Chapter 7: Become My Captive
The next afternoon, Gojo Satoru came to the forest in the northern part of Ekoda alone.
The towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and the sunlight cast mottled light and shadow on the ground through the layers of leaves. The air was filled with the fresh scent of soil and plants, and occasional bird cries came, making this place appear even more quiet and mysterious. This location was already remote, and with the rumors of the witch rising in recent years, human presence became increasingly scarce.
The white-haired youth wore light casual clothes, walking leisurely on the soft ground of the forest with both hands in his pants pockets. He seemed to be strolling aimlessly, but the Six Eyes were already operating silently, capturing the information hidden in the forest.
Soon, he perceived an abnormal energy fluctuation—
"Hmm? Is this... magic?"
What might be just an ordinary interweaving of trees in the eyes of normal people was, in Gojo Satoru's field of vision, a thin but tough energy barrier like an upside-down glass bowl, skillfully integrating with the surrounding environment.
This barrier was not complex, and its principle shared a wonderful common ground with the "Curtain" of the jujutsu world, both hiding areas through cognitive filtering. That was to say, the area inside the barrier actually existed all along, but the "cognition" of the vast majority of people was interfered with by the barrier, leading them to actively choose and firmly believe that they "did not see any abnormality," while also easily losing their way.
Gojo Satoru's steps paused, and he teleported straight toward the center of that energy fluctuation.
Passing through the barrier that was no different from an optical illusion, a Gothic-style castle suddenly appeared in front of him. The castle did not occupy a too large area, but its appearance was visibly gorgeous. However, the iron gate at the entrance was tightly closed, and the guards or butler he expected did not appear, making it quiet to a somewhat abnormal degree.
Gojo Satoru raised an eyebrow. Just as he approached, that heavy big gate creaked open by itself, as if welcoming him, an uninvited guest.
"Warmer than imagined."
Inside the gate was a dimly lit entrance corridor, looking a bit like the shooting site of a horror movie, yet making one want to explore it even more.
"Then, excuse me—" Saying so, Gojo Satoru crossed the threshold without any misgivings.
The moment he stepped into the castle's interior, the big gate behind him crashed shut. Almost at the same time, the gargoyles carved on the walls of both sides shot out faint lines of light from their eyes, and the stone slabs beneath his feet also suddenly disappeared, revealing a pitch-black tunnel below. If ordinary people accidentally fell down, although they might not lose their lives, they wouldn't escape breaking bones.
Gojo Satoru did not change his posture of keeping his hands in his pockets. His body swayed slightly by a hair's breadth, and those lines of light with unknown effects all missed their mark. Next, he used the Limitless technique to manipulate space, floating in the air as lightly as a feather, continuing forward by stepping on the air.
After walking through the corridor, an attic rotating continuously like a Rubik's cube attacked from ahead. That extremely exaggerated rotation speed made the true exit appear blurred and confusing.
"A maze?" Gojo Satoru stood on the spot, both eyes rapidly analyzing the pattern of the changes: "Left three, front two, right one... found it."
Every step he took stepped precisely on the correct stair, and in less than a moment, he crossed this moving maze. In the remaining journey, various kinds of mechanisms emerged one after another.
For instance, a rose cage dropping suddenly from the ceiling, armored knights chasing people to chop them, a huge teddy bear jumping back and forth, magic ribbons trying to wrap him into a zongzi... Among them, many designs were enough to make an intruder lacking preparation flustered and wretched, yet skillfully avoided truly fatal possibilities.
Of course, all mechanisms became harmless entertainment projects in front of Gojo Satoru, this cheater. Truly, this was way more fun than those haunted houses he visited in amusement parks—if conditions allowed, bringing Little Kaito and Little Aoko to play together would definitely be quite interesting.
Pondering unreliable thoughts in his brain, Gojo Satoru went all the way without hindrance, finally arriving before a black ebony gate carved with a fire totem and using a golden snake as a handle. Without needing him to lift his hand, the door opened automatically again.
A spacious circular hall came into view along with it.
In the center of the hall, a throne polished from dark red crystal was placed on a slightly high platform, and a woman playing with a magic wand was leaning against it lazily. She was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, her skin white as snow, her facial features bright and eye-catching, carrying a type of charm that surpassed the ordinary world. A head of thick, curling crimson long hair cascaded to her waist like burning roses. The black velvet long robe matched well with the exquisite retro jewelry, making her an undeniable big beauty.
