The strongest scum after me

From Tokyo to Aomori Prefecture,

It took about four hours by car. Gojo Satoru followed the traces of Shimizu Sakura being taken away, and became more and more sure that she was just like in a dream.

I was taken to that weird shrine deep in the mountains of Aomori Prefecture,

He no longer hesitates,

Directly use [Teleportation] to the shrine in the dream.

The shrine in reality is the same as what he saw in the dream,

midnight,

A hundred ghosts walk in the night, and a group of demons dance wildly.in the dark,

From a distance, you can see burning candles in the shrine in front of the shrine,

Even though it was a weak flame, it uncharacteristically illuminated the entire shrine,

The dancing flames appear and disappear, like countless wandering ghosts.The torii at the end of the bluestone steps is so red that it seems to be dripping blood,

obviously empty,

The long-handled wooden spoon in the pool was spinning crazily, and the wind chimes on the hemp rope in the night sky kept screaming.

"You are late." The phoenix statue in front of the shrine could speak,

It stared at Gojo Satoru who was rushing over, with a calm tone,

Repeated his lines again, "You are late."

Gojo Satoru didn't have time to listen to his nonsense, the door of the shrine was violently blasted by him with a reversal technique,

The moment the door collapsed,

Everything in the palace was completely exposed before his eyes,

At a glance.

Shimizu Sakura was lying beside the pool of blood, her eyes were closed tightly, her face was pale,

Only the faint rise and fall of her chest seemed to indicate that she was still alive.

Blood overflowed from her wrist, winding down like a strange red thread, and the other end of the red thread was connected to a curse spirit.

"That's not a curse spirit." The phoenix statue seemed to understand what he was thinking, and said, "The original body of that curse spirit is a human being."

"This is a way to create a curse spirit. Once the alternation ceremony is over, the girl will become a curse spirit, and that curse spirit will become a human again."

Gojo Satoru didn't wear sunglasses, and his blue eyes stared straight at it: "Why did you take Sakura away and turn her into a curse spirit? What is your purpose?"

"I didn't take her away, and I didn't force her to become a curse spirit. She did it voluntarily. This kind of ceremony must be performed with the heartfelt consent of both parties." The calm tone of the phoenix statue seemed to carry With a hint of melancholy, "The curse spirit said a few words to her, and the girl willingly agreed to this replacement ceremony. She voluntarily replaced it as the curse spirit."

It’s ridiculous.

What is it saying?

Sakura is... voluntary?

What did the curse spirit say to her, and why did she agree to replace him as the curse spirit?

There are no answers to these questions now, and there is no way to explore now. The situation is urgent and it is too late to think about it. He must stop this ceremony immediately!

Just as he was about to start, the statue of the phoenix stopped him: "You can't stop the ceremony. Halfway through the ceremony, the power of the curse has already flowed into her body through the blood. If you stop without completely completing the transformation, the power of the curse It will destroy all the organs in her whole body in an instant, and she will die within a few seconds."

"As I said before, you came too late."

If you don't stop the ritual, she will become a curse spirit; if you stop the ritual, she will die.

Gojo Satoru couldn't just watch Shimizu Sakura turn into a curse spirit. There was no difference between living like that and dying, but he couldn't bear to watch her die in front of his own eyes either.

Dilemma choice.

His six eyes clearly "saw" the power of the curse winding up the blood flowing from her wrist, there was no time, and the ceremony was almost completed.

Gojo Satoru didn't hesitate anymore, and cut the blood linking her body. The power of the curse couldn't find a medium to enter her body, so he had to be blocked out unwillingly.

The ceremony was terminated.

"Would you rather watch her die than watch her become a curse spirit?"

asked the phoenix statue.

Gojo Satoru didn't answer right away, he just thought of the hug in the dream, the hug that was so gentle with all his strength.

"I won't let her die."

He whispered, every word, but it was as heavy as a promise.

everything is over.

The shrine was on fire, and black smoke spiraled up into the night sky. Accompanied by the sound of the shrine hall collapsing, it was like the screams of countless ghosts when they were wiped out.

With her on his back, he walked on the late spring path where the cherry blossoms fell like snow, the moonlight was like water, and his feet made a slight crisp sound when he stepped on the dried cherry blossoms on the road.

