Rip— The image before the girl's eyes was struck by a distant slash. The canvas let out a tearing sound, cut apart in an instant, abruptly split in two.
The scene Mahiru had struggled so hard to see returned once more to chaotic colors. The entire Domain was thrown into disorder by this sudden interference and attack, and ceased to function. Crack. The brush in her hand snapped and fell onto the lawn.
The colors filling the sky scattered and fell one by one. Mahiru's Domain stopped turning, and the tourists around her all collapsed straight to the ground as if fainting. Mahiru's eyes went wide, and suddenly, like someone who had held their breath underwater for a long time finally surfacing, she gasped in great gulps of air, confusion and shock flashing endlessly through her eyes.
Yuki Tsukumo was startled to see the girl in this state, thinking she'd gone too deep into her research and lost herself, and hurried over to ask: "Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Mahiru shook her head while struggling to steady her breathing: "I'm fine, it's nothing…" She was gasping because she had just expended an enormous amount of Cursed Energy. The Cursed Energy needed to pierce her vision through space and time was truly beyond her imagination.
Now the only thing left in Mahiru's mind was the last scene she had seen through the canvas—there was no doubt, she had seen Sukuna. That Sukuna with the long golden hair, who had taken over the Angel's body.
"Tch." The girl clicked her tongue.
That Sukuna hadn't died was indeed within her expectations.
Although Satoru Gojo had created the Black Hole in the end with the intent to kill Sukuna, at the very last moment Sukuna slashed that Black Hole once with a slash containing the Angel's Cursed Technique.
That Black Hole was very likely just like Yuki Tsukumo's Black Hole after Satoru Gojo dissolved it with his Domain—it had lost its attack power and only retained the ability to cause temporal turbulence and cross through time.
Thus the swallowed Sukuna was sent to another time and space.
She just hadn't expected that Sukuna would be sent to that third parallel world… and even less expected that the third parallel world would be the timeline of a sequel sixty-eight years later.
In that timeline, the great battle between Satoru Gojo and Sukuna had long since ended. The crisis facing Earth was the crisis of coexisting with alien invaders. That story unfolds with two alien boys plus Yuta's granddaughter and grandson as the protagonists, and the strongest of that alien planet, Dabura, would also appear.
Mahiru does not exist in that world.
What exists is the original Mahito.
According to the direction of the original sequel, that world was meant to head toward a happy ending after many conflicts had erupted. But that was before.
Now it was different.
But Mahiru had just seen it.
Sitting on the throne of that alien civilization's nation was no longer the old man from the original, but the Sukuna who had crossed over. That world line, too, had already been altered.
And it was probably the worst kind of alteration imaginable.
"What on earth happened?"
The girl's mind raced frantically.
The strongest of the aliens was Dabura, but his side's understanding of techniques and their way of fighting were still very primitive. Before undergoing growth and learning, Dabura was nowhere near as strong as Sukuna.
The girl very much wanted to know what exactly Sukuna had done in the timeline sixty-eight years later, but unfortunately there were far too many possibilities, and she couldn't guess at all. She wanted to look, but peering into that world consumed too much Cursed Energy, and she had already been discovered by Sukuna and put him on his guard.
Wanting to learn more information would likely be extremely difficult.
However, there was one point about which she could make a reasonable guess.
"The Culling Game… has it actually evolved to the point where it can span timelines?"
Now she understood why, even though both Kenjaku and Sukuna were gone, the Culling Game in the modern world still hadn't disappeared. It turned out that Sukuna, in another timeline, was still maintaining the existence of the Culling Game.
Then, since this maintenance could cross time and space, could the Culling Game itself also follow Sukuna and infect the future sixty-eight years from now?
This way, the sickening aura she had felt also had an explanation.
If her guess was right, then in the world sixty-eight years later, on that alien planet, the people there had also fallen into the Culling Game, just like the people of modern-day Japan.
And there, they had no one like Mahiru who knew the information and could reverse the situation.
With Sukuna's power, on that alien planet, his actions would probably meet no resistance at all.
"Haah…" Mahiru sighed.
No matter what, the situation was far worse than she had imagined.
Mahiru stood up and packed away her canvas and easel: "Miss Tsukumo, that's it for today."
Yuki Tsukumo looked at Mahiru in confusion: "Your research is over? So what exactly happened?"
