Curse Returns, a gamble from the start, I awaken dual spells

At 5:40 a.m., the sky in Kita Ward, Kyoto, was still a deep cobalt blue.

Liren stood outside the iron gate of the division room, the strap of his sports bag leaving a faint mark on his shoulder.

The cold mountain wind swept up from below the slope, scattering his breath along the edge of his collar.

Footsteps came from inside the gate. The songstress pushed open the door, changed into a dark casual outfit that was easy to move in, and tied her long hair into a low ponytail.

He glanced at Rito, then, without exchanging pleasantries, tossed him the car keys.

"You drive."

Rihito caught the keys, paused for a moment, and said, "Uh... I don't have a driver's license yet."

The singer paused, gave Rito a strange look, and then took the car keys back.

The vehicle was a gray light SUV, parked on the gravel road below the slope.

Rito tossed his gym bag into the back seat and got into the passenger seat.

The songstress got into the driver's seat and tossed a hand-drawn map to Rito.

"About 40 kilometers to the northwest, on an upper tributary of the Kamo River, there is an abandoned sand-trapping dam."

"There is an old forestry road that leads in, but the road surface is not very good, and you have to walk after you get there."

The engine started with a soft roar, and the off-road vehicle's tires rolled over gravel as it headed towards the mountains northwest of Kyoto.

The city was quickly left behind.

The buildings along the road gradually became sparse, eventually leaving only bare field ridges and groves of cedar trees.

The sky transitioned from cobalt blue to light gray, and the clouds along the ridgeline were illuminated from below by the yet-to-rise sun, shimmering with a faint orange rim.

Rito glanced at the fleeting scenery outside the window, then turned his gaze to the map in his hand.

"According to the original timeline, the deal with Kokichi and Makizo has been completed by this time, and he will be quietly waiting for the real person to help him heal his body."

"Without my intervention, he would have been killed by a real person after the transaction was completed."

Rihito relaxed slightly.

"But there's still time. There are at least two days left before their transaction is completed. If we take advantage of this gap and join forces with Yukichi, we might be able to kill the real person."

"As for the rope, if the real person is in danger, he will never let the real person be killed, which is also a problem."

The car bumped along the old forest road for nearly forty minutes before finally stopping at the edge of a cedar forest.

The songstress turned off the fire, took the key out, and put it in her pocket.

Let's go!

Li Ren folded the map and put it back in the storage compartment, then picked up his sports bag and got off the bus.

The air in the mountains is much colder than in the city, as if it has been filtered by cedar trees, and when you breathe it in, you feel a cool, resinous sensation.

The songstress walked ahead, her steps slow but steady, the sound of her footsteps snapping twigs echoing through the forest.

The two walked up the dried-up creek. The pebbles under their feet were weathered and loose, and every few steps a small stone would roll into the bottom of the creek, making a hollow clattering sound.

After walking for about twenty minutes, the sand-blocking dam came into view at the end of the road.

It was a cement building that had been abandoned for at least a decade. The gray-white dam rose up from the mountain valley, its surface covered with dried moss and cracked patterns.

The riverbed below the outlet had long since dried up, revealing dark rocks that had been smoothed by erosion.

"This should be the place."

The singer stopped in front of the maintenance access road on the east side of the dam and reached out to press forward.

However, the fingertips touched an invisible barrier, and a pale blue ripple spread outward from the center of the air before slowly disappearing into nothingness.

"It's a barrier." She withdrew her hand, her brows furrowing. "He sealed the entrance."

Rito stepped forward and placed his palm on the surface of the barrier.

The barrier felt icy cold to the touch, like a thick layer of glass. When the cursed power was probed inside, it was immediately dispersed, making it impossible to determine its internal structure.

"The intensity is not low, at least level one." Rito withdrew his hand. "It seems that getting in won't be an easy task."

The two were silent for a moment.

The cold mountain wind blew in through the cracks in the dam, making a low, mournful sound.

Suddenly, a rhythmic grinding sound of mechanical joints came from deep within the maintenance tunnel.

Click!Click!Click!

Soon, a tall, metallic figure slowly emerged from the shadows and stopped inside the barrier.

"Mechanical Pill?" Rito blurted out instinctively.

But he soon realized that it was just a mechanical puppet controlled by Kokichi.

At this moment, Yukichi seemed to have no intention of fighting. His arms hung at his sides, his metallic pupils glanced at Rito, and then fell on the songstress.

"Songstress, I originally intended to contact you after everything was over." The synthesized voice of Mechanical Maru came from inside the barrier, a hint of guilt in its calm tone.

The songstress didn't speak, but simply stared quietly at the metal shell.

Her gaze passed beyond the barrier, trying to find the student she knew in those cold, metallic pupils.

Then, he stepped back half a step, giving the middle position to Rito.

Only then did Kokichi's gaze truly fall on Rito.

"Sato Rihito." The synthesized voice of the mechanical pill came from inside the barrier, its tone calm and devoid of any emotion.

"You shouldn't have come here."

"To Yukichi." Rihito addressed him by his given name, without using the code name "Kikai-maru".

He and Kokichi fell silent for a moment.

"It seems... you all already knew."

Rito nodded, but what came out of his mouth was not a word of blame.

"Staying here must be very uncomfortable!"

"None of your business!" he replied coldly.

But Rito seemed not to hear him and continued talking to himself: "I know you like tricycles, and I know you just want freedom, and you want to truly stay with your companions."

"Don't pretend you know me so well, you know absolutely nothing!"

Yukichi's mechanical puppet trembled violently, and his synthesized electronic voice carried a clear hint of anger.

"Seventeen years. I've been stuck in this dark and gloomy place for seventeen years, like a piece of trash. Even the moonlight can burn me."

"Do you think you know me well just because of the information you found out?"

Rito listened quietly and said, "So, I'm here to help you."

"Help me? As long as that cursed spirit heals my body, with the cursed power I've accumulated over seventeen years..."

"Give up!" Rito interrupted Kokichi directly, looking him straight in the eyes.

Kokichi was taken aback and opened his mouth to refute something, but Rito didn't give him a chance to speak.

"Give up that idea. If you think you can handle this alone, then what's the point of having companions?"

"I know you never truly betrayed us; you simply wanted to return to your comrades, and there's still Sanrin."

Li Ren said calmly.

"But have you ever thought about what the tricycle drivers would think if they knew you carried everything on your own?"

"You're doing these things all alone, without considering the consequences. Do you truly consider them your companions?"

"No!!" The mechanical puppet's electronic eyes flashed wildly.

Miwa and the faces of his classmates in Kyoto kept flashing through Kokichi's mind.

"They are my companions, always have been, and that will never change!"

"If that's the case, then why did you choose to shoulder the burden alone?"

"So, in order to return to your companions, you made a decision that eliminates the need for them?"

Rito's voice was devoid of emotion, but every word struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

The silence lasted for a long time.

The songstress stood to the side, watching Rito's back with a complex expression.

"It seems that Gojo Satoru has taught another good student."

Suddenly, the pale blue ripples on the barrier began to spread outward from the center, and then slowly dissipated.

The glowing light from the inner side of the maintenance passage surged out from the depths, illuminating the entrance to the passage.

"Come in," the mechanical puppet's synthesized voice rang out, and then it began to walk deeper into the passage on its own.