“Whoa, how did you get in here?”
Ronawa was lying on the sofa scrolling through her phone, her soft, pale legs kicked up comfortably in the air.
Just then, Suguru Geto suddenly appeared.
He gave Ronawa a genuine fright.
How incredibly rude.
You can’t just walk in here!
Shouldn’t you at least knock and ask first?!
Clearly, Geto was not that polite.
“I’ve come to fulfill my promise.
I’m here to take you out to level up.”
“Alright, I’ve been waiting for this!”
Since she had already promised Gojo she would act as a double-crosser, she figured she might as well go along with Geto and see what he was up to.
Besides, she was certain that—for now, at least—Geto didn’t want to kill her.
And even taking a massive step back, if he did try to make a move on her right now, she wasn’t afraid.
She might not be able to beat him in a fight just yet.
But running away?
No problem.
In terms of growth speed, she was leveling up rapidly.
She quickly followed Geto out the door.
She had no idea what kind of “death” he was planning to have her witness, but she sincerely hoped it wouldn’t be something too sanity-draining.
Under Geto’s lead, Ronawa was eventually brought to a massive compound out in the suburbs.
From the outside, it didn’t look like much.
But once they stepped inside, the situation became glaringly obvious.
Looking at the massive crowd of people, all wearing matching uniforms and sitting in highly organized rows, Ronawa figured it out in exactly one second.
Unless she was very mistaken, this was a gathering point for Geto’s cult, the Time Vessel Association.
The Time Vessel Association: a cult with an incredibly long history, dating all the way back to the Heian period.
Throughout the history of the jujutsu world, this cult had reared its head numerous times, instigating a long list of infamous, horrific events.
The most recent was roughly ten years ago, when the Time Vessel Association hired Toji Fushiguro to assassinate Satoru Gojo and kill the Star Plasma Vessel of that generation, Riko Amanai.
That specific incident was ultimately the catalyst that caused Suguru Geto to snap, leading him to become a traitor to jujutsu sorcerers and an egregiously evil curse user.
It was also after that event that Geto seized control of the Time Vessel Association, becoming its current leader.
Under Geto’s restructuring, the cult’s dogma had undergone some significant changes.
Originally, the Time Vessel Association worshipped Master Tengen and only Master Tengen.
In modern terms, they were essentially a group of rabid, toxic solo-stans for Tengen.
The entire reason they wanted Riko Amanai dead back then was because they refused to let her merge with Master Tengen, believing it would taint Tengen’s “purity.”
Now, however, after Geto’s “renovations,” the cult’s ideology was no longer about being toxic solo-stans.
The doctrine had been twisted: they were now meant to follow Master Tengen’s ideals to cleanse the world, eradicating humanity to create a pure paradise!
A world that would truly satisfy Master Tengen!
You really had to hand it to him; he played the role of a fake prophet perfectly.
Still, Ronawa was deeply confused.
Okay, so he runs a cult.
Fine.
That question was answered almost immediately.
“Brothers and sisters!
Members of our holy family!”
Geto’s opening line nearly broke Ronawa’s composure.
She fought madly to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching upward.
He sounds exactly like an influencer hyping up a livestream product launch.
But then again, maybe that was exactly how cults operated?
Never mind, it tracks.
“Today, I am incredibly happy and thrilled to announce something to all of you!” Geto declared to the crowd.
“Under Master Tengen’s guidance, I have finally found our Holy Maiden!”
“And that is her!
Ronawa!”
Ronawa was stunned.
She reflexively pointed a finger at herself.
Holy Maiden?
Me?!
Before she could voice a single word of protest, Geto continued, “She is a gift bestowed upon us by Master Tengen!
A natural-born deity!”
“She will lead us to fulfill our grand ambition!
To cleanse this rotting, filthy world and return it to a state of absolute purity!
In the near future, she will lead all of us to seize the authority of this entire world!”
Geto preached to the believers with a feverish, fanatical tone.
The followers responded by screaming Ronawa’s name in a frenzy, repeatedly prostrating themselves and bowing toward her.
This scene was genuinely a little too much for Ronawa to handle.
Crap.
I accidentally became a cult leader.
And the cult’s name wasn’t even a good omen.
Time Vessel Association?
Panxing (Time Vessel) sounded awfully close to Panxing (Sentenced to Prison).
Was she going to end up behind bars singing Tears Behind Iron Bars?
Despite her slight anxiety, Ronawa couldn’t deny an inexplicable surge of thrill in her heart.
Geto observed all of this intently.
Watching Ronawa transition from initial discomfort, to calmly accepting the believers’ worship, to ultimately showing hints of genuine enjoyment…
Geto knew he had hit the jackpot.
She was a natural-born cult leader.
With this new layer tying them together, it would be much easier to rein her in and smoothly integrate her into his plans.
Naturally, Geto hadn’t brought Ronawa here solely to crown her the Holy Maiden of the Time Vessel Association.
More importantly, he needed her to witness the absolute ugliness of humanity firsthand.
So, they quickly moved on to the next item on the itinerary.
The earth had been entirely hollowed out, forming a massive underground cavern.
A large altar had been erected here.
Standing right in the center of the altar was a statue of Master Tengen.
It had to be said, the cult vibes here were immaculate.
It perfectly matched every stereotype Ronawa had about evil organizations.
And very quickly, something even more stereotypical happened.
A sacrifice!
With a clap of Geto’s hands, over a dozen unlucky bastards were dragged onto the altar.
These people were already paralyzed with terror; they were practically hauled up the steps.
Geto addressed the room once again.
“These are the sinners we have tracked down recently.”
“Every single one of them is devoid of conscience.
Every single one of them deserves to die ten thousand times over.
Their hands are stained with blood from countless atrocities.”
“And today, under the watchful gaze of Master Tengen, we shall punish their sins.
May Master Tengen purify their wicked souls!”
After whipping the believers into another frenzy of fanatical cheers, Geto stepped up beside Ronawa and led her right in front of the sinners.
Clearly, he intended for her to be the executioner today.
Ronawa hesitated.
Am I really supposed to kill people?
Geto noticed her hesitation.
He pointed at one of the men and said, “His name is Enoshita Yoshihiro.
He’s an incurable gambling addict.”
“To feed his gambling habit, he drove his parents to suicide, caused the death of his own wife, and sold his own children to the upper crust to be used as ‘Nyotaimori’—living sushi platters.”
“Do you think a man like this doesn’t deserve to die?”
Hearing this, the hesitation in Ronawa’s eyes vanished instantly.
She could sense that Geto wasn’t lying.
Geto immediately pointed to the next person.
“This is Fujiwara Motoki.
A deranged lunatic.”
“For the sake of his so-called ‘art,’ he committed a string of brutal, inhumane serial murders.
Every single victim died an agonizing death—in ways so gruesome that even I found it hideous.”
“Yet, thanks to a robust legal defense under our so-called ‘law,’ this man was only sentenced to seven years in prison.
He even gained a fanbase and acquired quite a few worshippers because of it.”
“Tell me, should a person like this be allowed to live?”
Ronawa was already smiling.
A cold, dark smile.
Crimson cursed energy rapidly flared to life, coating her right hand.
Clearly, Ronawa was ready to start killing!