March 17th, 878, Mount Iwaki

  “Morning, Chiyomi.”

  An all-too-familiar energetic voice came from the doorway. Hearing it normally was already enough to irritate her; hearing it before she could get out of bed only added to the feelings of annoyance he brought. She groggily turned her body around to face him, causing her frown to deepen as she saw the cheerful grin on his face.

  “Go away,” lacking the drive to make a more cutting demand. She decided on a simple statement to convey her desire.

  “If you wish for me to leave, I will gladly do so, bu--”

  “Then why are you still here?” Glaring at him from underneath the covers, she began to feel herself waking up. Even if he left, she would probably be unable to fall back asleep; she would have to settle for lying down in her bed alone for a few more hours. Oh well, it was a close second to sleeping.

  “Because I have something to tell you that can’t wait a moment,” Not letting himself be put off by Chiyomi’s standoffishness. He continued to smile while plainly stating his desire.

  “Hurry up and do it then, Kenjaku.” Chiyomi rose her torso off the bed. Reaching behind her to smooth out her black hair in case of bedhead. She let out an involuntary yawn as she did so, stretching her arms out behind her a moment later.

  “In a few hours all of you are going to be killed,” Kenjaku smiled; he didn’t drop his grin as he made his sinister declaration.

  “... Are you just lying to see how I react?”

  “You wound me to think I would be suspected of telling such an egregious fib,” Kenjaku’s smile quickly dipped into a frown. His head tilted down towards the ground in a show of being cut by her words.

  He quickly ended the charade after the only response he was given was Chiyomi staring blankly. His smile returned as he began speaking again.

  “If you’re curious about the specifics, Ryomen will be the one doing the deed.”

  “I see… You can go now then if that’s all you wanted to say,” stalling for a moment as she came to understand the words Kenjaku said. She came to an understanding and began to resume her attempt to lie down in silence. Covering herself with a paper-thin blanket.

  “... Do you think I’m lying?” Tilting his head at the girl's response to his news, Kenjaku couldn't help but indulge his curiosity about what had provoked such a response.

  “Hmm… Probably not. This doesn’t seem like the kind of joke you’d tell, and if it were, you would have revealed it as such by now.” Her voice was muffled as her head faced the corner of the room, looking opposite the direction of Kenjaku as she settled into her sleeping position once more.

  “So then you’ve chosen to accept your impending doom rather than try to flee? Do you truly appraise the value of your own life as being so low?”

  “Do you find it annoying when people ask you questions they know the answer to, Kenjaku?” Ignoring Kenjaku’s inquiries into her own sense of being, Chiyomi posed her own question to the man.

  “...Yes, I do somewhat,” responding truthfully to the girl's inquiry. His eyes began to twinkle slightly, containing an emotion that even if the girl were to see, she would be unable to place.

  “Then do me the courtesy of not subjecting me to such things, and go.”

  Kenjaku’s smirk took a nearly imperceptible dip as Chiyomi told him to leave her be. He had held onto the faintest of hopes that she would show concern for her own life or the lives of those around her. Instead she had sadly neglected such things and was content to die. It caused Kenjaku’s frustration to rise a slight bit as he let out a sigh.

  Why did everything always have to go how he wanted?

  “I will, but there’s one more thing I wanted to tell you. There’s a certain game I’m planning on putting on in the far-off future. In participating, you’d be able to spare yourself from falling at his hand today.”

  “I’d rather die than willingly subject myself to anything you’re involved with,” Chiyomi refused his offer with words laced with hatred.

  “That’s a shame; I was planning on extending the same offer to your brother if you had accepted.”

  The girl felt herself go stiff at the mention of her sibling. For the first time in their encounter, she got up semi-properly. Lifting the blanket off of her as she sat with her legs hanging off the bed, facing towards Kenjaku. She was scantily dressed, only wearing her undergarments, though such an appearance did nothing to undermine the way she looked towards Kenjaku. Eyes overflowing in quiet anger, Kenjaku merely smiled slightly in response.

  “Just what in the hell do you want?”

  Reaching her limit with his sly nature, she decided to just come out and ask him what their goal was.

  “You and your brother are to participate in my game. Truthfully, I don’t need either of you for what I intend to accomplish. I just think inviting you both may turn out to be quite the interesting development,” Kenjaku smiled like a kid getting a new toy as he answered—perhaps two new toys would be more appropriate.

  “And why exactly are we oh so interesting to you?”

  “I’ll tell you why after the game begins.”

  “Tell me now!”

  Having had enough of Kenjaku treating her like she was just a source of entertainment for him. Chiyomi stood up and inched closer to him, their bodies a hair's breadth apart. She was shorter than him, which made intimidating him via a downwards glare a rather difficult task; truthfully, even if she were to possess a biological high ground, she doubted her attempts would bear much fruit.

  She could kill him as easily as she could crush a bug, but despite that, they both knew she would never try such a thing. Killing him wouldn't make the problems he brought about go away; she suspected that was by his design.

  “Sorry, but I won’t. If I had to take a guess, it'll be less than a month before I tell you my reasons. If you’re able to wait until then, I’ll tell you anything and everything you want to know. That too is a part of why I’m interested in you.” Standing his ground, Kenjaku maintained his plaintive smile while he was advanced on by Chiyomi.

