Fear of the Strongest

"I am telling you, I saw a handsome guy today."

A girl with faint freckles leaned close to Riko Amanai, speaking with bright excitement.

"He was seriously handsome. He could put every celebrity in Japan to shame right now. Especially his eyes. They were pale like moonlight. He looked like an angel."

The girl practically had stars in her eyes.

Listening to her description, Riko immediately thought of Ren's cold face. Those pale eyes were like beacons in the night, capable of shining directly into her heart.

Young girls always had room for poetry in their feelings. Riko was no exception.

Looking at her friend's infatuated expression, the smile on Riko's face widened.

I have not only seen that handsome guy. He held me.

Her face flushed. Her fingers unconsciously kneaded the hem of her clothes.

Her heart felt strange. She was not the kind of person who normally became lovestruck, yet every time she thought of Ren, she felt an indescribable sense of safety.

It was as if when she stood behind him, she was only Riko Amanai.

Then she remembered why Ren and the others had come, and her gaze dimmed.

The restless feeling in her heart slowly quieted.

Bang.

The chapel door was suddenly pushed open.

"Amanai!"

An anxious voice came from outside. Every gaze in the chapel turned toward the sound, and the noisy room instantly fell silent.

"Wh-what?"

Riko recognized the voice immediately. She pressed both hands to her chest and prayed silently while slowly looking toward the chapel entrance.

Then something in her heart seemed to crack.

Was that the last bit of shame I had left?

"Wow, is he a high school boy? He is so tall."

"Is he your boyfriend? He is pretty handsome."

"What is happening? Riko? Boyfriend?"

"No wonder she did not join our discussion just now. She already has such a handsome boyfriend."

Riko had no idea why Gojo had come for her at this time. She could only wave her hands desperately, trying to glue her shattered shame back together.

"No. He is my cousin. My cousin."

Her classmates clearly did not accept the explanation. Riko's face became red with anger or embarrassment, which only made their guesses feel more convincing.

"Youth is nice."

Gojo saw the situation inside and stopped rushing. Instead, he leisurely removed his sunglasses and spread his charm without restraint.

"He took off his sunglasses."

"He is so handsome."

"I cannot handle this."

Riko was angry and amused at the same time.

"Hey, do not get so pleased with yourself."

"Quiet. Everyone, quiet."

The teacher, who had almost no presence until then, clapped her hands and made the class settle down.

Riko suddenly felt the teacher was her savior. Otherwise, she might have died socially on the spot.

Then she noticed something wrong with the teacher's face.

"Miss, you are interested too, aren't you?"

The teacher wiped sweat from her face and smiled smugly.

You little girls are no match for my makeup skills.

Apparently, while everyone's attention had been drawn to Gojo, she had taken out makeup she had not used in a long time and touched up her face.

Riko covered her face. She felt she had no dignity left at school.

"Even if you are her relative, you cannot just walk in here," the teacher said.

"Sorry," Gojo said, finally remembering his mission and putting his sunglasses back on. "The situation is urgent, so..."

Before he could explain, the teacher handed him a note with her phone number.

"This violates school rules," Riko shouted. "You are a teacher and you like young men? I did not think you were that kind of person."

Gojo clearly had not expected the young girls to be this enthusiastic. He went straight to Riko, grabbed her, and fled the chapel.

"Curse users have already arrived," he said. "I recommend returning to Jujutsu High immediately. That is the only way to ensure your safety."

"You do not want your friends getting hurt, do you?"

Riko did not argue. She let Gojo carry her away quietly.

At the same time, Geto was facing two curse users inside the school building.

Small creatures emerged from the ceiling and walls of the corridor with strange cries.

Shikigami?

Geto looked at them without much caution. Things of that level could be destroyed with a wave of his hand. The ones worth noticing were the four figures behind them, each wearing a box over his head.

"Cursed Spirit Manipulation?" the aged man who summoned the shikigami said.

He recognized Geto's technique at a glance and began thinking of countermeasures.

"People who live long really do see a lot," Geto said.

Although he sounded complimentary, his body had already lowered slightly into a defensive stance.

"Stop wasting time. Attack."

The box-headed man behind Geto rushed forward. Four bodies formed a V-shaped encirclement around him.

Idiot, the aged man cursed inwardly.

But things had already reached this point. He had to act.

The small creatures in the corridor shot forward. The aged man did not expect them to injure Geto. He only needed them to stall him for a moment.

He rushed at Geto himself.

If the technique belonged to a manipulation type, close combat had to be weak.

He only needed to shorten the distance and finish the fight quickly.

Geto saw the attack and was not surprised. He stepped sideways toward the wall.

The ceiling shattered.

A worm-like cursed spirit as thick as a vat fell from above and swallowed all the small creatures at once.

The sudden cursed spirit froze the aged man in place.

The school corridor was not narrow, but this cursed spirit's body occupied nearly two-thirds of it. Fighting with it here was practically unfair.

The box-headed man's charge slowed. Goosebumps crawled over his body. Every organ was telling him one thing.

