"But man, putting aside that curse user group 'Q'... why is the Time Vessel Association even targeting the Star Plasma Vessel? It makes no sense to worship Lord Tengen while simultaneously trying to sabotage him, right?"
On their way to the hotel designated for their meeting with the Star Plasma Vessel, Satoru Gojo spoke while buying a Max Coffee from a vending machine.
Casually showing his generosity by treating everyone in the group, he handed out drinks. Suguru Geto accepted a low-sugar coffee and offered his own theory in return.
"If they worship him as their only god, perhaps they simply can't permit any impurities to mix with Lord Tengen?"
"Even so, Lord Tengen has lived for over a millennium. That means he must have merged at least once before, right? Doesn't that make their stance a bit contradictory?"
"The Time Vessel Association is strictly a religious organization for non-sorcerers. They probably weren't even aware of the details surrounding the events five hundred years ago," Suguru replied.
"I see. So that's how it is. How ridiculous..."
"Well, they're non-sorcerers, so there's not much they can do anyway," Shoko Ieiri said with a lighthearted laugh. "The ones we should really be wary of are those 'Q' guys, right?"
Toji Fushiguro, who had just finished chugging a cola, let out a scoffing tone as if to rebuke their optimism.
"Good grief, this is why I hate 'Master Sorcerers.' Do you really think non-sorcerers are just pitiful, helpless little lambs? You're idiots. It doesn't matter if they're sorcerers or not; a religious organization has access to a very specific kind of violence."
"—! You mean donations from the followers?"
"Spoken like a true Nanami. You've been thinking. Exactly. Those people have money. Which means... sites like this exist."
Toji turned his phone screen toward them, showing a screenshot of a bounty board. There was a girl who appeared to be the Star Plasma Vessel with a 100-million-yen bounty on her head.
"It's a bounty board on the dark web that curse users frequent. There was a request posted there from the Time Vessel Association. One hundred million yen just to kill a non-sorcerer brat and bring back the corpse. It's an absurdly easy way to make a killing. It's too good to pass up. That's why every bottom-feeding piece of trash out there is going to jump on this. Curse users are mostly idiots, after all."
"Are you serious... Even if most curse users are just weaklings, that's going to be pretty annoying."
"Right? So don't you brats dare let your guards down. Curse users don't give a damn about dragging civilians into the crossfire."
"Well, it'll be fine. Between me, Suguru, Naoya, and Sensei, there's no way we can lose with four 'strongest'—"
Right as Satoru was about to finish his sentence, it happened.
A room on the top floor of the hotel right in front of them exploded, and a girl began falling from the wreckage.
The first to react was the fastest sorcerer among them, Naoya Zen'in.
"Doing this in the middle of the city in broad daylight? You pieces of filth—!"
Roaring as he sprinted through the air, Naoya instantly caught the falling girl. After confirming she was the same girl from the bounty photo Toji had shown them, he vanished again in a blur, returning to the group while cradling the unconscious girl.
"She doesn't seem to have any external injuries, but just in case, can I leave her to Shoko?"
"Sure thing. Nanami, Haibara, you two handle guard duty while I treat her."
"Understood. Haibara, please set up the barrier. I'll keep watch on the perimeter."
"Got it! Rin! Pyo! Toh! Sha! Kai! Jin! Retsu! Zai! Zen! Defensive Barrier!"
"Naoya and Suguru, you both can fly, right? Can I ask you to infiltrate through that hole from the explosion? Sensei and I will take the ground floor. If I remember correctly from what Principal Yaga said, the Star Plasma Vessel should have an attendant with her."
"I see. If they haven't been killed, they might be being held hostage. Naoya, I'll bring out 'Ittan-momen.' Can I count on you for the acceleration?"
"No problem. I'll handle it with my Recording Sorcery."
"So Gojo and I are taking the first floor? About that explosion earlier—judging by the flames, it was a plastic explosive. It's not that expensive, so it wouldn't be surprising if there are more planted. Gojo, don't let your Infinity drop."
"So we're going in assuming we might get blasted? Got it. What about you, Sensei?"
"I can tell by the scent."
Exchanging instructions in rapid succession, the Jujutsu High members moved to fulfill their respective roles.
Suguru and Naoya charged toward the shattered top floor, while Satoru and Toji stormed the hotel lobby, which was already starting to overflow with panicked guests. Meanwhile, Shoko, Nanami, and Haibara focused on the girl's treatment and protection.
In the midst of the chaos, Suguru and Naoya were the first to enter the blast site through the hole in the outer wall. Standing in their way was a man dressed in a white military uniform emblazoned with the "Q" logo.
"That uniform—Jujutsu High! How dare you interfere!"
"And you look like 'Q' no matter how I slice it. I have plenty of things I want to ask you, so try not to die on me, okay?"
"—Suguru, hostage secured. No booby traps either. Already checked."
"What?! That woman should have been right here...!"
The two had executed a simple but solid plan: Suguru pressured the enemy with his cursed spirits while the ultra-fast Naoya snatched the hostage. Having successfully completed the sub-objective of recovering the hostage—a woman who appeared to be a servant—Naoya leapt from the window to hand her over to Shoko.
The enemy, however, was not about to just sit and watch.
"You won't get away—!"
"Oh yes, he will!"
Interrupting with a short retort, Suguru blocked the gunfire aimed at Naoya with a cursed spirit's shield. Protecting himself with his own spirits, Suguru deployed a swarm of commanded curses and lunged at the man before him.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]