The truth behind the Hiinatsuki tragedy had finally been exposed.
For several seconds, the entire Disaster Field fell silent.
The wind passed through the barren landscape, carrying with it the faint smell of spiritual energy and the lingering traces of battle.
Benio Adashino stood motionless.
Her body was trembling.
Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides, but she couldn't feel the strength in them anymore.
She looked at the person standing in front of her.
The same face.
The same blue hair.
The same voice.
The same person she had admired and trusted since childhood.
Her older brother.
Yuuto Ijika.
But the person standing before her now felt completely different from the gentle older brother she remembered.
"Nii-san..." Her voice trembled, swallowed hard before forcing the words out. "Tell me that everything he said is a lie."
Yuuto looked at her.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted.
It wasn't the gentle smile Benio remembered.
It was a mocking smile.
"No." His answer was immediate. "What Seigen said is true."
He slowly spread his hands. "But you're misunderstanding something. The people in the Hiinatsuki Dormitory weren't simply victims."
His smile became colder.
"They were the foundation of a successful experiment."
Benio's face went pale.
Yuuto's expression didn't change.
"You want to know the truth, don't you?"
Benio stared at him.
"Then tell me." Her voice cracked. "What about Mom and Dad?"
For the first time, something resembling curiosity appeared in Yuuto's eyes.
Benio's breathing became ragged.
Yuuto tilted his head. Then he gave a dismissive laugh.
"Those two?" He shrugged. "What are they supposed to be? If not two pieces of meat?"
"..."
Benio froze. It felt as though something inside her had shattered with a cracking sound.
"You..."
Her lips trembled.
"You really..."
She couldn't finish the sentence as whatever strength she had failed her.
THUD!
With a rough sound, she fell to the ground.
Hot tears streamed down both sides of her face different from how cold her body felt at the moment.
She didn't even bother wiping them away as she looked at him with those tearful face.
"You...." Her voice was barely audible as her tear make a line over her face,"...Why?"
Yuuto simply looked at her.
There was no regret in his eyes.
No sorrow.
No hesitation.
Only indifference towards whatever suffering he has caused.
Seigen Amawaka watched Benio silently.
His expression hardened as he watch their conversation.
He had already suspected that Yuuto's words would destroy the girl's remaining faith in her brother. That is why he had allowed it to happen.
And now that the truth had been exposed, there was no reason to allow Yuuto to escape.
Too many people had died.
Too many lives had been ruined.
Yuuto had crossed a line that could not simply be forgiven a long time ago.
Seigen stepped forward.
But before he could make a move—
"YUUTO!!!"
A furious roar exploded across the battlefield. Rokuro Enmado suddenly pushed himself up from the ground. His eyes were bloodshot.
The beast-like arm on his right side radiated a violent crimson aura as he charged fforward with a vicious face.
His spiritual power erupted.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Twenty.
Ten.
Five.
Rokuro was almost directly in front of Yuuto in a matter of seconds.
Yuuto smiled at his attack still indifferent.
"Still as reckless as ever." He raised his hand, glowing in strange light. "Bind."
The ground beneath Rokuro suddenly erupted.
Countless strips of white cloth shot upward like living serpents towards him without giving him the time to escape.
Wrap! Wrap! Wrap! Wrap-Wrap!
They wrapped around Rokuro's arms and legs.
"Ugh!" Rokuro struggled against the restraining cloths.
Only resulting in the cloth to tightened around him even more.
Yuuto silently increased his spiritual power, nefore speaking in his usual tone. "You're still too emotional."
Rokuro's eyes burned with rage as he scream, "Let me go!"
Yuuto's smile widened.
But before he could continue—
BOOM!
A powerful impact sent Yuuto flying from his side.
The white-haired figure of Seigen Amawaka stood where Yuuto had been a moment ago.
His right hand remained already raised, expression still cold.
"It seems you've forgotten everything I taught you." Seigen slowly lowered his arm turning to looked at his restraint disciple, "Never allow yourself to become so focused on one opponent that you leave yourself open."
Yuuto landed on a broken slab of stone. Dust scattered around him hiding his figure behind before he slowly stood.
There was barely a scratch on him.
He brushed the dust from his clothing as if he was irritated by them. Then he smiled.
"Ah." He looked at Seigen. "How nostalgic."
He gave a small laugh.
"I remember your lessons very clearly, Master Seigen." He replied like a diligent student incomparable to his smile that had became sinister, "For example..."
Whooosh!
His body disappeared leaving a behind only a gush of wind.
The next instant—
Yuuto appeared directly behind Benio. His left hand seized the later by the head.
"How about this?"
His voice sounded directly beside her ear.
Benio froze, stunned in horror.
"Tsk!"
Seigen's expression immediately changed.
"Yuuto."
His voice became dangerously low.
Yuuto didn't care.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He was using Benio as a shield.
Seigen remain still, the idea of preparing to use the long ranged spell to attack also settled down in his heart.
Not to mention that Benio is a student of Gojo Satoru, even if an ordinary person is in his hands, Seigen would still not dare to attack rashly.
"Let her go." Seigen's voice was cold.
Yuuto chuckled. "Why?"
His fingers tightened slightly.
"Ah..." Benio winced in pain, she tried to move.
But her body refused to respond.
Yuuto's spiritual power was overwhelming as it pressed down at her, keeping her in place like a doll with its strings cut.
"You're the student of Gojo Satoru now, aren't you?" Yuuto leaned closer. "I heard the rumors about him."
Benio remained silent or more like she couldn't move her lips.
Yuuto smiled, his voice lending just behind her ears. "Is that true?"
Still no answer.
He continued with no awkwardness.
