The second the taxi stopped, Yukinoshita Haruno clutched her mouth and rushed out, barely making it to the roadside greenery before throwing up.
At the same time, another slender figure did the exact same thing, almost in sync with her.
Yukinoshita Haruno: "Ugh…"
Amanai Riko: "Ugh…"
The two girls, separated by some distance, vomited in perfect harmony.
Kuroi Misato, who had just stepped out of the black sedan, looked slightly unwell herself, but not as bad as Amanai Riko.
However, when she saw the person who had been relentlessly chasing them also bent over vomiting alongside the young lady, her expression turned a bit… complicated.
Was this person really here to kill them?
She just looked like another student, just like the young lady…
Once the two were done emptying their stomachs, Kuroi Miri handed Amanai Riko a bottle of mineral water and some tissues so she could rinse her mouth and wipe her face.
But Yukinoshita Haruno had no one to offer her the same kindness.
After rinsing her mouth, Amanai Riko hesitated for a moment before handing over the half-full bottle of water she had just used, along with a few tissues.
"Ah, thanks."
Yukinoshita Haruno, a bit surprised, took the bottle and tissues.
After freshening up, she once again carried the poised and elegant demeanor of a beautiful young lady.
"You really saved me there." She smiled as she thanked her.
"You're welcome… You're not here to kill me, are you?" Amanai Riko asked cautiously, studying the pretty older girl.
"How do you know I'm not?" Yukinoshita Haruno said with an amused expression.
Seeing Amanai Riko's face pale as she took two steps back, she suddenly burst into laughter.
"But no, I'm not. That guy is."
"Huh?"
Amanai Riko froze for a moment.
Standing beside her, Kuroi Misato reacted first. She quickly turned around and saw a man with brown hair and a sharp, gaunt face appear in her view.
He was silent, his gaze cold and unfriendly.
Now, this was how an attacker was supposed to look.
Sonoda Shigeru was a little surprised when he saw Yukinoshita Haruno.
He had assumed she was just a rebellious teenager, but for her to show up here at a time like this—she was clearly more than that.
He didn't dwell on it.
If Yukinoshita Haruno was standing in his way, that meant she was the enemy.
No need to hesitate.
Just wipe out whatever obstacle was in front of him, like a strong wind blowing away fallen leaves.
"Lady Riko, he's the enemy!" Kuroi Misato shielded Amanai Riko behind her. "Please stay behind me! I will protect you!"
Looks like it's time for you to act.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need to remind me." Yukinoshita Haruno waved her hand dismissively.
Under Amanai Riko's bewildered gaze, she muttered to herself like a lunatic, "By the way, where are the people who were supposed to be on guard duty?"
"Who… are you talking to?" Amanai Riko asked blankly, suddenly feeling like this older girl wasn't all that normal either.
"The demon in my head." Yukinoshita Haruno smiled and tapped her temple before stepping in front of Kuroi Misato.
Sonoda Shigeru looked at the short-haired girl blocking his way and spoke in a deep voice, "I thought you were just a rebellious teenager."
"I was," Yukinoshita Haruno shrugged, "but then I just so happened to overhear your shady Planets Sect's evil plan. And, well, I'm a kind person—I can't just stand by and let a cult murder an innocent girl."
She spread her hands helplessly.
"So really, this is your fault."
"You're right," Sonoda Shigeru said, his voice calm. "I should've realized you were a jujutsu sorcerer."
Behind him, several dark portals suddenly opened.
From within, snarling wolf heads made of black mist lunged at the short-haired girl.
Her first instinct was to dodge, but then she remembered—
Behind her stood Amanai Riko and Kuroi Misato.
If she moved, they would take the full brunt of the attack.
Her body froze in place as if it had taken root in the ground.
"Uh…" So what am I supposed to do now? Yukinoshita Haruno stood stiffly. "Hurry, hurry, hurry… help me…"
Inside her soul's domain, a black-haired young man sighed and lifted his hand.
In the real world, Yukinoshita Haruno's body mirrored the motion.