"The research isn't over; I'll have to trouble you again afterward. But right now I have something more important to do."
Mahiru still hadn't figured out how to cross time, but she had to first communicate with the people of the modern world, tell them what she had seen, and let them prepare in advance.
So Mahiru left this place and returned to Tokyo.
That night, she found another spot, once again opened her Domain, and connected with the modern world.
Opening her eyes, Mahiru found herself—oh no, she should say little Kaori—soaking in a hot spring at a hot spring inn, together with Hanami and Jogo.
The Jogo beside her saw the change in little Kaori's eyes, and almost without thinking, understood in an instant that Mahiru had come. "What's wrong? It's not the time for our scheduled routine contact, is it?" So she asked directly: "Is there something urgent to say?"
"There is indeed something very important." Mahiru's expression was grave. "Sukuna isn't dead… I saw Sukuna."
"You saw Sukuna?" Jogo was startled. "In your world?"
"Not in my world—in another world." Mahiru shook her head. "This matter is very complicated, and explaining it takes time. First help me call everyone here."
Jogo was slightly stunned, then spoke: "That's doable, but there's one thing that'll be rather troublesome."
"Troublesome?"
"In everyone's eyes, you're still in a dead state right now." Hanami chimed in from the side, spreading his hands. "Getting them to believe you're not dead actually isn't a simple matter, you know."
For a moment Mahiru didn't understand what this "not a simple matter" meant.
But soon she would find out—after her death, it turned out that there were so many people who had been seriously affected by her passing.
Tokyo, within a high-rise swarming with Cursed Spirits, a great blast erupted.
Boom— Black lightning burst through the building, and a huge Cursed Spirit was smashed into a dent by a single punch, sent flying out of the tower. "Roooar!!"
The Cursed Spirit let out a cry full of rage and, at the same time, brimming with unwillingness.
As a creature born from the negative emotions of humans, the Cursed Spirit, cornered in a desperate situation, erupted with all its power, chaotic Cursed Energy surging into the sky.
This Cursed Energy was filthy, extreme, full of grudges, containing the ultimate collection of all of humanity's negative emotions—the ultimate hatred, the ultimate rage, the ultimate unwillingness, the ultimate frenzy and madness… The instant this Cursed Energy erupted, the thunderous blast was like ten thousand vengeful demons carrying negative emotions, wailing and roaring together.
But the next moment.
This howling of ten thousand demons was pierced through once again by the black lightning.
The pink-haired youth, his expression numb like a doll's—and within the Cursed Energy blazing in his hand, that madness and extreme negativity was actually deeper and more terrifying than the Cursed Spirit itself, that very aggregate of human negative energy. Boom—
The fist carrying the Black Flash landed on the Cursed Spirit, driving it like a missile straight from the high-rise down into the ground.
The Cursed Spirit let out a death wail. It didn't understand, it couldn't comprehend.
Wasn't the other party a human?
But why was the negative emotion contained in his fist even more frenzied, even more full of hatred, than its own—it, a Cursed Spirit?
Crashing straight down, smoke and dust flew everywhere. The ground cracked open into a huge pit, and the Cursed Spirit's corpse dissolved into smoke.
The pink-haired youth stood up from the rubble, looking at his own fist. He had already been fighting tirelessly for a very long time, his face stained with countless wounds and blood, all mixed together, so that it was even hard to tell which was his own and which was the Cursed Spirit's.
…Actually, it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore. His expression was numb like a robot's as he looked at the Cursed Spirit's remains on the ground: "Another one…"
Another Cursed Spirit exorcised. Good. Then next, it was time to find the next one.
Without any further thought, like a tireless robot, the youth walked off toward the direction of the next Cursed Spirit.
"Hey, Brother, you should rest." A familiar voice sounded beside him.
Itadori turned his head, looking at Todo, who had appeared beside him at some point, opened his mouth, then shook his head, his voice as flat as if there were no emotional fluctuation whatsoever: "Don't worry about me, Todo… I'm fine."
Yes, he was fine. Because he was still alive. And the teacher had already been sealed. Mahiru was already dead.
From beginning to end, he had been the one being protected.
Someone bore the pressure for him, someone stood before him to protect him, and he could do nothing.
