"That’s how it happened."
"......"
The expressions on the faces of the three first-years, who had heard the whole story, were twisted in a bizarre way.
Even if they were worn out from dealing with Kenjaku, Uraume, Naoya, and the others, it was still absurd that the elite trio had been helplessly beaten by just one person.
And not by some legendary hermit master from nowhere, but by a rookie jujutsushi who had awakened less than a month ago.
"...Does that even make sense?"
"If just hearing it makes you this shocked, imagine how ridiculous it was for us, who actually got hit by it."
"Even if we’d been in perfect condition, I don’t think the result would’ve changed much... He was that strong."
"I don’t know what other power he might have, but at minimum, he’s special-grade."
An unexpected wild card had appeared from nowhere.
In an instant, their caution toward Takaba Fumihiko shot up to the maximum.
Since it had been proven that Kenjaku couldn’t beat Okkotsu one-on-one, it was only natural to regard Takaba as the biggest threat.
"It’s one thing after another."
More than anything, the fact that they hadn’t been able to capture Kenjaku was a painful blow.
If Tengen’s words were right, then on the day the game master was born, Kenjaku would appear again. With Takaba in tow.
In the worst-case scenario, they could end up wiped out by Takaba alone.
Even if Takaba couldn’t kill anyone himself, if Kenjaku only had to land the finishing blow, it would all be over.
"We need to come up with a countermeasure starting now."
They had to take Takaba out of the equation, or the whole board would be flipped over.
No matter how invincible he seemed, every technique had a weakness.
With their heads together, the jujutsushi plunged into a meeting.
"Wouldn’t Yoshino be able to handle him somehow?"
"It’s said to be the materialization and compulsion of imagination. It might not work on a reality-warping ability with no limits."
"He probably wouldn’t be able to absorb cursed energy either. Didn’t that guy say before that he could only suck up things with a clear form? Takaba’s ability acts on formless ‘ideas,’ so there’s no way absorption alone can exploit it."
"What about [Domain Expansion]?"
"He might be able to open a domain... I don’t know. Even if he got hit by the sure-hit effect, he could just imagine that it ‘didn’t work,’ and there’d probably be some way to smash the barrier from the outside."
"So basically, we need a way to neutralize the function of the technique itself."
"That was what we aimed for too. We tried to keep playing with him until he was satisfied while slipping in damage here and there, but it all got nullified."
Many ideas were exchanged, but no clear solution emerged.
Well, of course not. The ability was far too convenient. To be able to twist reality however he wanted—it was like being blessed by God.
While they were groaning over it, someone opened the door and came in.
"Um, I think I might be able to do something...."
It was Kurusu, who had been eating, lazing around, and doing nothing all this time.
There were several faces she hadn’t seen before, so Okkotsu’s group and she exchanged greetings one by one.
"Oh... and who are you?"
"She’s the ‘angel.’ Her name is Kurusu Hana."
"Hello. Nice to meet you."
"Hello, Ms. Kurusu."
"So what did you want to talk about?"
When everyone’s eyes turned to her, Kurusu hesitated and raised her hand.
"I’m sure Fushiguro and the others already told you, but I can nullify techniques."
"Then that means Takaba’s technique too."
"Yes. My [Jacob’s Ladder] should definitely work. It has a duration, so I can’t hold him down for long, but..."
That was enough.
If they had Kurusu and the angel, they could nullify Takaba’s technique.
"If we had her, you should’ve said so sooner. We’ve been spinning our wheels for nothing."
"Does it make sense to make the person we’re escorting handle the core of the battle? We planned to keep her exposed as little as possible until the job was finished."
Megumi wasn’t saying he had never considered putting Kurusu into the fight.
But was it really right to throw the person they were escorting into battle?
She had a record of being taken down without even having time to react in the fight against Kashimo, so he wanted to eliminate risk altogether.
Her technique performance was absurd, but she had no direct combat ability of her own.
"When you put it that way, it does seem reasonable...."
"Instead of arguing about that, we should ask Kurusu what she thinks."
