That Day When Suzuki-kun Wasn't the Mob-B! Chapter 480: Tengen’s Barrier and the Fortune 500 (Patreon)

Yuki didn't say a word. She just sat there in stunned silence.

The rhythmic, hollow thwack of the bamboo deer chaser echoed from the dark garden outside, a stark contrast to the heavy, suffocating stillness that had taken over the living room. The cool night breeze slipped through the open veranda, carrying the earthy scent of damp moss, but it did nothing to cool the sudden, feverish heat flushing her skin. She shifted her weight on the leather sofa, her chest rising and falling heavily beneath her tight shirt, drawing the fabric taut across her generous curves.

Her mind was racing, completely derailed by his brutal pragmatism. All this time, she had been agonizing over how to surgically cure the world of curses.

"...Do you think I'm wrong?" she finally whispered, her voice lacking its usual seductive confidence.

"No, you aren't wrong," Suzuki replied smoothly, scooping the last piece of sweet, brandy-soaked melon into his mouth. "It's just that, from my perspective, there is a much more efficient method than the two you've been obsessing over."

"What method?" Yuki asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Suzuki set his spoon down. The soft clink of the metal against ceramic sounded unnaturally loud. "Just tear down Tengen's barrier. Let the cursed energy spill out and spread across the entire globe. Let the rest of the world finally understand the nightmare we deal with every single day."

"..."

Yuki stared at him in an absolute daze, her lips parted slightly, unable to process what she had just heard.

Tengen.

Naturally, she knew of the immortal being. Tengen was a foundational pillar of jujutsu society, ancient and untouchable. Yet, Tengen's existence was built on a horrific, parasitic cycle—requiring the sacrifice of a young woman, the Star Plasma Vessel, every few centuries just to maintain their immortality and sanity.

And why was Tengen so crucial that they justified the ritual slaughter of young girls?

Because Tengen maintained the massive barriers spanning Japan. Those barriers concentrated cursed energy within the country, preventing it from bleeding out into the rest of the world. It kept the global population safe from the phenomenon of cursed spirits. But in doing so, it turned Japan into a terrifying pressure cooker, haunting the citizens of this country with an endless swarm of monsters.

If the mundane government actually understood Tengen's role, Suzuki could easily imagine them launching a full-scale military assault to assassinate the immortal. If spreading the curse pandemic to the rest of the globe meant Japan would finally know peace, the politicians would authorize the strike in a heartbeat.

"But what if we lose our power?" Yuki blurted out, her heart hammering against her ribs.

If Tengen's barrier vanished, the incredibly dense concentration of cursed energy in Japan would dissipate, spreading thin across the planet. The very reason Japanese sorcerers were born with such immense power was due to that localized density. Wouldn't the sorcerers become powerless?

"Isn't that fine?" Suzuki didn't even blink. He couldn't care less if the traditional jujutsu world lost its fangs. Even without cursed energy, he had his system, his wealth, and his intellect. He could easily dominate the mundane world and live like a king. More importantly, regardless of the ambient energy, he knew his own strength wouldn't falter. "In exchange for losing that power, didn't you get the absolute freedom you've always wanted?"

"..."

Yuki swallowed hard, the sweet taste of the melon turning dry in her throat. His words weren't wrong. If they lost their abilities but curses disappeared from Japan, they wouldn't have to fight anymore. Wasn't that her ultimate dream?

"But... even if Tengen's barrier falls, the cursed spirits won't just vanish," Yuki argued, leaning forward eagerly, the movement pressing her ample cleavage together and offering a tantalizing view, though Suzuki's eyes remained locked on hers. "They will still exist! Worse, they'll spread globally. Innocent people all over the world will be slaughtered."

"Well, thousands of young sorcerers in this country have been dying in the mud to protect those ignorant masses. Is that okay with you?" Suzuki countered, his voice cold and flat.

"..."

"What is the difference between letting the world suffer, and continuing this ancient, brutal system that sacrifices a minority to protect the majority?"

"..."

"Besides," Suzuki continued, leaning back into the cushions, "while our power might weaken slightly in the short term, I guarantee you, we will grow exponentially stronger."

