Chapter 91: The True Purpose of the Taizan Fukun Ritual
"Boss, we're running out of time. Once Main Quest Stage 1 ends, it's either going to be the King of Cursed Spirits awakening and bloodbathing Tokyo, or… the nuke."
[Bat]'s expression was tense. Either way, if the boss's plan failed and they didn't evacuate in time, [The Fifth Element] would likely be history.
A werewolf, nearly three meters tall, walked over from the distance, the crimson light fading from its claws.
"Bat, what are you so afraid of? A nuke? I really want to try and tank it. If I can survive a nuclear blast, I could go to any of those small neighboring countries and live like a king. You've seen Baki, right…?"
The werewolf was incredibly talkative. Codenamed [Jugo], he was one of the strongest fighters on the team, second only to their boss, [Kai]. He had devastating power and terrifying vitality. In a previous world, he had single-handedly charged a modern military unit and slaughtered hundreds. (Of course, that unit had no heavy artillery.)
"Jugo, you really need to visit the Goddess and get your lineage adjusted. I feel like your brain is getting more and more messed up," the female sniper behind him retorted, mercilessly mocking her teammate. She couldn't stand [Jugo]'s increasingly psychotic behavior. Last world, he had insisted on solo-charging a modern army. This world, he was dreaming about tanking a nuke. The woman wore a baseball cap, and a flame-shaped birthmark covered her right cheek. Her codename was [Basha], and she was also [Jugo]'s bedmate; their relationship went beyond a simple team contract.
[Kai] ignored their bickering, his mind focused. In the world before last, they had been ambushed by [White Mask], and the team had lost several members. Before this mission, he had traded everything for a few Singularities, recruited new members, and made specific, targeted preparations. He had intentionally followed [White Mask] into this world, seeking revenge.
But he had never expected [White Mask] to be this insane, to completely shatter the plot of a mission world. This act of turning all of Tokyo into a dead city... it was the kind of thing he had only ever seen from [Cataclysm]-tier monsters.
For the first time, [Kai] felt a pang of regret. Perhaps he shouldn't have made an enemy of such a creature.
THUMP!
A massive sound startled the entire team, and they all instinctively snapped into combat stances.
THUMP!
THUMP!
The huge sound became rhythmic, pounding over and over.
"Boss... that's a heartbeat…" [Bat]'s voice was instinctively hushed, as if afraid of waking something. He realized that inside the giant, embryonic black barrier, the [King of Cursed Spirits] had been successfully incubated. It was alive.
ROAR!
SCREEECH!
Innumerable howls of Cursed Spirits erupted from every corner of Tokyo. The curses were growing agitated, and the cursed energy in the air was becoming so dense it was almost visible.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
One by one, the protective amulets the team was wearing shattered.
"Boss, what's the call?! We have to decide, now!" Basha's voice was sharp with fear.
At that moment, the team's analyst, [Kaso], also turned around, his face urgent. "Boss! [White Mask]'s condition inside the barrier seems... not good!"
[Kai] crushed the cigarette between his fingers. He made his decision.
"Jugo, Basha, you two guard the perimeter! Anyone approaches, plot characters or Reincarnators, kill them! If you can't kill them, tie them up!"
"Everyone else, with me. We're going in!"
He tapped his foot, and his figure instantly vanished. A second later, the ground where he had been standing imploded. Radiating an intense aura, Kai led the charge directly into the barrier. At its edge lay the skeletal remains of several people in white Onmyōji robes. This was a clue. It was from here that Geto Suguru had found his critical information. But [The Fifth Element] was not a team that specialized in plot analysis; they specialized in combat.
[Kaso] formed a seal with his hands, and a strong spiritual power pulsed. The next moment, a hole was torn in the black barrier, and the team plunged inside.
[Bat] watched from a distance as his boss and [Old Ghost] vanished into the darkness. He felt an inexplicable chill. But Jugo was in command of the outer perimeter now. The brutish werewolf paid no mind to the danger, instead clapping [Bat] on the shoulder so hard he nearly sent him flying.
"Stop staring, Bat! Let's go figure out where to catch those other runts you let get away," the werewolf laughed. "You really need more kills. Your stats are too low."
[Bat]'s mouth twitched, but he couldn't smile. He didn't know if something was wrong with him or with everyone else. Could they not feel it? A sense of danger so profound it felt like it could freeze their very souls...
