Chapter 7 (Patreon)

“That really wasn’t enough to entertain this King... mongrel.”

After Ragnar Kagenou finished dealing with the Curse Users, Amanai Riko could only stare at him in silence.

Compared to him, her own chuunibyou suddenly felt downright modest.

Beep beep~

“Hm?”

At a time like this, who would even be messaging them?

“It’s from Kuroi.”

The moment the message was opened, the attached photo made everything clear.

Kuroi Misato had been captured by a Curse User.

Amanai Riko’s face turned pale. “W-What do we do?! Kuroi, she...!”

Ragnar immediately brought Amanai Riko back to regroup with Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru.

Kuroi had been kidnapped.

Judging by the timing, it must have happened while they were splitting off to reunite with Geto.

Kuroi had let Geto leave first.

Geto Suguru pressed a hand to his forehead, clearly annoyed with himself.

“I underestimated Kuroi-san’s value to them.”

Ragnar folded his arms. “They have a hostage now. That puts us at a disadvantage.”

Gojo Satoru, however, did not look particularly shaken.

“It’s fine. This doesn’t count as a fatal mistake.”

Ragnar said calmly, “Next, they’ll most likely demand an exchange. Amanai for Kuroi.”

Gojo tilted his head. “Or they’ll tell us to kill Amanai, or they kill the hostage.”

Geto spoke in a low voice. “Even so, control over the exchange is still in our hands. As long as we prepare properly beforehand, we can turn it around.”

Ragnar glanced at him. “A substitution?”

Gojo snapped his fingers. “Bingo.”

Once the basic plan had been decided, Amanai Riko immediately made her dissatisfaction known.

She insisted on going with them.

Gojo frowned. “You brat, why are you still throwing a fit at a time like this?”

Amanai Riko bit her lip.

“B-But if you don’t save her in time, then I... I still haven’t said goodbye to her.”

As she spoke, her expression slowly dimmed.

Tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes.

That instantly left all three of them at a loss.

Even Gojo Satoru started to feel like maybe he had pushed too hard.

“The kidnappers will contact us soon,” he said.

Amanai Riko lifted her head. “Which means...?”

Ragnar answered without softening it.

“If we bring you along, there’s a high chance Kuroi will be killed. So you stay with us.”

Geto Suguru fell silent.

Even so, Gojo still forced himself to say the part that mattered most.

“Once the arrow leaves the bow, there’s no taking it back. Even if you regret it afterward, no one’s going to listen.”

Amanai took a breath, steadying herself.

“...No problem.”

Then, right on cue—

“A message came in!”

She looked down at it, then froze.

“The location is... Okinawa.”

Okinawa

By the time they arrived, Kuroi Misato had already been rescued.

Kuroi lowered her head in embarrassment. “I’m deeply ashamed.”

When they had rushed to the location the kidnappers specified, they had expected some dangerous organization.

In the end, it turned out to be nothing more than a handful of low-level Curse Users.

Ragnar had kicked the door open, unleashed a volley from the Gate of Babylon, and wiped them out on the spot.

That was the entire incident.

It barely even qualified as an interruption.

“Well,” Ragnar said lightly, “don’t blame yourself too much. For now, just enjoy the beach and the sun.”

He was lying back in a beach chair, wearing sunglasses, a blue cardigan shirt, white jeans, and gold accessories on his wrists and neck.

In one hand, he held an iced soda.

From where he lounged beneath the shade, he watched the others playing by the sea.

Kuroi looked toward him. “Then... when we came here by plane, were there any signs of enemies?”

Ragnar took a relaxed sip from his drink.

“Don’t worry. With Gojo Satoru’s eyes on watch, there won’t be a problem.”

And that was not all.

Gojo’s Six Eyes had been monitoring things the entire time, and Geto Suguru had also kept the Rainbow Dragon following alongside the aircraft as an added precaution.

Kuroi Misato still looked uneasy.

“Could the enemy be planning to seize the airport?”

Geto Suguru stepped under the parasol and answered calmly.