  “... What makes you think I’ll accept this offer when you're being so secretive? You can’t possibly think I hold my brother’s life in that high regard after what he did.” She narrowed her eyes as she tried a different method to get him to discuss the reasons for bringing them along.

  “Have you heard of the expression ‘love and hate are two sides of the same coin’? It’s horribly cliché, but it holds quite a bit of merit. Besides there's unconditional love and whatnot between you two. I won’t pretend to understand it, but familial ties are quite sturdy; not even a broken heart… or two is enough to sever them.” Quickly diffusing the faux threat, Kenjaku extended his hand towards the girl.

  “Now then, I would prefer it if we got this over with so I could go make arrangements to extend this offer to Shinji. Are you ready to take a step into a new era?”

  She intended to raise some half-hearted retort to his lackluster explanation of such a fickle thing like “unconditional love,” but the words never made it beyond her throat. She knew whatever she could say would be unable to refute the truth behind his words. It irritated her how difficult it was to maintain her anger at her brother despite everything he had done.

  She couldn’t forgive him… She wouldn’t forgive him; apologizing was tantamount to undermining the severity of what was lost, relegating it to water under the bridge. Something that would be forgotten now that the source of their feud was over with. She would never allow such a thing to happen. Hating her brother was a price she would gladly pay so long as he was remembered.

  Realizing she was hard-pressed for options, the girl looked down towards the extended hand, then up towards the smiling face of its owner. She knew whatever Kenjaku wanted from them wasn’t even adjacent to the word good. Throughout her entire life, she had never once seen him do anything unless he benefited from it in some way.

  If it was just her life dying, then willingly letting herself be strung along by whatever he was planning was the far more preferable option. However, it wasn’t just her life, a fact he had exploited quite easily.

  So tentatively and with dread, she reached out and shook his hand. Listening as he explained the nature of one of the games she had just accepted to be the player of, keeping the other rules a secret.

  November 18th, 2018, Morioka colony

  “Aaaah, this is the best.” Submerging her nude body in warm water. She couldn’t help but let out an exclamation of her joy.

  She had found this bathouse a few days after the games had begun. Since then, she barely left the area, besides when she needed to get more food and water. Spending her days basking in the heaven that was this naturally spawned miracle.

  The establishment itself wasn’t overly large, only having two pools for their respective genders. Each pool was only large enough to contain half a dozen people at most; both pools were surrounded by sand for a few feet before being enclosed by wooden walls. Honestly, it was a wonder how they were able to stay operational given their size. Though the girl was far from willing to complain about their survival.

  Sinking her back down against the smooth stone on the water’s edge, she submerged herself till only her eyes were visible. Letting her legs go loose as they stretched across the water, covering a space that wouldn’t be even remotely acceptable if she weren’t alone.

  She felt her decently long hair float on the water’s surface, black strands becoming visible in her peripheral as she let her eyes wander towards the empty sky. She’d been letting her hair grow out in an attempt to get it to the same length she had when she had been in her original body; with a few more weeks, it would be back to its original length. She didn’t care about her appearance one way or another, but a long-since-departed friend had always made choice comments about those pointless strands on her head.

  Pushing thoughts of her past aside, the girl let herself relax in the water’s embrace, her body going completely loose. She would stay like this forever if she had a choice in the matter; nothing beat the feelings that this bath was able to invoke. Complete and utter tranquility, it was paradise save for--

  “Give me your points.”

  The annoying interruptions.

  Tilting her head slightly downwards, the girl looked forward, being met by a short man wielding a few guns. She had become acquainted with firearms after the invasion a few days ago, so the sight of him wielding such weapons did little to make her feel threatened.

  “I’ll give you fifty if you go away.” She plainly stated her offer in the gentlest voice she could muster while masking her overwhelming sense of irritation at this pest's arrival.

  “No, give me all of them or die.” Raising one of his pistols towards the girl's head, the man calmly gave his ultimatum. Causing his target to let out an unbridled groan of irritation.

  Before, when she had no points, people came after him with the intention of killing her to get five. Then after she had collected a fair amount, people kept trying to get her to give it to them after the rule was added. There was truly no winning when it came to people leaving her alone.

  After the soldiers had come and she killed them all, she thought having collected such a large quantity of points would have decreased the number of people who tried to take them. Much to her chagrin, her plan had backfired. As fools who wanted to take her points for themselves kept coming one after another. This gun-wielding man was the fourth annoyance of the day.

  A few took her offer and let her be on her way, but more often than not, her generosity was met with an attack. Why did people crave conflict so needlessly? She found it to be repulsive.

  “Last chance,” Looking down the barrel before her, the girl let out a lazy sigh. Expending a great amount of effort to lift her arm out of the water.

  The man seemed confused by the gesture more than anything; it was easy to tell by looking at his face as it loosened. The way the girl slowly raised her arm above her head only served to deepen his confusion. Then, without warning, she flicked her wrist.

