Curse Return: Demon Void Girl Doesn't Want to Be a Weakling

Her gaze passed over Gojo Satoru and Fushiguro, landing on the treatment table.

For a few seconds, there was not a sound in the room.

Mashiro paused for a moment, then strode into the room and stood in front of the treatment table.

Shoko Ieiri glanced at her, then silently stepped back a few paces, making room for her.

Mashiro looked down at Itajimaru's face, at that face that had lost all expression after death, at the lingering curve at the corner of his mouth.

The boy was indeed smiling in the end; he knew what his choice meant and then calmly accepted his death.

I'm sorry, I'm such a bad older sister.

She raised her hand and gently brushed aside the tuft of pink hair on Hercules' forehead that was clumped together with blood.

Then she withdrew her hand, letting it hang at her sides, her fingertips trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of sadness, and she wasn't sure, but it wasn't just that.

"From Saitama to Tokyo, from Kyoto to Tokyo, they really went to great lengths to find such a far-off location."

A murderous aura filled the treatment room.

Gojo Satoru turned his head to the side, his gaze falling on her beneath his blindfold, but he didn't say anything.

She turned around to face the others in the room, her crimson eyes flashing with flames under the lamplight.

“Neither of you need to blame yourselves; this is my problem,” she said. “Fu Hei, did he say anything?”

Fu Hei looked up at her; the girl's expression was calm.

But the flames burning in those crimson eyes made him realize that the angrier she was, the calmer she became, and the calmer she became, the more terrifying she was.

“He said someone taught him to help others, and someone else taught him how precious life is.” Fuhei slowly began, relaying every last word of Itachi's words to her. “He said the time was almost up, and he was still thinking about protecting you in the future, and then he said…”

Fuhei paused for a moment, then said, "He told us to live longer."

Mashiro stood there, looking at Fukuro, her lips moved slightly, then she lowered her head, her silver hair obscuring her face.

A few seconds later, when she raised her head, her expression was just as calm as before.

“Live a little longer,” she said, gently stroking his hair again, “when did it become your place to lecture me?”

Mashiro took two steps back, handed the seat back to Shoko, and nodded to her, "Thank you for your help."

Then she turned to Gojo Satoru, the murderous intent in her voice gradually subsiding, "Gojo Satoru, they will pay the price."

Gojo Satoru straightened up and patted the wrinkles on his uniform. "Ijichi, go and rest first, we'll talk about the rest later. Mashiro, stay here, come to me if you have any problems. Fushiguro, you go and rest too."

Ichichi nodded, turned around, and quickly walked out of the treatment room.

Fushiguro glanced at Mashiro, then followed Ijichi out.

After the door closed, Gojo Satoru walked to Mashiro's side. "Shall we go out first?"

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There's still 4k available later.

Chapter 27 Resurrection (4k)

Gojo Satoru leaned against the door frame, his hands in his pockets, looking at Mashiro.

He sighed, "Let's go out first."

Gojo Satoru walked to the end of the corridor without looking back, and Mashiro followed behind him, closing the door to the treatment room behind him.

The two stopped in front of the vending machine at the corner of the corridor.

Gojo Satoru took out a coin, dropped it in, pressed a few buttons, and bent down to take out two cans of coffee.

He handed one of the cans to Mashiro.

"I don't drink coffee."

"This is sweet, a latte."

Mashiro took it, pulled the tab, and took a sip. It was very sweet; it really was a latte.

She placed the jar on the windowsill, leaned against the wall, and looked up at Gojo Satoru.

"Who convened the meeting in Kyoto?" Mashiro asked first.

"The notice was issued directly by the administrative department, and it was for a routine high-level meeting. The list of attendees included eleven people, and nine actually attended. The agenda was about the allocation plan for sorcerers for the next year."

Gojo Satoru opened his can of coffee. "We were in session from 2 p.m. yesterday until 6 a.m. this morning, with only two breaks, each lasting 15 minutes. No one was allowed to leave early. The meeting room was protected by a barrier, supposedly to prevent eavesdropping."

"Barrier." Mashiro repeated the word. "Does the Affairs Department have the authority to set up barriers during high-level meetings?"

“Generally speaking, there aren’t any, but there are precedents.” Gojo Satoru took a sip, his tone lacking its usual flippancy. “But I didn’t think about it that way at the time. It’s quite normal for high-level meetings to set up barriers; they were set up during last year’s budget review as well. So it’s not unusual.”

“Not unusual.” Mashiro tapped her fingertips lightly twice on the windowsill. “Fifteen minutes, is that enough time for you to get back to Tokyo from Kyoto?”

"I can only say it's about the same, so they know the plan remains unchanged when they see me still having meetings."

Mashiro nodded, rubbing the bottle between her fingers. "I didn't realize it when I was in Saitama, but I only understood it after you told me you were in a meeting."

"So you call me."

"Yes, and then you said you'd head back immediately."

