"Let's move."
Children in danger. That was enough to strip the leisure from Gojo's stride. He led the other two into the forest at speed, following the trail of small footprints through the undergrowth.
It didn't take long before sounds reached them. Voices, faint and frightened. And beneath them, the low growl of something that wasn't human.
"No..."
Subaru's blood went cold. He stopped thinking about the fact that he was an ordinary person with no combat ability and broke into a sprint toward the noise.
They emerged from the dense treeline into a clearing. Several children lay scattered across the grass, whimpering in pain.
In the distance, a Mabeast the size of a tiger, its body covered in coarse brown fur, clamped its jaws around a small figure and vanished into the forest.
"Petra!"
"Lucas!"
Subaru rushed forward, calling their names. The children's faces were twisted with pain. Conscious, but barely able to move. His voice seemed to pull them back from whatever fog had taken hold.
"Subaru..."
Their voices came out thin and broken. His chest tightened.
Gojo swept his gaze over them and spotted the wounds immediately. Bite marks, scattered across their arms and legs.
"Subaru, step back. They've been Cursed. Same as you."
Only then did Subaru notice the teeth impressions on their skin.
Gojo crouched beside the children, his expression settling into something warm and unhurried. The kind of calm that made you believe things would be fine, even when everything suggested otherwise.
"Hey, hey. Easy now. Nothing to be scared of. We're gonna have the adorable Betty fix you right up."
He shot Beatrice a wink.
"Don't think saying things like that will make me happy." She tossed her hair. "Betty's cuteness is a statement of fact. Far more fitting than that maid who insists on calling herself cute."
Her tone dripped with contempt. Her feet carried her straight to the nearest child. One by one, she pressed her palm to their chests and drew the Curses out.
It took moments. Black smoke rose and dissipated from each wound, and the tension bled from their small bodies. The Curses hadn't fully activated yet, but even dormant, the affliction had been crushing for bodies this young, this undeveloped.
The blonde girl Subaru had called Petra forced her eyes open almost immediately.
"There's... there's still one more..."
"Shh, shh." Gojo placed a finger gently against her lips. "I already know. But that's grown-up business now. You rest. I promise I'll bring that child back safe."
She stared up at him, this stranger with the striking face, her lips moving as if she wanted to say more. But exhaustion won. She'd burned through every scrap of willpower just staying conscious this long. There was nothing left.
He patted her head, and as her brow smoothed, her eyes drifted shut.
"Betty, keep watch here. Subaru's still a civilian. He can't protect these kids on his own."
"I'll handle the problem and be right back."
She puffed out her cheeks. "Fine, fine. But if you're not back soon, I'm feeding him to the Mabeasts."
"Huh?!"
Subaru's shoulders jumped to his ears.
"How is that my fault? I'm not part of whatever this is between you two. I'm innocent..."
"Silence will buy you a few extra minutes of my patience."
Beatrice's smile turned predatory, and Subaru's mouth snapped shut.
"Get along with my adorable Betty, Subaru. I believe in you!"
The words hung in the air. Gojo was already gone.
Following the direction the Mabeast had fled, he caught sight of it within minutes.
"Hey."
The beast froze mid-stride, the girl still clenched in its jaws.
"Hurting kids isn't something a good dog does."
Gojo drifted down from above and took his first real look at the creature. It resembled a dog, broadly speaking, but scaled up to nearly three meters tall. Thick limbs, glossy black fur, crimson eyes, and a mouth full of fangs that could snap a person in half.
Imposing, in its way.
"You really don't look much like a normal animal, do you?"
He rubbed his chin, genuinely curious.
"Good thing it wasn't this one that bit Subaru. Forget waiting for the Curse to kick in. One bite from those jaws and you're dead on the spot."
The Mabeast snarled and dropped the girl.
"Not exactly gentle, are you?" He caught her before she hit the ground, tucking her against his side. "Then again, with that bald patch on your head, I'm guessing you're the middle-aged-man equivalent in Mabeast years. Manners were never going to be your strong suit."
The joke sailed over its head. The beast lunged, jaws gaping wide.
"I'm guessing nobody's told you about your breath."
Gojo shook his head and shifted his weight, barely moving. In the instant those jaws snapped shut on empty air, a dark blur descended like an axe blade against the side of the creature's skull.
The impact launched it like a cannonball. It smashed through tree after tree, each trunk splintering on contact, before finally grinding to a halt in a tangle of shattered wood.
Where there had been snarling, there was now whimpering. The massive Mabeast staggered upright, shaking its head, dazed and reeling.
"How about you stop struggling and come quietly?"
Fear replaced defiance. The beast threw its head back and loosed a shrill, piercing howl that tore through the canopy.
The forest answered.
Rustling erupted from every direction, the sound of many things moving fast through the undergrowth. Red eyes blinked open among the trees, pair after pair after pair.
They emerged into view. Creatures of the same species as the leader, though each of these bore sharp horns protruding from their skulls.
"Quite the welcoming party."