"Wasn’t it already decided?"
"She said she ‘could’ do it, not that she ‘would.’ Let’s decide right here and now."
They did need her help, but they couldn’t force her.
Unlike them, who had the duty to finish the Culling Game, Kurusu had no such responsibility.
Following the principle of majority rule, they left it to Kurusu to decide whether or not to join the battle.
"I want to do it."
Fortunately, Kurusu nodded readily and expressed her intention to participate.
"Are you sure?"
"Thank you for worrying about me, Fushiguro. But if there’s something I can do, I want to help as much as I can."
"...Yeah. Thanks."
"Don’t worry about the contract with the angel. I’m doing this because I want to. Don’t think of it as a debt, okay?"
In other words, she was telling them not to feel guilty for no reason.
As Kurusu smiled brightly, Megumi, stung by his conscience, quietly turned his head away.
'......'
It was basically a scam contract, made while hiding Sukuna’s identity.
And yet she was helping them this much, so he felt a little heavy-hearted.
Kurusu said not to worry about it, but... out of guilt alone, he intended to spare no support in helping her live well once everything was over.
"Understood. But if things get dangerous, we’ll protect you with everything we’ve got."
"Hehe. I’m counting on you."
"Yeah. We’ll protect you with our lives!"
"We can’t just rely on Ms. Kurusu alone. Shouldn’t we also think of a method for if only we get caught up in it, just in case?"
"I’ve got an idea for that."
Suddenly, a small mouth opened beneath Kurusu’s eye.
The angel, who had only been watching, popped out.
"Yuji looks just li..."
"Wooooaaah!!"
Choso nearly caused a major incident, but Yuji lunged in and managed to cover his mouth in time.
Choso, suddenly gagged, stared at him with a dumbfounded expression, and Yuji pressed him down hard so he couldn’t spout any more nonsense before blurting out something random.
"Bro, you tired? Want to go rest?"
"...!"
Choso looked like he was about to die of happiness the moment Yuji called him bro.
He seemed to have completely forgotten whatever he had been about to say.
Yuji let out a relieved breath, and the angel, who had been watching, casually tossed out a remark.
"I couldn’t say anything earlier because things were hectic, but what is that guy? Why does he have another vessel?"
"There are circumstances... for now, he’s my bro.... kind of."
"Yujiiii!"
"Ah, cut it out! Stay still! We’re in the middle of an important conversation!"
"Relax. If you have a relationship, I won’t kill him. You two brothers seem to get along well."
Fortunately, once the angel realized Choso wasn’t an openly hostile vessel player, she quickly lost interest.
The angel wasn’t the type to go berserk and attack just because someone defied the natural order, even if that person was an outlier.
She had decided to close one eye and let it slide with a bit of flexibility.
"Descendant of Sugawara. You said that his technique was the materialization and compulsion of ideas, yes?"
"That’s right."
"To obtain power of that level, there is a high chance that some basic ‘binding vow’ is at work."
"I know that. I just can’t even guess what it is."
"The reason is probably that even the user himself does not know the contents of the ‘binding vow.’"
"...!"
There had been similar types even 1,000 years ago.
People with tremendous power, but who didn’t understand how to use it.
It wasn’t just the difference between those who naturally awakened their innate techniques and awakened-type players; it was something like a limitation that came attached to the ability itself.
"From what I hear, Takaba is fixated on ‘gag.’ Not being able to kill others, and trying his hardest to be funny too."
"Because he’s a comedian."
"That’s his job."
"Then the conditions for his imagination to be realized are probably tied to that as well."
For example, he might bring to life whatever he himself thought was ‘funny.’
"!"
"The other condition is probably that the technique ends when he feels ‘satisfied.’ Figuring that out is a huge gain."
"Then the countermeasure against that is..."
"Simple. Either fulfill Takaba’s ‘wish’ and keep playing along until he’s satisfied, or make him lose confidence."
The moment he thinks he’s ‘not funny,’ Takaba’s technique will unravel.
His baseless confidence in himself is the source of his power.