Except for the different hairstyle, her appearance was extremely similar to Koizumi Akako in the original work, just like sisters.
Gojo Satoru sized up her face, already having a guess in his heart.
The woman lifted her eyes slightly, looking at the white-haired youth who walked in at a leisurely pace: "You have come."
Her voice carried a trace of ethereality: "My crystal ball already predicted your visit... however, I didn't expect you could come before me so quickly."
"Well, I also didn't expect it to end so fast, I wanted to play a bit more~" Gojo Satoru blinked his eyes, his tone rather regretful.
At this very moment, without extra blocking, those fully revealed pale blue eyes made the woman freeze slightly.
"As expected of the legendary 'Six Eyes,' no wonder you could easily see through my barrier and defuse those mechanisms."
"Presumably, you are that mysterious Gojo family head who just returned to Japan not long ago, right?" The red-haired woman stood up from the throne, the corner of her lips curving into an interested arc: "May I know your great name?"
"Recognized all at once? Looks like this pair of eyes still has quite a lot of recognizability." Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers: "Bingo~ However, before asking someone's name, shouldn't you report your own name first?"
"Clearly a guest who broke into the barrier without saying hello, truly arrogant." The red-haired woman gave a light snort: "I am a grand magician of the Red Magic lineage, you can address me as... Guren."
Seeing Guren seemed to hold no malice, Gojo Satoru also told her frankly: "I am Satoru, Gojo Satoru."
Guren nodded, lifting her hand with a wave, and conjured a soft chair out of thin air behind Gojo Satoru: "Coming from afar, the hospitality is inadequate, please sit."
"Those small jokes just now, with Mr. Gojo's tolerance, you shouldn't mind, right?" As she spoke, she clapped her hands elegantly.
A butler wearing a crisp tuxedo appeared silently, a large piece of richly fragrant Black Forest cake on the tray in his hand, along with a steaming cup of chocolate milk.
"Why don't we eat and chat?" Guren conjured a small table, indicating the butler to place the tray in front of Gojo Satoru: "I think you will like it."
"Wow, chocolate! Thanks~" Gojo Satoru agreed happily, picking up the utensils without being polite at all, scooping a spoonful of cake and stuffing it into his mouth with visible pleasure.
"Speaking of which, Miss Guren, did that crystal ball of yours make a prediction regarding me?" He swallowed the cake in his mouth, the tip of his tongue licking the remaining cream on the edge of his lips: "I'm a bit curious... what was the specific content of the prediction like?"
Guren's expression didn't change, but she couldn't help recalling the memory from the morning.
For a long time, she was used to divining her fortune after waking up, and today was no exception. However, just when she casually asked the crystal ball "whether anything special will happen today," she perceived an unexpected future.
"A powerful ability user coming from afar will visit the 'Witch's Castle'..."
Since she didn't know whether the visitor was friend or foe, Guren's heart sank instantly.
"What exactly is that guy?"
In order to divine this answer, she used a full three times more magic power than usual, and even the crystal ball exploded on the spot before she got a blurry prophetic saying.
"The Eyes of Heaven insight into falsehood,
The power of Infinity transcends rules.
The starlight of a different world rewrites destiny,
This is the person who shakes the balance of the world"
Although she wasn't clear about what the so-called "starlight of a different world" referred to, she could tell from these few short sentences—that ability user who was about to visit her seemed to have become powerful to an inconceivable degree.
Could it be that her divination made a mistake? Guren tried to carry out divination again, but was affected by a certain rule in the dark, unable to investigate any information about the other party at all, and could only deduce through a few words of the prophetic saying.
The Eyes of Heaven...? In ancient books, the only pair of eyes possessing a similar description seemed to be that pair, which was the Gojo family's "Six Eyes"...
That was it. The only "Six Eyes" still existing in the world today was just one person, which was that Gojo family head who disappeared for unknown reasons many years ago and suddenly returned now—
However, if the guess came true, what on earth was the Gojo family head visiting for so rashly? Could it be...
"Miss Guren?" The white-haired youth's calling interrupted her thoughts.
Guren came back to her senses, just wanting to fabricate a few false predictions to test the other's reaction, when a slightly exaggerated voice echoed through the hall.
A beautifully decorated silver-framed mirror embedded beside the throne caught sight of Gojo Satoru's face and immediately shouted loudly: "Oh! Heavens!! What kind of radiance is this! What kind of countenance is this! The silver-white hair is the gift of moonlight, and the pale blue eyes are the blessing of the gods! Although this gentleman is a man, his beauty is on par with the city-toppling Lord Guren, and there is also the stunning red from a young age..."