  It was a simple gesture, one she had made with minimal effort. This simple gesture had an even simpler purpose: to launch a tiny projectile. It was a habit she had adopted since these miscreants had started appearing so she could dispatch them quicker.

  While she had launched the pebble she had been holding with as little effort as possible, it still flew towards the gun-wielding man with speeds comparable to a bullet. Reaching the man’s throat in the blink of an eye. The damage this stone dealt on impact was, in truth, not much, merely bouncing off his vocal cords before beginning to fall to the floor.

  The man gasped for air at the sudden impact, taking a step back as he raised his weapon towards the one who had thrown the object. Before he could follow through with his action, the guns in his hands exploded. Combusting in his grasp and exploding into a puff of smoke and specks of metal. The rest of his body was no exception, flesh being cut down till there was nothing left in the same moment.

  “You have gained five points.”

  It was the work of an instant, save for the still lingering clouds of dust and metal. It was as if that bother was never there. Seeing her problem vanish, the girl leaned back once more and resumed her process of relaxation.

  Eventually the person who had orchestrated her arrival would appear, and then after he did, she would finally get the thing he had kept from them all of their entire life—the truth.

  Water ran down her shapely figure as she walked through the halls of the establishment. She had dried herself with the towel that was now wrapped around her body. Thankfully that player with the firearms had been the last one who approached her today. It was nearing night time and she was going to get dressed and then head to bed.

  Eventually she turned the corner and made it to the room where she stored her clothing. From what she could tell, it seemed to be a sort of community dressing room for all the visitors of the building. Stepping into it, she once again took note of how cramped the room felt despite being its only occupant.

  It was around the same size as the baths themselves; only the walls were lined with a few sets of lockers, and wooden benches were drilled into the walls in front of them for people to change on. She hadn’t bothered storing her clothing in such things and instead just left them on the planks. Sure enough, they were all neatly folded where she had left them.

  Folding her towel and placing it beside them, she began to dress herself. Her clothes were the same ones she’d been wearing since awakening; she rarely wore them given how much time she spent bathing. So naturally they were in mostly fine condition; they seemed the embodiment of ordinary. Just a plain, singular-colored shirt and pants.

  The girl didn’t take much care to dress herself well as she half-haphazardly threw the clothing onto herself. Tying her hair into a ponytail with a band and then slipping on a pair of sneakers she had before exiting the room. Intend on making it to the office she had repurposed into a bedroom. Before she could walk more than a few feet, an unknown voice rang out.

  “I’m surprised to find you in a bathhouse of all places; it wasn’t my first guess for where you would establish your base.”

  Turning around, she was able to see the person who had spoken; he seemed to be some kind of monk judging from his outfit. They were a few dozen feet away from her on the other end of the hall. She couldn’t stifle her sigh at having to deal with another one.

  “I’ll give you fifty points if you buzz off.”

  “While I am intent on using your points, I’m afraid taking them and leaving isn’t an option for me, Chiyomi.”

  “... How do you know my name?”

  Chiyomi raised an eyebrow as this stranger addressed her by her name—her original name. Not the one of her vessel that she was registered under this game as. As far as she knew, it was impossible to get such information. She had tried to haggle with Kogane to implement a rule for such things, but it seemed the original names of the players were outside of its knowledge.

  Upon hearing her question, the man simply smiled; as he did so, a sense of déjà vu took root in her mind. Something instinctual that caused her guard to be raised by his unimposing facial expression.

  “It’s me, Kenjaku. Like you, I’ve taken on a new body for the game. As promised, I’ve come to inform you of my goals.” Kenjaku took a step forward as he introduced himself, not moving closer than that as he simply stood there and smiled slightly.

  Chiyomi had no reaction as he announced his identity, save for her eyes widening slightly. The seconds ticked by as she debated what to do; reaching her decision quickly, she reached behind her head. Beginning to speak as she started to release her hair from its tied state.

  “You’re quicker than expected.”

  “Indeed, things had progressed a lot faster than I thought they would. It appears I underestimated this era’s sorcerers a tad. They surprised me with how quickly they took to action and obtained the points they needed to fulfill their objectives. Isn’t it wond--”

  “Shut up, start explaining everything,” her hair came loose as she held the tie in her hands. Keeping them behind her head as she cut off Kenjaku before he could go on about something she couldn’t care less for.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Alright, fine, no need to be impatient.” Kenjaku hung his head as he gave an exasperated sigh. Stepping forward once more, a pensive expression found itself on his face.

  “There’s quite a lot, so I’ll get one of the more obvious ones out of the way. It was my intention to have your brother kill him on that day.”

  “... Is that so? Were you the only one who wanted Shinji to kill him?”

  Chiyomi’s expression didn’t change much as Kenjaku pulled the curtain back from the day she had lost everything. True to his statement, it was quite obvious; at the very least, she had long since suspected he was involved. Him or all three of them, she doubted Uro would have been involved with the events of that day, but you could never be too sure.

  “That’s correct, I didn’t consult the others before I went ahead with talking to him. Like I told you, I don’t need either of you for what I want; likewise, the buds I was planting that day weren’t of concern to Souzou. To put it crudely, you're both a side piece to a much—much more interesting show. That’s not to discredit your value; however, I’m very much interested in seeing how things turn out between you two.”

