Merry Christmas: The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons

Tokyo, Shinjuku.

Together with Gojo, I had to deal with the cursed spirits released in this area. If I wanted to, I could have prepared a large-scale spell that covered the entire city, but that wasn't my style. I didn't care if some sorcerers or civilians died because of it. As an employee, I have a policy of not doing things unless I'm told to.

Cursed spirits flooded the streets, and among them, there were curse users on top of a building.

"Gojo-san!"

Iijichi-san rushed over and whispered something to Gojo.

"Panda, Toge!"

Gojo, with a serious expression, called out to the two.

"I'm sending you both to Jujutsu High now. Index, you too..."

I shook my head in refusal. He might use some teleportation method, but my habit will repel the technique.

As Gojo activated his technique, the two who received the command disappeared from the circle.

Noticing our movements, the curse users started getting agitated.

"Mimiko, Nanako. It's time to fight."

"Finally! I've been itching to take down that cheeky sister."

The curse users who were with Geto when he declared war emerged.

"Isn't the kanji for 'curse' similar to the character for 'maggot'?"

"I've always thought this but you have a sharp tongue."

Immediately after that comment, it took less than 0.1 seconds.

Every cursed spirit in sight was exorcised, and the curse users were embedded in the walls of buildings or collapsed on the street. They were alive but unconscious. Instant defeat. I had simply swung my 'third arm.'

"Today is December 24th. The Star of Bethlehem is displayed everywhere, even if they're small... 'The Right Hand of God' is in top form today."

The star that heralded the birth of the Son of God is known as the Star of Bethlehem. The large star atop the Christmas tree mimics this star. Though the traditional star is an eight-pointed star, the ones on Christmas trees are usually five-pointed. Still, it's a potent magical symbol. Each one may be small, but displayed all over Japan, or even the world, it transforms the entire Earth into a ritual site. Even without this, December 24th and 25th are special days. All Christian-based techniques are significantly strengthened. The outcome wouldn't have changed no matter when, but choosing today is almost pitiable.

"No way, come on, give me a break...!"

The tide had turned.

If you considered quality over quantity, the balance was already heavily in our favor. In an instant, the curse user found himself completely isolated. Maybe he wanted to escape reality for a moment.

"Can I leave this to you?"

"Wait, I'll finish this guy off quickly."

I turned to face the black man confronting Gojo and swung my 'third arm.' It wasn't to take aim. Just by swinging, it would hit. This action was only to recognize and set the target.

This wasn't a cheap auto-aim that needed the target in sight to activate. In this battle, simply identifying the enemy's presence was enough to eliminate them.

"Whoa!!"

The man, shouting to pump himself up, whipped a black rope that struck the red arm extending from my shoulder.

"The 'Right Hand of God' isn't functioning...?"

This felt like an unexpected irregularity. Normally, it should pierce through any defense, but this was different.

"The 'Imagine Breaker'?"

If that's the case, it made sense. The 'Right Hand of God' might have misjudged its output or been confused about how to proceed.

But this was different. This wasn't the nullification of powers like the 'Imagine Breaker.' The 'Right Hand of God' had the power to overwhelm 'Imagine Breaker,' even if it might shave off some of its surface abilities. However, there was no such damage to the 'third arm' after contact with the rope.

"That black rope seems to distrupt cursed energy."

It might affect magical power or Telesma somewhat, disrupting the internal energy of the 'third arm' upon contact. As a result, there was a discrepancy between the expected output and the actual output.

If it comes to close combat with this black rope user, the protection of the 'Walking Church' might not work.

However, unlike the original, the fabric isn't woven with magical fibers, so it would only nullify its effectiveness as a spiritual outfit. The rope itself doesn't have enough power to cause fatal damage, and even if it's just regular clothing, its attack power is only enough to be reduced to minor impacts.

Moreover, I am a saint. Such blows wouldn't even count as scratches. With reflexes allowing for supersonic movement, I could easily dodge attacks after seeing them.

More importantly, considering the purpose of this battle, a delay tactic was obvious. The enemy wouldn't come for close combat. If it turns into a long-range battle, it might take longer. Gojo's intention to leave it to me made sense.

"It's troublesome, so let's finish this quickly."

"Are you sure?"

Holding a sinister black dagger in my left hand, quite unfitting for a sister, I swung the 'third arm' again while simultaneously firing the dark daggers. The black rope deflected most of them, but a few struck his torso and arms.

The man, reflexively preparing himself, found the sword strikes to be painless and without bleeding.

He tried to remove them by hitting the swords with the rope.

If it were just an attack, that would be fine, but simply being pierced could bring about bad effects. Any curse user would think that way, unaware that this was the trap.

"Ugh...!?"

