stricken expression, Kōhei Hachibonki was just about to give an embellished account of his experience when he noticed everyone in the organization staring behind him as though they had seen a ghost.
"Kōhei Hachibonki, at your age, you still feel like playing with toys?" "Strange. What's behind me?"
"And what toy?"
Kōhei Hachibonki instinctively looked back. A toy tank sat behind him, its alarm beeping. This thing...
Strange. When did it get here?
No, no... this skull design. I think I've seen it somewhere! Chingetsu's image suddenly flashed through Kōhei Hachibonki's mind.
It was him! That 'evil spirit' he summoned had the same skull design on its body! Kōhei Hachibonki instantly remembered where he had seen the design.
That bastard never intended to let me go!
Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. Kōhei Hachibonki instinctively sensed something was wrong. But by then, a member of the Q Organization had already picked up the bomb tank from the floor. "It's dangerous! Destroy it, now!"
Kōhei Hachibonki shouted sharply, then gathered all his cursed energy and struck the bomb tank. "What? Kōhei Hachibonki, is it April Fools' Day? This toy doesn't look..." "Hey, hey! You're serious?"
Struck by Kōhei Hachibonki's cursed energy, the bomb tank fell to the floor. Beep, beep, beep...
Under attack, the bomb tank's alarm grew increasingly urgent.
But strangely, the seemingly toy-like bomb tank remained completely undamaged by the cursed energy attack. This defied science!
The members of the Q Organization who noticed something amiss gathered their cursed energy and attacked the bomb tank. Kōhei Hachibonki put in more effort than anyone.
Although he did not know what this tank-like thing did, recalling the boy's cold, ruthless ways convinced Kōhei Hachibonki that it could not be anything good.
Attack after attack struck the "Second Bomb," and the surrounding temperature rose sharply.
But to their despair, even several Grade 2 Curse Users working together could not inflict the slightest damage on the bizarre tank.
At the same time, Chingetsu sensed the "Second Bomb's" current state. "It's time."
A brilliant burst of fireworks rose high into the distant sky.
Sensing the returning "Second Bomb," Chingetsu gently drew the curtains. His sharp, cold eyes grew all the deeper in the darkness.
"This is only a warning."
Chapter 16: Masamichi Yaga's Concerns
Early the next morning, at Jujutsu High.
"Seven men have been confirmed dead. The deceased have been identified as members of the Q Organization. Cause of death: a violent explosion." "Among the seven were three Grade 2s and two Grade 3s. The rest were Grade 4s."
"The deceased had expressions of terror, suggesting they may have experienced something horrifying before their deaths. Here are their files. I'll leave them with you, Mr. Yaga."
A girl with somewhat delicate features, dressed in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, handed Masamichi Yaga a report. Utahime Iori, a student at Jujutsu High and Satoru Gojo's senior.
Utahime Iori was reporting to Masamichi Yaga on the explosion that had occurred the previous day. Masamichi Yaga took the report she handed him, his expression somewhat grave.
"Seven Curse Users died in a single night, including three Grade 2 Curse Users. Who could have pulled off something on this scale?"
Masamichi Yaga's brow furrowed deeply.
Whoever could kill so many Curse Users in a single night possessed terrifying strength.
Although Curse Users, the scum of Jujutsu Society, deserved no sympathy in death, it was unknown whether their killer was friend or foe.
If it was some powerful Jujutsu Sorcerer who preferred to stay out of the public eye, that would be fine.
But if a cursed spirit was responsible, then it very likely possessed Special Grade strength, and ranked among the very strongest Special Grade Cursed Spirits at that.
"This really is a headache. There have been far too many unexpected incidents lately." "Fortunately, I've had your help, Utahime. Thank you for all your hard work recently."
"You're welcome, sir. It's what I should do as your student."
Before you continue