"Then why are you still so weak?"
Benio's heart sank.
Yuuto's voice became mocking.
"It remind me of the time when you were little." He laughed softly. "You always talked about catching up with me. You used to say you'd surpass me someday."
Yuuto shook his head, hand tightened even more against the defense girl.
"How amusing. Even after becoming Gojo Satoru's student, you're still the same." He whispered his last sentence slowly, "You're still the same trash."
Trash! Trash! Trash! Trash!
The word echoed inside Benio's mind making her already breeding heart arche.
She couldn't stop remembering the past.
Every time she had tried to become stronger.
Every time she had failed.
Every time she had compared herself to Yuuto.
Was he right?
Had she really remained weak?
Had all her training meant nothing?
Was she still the same useless little sister?
Her eyes became unfocused due to the tears and shaking of her body.
Then Yuuto's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"By the way..."
He glanced toward the nearby Huangfen.
"That's your shikigami, isn't it?"
"...!" Benio's eyes immediately widened, eyes clear but filled with horror.
The small shikigami had been stunned by Yuuto's overwhelming spiritual pressure.
Yuuto reached out with his other hand, fingers closed around Kinako.
"Tell me something." He looked at Benio with an amused expression. "If I break its neck..."
His voice was deliberately casual and slow. As he release some of his pressure from Benio's area. It was a little difficult but where is the fun of doing it if you can't hear the party's words.
"Will it die?"
Benio's face turned white, the lips which were firmly closed open immediately.
"NO!" The answer came immediately. "PLEASE! NO!"
She struggled against his grip, head trying to free herself. She still can't used her hand or legs.
"Don't touch Kinako!"
Yuuto smiled.
"Oh?"
Benio's eyes filled with tears again.
"Please, no." Her voice trembled. "I beg you."
Kinako wasn't merely a shikigami to her.
During the lonely years when she had been separated from the people she cared about, Kinako had stayed beside her.
They had fought together, travelled together and trained together.
To Benio, Kinako was a family.
"Please don't hurt her."
Yuuto stared at her tearful expression as something dark flashed through his eyes.
He enjoyed it.
Seeing the girl who had once admired him begging him for mercy seemed to amuse him.
"How interesting."
He slowly raised his hand, his finger gentle moving around the hidden neck area.
Kinako trembled as it felt the pressure increasing around it's neck area, he was going to snap the little pet that his sister care about.
Benio's eyes widened.
"NOOOO!" As she release a helpless, despairing scream.
But before Yuuto could do anything—
CLENCH!
A large hand suddenly seized his arm that was holding Kinako.
Yuuto's instincts screamed.
Danger!
His expression changed, quickly turned his head to the person who had suddenly appeared beside him.
A tall man with white hair stood beside him. His eyes were covered by a black blindfold so reading his expression prove to be difficult.
Gojo Satoru.
"Boy." Gojo's voice was flat. "Let them go."
Yuuto's pupils contracted.
So this was him.
The man known as the strongest.
The sorcerer whose existence had changed the balance of the modern supernatural world.
The man whose very presence could make experienced fighters instinctively feel danger.
Yuuto's expression darkened.
"Tch." He understood immediately. This wasn't an opponent he could underestimate.
Gojo Satoru glanced at Benio.
Then at Kinako.
Then back at Yuuto.
"I asked you nicely." His grip tightened. "So..."
His voice remained strangely casual mirroring how Yuuto was speaking.
"Are you going to let her go?"
Yuuto's eyes narrowed. Then his spiritual power suddenly surged.
"Don't underestimate me."
His body moved.
He intended to attack first.
But Gojo was faster.
In an instant, Gojo twisted Yuuto's arm and seized him by the neck.
"Too slow."
Yuuto's body was lifted from the ground.
His feet kicked left the support of the ground as the hand holding Benio's head immediately loosened due to some unnatural thin barrier suddenly appearing between.
Just after grabbing the delinquent brat by his neck, Gojo had used his Cursed Technique: Stagnant Cage (Jutsushiki Junten: Teitai Ori) on him — creating a thin barrier like armor around his body.
It was because Gojo had known Yuuto's intention of throwing Benio's body at him and taking the chance to create a distance between them.
He also stopped the pressure that Yuuto was releasing inside the armor.
Benio helplessly dropped forward as she felt the sudden release, as she raised her head violently to search for her small family member.
"KINAKO!"
"Benio-sama!"
The small creature immediately rushed toward Benio. Gojo had already recovered the shikigami in the same instant.
Benio caught her.
"Are you okay?"
Huangfen nodded rapidly.
Benio hugged her tightly.
For the first time since Yuuto appeared, she felt a small sense of relief.
But the battle wasn't over.
Yuuto struggled against Gojo's grip.
"Let go..."
Gojo looked at him.
"No."
His answer was immediate.
"I told you to let my student go." Gojo raised his free hand.
Yuuto's expression changed.
A strange pressure began gathering around his body. As the armor like barrier that was around him began to shine in purple light. (The cage always stayed invisible due to the due to its nature and only become visible when Gojo apply more curse energy — not to keep the cage activated)
A thin barrier of cursed energy turned to dark black with eerie glow.
Showing how unstable it was.
"As a punishment help me test this theory" Gojo asked in a flat tone.
BOOM!
After which a terrifying burst of cursed energy erupted around Yuuto's body. The armor had blasted like a bomb.
...
If you'd like to support me and read chapters in advance, feel free to check out my:
Patr**on.com/Zero0000683
Discord:- NmKxzWGEPf
.....
Bonus Chapter:-
4 Bonus chapter at 100 powerstone
6 Bonus Chapter at 150 powerstone
.....
Word Count — 2,034