Chapter 121: Betrayal and Bondage!

Chapter 121: Betrayal and Bondage!

Kyoto Prefectural Cursed Techniques High School

After the most intense battle, the two heavily damaged schools began reconstruction efforts. During this period, everyone was relocated to the relatively intact Kyoto Prefecture for better management and safety.

It was known that the cursed spirits' side had several domain-unfolding calamity spirits, not to mention the rogue special-grade cursed technician, Yagyou Jyogo. Although the overall strength of the cursed technicians, led by Gojo Satoru and Lu Ke, was overwhelming, the opposite could happen if they were not around to protect the others, who could easily be wiped out.

Therefore, the best strategy was to gather everyone in one place, with one of the two remaining to protect them while the other conducted reconnaissance and elimination missions. Lu Ke decided to stay in Kyoto for the time being, though he might leave to explore at any moment. Thus, the task of finding the enemy's stronghold fell to Gojo Satoru.

However, he didn't dare to stray too far, in case he needed to quickly return to support the others while Lu Ke was away. With his limitless high-speed movement, he could be back within minutes.

As a precaution, the higher-ups also issued orders to recall other special-grade cursed technicians. Yotaka Yuta, who was abroad, replied that he would set off immediately and return soon. However, the last special-grade cursed technician, Juzo Kukuri, a sexy and free-spirited woman with long golden hair, only said she would return to Tokyo to stand by, with no intention of meeting the others.

Faced with such an insubordinate special-grade cursed technician, the higher-ups were clearly displeased. They summoned the newly appointed strongest special-grade cursed technician, Fujiwara Lu Ke, to discipline Juzo Kukuri.

"None of my business."

When approached by Reigenji to convey the task, Lu Ke, who was playing a bell-grabbing game with the students, expressed his attitude succinctly.

"You..."

Reigenji was taken aback, not expecting Lu Ke to be so disrespectful to the higher-ups. After a moment, he said, "If you continue like this, the higher-ups will blame you and might revoke your position as an assistant professor."

"Idiot, who cares about that?"

Lu Ke sneered. He was only here for the sake of his friends—Nanami, Mimi, and Gojo Satoru—and because he had developed a fondness for some of the students.

"Tell the higher-ups to mind their own business. If they try to command me again, I'll kill them all. I'm not Gojo Satoru; don't count on me to hold back."

"They'll offer you a mountain of money," Reigenji added after some thought.

"Sorry, I've got enough money."

Lu Ke dismissed the offer nonchalantly. The ten billion he won last time, plus the rewards from exorcising cursed spirits to provide extra meals for the students, brought his total assets to about fifteen billion. That was more than enough for him to live comfortably... if he ever aged.

Money was always nice to have, but once you reached a certain point, the correlation between wealth and happiness diminished significantly. In short, having enough was enough.

Not to mention, with the unlocked Divine Mechanism of Hundred Refinements, creating cursed tools was as simple as eating or drinking. Money was no longer an issue.

Reigenji, unable to persuade Lu Ke, returned nervously to report his attitude. The higher-ups finally realized that their new strongest special-grade had no intention of obeying them.

"Damn it, we should have had Gojo Satoru eliminate him before he grew too powerful!"

"Don't be foolish, Gojo Satoru doesn't follow our orders either."

"At least, he mostly follows the rules. Even if he does something against regulations, he'll cover it up."

"They all do as they please. Special-grade cursed technicians are the cancer of the cursed techniques world!"

Because of the new strongest's attitude, the higher-ups suddenly began to miss Gojo Satoru's cooperation.

...

Yuji Itadori yawned as he approached the door to Gojo Satoru's room.

Every week, Teacher Lu Ke organized a bell-grabbing game. However, they always lost, and as punishment, the three of them had to clean up.

Fushigi, who was clearly being targeted, had been cleaning the toilets for over a month, while he was responsible for cleaning all the teachers' and students' rooms.

Nobara, as the MVP of the exchange meeting, was exempt from cleaning and even had her cursed nail and cursed hammer upgraded by Teacher Lu Ke.

After some tinkering, Nobara's cursed nail became incredibly durable and gained a recycling ability, while her cursed hammer became highly destructive. According to Teacher Lu Ke, without using cursed energy for defense, one hammer strike could crush Yushiba's skull.

Moreover, Teacher Lu Ke had found her a manager and launched her career. She had already starred in a movie as a cool heroine, gaining popularity and even hosting meet-and-greets.

During their free time, Yuji and Fushigi would go out to exorcise cursed spirits and save those affected by curses. Seeing the immense gratitude of those they saved, Yuji felt that this work was truly meaningful.

Occasionally, he would look up at the sky and ask his late grandfather in his heart.

Grandpa, you said to help the weak. I've been doing that. Can this make you rest in peace?

