It seemed as though everything that had just transpired was for the sole purpose of killing him.
To the side, Beatrice stood frozen, staring at Gojo Satoru as he coughed up fresh blood.
"You... what are you doing?"
"Betty didn't bully you! Don't act like this, I suppose!"
Gojo didn't respond to her panicked cries. A crushed heart would be an absolute death sentence for anyone else, but for Gojo Satoru, it wasn't an insurmountable problem. Through the Reverse Cursed Technique, a pulverized heart could be completely regenerated.
Gojo moved to the bookshelf and sat down, remaining silent as he focused.
Seeing him say nothing, Beatrice hesitated before stepping toward him, reaching out a trembling hand. "What on earth happened to you?"
The moment she touched him, a faint light gathered in her palm, flowing toward Gojo's chest. Despite their bickering, she couldn't just stand by and watch him die; she instinctively tried to provide healing.
But the second she made contact, a look of pure shock washed over her delicate features.
"Your heart is... crushed?!"
Beatrice's eyes went wide, her expression of disbelief as exaggerated as an emoji. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she cast aside her previous enmity and knelt by his side, pouring a steady stream of mana into him.
"A wound like a shattered heart... no one can save you from this, I suppose."
"But if you're going to die, don't you dare do it in front of Betty!"
Beatrice pressed both hands against Gojo's chest, her words remaining cold and haughty even as her actions screamed the exact opposite.
"Being cared for by Betty... it's truly touching," Gojo murmured.
Beatrice felt a sudden warmth on her head—Gojo was smiling, reaching out to ruffle her hair even in his "dying" state. Her head swayed with his movements, her twin drills bobbing back and forth.
"If those are your last words," Beatrice said, swatting his hand away and glaring at him with watery eyes, "then you're dying far too easily, I suppose!"
With that, she stood up, refusing to look at him as she marched back to her chair. She picked up her teacup, glanced at it, and set it aside with a look of disdain.
"Fine. I'll throw this cup out along with your corpse. Honestly, stop being such a nuisance to Betty."
Beatrice muttered to herself as the door to the Forbidden Library swung open. While Gojo still had a lingering breath, she intended to fetch Roswaal. She didn't want to experience someone dying in front of her—not because she feared death, but because she loathed the feeling of parting, even with someone she barely knew.
"It's no trouble at all. Going to find Roswaal now would be the real hassle, wouldn't it?"
Gojo stretched his arms, stood up from the floor, and walked over to close the library door.
"You..."
Beatrice thought he was using his final burst of adrenaline before the end. Instead, she watched as he shut the door and walked back toward her as if nothing had happened.
"You... you're fine?"
Even though Beatrice had lived for centuries, seeing a man walk around with a heart she knew was shattered left her stunned.
Gojo stopped in front of her, took her hand, and pressed it against his chest. "Here, feel for yourself."
Beatrice didn't speak. She focused her perception. The heart that had been a pulp of flesh moments ago was now beating firmly and rhythmically. There wasn't a trace of damage left behind. It was as if the injury she had felt earlier was a total hallucination.
But she knew better. It had been real.
"What did you do? Even healing magic couldn't possibly..."
"It wasn't healing magic," Gojo said, shaking his head. "Just a different method."
Beatrice frowned, a realization suddenly striking her. "A Witch Factor?"
"No wonder... the scent of the Witch on you is so heavy, I suppose."
"Witch Factor?" Now it was Gojo's turn to be confused.
He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with the term; he had come across it in the library's books during the first loop. A Witch Factor was the catalyst for becoming a Witch. When a compatible individual merged with one, they gained miraculous powers known as Authorities—abilities similar to, but distinct from, Divine Protections.
In this world, the infamous Witch Cult worshipped Satella, the Witch of Envy. Witch Factors were said to be antithetical to the world's origin and could never truly be destroyed. They were named "Witch" Factors primarily because the last generation of Witches, such as Satella and the others, had caused such catastrophic upheavals. In reality, men could also be compatible; the Archbishops of the Witch Cult held these powers, making them rivals to the Witches of old.
"Wait a second."
Gojo quickly caught the core of her statement. "You said I have a heavy 'scent of the Witch' on me?"
"Yes. The scent is so pungent it's nearly enough to make Betty's nose rot, I suppose," Beatrice said, covering her nose with a look of unmasked revulsion.
Gojo fell silent.
He mentally retraced every step he had taken since the time reversal. Aside from the initial shock shared with Subaru, the entire trip from the Capital to the mansion had been identical to the first time. He hadn't interacted with anyone new, let alone someone who would carry a Witch Factor.
And most importantly, during his contact with Beatrice in the previous loop, she had never once mentioned him smelling like a Witch.
If there was only one thing different between this loop and the last... there was only one candidate.
The event that just occurred.
That black hand made of unknown energy that had manifested inside his body and crushed his heart.