Gojo surveyed the encirclement, then shifted the girl to his hip, freeing one hand. A snap of his fingers, and brilliant blue light ignited at his fingertips.
The lead Mabeast growled a command. The pack charged.
He flicked the blue sphere from his hand with no more effort than tossing a coin.
Blue.
The instant it left his fingers, invisible gravitational force erupted outward. Dust, grass, shattered stone, all of it wrenched from the ground and pulled inward. Then the charging Mabeasts followed, dragged off their feet, helpless against the pull. One by one they were drawn in, compressed, crushed, and burst apart into fine dust.
Gojo eyed the aftermath with mild distaste. The forest floor looked like a slaughterhouse.
He turned toward the leader.
The alpha Mabeast had watched its entire pack reduced to nothing. Whatever fight it had left evaporated. It cowered beneath a tree, whining, the sound pitifully small for a creature its size.
He didn't bother with words. A slap to the side of its head, a grip on the scruff of its neck, and he was airborne, hauling it back toward Beatrice.
The forest blurred beneath him. Within moments he spotted the clearing, landed softly, and deposited both the girl and the Mabeast in front of the others.
"What is that revolting smell? Why did you bring that thing back?"
Beatrice fanned a hand in front of her nose, glaring at the whimpering Mabeast.
"Insurance. If something else goes wrong, better to have the culprit on hand."
He knew his limits when it came to Mabeasts. Playing it safe meant keeping the evidence close. He gave the creature a pat on the head. Three meters of predator, and it didn't dare twitch. It pressed itself flat against the ground.
"I wasn't asking about that one. I meant her." Beatrice pinched her nose and jabbed a finger at the girl tucked under his arm. "The scent on her is almost as strong as the two of yours."
"What?"
That caught him off guard. He'd assumed she was talking about the Mabeast the entire time.
"It's not quite the same as the Witch's scent, but these Mabeasts would certainly be drawn to it."
Beatrice approached the girl, one hand still clamped over her nose, and reached toward her.
The girl's eyes snapped open.
She'd been conscious the whole time. In one sharp motion she twisted away from Beatrice's hand, putting distance between them.
"Hmph. I knew it." Beatrice's voice went cold. "This was all your doing, wasn't it? Mabeast Tamer."
"Aww, calling a girl smelly? That's so rude."
The girl brushed grass and debris from her clothes, pouting as if the worst offense committed today had been against her feelings.
"Mabeast Tamer?"
Gojo ignored the fact that she'd been faking unconsciousness. His attention went to Beatrice.
"Someone who can command Mabeasts in combat," she said flatly.
"Oh. So like a Spirit Arts User, but for Mabeasts."
"Are you comparing me to those low-level creatures?!"
Beatrice whipped around, eyes blazing.
"Of course not. Betty's far too cute for the comparison. Those Mabeasts don't even come close."
You always complimented your own Spirit. He ruffled her hair with a grin.
"I'm not a child. Stop doing that."
She swatted his hand away.
"How... how could you?"
Subaru's voice cut through, strained and disbelieving. He stared at the girl as if the world had shifted beneath his feet.
"You lived in the village. With everyone. Why? Why would you do this? Weren't they your friends?"
"Friends?" The girl tilted her head, considering the word. "Yeah, they're my friends. I really like Petra. And I really like you too, mister."
"Then why..."
He'd died twice because of her. Across multiple loops, he'd already marked whoever was behind the Curse as his enemy. That had been easy when the enemy was faceless. But now, looking at this girl he'd laughed with, played with, shared moments with across different timelines, the betrayal cut in a way he hadn't expected.
"Hmm, you wanna know why?" She cocked her head to the other side. "That's a secret. Mommy told me I can't tell."
Mid-sentence, dark shapes burst from the treeline. Mabeasts. They snatched her up and bolted back into the forest.
She'd been planning her escape from the start. Gojo's presence had simply denied her the opening until now.
"A problem child, huh."
He watched the direction she'd vanished. "Kids like that need a proper lesson, or they'll end up making much bigger mistakes down the road."
Beatrice opened her mouth to respond, then stopped. Gojo's hand was already extended toward the fleeing girl, a faint blue glow pulsing at his fingertips.
The Mabeasts carrying her didn't stand a chance against the pull. They were dragged backward through the air, girl and all, deposited right back where they'd started.
"What do you want to do with her?" Beatrice spared the girl a glance, nothing more. "There's no knight order out here to hand her over to."
In her estimation, this girl was weak. Pathetically so, especially without Mabeasts to hide behind.
"She's still young. We don't need to... you know." Subaru's words came fast, almost tripping over each other. "Right?"
The betrayal stung. It stung badly. But looking at that young face, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh. Not even after she'd killed him twice.
"I'd like to think I'm a pretty forgiving person when it comes to other humans." Gojo set a hand on Subaru's shoulder. "Especially kids."
He paused.
"That said, she doesn't get to make this kind of mistake again. If she does, even I'll have a hard time being lenient."
Compared to Cursed Spirits, creatures of pure malice and killing instinct, humans at least had the capacity to change.
...
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