"Moshi moshi, Suguru, I'm finished on my end." Standing on a bridge that was still mostly intact, Mugi Sanro was on the call with Suguru Geto.
"Received. I'm finished on my end too. Satoru is going back to pick up Shoko, and I'll come get you."
"Okay." Mugi Sanro nodded.
"Mhm, wait for me right there."
Beep beep—
The call hung up. Mugi Sanro walked over to the edge of the bridge, reached out to grab the railing, gave a strong push, and sat up on it.
This mission rating was so simple, so simple it was boring.
[Host, there is still a hidden cursed spirit here.]
System 001 chimed in to remind him.
"Did 001 come too?" Mugi Sanro dangled his legs.
It seems things aren't so simple this time.
I knew those higher-ups wouldn't be that nice. It seems drawing that tie with Satoru and the others before still caught their attention.
Mugi Sanro sneered. It must have been hard for them to hold back for so long.
If he had known, he wouldn't have called Suguru.
"001, am I going to die?" Mugi Sanro asked in a calm tone.
[Please do not underestimate my professionalism, Host.]
[Allowing the Host to be bullied to death by outsiders is something only trash could do.]
"Hahahahahahaha..." Mugi Sanro actually heard disdain and dissatisfaction in System 001's unchanging mechanical voice.
"I get it." Mugi Sanro wiped away the tears overflowing from the corners of his eyes, but soon more tears streamed out of his eye sockets, racing one another.
"Hey, 001, turns out the thing I fear most in my heart is actually the deaths of Grandpa and Auntie's family?"
Mugi Sanro stared at the scene before him, asking softly.
[This is a special-grade over-grudged cursed spirit that turns human beings' deepest fears into illusions and gains power from human fear.]
The system did not answer his question directly.
"Born from darkness, darker than darkness, defilement and impurities, cleanse them all away."
Mugi Sanro cast a *Veil*.
Restrictions: Sorcerers Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo cannot enter; sorcerer Mugi Sanro cannot leave until he kills the special-grade over-grudged cursed spirit; the special-grade over-grudged cursed spirit cannot leave.
………………
"Damn it!"
Outside the *Veil*, Suguru Geto clenched his fists and slammed them hard against the *Veil*.
"Moshi moshi, Suguru, why aren't you and Sanro here yet? Don't tell me you got infected by Sanro and can't find your way either? So lame..."
"Sanro's evaluation mission went wrong. He's currently inside the *Veil* with a special-grade cursed spirit." Suguru Geto interrupted Satoru Gojo, his tone hardly what one could call pleasant.
"...I'm taking Shoko back first." Satoru Gojo left behind those words and hung up the phone.
Yet hearing that ambiguous remark somehow brought Suguru Geto a shred of reassurance.
He gripped the phone, leaning against the *Veil*.
Survive, Sanro.
Suguru Geto thought.
………………
"System, I suddenly feel like this 'shedding tears whenever cursed energy is used' buff is really annoying." Mugi Sanro wiped the tears from his face, along with the blood at the corner of his mouth.
[Then I shall help the Host eliminate it.]
"No need, leave it." Mugi Sanro jumped high, dodging an attack launched by the cursed spirit.
If he got rid of this buff and ended up crying sadly the next time he saw them, he wouldn't have any excuses left.
[Understood, Host.]
"Mhm."
………………
"Suguru!" Satoru Gojo arrived at the battlefield, walking quickly to Suguru Geto's side, placing a hand on his shoulder and pressing down firmly.
"I'm fine." Suguru Geto also reached out and patted his shoulder.
"I was a step slow when I got here. Sanro had already cast the *Veil*, and I could only see him and that cursed spirit before the *Veil* completely formed."
Suguru Geto reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "That cursed spirit seems to use illusions as its only means of attack. It got right up close to Sanro's face, but Sanro acted like he didn't even see it, and just reached out to cast the *Veil*."
"Looking at it that way, Sanro is fine, right?" Satoru Gojo reached out to touch the *Veil*.
"Since he still remembered to cast the *Veil*, it proves Sanro knows the thing in front of him is an illusion." Satoru Gojo withdrew his hand with a smile.
"Don't worry too much, Suguru, we're the strongest."
"Sanro is too."
"I know." Suguru Geto nodded. "But I saw it. Before Sanro cast the *Veil*, before he used any cursed energy..."
Suguru Geto hesitated slightly at that.
"I saw Sanro shed tears."
Satoru Gojo's lips pressed tightly together, pulling into a straight line.
"You're saying Sanro..." Satoru Gojo hesitated too, finding it somewhat hard to believe.
"Cried?"
………………
Bang—
Mugi Sanro was sent flying, his body slamming hard against the *Veil*.