The black mist wolves instantly scattered and vanished.
For the first time, Sonoda Shigeru's expression shifted to one of surprise.
Can you be any more embarrassing?
Hayashizaki's unimpressed voice rang in Yukinoshita Haruno's head.
"It's my first time, okay? This is normal for a first time," she laughed awkwardly.
Who would've guessed this guy could just summon wolves out of nowhere?
Wouldn't it be easier if we just fought with our fists?
"I didn't expect you to be this strong," Sonoda Shigeru admitted, his expression growing serious. "You're no nameless sorcerer, are you?"
"Maybe you're stronger than me, but that doesn't mean I'll back down."
His past self had long since died.
All that remained was the purpose given to him by the Planets Sect.
Yukinoshita Haruno twitched her lips, sweat forming on her forehead.
"She seems really strong, Lady Riko. We can relax for now," Kuroi Misato said.
"Oh! So she's the bodyguard sent by Master Tengen?"
Hearing their conversation behind her, Yukinoshita Haruno's toes curled in embarrassment.
She was struggling to keep the smile on her face.
Please, I beg you, stop talking. This is so embarrassing!
But she had no time to reset her emotions—
Sonoda Shigeru had already charged forward.
Yukinoshita Haruno's figure suddenly blurred.
Then, two identical copies of herself split away from her body.
They were no longer afterimages but solid entities, rushing forward to meet the brown-haired man head-on.
"C-Clones?!" Amanai Riko gasped.
Hearing her reaction, Yukinoshita Haruno turned her head and shouted, "Why are you two still here?! Find a place to hide!"
"But you looked really strong, so we thought we didn't need to run…" Amanai Riko answered honestly.
Yukinoshita Haruno: "..."
"Ahem, let's go, Miss." Kuroi Misato coughed twice and quickly pulled her aside.
With no distractions, Yukinoshita Haruno could finally focus on fighting the man in front of her.
She turned around to see that her two clones were already engaged in battle with Sonoda Shigeru. However, in just a blink of an eye, they were torn apart by the black mist wolf heads attacking from tricky angles.
In her mind, she could hear Hayashizaki's mocking laughter: "Hahaha! This is what happens when you slack off. No skill, yet still trying to play the hero. What a joke!"
It suddenly dawned on Yukinoshita Haruno—back at the bar, Hayashizaki's teasing tone had been referring to this.
This was definitely his way of getting back at her for always skipping training!
And she couldn't even argue against it. After all, she had brought this upon herself. It was frustrating, but she had no choice but to accept it.
"Yukino says you're way better than her. She can't keep up with you in any area. But looking at it now, I'm not so sure. At least when it comes to sorcery, she's doing a lot better than you," Hayashizaki said with a smirk.
"...A younger sister being stronger than her older sister—isn't that a good thing?"
Even though Yukinoshita Haruno said that, her eyes grew more serious as she looked at Sonoda Shigeru.
He had easily taken care of her two clones. While she was talking with Hayashizaki, he had already closed the distance and was reaching out to grab the pale, slender neck of the short-haired girl.
Yukinoshita Haruno stepped back, her figure flickering.
She caught his approaching hand, and a white afterimage ghosted through the brown-haired man's body, reforming into a solid figure behind him.
Sonoda Shigeru noticed the clone appearing behind him, but he ignored it. His free left hand, covered in a fierce wolf head, swung toward Yukinoshita Haruno's stomach, ready to exchange blows.
But to his surprise, the short-haired girl suddenly lunged forward, crashing into him with her shoulder.
She grabbed Sonoda Shigeru's right arm and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him hard into the ground before quickly jumping back.
The clone rushed past Yukinoshita Haruno, heading straight for the brown-haired man, who was scrambling to get up. A fist wrapped in sorcery energy smashed into his face.
The punch landed cleanly, and the clone immediately retreated, leaving behind another white afterimage that dashed toward him.
At the same time, several wolf head illusions came crashing down from above, slamming into the ground where the clone had just been, dissolving into black mist.
