Chapter 216 : The Final Words
After the livestream closed, Gojo Satoru swept away his earlier heavy and cold demeanor. The gloom between his brows dispersed considerably as he gradually withdrew from his acting state.
Gojo Satoru even asked: "Speaking of which, what kind of equipment is this that can even capture cursed spirits? I didn't sense this was a special cursed tool before."
Jiang Lai thought for a few seconds, then answered: "It's not really a cursed tool. Originally it couldn't either, but it keeps up with the times and self-upgraded, so now it can."
Initially, when Jiang Lai first arrived in the jujutsu world, phone-kun hadn't adapted either and was still an ordinary powerful brick that couldn't capture cursed spirits. Later, after Jiang Lai adapted, phone-kun adapted too and became able to photograph cursed spirits.
Hearing Jiang Lai's words, Gojo Satoru raised his brow slightly: "Oh, that does sound quite magical."
"Haven't you already experienced its magic? Maybe I should put it differently for a deeper impression." Jiang Lai smiled broadly, raising his phone and waving it. "It used to be in book form."
"You always used this to hit my head!" Gojo Satoru realized and began settling old scores. "Hey hey, I'm telling you, the strongest's head is incredibly precious. If you break it, you couldn't afford compensation in a lifetime!"
"Ever heard of negative times negative equals positive, or the principle of fixing appliances?" Jiang Lai said leisurely. "When something's broken, hit it a few more times and it'll be fine."
Gojo Satoru: "......"
Gojo Satoru showed a disgusted big cat expression but ultimately didn't continue teasing. His attention returned to Kuroi Misato, his expression still somewhat serious.
After all, finding Kuroi Misato didn't mean everything could be relaxed. At this time, Kuroi Misato remained in unclear slumber, with only the slight rise and fall of her chest indicating she was still alive.
When Gojo Satoru broke the ice seal earlier, he had also destroyed the formation behind it. That formation's purpose was probably to control Kuroi Misato's technique at full power while maintaining basic cursed energy supply.
After Gojo Satoru destroyed it, now Kuroi Misato was no longer passively maintaining full technique activation, but had restrained her cursed energy and lay quietly on the ground like an ordinary person.
Mount Shichi's year-round snowfall finally began to slowly subside. Only Jiang Lai and Gojo Satoru remained at the scene.
At the end of the earlier performance, Geto Suguru had departed on his cursed spirit. He hadn't returned.
On one hand, the purpose of finding Kuroi Misato was achieved, and his cooperation was no longer needed on scene. On the other hand, the jujutsu higher-ups would arrive soon, so it wasn't appropriate for him to linger.
As for intelligence exchange, they could contact each other via email afterward.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai stepped forward two or three steps, also approaching Kuroi Misato. He tried using his keen five senses to perceive something but could only sense unclear curses surrounding Kuroi Misato.
At the same time, after the formation was destroyed, this curse's aura became increasingly dense.
Gojo Satoru's azure eyes gazed at Kuroi Misato lying on the ground, his expression gradually changing.
Jiang Lai noticed Gojo Satoru's expression change. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, the other suddenly grabbed him with one hand and pulled him back!
"!?" Jiang Lai didn't react immediately. Still in his bewildered state, Gojo Satoru had already protected him behind his back.
At this moment, Kuroi Misato on the ground slowly opened her eyes.
Having not seen daylight for over ten years and being ice-sealed in the mountains, Kuroi Misato's skin was pale. She slowly sat up from the ground, her eyes turning toward the standing white-haired man and brown-haired boy.
Perhaps due to being ice-sealed for so long, her every movement carried stiffness as if the body wasn't her own. Those eyes were very calm, even excessively calm.
"......" Jiang Lai didn't speak. At this moment, he also sensed something wrong.
Because Gojo Satoru had Six Eyes, he could see more clearly than ordinary people. Having already detected something amiss with the person before him, he raised his eyelids, his tone growing heavy as he clicked his tongue and asked: "Who are you?"
[Kuroi Misato], who had changed from sitting to standing, didn't directly answer. She scanned the surroundings, then focused on Gojo Satoru, pulling her face into a smile.
"Oh... Six Eyes." Her voice was hoarse.
The voice that hadn't spoken in ages was rough as sandpaper. Combined with the woman's eerie behavior, it brought a sinister atmosphere.
Jiang Lai wasn't afraid of ghosts, but even he felt somewhat chilled at this moment. His gaze fixed intently on the [Kuroi Misato] before him, one hand gripping his phone, ready to use his electronic spirit technique.
He had already figured it out. The person before them was definitely not Kuroi Misato, or rather, this body might truly be Kuroi Misato's, but whatever was controlling this body was unknown.
At this moment, Jiang Lai couldn't help but recall Fushiguro Tsumiki from the original work.
Kuroi Misato's current state was somewhat similar to Fushiguro Tsumiki in the original. Both had been cursed and unconscious for a long time, then when they awakened again, they had become different people. The reason was becoming incarnated vessels, remotely controlled and awakened by Brain-kun, with thousand-year-old characters replacing the body instead of the original person.
