After wandering around outside for a while…
That evening, Ronova returned to Suguru Geto’s residence.
She behaved as though nothing had happened.
She walked inside, sat down, and immediately asked, “What are we having for dinner?” Her attitude was so natural that she almost looked like the head of the household.
Geto, however, remained shut away in his room.
He hadn’t come out for most of the day.
The only people in the living room were the Hasaba sisters.
The moment Nanako and Mimiko saw Ronova return…
Their expressions darkened.
“You still dare to come back?!” “It’s because of you that Geto-sama spent the entire day locked in his room!” Nanako immediately charged forward.
“You awful woman!” “I’ll teach you a lesson!” She swung an elbow toward Ronova.
However…
The difference in strength was simply too great.
Ronova caught the attack with one hand.
Then…
She casually drove her own elbow into Nanako’s stomach.
Thud!
Nanako immediately doubled over like a shrimp.
Ronova looked at her calmly.
“You’re making it sound like I was wrong.” “Wasn’t everything I said true?” “Geto’s plan is fundamentally flawed.” “The fact that he refuses to accept that doesn’t make it any less true.” Nanako clutched her stomach.
“You still dare say that!” She pointed at Ronova angrily.
Ronova folded her arms.
“You two should accept reality.” “Geto is stubborn.” “He’s pursuing a goal that may be impossible from the very beginning.” “If he were only hurting himself, I wouldn’t care.” “But he’s dragging other people into it.” “He’s already sacrificed countless lives for his ideals.” “And he brought people who genuinely cared about him into a path with no way back.” “Shouldn’t someone like that be criticized?” Nanako’s face turned red with anger.
Mimiko remained silent, but her expression was equally hostile.
They were the two people who had suffered most directly from Geto’s decisions.
If Geto had been able to turn back…
If he had abandoned his hatred of non-sorcerers…
Their lives might have been completely different.
Following an idealist could feel noble.
But sometimes…
It could also be fatal.
Just as Nanako and Mimiko were preparing to continue their one-sided elbow exchange with Ronova…
The door to Geto’s room opened.
“Enough.” Geto stepped out.
He had heard the commotion.
More importantly…
He knew exactly how large the gap between Ronova and the sisters was.
If the three actually fought seriously…
Nanako and Mimiko would be the ones suffering.
“Go back to your rooms.” The sisters reluctantly obeyed.
Once they had left…
Geto looked at Ronova.
“I’m not convinced.” “I admit your argument has merit.” “But I still want to try.” “Even if I ultimately die…” “I won’t be satisfied unless I’ve pursued it to the end.” Ronova stared at him.
Did Geto really not understand how slim his chances were?
Of course he did.
That was precisely the problem.
He knew.
And he still refused to stop.
That was simply the kind of person Suguru Geto had become.
If fear alone was enough to make him abandon his ideals…
He wouldn’t have become a curse user in the first place.
Ronova had already witnessed his stubbornness firsthand.
Since he had made his decision…
There was nothing more she needed to say.
Let him do what he wanted.
After reaffirming his determination…
Geto suddenly asked another question.
“If you believe my ideals are wrong…” “Then what do you want this world to become?” He was genuinely curious.
Ronova was unlike the cursed spirits he had encountered throughout his life.
She possessed an unusually human way of thinking.
She understood human emotions.
She understood morality.
And despite being a cursed spirit…
She didn’t seem interested in simply destroying humanity.
So…
What kind of world did such a being desire?
Ronova thought seriously.
Then…
She shrugged.
“Honestly?” “I haven’t thought about it that deeply.” “If I had to choose…” “I’d just like to live comfortably.” Geto stared at her.
“That’s it?” “That’s your grand ambition?” Ronova nodded.
“Pretty much.” At her current stage of life, she didn’t have any grand political ambitions.
She wasn’t interested in ruling the world.
She wasn’t trying to remake humanity.
She simply wanted to survive.
The next two months were already hanging over her head.
She would eventually have to face Gojo Satoru.
That alone was enough pressure.
And if she survived…
She wanted something much simpler.
A comfortable life.
She wanted enough money that she never had to worry about working for a living.
She wanted to travel whenever she pleased.
She wanted to eat whatever she wanted.
She wanted to spend time with friends.