"But it was too late."

“It’s not you who’s late, it’s me,” Mashiro said. “I should have realized it the day you weren’t at the vocational high school.”

Gojo Satoru turned his head to look at her.

The girl's profile was clearly defined under the light, but her usually bright eyes now appeared slightly dim.

The more she claimed it was her fault, the angrier Gojo Satoru became, towards those disgusting maggots who only rotted the world of sorcery.

“It’s only been five days since Huzhang started school.” Mashiro tilted his head back slightly and sighed. “I think there’s still plenty of time. The higher-ups just found out he swallowed his finger. They need to coordinate the interests of all parties, go through the procedures, and issue observation instructions to the window system. They need a preparation period. I thought normally, it would take at least two or three weeks.”

"Normally, yes."

"But the higher-ups don't need to worry about those things; they just need to wait for an opportunity when you're not around."

"The mission from the juvenile academy, Ijichi said, was automatically assigned by the system, while my urgent mission was told to me by Nanami the day before." She turned to face Gojo Satoru, her red eyes filled with thought.

"Three instructions, two target individuals, and the timeline matches perfectly. There can't be many people who can do this."

Gojo Satoru was silent for a moment, then laughed, a cold laugh. "You're right. We've learned a lesson this time. All three things happened at the same time, with the timing just right. What I want to know now is, just how many people can mobilize all three of these things at the same time?"

"You already have a plan in mind?" Mashiro asked, turning her head.

“Not many.” Gojo Satoru lowered his arm from his chest, picked up the coffee can that Mashiro had placed on the windowsill, shook it to make sure she still wanted some, “The overlap of permissions across the three processes involves about six people.”

"Six people?" Mashiro snatched the coffee back and took a sip.

"Remove the two who are not in Tokyo for a long time, and the one who never participates in high-level affairs. That leaves three people. At least one of these three people orchestrated this incident, while the other two may or may not have known about it."

"name."

Gojo Satoru tossed the empty can into the trash can, the metal clinking against the side of the can. "So, you're planning to investigate on your own now?"

“You’ll be on guard if you investigate them,” Mashiro said. “I’m different.”

"They don't know how much I already know. The fact that this near-Special Grade Sorcerer is keeping me in Saitama shows that their assessment of me is still at the level of a Level 1 Sorcerer who can imitate spells. I will take advantage of their misjudgment."

“Okay.” Gojou Satoru stood up, patted the wrinkles on his uniform, and his tone returned to its usual lightness. “I’ll send you the name later. As for the follow-up arrangements for Itadori, I’ll go find Yowa after things are settled with Shoko. You yourself…”

“I know what I’m doing,” Mashiro interrupted him.

"Call me directly if you need anything. That meeting isn't held every day."

"If you were around every day, I should be thinking about whether I need to take action against you." Mashiro picked up the coffee can, finished the last sip, and threw the empty can into the trash can.

“There’s one more question,” Gojo Satoru said with a smile.

"What."

"You were serious when you said in the treatment room that they would pay a price?"

"What if you're serious?"

“Nothing much.” Gojo Satoru nodded, turned and walked towards the end of the corridor, his footsteps gradually fading in the empty space. “I’ll talk to Shoko and have her keep you informed.”

Mashiro stood alone by the window, took out her phone, opened LINE, and sent a message to Nanami.

"Mashiro": Nanami, help me investigate something.

"Mashiro": The mission from the Juvenile Academy, the automatic dispatch instructions in the system are sent from which terminal.

"Mashiro": No need to reply right away, let me know when you find out.

"Nanami": Understood, I'll give you the results tomorrow.

She put her phone back in her pocket and turned to walk towards the treatment room.

When the door opened, Ieiri Shoko was examining Itari's injury. Hearing the door open, she said without turning her head, "I thought you had gone back."

“There’s nothing to do when I get back.” Mashiro walked to the bedside and sat down in a chair.

“Shoko-senpai.”

"Ok?"

"How long does it take to repair the heart?"

Ieiri Shoko's hands didn't stop. "Repairing the heart itself isn't difficult, but it was dug out by Sukuna."

“The damage caused by the curse has spread from the chest cavity to the entire body, and everything needs to be reconnected. If we only repair the heart, a few hours should be enough.” She put the curse probe in her hand into the tray, turned around and leaned against the instrument table, looking at Mashiro. “To be honest, I don’t know if he will wake up again.”

Mashiro didn't look at her; her gaze remained fixed on Itadori's face, and she sighed softly.

"He will wake up," Mashiro said calmly.

Ieiri Shoko raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions.

Having spent so many years at the vocational college, she has seen far too many people clinging to hope after death.

“Then I’ll continue.” Ieiri Shoko picked up the probe again. “If you want to stay until dawn, there are blankets in the closet.”

"Need not."

The treatment room fell silent, with only the rhythmic ticking of the instruments and the faint light of the reversal procedure remaining.