Before the disaster came, they had all protected him like protecting a child. He was so weak that he could only watch helplessly as his teacher was sealed, and in the end, he had even gotten the person who protected him killed.
…He couldn't accept it. The youth truly couldn't accept all of this.
If only he could be a little stronger. If only he could try a little harder.
If only he could bear more responsibility. If only he could have been sealed in place of the teacher, could die in place of Mahiru.
Only after truly losing them, looking back in a daze, did the youth finally realize that everything he had done before had been wrong. He had tried to find meaning for his own life, tried to find a reason to fight… but only now did he understand… Jujutsu Sorcerers were merely the machines this world used to exorcise curses.
And he was merely one component within that machine. If he couldn't complete his task, then he would be punished.
Everything he cherished would be taken away because of his mistakes.
Before, he had been so derelict, so now he could no longer make the same mistakes as before.
"Brother, I have no intention of judging your creed, but you really should rest." Todo folded his arms. "If Mahiru were still alive, she wouldn't want you to be like this either… You're already near your limit. Don't tell me you want to be devoured by a Cursed Spirit?"
Itadori said nothing, no longer replying to Todo, and instead walked straight off into the distance.
Todo sighed. Now, even he could no longer persuade Itadori.
"So that blue-haired Cursed Spirit is dead…"
On a hospital bed, Mechamaru pieced together the situation from the jujutsu assistant's words, unable to help the flickering in his eyes.
Before the decisive battle, Mahiru had healed the bodies of him and Naoya Zenin and the others. Because his Cursed Energy consumption had been too great and his body completely overdrawn, he had only now awakened.
And after awakening, he discovered that the world had already been turned upside down.
His body had been repaired, no longer carrying that damned Heavenly Restriction. From now on he could walk under the sun, could breathe fresh air.
And Kenjaku was dead; that sword of Damocles hanging over his head had also been erased by the girl.
He still remembered how, in the moment before he fell into a coma, he had sent that message to Mahiru. At that time, he had been besieged by Kenjaku, his heart full of despair, believing his life could only end there.
As a result, he woke up to find his body saved by Mahiru, his enemy killed by Mahiru. Every disadvantage had been reversed by the girl.
Only when he looked back, he heard that—Mahiru had sacrificed herself to save everyone.
How could she have sacrificed herself? That girl had achieved so many miracles, reversed so many desperate situations, and in the end, she threw herself in.
She who had once cherished her life the most, who had repeatedly schemed just to stay alive—it was her.
Of all people, she was the one with the best chance of saving herself.
Why did she still have to give it all up to sacrifice herself?
Mechamaru sat on the bed, and having learned of Mahiru's death, wore a dazed expression.
Everything before his eyes was getting better, yet everything before his eyes also seemed so terrible. This feeling made him feel incredibly unreal, so facing the jujutsu assistant before him, he could only smile bitterly.
He asked again: "Did Mahiru say anything to you all? About me?"
The jujutsu assistant was taken aback: "Is it about how to recuperate later on?"
"No," Mechamaru hesitated, his eyes slightly evasive, "it's… about the matter of my position."
Had Mahiru told anyone about the deal he had secretly made with Kenjaku?
The jujutsu assistant shook her head slightly: "As far as I recall, Miss Mahiru never said anything like that."
Mechamaru's fist clenched. Mahiru had, after all, never exposed his baseness.
Although it was most likely because the war was urgent and Mahiru simply had no mind to deal with such trivial matters, at this very moment Mechamaru suddenly felt that he so deserved to be punished.
If not for him, Kenjaku would never have had the chance to set all this in motion… and if not for him, Mahiru probably wouldn't have died in the end.
At this moment, Mechamaru felt just how tragic he was.
…In the Jujutsu High camp, people were still bustling back and forth. Nobara Kugisaki's squad system was already very mature, capable of fighting independently in various places. Because of the Culling Game, more and more new Jujutsu Sorcerers were being taken in by Jujutsu High. These grade-two and grade-three level sorcerers were many in number and difficult to manage, and at the same time, because of technique incompatibility, more and more people, having obtained Cursed Energy, instead became weak and even fell ill.
If only Mahiru were here at times like this—the girl's Idle Transfiguration could surely help these people. Unfortunately, the girl was gone.
This world, it seemed, couldn't keep turning once Mahiru left it.
