Chapter 170: Despair in a Dead End, Nanami's Helplessness
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
The smell of blood in the air, the pungent miasma pouring from the ruined shrine, and the shrill whistle of bone spurs tearing through the wind became painfully clear to Kento Nanami.
Pfft!
The dull sound of flesh being pierced rang through the dead silent ruins.
The standard longsword in Yu Haibara's hand was already chipped beyond repair. The instant it blocked the first bone spur, it shattered like fragile glass.
The second bone spur grazed Haibara's cheek, drawing a thin line of crimson.
The third pierced through his left shoulder without resistance.
The force threw his thin body backward.
"Ugh!"
Haibara let out a pained groan.
But he did not fall.
The boy who usually smiled so easily, who seemed to carry kindness for the entire world, revealed an astonishing stubbornness in that moment.
He stabbed the remaining half of his broken sword into the ground and forced himself to stop.
His right knee slammed heavily into the moss.
Blood stained his Tokyo Jujutsu High uniform. His left arm hung limp at his side. His face was pale from pain.
Even so, he still stood there.
Torn apart, shaking, but refusing to move.
Like a broken shield, he planted himself firmly in front of Kento Nanami.
"Haibara…"
Nanami lay in a pool of blood.
His goggles had already shattered. Behind them, the eyes that were usually calm and rational were now filled with despair he could not hide.
Pain tore through him.
His broken ribs had pierced his lungs. Every breath felt like knives scraping through his chest, and bloody foam kept rising in his throat.
But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.
Why?
Why had things become like this?
The mission briefing he had seen before leaving kept replaying in his mind.
[Mission Rank: Grade 2]
[Target: Exorcise mutated Earth Deity]
[Danger Level: Low]
"Liars…"
Nanami's fingers clawed at the mud beneath him.
"They're all damn liars."
How could this monster be Grade 2?
It was as large as a hill, surrounded by a suffocating stench and pressure. The sheer amount of Cursed Energy coming from it seemed to distort the space around the shrine.
Its defense was so hard that even his Ratio Technique could not properly cut through it.
This was not Grade 2.
This was a monster close to Special Grade.
Something that had already stepped halfway beyond Grade 1.
The higher ups could not possibly have been unaware of the truth.
They had done it on purpose.
They had deliberately concealed the intelligence and sent two inexperienced first years into this death trap.
They had been treated as disposable pieces.
Cannon fodder used to test the limits of Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto.
"Damn it…"
Nanami gripped the mud so hard his nails cracked.
Blood mixed with dirt between his fingers.
"Damn it."
He hated the higher ups who treated human lives like weeds.
But more than that, he hated his own weakness.
Just a few minutes ago, he had naively thought that with his Ratio Technique, even if they encountered a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, he would at least have the strength to fight.
Reality had slapped him across the face.
In front of an absolute gap in power, his Cursed Technique felt like a child's toy.
He had failed to cut through even the monster's skin.
And with one casual strike, he had been reduced to this.
"Nanami…"
Haibara's weak voice came from ahead.
Even now, it was still gentle.
He turned his head with difficulty. His face was covered in blood, yet he forced out a smile uglier than crying.
"Use this chance…"
His voice trembled.
"Run."
Nanami's pupils shook.
"This thing is focused on me."
Haibara coughed, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"I can still hold it back for a little longer."
"You have to live."
Nanami felt as if an invisible hand had crushed his heart.
"You idiot…"
Tears finally spilled from his eyes, mixing with the blood on his face before dripping onto the ground.
"You can barely stand. What are you going to use to hold it back?"
Roar!
As if answering Nanami's despair, the mutated Earth Deity Cursed Spirit let out a low roar.
It was not in a hurry to kill them.
Its huge green eyes flickered with a cruelty almost too human.
It was enjoying this.
Enjoying the fear of prey struggling on the edge of death.
The monster slowly raised its massive head.
The poisonous miasma and black Cursed Energy around the ruins began rushing toward its mouth at terrifying speed.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The sound of grinding bones echoed through the forest.
Huge bone spears, each several meters long and covered in poisonous barbs, formed in front of it.
This was no longer a casual attack.
It was a final strike carrying the full malice of a Semi Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
Enough to flatten the entire shrine ruins along with both of them.
The pressure came down like the sky collapsing.
The surrounding trees withered in an instant.
"Move…"
Nanami gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked.
"Move, damn it!"
He squeezed out the last of his Cursed Energy and forced it into the dull blade that had fallen beside him.
His broken ribs scraped together as his muscles pulled tight.
Blood seeped from his mouth, nose, and ears.
Still, he used the blunt sword to prop himself up from the ground.
His legs shook violently.
But he stood.
"Nanami! Are you crazy?"
Haibara stared at him in shock.
"Shut up, idiot."
Nanami pulled Haibara behind him.
He gripped the dull blade with both hands, a weapon that no longer had a proper edge, and stared at the massive bone spears forming in midair.
"I may hate working overtime."
His voice was rough and filled with blood.
"And I may think being a Jujutsu Sorcerer is a shitty job."
His hands tightened around the hilt.
"But I will never let a companion die in front of me."
Boom!
The mutated Earth Deity Cursed Spirit released a roar that shook the mountain forest.
The huge bone spears fell.
Like meteors.
They carried enough force to crush the ruins into dust.
The sonic boom tore the air apart.
The violent wind lifted rubble and poisonous miasma, swallowing their vision in an instant.
At that moment, time truly seemed to stop.
Nanami closed his eyes in despair.
He knew it was over.
His Cursed Technique.
Haibara's courage.
Their determination.
In front of that absolute power, all of it seemed pale and powerless.
Shitty Jujutsu World.
That was the last thought that flashed through Kento Nanami's mind.
The shadow of death swallowed them completely.
Then, just as the bone spears were less than ten centimeters from Nanami's forehead, a clear sword cry rang out.
It did not belong to this battlefield.
Sharp.
Clean.
Bright enough to cut through despair itself.
....
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