In any case, although his current life was a bit chaotic, Yuji actually enjoyed it.

Pushing open the door to Teacher Gojo's room to start cleaning, Yuji saw a small bronze robot with a high-tech aura emerge from the floor.

It looked like a vacuum cleaner, with a few strands of silver-white hair being sucked into its opening.

Since he had faced off against that massive robot during the exchange meeting, Yuji recognized the robot in front of him as Kiyotaro, a student from Kyoto's Mechanical Pillar's creation.

The original body, bound by the Cursed Techniques, had skin so damaged it couldn't be exposed to light, and could only remotely control the cursed puppet. His real name was supposed to be "Yukikichi," right?

"Hey, Kiyotaro, are you here to clean up Teacher Gojo's room too?"

The small, robot-like object stopped in its tracks, its glowing components flickering as if in thought. Then, it suddenly emitted a blinding white light.

It was like a flashbang had been thrown, and the intense white light instantly blinded Yuji.

"Ah—"

He screamed, his vision going blank, his eyes burning and watering uncontrollably. When he forced his eyes open, the small robot was gone without a trace.

"What the hell was that!"

Completely baffled, Yuji wiped away his tears and muttered, "Was this some kind of revenge for the beating I gave him? But he was the one who surrendered."

...

Shizuka Sanjo, dressed in a Shinsengumi-style outfit, walked into the classroom. With no classes recently and Kyoto still under repair, the room was mostly empty, except for Kiyotaro, who always stayed here.

"Kiyotaro, does it look good?"

She twirled in front of Kiyotaro's mechanical eye, the tight-fitting outfit making her look dashing, her long blue hair flowing freely without a ribbon to hold it back.

"It looks very good," Kiyotaro said in a semi-mechanical voice. "Is this your Halloween costume for tomorrow?"

"Yeah, what do you think? Not bad, right?"

In the setting sun, Shizuka Sanjo stood with her hands on her hips, beaming with pride.

"For a Halloween outfit, it's a bit too well-behaved, but that's fine. You look very cute."

After saying this, Kiyotaro paused before continuing, "Shizuka Sanjo, if I do something wrong, will you forgive me?"

"Would you do something wrong?" Shizuka Sanjo was a bit puzzled. To her, Kiyotaro was the calmest and most rational among the students, always handling things with the utmost care and reliability.

"Will you forgive me?" Kiyotaro repeated.

"That... depends," Shizuka Sanjo hesitated. "If it's just damaging a cursed puppet or cursed tool, we'll help you with the compensation, but you can't do dangerous things alone or harm innocent people."

"Is that so?"

Kiyotaro fell silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Shizuka Sanjo, I might be gone for a while."

With those words, the cursed puppet's head lowered slightly, as if losing its life force.

...

In a secret base far away, Yukikichi, the true form of Kiyotaro, opened his eyes. His body was wrapped in bandages, his skin so damaged it couldn't be exposed to light, and even now, he felt a constant, needle-like pain.

It was like a burn victim who had been saved from a fire but couldn't escape the pain, and Yukikichi felt he lived in hell every day.

But soon, this torment would end.

A small robot wandered by his side, then placed a small bundle of silver-white hair in his hand—hair he had collected from Gojo over the past few days.

At the entrance, Enjo, wearing a loose robe, and a man with some stitched scars on his face, Renjin, walked in.

"Hey, it's been a while, Mr. Insider."

Enjo smiled. "Did you get what we asked for?"

Kiyotaro clenched the hair in his hand. "Heal me first."

"No problem, no problem. Hurry up, we have a lot to do today."

The "Wuwei Transformation" could alter physical form by manipulating the soul, a powerful technique that could easily reshape the body, whether turning someone into a monster or restoring Kiyotaro's damaged body to health.

Renjin clearly had reservations about using the technique for healing. "Do we really have to save him? Can't we just kill him?"

"No, we can't. You made a pact with him. He gives us what we want, and we heal him," Enjo replied gently. "Pacts are about give and take, and the same applies in reverse. If we break it, we'll face punishment."

"Understood. We can kill him after he's healed, right?"

"Even then, we have to wait for him to experience his new body and subconsciously confirm that he's fully recovered. There's a few-second window, but we can't act until then."

Renjin shrugged and walked over, placing his hands on Kiyotaro's body.

"Wuwei Transformation."

The damaged skin was instantly replaced by new, healthy skin, and the hellish burning sensation subsided. Yukikichi couldn't help but roar in relief, venting his frustration with the Cursed Techniques.

But the next second, his head exploded, red and white matter splattering the floor.

"Oh, one thing I forgot to mention."

Enjo approached the body, retrieving the hair from his palm.

"The pact was with Renjin, not me. So I don't need to wait those few seconds before acting."

"Come on, Renjin, we have a lot to do."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end