Chapter 158: The Beginning of Summer
Midsummer, 2007.
Even the wind blowing through Tokyo carried a nauseating heat, thick and damp enough to cling to the skin.
The cicadas screamed without end.
Their cries scraped against the ears, making the already oppressive weather feel even more unbearable.
It was the summer that should never have been peaceful.
The irritating summer.
The heat was not the only thing that made it suffocating.
The balance of the Jujutsu World had already begun to tilt.
Inside the bathroom of the Jujutsu High dormitory, cold water poured from the showerhead and splashed noisily over Suguru Geto's exhausted body.
His condition had worsened.
His once slender frame had become thinner, to the point where his ribs could be seen beneath his skin. Scars and bruises marked his body, some old, some still raw.
He stood before the mirror and stared blankly at his reflection.
Sunken eyes.
Pale skin tinged with an unhealthy gray.
The gentle, firm gaze he used to have was now cloudy, like stagnant water.
He had just returned from an especially disgusting mission.
A Cursed Spirit had appeared in the sewers, born from human greed, jealousy, and filth. The entire process had made him feel sick, both in body and mind.
But the worst part always came after the exorcism.
Geto raised his right hand like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
A pitch black sphere rested in his palm.
It quietly emitted a foul stench, carrying the damp, rotten aura of death.
A Cursed Spirit Orb.
This was the only path for him to become stronger.
And it was also the price he paid for holding onto his belief that the strong should protect the weak.
"Gulp."
Geto swallowed dryly.
His stomach cramped at once, resisting what was about to happen before his mind could even give the order.
But he had no choice.
Satoru Gojo had already flown into the clouds and become something like a god.
Suguru Geto had been left alone in this living hell of filth and stench.
He went on missions alone.
Day after day.
Night after night.
Alone, he entered remote mountain villages.
Alone, he walked through dark, damp abandoned buildings.
Alone, he stepped into hospital morgues filled with the aura of death.
And again and again, he repeated the process that made him sick to his bones.
Subjugation.
Absorption.
If he did not keep forcing himself to become stronger, he would be left behind by this cruel world.
Left behind by the best friend who now felt out of reach.
Geto opened his mouth and shoved the foul Cursed Spirit Orb down his throat.
"Gulp."
The instant he swallowed it, his entire body convulsed.
It was like swallowing a rag soaked in vomit, then left to rot for months under the scorching sun.
The indescribable stench and bitterness slid down his throat and into his stomach. Then it seemed to turn into countless malicious tentacles, clawing at his sanity from the inside.
"Ugh…"
Geto bent over in pain.
His hands gripped the sink so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
He retched violently.
Stomach acid rose in his throat. Tears mixed with the cold shower water and ran down his face.
Disgusting.
It was too disgusting.
Along with the physical torment, memories he had tried to suppress surged through his mind like a broken dam.
The fanatical smiles of the Star Religious Group members.
The thunderous applause that had once erupted for Riko Amanai's death.
The ugly curses from villagers who hid their greed and selfishness behind fear.
One scene after another.
One face after another.
All of them seemed to be mocking his pathetic ideals.
"What exactly…"
Geto stared at the dirty water swirling down the sink.
His voice was hoarse, like air scraping through a broken pipe.
"...am I protecting these disgusting monkeys for?"
That dangerous thought filled his mind.
It spread like ink through clear water, devouring everything else.
Just as it was about to swallow him whole, there was a knock at the bathroom door.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
The sound was not loud.
But it was clear enough to cut through Geto's thoughts and pull him back from the edge.
"Suguru."
Yami's voice came from outside.
Calm.
Steady.
As unreadable as ever, yet somehow reassuring.
"Get dressed."
A pause.
"Come with me."
Geto froze.
Then he wiped the water from his face, his eyes clouded with confusion and vigilance.
"Where?"
There was silence outside the door for two seconds.
Then Yami's voice came through the crack beneath it.
"To show you…"
"The true warmth of ordinary life."
Ten minutes later, Geto changed into clean casual clothes and followed Yami out of the Jujutsu High gate.
The night wind still carried an irritating heat, but compared with the suffocating despair inside the bathroom, it was at least bearable.
The two walked one behind the other down an empty street.
Streetlights stretched their shadows long across the ground. A few moths bumped against the lampshades, circling blindly around the dim light.
"Yami."
Geto looked at the figure walking ahead of him.
Yami's steps were steady, as if he would never lose his way.
After a long silence, Geto finally could not hold back.
"Where exactly are we going?"
Yami did not stop.
He did not even turn around.
He only pulled a crumpled mission sheet from his pocket and tossed it backward.
The paper landed precisely in Geto's hand.
"The solo mission the higher ups originally planned to assign you tomorrow."
Yami's voice remained calm.
"I stopped by on the way and took it from them."
Geto caught the mission sheet and lowered his gaze.
Under the dim light of the streetlamp, he read the contents.
The moment his eyes landed on the line identifying the target, his pupils shrank.
Mission Location: Abandoned air raid shelter, Tokyo suburbs.
Mission Target: Exorcise the Semi Grade 1 Cursed Spirit born from the secret gathering of Star Religious Group remnants.
"Star Religious Group…"
Geto's voice sank.
"Remnants?"
Those words stabbed into the most fragile crack in his heart like heated blades.
Boom.
A violent surge of malice rose from deep within him, uncontrollable and sharp.
The air around them dropped in temperature.
Even the ceaseless chirping of the cicadas seemed to stop beneath that killing intent.
"They're still gathering?"
Geto clenched the mission sheet until the paper crumpled in his hand.
His voice had turned rough, like sandpaper scraping against stone.
"Not only are they gathering."
Yami finally stopped and turned around.
His eyes calmly met Geto's gaze.
"They're still celebrating their ridiculous victory."
Geto's fingers tightened.
"Their ignorant fanaticism and ugly negative emotions were what nurtured this Semi Grade 1 Cursed Spirit over the past year."
Yami's eyes narrowed slightly.
His gaze seemed to pierce straight through Geto.
"Suguru."
His voice was quiet.
"Before I show you the warmth of ordinary life, you need to see something else first."
Geto's body stiffened.
Yami looked at him and said the words plainly.
"The ghost inside your heart."
Geto trembled.
Cleaning up the Star Religious Group remnants?
This was not an ordinary exorcism mission.
It was Yami pushing him to the edge of a cliff.
Forcing him to face the choice he had been avoiding.
Protect the monkeys.
Or kill them all.
Was Yami trying to shatter his ideals completely?
Or was he reaching out one last time, trying to pull him back before he fell?
....
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