Could Kuroi Misato here be the same?!
Jiang Lai's heart tightened. He pressed his lips straight, his mind rapidly thinking.
It looked very much like it. If so, then the mastermind behind all this was definitely Brain-kun!
Previously, when Mahito was still with the Supervisory Committee, Brain-kun had used Idle Transfiguration to modify Kuroi Misato's brain, making it a sorcerer's brain.
Afterward, he fed her cursed objects, so Kuroi Misato, after receiving severe impact, would fall into slumber.
Or, to put it in somewhat crueler terms, the real Kuroi Misato had already died at that time.
Not everyone could maintain their personality after accepting cursed objects like Itadori Yuji.
Most people were more like the body that Choso incarnated into, dying after accepting cursed objects, with the body becoming the cursed object's.
After Kuroi Misato absorbed the cursed object, Brain-kun used seals to temporarily suppress it, preventing the cursed object's owner from awakening, thus creating the current situation.
Afterward, Brain-kun could wait for the right moment to awaken it again, making it part of stirring up situations and advancing plans.
That formation might not have been what Jiang Lai and the others understood, simply for making Kuroi Misato's technique fully active and circulating cursed energy, but also had sealing functions.
When the formation was destroyed, the thing inside Kuroi Misato would awaken, take control of the body, and reappear in the world.
Jiang Lai's lowered hand clenched.
Brain-kun probably never intended fair deals from the beginning. Everything was for maximizing his own interests.
He saw Kuroi Misato's potential as a vessel, so he superficially agreed to Amanai Riko's request to let Kuroi Misato live. Actually, Brain-kun only ensured Kuroi Misato's body lived.
The moment Brain-kun poured cursed objects into Kuroi Misato's mouth, the real Kuroi Misato's soul had already dissipated.
All of Amanai Riko's inner worries and hopes could no longer reach the person they were meant for.
Having formed his speculation, Jiang Lai lightly tugged Gojo Satoru's clothing hem with one hand, his dark eyes containing myriad emotions that poured out in the instant of eye contact.
Gojo Satoru looked at Jiang Lai. From Jiang Lai's expression, he knew his speculation and observations were most likely correct.
The [Kuroi Misato] before them wasn't Kuroi Misato, but something unknown.
Across from them, the black-haired woman raised her hand to undo her originally pinned-up hair, then tugged at her black and white maid outfit, examining it two or three times. Her movements were much more fluid than before, as if gradually adapting to this body.
When she looked up at Gojo Satoru again, her demeanor was much more natural: "Mr. Gojo, it's been a long time. You look different from before. I'm sure Miss Riko has grown up too."
[Kuroi Misato] smiled, but this smile wasn't similar to the past.
After incarnation, the occupier could obtain the original owner's memories, which was why [Kuroi Misato] could say such things.
But this was all fake! The one who killed Kuroi Misato, this inexplicable thing before them was also part of it!
Gojo Satoru's blue eyes narrowed coldly. He didn't reply but raised one hand, forming a gesture, wanting to unleash a big attack. But he couldn't help hesitating for a moment because of Kuroi Misato's face from his school memories.
In this brief hesitation, the [Kuroi Misato] before them turned her palm, and several ice crystals several meters tall suddenly shot up from the ground, "whooshing" out from below like venomous snakes!
Gojo Satoru moved agilely. He grabbed Little Sheep Jiang Lai with one hand, nimbly stepped aside to dodge, and could even counter with a small [Red] condensed at his fingertip!
The highly concentrated cursed energy hit the ice crystal pillars, exploding into countless sparkling ice fragments.
The howling night wind picked up at just the right moment, ice shards scraping past cheeks with a slightly cool stinging sensation.
Little Sheep Jiang Lai's eyes reflected these myriad ice fragments in slow motion, rippling in his dark pupils.
After firing that [Red], Gojo Satoru set down the brown-haired boy he'd been carrying.
His expression wasn't good. His blue eyes swept over the empty space ahead, his voice carrying magnetism, deep at first with a slightly rising end: "Ran away? The escape speed was quite fast."
"She knows you're Six Eyes, so naturally she won't fight head-on." Jiang Lai exhaled.
He heard increasingly loud sounds from behind, knowing these were jujutsu sorcerers dispatched by the higher-ups from nearby to clean up the aftermath.
Gojo Satoru with his all-around vision naturally understood this too. He didn't turn back, standing steadily in place.
After a quiet moment, Gojo Satoru said: "Miss Kuroi is no longer here, right."
"Yes." Jiang Lai's voice was also low, his eyelids lightly lowered.
This situation where the soul had departed and entered reincarnation couldn't be revived by reverse cursed technique.
Amanai Riko probably still didn't know Kuroi Misato's true situation.
Amanai Riko was probably still naively and firmly thinking that as long as she persisted, they could meet again in the future.
But actually, the once lively and lovely girl in sailor uniform and her tearful farewell to Kuroi Misato who had accompanied her growing up had already eternally ended in that midsummer.
[I'm sorry, Miss Riko. I can only accompany you this far.
You'll have to walk the path ahead by yourself.]
Those were the final words.