Sonoda Shigeru staggered back a few steps from the clone's punch. Before he could steady himself, another white afterimage materialized in front of him, its fist burning with cursed energy as it struck again.
Meanwhile, the first clone that dodged the attack charged forward once more.
Unlike before, with two clones attacking at the same time, Sonoda Shigeru was now struggling just to defend himself.
He was completely caught in Yukinoshita Haruno's attack rhythm. The more he fought, the more enemies seemed to appear, leaving him no time to catch his breath—only to block attack after attack.
But these attacks weren't without cost.
Blood had already stained one side of Yukinoshita Haruno's abdomen—an injury from when Sonoda Shigeru got too close, his wolf head illusion biting into her flesh.
His technique seemed to be a unique kind of shikigami summoning. While it didn't cause much damage to the environment, it was extremely effective against both humans and curses. A single touch could injure.
The short-haired girl clutched her wound tightly, gritting her teeth to hold back a scream.
Even though Sonoda Shigeru had taken several punches from the clones, his face swollen red, Yukinoshita Haruno's injuries were more serious overall.
Her wound was already affecting her movement.
Hayashizaki still showed no intention of stepping in. He wanted to see how far the girl could go on sheer willpower alone.
Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly turned pale, her whole body looking noticeably weaker.
Several vicious wolf head illusions burst from Sonoda Shigeru's body, slamming into the five clones surrounding him.
They tore straight through the clones' chests, leaving gaping holes.
In an instant, five clones were wiped out, and Yukinoshita Haruno's cursed energy was drained drastically. Her face turned even paler.
Sonoda Shigeru didn't come out unscathed either—his sudden outburst of power had taken a toll on him.
But overall, he had come out on top.
Breathing heavily, Sonoda Shigeru looked at the tense short-haired girl and grinned slightly.
"Looks like this fight... is mine."
After catching his breath for a moment, he straightened up and took slow steps toward Yukinoshita Haruno. "This is what happens when you underestimate your opponent."
Sonoda Shigeru raised his hand, and thick black mist swirled behind him. A fierce-looking wolf's head emerged from the darkness, its red eyes glowing with a menacing light.
If he swung his hand down, his shikigami would charge forward and kill the short-haired girl who had only briefly crossed paths with him.
And he had no intention of holding back.
Anything standing in his way had to be eliminated.
"So… is this the end?" The short-haired girl suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
"Yeah. This is the end," Sonoda Shigeru said, his expression fading into a cold calm as he lowered his hand.
But the next second, his eyes widened in shock.
The wolf's head lunging at the girl was crushed into mist by a giant hand that had suddenly shot up from the ground. At the same time, the ground beneath him rippled with dark waves, and several pale, corpse-like hands reached out, pinning him down.
What the hell?!
What just happened?!
Wasn't her technique supposed to be clones?
His mind was in chaos until he suddenly heard relaxed voices chatting behind him.
"Hey, good thing we made it in time. That short-haired brat is the Star Plasma Vessel, right?"
"Of course not. Did you even read the reports?"
"You could've just read them yourself."
"Sigh, Gojo… Never mind, we'll talk about this later."
"So, this guy—Q? Or the Time Vessel Association?"
"Probably the Time Vessel Association. If he were with Q, his outfit would be even weirder."
Two tall young men approached the brown-haired man who was now completely immobilized by the pale hands. One of them, with white hair and wearing sunglasses, crouched down to get a closer look at him.
Sonoda Shigeru's composed expression shattered in an instant. His face twisted with rage as he struggled violently, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Gojo Satoru, who flinched slightly in surprise.
"Why?! Every time I'm about to succeed, someone always shows up to stop me!" Sonoda Shigeru roared in a hoarse voice.
He had been so close—just one more step. If he had killed that meddling girl, he could have eliminated the Star Plasma Vessel and removed the impurity blocking Master Tengen's evolution.
That way, all of humanity could have become one with Master Tengen.
He was just one step away!
Why?!
Sonoda Shigeru's eyes burned with frustration.
…
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