"Cough!" Guren glared at the mirror fiercely, her gaze sharp.
The mirror seemed to be choked by the neck, its voice stopping abruptly, and it coughed twice awkwardly: "Cough cough... in short, a rare noble guest in the world!" After speaking, it spoke no more, restoring the appearance of an ordinary mirror.
Gojo Satoru bit the straw, his gaze shifting between the mirror and Guren, drinking the chocolate milk with a "glug glug" sound.
"The magic mirror in my house has this temperament, no need to care about it." Guren acted as if nothing had happened, shifting the topic: "How about we chat about other things first?"
Gojo Satoru wasn't in a hurry either, so it was perfectly fine with him.
According to Guren's introduction, although the historical origins of the Red Magic family were not weaker than the Gojo family, those powerful mages were basically reclusive experts, used to ignoring worldly affairs and accumulating wealth and knowledge through magical means, rarely intervening in the world of ordinary people. However, if a fellow mage suffered persecution by other ability users, they would also form an alliance to avenge them.
"Actually..." Guren played with a strand of long hair, opening her mouth half-truly: "I was originally thinking about when I should visit the new family head who possesses the Six Eyes and also takes charge of the Gojo family, I didn't expect you to visit me one step ahead... truly a surprise."
Next, her wine-red eyes turned toward Gojo Satoru, her tone very certain: "Then, speak of your intention, Mr. Gojo—you have something you want to get from me, right?"
Gojo Satoru finished the last sip of chocolate milk, placed the empty cup casually on the tray, and nodded readily: "Correct, there is one thing I indeed need your help with."
Seeing him wipe out the dessert she gifted cleanly, Guren's eyes flickered slightly as she asked: "What matter?"
"I want to know a method, or a medium... that can replace the soul of a deceased person and inject it into a specially made puppet."
Gojo Satoru's gaze pointed meaningly at that mirror which was currently as quiet as a chicken: "In your castle, there seems to be a miraculous technology or creation that can make non-living bodies possess 'awareness.' If I guessed correctly, there should exist some kind of magic that can make a cold puppet come 'alive' and possess an awareness as real as a human's?"
Guren listened quietly, neither denying directly nor admitting immediately.
"Magic involving the soul domain is one of the most profound and dangerous domains." She rubbed her magic wand gently, pondering for a moment, and suddenly revealed a smile. That smile was incredibly beautiful, yet also carried a trace of slyness.
"I can provide help for you, Mr. Gojo. However..." She dragged out her tone: "I have one condition."
"Oh? What condition?" Gojo Satoru asked with his head tilted.
Guren looked at the empty cup on the tray, the success-like smile on her face expanding more and more.
"My condition is..." She lifted her head slightly, looking straight at this white-haired youth who was quite a bit taller than herself, with an air of being determined to win.
"I want you... to become my captive."
Hearing this spell-like phrase, Gojo Satoru seemed to be controlled by some invisible thing, looking at Guren motionlessly, unable to say anything.
Seeing this, Guren felt completely reassured, explaining kindly: "The chocolate dessert you ate just now, its raw material is a magic potion I made with my own hands—Charm Chocolate."
"It can awaken the strongest love desire deep in the heart, making any man fall in love with me uncontrollably, becoming my possession willingly, living for me and dying for me..." Her fingertips almost touched Gojo Satoru's heart, stating with certainty: "Now, have you already felt that surging, irresistible love?"
"It doesn't matter~ just obey it and become Lord Guren's captive."
However, before her words could fall, her wrist was grabbed in mid-air.
Gojo Satoru had lifted his hand at some unknown time, not at all in the state of being controlled just now, but precisely pinching her wrist, making her unable to advance even a fraction more.
"Eh—the witch's Charm Chocolate is that kind of thing?" He blinked his eyes, his tone filled with pure doubt, and even a trace of disappointment.
In short, two words. "Just this?"
The proud smile on Guren's face froze instantly.
"What... how is it possible?!" She looked at Gojo Satoru in disbelief, a clear look of astonishment and shaking appearing in her eyes for the first time. Her invincible charm magic... was actually completely ineffective against this man?!
Gojo Satoru let go of her hand, pointing to the position of his own heart.
"Very unfortunate, Miss Guren."
"Over here, I completely didn't feel any so-called 'love' at all, you see?"
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