I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit [29]
The vibrant green grass, the sparkling pond, the flowing stream from the artificial mountain, the Japanese house surrounded by bamboo—all of it was like a rainbow-hued bubble bursting, like a shattered window separating dream from reality.
Baobhan Sith knew she had left the cursed spirit's domain and returned to the real world. As her feet hit the floor, the rotting wood, weakened by years of neglect, cracked under her weight, nearly causing her to stumble.
Spiderwebs covered every corner, a thick mildew odor clung to the air, and the floorboards were nearly disintegrated from insect damage.
"Now this is what an abandoned building should look like…"
Baobhan Sith grimaced in distaste, taking in the decrepit surroundings.
She glanced up at a spider spinning its web along the ceiling and sighed to herself. "Imagine, I actually showed some restraint and didn't level this place. Remarkable."
Though she'd broken out of the domain, its creator, the cursed spirit, was still alive. Baobhan Sith intended to hunt it down.
But unexpectedly, she stumbled across a small surprise.
"Judging by the uniform, this guy must be a student from Jujutsu High, like Gojo."
Baobhan Sith crouched beside the unconscious man.
He was injured. His dark uniform was singed in places, slashed in others, and blood had soaked parts of it.
The wounds weren't life-threatening, though. With her current level of magic, Baobhan Sith could stabilize him.
He must've been trapped in the mysterious domain just like she was. If she hadn't shattered it, he would likely have perished there.
"Wait a minute, wasn't… wasn't one of Suguru's juniors supposed to die on a curse-clearing mission around this time?" Baobhan Sith tilted her head, dredging up hazy memories from years ago. "Could this… could this be that one? What was his name…?"
The name slipped from her mind. He'd died so early, before the story had even begun, making only a brief appearance in Gojo's recollections.
Baobhan Sith strained to remember... then gave up with a huff.
"Ugh, thinking makes my head hurt. Forget it!"
Difficult questions were meant to be skipped; annoying people were meant to be killed.
As long as she was happy, why let anyone else dictate her life?
I've lived a whole new life; I'll decide for myself how I want to live it.
She decided to take him with her. After all, his death was one of the main reasons for Suguru's descent into darkness. Originally, she'd only planned to eliminate some extra cursed spirits to lessen Suguru's burdens. She hadn't expected she'd get to kill two birds with one stone!
And so, Baobhan Sith tied him up with a rope she'd found nearby, then used a levitation spell to haul him through the air behind her as she left.
Did you think Baobhan Sith would carry him out herself? Keep dreaming. Why should her beloved wife's body be touched by these stinking men? She hadn't even had the chance to be carried in Baobhan Sith's arms herself. A princess carry would be even better.
Following the cursed energy, Baobhan Sith towed the unconscious Haibara behind her as she made her way to the back of the abandoned shrine.
The sky was now dark, though it had been bright and sunny when she'd first arrived. Clearly, time within the domain had flowed differently from the outside.
Through the gaps in the clouds, a single beam of silvery moonlight illuminated a figure standing there, as if cloaked in silver.
The figure wore a white hunting robe and a white fox mask, hiding their features and gender, nearly identical to the other masked figures she'd encountered.
But there was something different. Baobhan Sith could sense a knowing intelligence in this figure that the others lacked.
A cursed spirit with intelligence?
Baobhan Sith raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. Other than the Four Curses and the Death Paintings, she hadn't expected any other sentient cursed spirits in this world.
Even Gojo had been startled the first time Jogo had spoken.
Baobhan Sith eyed the masked spirit's back thoughtfully, waiting as the figure didn't immediately turn to face her.
In front of the spirit was a grave.
A small mound of earth, a lone, weathered wooden plaque—a grave so crude it was hard to tell if it even qualified as one, the epitaph on the plaque looking more like a child's scribbles.
The masked spirit knelt, one hand gently caressing the wooden plaque.