That cursed spirit would kill him.

He did not give up on the assassination. Instead, he split off another body, trying to let it escape the battle while the remaining four continued fighting.

"Running now is a little late."

As Geto finished speaking, the huge worm-like cursed spirit moved at a speed that did not match its size. It charged toward the box-headed man with its mouth open, teeth exposed.

"Good chance."

The aged man saw the cursed spirit being drawn away and rushed at Geto. His body shot forward like a leopard.

"Die."

Just as he was about to land the blow, his eyes changed.

"Tasuke?"

For some reason, he saw his childhood companion.

An Akita named Tasuke.

His mind returned to his high school years. Back then, he had been alone. His parents gave all their love to his younger brother and treated him like a stranger. His classmates hated him because he could see curses. They called him mad.

That had been the darkest period of his life.

Every day after school, he would rather crouch by the street than return to a home where he felt no warmth.

Until Tasuke appeared.

Whenever he felt lonely and helpless, only Tasuke stayed with him. To him, Tasuke had been family.

Seeing Tasuke again, he could not suppress his emotions. He squatted down, looking at it silently while tears rose in his eyes.

For that moment, he forgot his identity and mission.

He only wanted to sit down with Tasuke and talk.

"Woof."

Tasuke stood, shook its fur, and looked at him gently before turning its head, as if telling him to follow.

The aged man did not hesitate. He stood and wiped his eyes.

Then he realized his fist was strong, and his skin was firm and youthful. It was completely different from his aged body.

"Tasuke, wait for me."

He ran forward, unwilling to let Tasuke leave him again.

In reality, before his punch could land, Geto caught him in a reverse hold, broke his neck with a right hook, then struck twice more, sending the man into his life's final memories.

"Was it... bait?"

"More or less," Geto said. "You looked like you could not resist charging in, so I satisfied you."

The aged man died still unwilling to believe he had been killed by a young man. Yet the eyes staring at Geto also carried relief.

That puzzled Geto.

Then the Killing Stone responded. A coldness seeped from it, followed by anger, regret, loneliness, and other emotions pouring into Geto's body.

"Why did father and mother only love my brother?"

"I am not a monster. I am not a monster."

"You are the mad ones. Why did none of you believe me?"

"Why did those sorcerers have inheritances while I had to figure everything out by myself? It is not fair."

The emotions circled Geto like demonic whispers, making him irritable.

"Enough."

His fist slammed into the wall like a cannonball. Dust scattered through the corridor, as messy as his mood.

After calming himself, he received feedback from his cursed spirit.

"It did not kill the box-headed man?"

"Then forget it. The important thing is to regroup with Gojo and Ren."

He sensed their direction and quickly left the school building.

On the rooftop, the box-headed man lay flat and watched Geto leave.

He had finally survived.

"This mission is a trap. I almost threw my life away."

He still felt lingering fear from being chased by the cursed spirit. If not for the wider space outside, he might have died.

As for the aged man, dead was dead. People like them lived with death hanging over their heads. That man had been old enough.

"Are you looking for something?"

A voice sounded behind him.

It was clear, cold, and teasing.

Every hair on the box-headed man's body stood up. A chill shot straight up his spine. Even his mask lifted slightly from his hair.

Who?

Was it Geto? Gojo?

Or...

Him.

A figure like a demon from hell appeared in his mind. He seemed to see pale eyes watching him as if he were an insect.

His brain screamed at his limbs to run, but his body stood disconnected from him. He could not move.

Move. Move.

He felt like prey frozen before a predator, stiff and trembling on the ground.

Ren looked at the box-headed man lying there and smiled faintly.

After making such a commotion, a mouse still escaped.

"Do you not know that when someone speaks to you, you should look at them?"

Bitterness rose in the box-headed man's heart.

Forget looking back. He could not even stand.

Ren's footsteps came closer, each one seeming to step on his heart. Fear deepened.

The box-headed man had killed many people as a curse user, but at this moment, he wanted to call for help.

His throat could not even make a sound.

It was as if, in front of this being, even his right to speak had been taken.

He remembered falling into seawater when he was young. The dead sea had swallowed his body, his mind, even his soul, burying everything in a void that did not exist.

Despair grew heavier with every footstep.

His eyes opened wide. His breathing became rough and broken. His body trembled uncontrollably on the ground.

Being able to move did not bring joy. It only brought deeper terror.

"I... I am..."

He tried to beg for mercy, but spasms made it impossible to form a complete sentence.

No.

I cannot breathe.

He grabbed his throat with both hands, as if that could help air enter. White foam spilled from his mouth. His eyes rolled upward.

At the final moment of his life, he never saw the owner of that voice.

Then he died.

Ren stared at the corpse, somewhat confused.

If his senses had not told him the creature on the ground was already dead, he might have suspected a trap.

"Boring."

He had wanted to see this somewhat interesting character from the original story. He had not expected him to be such a coward.

A light wind blew across the rooftop, as if carrying away all traces.

Only a cold corpse remained.

x

x

x

If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader