and No One Has to Die 17: Chapter 17: Leave Now…
and No One Has to Die The standoff continued.
Meanwhile…
More and more sorcerers quietly completed the encirclement.
Ronova slowly glanced around.
Seeing there was no longer any route left unguarded…
She calmly removed the ribbon tying back her long white hair.
Silvery-white strands cascaded over her shoulders.
Only then did she look at the assembled sorcerers.
“…I know this probably won’t change anything.” “But I still have to say it.” “Do you really want to become my enemy?” “If you leave now…” “I promise no one will be hurt.” “But if you insist on fighting…” “Don’t blame me for showing no mercy.” Those words weren’t truly directed at the sorcerers.
Ronova already knew they wouldn’t retreat.
This was simply her final warning.
A declaration.
If blood was spilled today…
It wouldn’t be because she had chosen violence first.
She had already given them an opportunity to walk away.
If Gojo questioned her afterward…
She would be able to say she had tried.
As expected…
Not a single person moved.
The moment Ronova finished speaking— Several sorcerers attacked simultaneously.
The closest Grade 1 sorcerer burst forward first.
His cursed energy exploded around his body as he attempted to overwhelm her with close combat.
Ronova merely smiled faintly.
She effortlessly sidestepped his kick.
Before he could recover…
Her hand was already around his throat.
Don’t let her delicate appearance fool you.
Ronova stood nearly 180 centimeters tall.
Lifting a grown man with one hand required surprisingly little effort.
The sorcerer struggled desperately.
His feet kicked helplessly in the air.
Ronova looked at him calmly.
“…I’m sorry.” Her fingers tightened.
Crack.
His neck snapped instantly.
His body went limp.
She released him without another glance.
As the Curse Spirit of Death…
Taking life had become frighteningly natural.
The surrounding sorcerers’ expressions immediately changed.
“Attack!” Cursed techniques erupted from every direction.
At that exact moment…
Ronova quietly snapped her fingers.
Scarlet cursed energy erupted around her body.
It wrapped around her like flowing silk.
Her ordinary clothes disappeared.
In their place…
A magnificent black dress materialized, adorned with crimson patterns that resembled flowing blood.
Behind her…
Two enormous crimson wings unfolded.
Countless eye-like markings slowly opened across the feathers.
A pair of elegant ornaments shaped like crimson eyes appeared above her head.
Her true form…
Had finally been revealed.
The instant her transformation finished…
A terrifying pressure swept across the battlefield.
Everyone froze.
It wasn’t cursed energy alone.
It was instinct.
The instinctive terror every living creature felt when standing before death itself.
For a brief moment…
Even experienced Grade 1 sorcerers instinctively wanted to flee.
But years of training prevailed.
Suppressing their fear…
They attacked together.
Dozens of cursed techniques surged toward Ronova simultaneously.
Fire.
Lightning.
Shikigami.
Projectile techniques.
Every attack converged upon a single target.
Ronova calmly raised one hand.
Snap.
The next instant…
Every technique died.
They didn’t collide.
They didn’t explode.
They simply lost all existence.
One by one…
The cursed techniques disintegrated into countless particles before ever reaching her.
The battlefield fell silent.
Yuki Tsukumo narrowed her eyes.
“…As expected.” “The Curse Spirit of Death…” “Your technique is absurd.” Ronova was still immature.
She hadn’t even reached her full potential.
Yet her innate technique was already monstrously powerful.
If allowed to mature…
Even Yuki didn’t want to imagine the outcome.
Enough observing.
It was time to fight.
Yuki stepped forward.
In an instant…
She appeared directly before Ronova.
Without any unnecessary movement…
She threw a single punch.
An ordinary-looking punch.
Yet Ronova’s instincts screamed in warning.
An overwhelming pressure bore down upon her.
It felt as though an entire mountain had been compressed into Yuki’s fist.
This was Yuki Tsukumo’s innate technique…
Star Rage.
By adding virtual mass to herself…
She dramatically increased the destructive force of every attack.
The greater the added mass…
The more devastating her strikes became.
At its theoretical limit…
The technique could even create a black hole.
Naturally…
That remained only a theoretical extreme.
Likewise…
Ronova’s technique theoretically possessed limitless possibilities.
Potential wasn’t the same as reality.
Even so…
Yuki’s punch remained terrifying.
If it landed directly…
Even Ronova wouldn’t escape unharmed.
Unfortunately for Yuki…
Immense power often came at the cost of speed.
Ronova had no intention of meeting that punch head-on.
The instant Yuki’s fist descended…
Ronova disappeared.
Or rather…
The distance between them ceased to exist.
She appeared dozens of meters away almost effortlessly.
This wasn’t conventional teleportation.
It was the application of All Things Die.
She had killed the space separating two locations.
Because the distance involved was short…
The cursed energy consumption was minimal.
This was one of the true horrors of her innate technique.
Death could be applied to concepts.
Not merely living beings.
Yuki’s punch struck empty air.
Boom!!
The resulting shockwave tore through the street.
Buildings cracked.
Windows exploded.
Half the road collapsed beneath the impact.
Yet…
Yuki paid no attention to the destruction.
She immediately spun toward Ronova.
“…Impossible.” “No…” Her eyes widened.
She had finally understood.
“It isn’t teleportation.” “You…” “You killed the distance between two points.” She stared at Ronova in disbelief.
“…That’s how you move.” Ronova blinked.
Then sighed.
“…Special Grade sorcerers really are terrifying.” “They figure things out far too quickly.” Yuki had correctly deduced the principle behind her movement after witnessing it only once.
No wonder she stood among the strongest sorcerers alive.
But…
Understanding an ability…
And countering it…
Were two entirely different matters.
Everyone in the jujutsu world understood the basic principles behind Gojo Satoru’s Limitless.
Yet almost no one possessed a reliable method of overcoming it.
Ronova’s innate technique belonged to that same category.
Learning how All Things Die functioned…
Didn’t make it any less terrifying.
At best…
It simply meant…
You understood why you were about to die.