"Mirai… Head of the family."
Facing those cold, blood-red eyes, the near-dead Naoya opened his mouth, but no words came out. His ridiculous pride would not allow him to utter a plea for help to the person he most admired.
Looking down at the figure in the pool of blood, Mirai's lips curved slightly upward.
"You've grown well. You'll make a perfect gift."
With that enigmatic remark, Mirai stepped forward and left the barrier.
Naoya stared blankly at Mirai's retreating back, still trying to make sense of the meaning behind those words.
At that moment, a chilling laughter echoed in his ears.
"Hehe… hehe…"
The blood-soaked figure, supported only by its jaw, crawled forward inch by inch.
It was Rose—the beautiful American soldier Naoya had once used for pleasure—her limbs severed, eyes wild with madness!
"Hehe… hehe!"
Watching the bloodied figure wriggle closer like a maggot, Naoya's face twisted in horror.
"What do you think you're doing, idiot!?"
"Get away from me!"
The bloodied Rose only tilted her head, responding with a crimson smile.
"Hehe."
Thick blood flowed from her throat as she continued to smile at Naoya, who was coughing up blood and powerless to stop her. Naoya's scalp tingled with dread.
Although Nobara's initial mastery of her Domain Expansion had taken effect, the rules for a guaranteed kill were not yet perfected. Severely wounded and near death, Naoya could do nothing but watch as Rose slowly climbed onto his body.
Two thick fluids mixed and flowed together.
"You wanted me to follow you, right?"
"Look how obedient I am—crawling all the way to you."
Rose's bloodied, soft-spoken words entered Naoya's ears… and his heart.
"Ugh!"
Without hands or legs, Rose sank her teeth into Naoya's neck, tearing and swallowing the flesh! She wanted to drag the devil who had tormented her straight into hell!
Normal cursed tools could not remove her. One needed either a sorcerer's cursed energy or an object imbued with cursed energy. This was common knowledge in the Jujutsu world.
To kill a sorcerer or curse user, one needed to completely eliminate them with cursed energy, otherwise, their body could be used by others. (In the original canon, this is why Suguru Geto could attempt to possess others after Satoru Gojo failed to handle Suguru's body properly.) Without a finishing blow using cursed energy, a sorcerer could still transform into a curse after death.
Sendai Barrier
A towering mechanical construct—Prototype Unit Zero of the Ultimate Mecha Maru—stood several stories tall. Its pale blue metallic shell was outfitted with massive cannons on its back. Its legs had flame throwers infused with cursed energy. The massive, humanoid mecha could transform its form like a Transformer. Its hands could become cannons or spinning blades.
Hakujetsu No. 2 had been piloting this colossal machine, rampaging throughout the Sendai Barrier for days.
Sendai had become a war zone under Hakujetsu's unchecked power, turning it into the most devastated among the ten barriers.
Finally, Hakujetsu climbed out of the machine. Gone was the usual crimson and black robe—he now favored the persona of "President."
Dressed in a suit and tie with a long black coat, he pulled out a Cuban cigar. Uro, dressed in secretary attire, quickly stepped forward to light it.
Exhaling thick smoke, Hakujetsu muttered, annoyed:
"I thought Mirai really had good intentions, but it was meant for someone else!"
"Whatever. I've had my fun. Don't care if it gets abandoned now."
"Come on, Secretary Uro, let's take this somewhere else."
With that, Hakujetsu and Uro walked out of the barrier, leaving the giant mecha behind in Sendai.
Tokyo Second Barrier
The transferred Kōsen members gathered again.
"Fushiguro, let's deal with your sister's issue first."
"Her score hasn't changed in 19 days. She might encounter some danger."
Fushiguro Megumi's sister, Tsumiki Fushiguro, was also an initial swimmer in the Culling Game. Initially, Megumi had worried that she might be possessed. For ten days, Assistant Overseer Idechi had been secretly observing from a hospital.
Tsumiki still seemed the kind, gentle woman she had always been.
Okkotsu, Maki, and Itadori had already transferred their points to Megumi. Now, Megumi's game points exceeded 300.
Megumi looked at the shikigami by his side:
"Kogane, I want to add a new rule."
Kogane: "I'm here, swimmer. Please state your request."
"With 300 points, cancel the Culling Game."
Kogane: "Request denied! Conflicts with General Rule Seven."
(General Rule Seven: Newly added rules cannot affect the long-term operation of Culling Game.)
Even when Megumi had 100 or 200 points, he had attempted to cancel the Culling Game via rule addition, but had failed. Now, at 300 points, he realized this wasn't simply a matter of points.
He looked at the shikigami again.
"With 300 points, add a rule allowing a swimmer to exit the Culling Game."
Kogane: "Request denied again! Conflicts with General Rule Seven."
The cold mechanical voice made Megumi frown.
"This isn't possible… nothing is possible!"
Itadori shouted at Kogane in frustration:
"Then what the hell do we do?!"
After a pause, the shikigami spoke coldly:
Kogane: "A swimmer can exit Deadly Migration if another sorcerer from outside takes their place, consuming 100 game points. Only then will it be approved."
Megumi frowned deeper. 100 points equaled killing 20 sorcerers or 100 ordinary humans. Adding this rule would encourage other swimmers to exploit the system for survival. The incoming American soldiers were the easiest way to gather points.
But Tsumiki's life…
"Kogane, add the rule…"
At that moment, all swimmers within the ten barriers received a notification from Kogane:
"Acquire 100 points and replace yourself with a sorcerer from the outside to exit the Culling Game."
The killing frenzy sounded its horn once again.
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