He looked down. He didn't know when, but a thin layer of frigid water now covered the ground of Tokyo. Even though he was wearing boots, he could feel the bone-chilling cold seeping through.
Inside the barrier, a young woman in a white cloak with gold trim held several dried, severed fingers. Even here, in the sunless barrier, surrounded by wailing spirits, she was completely unharmed.
"What a bunch of idiots," she scoffed. "I even went out of my way to hide some of Ryomen Sukuna's fingers, and not a single one of those fools thought to revive him to fight me? Heh. Once my ritual is complete, I'll play with you all you want, Kai…"
[You have triggered the Hidden Quest: The End of the Tsuchimikado Clan.]
[Quest Description: Tsuchimikado Yakou created the Great Spiritual Disaster of Tokyo with the Imperial Style - Taizan Fukun Ritual, setting the stage for today's calamity. To atone for their sins, the Tsuchimikado clan begs you to end the ritual.]
[Quest Reward: Calculated based on completion percentage.]
[Failure Penalty: None.]
Kaito Shirogane and Geto Suguru walked out of the Tsuchimikado courtyard. Behind them, the courtyard was silent.
"Tsk. You really are a cruel one. No mercy at all, not even for an old man," Geto taunted Kaito.
[Your actions have earned the appreciation of the plot character Geto Suguru. Your reputation with Geto has increased.]
[Current Standing: Friendly (12/100)]
Kaito's lips curled into a smile. He looked at this man who was also speaking with a hidden meaning, and his grin widened, a smile that Geto was beginning to find nostalgic.
"Cruelty? Kindness? Old? Young? Do those things really matter to you?" Kaito asked. "Geto. You're a far cry from Gojo Satoru."
Kaito's directness made Geto's expression stiffen for a moment. But just as quickly, he hurried to catch up. He truly did see a shadow of Gojo in Kaito's demeanor. And he didn't deny the fact that he was inferior. In his youth, he had truly believed that he and Gojo were one and the same: "the strongest." But after Gojo had been "killed" by Toji Fushiguro and had truly awakened, returning with that look of "Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the Honored One," Geto had genuinely understood that he could never compare.
It wasn't a gap between [Cursed Spirit Manipulation] and the [Limitless]. It wasn't even a gap in cursed energy. It was an essential gap between who he was and who Gojo was.
Geto was, at his core, a "weak" person. He needed reasons to support his actions. Just as he had always preached that "the strong must protect the weak," he had used that ideal as a creed to force himself to keep swallowing those Cursed Spirit orbs that tasted like rags used to clean up vomit, all so he could save more weaklings. Even his fall, his desire to create a world of only sorcerers, was likewise born from the pain of others: Riko Amanai dying as a Star Plasma Vessel while Yuki Tsukumo told him there were other ways; his kind junior sorcerer dying a pointless, brutal death; and ordinary villagers, whom sorcerers risked their lives to protect, brutally persecuting two young girls just for having cursed energy.
All of it, combined, had shattered Geto's philosophy, so he turned his back on it. He fell. He would have his revenge on the world. He was a "normal person," whose every action and belief was driven by a seamless, emotional logic. But for a Jujutsu Sorcerer, being a "normal person" meant you weren't strong enough.
Gojo Satoru was completely different. His protection of non-sorcerers was more of a whim, a game. It was like a human feeding a stray cat, an act of charity born from his own absolute superiority. He didn't need a reason to protect people, and he didn't need a reason to kill them. When the truly awakened Gojo had seen the panicking members of the Star Religious Group, he had simply asked Geto, "Should I kill them all?" His voice was devoid of emotion, as if he were asking if he should step on a colony of ants.
Over the years, Geto had become more and more aware of this gap. But one's "essence" was so much more fundamental than talent, cursed energy, or technique. It was your soul. You couldn't change it.
But today, Geto had met another human who gave him that exact same feeling. This tall man, while his cursed energy was nowhere near Gojo's, possessed the exact same arrogance, that same untamable wildness that centered the entire world on his own judgment.
"Compared to a guy like Satoru, everyone is a far cry," Geto mused. "But, Mr. Tao, would you like to join my Star Religious Group? To accomplish what you're planning, you can't possibly do it alone."
[Plot Character Geto Suguru has invited you to join the Faction: Star Religious Group. Do you accept?]