At this moment, only a thin, dark-gray layer of the *Veil* separated him from his two peers.
"Cough cough..." Mugi Sanro pressed his hands against the ground, propping himself up as he slowly staggered to his feet.
His vision was a blur. Feeling the pain radiating through his body, Mugi Sanro made a rough guess.
*Four ribs broken, the bones in my left arm shattered, and my internal organs have all suffered varying degrees of damage.*
It hurts so much.
Mugi Sanro let out a breath with extreme care.
He slowly raised his head, looked at the cursed spirit on the ground, and limped his way over to it.
*System, help me drop the *Veil*. This cursed spirit is pretty interesting, I want to bring it back for Suguru.*
[Host, I must remind you that the bridge deck beneath your feet has long since vanished into the seawater. Once you drop the *Veil*, you won't have any support left at all.]
"It's fine." Mugi Sanro grinned.
There were no shortage of cuts on his face, either, and with that smile pulling at the muscles around his mouth, Mugi Sanro hissed in sharp pain.
"Suguru and Satoru will catch me."
………………
"Suguru." Satoru Gojo reached out and pressed down on Suguru Geto's shoulder.
His sunglasses had been taken off by their owner the moment Satoru Gojo arrived here.
"Get ready, Sanro's fight is over." Satoru Gojo let go of his hand.
Suguru Geto nodded, summoning all the cursed spirits he had that could fly or fight.
Who knew what kind of scene was playing out inside right now.
Yet...
Suguru Geto's gaze sharpened.
The moment the *Veil* vanished, Mugi Sanro plunged straight down toward the sea, just as System 001 had predicted.
That special-grade over-grudged cursed spirit was still tightly clutched in his grip.
Watching his two peers rushing toward him, Mugi Sanro managed a smile.
This was the "takeout" he'd worked so hard to catch for Suguru, after all—he couldn't let it fall into the ocean and get away.
Mugi Sanro closed his eyes, feeling his body being caught by someone.
His consciousness began to blur.
Too much blood had been lost.
"Sanro, don't sleep..." Suguru Geto reached out and gently patted Mugi Sanro's cheek.
That was the part of Mugi Sanro's entire body that had sustained the least injury.
"Suguru, if you do that, how can Sanro possibly feel it." Satoru Gojo was currently so furious he wanted nothing more than to go tear apart that group of old geezers directly, but he also knew that finding a way to keep Mugi Sanro awake right now was more important.
Without even looking, he knew what Satoru Gojo was planning to do.
Mugi Sanro sighed helplessly in his heart.
Even though he was too tired to speak, if he didn't speak up, he was going to be in big trouble.
"Gojo Satoru," he called Satoru Gojo's full name softly.
It was the first time Mugi Sanro had ever called Satoru Gojo by his full name, and Satoru Gojo's hand froze mid-air, unmoving.
"Behave yourself. If you keep shaking me, I'm really going to hurt to death." Mugi Sanro said.
"Mhm." Satoru Gojo withdrew his hand, exceptionally obediently finding a spot right beside Mugi Sanro to sit down, staying completely quiet.
"Suguru." Mugi Sanro wiggled his right hand, the one clutching the cursed spirit.
Suguru Geto looked at Mugi Sanro's right hand. What Mugi Sanro was holding was that special-grade over-grudged cursed spirit he had seen earlier.
"Look, 'takeout'."
Suguru Geto heard him say that.
The feeling of tension vanished in an instant, replaced by a vague, indescribable emotion.
Suguru Geto didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Accompanied by the sound of Satoru Gojo's loud laughter, Suguru Geto spoke with a somewhat helpless tone: "At a time like this, please don't make jokes like that..."
"Sorry." Mugi Sanro chuckled, blinking his eyes gently at Suguru Geto.
"You and Satoru look a bit scary..." Mugi Sanro explained softly. "I just wanted to lighten the mood..."
"Got it." Suguru Geto smiled too, reaching out to adjust Mugi Sanro's posture to make him more comfortable.
"I've received your 'takeout'." Suguru Geto looked at Shoko Ieiri waiting at the gates of Jujutsu High.
He lowered his head, his voice gentle: "Now, you can rest easy."
Mugi Sanro closed his eyes, a faint smile still lingering at the corners of his mouth.
Before his consciousness sank away entirely, Mugi Sanro could still hear Satoru Gojo's highly distinctive voice.
Mugi Sanro heard him shouting: "Suguru! Sanro can't sleep right now! If he falls asleep..."
Satoru Gojo didn't finish the rest of what he was going to say.
"No..." That was Suguru's voice.
Mugi Sanro's consciousness plunged entirely into darkness.