Chapter 40

Takizawa Sei also went by another name: Gojo Sei.

Of course, Gojo Satoru knew about this.

He had not discovered the truth after becoming the head of the clan, but rather when he entered Jujutsu High and temporarily left the main household.

Before that, as he grew closer to Takizawa Sei, he had tried every possible means to investigate Takizawa's background and whether any of his relatives were still alive.

"So, Satoru, just how badly do you want me to leave?" Discovering his actions back then, Takizawa had closed his emerald eyes with a sigh, discussing his origin not as if it were a wound, but rather a dream from which even the scars had faded. "My parents passed away before I could form any memories. I have no living relatives, and even if I did, they haven't bothered to check on their deceased son and daughter for so long, so I doubt there's much genuine affection there."

Gojo Satoru had sat on the engawa with his hands shoved in his pockets, acting like a cool kid, and let out a dissatisfied scoff. "Aren't you even a little bit curious? How is it that I seem more anxious about this than you?"

"It would be a lie to say I'm not curious, but in my eyes, blood ties aren't all that important." Takizawa tossed the rag he used for wiping the counter straight into the basin with a wet smack. "From my perspective, the emotions brought by familial blood ties always have a bit of genetic programming behind them, just like how mothers are naturally inclined to love their children... But according to records of the curses we exorcise... many women fear childbirth before or even during pregnancy, yet genetics make them forget the pain of labor and instinctively cherish their offspring. Saying this doesn't mean I'm denying family affection, nor am I claiming friendship is more precious. It's just that, to a certain extent, within human society's relational framework, blood ties are simply a bond or a sentiment that links humans together and makes them live together without requiring any prerequisite of character."

The blue-eyed boy puffed out his cheeks, popped a lollipop out of his pocket, and shoved it into his mouth. "It seems like we're focusing on different things."

"Hm?"

"What I actually wanted to find was someone who could have your back."

"Ah..." Takizawa widened his eyes slightly. "But can't you have my back?"

He finished washing the rag and draped it once more over the heavily scribbled, filthy tabletop.

Gojo Satoru was taken aback by such a straightforward remark. He fell silent for a moment, walked up to Takizawa, and looked as though he wanted to help.

Takizawa nudged him away with his elbow and smiled. "What are you doing? I'm almost done cleaning. If Miss Eha sees you helping me with this, she's going to snitch on you."

"Whatever. They wouldn't dare do anything to you."

"But as for family... don't you have even a shred of longing?"

The Six Eyes divine child asked in a low voice.

Filled with doubt, and carrying a certain indescribable emotion.

"None."

Takizawa answered him immediately. "Satoru is my family."

"You don't need a mom or a dad either?"

"Of course not..." Realizing that Gojo's questioning was endless and that he seemed utterly baffled by this stance, Takizawa continued, "I can get along just fine on my own. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of you. Many kids need parents because all the kids around them have parents, and that sharp contrast creates a sense of loss and a bottomless, craving hunger for love."

Saying this, Takizawa pressed the back of his clean hand against Gojo Satoru's cheek. "Can't you just assume I've placed all my longing for parents onto you?"

After all, parents accompany a child as they grow up.

"...Huh?" Gojo Satoru suddenly let out a cry of utter shock.

He widened his eyes in sheer disbelief. "You want me to be your mom and dad?!"

Takizawa widened his eyes as well, and before he could retort, he watched Gojo shake his head so fast it blurred. "No no no no!! Our relationship definitely cannot be like that—"

"Of course not!" The emerald-eyed boy raised his voice in exasperation. "What are you thinking?! I just meant it like that, read between the lines, read between the lines!"

"How am I supposed to read between the lines when you phrase things so cryptically?" Gojo Satoru bickered right back with him, the teenage boy frowning, looking intensely vivid. "...The more you say things like that, the more I feel like a whole lot of things were stolen from you..."

Takizawa was practically on the verge of laughing out loud. He silently stared at Gojo Satoru for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and snatched the candy right out of his mouth.

Gojo Satoru: "?!?"

He watched in helpless horror as his candy found its way into Takizawa's mouth. The emerald-eyed boy flashed him a mischievous, crafty smile and said, "Ha, now your precious favorite thing has been stolen away by me too."

"...Sei!"

"What is it?"

"..."

"What's wrong, why aren't you talking?"

***

The Six Eyes divine child gazed at him, silent for a long moment.

"Don't you worry..."

He said, "With me by your side, no one will ever wrong you."

***

"Pfft..."

As if recalling an interesting past event, Gojo Kaguya said with malicious delight, "Guess... was the curse that caused Takizawa Sei to wither away—the curse not even you could lift—applied to his physical body, or marked upon his soul?"

These words were like striking a match near a fragile, crumbling powder keg.

The air suddenly turned heavy and freezing cold. The strongest cursed energy poured forth like a cascading flood, making even Inumaki Toge in the distance weak at the knees as he stumbled and half-knelt to the ground, unable to support his weight.

"Wh-What's going on?!"

The next second, Inumaki also watched in shock as the veil that had darkened the entire space was forcefully shattered.

It was broken from the inside. A jagged tear ripped through the substance like solid reality, causing the entire barrier to instantly vanish into thin air as if it had never existed at all.