"Huh?"

Seeing her beautiful, bewildered expression, Suzuki elaborated. "Right now, the cursed phenomenon is contained. But if it spreads globally, it will infect the entire human race. Eight billion people. Eight billion sources of fear, grief, anger, and malice. While the energy might be diluted at first, the sheer volume of negative human emotion worldwide will cause it to multiply. The cursed energy will grow thicker and stronger than ever before, wrapping the entire planet in a miasma. And with that abundant energy freely flowing in the atmosphere... naturally, we will grow stronger too."

"..."

Crazy.

He was absolutely insane.

That was the only thought screaming in Yuki's mind as she stared at the handsome, calm man sitting across from her.

Yet, the terrifying part was that his logic was perfect. It would act exactly like a viral pandemic. Right now, Tengen's barrier was a quarantine zone. But once the doors were blown open, the virus—cursed energy—would infect everyone. And since it was impossible to eradicate human negativity, the "virus" would only mutate and strengthen.

"By then, what do you think will happen to us?" Suzuki asked softly.

"...Millions will die," Yuki breathed out, her skin breaking out in goosebumps despite the warmth radiating from her own body. "And then... faced with the threat of extinction, humanity will be forced to evolve. They'll awaken jujutsu techniques to survive?"

She was falling back on the second theory she had considered—the forced evolution of the human race.

"No," Suzuki corrected her, a sharp, capitalistic smirk pulling at the corner of his lips. "Jujutsu sorcerer will become the most sought-after, highest-paying profession on the planet. A job that can never be replaced by AI, drones, or automation."

"..."

Was he wrong?

AI couldn't exorcise a cursed spirit. Missiles couldn't kill them. The only thing capable of fighting a curse was a sorcerer. If curses became a global threat, multinational corporations and world governments would enter a bidding war for their services. Being a sorcerer would be like holding a monopoly on a Fortune 500 company. They would rule the new world economy!

"Furthermore," Suzuki said, shattering the silence once again, "your first method—erasing cursed energy entirely—has two massive, fatal flaws."

"Flaws?" Yuki frowned, crossing her arms under her breasts, inadvertently pushing them up. She felt a flash of defensiveness over her life's work. "What flaws? If humanity has zero cursed energy, curses cease to exist. How is a peaceful world flawed?"

"First, the mechanics of it," Suzuki explained. "If you find a method to permanently erase cursed energy from the human genome, fine. But what if your solution relies on a tool, a barrier, or a mass-suppression technique? If you just suppress the energy instead of erasing it, what happens when that container can no longer hold the pressure?"

It was like inflating a balloon indefinitely. A popping balloon wasn't dangerous on its own, but if it popped next to someone having a heart attack, the shock could be lethal. If a global suppression system were to suddenly rupture, the resulting backlash would instantly give rise to powerful, dangerous curses.

"..."

"And secondly," Suzuki said, his gaze turning dark and utterly serious. "The biggest problem is the concept of 'zero cursed energy' itself."

"...What's wrong with it?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Let's say you succeed. You flip a switch, and every single human being on Earth drops to absolute zero cursed energy. What do you think happens next?" Suzuki leaned forward, the predatory intensity in his eyes making Yuki's breath hitch. "You've just turned eight billion normal humans into Maki or Toji. You've given the entire human race the Heavenly Restriction."

Yuki's eyes widened in sheer horror as the realization struck her.

"You wouldn't create a peaceful utopia," Suzuki said coldly. "You would create a world of indestructible superhumans. A completely lawless dystopia where bullets don't work, where people can punch through concrete, and where absolute, unadulterated physical might makes right."

He let the horrifying image settle over her before delivering the final blow.

"It's fine if the person holding that superhuman power is a saint. But if it's a monster? A dictator? Can you honestly guarantee that eight billion Tojis wouldn't be infinitely more dangerous than the cursed spirits we fight today?"

"..."

At least curses weren't human. Sorcerers could slaughter them without a shred of moral hesitation. But if their enemies were indestructible humans driven by greed, malice, and infinite physical power?

Could they truly bring themselves to slaughter their own kind?