The moment the rope touched the sword, the magic was disrupted, causing some of the structure to unravel. The collapsing daggers exploded within his body, embedding into his flesh. Holding back a scream, he endured the pain, a testament to his combat experience.

Several of the dark swords—'Cursed Magic Swords'—remained lodged.

Furthermore, handcuffs and gears appeared around him, extending chains that summoned two 'Karma Beasts' with rainbow skeletons and transparent flesh.

This 'Karma Technique' would hold him back. Even if he tried to deal with the 'Karma Beasts' using the rope, they would be re-summoned, and a mist-like substance would entangle his body, imposing the 'Karma of Killing.' Attempting to remove the 'Karma' would only result in the 'Karma of Killing Karma,' worsening the situation. The accumulated 'Karma' would gradually erode him. Failing to remove it would leave him with no choice but to run.

This strategy, reflecting Aleister Crowley's philosophy of turning failures into opportunities, ensured results no matter the turn of events. It was an answer to the 'Imagine Breaker,' forcing it to play a defensive game.

Countermeasures included removing the magical swords or defeating me, the caster, but the former could damage internal organs and potentially be fatal. It wasn't a gamble worth taking without certainty.

The latter was impossible. He couldn't defeat me in terms of skill, and by now, we were already running towards Jujutsu High.

---

While Index and her group headed towards Jujutsu High, Okkotsu and his team were no longer there.

"We were aware of her abnormality in advance. We can't afford to be picky about our methods."

In an underground parking lot, the white fluorescent lights seemed excessively bright and harsh on the eyes. Suguru Geto spoke to Okkotsu, a cursed spirit gripping Maki's neck as she lay unconscious beside him.

Having taken Maki hostage, Okkotsu had been brought to this secluded location, far from anyone's knowledge.

"Release Maki-san."

"I want your cursed spirit, Rika Orimoto. That's the exchange condition."

To make a cursed spirit with a master-servant contract an object of Cursed Spirit Manipulation, you must kill the master and replace the master. But if it could be willingly relinquished by the master, that might not be necessary. Geto hadn't tried it before, but he welcomed the idea if it meant acquiring it effortlessly.

"Sorry, but I can't agree to that. Besides, I don't even know how."

"Hmph, I figured as much."

Geto snorted lightly. He estimated that this method had less than a ten percent chance of success from the start.

"Then die, Yuta Okkotsu. For the greater good—no, for my ideals."

Resistance would mean Maki's death. Knowing the hostage was meaningless, Geto would gladly kill her. However, even if Okkotsu complied and died, Geto was unlikely to release Maki unharmed, given his ultimate goals.

Even so, Yuta chose not to resist.

"Yutaaa!!"

The special-grade vengeful cursed spirit, Rika Orimoto, wouldn't allow that. The death blow that Geto launched was blocked by Rika, who acted against her master's will to protect his life.

"What are you doing...?!"

"Tch, what a nuisance."

Geto could kill Maki now, seeing the resistance as a sign. However, doing so would prompt a conscious, deliberate resistance from Okkotsu. The current resistance wasn't from Okkotsu's own will. This state, without the sorcerer's intent, was still easier to deal with. Geto had no choice but to keep Maki alive.

"Yuta, you can't die!"

"I'd just be joining you in the same place."

"Even so, you can't!"

"Why... No, I see."

Okkotsu realized he'd been preoccupied with his own feelings and hadn't considered others'. He hadn't predicted Rika would reject his death. If he died here and Maki was saved, would she truly accept his sacrifice willingly?

—You idiot, it only means something if you do it alone.

"Maki-san said that, didn't she?"

She would never accept charity willingly. If that's the case, then resist until the end. The moment you find yourself taken hostage, accept that you couldn't protect them. Call me heartless if you must.

Even so, my resolve to not abandon Maki won't change. This is the natural mindset of a jujutsu sorcerer.

"Thank you, Rika, for making me realize it. You've always been thinking about me, haven't you?"

Okkotsu finally felt like he had become a true jujutsu sorcerer. He expressed his gratitude and embraced Rika. It felt more like he was being embraced rather than embracing her, but it was a hug nonetheless.

"I won't run away from the responsibility of living anymore. Rika, my life and soul are yours. I swear I won't throw them away against your will. It's okay now. I can live on my own. So please, lend me your strength one last time."

Okkotsu decided to bear the burden of living. What would Geto think of this? He valued the beauty of sacrifice among jujutsu sorcerers, but how would he view the spirit of a sorcerer abandoning another sorcerer?

In this situation, it was unlikely to sway his heart because he saw them as monkeys and sorcerers. However, such cruel trolley problems were not uncommon in the jujutsu world.

If Okkotsu's actions were seen negatively, it would be interpreted as him presumptuously guessing and interpreting others' feelings, making excuses that this was their common sense, and abandoning others. If you unilaterally judge causing others harm as evil and decide to slaughter non-sorcerers, it should look ugly.