"Mm, yes, Mom, I might have to keep working at the school…" In a certain room, Miwa was on the phone with her family.
The girl talked herself hoarse, finally persuading her family to allow her to stay at Jujutsu High, and only then let out a big sigh, feeling utterly exhausted.
Actually, no one required her to stay here; she stayed because the girl herself wanted to. She had self-awareness, knew she could do nothing, and if she left now, no one would blame her. But… The girl reached out to touch her earring.
After recovering her memories, she recalled that this earring had been given to her by Mahiru. Mahiru had secretly placed this earring on her, precisely to track her location, to protect her.
At that time, when she had broken down emotionally, Mahiru had held her in her arms to comfort her. At that time, Mahiru had sworn to her that no matter where she was, as long as she encountered danger, Mahiru would appear and protect her.
Miwa fell silent, removed the earring, cupped it in her palm, her eyes dim.
Mahiru… I don't want you to protect me; right now I just want you to come back.
Right now I need you, and everyone needs you too…
Bang! Suddenly, the door was kicked open, and the one who came storming in was Panda.
"Miwa! Miwa! Quickly, tell everyone—Jogo's side sent us a message!" Panda shouted at the top of his voice, his expression ecstatic. "There's good news, there's super huge good news!"
Miwa was startled, and asked in confusion: "What good news?… Your expression is way too exaggerated, isn't it?"
"Because something almost impossible has happened!" Panda danced with joy. "It's Mahiru—Mahiru is back!"
…Who?
Hearing the name that came out of Panda's mouth, Miwa widened her eyes in disbelief. You said… who's back?
Mahiru is back.
This was a message Jogo sent to everyone at Jujutsu High. To be honest, when they learned of this message, aside from a few very thick-nerved fellows, almost everyone thought it was a lie, a prank.
"It's revenge, isn't it?"
It must be that Jogo, having lost her close friend, was using some cruel lie to take revenge for their own helplessness.
Yeah, how could it possibly be real? The girl was a Cursed Spirit, and Cursed Spirits die the moment they touch Positive Energy.
The scene of the girl vanishing in Positive Energy was an image none of them could ever forget. They had already witnessed Mahiru's death with their own eyes.
How could Mahiru possibly still be alive now? What kind of joke was this?
"If she dares to mess with us, I will absolutely never forgive her." Maki Fushiguro's face was gloomy as she sat in the classroom, clenching her fist.
Yes, coming back to life was simply impossible. Even if there really were a new Cursed Spirit born from humanity's negative emotions toward other humans, appearing in this world, that would still not be Mahiru, and it could never take Mahiru's place.
But in the end, they still came. Because—what if it was real?
Even if there was only a one-in-ten-thousand chance that the girl hadn't died, they would force themselves to believe.
However, Jogo had only said that one sentence and revealed no other information, only telling them that Mahiru would come to Jujutsu High to find them soon, and that they should wait in the classroom now.
At this moment, only Nobara Kugisaki, Maki Fushiguro, and Miwa were here; the others were still on their way.
"I hope it's real; please, it absolutely must be real." Miwa pressed her hands together off to one side, silently praying.
And it was just at this moment that the door was suddenly pushed open.
A girl with short black hair tiptoed and poked her head in through the doorway to take a look.
She saw the three of them, Fushiguro and the others, and then, as if not knowing what expression to make, gently coughed twice and cleared her throat: "Ahem, um… hello, everyone…" The girl seemed a little guilty.
Although she hadn't deliberately stayed alive… she really hadn't told everyone the news that "she had already been revived" over these past few days. She felt a little guilty, like a thief caught in the act.
"Um, that thing… how have you all been lately?" She cautiously made small talk.
And Fushiguro and the others exchanged glances. All three of them recognized this girl; at Mahiru's home, they had once met her.
What was she doing here… no, wait…
Fushiguro was just about to open her mouth to greet her, when she suddenly furrowed her brows.
They had met little Kaori only a handful of times, so they couldn't tell that little Kaori's demeanor had changed—but they were familiar with Mahiru.
The blue-haired Cursed Spirit's personality, tone, and manner had always had distinct, unmistakable characteristics. Even though she was a bit awkward and embarrassed now, Maki Fushiguro could still recognize the other party.
"Are you… Mahiru?"
And so the black-haired girl only felt that she could hardly believe what was before her eyes.
____
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