The girl seemed to wake up, her cold tears dripped down on his neck like broken beads, accompanied by a weak sob, she fell behind him, crying very sadly.

Gojo Satoru froze, his steps stagnated slightly, and the boy's originally clear voice was a little hoarse, but he still comforted her patiently: "Don't be afraid, Sakura, it's all right now."

But Shimizu Sakura didn't stop crying, she burst into tears, sobbing loudly: "Wu...that curse spirit is my mother..."

Shimizu Sakura's parents are descendants of the Shimizu clan, and her mother is a rare woman in the Shimizu clan who has no special constitution, so she was able to marry her father and have children like an ordinary person, leading a peaceful life.

However, when she was eight years old, her daughter Shimizu Sakura was found to have a special constitution, and the test results were reported to the upper echelons of the magic world.Shimizu Sakura's mother was unwilling to hand over her daughter. She knew very well what would happen to her daughter if it fell into their hands, so she and her husband fled with their daughter before the high-level officials in the magic world sent them, planning to live in seclusion for the rest of their lives. The deep mountains and old forests never come out again.

Little Shimizu Sakura didn't know that her parents were taking her to escape. She only thought it was a family trip, so she happily packed all her favorite snacks and toys, and also brought a gift from her mother on her birthday. Her plush lamb and the kitten who clings to her the most.

But how can ordinary people escape the pursuit of the magician? They were caught on the way before they reached their destination.

The young Shimizu Sakura didn't know what happened, she just thought that they were in a car accident and both parents died in the car accident, the Wujo family who arrived later had the most resources, after a fierce battle and game, they snatched her away Brought back five home.

Shimizu Sakura's father was killed, and her mother was taken to the shrine. She was obviously a human being, but she was forcibly transformed into a curse spirit.

Consciously being transformed into a monster is a crueler thing than unconscious death. Maybe in the first days, Shimizu Sakura’s mother still cared about Sakura and worried about Sakura’s future, but as the days went by, she had to face it every day. Unrecognizable self, pain piled up day after day... Gradually it became unbearable.

Finally one day, a thought popped into her mind - what would have happened if she had not chosen to escape with Shimizu Sakura, but had obediently handed her over to those people?

Her husband won't die, and she won't become the inhuman and ghost-like person she is now. They may be sad for a few years after Sakura is taken away, but it doesn't matter, they are still young, and they will soon have A new child, an ordinary child, they will be a complete family, living an ordinary and happy life every day.

This idea is like a seed, once buried, it can never be eradicated, pain is sunlight, regret is water, time is nourishment, and finally grows into a towering tree.

[It would have been nice if I hadn't taken Sakura with me back then. 】

[If you didn't resist at the beginning, just hand her over directly. 】

In addition to regret, there is deep resentment.

The torment and pain made her dare not hate those who made her fall to this point, so she hated Sakura and her daughter.

【"This kind of ceremony must be carried out with the heartfelt consent of both parties."】

【"The curse spirit said a few words to her, and the girl willingly agreed to this alternation ceremony, willing to replace it as the curse spirit."】

What the phoenix statue said echoed in his mind again.

Gojo Satoru suddenly understood.

Although Shimizu Sakura didn't know all this, didn't know the truth that her mother didn't die, and didn't know why her mother resented her so far when they reunited, but when the distorted mother who had become a curse spirit asked her to become a curse spirit instead of herself , she still agreed to this substitution ceremony.

No matter how much her mother resented her, and the resentment twisted so much that she wanted her to become the curse spirit instead of herself, it still couldn't change her attachment and love for her mother.

Just like a puppy who remembers to eat but not to hit, it will never change its love for its owner. Even if it is scolded, abused, or kicked away impatiently, it will still bark, cuddle up and snuggle up. next to the master.

"I always thought she was dead, when I was eight years old... But she didn't die, she was turned into a curse... Mom said it was my fault she became like this, she said she hated me, She said she hated me..."

Shimizu Sakura couldn't go on anymore, she sobbed softly, she was so seriously injured that she almost died, so even the crying when she was extremely sad was very weak, like a wounded kitten licking The whining sound of licking wounds.

"Wu...you don't want to be nice to me...it's like killing your parents...no one who treats me well will have a good ending..."

Hearing her cry, Gojo Satoru felt a slight and subtle pain in his heart spread, gradually turning into an unbearable dull pain.