  A side piece, huh?

  Chiyomi gritted her teeth as he revealed what he placed her and Shinji’s life at. Ripping the hair band in her arm in two and holding a piece in each arm from behind her head. Looking ahead, the pleasant smile he wore only served to infuriate her further.

  “There’s quite a bit more, so I would prefer it if we went somwhe--”

  “Hey Kenjaku, mind if I ask you something?”

  “Not at all, feel free,” Kenjaku responded to her question with his typical disarming smile as he invited her to ask.

  Upon receiving permission, Chiyomi dropped the ripped hair tie from behind her back and brought her arms to her front.

  “If I kill you, you’d think you’ll be patient enough for me and Shinji to put on our little sideshow for you in hell?”

  Tilting his head to her half-question, half-threat, Kenjaku approached her statement like a question. First debating the merits of what she said despite knowing that obviously wasn’t her intention. Reaching the answer after a few simple seconds, Kenjaku was about to voice them.

  As he arrived at his answer, the two parts of the hairband Chiyomi had let fall hit the floor. Kenjaku only made it to the first half syllable of his answer before he was

  interrupted. The building became naught but a pile of rubble a moment later, a pile that rapidly fell on both their heads.

  Strange I didn’t see her drop anything.

  Activating his cursed technique Kenjaku was unthreatened as the building fell down upon him. The debris floated upwards as he stood stationary, walking forward onto the fallen roof as the pieces intended to crush him hung in the air. The floating masses of rubble fell down behind him a moment later.

  Kenjaku surveyed the area with a turn of his head after he escaped harm's way. The bathhouse wasn’t particularly large, so it seemed she had been able to level the entire building with her opening assault. The area where the building once stood became a pile of broken wood, stone, and metal.

  “Come now, I don’t wish to fight you. You’ll find I’m much stronger now than before.” Speaking to the girl he couldn’t see, Kenjaku tried his best to dissuade her from pursuing an outcome neither of them truly wanted.

  Raising his hand, he produced a small hermit crab-shaped cursed spirit. It was a low level curse and held no value in combat. However, its cursed technique was quite impressive, being able to detect cursed energy and its quantity within a given distance. It's only downside is the few seconds it took between the technique's activation and processing the information it gathered.

  Upon activating the spirit’s technique, Kenjaku heard a splash of water behind him. Whether it was from pure luck or intuition, it seemed his adversary had chosen the perfect moment to reveal herself.

  By the time Kenjaku turned to face her, she was already a short distance away. Her clothing and hair were soaked, water being left behind her as it flowed off her body in her rapid charge. Looking beyond her, Kenjaku saw the reason as to why, eyeing the establishment's two sources of water, which had been spared from getting crushed.

  She hid in the water? How clever.

  While charging towards him at blinding speeds, she leapt a short distance off the ground, spinning as she did so. Reaching down to grasp her shoe with her hand for a short second. Letting go once she had reached a suitable striking distance. Attempting a kick aimed for Kenjaku’s head while airborne.

  Kenjaku’s expression didn’t change throughout her charge, his calm smile never leaving his face despite being surprised. He calmly raised his hand while Chiyomi rushed towards him. He waited to launch his own attack till she closed in on him, his body going stiff for a few microseconds as she spun in the air.

  It was only when the kick filled with intent to kill—and a much more dangerous power than the girl’s inherent strength— was a few inches from his face did he defend himself. A centipede as wide as an oak tree emerged from his palm, crashing into the girl's unguarded torso.

  The girl was sent reeling back in the air as the cursed spirit continued to ram into her stomach as it stretched out from Kenjaku’s palm. With the same foot she had early grabbed, she kicked the beast's underside, causing it to be cut cleanly horizontally across the it’s entire body.

  Purple blood gushed out and stained the floor as the cursed spirit vanished, having been utterly destroyed. The girl spun in the air as she flew backward from her momentum, landing on her feet and sliding backward before she came to a stop a few seconds later.

  The distance between them now was well beyond what qualified as close, being well over fifty feet. Still, it was rather easy for Kenjaku to make out the girl's expression, probably because he had been on the receiving end of such a face many times. Though no matter how much anger she put behind her glares, it never was enough to scare him.

  “I’d ask that you hear me out before deciding what you want to do. I’m fairly certain after hearing everything you’ll change your mind about wanting to kill me. Well… I’m certain you’ll still want me dead, but there’ll be a bigger priority you’ll want to accomplish than ending my life. Just give me ten minutes to explain,” Kenjaku raised his hands by his head in an attempt to show her she meant him no harm. He had a suspicion a conflict between them might arise, but sadly he hadn’t thought of a better method of de-escalation beyond simple placating.

  His attempts ended in failure, however, as the girl took a step forward and threw a small piece of rubble towards him. The stone made a whooshing sound as it flew through the air at speeds that would make an ace pitcher jealous. Before the jagged rock could connect with Kenjaku, a small cursed spirit in the shape of a bug appeared to intercept it. The stone deflected off the bug's armored shell harmlessly, and then the bug was bisected a moment later—dying in an instant.

