This time, Akuto thought for a while.
He looked at the pale girl in front of him; she was clutching the hem of her clothes tightly out of fear.
Her slender finger joints were white.
Her frail figure made one feel a bit of pity for her.
For some reason, that ugly shrine appeared in Akuto's mind, and the corners of his mouth curled into a smile, though it vanished quickly.
"I'm not sure. There are three possibilities."
"First, you'll go bang and explode. My plan will fail completely, and I'll need to find a new target."
"Second, you'll die, but I'll get your body."
"Third, you'll fall into a deep sleep, and I'll borrow your body to complete my goal. Then I'll leave, and you'll wake up."
This answer made Miko's body tremble slightly.
"Only a one-third chance of living..."
"As for my purpose."
Akuto glanced at Miko and ultimately decided to hide it. She had dithered for so long over just one finger; if he mentioned needing several more, this woman would likely refuse outright.
"I refuse to answer."
"What I can tell you is that my purpose won't have much of an impact on you."
It certainly wouldn't have an impact because, given Miko's situation, there was no difference between eating one finger and twenty fingers.
Akuto hadn't dismissed the idea of cooperation—him directing Miko to find the fingers while he remained in finger form.
If the price was protecting her safety, Miko would surely be very willing.
But it wasn't realistic.
Whether it was a human or a Cursed Spirit possessing Sukuna's Finger, that was a high-level game.
Specifically, one could refer to the Shibuya incident in Jujutsu Kaisen.
If an ordinary person like Miko got involved, there would only be one outcome: 'Death by unknown AOE.'
Was Akuto going to bet his plan on whether Miko would die just from the pressure released by a certain person?
What was the difference between that and sending her to her death?
The math was easy to do.
Cooperation: Akuto's plan success rate -25%, cutting a 50% success rate in half. Miko's mortality rate is 50%, meaning she either dies or she doesn't.
Possession: Plan success rate 50%, Miko's mortality rate 66%.
"I understand. I need to think about it."
Akuto shrugged, not surprised by this outcome.
After all, it was a choice involving life and death; it was still too cruel for an ordinary student.
Miko let out a breath and looked into the park. Many people were taking walks, most of them families of three.
Parents holding their children's hands.
Miko felt a bit envious.
Just then, not far away, a man wearing a plaid shirt and glasses walked over slowly, holding a stack of flyers.
The man looked very ordinary, the kind of face that wouldn't be noticed in a crowd.
Every time he passed someone, he handed out a flyer, but those passersby didn't even look as they turned and walked away.
"There's still someone working this late. How hard."
Miko seemed to think of her own mother.
"Tch, money is something you can have whenever you want, isn't it? If you eat the finger, this old man can give your family countless wealth."
Akuto said indifferently with his eyes closed.
Miko was stunned for a moment, then she thought of Akuto's abilities and realized there was nothing wrong with what he said.
Just then, the man in the plaid shirt walked over and handed a flyer to Miko.
"Hey, kid, don't..."
Akuto's opening was entirely out of instinct, but his final silence was also out of instinct.
He looked at Miko's hand suspended in the air, already pinching a corner of the flyer, and smiled playfully.
"You can start running now."
"Will you save me?"
The moment Miko grabbed the flyer, she knew she was finished.
It was already unreasonable for someone to come out and hand out flyers late at night, and as it turned out, not a single person had paid him any attention along the way.
Even if they didn't want one, they would politely refuse, wouldn't they?
Since not a single person did, that meant other people couldn't see him!
"Obviously, no."
Just as Akuto finished speaking, the hand of the man in the plaid shirt holding the flyer froze in mid-air.
The black marks on its neck instantly expanded, spreading along its cheeks. Its originally rounded face quickly distorted and swelled, the skin splitting open to reveal greenish-black scales, and its eyes became two hollow, bloody pits.
Its size ballooned to eight or nine meters tall, and pitch-black mist spewed out five or six meters around it.
"You... you can see me! Hee hee hee, you can see! You can see! You can see!"
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!!"
The Cursed Spirit raised its claws high and slammed them down hard toward Miko.
Tears burst from Miko's eyes, and her legs went weak as she slumped onto the ground.
Boom!
It was precisely sitting on the ground that caused Miko to move back a bit; that claw landed in front of her, smashing the ground's bricks and stones until they cracked and burst.
The splashing gravel grazed Miko's skin—her arms, her thighs, and even her face.
The high-speed gravel cut her fair skin like knives, and bright red blood welled out.
"You're... you're kidding me..."
Looking at the ground cracked like a spider web, Miko's tears fell with a splash.
"Still not running?"
Akuto's words woke her up, and she hurriedly used both hands and feet to scramble backward.
After stumbling a couple of steps, Miko finally stood up and ran like crazy toward a nearby alley.
"As long as I get into that alley, I can hide."
Miko's eyes were full of hope.
Just as one of her legs stepped into the alley, a giant claw grabbed her other leg with extreme speed.
Crack!
"It hurts!"
The Cursed Spirit's strength was too terrifying. With just a light grab, Miko saw with her own eyes one of her legs being twisted into a pretzel.
The next moment, Miko was lifted up.
"I was so close..."
Miko looked at the alley that was right within reach.
The Cursed Spirit tilted its head back and opened its bloody maw.
Sticky saliva glinted coldly, and the foul stench constantly stimulated Miko's nerves.
Am I going to die... At this moment, Miko actually became calm.
Seeing the giant mouth getting closer and closer, Akuto's voice spoke out again.
"It's still not too late for you to eat the finger."
Miko seemed to regain her soul, and one hand scrambled frantically toward the finger at her chest. Because she was too nervous, it slipped from her grasp several times.
Just then, the Cursed Spirit's giant mouth snapped shut.
Crack!
Miko watched with her own eyes as her arm was bitten off, and blood sprayed out like a fountain.
She saw her arm being chewed twice and then swallowed whole.
The Cursed Spirit had a look of intoxication, as if it were still savoring Miko's taste.
Ignoring everything else, Miko grabbed the finger and shoved it into her mouth, swallowing it hard.
She actually tasted the finger.
It had a soapy taste.
Miko's time seemed to slow down; she even had time to wonder why a finger that looked moldy and rotten tasted like soap.
"If I die..."
Miko looked at the approaching Cursed Spirit:
"Please take good care of my family, I beg you."
[Sukuna synchronization increased!]
[Current synchronization progress: 5%! Unlocked Ability: Reverse Cursed Technique!]
Boom!
Accompanied by a wave of air sweeping out, several black cursed seals suddenly appeared on Miko's body, spreading from her limbs to her face.
Her fingernails grew rapidly!
In the next instant, Miko's originally severed arm squirmed and was restored to its original state in a flash.
She displayed agility that completely surpassed human limits, snapping free. The moment her terrifying strength shattered the Cursed Spirit's claw, she stepped on its head and landed on the ground with several backflips.
Immediately after, another pair of eyes appeared beneath Miko's original golden pupils.
And on the face of the previously expressionless Miko, a cruel smile appeared that was completely inconsistent with her character. She spread her arms like a demon, took a deep breath, and let out a low, magnetic male voice.
"Hehehe... Hahahahahaha! Ahahahaha!"
"The fragrance of freedom!"