Gojo dropped the corpse without care and started walking toward the girl who was crying.
Neko ignored her, still weeping.
That's when it hit me; a bit funny most of us here hadn't cried in years, yet we finally found something strong enough to rip the tears right out of us.
Gojo opened her palm, aiming it straight at Neko on the ground.
And then, I saw it—
It had always been just a feeling before. At times, when she struck, I could sense it faintly...
But now, I could see it.
A bright purple force pulsed inside Gojo's body, then flowed straight into her hand.
In the next moment:
SPLAT!
The force tore Neko apart instantly, leaving only her lower half. No—her ribs were jutting out, and I could see her spine.
Gojo Kowai looked around at her work, like she was admiring a job well done... or a fun game well played.
I'd hit my back on a boulder earlier, so even turning my neck felt like being stabbed with glass with every move.
"You... you ruined Yasuna..." I said softly, realizing Gojo had forgotten about me.
She snickered in that husky, childlike voice of hers.
"It's only natural for weak toys to break under pressure. She was soft, like tofu."
Imitating her, I focused inward until I spotted the violet force inside my own body. I started forcing it toward my back, like manually pumping blood through myself.
It still hurt like hell, but I managed to stand, swaying and staggering the whole way up.
"I will take your life..." I pulled out a kunai and held it in both hands.
"I don't think you can," she shrugged. "It seems like you only just awakened now, but the difference between a Saint and a human is like the sky and the grass. Just let me purge you already. I feel like a bully."
As arrogant as ever... these Saints.
She was right: I'd probably die here today. But I'd be taking her with me.
Her arrogance would be her downfall.
[Ninpō... Fūjin no Jutsu]
I shot forward in a gust of wind, blade pointed straight out.
Right as I was about to strike, I vanished.
Gojo wasn't surprised. She twisted, kicking behind her to hit me.
But I vanished again and reappeared in front of her, my kunai shooting toward her jugular.
She was fast though, catching my hands in an instant.
"You lose," she smirked.
"No," I said above her, "YOU lose!"
The me she was holding dissolved into black mist. I'd pulled off Yasuna's shadow clone technique in the last second.
I came crashing down at her with the full boost of my wind technique, the blade aimed right at her exposed spine.
It probably wouldn't kill her right away, which meant the second she turned to face me, I was dead.
Heh. But taking a Saint out of this world… that suddenly felt like an achievement.
It wasn't enough to avenge Nakamura-sensei or even my sweet Yasuna… but for now, I was just a bit satisfie—
CLANG!
...WH… WHAT?!
"Sigh. You humans will never understand until it hits you in the face," Gojo said, gripping my hands tight.
The kunai had struck her spine, but it snapped in half on impact.
Why? Why? Why?!
"Why won't you fucking die?!" I screamed in her face. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you sooooo much!!"
"Ramblings of the weak," she scoffed.
I yelled, cried, and struggled to free my hand, then started punching her chest. More tears poured out as my whole body screamed in pain, every nerve threatening to give out and drop me where I stood.
As I sobbed, clutching at her tank top, she yanked my hair back.
"Like I said, you humans can never understand," her cold, croaky voice almost drove me insane with hatred. "If you'd stayed alive as an awakened spiritual warrior, you might have understood me better. But right now, you're nothing but a hapless ant caught in my hands. You have no worth. Better luck in your next life."
Her words barely registered before I noticed her hand on my chest.
A golden line traced itself in intricate patterns down her arm, glowing until it reached her palm. This energy… it was different. Something I hadn't felt from her before.
*
A few minutes had passed…
I was sitting on my knees, and there was a gaping hole through my entire torso.
"What the hell, Kowai!" a blond-haired man in a black coat flew into the scene, eyes wide in horror at the carnage. "We said guard the client. This is a bloodbath!"
An ethereal woman stepped forward with long, elf-like ears.
She wore a sharp, corporate-style outfit with a waistcoat and promptly yanked Gojo's ear. "We just told you last week to murder in moderation! And these are kids, too!"
"I swear it was self-defense," Gojo winced. "They were shooting rockets and other dangerous weapons at me, even after I warned them to leave!"
"Of course they didn't leave; they're ninjas!" the blond man snapped. "Cleaning this up will be such a pain. At least you should've massacre them in the reflection realm."
While they kept arguing, my body grew heavier and heavier until I collapsed, my gaze drifting to the night sky above.
It was beautiful tonight.
Guess I'm not bingeing that anime after all.
Ugh… life… is so hard.
At the end… I couldn't protect everything I loved. I died at the hands of those who were far more powerful.
Can't I be the powerful one for once?
I just want to watch amazing anime, live my natural life, and not be crushed under someone else's superiority.
Sigh.
I know this feeling… I'm about to die… again.
***
"Is it working?"
"Hold on."
"Okay… is it working now?"
"I said hold on."
"Okay...… what about now?"
"Uhm, Velgoroth, can you please excuse me?"
"But it's been five years already!"
There were strange sounds all around me. Clanking, humming… almost like I was inside some sort of factory.
I couldn't move my body or open my eyes, but my mind was awake. I was aware of the surrounding.
"Hey, this is important to me, you know!"
That voice… it sounded familiar.
"I know, I know. You want to see how this experiment turns out, right? I do too. But have some patience, okay? She's supposed to be dead, so we should be thankful for this much progress."
A hand touched my forehead. It was warm and familiar.
"Kiyoshi… what are the chances this fails?"
"…They're high enough that it's almost not worth continuing this. But this girl really doesn't want to die. So I'm banking on her own resilience."
…Are they talking about me?