A Bizarre Adventure That Begins in Jujutsu Kaisen

Chapter 115 The Old Man and the Devil, Part Two

Albert stared at "Mephistofilis" and said, word by word, "How much? If you can complete the ritual and facilitate the fusion, I will not only withdraw the power of the entire African Federation of sorcerers, but I will also personally remove all the shackles placed upon you."

He leaned slightly forward, his words sharp and clear: "At that time, you may feast to your heart's content, consuming as many souls as you desire."

The demon in the mirror narrowed its eyes, a strange light flashing in its blood-red pupils.

Is this really true?

"That's certainly true."

silence.

A suffocating silence that lasted for a full minute.

Only the occasional soft popping of the candlelight sounded particularly jarring in the silence.

Then Mephisto suddenly threw his head back and let out a wild laugh: "But I refuse!"

Laughter crashed against the walls of the secret room like a raging torrent, causing the candle flames to flicker wildly and the distorted shadows on the walls to dance erratically.

"My favorite thing to do is say no to guys like you who think they have everything!"

"?" As if a meticulously constructed chess game had been overturned before a move was even made, the feverish color on Albert's face suddenly faded, replaced by obvious astonishment.

Mephisto suppressed his terrifying laughter and continued in a light tone, as if he were clumsily imitating a TV program script: "Oh my~ I learned this line from TV, isn't it interesting?"

Since you crave power that transcends everything—why not go to the Fool and try to merge with that monster?

"The God of Day"—he's much stronger than me, this washed-up devil trapped in a mirror, isn't he?

The candlelight cast flickering shadows on the devil's face, making his handsome features appear both sacred and wicked, both ancient and childish.

Albert remained silent for a long time.

After a while, the candles went down low again, and only his heavy, suppressed breathing could be heard in the sealed room.

Finally, he turned around, walked to a huge bookshelf in the corner of the room, and pulled out a thick ancient book.

The sheepskin cover gleamed with a dull yellow luster under the candlelight.

"You're still the same. Don't waste your time. I won't kill myself. My life is a million times more important than any cause I'm pursuing."

He spoke with his back to the mirror, without turning his head.

Mephisto mimicked his tone and even his slightly aged breathing, teasingly saying, "You're still the same as always~ It's normal for the heart to adapt a beat slower than the brain to understand."

Sometimes, reason already knows the answer, but the body remains stuck in old habits. How pathetic and tragic, isn't it?

Outside the window, the night was deep.

The light from the six-pointed star array flowed across the mirror, reflecting the eerie figure of the devil, half inside and half outside the mirror, in a flickering light.

Not long after Albert left the dimly lit sealed room and returned to his bedroom, which was piled high with experimental data, an old-fashioned rotary telephone on the table suddenly rang.

He glanced at the caller ID—it was his apprentice, Sigmund.

He answered the phone, habitually holding it to his ear, waiting for the other end to give a respectful report as usual.

However, there was only an ominous silence on the other end of the receiver.

Frustrated, Albert frowned and finally broke the silence: "Sigmund? Shouldn't you be monitoring Xia Shilang's movements right now?"

"Teacher————" The voice coming from the receiver was an eerily sweet middle-aged man's voice, sounding like a child who had gotten into trouble but was trying to get away with it by acting cute.

But Albert instantly recognized the abnormality of the voice, and a chill mixed with anger rushed to his head.

"Natsushiro—!!" he almost growled, "How dare you!"

Every single one of your cloning chambers was built by me! Extracting active cells from those cursed artifacts that had been dried for thousands of years took me so much effort!

"Treating kindness with enmity, is this the morality you believe in?!"

"Hey," the voice on the other end of the phone sounded nonchalant, even a little mocking, "What's our relationship?"

I've given you hundreds of billions of euros over time, haven't I?

You could easily afford to buy your equipment and ten apprentices at the level of a second-tier mage.

Why are you still talking about gratitude? It's so distant.

By the way, I've already borrowed your experimental center.

You don't need to bother sending anyone to check; I've already emptied it out.

But if you survive this month, I might be in a good mood and return it to you?

"————What do you mean?" Albert's voice suddenly turned cold.

"You know, what if I were to send an anonymous letter of complaint to that 'world's strongest' Lord Theo—"

"Xia Shiro!!!" Albert broke down again, his anger almost piercing through the receiver.

"Don't get angry so easily, teacher."

Sigmund's voice remained leisurely, and Albert could almost imagine him sitting with his legs crossed, a smug smile on his face.

"You look so frustrated, like a helpless clown. Want me to send you a red nose? Free shipping!"

Albert took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and his voice regained its cold rationality: "Amakusa Shiro Tokisada, what exactly do you want to do?"

If you deliberately expose yourself to Theo's attention, I believe that, given his style, he will prioritize erasing you from this world completely.

"What I want is very simple," Amakusa Shiro's tone finally became more serious, and his voice returned to its own from that of a puppet, "I just want to ensure that our destruction" can be mutually assured.

Only when both sides have leverage over each other that can destroy the other can the conversation proceed with greater confidence.

After all—the devil is in your hands, and it's just a contract made out of thin air. How can I easily trust it?

"—" Albert paused for a moment, knowing what the other meant: "The salvation of all mankind. Is that what fascinates you so much? You are no longer human, so why do you still love life so much?"

"In the long run, if one cannot be loved by everyone and then love everyone, the world will be overwhelmed by sorrow."

You don't understand. Albert, you don't understand the beauty of the world.

A fleeting, enigmatic emotion crossed Amakusa Shiro's tone, but it quickly turned into a nonchalant one: "But these things are irrelevant now, let's forget about them."

Ultimately, you wouldn't even dare to try merging with the "God of Poverty," the weakest of the top-tier spirits, so naturally you wouldn't dare to, would you?

To transcend the limits of both humans and cursed spirits, the path of fusion is too risky, and the success rate is too slim.

"I have a smarter way"—if I can't break through my own limits, I'll help another individual do it first.

Then, in the new world created by this pioneer, you can pursue your own path to advancement!

""

Albert immediately retorted: "Breaking the limits first leads to breaking the limits later," which sounds nice.

If I were the first to break through the limits and truly evolve into that godlike form, my first instinct would be to eliminate all powerful individuals who could threaten me.

Furthermore, I don't think it's a good thing for this world to truly give birth to a Great Spell Spirit; a "Special Grade" is the pinnacle, which is much safer.

"Oh dear, the Dark Forest, huh?" Amakusa Shiro mocked. "It's precisely because of this unwillingness to die that you've never been able to advance any further."

Whether you agree or not, Zandik won't wait any longer, and Ashunad and I will make our small contribution to ensuring the smooth running of the ceremony.

Which is stronger, the Great Cursed Spirit or the World's Strongest? It's truly something to look forward to!