Inumaki's train of thought stalled for a fraction of a second, and he immediately looked toward the rooftop where the conflict had just taken place—

Empty.

Only the scars of battle remained.

"Where's Gojo Satoru?!" Inumaki cried out in alarm. "No, where did he run off to—?! Where on earth is he going right now!!"

There were still so many curse users left unhandled!

"No... it looks like..." his colleague reminded him in a trembling voice. "It looks like their fight is already over."

"Eh?"

"There haven't been any sounds of combat for a while now, and the sniper from earlier has also frozen in place... Wait, what are they...?"

The civilian curse users, whom the strongest had casually stacked up like a pile of debris during the fight, now wore rigid expressions, some gaping blankly with drool leaking down. Clearly, they had lost consciousness.

Inumaki quickly snapped back to reality. "Is this... a Domain?"

Had Gojo Satoru just deployed a Domain?

When did it happen, how long was it open, and what was its range?

It was impossible to tell...

"Forget it, go secure the suspects first!" His colleague instructed the surrounding riot police to step up their actions. As he passed Inumaki, he gave his shoulder a firm press, as if reminding him, "The whereabouts of the Six Eyes are temporarily up to you."

Up to me?

Inumaki's eyelid twitched convulsively.

What could he possibly do if it was left to him? How could he ever hope to stop a monster like that, and how on earth could he know where the wildly self-indulgent strongest sorcerer had gone?

Suddenly, a name flashed across Inumaki's mind.

Right...

He immediately contacted Curtain headquarters, asking if any massive fluctuations in cursed energy had been detected.

The only person capable of influencing Gojo Satoru under these circumstances was Takizawa Sei.

***

Meanwhile, Takizawa was using Falling Blossom Emotion to fend off the attacks within the Domain.

Only now did he clearly see the appearance of the curse: a single eye, a volcano-like head, and even wearing human clothing.

Amidst this standoff, the corners of Takizawa's mouth twitched. Even at a disadvantage, he showed no trace of fragility, his tone carrying a breezy lightness. "What, did you specifically come looking for me?"

Jogo stared straight at him.

That single eye actually displayed an intensely human-like emotion as he asked, "Why were you assigned to the human faction?"

Takizawa: "..."

Takizawa: "Ah, if I told you I was forced into it, would you believe me?"

Tongues of fire licked the air around him. The emerald-eyed young man carried a vast, daunting malice as he said coldly, "I was threatened by Gojo Satoru, so I have no choice but to stay by his side and do his bidding. What is it, are you here to take me away? To take me to the promised land where our comrades are?"

"..."

Such obvious nonsense somehow threw the curse into a brief mental breakdown. "You were threatened by the Six Eyes?"

"That's right."

"Yet you are helping humans."

"Turns out your eyes aren't just for show after all. You saw it, didn't you?"

Slow-witted as Jogo was, he finally caught onto the other's hostility. "What on earth are you?"

"What, never seen a jujutsu sorcerer turn into a curse after death?"

The effect of Falling Blossom Emotion remained active, and Takizawa suddenly realized that his own cursed energy was flowing endlessly. Gojo Satoru had been right after all—he really had grown much stronger than before.

"I should be asking you that. What on earth are you?"

The emerald-eyed youth coldly lowered his brow, shifting his feet within the Domain and walking step by step toward the curse.

"Were those people killed by you? That doesn't seem like the usual style of curses. I thought that when you guys wanted a killing spree, you wouldn't hesitate, nor would you bother taking winding detours."

So the answer was obvious—

"Who is pulling your strings, and what is your goal?"

Asking questions like this naturally wouldn't yield any answers unless the curse had the IQ of a compliant three-year-old.

Thus, the moment the Domain was shattered from the outside and the curse was momentarily dazed, the youth—radiating an ominous aura—spoke:

"You guys reached some sort of pact with humans, and that person is inside Jujutsu Headquarters, aren't they?"

With those words, the youth's figure suddenly closed the distance, drawing his blade and plunging it straight into that single exposed, giant eye!

Blood splattered everywhere. Takizawa swept his blade back in a reverse grip, cleaving the eye cleanly in two!

Coming to his senses, Jogo raised his hand, scorching, blinding flames gathering in his palm.

"Sei!"

Takizawa was whisked away from the spot in an instant by one of Suguru Geto's curses.

Seeing him completely unharmed, the dark-haired young man let out a breath of relief. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Takizawa cast a swift glance around. He noticed that the train left stranded on the elevated tracks had been brought down by a curse, and the terrified passengers were stumbling out onto solid ground—far better than hanging high in midair. They looked up in astonishment at the smoking, chaotic wreckage around them.

"What on earth happened...?"

"Just now, the train swooped down like a gliding airplane. How is that even possible? It completely defies physics!"

"Oh no, run! The elevated bridge is going to collapse!"

The Special Grade curse unleashed a torrent of flames capable of effortlessly melting concrete upon the elevated railway, causing the sturdy structure—built to withstand wind and rain—to snap apart fragility as boulders rained downward.

"Geto!"

A massive swarm of curses was released by the Curse Manipulation user to shield the innocent civilians.