Chapter 4 (Patreon)

“What a nice day.”

Ragnar Kagenou sat behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang Boss 429, idly driving through Tokyo.

Then his gaze shifted toward the sidewalk.

“Hm? Those two…”

Even in a crowd, they stood out immediately.

One wore a blindfold and walked with the kind of casual arrogance that made it seem like the entire world belonged to him.

The other had long black hair tied back, his expression calm, composed, and almost gentle.

Ragnar narrowed his eyes.

“Satoru Gojo… Suguru Geto?”

What a coincidence.

Running into those two here of all places—

Could it be they’d already been assigned to protect Riko Amanai?

That was possible.

The day of the merger with Master Tengen was getting close, and as the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko was bound to become the center of everything soon enough.

Should he follow them and see what they were doing?

…No.

That was a terrible idea.

With the Six Eyes, Gojo would notice something that obvious immediately.

Forget it.

Maybe it wasn’t today.

Maybe they were just passing through.

Then—

BOOM!

A violent explosion tore across the outer wall of the building nearby.

A figure was hurled out through the broken opening.

It was Riko Amanai.

She had been thrown from the building by Kokun, one of the combatants from the curse user group Q.

“If you’re going to hate anyone,” Kokun sneered, “then hate Tengen.”

He laughed wildly.

At last.

The Star Plasma Vessel was finally going to die.

But just as triumph crossed his face—

Silver-white Chains of Heaven shot through the air and wrapped around Riko, catching her before she could fall.

“What?!”

The one caught off guard wasn’t just Kokun.

Even Suguru Geto and Satoru Gojo, who had been about to move, were forced to pause for a split second by the sudden appearance of the chains.

Who intervened?

A technique they didn’t recognize—

Chains?

Geto, riding atop a flying Cursed Spirit, and Gojo both followed the direction the chains had come from.

There, standing not far away, was a blond young man.

Who was he?

A jujutsu sorcerer they’d never seen before?

Or a curse user?

“You’ve got nerve,” Ragnar said coldly, his red eyes lifting toward Kokun, “trying to kill whoever you want, you mutt.”

A golden ripple opened behind him.

A single flash of light shot out.

Splat.

“Wh… what…?!”

Kokun looked down in disbelief at the hole pierced clean through his chest.

His life drained away in an instant.

It had happened too fast.

Even from where he was, Geto only managed to catch a glimpse of golden light before Kokun was nailed to the wall.

Then a voice called out toward Ragnar.

“Who… are you?”

Ragnar turned his head.

Of course.

White hair. Blue eyes hidden beneath the blindfold.

Satoru Gojo.

Ragnar looked at him lazily.

“Before asking someone else their name, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”

Gojo’s lips curled upward.

“…Interesting.”

Then he answered, almost carelessly.

“I—no, wait. I’m Satoru Gojo.”

Ragnar stared at him for a second.

That habit really was hard to break, huh?

Probably Geto’s influence.

What a pain.

“Ragnar Kagenou.”

“Ragnar… Kagenou?” Gojo tilted his head slightly. “Never heard of you.”

“Of course you haven’t. I’m just a helpful citizen passing by.”

“Eh? But you can use Cursed Energy, and that definitely wasn’t ordinary. So what are you, a curse user?”

Of course you haven’t heard of me, Ragnar thought. I only arrived in this world yesterday.

It would’ve been stranger if Gojo had known him.

He gave a helpless shrug.

“Why does everyone ask that? First, I’m not a curse user. Second, I’m just a newcomer to the jujutsu world.”

Gojo’s interest sharpened slightly.

“A newcomer, huh…”

If that was true, then Ragnar’s technique was anything but ordinary.

At that moment—

Whoosh!

Several knives infused with Cursed Energy flew toward them from the side.

Without even needing Ragnar to speak, Gojo activated Limitless.

The knives slowed to a halt before reaching him, hanging in the air as though caught by an invisible boundary.

“Impressive. Very impressive.”

A man stepped out.

It was Bayer, one of Q’s combatants.

“You must be Satoru Gojo. I’ve heard the rumors. They say you’re strong.”

He smirked.

“Let me see if that’s true.”

Gojo smiled.

“Sure.”

Then he glanced toward Ragnar.