  “All I want to hear from you are screams.” Not caring for whatever manipulative words would spill from his lips, she brazenly charged forward once again.

  “Gimme a break, would ya?”

  In response to the girls' charge, Kenjaku merely sighed, bringing his arm down as a dozen smaller cursed spirits appeared in the air. Each taking the appearance of a different insect, only instead of a few inches, they were a few feet in length. Flying towards the oncoming girl with frightening speed.

  As the projectile insects approached her, she responded by launching her own series of projectiles. Swinging both her arms in front of her as she released tiny pieces of stone like a grape shot. The grain of sand-sized stones collided with the cursed spirits, each dying on impact as they were sliced several thousand times in the same moment.

  Kejnaku conjured a cursed elephant in front of him to block the highly lethal stones from reaching him. The stones splashed against his cursed mammal harmlessly, cutting it to shreds a moment later. Kenjaku’s eyes widened as he attempted to ascertain Chiyomi’s location, having vanished from her sights.

  Having lost sight of his opponent, Kenjaku didn’t waste precious time on being surprised. Activating the reversed version of Anti-Gravity System immediately caused the gravity a few meters around him to increase tenfold as the ground cracked from the weight. Kenjaku’s intent had been on ensuring projectiles launched from his blind spots would not reach him and score a fatal blow—that was to say, causing his opponent to come crashing down was a welcomed but unintentional result.

  She managed to land on both her feet, which had sunk a few feet into the ground from the height she had fallen. Her arms—which were shaking with the effort it took to keep them in the air—held a small piece of rebar that Kenjaku suspected held the intention of cutting him in two.

  Kenjaku began to open his mouth, intent on trying to calm her down. Before he could say anything, Chiyomi swung her makeshift weapon down to the ground in between her and Kenjaku, causing a wide and deep gash to form in the earth. The area around them began to collapse into the cut from the enhanced gravity.

  Kenjaku clicked his tongue as he stepped backward, having to dispel the effects of his cursed technique. Less he fall closer to an opponent who was lethal at a close distance. This step back and cancellation of his technique was something his foe had counted on however. Having let their body fall nearly parallel to the ground, it gave them a perfect angle to launch forward towards Kenjaku.

  Kenjaku held his hands in front of him, sighing internally at having to release one of the few special grade curse spirits he still had left in stock. A sword appeared in his hands, its blade being replaced by pulsating purple flesh. Grasping hold of the cursed saber, Kenjaku ran his cursed energy through it, causing red veins to pulse along the sword.

  Swinging it down to intercept his opponent's strike, the result was what both fighters knew would occur. Unsurprisingly, the newly conjured blade was easily able to cut through the flimsy piece of architecture Chiyomi had found. Even more unsurprisingly was how Kenjaku’s blade was cut in two shortly after they collided, the purple flesh being severed at the point of impact.

  What was surprising however,—at least to Chiyomi, whose face went from confident to shocked in moments—was the way the blade reformed instantly. The purple flesh that was cut off faded to the wind as the blade reshaped itself with newly appearing material.

  Kenjaku swung the blade down at a midair Chiyomi, who was still surprised the sword hadn’t been destroyed. Unable to move in the air, Kenjaku severed her right arm at the shoulder with frightening ease. Her arm fell to the ground with a flop, purple flames beginning to rise where it had been severed. A few seconds later the arm had been burned to ashes. Kenjaku struck her with his foot to her face a moment later, sending her flying through the air.

  Chiyomi landed on her stomach a dozen or so feet away from Kenjaku. Steam was rising from her missing limb as she began a futile attempt to repair the damage. With her remaining arm, she began to pick herself up off the ground. Blood spilled from her nose, giving her a crazed appearance as she glared at Kenjaku, her eyes burning with rage and pain.

  “Are you ready to talk yet, or do I have to cut off another limb?” Kenjaku dismissed his sword as it vanished into the air while he proposed they resume with his explanation.

  Chiyomi didn’t grace the man with a response as she looked to the stump where her arm rested. Kenjaku was impressed that she had managed to seal the wound as quickly

  as she had, but repairing her limb was impossible. Repairing a completely severed arm or leg with reverse cursed technique was something that went beyond even his skill set.

  Every century or so, Kenjaku came across a talent who was able to perform such an advanced feat. Even amongst the countless sorcerers Kenjaku had invited to the games, Uro and Sukuna were the only ones capable of such feats.

  If he were being honest, it annoyed him somewhat that Uro had been able to learn something he couldn’t do despite his best efforts. Likewise, it irritated him that he had to ask Sukuna’s lapdog to fix his body after the damage it sustained. Though that particular source of worry was caused by him having to free them early, then he had intended. He wanted to wait until

  “You have five minutes, so hurry up and speak.” Doing her best to remain threatening while disarmed, Chiyomi stood a few feet in front of Kenjaku and clenched the fist in her remaining arm.

  Kenjaku’s eyes widened at the girl's closeness, having spaced out and being unaware she approached him. He had to rein in that bad habit of his; many things he had been patiently waiting centuries to occur were finally on the horizon. Getting lost in thought was becoming more common and more likely to result in his end.