For once, Baobhan Sith stilled herself, arms crossed, watching silently as she waited for it to speak.
"I… don't want my master's peace to be disturbed."
The spirit finally spoke, in a voice too neutral to identify as either male or female.
"My master… as the shrine maiden dedicated to the land god, never left this mountain her entire life."
"To her… this mountain, its trees, its flowers, everyone here—this was her entire world."
"I don't want… the world my master cherished to be defiled."
"But that's no excuse for murder." Baobhan Sith's words were icy. "You want to protect this mountain, to guard your master's peace. But the people you killed were innocent; they had loved ones, people who loved them. You have no right to claim your love as a reason to take their lives."
"I know…" The spirit let its hand fall from the wooden plaque, rising slowly to its feet. "I stained the land my master loved with blood and death."
"But by the time I realized my mistake, it was already too late."
The spirit turned, walking toward Baobhan Sith, who remained still, arms crossed, watching as it stopped in front of her, revealing what it held in its open palm.
"These are…"
In the spirit's hand lay three shriveled fingers, with dark red flesh and black nails, radiating a sinister cursed energy.
Baobhan Sith knew exactly what they were. After all, these objects were pivotal to the entire Jujutsu Kaisen storyline.
"Sukuna's fingers…"
And there were three of them?!
"They granted me the strength to protect against outsiders… but they also brought carnage and misfortune to this land. It isn't right."
"Please… take them away from here."
For a moment, Baobhan Sith was silent. Then she reached out and took the fingers.
Though the mask concealed its expression, she sensed, somehow, that the spirit was smiling.
Baobhan Sith turned to leave, bringing the unconscious Haibara with her.
She didn't kill the masked spirit. With its domain destroyed and the Sukuna fingers taken, the cursed spirit would soon fade on its own.
It sat beside the small mound, not caring that the white robe would be stained by the dirt.
Tonight, there were no stars. It gazed upward for a long time before a single moonbeam slipped through the clouds to bathe it in light.
Its master had been a shrine maiden dedicated to the land god.
Because of her role, she had never married or had a family.
But it didn't matter, because everyone on the mountain was her friend, and she was truly happy.
Once, there had been many foxes on the mountain, revered as the land god's messengers.
So, as a shrine maiden, she always wore a white fox mask.
The young maiden never left the mountain, but she loved playing games.
Shadow tag, dodgeball, guessing games, hide and seek…
She was never lonely, as her friends on the mountain always played with her.
She had never seen the world beyond the mountain, but that didn't matter. This mountain and its residents were her entire world.
As a shrine maiden, she was bound to the mountain, a duty that prevented her from ever leaving. And though she died here, she had never once glimpsed the land god that had held her there her entire life.
Did that god truly exist? The spirit didn't know.
Since it had gained awareness, the sun had risen and set countless times, flowers had withered and bloomed countless times, yet it had never seen the land god who had confined its master to this mountain.
Even when outsiders came to destroy the mountain that held her life, the land god never appeared.
It didn't matter. Even if that god was nothing but a myth, it was still here.
Ah… my beloved master.
The spring of new life, the quiet of summer, the harvest of autumn, the sleep of winter.
May you dream undisturbed, may you smile in your sleep.
The sun will set and rise countless times, flowers will wither and bloom countless times, yet I will remain here, guarding your peace.
Ah… my dearest master.
The spring of new life, the quiet of summer, the harvest of autumn, the sleep of winter.
May you be blessed by fate, may your dreams blossom like flowers.
Though the sun will set and rise countless times, though the flowers will wither and bloom, even if I cannot remain by your side, I will always wish for you to rest in peace, undisturbed.
A bright beam of silver moonlight broke through the clouds, shining directly on the small mound.
Atop the simple wooden grave marker, a white fox mask hung, a hairline crack splitting it nearly in two. In the moonlight, it almost seemed to smile.
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T/N: Who's your waifu or husbando in FGO?