Rules of the Culling Games.
1. Participation Deadline.
After awakening a cursed technique, individuals must declare participation at a colony within 19 days.
2. Penalty for Non-Compliance.
Failure to comply with Rule 1 results in cursed technique removal.
(Something which usually results in death since it's a forceful removal of an imprinted cursed technique from inside a human's brain, but this isn't directly mentioned in the Culling Games rules.)
3. Forced Entry.
Any non-player (sorcerer or non-sorcerer) who enters a barrier is instantly considered a participant.
4. Points System.
Players earn points by killing other players.
Point Values.
Points are set by the game master, with sorcerers usually worth 5 points and non-sorcerers worth 1.
6. Rule Negotiation.
A player can spend 100 points (excluding the value of their own life) to negotiate a new rule.
7. Rule Approval.
The game master must accept any new rule unless it has a lasting detrimental impact on the game. Any rule which would threaten the ongoing continuation of the Culling Game or its natural functioning shall not be accepted.
8. Activity Penalty.
If a player's score remains the same for 19 days, they face cursed technique removal.
"Tsk… he has not left us any way to stop the game itself," Megumi grumbled under his breath. He was more eager to end the game than anyone since it was his own sister who was forced into becoming a player inside the Culling Game.
If he doesn't find a way out, Tsumiki has to enter one of the barriers and declare her participation, or after 19 days his sister will have her mind…
Megumi shook his head with irritation. He didn't wish to think about it.
"Yes, and that's why our best option is to gather the needed points to create a new rule, one which lets us somehow remove Tsumiki as a player, and if possible save other people stuck inside as well," Yuta added as he thought about it. This was indeed their best option.
"Wait, you talked about the game master. If Kenjaku is the one handling the game, then there is no way that son of a b*tch would let us make any rules. Not to mention, as game master, what is stopping him from changing the rules and playing tricks on any of us while we're in there?" I asked, scowling at what kind of situation we found ourselves in.
"Don't worry, to initiate something as massive as the Culling Games, Kenjaku had to undergo many binding vows. Any more favouritism towards Kenjaku would imbalance the exchange. Jujutsu itself wouldn't agree upon the trade if Kenjaku got complete authority over the Culling Games.
He is not the game master," Tengen calmly explained, which finally brought a bit of relief to all of us.
"But if not him then who?"
"The game is managed by a shikigami named Kogane. Arguably speaking, even Kogane itself is not the game master, it rather acts as an interface to connect with the game master.
As for the game master, I'm uncertain myself, but by my estimate it's not a single person, rather just a set of rules like the ones just explained to you." Tengen, at that last statement, almost shrugged her shoulders as if saying that was all she knew.
"So, we have to enter one of these barriers, what the game was calling them, the colonies, right? We enter one of these colonies and gather as many points as we can to create the rules we want. Correct?"
"What rules do we even make?"
"I'm uncertain. We don't know what the game master will agree upon, so first we should focus on gathering the points first. As for the rules, the general direction should be a rule to let players exchange points between themselves, that will solve the 19 days death trap. And another should be to let existing players leave their colonies." Megumi thought about it and finally answered.
"Works for me." Maki nodded.
"And what about the cube you have, the back of the Prison Realm as you stated it?" Yuta, once the problem with the game rules was over, once again brought back the topic of the back of the Prison Realm in Tengen's possession.
"Yes." Tengen nodded. "As I mentioned, this is the back of the Prison Realm, consider it the back door of such."
"Then we can open this one and release Gojo-sensei, right?" Yuji asked excitedly.
"No." Tengen shook her head.
"While this indeed gives us access, the permission to open the Prison Realm still lies with the person who possesses the front of the Prison Realm."
"Tsk…"
"So there is no way around this?"
"There is." Tengen nodded, but sighed before replying. "However, it's much more troublesome than you expect it to be."
"The back of the Prison Realm can be opened if we disable the cursed technique laid into it. To open it, something which could deactivate the Prison Realm is necessary. Something like the Inverted Spear of Heaven or the Black Rope seen back in the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons."
"Really!" Yuji's eyes lit up. "Then what are we waiting for, where are those things then?"
"The Inverted Spear of Heaven was taken by Gojo Satoru and it was destroyed around 12 years ago," Tengen added.
Yuji's mood instantly deflated. "Why would he do that?"
"And the Black Rope?" Megumi asked with hopeful ignorance.
"Same. The rope was with a foreign sorcerer, they faced off against Satoru Gojo and…" Before Tengen could complete it, everyone knew what most likely would have happened.
"That idiot." Megumi scowled.
"That reminds me, Gojo-sensei visited both Miguel and me in Africa, asking around for that Black Rope."
"Really, was there any left?" both Megumi and Yuji asked hopefully.
"No… it's all gone." Yuta laughed nervously while both boys looked like they had given up on their sensei. Well, in terms of being mature, they had done that a long time ago.
"Is there any other way?" Maki sighed and asked once again to Tengen with a defeated tone.
"There is." Tengen nodded, which made everyone perk up.
"There is a participant in the Culling Games called Angel, her technique completely nullifies other cursed techniques. If she were to use her technique on the back end of the Prison Realm here, we can open it."
Everyone let that soak in for a while. This meant they had a way to release Gojo. That might be the best thing they had heard since Shibuya.
"Do you know where she is? Which colony?"
Tengen shook her head at that question. "Due to her technique, Angel can freely travel across the colonies at her will. Barriers can't stop her. And my range of detection is faulty at best inside Kenjaku's barriers."
"So she could be anywhere." I grumbled, not very motivated to go on a search for a single chick in a death match style battle royale.
"Yes, you must find her." Tengen nodded.
Sigh… fine. Will do.
This ultimately brought them all back to their original goal, to save Tsumiki and other innocent civilians from the Culling Games and to release Gojo. They had to participate and gather enough points to add the necessary rules they needed to accomplish their plan.
Also find out where Angel is in the Culling Games.
"Now that I have kept my part of the deal, given you all the necessary intel you would require inside the Culling Games and regarding how to release Satoru Gojo, please decide who will stay back to guard me." Tengen once again brought up the subject, making everyone look between each other.
There was no chickening out now. Given the word, we had to do it, otherwise Jujutsu wouldn't like it.
A mild way of saying that there would be consequences for breaking a binding vow, even some which we never officially agreed to but still gained benefits from knowingly.
Everyone's gaze was of course on Yuta, Choso, and me.
"I'll stay back." Choso was the first one to step forward.
"Yuji, you're gonna need help against that man with that cursed spirit user or the one who tanked Sukuna's domain in Shibuya, and I still have much unfinished business with Noritoshi Kamo."
Yuji pursed his lips and then nodded.
And then the choice came down between Yuta and me. Everyone looked at us and waited for our decision.
"Before we decide, may I ask why you're asking me to stay back?" I raised my hand half-heartedly and asked.
Tengen looked at me and then gave a big smile which came quite unexpectedly.
"Why do you ask?" she said, the tone almost amused if I was not mistaken.
"Says the man who killed three cursed spirits and the Divine General under 3 hours of becoming a sorcerer and awakening his technique in Shibuya. Do I really have to explain why?" Tengen shrugged while a smile rested on her face which said she knew everything.
And as if a bomb had gone off, everyone, almost at the same time, snapped their heads towards me like they were looking at an alien and shouted.
"WHAT!"
xXx
A/N : Ah, seems like something can't stay hidden no matter how much we try. Hahaha... give MC good luck for the next Ch.
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