What does it mean that the group members have given me back the light?

Page 5

The instant the torrent of cursed power engulfed him, regret surged forth like a tidal wave—

"If only I hadn't picked up Sukuna's finger back then..."

The heatwave scorched his retinas, leaving only distorted light in his vision.

"They didn't eat it..."

The skin was about to melt, and the bones were groaning.

"At that time...at that time..."

A flashback to the scene where Gojo-sensei smiled and said, "You're amazing," now felt nauseatingly ironic.

"Don't...don't..."

The fingertips of the remaining hand were already carbonized, and the cursed power was still eroding it, like thousands of ants gnawing at the nerves.

"I want to run away... I want to run away..."

But his body was no longer under his control; he couldn't even move a single finger.

"I don't want to die... If I die here... can that still be considered a proper death?"

The thought pierced his heart like a sharp knife. His grandfather's dying words echoed in his ears, but they were nothing compared to even a fraction of the power of the incantation raging at that moment.

"No...don't think about it anymore!!!"

The final resistance turned into a silent roar—

Then, the world suddenly went silent.

In the blurred vision, the sky and the ground were spinning wildly, and blood drew a parabola in the air.

"So... I'm this weak?"

Yuji Itadori lay amidst the ruins, his consciousness fading.

Fushiguro hasn't given me a signal yet... so it seems... he hasn't found Kugizaki yet...

Sorry... I might have to die first... I only collected two fingers before dying... I really let Gojo-sensei down...

It's said that sorcerers never experience regret without disappointment... It seems that this statement is indeed true...

Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and Yuuji Itadori's vision had narrowed to the point where he could only see the broken ceiling above and a sliver of light leaking through the crack.

It was a ray of golden sunlight, passing through the dust left after the rampage of the curse, gently falling on his bloodstained face, so warm it almost brought tears to one's eyes.

"It's so beautiful..."

He thought in a daze.

Even though the surrounding scenery was like hell, at this moment, he felt as if he were seeing heaven.

The heavy footsteps of the cursed spirit approached, and the ground trembled as it drew near. Yuujin Itadori sensed the aura of cursed power again, but did not attempt to resist once more.

What is there to regret if we can see such a scene before everything ends?

The cursed spirit raised its hand, and the scorching ball of cursed power on it blocked out the last ray of light.

Yuji Itadori slowly closed his eyes.

However, the anticipated final blow never came.

"?"

With difficulty, Yuujin Itadori opened his eyes and found that the cursed spirit's movements had suddenly frozen for some reason. It was trembling all over and looked up at the sky in a shaky manner, as if it had seen something that terrified it.

then……

Bang----!!!

The world fell silent, and in an instant, smoke filled the air.

It was a deafening explosion, as if it were happening right in front of me. Countless clouds of dust rose up, shrouding the area and making the already poor visibility even worse.

But... Hisahito Itadori saw it.

At the heart of the swirling smoke and dust, the ground trembled and cracked with spiderweb-like patterns. In that shattered center, a gigantic silver fist was deeply embedded in the earth, its knuckles flowing with a star-like silver light, its arms seemingly connected to the sky.

Looking up along that arm, Itadori Yuujin's expression gradually became blank, and even his pupils shrank to the size of a needle.

He was almost losing the ability to think, and even doubted that everything he was seeing was a figment of his imagination before he died.

The silver silhouette was as majestic as a mountain range, and every inch of its skin flowed with a cold, metallic luster, yet it reflected an almost sacred radiance under the sunlight.

His figure stood tall and straight like a pillar supporting the sky; his mere existence caused the surrounding air to freeze.

He slowly lowered his head, and his eyes, as bright as the moon, seemed to have taken on color, as if he were a compassionate being...

"God...?"

Yuji Itadori fell into a murmured whisper.

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Chapter Seven: Confidential Files - Event Records

"Oh shit! Are these guys never going to be killed? It's just never going to end!"

Joseph Joestar couldn't help but utter a curse word. At that moment, he and Kiritsugu Emiya were running desperately through the dimly lit passage. The latter's gun was shooting wildly, scattering sparks as he continuously killed the pale, mask-shaped cursed spirits that kept appearing around them.

In the old man's arms, a scarred orange-haired girl looked at them with a blank expression.

"Grandpa... and... Uncle? How did you two get in here?"

Kugizaki Nobara covered the bleeding wound on her left arm and said in a daze.

"This is not what we agreed on, you old man."

Ignoring Kugizaki Nobara's question, Emiya Kiritsugu said with a gloomy face, "Didn't we agree to decide whether to evacuate after rescuing Itadori Hisahito? Why are you meddling in this little girl's business?"

"Stop playing dumb with me, Emiya kid."

Amidst the bursts of gunfire and the howls of the cursed spirits, Joseph's bold voice was not drowned out, but his tone clearly carried a hint of impatience: "I don't believe you can't tell that this girl is the companion that kid Itadori mentioned. Do you want him to spend the rest of his life in regret for losing a companion at such a young age?"

