Chapter 349: Penacony Arc 『 Part Forty-four 』, The Promised Neverland of the Penacony
「 "I've crossed blades with him before."
"I see. Impressive, as expected of you." Aventurine's eyes lit up. "Then I'll keep this brief… This Duke Inferno is a Fire Demon from Fetora, an elemental lifeform. Word has it his origin is even linked to a certain member of the Genius Society… He and his followers formed the 'Ever-Flame Mansion,' regarding Nanook as their benefactor—though in truth, they operate under the Duke's command, pillaging and burning across the stars to enact the will of 『 Destruction 』."
"I'm not sure what went wrong with the Family's heads, or if someone behind the scenes was pulling the strings, but this lot actually received an invitation. Naturally, the Ever-Flame Mansion wasn't about to decline. They came with aggressive intent, vowing to turn the Planet of Festivities into a sea of fire…"
"But there's no need to worry; they won't be making the appointment. Do you know why?"
Aventurine spoke in a calm, measured tone: "—Because Ifrit is dead."
"What happened?" Stelle looked at him in disbelief.
Aventurine paced slowly behind her. "They were annihilated en route. The killer dispatched Ifrit with a display of divine technique, brutally murdering him and hijacking the invitation sent to the Annihilation Gang. The Ever-Flame Mansion fell apart, scattering like startled birds—"
"And shortly after, a mysterious Galaxy Ranger arrived at Penacony, checking into the hotel with nothing but a music box… Do I need to go on, friend?" 」
「 ..... 」
『 Viewers of Countless World 』
Meanwhile, Mei Mei, Serie, Nezha, Shunsui Kyoraku, Mavuika the Pyro Archon… One by one, their pupils constricted.
Their lips parted slightly as if to speak, yet no sound emerged. Their expressions were almost universally frozen in shock. Only after a long silence did they all, as if by prior agreement, post a single…
"?"
—
〜Jujutsu Kaisen World, Present Timeline〜
"Wait, that… I, I need a moment to calm down…"
In the meeting room of Jujutsu High, a sharp crack rang out. Mei Mei's fingers had unconsciously crushed the handle of her teacup, sending tea dripping down the edge of the table. Her usually composed and elegant face showed a rare crack in its facade, her red lips trembling slightly.
"How is this possible… Shouldn't that guy be brewing some grand scheme of 『 Destruction 』? Doesn't he have a swarm of offspring? How could he die so… casually?"
Hearing of Ifrit's demise from Aventurine, it felt as though his death was an afterthought—so trivial that Aventurine hadn't even blinked.
"Ahahaha!"
Kusakabe suddenly burst into a fit of wild laughter, nearly falling off his chair.
"What a joke! We spent all this time guessing how he was pulling the strings from the shadows, and it turns out the guy bit it before he even reached Penacony?!"
Itadori silently shuffled closer to Atsuya Kusakabe, sensing Mei Mei's cursed energy was about to spiral out of control. He leaned in and whispered,
"Kusakabe-sensei, maybe you should stop laughing. This is the first time I've seen Mei-san lose it like this…"
"Hah, it's fine. Who was sitting here wasn't bluffed by Duke Inferno? Honestly, I thought the Fire Demon would descend on Penacony in some unexpected way—but I never expected he wouldn't make it at all."
"Even if the Duke's end was a bit abrupt, that doesn't mean he was weak. Against an Emanator, there's likely no one on Penacony who could stand a chance,"
Yuta Okkotsu said seriously.
"What's strange is that Aventurine says Acheron is an Emanator… but based on the strength she's shown so far, has she really reached that level?"
—
〜Bleach World〜
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Shunsui Kyoraku spat out a mouthful of sake, slapping his thigh as he roared with laughter.
"We were actually played for fools by a dead man! You guessed he had a thirty percent chance of being the mastermind, and now it's not even one percent! Hahaha!"
Kyoraku tilted his straw hat back, his cheeks flushed from both laughter and the alcohol.
"Byakuya, it seems you overestimated Duke Inferno—no, we all did."
"No."
Byakuya's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
"It wasn't an overestimation. We underestimated Acheron. That woman's strength… we thought too simply of it."
Kyoraku's laughter cut off abruptly.
He recalled Aventurine mentioning that Acheron was an Emanator, a tier of existence of which only three had appeared thus far. Aside from Madam Herta, who had never personally intervened, compared to Phantylia and Jing Yuan…
Kyoraku traced the patterns on his sake flask, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Her strength shouldn't reach that level, right? Otherwise, she should have been able to cut down Sam in the dream."
"Incorrect."
Byakuya picked up his lukewarm tea.
"You should be well aware that she has never once drawn her blade. I suspect she possesses something akin to our 'Bankai'—a way to release the true power of her weapon. I don't know the name of her sword, but… she likely has a similar ability to empower herself."
"Then why doesn't she use it?"
"Who knows,"
Byakuya looked up at the sky.
"Perhaps in her eyes, she has yet to encounter an opponent worthy of her drawing her blade."
—
〜Frieren: Beyond Journey's End World〜
"Lady Serie, do you think… Is it possible Duke Inferno faked his death?"
"Faked his death?"
Serie narrowed her eyes, seriously considering her disciple's hypothesis.
"Duke Inferno is an elemental lifeform. Do you remember the Heliobi of the Xianzhou Luofu? Though the Heliobi and Ifrit aren't the same species, as fellow elemental beings, I believe they share commonalities… such as being notoriously difficult to kill."
Sense finished speaking softly, swallowing nervously as he awaited the response of his teacher upon the throne.
"Go on."
"…Yes."
Sense continued calmly:
"Duke Inferno possesses the ability of spatial teleportation. Unless Miss Acheron could deliver a killing blow in a single strike—it would be difficult to kill him. Even if he and his offspring were lacking in strength, escaping should have been no issue."
"Escape,"
Serie repeated the word thoughtfully. Suddenly, she grinned.
"Sense, do you think Duke Inferno is the kind of man who would run away?"
"I…"
"Sense, do not insult Duke Inferno,"
Serie said coldly.
"…Do not bring up such tedious hypotheses again."
—
「 "Is there any other evidence?" Stelle asked.
"The Galaxy Rangers are elusive, and they rarely interact with one another. This identity is too easy to assume. As long as she doesn't speak up, there's no way to prove otherwise. The IPC has ways to investigate, but that takes time."
Aventurine looked at her earnestly: "So, friend, the choice is yours… You can leave right now, immediately, and never look back, abandoning any chance of uncovering the truth."
"Conversely, you can accept my invitation and learn a fact—a fact significant enough to turn all of Penacony upside down."
Aventurine acted as though he would give Stelle time to consider, but he wouldn't wait long.
She needed to make her choice here. 」
「 ..... 」