  Chiyomi tilted her head impatiently as Kenjaku began doing what he was thinking he had to stop. He let out a sigh at the contradiction before he began to explain everything. He spoke about the merger, this game he had put on, what the place she had grown up in was, and the reasons for it all.

  It was relieving in a sense. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Kenjaku spoke without a single lie. Merely telling the tale as he had perceived it. Wondering what her reaction would inspire within him.

  “You’re insane,” Chiyomi spoke with a slight tremor in her voice, taking a step back from Kenjaku.

  She wasn’t planning on hearing him out, thinking she wouldn’t care for whatever he had to say. Then they had fought, and she had come to realize fighting him unprepared had been a colossally stupid idea. So having been dealt a crippling blow—in a rather literal sense—she gave in to his request to listen to what he had to say.

  She initially had been planning to wait until he was distracted from some long-drawn-out monologue to attack him, though she’d be lying if she weren’t a little curious about what he would say. Though after he began, she found it difficult to stay focused on her objective, becoming drawn into his words.

  It was intriguing—at first. She had been wondering what purpose everything she had been through had played, why he was so intent on bringing her and Shinji into this madness. Then she had heard his reasoning for their involvement, and her intrigue was replaced by revulsion. Then after he had finished explaining the merger, her revulsion turned to horror.

  Chiyomi had known Kenjaku for nearly all her life; during that time, she had to admit it felt like she scarcely knew him. Now, however, things had changed. Kenjaku had laid himself bare to her judgment. Being completely open and honest, Chiyomi felt like she knew him better than she ever had before.

  “You’re completely insane.” Chiyomi took another step back from the smiling man, seeking to put as much distance between her and this stain upon the world as she could.

  That was to say the words that spilled from her lips came from a place that only one other person in history had ever entered. Having stepped into such a place, it could be considered she was able to make the most accurate decision regarding the type of person Kenjaku was.

  Expressing that opinion, Chiyomi could only question the validity of his sanity, for what he had done and what he intended to do surely didn’t constitute something sane people did?

  “What makes you say that?” Kenjaku’s smile didn’t drop as he lightly poked at her assessment, seemingly curious about why she had come to such an obvious conclusion.

  “You intend to kill millions of people, all for the sake of your own pleasure?”

  She couldn’t conceal the disbelief in her voice; it was insane—he was insane. It was an act of immeasurable destruction well beyond what any singular entity should be capable of conceiving. Perhaps even more disturbing to her than the merger were the actions he took to ensure it would unfold, most of which she had been a part of.

  “For the sake of my curiosity would be the better phrase, though, I suppose it is all for my pleasure in the end.”

  “... Don’t you care?”

  “About?” Kenjaku raised an eyebrow at her question, one he thought needed no elaboration.

  “Everything…”

  Kenjaku tilted his head slightly, wordlessly asking for her to elaborate.

  “The tens of millions who will die for the sake of the merger. The people's lives you ruined and families you tore apart along the way. Don’t you care about any of them?” Chiyomi knew the answer before he even said it, of course; it was a waste of breath to ask such a redundant question. So the important question then became why had she bothered asking? A question that held a rather hopeful answer.

  She had simply wanted to believe an evil as great as the one she stood before didn't exist. It was unthinkable that everything he had done was all for such a selfish reason, that something as dark and heinous as this man existed in reality. However, her desire to believe in what might be called “the light of man” was just simply that—a desire.

  “No, none of that’s a cause of concern for me.” Kenjaku held a faint smile as he dismissed his care over what would be the single greatest act of death in recorded history.

  Chiyomi could only stare, mouth agape, as she heard his response; it was one she had expected, but hearing him express such thoughts aloud still gave her pause. She realized that she had desired something that was simply impossible, for a reason she couldn’t place; she had clung to the childish belief that people were good.

  She knew better then that. She had experienced how cruel humans and this particular fiend could be firsthand. Yet despite that she wanted to believe there could somehow be some amount of remorse in his heart, it was laughable how pathetically naive she was being.

  People weren’t all bad; she had known a scant few who she would consider to be kindhearted. Though the world itself was filled with far more wicked souls than righteous ones, everything was rotten.

  “... So what do you want?” Pushing aside her foolish notions she had carried, Chiyomi decided to strike at the only mystery she had left of his intentions.

  “I just gave you a full dissertation on what I want,” Confused yet again, Kenjaku stared blankly towards her.

  “I mean, why did you tell me all this? You clearly are expecting something of me.” Chiyomi naturally was suspicious of Kenjaku’s suddenly free-flowing tongue. Coming from someone who she was well aware had likely rarely, if ever, told the truth to anyone.

  “Ah, I see what you mean. Well, I had two reasons.” Kenjaku held up both his hands and raised a finger on each.

  “The first I was curious if the experience of coming clean about everything would be fun or exciting. Sadly, I didn't get any sort of thrill from telling you everything.”

  “Good.”

  Kenjaku tucked in one of the raised fingers as he finished explaining, frowning slightly at Chiyomi’s Schadenfreude towards his failure.

  “Secondly, I’m curious what you’re going to do now.”