“If they want to keep the young lady from making it back before tomorrow night’s full moon, that would be one obvious option.”

Ragnar answered before the mood could sink.

“It’s fine. We weren’t the only ones sent. There are others guarding it.”

At that very moment, two overworked Jujutsu Sorcerers were indeed standing watch at the airport, suffering quietly for the mission.

Ragnar clicked his tongue.

“What a pleasant sea breeze. What a nice sun. It would be perfect if those two idiots over there weren’t giggling so loudly.”

Geto came over and sat beside him.

“It’s not so bad. At least they’re energetic.”

“That much is true.”

Ragnar looked toward the shore.

Amanai Riko and Gojo Satoru were currently chasing each other around like children.

Worse still, the two of them were holding a sea cucumber for some reason and laughing like fools.

After playing around for a while, Gojo suddenly said, “Geto, Ragnar, let’s head back tomorrow morning.”

Geto immediately noticed it.

Gojo looked exhausted.

He had kept his technique active all day without really resting.

The two of them muttered something to each other, and in the end, the ones guarding the airport were the real victims again.

After that, everyone spent the rest of the day in Okinawa before finally returning to Tokyo.

Then came the final four hours.

And also the most dangerous four hours.

Day Three of the Escort Mission

The day of Amanai Riko’s assimilation with Tengen-sama

At the foot of Mt. Mushiro, Tokyo Jujutsu High.

Ragnar looked around for a while, then raised a brow.

“So this is Jujutsu High? It doesn’t seem all that different from an ordinary school.”

Geto Suguru smiled faintly.

“That’s precisely the point. The more ordinary and inconspicuous it looks, the harder it is for Curse Users to target it.”

Gojo Satoru grinned. “Exactly. Plain on the outside, but hiding a lot underneath.”

At last, Ragnar and the others followed the path marked by the torii gates deeper inside.

When they reached the platform, Geto stopped.

“Everyone’s done enough. This is far enough.”

“The rest is simply a matter of waiting. Once the time comes, Riko’s assimilation with Tengen-sama will be complete.”

As he said this, his gaze shifted toward Ragnar Kagenou.

Ragnar naturally noticed.

But his attention was not on Geto.

It was on Amanai Riko.

If she truly did not want this—

Then he would take her away.

On the other hand, if she genuinely chose assimilation from the bottom of her heart, then he could only respect that decision.

Amanai Riko, however, raised her arms and said brightly,

“Now I can finally relax.”

Ragnar walked toward her.

Amanai lifted her face and looked at him.

It was almost as though she already knew what he was about to say.

Geto Suguru instinctively started to step forward.

But Gojo Satoru raised a hand and stopped him.

In the end, Geto did not interfere.

“It’s fine,” Gojo said quietly. “This is part of her mission too.”

Amanai Riko acted like she did not care.

Like it was all settled.

Like none of it mattered.

But no one gave up their own life that easily.

No matter what they said.

Ragnar stopped in front of her.

“If you don’t want to—”

“Ran, what are you talking about?”

She cut him off almost immediately.

“The time’s almost here, so— mmph!”

She tried to keep speaking in that same indifferent tone.

But the cracks were already showing.

The struggle inside her had already surfaced.

That refusal to disappear.

That instinct to live.

“Hmph.”

In the next instant, a golden ripple burst open behind Ragnar—

And its target was Gojo Satoru.

Everything happened too fast.

No one reacted in time.

What was this?

Why had Ragnar suddenly attacked Gojo?

Geto Suguru’s thoughts had not even caught up yet. His body was already too slow to move.

Gojo Satoru, however, saw it immediately.

His eyes sharpened.

“The target... isn’t me?”

Because with the Six Eyes, he could see it clearly.

Ragnar’s gaze and his flow of Cursed Energy were not locked onto Gojo at all.

They were fixed on—

Behind him.

“There’s someone there!”

Gojo reacted instantly, but the fatigue weighing down his body kept him from moving at full speed.

Swoosh!

The golden Noble Phantasm tore through the air like a flash of light and shot straight toward the dark figure hiding behind Gojo Satoru.