What matters is planting that ‘perception’ in him.
"Should we try going dead serious? Just not laugh no matter what he does."
"That’ll probably just make him more stubborn. He might do all kinds of crazy stuff just to make us laugh."
"This is when you play the emotional card. If we appeal to him with tears, his heart might waver."
"That’s not bad. Add it to the list."
"He’ll probably be weak not to direct emotional expression, but to a higher-level ‘evaluation.’"
"So you mean we should systematically demolish his gag, explain exactly why it isn’t funny, and prove why it has to fail."
The so-called serious-mode operation.
Isn’t a gag that needs ‘explanation’ already a failed gag?
If they took the role of judges, dismantled his comedy, and rebutted it point by point, they could kill the mood.
"The real problem is..."
"Mm."
Among them, there wasn’t really anyone who knew much about comedy.
They could respond with instant trash talk, but they lacked the theoretical knowledge to refute him professionally.
"...Maybe I should watch some old gag shows."
"I guess I should binge YouTube meme compilations too."
"I’ll go read through 5ch for a bit."
Knowledge is power in times like this.
Though it did feel like maybe they didn’t need to know this much.
Everyone fished out their phones and started going online.
And Okkotsu’s group, who had actually fought Takaba directly,
'...Honestly, it was kind of funny.'
'That guy’s got talent.'
'I’ll take this to my grave, but I was enjoying it too before I knew it!'
decided to keep their mouths shut.
And a day passed, to the next day.
November 15.
11:12.
Shibuya.
"Ready?"
At Yuji’s question, Junpei nodded.
"Yeah."
Everyone at the base had been evacuated to neutral territory.
All the supplies and luggage had been disposed of too, and he had gone over everything carefully to make sure nothing had been left behind.
Now it was time to finish this.
"...It’s been a while since I was here too."
The streets hadn’t changed much since the Shibuya Incident.
Still desolate, with not a trace of human presence.
Though that also meant it was an environment where they could run wild to their hearts’ content.
"You can do this, right?"
"Yuji. You don’t trust me?"
Junpei answered with a grin, and Yuji smirked before stepping back.
Everything that remained was up to Junpei.
It was about time for the third party to step out so they wouldn’t get in the way.
"Let’s go, Kugisaki."
"...Yeah."
Still reluctant, Nobara couldn’t quite bring herself to move.
Junpei slowly walked up, hugged her, and kissed her on the forehead to reassure her.
"I won’t say much. If I say I’m going back here, or I’ll do this and that, it’s just a death flag."
"Fair enough."
"Just watch me."
"...You can win, right?"
"I will win."
With that, Nobara and Yuji disappeared beyond the passageway and vanished from sight.
Junpei waved until her back was no longer visible, then stepped toward the dueling ground where his opponent was waiting.
Not long after, an open clearing appeared, and Kashimo, standing at the far end, greeted him.
"You came."
"......"
"No need for unnecessary greetings. We’re going to try to kill each other soon enough anyway, so let’s not drag out the awkward small talk."
"Sure."
After all, that man’s lingering attachment was to fight a strong opponent with everything he had.
There was no need to give him anything more than that, so it was actually easier this way.
'Ishigori-san, Higuruma-san, Uro-san.'
The connections he had brushed against in the Culling Game.
It had only been three days.
And yet they were encounters and partings he would never forget in his life.
'May everyone find peace.'
He had taken their lives.
He had understood life and accepted it as part of himself.
Carrying life, living, and longing on his back, he would never live in vain.
"Let’s begin."
At the signal of Junpei’s eyes snapping open, cursed energy exploded from Kashimo’s body.
Crackle!
It had been a long, long road.
"Yoshino Junpei!"
"Kashimo Hajime."
His second life, and this Culling Game too.
He had savored them enough.
"This is the final battle, where you and I curse each other to the end!"
"Come, wraith!"
The Thunder God, Kashimo Hajime.
The Sea God, Yoshino Junpei.
The final duel of the Culling Game began, bringing to a close the story that had been built up all this time.
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