  “Oh yes, how could I forget? This is the part where I help you with your schemes and fight my brother to the death, yes?” Chiyomi narrowed her eyes as she recounted the reasoning Kenjaku had said he had implored when bringing them here.

  “That's what I would prefer to happen, yes. Though the odds between that and you trying to kill me again are about fifty-fifty, I admit,” Kenjaku let his other hand fall as he smiled slightly once more.

  “Remind me again why you think I would help you of all people?”

  Kenjaku turned his head to look at the setting sun. The cursed spirit he had mounted reached the optimal altitude for flying and viewing the scenery. The sun was just starting to sink over the horizon, leading to a rosy glow being present. It was quite the pleasant sight if you hadn’t viewed it more refined than it tens of thousands of times.

  “So where are we going?”

  Kenjaku turned around, meeting the questioning gaze of the cross-legged girl he had managed to convince. It was strange; he often used lies and tricks to get others to fall into the roles he had planned for them, but for her he had simply told the truth—it was a shame this strangeness didn’t turn to feelings of joy at the newfound experience.

  “Back to where Sukuna is, their servant’s reverse cursed technique is capable of fixing your arm. Sorry about that,” Kenjaku winked as he gave a faux apology for her disfigurement. She merely deadpanned at the sentiment.

  “Who’s Sukuna?”

  “Ah right, Sukuna’s Ryomen. Ryomen Sukuna is his full name now; you should probably just stick to calling him Sukuna. I’m not sure how he’ll take to being called by his old name,” Kenjaku explained the misunderstanding as he realized he hadn’t mentioned the bequeathing of his new title to her.

  “I see… How exactly do you plan to kill him then? You said you brought a few sorcerers from other eras to wear him down; can they beat him together?”

  “Well… while I did enlist quite a few powerful sorcerers in this game, most I had placed as being able to bring him harm have already fallen. Thankfully the strongest and most determined of them all is still alive.” Kenjaku was grateful for how lucky this development was; his survival would be both a valuable asset and a chance for him to see something wonderful.

  “Right, you mentioned him, Hajime Kashimo was it? The one whose family you killed?” Kenjaku didn’t miss the note of accusation in her tone. Though it was fine, he had nothing to hide from her after all.

  “Yes, him. He’s joined forces with the main group of sorcerers who wish to stop the merger, so it’s a near certainty he’ll collide with Sukuna.”

  “... Can Kashimo kill him?”

  “Hmmm. Probably not; the true extent of his abilities is something I’ve never seen before. As such, I can’t accurately guess how powerful he’ll become after using his technique. Though what I can determine is that he’ll be forced to fight under a time constraint before he dies. I find it unlikely he’ll be able to best Sukuna on his own, though I’m excited to see him try,” Kenjaku couldn’t contain his grin at the thought of seeing Hajime Kashimo use his cursed technique. He, of course, had seen his fellow clan members use it before; he had killed most of them himself after all.

  But to compare Hakime Kashimo to all others who were in his clan was like comparing the distance between a pebble and a moon. That was to say he stood in a realm so far beyond them they may as well not exist. He had managed to create a binding vow to shape the properties of his cursed energy to function as his main fighting style. Even without that, his basic reinforcement put him at a level well beyond your average sorcerer.

  It was a combination of these traits that led him to reign as the unequaled strongest of his era for over fifty years. All without having to use his cursed technique a single time.

  Soon that unstoppable force would unleash their true power for the first time in his life, colliding with an equally great power in the form of Sukuna. He could hardly wait to watch how it would unfo--

  “Are you listening?”

  Kenjaku took a slight step back as he noticed the hand waving in front of his face. Chiyomi had stood up from her seated position and moved closer to him while he was distracted… again.

  “Yes, sorry, I was thinking about how much fun watching Kashimo fight would be.”

  Chiyomi took a small breath as she narrowed her eyes, an expression Kenjaku knew well meant she was irritated.

  “So then how will he die?”

  “Rather quickly, I hope; it would be troublesome if it took much longer.” Kenjaku gave a slight chuckle as he pretended he didn’t know what was concerning her.

  “Cut the crap and just tell me what your plan is. You act like he won’t kill us both if you fail.”

  “If I fail? This is a team effort; I do hope you're willing to pitch in your fair share, Chiyomi.” His attempts to annoy her were only met with a blank stare; Kenjaku let out a sigh at her lack of a sense of humor.

  “It wouldn’t hurt to act like you enjoy my company.”

  “You’ll have to forgive me; I’m unable to put on a constant charade that I enjoy myself all the time like you.” Crossing her singular arm over her chest, Chiyomi flatly refused the suggestion.

  Kenjku looked at her with a raised eyebrow for a moment before answering her original question.

  “There’s a sorcerer from this time period who may have what it takes to kill Sukuna on his own. His name is Satoru Gojo; he’s the main plan, and everyone else is just a backup.”

  “Where is he then, and will making him fight Ryom—Sukuna be easy?”

  “He’s currently sealed inside a special grade cursed object. I’m afraid I had to take him off the board for the culling games to serve it’s purpose. As for making him fight Sukuna, it should be very easy. He has both the personality and personal motivation to kill him,” Kenjaku smiled as he recounted just how alluring a prospect there imminent collision would be.