You have to make a choice!

Kiritsugu Emiya lowered his voice. In his view, saving Nobara Kugizaki and saving Hisahito Itadori were completely incomparable in terms of priority. The latter, who possessed the chat group, had an infinitely high potential to grow into a world-saving powerhouse!

"Choose my ass! We're far from needing to make a choice!"

Joseph was also furious. From the Western Sahara to the Star Expeditionary Force, he had an uncompromising bottom line on this kind of issue. Before the chat group sent out information about the mission failure, he would never allow himself to abandon any of his comrades, not even his comrades' comrades!

...Waaaah...how scary...

Unlike the petty squabbles between Itadori and Fushiguro, two hotheads in her own team, the verbal battle between two adults in full-on hardcore gear was quite frightening to Kugizaki Nobara.

But do they know Huzhang? Is he someone that kid knew before he entered the vocational college? Oh no... are they going to just leave me here while they're arguing...?

Just as Kugizaki Nobara was somewhat at a loss, a panting figure appeared in front of them.

"Fushiguro?!" Kugizaki Nobara exclaimed in surprise, and Fushiguro Megumi breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw the group of people in front of her.

"Although I don't understand why things have turned out this way, I hope you can all remain calm in the future."

No one could understand the meaning behind Fushiguro Megumi's words. The black-haired boy summoned a human-faced, bird-bodied shikigami to temporarily force back the cursed spirits behind them, and then uttered "Jade Dog" again.

The wolf-like, dog-like shikigami appeared as summoned, but instead of attacking the nearby cursed spirit, it let out a long howl to the sky amidst the bewildered gazes of the crowd.

"Awooo!!!"

The whistling sound was clear and penetrating, and it traveled an unknown distance in an instant.

Then, the next second...

Rumble————

As if receiving some kind of signal, the building overhead suddenly began to groan under the strain, and the ceiling was lifted up as easily as a fragile piece of paper.

Blinding light poured down from the crack, and Kugizaki Nobara instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, but through her fingers she glimpsed a sight that she... no, not just her, but everyone would never forget.

The giants... silently met their gaze.

……

[Confidential Files - Incident Log]

[File Number: XTJ-2018-07]

[Recorded by: High School of Spellcasting - Intelligence Management Department]

[Access Permissions: Level 1 Sorcerer and above]

【Event Summary——】

[Date of occurrence: August 2018]

[Location: Above the Eiju Juvenile Institute Stadium, Nishi-Tokyo City]

[Event Type: Top-Tier Imaginary Vengeful Spirit (Unnamed) Sudden Sighting of Cursed Embryo]

【Mission Background——】

[On July X, an abnormal fluctuation of magical energy was confirmed within and around the juvenile detention center, classified as "Special Level." Preliminary observations confirmed the formation of a magical embryo, accompanied by multiple eyewitness reports from non-magicians. Based on Article 3 of the "Emergency Plan for Responding to Magical Spells," immediate intervention is deemed necessary.]

【Mission Assignment——】

[Executive personnel: Three first-year students from Tokyo Jujutsu High School (Yuji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, and Nobara Kugizaki).]

[Mission Objective: Rescue the trapped non-magicians and confirm the formation status of the cursed embryo.]

【任务结果——确认5名非术师死亡（遗体回收编号No.2018-07-001至005）。】

[Casualties: All students from the vocational college involved survived (1 seriously injured, 1 slightly injured, neither in life-threatening condition).]

[Deal with the cursed spirit: Exorcism was completed due to external intervention. (The Su Nuo finger found in the deep pit has been recovered.)]

[Supplementary Intelligence (Top Secret)]

[Unusual Eyewitness Testimony:]

According to the students involved, in addition to the task force, three external personnel from the college were confirmed to be present at the scene (their identities are unknown, and there are no records of any residual magical power).

[Unknown Person 1]

[Physical description: Elderly Caucasian male, approximately 185cm tall, left hand appears to be prosthetic.]

[Behavioral characteristics: Uses modern firearms to attack, frequently uses American profanity, and has attempted to assist witnesses.]

[Note: After the incident, he disappeared along with the other two, leaving no trace of his magical power at the scene.]

[Unknown Person 2]

[Physical description: Young male, approximately 178cm tall, with no other particularly noticeable personality traits.]

[Behavioral characteristics: Highly systematic combat style, suspected military training, cooperative relationship with an unknown member, but the relationship is not harmonious.]

[Note: Same as above]

[Unknown Personnel Three]

[Appearance description: A silver giant.]

[Behavioral characteristics: Rescued our student; nothing else.]

[Additional Explanation: After our student was moved outside the barrier, they disappeared along with two other unknown individuals, leaving behind traces of positive energy (similar to a "reversal spell" but with a completely different underlying principle).]

[The following is a comment that Satoru Gojo insisted on writing: "A Titan? It seems like it would be very strong. I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to fight it. (laughs)"]

[Recorded by: Iji Tomo]

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