Chapter 168: The Grim Reaper Calls
"The executor is…"
The two Assistant Supervisors trembled under the killing intent Yami released after kicking the door open.
Their faces were pale. Their knees shook. Their eyes kept drifting toward the dark red blade in Yami's hand, as if Shiranui might cut off their heads at any second.
"It's the first years…"
One of them swallowed hard.
"Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami!"
Yu Haibara.
Kento Nanami.
The moment those two names left the Assistant Supervisor's mouth, the rage in Yami's eyes reached its peak.
He had guessed right.
Those rotten oranges from the higher ups, in order to weaken the people around Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto, and to test their bottom line, had dared to target two first year students.
In the original future, it was this very Grade 2 mission, with its true information deliberately concealed, that caused Yu Haibara, the boy who always wore a sunny smile, to close his eyes forever.
It was also the mission that made Kento Nanami completely disillusioned with the Jujutsu World, turning the once passionate young sorcerer into someone numb, tired, and obsessed with leaving work on time.
And most fatal of all, the failure of this mission, together with the death of his junior, became the final straw that crushed Suguru Geto.
It pushed him fully into the abyss.
Yami had already changed Geto's state of mind by force.
But if Haibara died here, that despair of watching a junior die while protecting ordinary people would still leave an irreparable wound on Geto.
Not only Geto.
It would scar every teacher and student at Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"How long ago did they leave?"
Yami grabbed one Assistant Supervisor by the collar and lifted him off the floor like a chicken.
His voice was cold enough to scrape bone.
"Less than half an hour ago!"
The Assistant Supervisor was so frightened that tears spilled from his eyes. He pointed desperately toward the window.
"The location is a remote mountain area two hundred kilometers from Tokyo!"
"The mission briefing said they were to exorcise a Grade 2 Earth Deity Cursed Spirit."
"Bullshit."
Yami slammed him against the wall.
A dull thud rang through the faculty room.
"That is not some damn Grade 2 Earth Deity."
His eyes were dark.
"That thing has absorbed enough faith and fear to transform into Grade 1, maybe even Semi Special Grade."
The two Assistant Supervisors shuddered.
"You rotten oranges…"
Yami's voice dropped even lower.
"You actually dared to use students' lives to test our bottom line."
He smashed his fist into the nearby office desk.
Boom!
The solid wooden desk exploded into fragments under his terrifying strength.
Yami no longer looked at the two trembling men.
The next instant, he became a black afterimage and rushed straight out of the staff room.
Time.
What he needed most now was time.
Two hundred kilometers.
Even for Satoru Gojo, who could use teleportation, it would still take time to pinpoint the location without exact coordinates.
For Yami, who could only rely on his physical body to run, this was an extreme marathon against death itself.
At the same time.
Two hundred kilometers away from Tokyo, in a remote mountain area.
The dense primeval forest blocked out the sun. The air was damp and rotten, filled with the smell of a place that had not seen light for years.
Yu Haibara and Kento Nanami walked along moss covered stone steps.
"Nanami, cheer up!"
Haibara walked in front, holding a standard long blade. He turned back and gave his companion an extremely bright smile.
"This is our first Grade 2 mission on our own. Once we finish it, I'll treat you to the most expensive barbecue in Ginza."
His smile became even brighter.
"I texted Senior Geto before we left. He must be waiting for our good news."
Compared to Haibara's optimism, Nanami walked behind him with a frown.
A dull blade wrapped in cloth rested in his hand. His gaze moved carefully across the forest.
"Jujutsu Sorcerer really is a terrible profession."
Nanami pushed up his goggles, his tone full of displeasure.
"Running into a mountain forest with no signal on a hot day, just to deal with some Grade 2 Cursed Spirit that came out of nowhere."
He sighed.
"I just want to finish this quickly and get back to Jujutsu High for a hot shower before dark."
"Haha, don't be so pessimistic."
Haibara patted Nanami on the shoulder, then pointed toward a dilapidated temple not far ahead.
"Look. The target should be there. Let's make it quick."
The two quickened their pace and arrived at the ruined temple.
It was an old shrine dedicated to the local earth deity.
But the instant they stepped into the area, Nanami's expression changed.
"Haibara. Stop."
Nanami reached out and grabbed Haibara, who was about to continue inside.
Behind his goggles, terror appeared in his eyes for the first time.
"What's wrong?"
Haibara turned back in confusion.
"Something's wrong."
Nanami stared into the depths of the temple.
A thick black miasma had gathered there, so dense it almost looked solid.
His body trembled on instinct.
It was the physical reaction of the weak facing something far above them.
"This residual Cursed Energy…"
Nanami's voice tightened.
"This isn't a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit."
The stench from the temple seemed to corrode even the air.
The pressure pressed down on them like a mountain.
Nanami gritted his teeth and forced out the words.
"This is Grade 1."
His throat moved.
"Maybe even Semi Special Grade."
Boom!
As if answering him, a terrifying roar erupted from deep within the temple.
Mixed into that roar were the cries of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of infants.
The roof of the temple shattered.
A monster the size of a small hill burst through and landed before them with a heavy crash.
It was covered in twisted human faces and sharp bone spurs.
Its massive body carried the weight of countless years of fear.
Fear of landslides.
Fear of natural disaster.
Fear of the so called local deity.
The mutated Earth Deity Cursed Spirit lowered its enormous head.
Its huge green eyes locked onto the two boys beneath it.
They were no different from ants.
Drip.
A drop of cold sweat slid down Nanami's chin and fell onto the moss.
Despair enveloped them.
Pure and absolute.
"Run!"
Nanami roared with everything he had.
He shoved Haibara aside and drew the dull blade from its cloth wrapping.
"Ratio Technique: Collapse!"
He forced down the fear locking his body in place and poured Cursed Energy into the blade.
Then he slashed at the Cursed Spirit pressing down like a mountain of flesh.
Bang!
The dull blade struck the Cursed Spirit's hardened skin.
It left only a shallow white mark.
It did not even break through the defense.
The recoil tore Nanami's hand open, and blood flowed down his fingers.
Roar!
The mutated Earth Deity released a low sound that was almost mocking.
Then one of its huge tentacles, covered in bone spurs, swung down.
The speed was terrifying.
The air cracked from the force.
Bang!
"Pfft!"
Nanami failed to dodge.
He was struck head on as if hit by a speeding train. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his body flew backward like a broken kite.
Crack.
Crack.
Several ribs snapped.
He crashed into a thick tree trunk and slid down weakly.
"Nanami!"
Haibara's eyes nearly split open.
He looked at Nanami lying in a pool of blood, his life and death uncertain.
Then he looked at the terrifying Cursed Spirit slowly approaching, ready to enjoy its prey.
Run?
There was no chance.
Before such an overwhelming gap in strength, even turning around was a luxury.
"Unforgivable…"
Haibara gritted his teeth.
He did not choose to abandon Nanami.
The boy who always wore a sunny smile gripped the long blade in his hand and stepped in front of his fallen companion without hesitation.
His legs were shaking from fear.
He knew there was no path forward if he charged.
But he raised his blade anyway.
"I won't let you hurt my friend!"
Haibara roared and rushed toward the unbeatable monster.
A cruel light flashed in the mutated Earth Deity's eyes.
It opened its bloody mouth.
Inside, countless spear like bone spurs condensed madly.
The next second.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Dense bone spurs shot toward Haibara like a storm, each one carrying the sound of death.
The spurs were already upon him.
The Grim Reaper had raised its scythe.
In that desperate moment, when death seemed certain, could the man who had vowed to cut through every regret cross two hundred kilometers of space and time before the final second ran out?
....
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