Basically…
The kind of carefree life she had never truly experienced in her previous existence.
Geto almost laughed in frustration.
That’s it?
And you called my dream ridiculous?
“You’re really applying a double standard, aren’t you?” Ronova smiled.
“Maybe.” Geto fell silent.
Then…
After thinking carefully about it…
He realized something.
If that kind of life really existed…
It was surprisingly close to the life he himself had once wanted.
A peaceful existence.
No constant fighting.
No meaningless deaths.
No children being forced to suffer.
No comrades dying for a system that barely cared about them.
For a brief moment…
Geto genuinely wondered what such a world would feel like.
After that conversation…
Geto gradually returned to his usual self.
He continued working toward his goals.
He managed his organization.
He handled the countless affairs created by his followers and curse users.
Occasionally…
He would take Ronova out as the symbolic Holy Maiden of the Time Vessel Association’s remaining followers.
And sometimes…
She would help him deal with particularly vile individuals.
Those were exceptions, however.
Most of the time…
Ronova stayed inside her room like a complete shut-in.
Phone.
Computer.
Internet.
That was her life.
She spent hours searching for news reports about disasters, accidents, battles, and other events involving death.
Every time she encountered a genuine death occurring in the present…
Her cursed energy increased.
It had become one of the most efficient ways for her to grow without directly harming anyone.
And because of the agreement with Gojo…
She was already preparing for the battle two months away.
Somewhere else…
Gojo Satoru was quietly watching her.
He had never completely stopped monitoring Ronova.
When he saw that she wasn’t going on a killing spree…
When he saw her spending most of her time sitting in front of a computer…
He didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
She’s really taking this calmly.
Does she seriously have no fear of me?
Then…
Gojo noticed something strange.
Ronova’s cursed energy was continuing to increase.
Steadily.
Day after day.
He observed her more carefully.
Then…
He finally understood.
“…She’s watching the news.” Gojo fell silent.
She wasn’t physically visiting every scene.
She wasn’t personally witnessing each death.
Yet simply observing genuine deaths through news broadcasts and recordings was somehow sufficient for her innate growth condition.
Even Gojo found the concept ridiculous.
What kind of broken ability is this?
Watching the news makes her stronger?
He was almost relieved that Ronova’s condition appeared to require witnessing an actual death rather than merely learning that someone had died in the distant past.
Otherwise…
He didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if she could watch a documentary about the extinction of the dinosaurs and somehow gain the accumulated deaths of every creature that had ever lived.
Even with that limitation…
Her growth remained absurd.
Gojo couldn’t help thinking that if the concept of a god had ever truly existed…
Ronova was probably the closest thing the jujutsu world had ever produced.
Her authority over death was simply too absolute.
She wasn’t like an ordinary cursed spirit.
In the jujutsu world, cursed spirits and sorcerers developed in fundamentally different ways.
A sorcerer’s cursed energy reserves were largely determined by their innate characteristics and talent, although training could dramatically improve cursed energy control, efficiency, reinforcement, and output.
Cursed spirits were different.
Their existence was directly tied to humanity’s negative emotions.
The stronger the fear, hatred, or anxiety associated with the concept from which a cursed spirit was born…
The greater the potential of that cursed spirit.
And as that fear continued to exist…
The cursed spirit could continue to develop.
That was one of the greatest advantages cursed spirits possessed.
A sorcerer might possess extraordinary cursed energy from birth and then spend their entire life refining how efficiently they used it.
A cursed spirit, however…
Could continue evolving as long as the source of its existence remained.
This was one reason Special Grade cursed spirits could be so frightening.
Their potential was not always obvious at birth.
Some could grow dramatically through experience, fear, and combat.
And Ronova…
Was an especially extreme case.
She wasn’t merely born from a common fear.
She had been born from humanity’s fear of death itself.
Death was one of the most fundamental fears shared by humanity.
It had existed for as long as living beings had understood that life could end.
A cursed spirit representing such a concept should theoretically possess terrifying potential.
Yet such a being had actually appeared.
Ronova wasn’t merely a powerful cursed spirit.
She was an unprecedented anomaly.
A being whose potential seemed almost limitless…
And who was still growing.
The thought alone was enough to make even Gojo Satoru take the upcoming battle seriously.