Mahiko could never not come to save Nobara Kugisaki.
Because she wanted to.
She wanted to — so she absolutely would.
True, saving Nobara was going to be difficult. But it wasn't impossible, either.
For one thing, Mahiko had been growing steadily stronger, and her power had increased considerably. For another, Kenjaku genuinely couldn't — or rather, didn't dare — use his own Jujutsu Technique here in the middle of a crowded commercial district. Which meant her opponents would most likely be Rime, and the Special Grade Cursed Spirits like Jogo.
Inside Jogo and the others, Mahiko had already planted her bombs.
And as for Rime — yes, Rime was strong. Mahiko had no confidence she could beat Rime in a straight fight, especially walking headlong into a trap and being surrounded. But forcibly dragging Nobara out of there? That wasn't entirely out of the question.
Mahiko still had plenty of cards left to play.
She had what it took to make a fight of this.
What she'd said over the phone — that she didn't care about Nobara — was nothing more than misdirection. Mahiko had been ready long before that call ever came.
She'd already used a method she'd prepared in advance to shake off the surveillance Cursed Spirits Kenjaku had set on her. Then, through on-site reconnaissance, she'd located the massive LED screen mounted on the building across from the hotel — and found a way to seize control of it.
Just moments ago, she had transmitted her Cursed Speech through that screen, commanding Kenjaku and everyone else in that room: "Don't move."
In that opening window, Mahiko had launched Piercing Blood from the rooftop of the building across the way — a sniper shot aimed directly at Kenjaku.
Truthfully, given she was ninety-nine percent certain Kenjaku wouldn't engage personally, targeting Rime would have been the more rational play. But Rime's position was too far back inside the room — the angle wasn't good. So Mahiko had chosen to aim at Kenjaku instead. If she could land a devastating blow on him, the payoff would be enormous.
And in fact, the "Don't move" Mahiko had delivered through the screen was something Kenjaku had not anticipated at all.
His body locked up completely. For a brief instant, he couldn't move — and he could only watch, helpless, as Piercing Blood tore across the darkness of the night sky, streaking directly toward his head.
Crack.
A pity, though — there was still a gap between Kenjaku and Mahiko.
Her Cursed Speech hadn't held him for long.
Even as Piercing Blood struck his armor and sent fractures spiderwebbing across the metal with a splintering sound, Kenjaku was already moving again. He jerked his head to the side and dodged the shot — the attack only caught his facial armor and grazed the surface of his head.
But it had landed. And on top of that, Blood Manipulation carried its poison.
Kenjaku immediately took several rapid steps backward, concealed himself, and began treating the wound.
"She's here?!" Rime broke free of the hold as well, shaken by the sight of Kenjaku taking a hit, and snapped her gaze toward the direction the Piercing Blood had come from.
But Rime had no time to pinpoint Mahiko's position — the next wave of attacks was already crashing in.
A swarm of winged rabbits burst through the windows and exploded into the room in a deafening barrage.
Rime threw up her Cursed Energy to defend.
Nobara was hurled by the shockwave, toppling chair and all to the floor.
Through the haze of smoke and debris, Nobara had barely managed to open her eyes when she found the blue-haired girl already standing directly in front of her — hand already extended, already slicing through the runed chains binding her body.
The blue-haired Cursed Spirit was actually saving her?
"You—" Nobara started, astonished.
But there was no time for questions. An instant later, freezing Cursed Energy flooded the entire room.
Behind them, Rime's eyes were locked onto Mahiko, blazing with fury. "— Ice Seal Technique: Absolute Zero!"
"Tch." The girl clicked her tongue.
A frigid tide of cold came crashing in. Mahiko grabbed Nobara and yanked her out of the way.
The icy breath condensed into a wall of ice, cutting off Mahiko's path to the window and the exit beyond it. Then, from outside the window, a Curtain rose — vast in scope, large enough that Mahiko could see it had swallowed the entire upper portion of the hotel's high floors whole.
Damn.
