Chapter 159
In a small grove at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Maki continued training beneath the setting sun.
Her spear tore through the air with enough force to produce sharp whistles, drawing wary and admiring looks from the students passing nearby.
"Is that Maki Zenin?"
"She’s incredible. She’s only a first-year, but she’s already one of the school’s best cursed-tool users."
"Yeah. And that ridiculous strength... how does someone even train for that?"
Naturally, not everyone was impressed.
Wherever people gathered, grudges and petty rivalries followed.
Maki had not yet established herself as the undisputed strongest cursed-tool user at Tokyo Jujutsu High, so there were still plenty of students willing to mock her behind her back.
"What’s she acting so proud for? She doesn’t even have cursed energy."
"Exactly. She can’t even see curses without those glasses. How does that qualify her as a sorcerer?"
"I heard she got destroyed by some transfer student today—and apparently he doesn’t have cursed energy either."
"Seriously?"
"Looks like the muscle freak finally met her match."
Their whispers reached Maki clearly, but she gave no reaction and continued practicing.
She had heard the same kind of ridicule her entire life. By now, it barely registered.
The sun was nearly gone, and the grove had emptied by the time she decided to finish her final set.
Maki stepped forward, preparing to thrust—
And someone suddenly appeared on the ground directly in front of her foot.
She hurriedly twisted aside, nearly tripping over herself in the process.
At the last second, she managed to drop to one knee instead of falling flat on her face.
"What the hell are you—Kiriya?"
Her anger vanished the moment she recognized him.
It was immediately replaced by alarm.
"What happened to you? Why are you injured this badly?"
Maki crouched beside him and cautiously pressed her fingers against the burned skin covering his body.
"AAAAAGH!"
Kiriya let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.
Maki jerked back in fright.
"Was that really necessary? I barely touched you."
She had no way of knowing that opening the Seventh Gate had pushed every muscle in Kiriya’s body far beyond its limit.
Large sections of tissue had torn under the strain.
In his current condition, even the lightest touch felt like someone dragging blades through his flesh.
Seeing his face twisted in pain and sweat pouring from his forehead, Maki grew genuinely nervous.
She wanted to help, but had no idea where to begin.
"Kiriya, what should I do?"
"Put my hand on my chest," he said through clenched teeth. "Then contact Gojo."
Maki immediately followed his instructions.
The moment she lifted his arm, however, the muscles began spasming violently beneath her fingers.
She froze.
"Keep going."
"Right."
Maki drew a breath and carefully lowered his hand onto his chest.
’Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality.’
Green light bloomed from his palm.
A faint sizzling sound filled the grove as white steam began rising from his body.
The blackened burns rapidly faded, while the torn flesh closed, knitted together, and formed fresh scabs.
This was one of the greatest advantages of possessing abilities from several different worlds.
The Eight Gates had almost completely drained Kiriya’s physical stamina, but he still had some mental energy left.
He could use that to cast the healing magic he had acquired in Orario, saving himself a great deal of recovery time.
As his breathing gradually became deeper and steadier, Maki finally relaxed.
Remembering his other request, she sent Gojo a message telling him that Kiriya was alive.
’He’s injured this badly, yet he’s still completely calm.’
Maki found herself staring at his face.
’What a strange man.’
Extraordinary martial skill.
A healing ability similar to Reverse Cursed Technique.
Some form of instantaneous teleportation.
The mysteries surrounding him only seemed to multiply.
While Maki’s thoughts wandered, the green light faded.
It was not that Kiriya had fully recovered. He had simply used almost all of his remaining mental energy and could no longer maintain Everflowing Vitality.
"How do you feel?" Maki asked quickly.
"Better."
Kiriya tested his body.
His muscles and tendons still felt as though they had been torn apart, and his eyelids were growing unbearably heavy.
"I should be fine after I rest for a while."
Maki looked at his completely exhausted body, hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind.
She slipped one arm beneath his knees, the other behind his back, and lifted him into a princess carry.
Kiriya stared at her.
He had only just told Geto that he would accept being carried if it were by a pretty girl.
Apparently, the universe had taken him seriously.
"Don’t misunderstand," Maki said, turning her face away. "This is just special treatment for an injured teammate."
"Thanks."
Kiriya had always treated kindness with kindness, and his opinion of Maki rose another level.
"You don’t have to—Whoa!"
A dark figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
Startled, Maki immediately dropped Kiriya, drew her spear, and moved protectively in front of him.
The entire sequence was smooth, fast, and instinctive.
Kiriya lay on the ground in silence.
He wanted to curse, but after seeing how quickly she had placed herself between him and the possible threat, he could not bring himself to complain.
He could only blame his own terrible luck.
"You idi—oh. It’s you."
Maki nearly called him a stupid blindfolded teacher, but managed to stop herself at the last second.
"Don’t just appear out of nowhere! You scared the hell out of me!"
The newcomer was Gojo.
After receiving Ijichi’s report, he had immediately rushed to the ruined shopping district.
It had taken him less than a second to identify the cursed-energy residue left at the scene.
Suguru Geto.
A former special-grade sorcerer, now a curse user—and once Gojo’s closest friend.
Kiriya had encountered Geto.
The scale of destruction had immediately filled Gojo with unease, especially when he found no trace of the boy anywhere in the area.
He had begun searching frantically.
The moment Maki’s message arrived, Gojo returned to the school without wasting another second.
Maki had expected him to brush off her complaint with his usual carefree grin and a few terrible jokes.
Instead, Gojo’s expression remained completely serious.
He ignored her entirely and looked down at Kiriya, carefully examining him until he confirmed that the boy’s life was not in danger.
Only then did the tension leave his shoulders.
"Ijichi filled me in."
Gojo exhaled.
"You really know how to surprise people, kid."
"Don’t blame me," Kiriya said with a faint grimace. "How was I supposed to know that a routine exorcism would end with me running into that guy?"
"I’m the one who should be complaining."
"Enough. Don’t act like you got nothing out of it."
Gojo lightly patted his shoulder.
Kiriya’s face immediately twitched from the pain.
"Going head-to-head with a special-grade sorcerer’s full-power attack at your age... you’re starting to remind me of myself back then."
Kiriya’s mouth pulled to one side.
Even when complimenting someone else, Gojo somehow managed to make himself the standard of comparison.
The worst part was that Kiriya could not even argue with him!
"Wait."
Maki looked between them, initially struggling to follow the conversation.
Then her eyes widened.
"Him? He fought a special-grade sorcerer?"
"Yeah," Kiriya said casually. "I ran into a man named Suguru Geto. We exchanged a few moves."
His tone was understated enough to sound effortless, but still carried exactly the right amount of quiet pride.
Gojo rewarded the performance with an approving thumbs-up.
"You..."
Maki stared at him in a daze.
"You’re already that strong?"
So their spar earlier really had been nothing more than a game to him.
She had thought the distance between them was something she could cross with enough training.
Now she realized it was more like the distance between earth and sky.