But if he thought it was unavoidable, a necessary evil, something both parties understood, and sought a justification to protect it even slightly or, heaven forbid, saw it as beautiful—then why couldn't he extend that tolerance to non-sorcerers?

Every human being lives by causing trouble for someone else. But is that inherently wrong? If you count and expose every sin and settle it, what remains? There's no compassion, only petty and mean creatures.

Helping each other, complementing each other's weaknesses, is the reason humans gather. Not all sins are ugly. To make human society function smoothly, it's necessary to forgive each other's sins appropriately. If judging people by law is human, then forgiving people by heart is also human.

'People can't judge people.' If you judge people by heart, humanity ends. What Index wanted to convey was right in front of Geto.

As they faced each other, there was neither anger nor sadness on their faces.

After that, there is no need to go into detail.

Love and ideals decided the battle.

---

"So, it ends with you after all."

The battered Geto, recognizing my presence, leaned against the alley wall without much surprise.

"When I first met you, I thought it was fate. I believed you were sent by God as an unreasonable final barrier to thwart the fulfillment of my wish."

"…It's just my opinion, but I think there's no curse more hopeless than fate."

Fate makes any effort or desire seem futile. Yet, humans are beings who can neither give up nor stop dreaming. It's an inescapable curse of resignation that eternally haunts humanity, making it utterly hopeless in that sense.

"Index-chan, what am i missing?"

As the 'evaluator,' I answered him.

"In a way, you were too naive. You tried to kill Okkotsu-kun, but you didn't hate him. Even though he was an obstacle to your desire, to be truly pure in your wish, you should have hated Okkotsu-kun and felt no sentiment in killing him."

"And moreover, you didn't kill Maki-san in the end. You could have done it at any time."

I heard about the underground parking lot incident from Okkotsu-kun.

"I don't know what you discovered, but that's what I call 'conflicting desires.'"

His wish was flawed from the start. How could he sustain a world of only jujutsu sorcerers? While people talk about adapting to the environment, it's not something easily achieved. If he created a situation where only awakened sorcerers survived, 99.9% would die without ever awakening. The outcome would be that most of the surviving sorcerers would be the ones already present. 

Even in Japan alone, a population of a few thousand could not maintain civilization. Those who remained would struggle to secure food, leading to widespread starvation. Sorcerers can't suddenly become farmers. 

Additionally, even on the brink of extinction, it's unlikely they could reverse the trend of low birth rates. They would continue to decline, leading to the eventual extinction of humanity.

Short-sighted, foolish, and incorrigible.

—But I don't dislike it.

"'On the scale of right and wrong it is evil, if it's about like and dislike, it's favorable.' That's what the Brainstem Teacher might say."

Misunderstanding is the root of all evil. Even if his distorted thoughts and actions are denied, I cannot deny the wish he first held or the emotions that drove him to his actions. Whatever the trigger was, there must have been a corresponding tragedy.

"…If possible, I don't want to stain Satoru's hands with my blood, Please kill me..."

"Sorry to disappoint, but saints are forbidden to kill."

Of course, that's a pretext. I simply want to be honest with my feelings.

I can't bring myself to kill him. That includes letting him die by inaction.

If a jujutsu sorcerer found him, they would kill him, not capture him. Even the usually easygoing Gojo Satoru.

That's why I needed to find him first.

Feeling bad for the Buddhist Geto, I made the sign of the cross with my hand and held it up to him.

"Do you seek a new heaven...?"

Reciting the keyword that activated it, Geto was absorbed into the shadow formed by his right hand and disappeared.

His final expression seemed like he was ascending to heaven.

'WISH_Over.Modelcase_"WORLD REJECTER"'

A special Telesma I gained through the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires and the magical symbols that match 99% with the Son of God—using it to recreate Kamisato Shouryuu's "World Rejecter" in my own way.

World Rejecter is the right hand that pairs with the Imagine Breaker. If Kamijou Touma's right hand repairs, fixes, and clings to the existing world as an ideal, then Kamisato Shouryuu's right hand abandons, departs from, and discards it.

The will to seek another world while being attached to the current one—a conflicting desire. It forcibly banishes anyone with such desires to the surplus area on the same timeline, a 'new heaven.' Even a complete and full-powered Magic God, capable of freely altering phases, cannot escape this power.

However, as with Coronzon, traveling to the new heaven doesn't necessarily require World Rejecter. By aligning with the time shift caused by the Urashima Effect of the Theory of Relativity, it's possible to reach the new heaven with astronomical probability. This means it could potentially be recreated through time-manipulation techniques.

"Merry Christmas, Geto."

No one heard that voice anymore.