He originally planned to tell her about her life experience, her special bloodline, and the truth about her becoming his fiancée when she grew up a bit, but it seems impossible now.

What would he say?

Do you want to tell her that she has an enviable physique, that her parents died because they were unwilling to hand her over, and that she was adopted as a reproductive machine... Do you want to tell her all this?

But it wasn't Sakura who was wrong, and it wasn't Sakura who was the culprit, it was those greedy people who coveted her.Why can the perpetrator live frankly, but let the victim be tortured by his conscience for the rest of his life?

Like a thorn stuck in his throat, Gojo Satoru felt that he couldn't speak.

"Don't worry." He pretended to be relaxed and said, "I'm different from your parents. I'm the strongest. Being nice to you won't kill me. You might as well worry about yourself, after all, you are so weak , I will definitely die later than you."

Shimizu Sakura whispered: "Then you have to keep your word."

"Of course. What did I promise you that I didn't do?"

He said.

She buried her face in his neck and stopped talking.

But after a while, Shimizu Sakura smelled a strong smell of blood.

Only then did she notice that his face was unusually white, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.

He also carried her all the way.

The red blood stained the bathrobe on his chest, and the blood finally oozes out now.

"You are hurt!"

He even walked all the way with her on his back!

With trembling hands, Shimizu Sakura cried and pulled back his blood-stained skirt, and there was a hideous wound at the position of his heart, with bones visible deep.

Gojo Satoru smiled at her with a pale face, hugged her and said in a low voice: "It's okay, it's just a small injury, it will be fine after a few days of recuperation. Don't cry."

……

Just like Wujo Satoru said, the deep bone-deep wound on the heart seemed to be just a "minor injury". After receiving treatment, it completely healed within a few days, leaving only the scar that could not be eliminated in a short time.

It may not be eliminated in a lifetime.

Every time she sees the scar on his heart, Shimizu Sakura will feel very guilty, in order not to make her think too much, whenever she asks, Gojo Satoru will reply her in a nonchalant tone.

【"Huh? Are you asking about the wound?"】

【"It doesn't hurt anymore."】

Although he said this, Shimizu Sakura always felt vaguely in her heart that she seemed to have overlooked something.

[Who can injure the "strongest" when he is using an unlimited spell? 】

【--he himself. 】

Time goes back to the night of the decision.

……

If the ritual is not terminated, she will become a curse spirit, and if the ritual is terminated, she will die.

And Gojo Satoru chooses... to end the ceremony.

"Would you rather watch her die than watch her become a curse spirit?"

asked the phoenix statue.

Gojo Satoru didn't answer right away, he just thought of the hug in the dream, the hug that was so gentle with all his strength.

"I won't let her die."

He whispered, every word, but it was as heavy as a promise.

Gojo Satoru looked at the thing that looked like a red thread on the phone.

——Puppet deed, a very precious curse skeleton.

This is what the Wutiao family gave him not long ago.

"The puppet deed can connect two people, one is the [master] and the other is the [puppet]."

"[Master] can give orders to the puppet, but [puppet] cannot resist."

"When [Master] is about to die, [Puppet] will provide vitality for the other party to keep [Master] alive."

"Establish a puppet contract with Shimizu Sakura, let her become your [puppet], and completely control her."

Gojo Satoru angrily refused.

He has always acted recklessly and is used to being free and easy. He extremely hates this kind of unequal relationship. Whether it is being controlled by others or controlling others, it makes him feel sick. He never intended to make Shimizu Sakura his [puppet]. I don't want to be Shimizu Sakura's [Master], and vice versa.

but--

[When the master is about to die, the puppet will provide vitality for the other party so that the master can live.In a sense, the puppet is also a life-saving prop for the owner in case of danger. 】

These words clearly appeared in his mind.

Sakura Shimizu is dying.

There is no time to hesitate.

He lowered his eyes.

In the next second, the sharp blade of the dagger sliced ​​open his chest and penetrated deep into his heart. [Puppet Contract] seemed to smell blood, and the red thread squirmed, one end was connected to the wound in his heart, and the other end was connected to Shimizu Sakura's wrist the wound.

contract reached.

【At that time, she was about to die, and he just wanted to save her. 】

【He didn't think about the price he would have to pay for being a "puppet". 】