  “If you sealed him, won’t making him fight Sukuna be rather difficult?”

  “Not to worry, I believe that his seal will be removed any moment now. I’ve left Satoru Gojo’s alliest with both the key and door to his cage. There’s this sorcerer whose cursed technique can dispel all forms of cursed energy. I invited her to the game, thinking that she’d be a valuable asset in killing Sukuna. Though to think she would serve the role as key to his cage, it’s quite fortunate since this way his allies won’t question why I would have released him. Soon the battle between Sukuna and Satoru Gojo will begin. It’ll be the strongest clash of Jujutsu in all of history—no, in all of time. Just thinking about the possibilities of what might occur has me thrilled. Regardless of the winner or loser, their battle will be one for the history books. Two people whose talents led them to the title of strongest of their era colliding. Aren’t you excited to see who will be crowned the victor?”

  Kenjaku leaned in towards Chiyomi with a mad grin on his face. His arm spraying wide as he recounted the titiler fight he would soon be able to bear witness to. Kenjaku had been waiting over a thousand years for this day to come, but he had never expected to be able to find someone like Satoru Gojo. Someone who could stand as Ryomen’s equal.

  Kenjaku had been beaten by those who held his eyes before; it had been a humiliating defeat. One he had only managed to survive through due to the mercy of his destroyer. Even still, compared to the person who had defeated him, Satoru Gojo was many times more powerful.

  Despite his incredible strength, Kenjaku had been able to successfully prevent the merger of Tengen and the star plasma vessel. Utilizing the man who had broken away from the curse known as fate to sever his own. Nonetheless, when he led Toji Fushiguro to kill the star plasma vessel, it had the unintended consequence of enhancing Satoru Gojo’s power even further.

  Initially he hadn’t cared for how his strength was further deepened; Sukuna’s vessel had already been born and would serve as his trump card if the plan to seal the six eyes failed. Though Kenjaku soon realized what a tantalizing opportunity was at his fingertips. By pushing both unstoppable forces at each other, he would be able to bear witness to a legendary clash. The likes of which even he had no means of predicting—it was simply and truly exquisite. He had no other words to describe the match.

  Finally having someone he could talk to about the incredible bout that was about to happen, Kenjaku couldn’t contain the excitement he felt as he went on and on. All the while, Chiyomi looked back with a rather bored expression, tilting her head, and a slight frown formed on her face at one point. As Kenjaku finished his rant and awaited an answer, Chiyomi simply stood there for a few moments, seemingly debating what to say. Eventually she opened her mouth and let out quite the unexpected response.

  “Kenjaku… Can I ask you a personal question?”

  “Huh? Sure, go ahead; I have nothing to hide from you,” Kenjaku was slightly taken aback when she asked permission. It was the first time she had ever done so before asking him something. Though this feeling of trepidation didn’t last for long as he quickly confirmed she was able to. He had already made up his mind to tell her everything after all.

  “Have you ever loved anyone?”

  Kenjaku’s eyes widened slightly at the question, surprised for the first time since he had encountered her. He took pause as he wondered why she would ask such a pointless thing; it dawned on him after a few seconds that the quickest way to figure it out would just be to ask her.

  “I have once, a very long time ago. Why do you ask?”

  “No real reason, it’s just—” Chiyomi paused briefly as her face filled with a melancholic look before she spoke again.

  “Why wasn’t that person enough to satisfy you?”

  Kenjaku opened his mouth slightly before closing it, multiple responses coming to him, but they all died in his throat before he could get them out. He had resolved himself to be honest with her in order to see where this road would lead her, hence telling her a half-truth response would only ruin this. So after a few moments passed, he settled on telling her the most accurate account of the situation.

  “Because they weren’t willing to join me in exploring the secrets of the world, I left them behind.”

  “I see…”

  Kenjaku didn’t say anything as they sat down quietly, probably attempting to sleep while they rode his cursed spirit back to Sukuna. It seemed she had deemed their conversation as over, something Kenjaku had no qualms with. He wasn’t fond of the particular memories her last question had dug up.

  Kenjaku held no regrets about his decision to leave the one he loved behind; in doing so, he had explored the world for centuries and come across countless things that thrilled him. Though eventually this well had run dry, and he returned to the person he cherished. Pleading for them to take the plunge into what they feared so they could both witness something new. He had been turned down, however, though he had finally gotten to see what they were so desperate on not letting happen a few days ago.

  It had brought him a slight joy to see it, but only briefly. His main course was the merger after all, despite how much he longed to see everything else he had planned for occur. The merger was and had been his ultimate goal for over a thousand years. It would be a spectacle the likes of which he was powerless to predict.

  “Will the merger satisfy your greed, Kenjaku?”

  Speaking with half an eye closed, Chiyomi inquired into the depths of the hole that resided within Kenjaku’s soul. Wondering if an event as cataclysmic as the merger would be enough to fill it. A question to which the answer…

  “I’m unsure; finding that out myself is something I’m looking forward to as well.”

  The devil himself did not know.