Kaito hadn't expected that after all his twists and turns, he would end up back on this path. But now, he had finally grasped the clue to completing this abnormally difficult main quest.
Crack.
Kaito stopped walking. The stone paver he had stepped on instantly cracked. Geto watched, noting again that the man's physical strength was terrifying. He wondered what kind of Cursed Technique, without a Heavenly Pact, could grant such power.
Kaito looked at Geto and suddenly spoke. "Do you want to let your best friend rest in peace, Geto? I have a plan."
His lips were still curved in a smile, but Geto sensed a chilling killing intent beneath it. But as it happened, Geto himself was a person who didn't fear death, and on some level, was perhaps even seeking his own destruction.
…
That night, Geto Suguru gave a sudden order. The Star Religious Group and all allied sorcerer forces were to mobilize and converge on Tokyo. The Kyoto headquarters was left empty, save for the politicians who were still making their final coordinating calls, now protected by the regular army.
Shoko Ieiri stood at the edge of the Dead Silent Capital. Kusakabe and the other sorcerers who had escaped Tokyo were positioned around her. They all stared in silence at what was once the most prosperous city in the world.
"So," Kusakabe said, "you found out the true nature of that technique? Are we really going into Tokyo now? Won't we be hit by the nuclear strike?"
Shoko's expression was calm. Her personality had always been detached. After all her friends had died, she had become like a pool of stagnant water. Her other old friend, Geto, now seemed to her like a walking corpse, being pushed by someone else toward the most dangerous place on earth.
Geto looked at the bright, smiling image of Shoko from their youth, and then at the dead-eyed woman she had become. A mocking smile crossed his face. This damn world. It would be better if the nuke just wiped it all away. He was finding himself agreeing more and more with that madman's plan.
"Don't worry," Geto said. "The nuclear strike will be stopped."
Kusakabe frowned. "The politicians aren't exactly going to listen to an order from you."
Japan had always operated with the mundane world and the Jujutsu world separated. Thanks to their traditional indoctrination, even though sorcerers possessed great power, they had never interfered in the mundane world. Of course, the main reason for this was that the mundane politicians had always been under the control of the great noble clans. But now, with Tokyo's population wiped out and those clans crippled, the politicians had an unprecedented level of autonomy. At a time like this, those madmen probably wished they could nuke the noble clans as well.
Geto spread his arms. Cursed Spirits began to emerge from his shadow. "They don't need to accept an order. Only a madman knows how to deal with another madman."
At that exact moment, Kaito Shirogane had arrived at the Star Religious Group Headquarters. He knocked on the door of the main conference room. As an approved member of Geto's faction, he aroused no suspicion.
Kaito entered the room. The politicians inside merely glanced at him before returning to their calls, confirming times and coordinates with the American military.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The sound of Kaito's applause was loud enough to make everyone stop and look up.
The Prime Minister frowned. "Did your leader not tell you not to disturb our work unless it was a major security issue?"
Kaito smiled brightly. "Gentlemen, I am here to report a major security issue."
"An assassin has infiltrated this headquarters and is planning to slaughter every last one of you."
His words sent a jolt of panic through the room. Several men were already reaching for their phones to call the guards. But the Prime Minister suddenly noticed the bloody footprints the sorcerer had tracked in behind him.
"You…"
He had just begun to speak when Kaito clapped his hands together.
BOOM!
A sound like a flashbang grenade exploding made the politicians scream in terror.
"That's right. You're so smart, Mr. Prime Minister," Kaito's voice was filled with laughter. "The assassin… is me!"
He laughed as he charged into the crowd.
[You have killed Prime Minister Abe. You have gained 100 Dimensional Points.]
[Milestone Update: Slaughterer (27/1000)]
[You have killed Politician…]
…
As he cut them down, a thought was running through Kaito's mind. The Taizan Fukun Ritual… for a Reincarnator, this is an incredibly precious opportunity. Would someone really just waste it on killing Gojo Satoru?
No. If it were me, I would absolutely use it to empower myself. Just like…
Just like Hao Asakura did.
Kaito guessed that he had finally understood the true, terrifying goal of the hidden Reincarnator.
~~~
We hit our goal of 25&30 reviews—thank you all! As promised, you're getting 2 extra chapters as a reward!
Next goal: 35 reviews, we need 4 more for that.