Mahiko's expression darkened.
She'd been one step too slow.
The Curtain they'd had prepared deployed far too quickly.
"What's the matter?" Kenjaku stepped out from the icy mist, smiling. He had already switched to a new helmet. "Still couldn't bring yourself to abandon your little toy after all? You always manage to surprise me — you always show me something new. Which is precisely why I value you this much... why I find the bond between us so difficult to let go of."
"A bond?" Mahiko let out a cold laugh. "Is there even a bond between us anymore? The moment you did something like this, whatever was between us ceased to exist."
As she spoke, Mahiko kept her eyes moving, scanning the Curtain with wary attention.
The building had one hundred and fifty floors in total. The Curtain appeared to enclose everything from floor one hundred and ten to floor one hundred and fifty, along with a section of sky above the building's apex.
It was enormous.
And it looked solid, too.
Though — from what she'd gathered, the upper floors of this hotel hadn't been opened to the public yet, reportedly still under renovation. There weren't many ordinary guests up here.
Was there something hidden up above?
If Kenjaku had chosen this location as his battlefield, he had his reasons. She needed to stay alert.
Kenjaku spoke again. "No, actually — I only used her to draw you here. The truth is, there's still something I'd like to discuss with you."
Mahiko frowned. "Discuss?"
Kenjaku smiled. "Yes. Discuss... what it is you actually want. For instance — have you already figured out that I've been deceiving you all along?"
Mahiko paused.
Deceiving them... when Kenjaku said "deceiving you all," he had to be referring to that one promise — the one where he claimed he would help the Cursed Spirits build a new world that belonged to them.
Kenjaku had never intended to help the Cursed Spirits create any new world. He was simply using them. And at the end of it all, he would very likely devour and absorb Mahiko and Jogo alike.
He had probably already guessed — that Mahiko had seen through his deception.
That was why he was saying this now.
Snap.
Kenjaku snapped his fingers.
With a crackling burst, the electric cursed seal he had planted at the back of Nobara's neck triggered, sending a shock through her and knocking her unconscious.
Mahiko's brow furrowed. She reached out to check on Nobara. The seal's Cursed Energy had been minute — too faint to detect — and was designed purely to knock Nobara out. He simply didn't want Nobara hearing what they were about to say.
"Since we're both intelligent people, let's speak plainly." Kenjaku smiled. "I can form a Binding Vow with you — a promise that I will never turn against you afterward. That I will not harm you. That I will not absorb you. Not ever. What do you say?"
Mahiko stared at him, completely thrown, with no idea what he was playing at.
"A Binding Vow?"
"Yes. A Binding Vow," Kenjaku said. "My original plan was to use you and the others as pieces on a board — to cultivate you, wait until your Jujutsu precision was refined enough, and then kill you and absorb you. But... I could change my mind. It all depends on you."
"..."
"Because I have never, in all my existence, encountered anyone as fascinating as you." Kenjaku smiled. "You're extraordinary. And so I want to invite you to stand beside me and witness together what lies at the very end of the road for both humans and Cursed Spirits. If you agree to work with me — then I'll bind myself to you in a Vow: I will never absorb you. I will never harm you. I will treat you as my closest, most cherished companion."
Mahiko let out a cold laugh. "And the price?"
"The price is that you must give me peace of mind. You can form a Binding Vow with me in return — swearing to assist me, and to take no action against my interests, until our shared plan reaches its conclusion. Once it's over, you're free to kill me however you like. How does that sound?"
"Or — you could simply kill Nobara Kugisaki right here, right now. That would accomplish roughly the same thing."
Kenjaku said it to Mahiko's face.
"If you'd rather not kill her, you could also find someone else — some sorcerer you don't particularly care about — and kill them instead. Burn your bridges with the jujutsu sorcerer world completely and irreparably. Do that, and I'll be willing to call you my deepest friend."
Kenjaku smiled, holding Mahiko's gaze.
"My proposal. Are you interested?"
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting in The Long Dark with My Waifus
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