“Wait a second. I’ll deal with him first.”

“No problem,” Ragnar replied. “He’s been an eyesore from the start.”

Bayer’s face twitched at that.

Then the fight began.

While Bayer tried provoking Gojo, Ragnar simply lowered Riko gently from the Chains of Heaven and set her down safely.

A moment later—

The fight was already over.

Bayer lay crumpled on the ground like a broken toy.

Q’s strongest combatant had been neutralized so effortlessly it was almost insulting.

With that, the organization’s collapse was only a matter of time.

“That was fast.”

Ragnar glanced at Bayer’s unconscious body, then at Gojo, who clapped his hands together like he’d done nothing at all.

Gojo grinned.

“Alright. Let’s continue our conversation.”

Ragnar gestured for him to go ahead.

“Then I’ll ask directly. Your technique is pretty interesting. Is it some kind of spatial type?”

“You’ve got a sharp eye.”

Ragnar didn’t mention the Six Eyes.

There was no need.

Besides, it was more natural this way if he was supposed to be some newcomer who knew nothing about the inner workings of the jujutsu world.

Which, technically, was true.

Gojo observed him closely.

Ragnar really didn’t seem like someone used to hiding his presence. His Cursed Energy wasn’t concealed in the polished, deliberate way trained sorcerers usually managed.

But there was still one strange part.

Even with the Six Eyes, Gojo couldn’t clearly see through the technique Ragnar was using.

That shouldn’t have happened.

Under normal circumstances, any Cursed Technique should’ve been readable to him.

Unless—

It was something entirely new.

A technique that had never appeared in history before.

“Having a sharp eye is kind of my thing,” Gojo said lightly. “You saved this girl, so that part’s fine. But I still have to ask… why?”

From the beginning, Gojo hadn’t relaxed for even a second.

Limitless remained active.

The Six Eyes remained focused.

He had been watching Ragnar’s heartbeat, expression, breathing—everything.

Ragnar answered simply.

“It’s easy. Riko Amanai is my friend.”

And strangely enough—

it was the truth.

Gojo found no sign of deception in his voice, his pulse, or his eyes.

“I see,” Gojo said. “Though if I remember right, Amanai goes to an all-girls school, so having a male friend is kind of…”

Ragnar cut in.

“Whatever her private life looks like, that’s none of our business. Once she wakes up, you can ask her yourself.”

Gojo smiled.

Then he gestured toward the upper floors.

“Fair enough. Let’s head up.”

“Works for me,” Ragnar said. “Not like I’m comfortable leaving her with you two just yet.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Ragnar picked Riko up and followed Gojo into the elevator.

Honestly, this was the life.

Why bother showing off your abilities when there was a perfectly good elevator right there?

Once upstairs, they entered the room.

Suguru Geto was sitting on the sofa, looking at his phone. When he noticed them, he raised his head.

“Satoru. He’s… the one who stepped in earlier?”

“Yep,” Gojo replied easily. “Don’t worry. He’s a friend of Amanai’s.”

Ragnar glanced around at the damaged room before carrying Riko over and setting her down beside her guardian, Misato Kuroi.

Kuroi had also been knocked unconscious by the blast, but thankfully, she didn’t appear seriously injured.

Geto stood.

“Suguru Geto.”

“Ragnar Kagenou.”

The two exchanged a brief handshake.

That was enough for an introduction.

Geto’s eyes shifted slightly.

“Satoru, you understand this mission is critical. It could affect human society itself.”

Gojo waved it off.

“It’s fine. Besides, he can use Cursed Energy, and his technique’s strong.”

To Gojo, it was simple.

At worst, they’d gained another capable ally.

But Geto saw it differently.

Ragnar was an unknown sorcerer with considerable strength.

A freelance-type sorcerer, perhaps.

And more importantly—

he was apparently close to Riko Amanai.

If someone like that decided to intervene and stop the merger with Master Tengen…

…the consequences would be impossible to predict.

In the end, Geto pushed the thought aside.

For now, their first priority was still the same.

Protect Riko Amanai.

At the same time, elsewhere in the shadows, the Star Religious Group had already hired the Sorcerer Killer—

Toji Fushiguro—

to assassinate the Star Plasma Vessel, Riko Amanai.