Chapter 27 Determination

　　Infinite sorrow welled up in Kei Kojima's heart, but his eyes were dry and he couldn't shed a single tear.

　　I want to cry but I can't.

　　It had already happened, and we knew that Geto Suguru had recovered his memory, so why didn't you take action earlier?

　　Why hesitate?

　　The first step he took into this school should have been taken and he should have been killed while he was off guard.

　　Nothing like this would happen.

　　Kei Kojima fell stiffly to the ground, and Geto Suguru, standing opposite him, looked down at him with an indifferent expression.

　　It was as if I was back to the scene of that day.

　　Now I can't move at all and can only watch him leave.

　　"Jay!"

　　Kojima Kei seemed to hear Gojo Satoru calling him:

　　"where you go."

　　"You should take care of your lover first."

　　Geto Summer Oil did not look back:

　　"You have your work to do, and I have my own path to follow. Thank you, Wu, but I don't need your salvation."

　　Gojo Satoru stopped.

　　Gojo Satoru picked up the stiff Kojima Kei. Kojima Kei struggled to raise his hand and grabbed his collar:

　　"my mother……"

　　Gojo Satoru remained silent:

　　"Kyu, I'm sorry...but it's too late."

　　Long before Kojima Kei arrived here, in the distant past, it was already too late.

　　Once the technique is activated, it cannot be reversed.

　　The sound of orderly footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, and guards in white clothes appeared in unison.

　　This is the army that never appears in public on weekdays. It guards the upper levels inside the barrier. All members are composed of sorcerers, and their levels are above the second-level sorcerers. They are guards dedicated to protecting important people and leaders. They will not be dispatched easily, nor will they participate in the mission of going out to remove cursed spirits.

　　There could only be one reason for being here now.

　　"Gojo-sama."

　　The leader bowed slightly:

　　"We have been ordered to apprehend the fugitive criminal, Rina Kojima. She has been found dead after using a forbidden technique. Your Excellency has ordered us to take her body and the target of the technique, Kei Kojima."

　　Shibata Shunta looked at Gojo Satoru, who was holding Kojima Kei motionlessly, from under the brim of his hat:

　　"Please, sir... don't stop me."

　　Kei Kojima has lost consciousness.

　　Gojo Satoru raised his hand and pressed him into his arms, saying expressionlessly:

　　"If you shut up and leave now, I'll spare your life."

　　Shibata Shunta was silent for a moment, then stretched out his hand and pointed forward, making an attacking gesture:

　　"Sorry, I can't do that. Go ahead!"

　　"Swish!"

　　The people in the back moved in unison. Two or three people separated from them and ran straight towards Rina Kojima who was lying in a pool of blood in the distance, while the rest rushed towards Gojo Satoru.

　　"Mr. Gojo, you should be aware of the consequences of disobeying orders. Please yield."

　　The man in the white uniform and Gojo Satoru in the black uniform, one white and one black, formed a sharp contrast.

　　It's like the dividing line between this world, guarding different worlds.

　　"I should have said it before, if you shut up, I'll spare your life. Don't you understand what I'm saying?"

　　This man, who usually always had a smile on his face and looked like he didn't care about anything, now showed a rare expression of anger.

　　I don’t know if it was because of my own powerlessness, the departure of my best friend, or the tears and blood flowing from the eyes of the person in my arms.

　　He suddenly disappeared with Kei Kojima in his arms, like a gust of wind.

　　The guards just blinked their eyes, and Rina Kojima disappeared from where she was.

　　"Up there!"

　　Someone suddenly looked up and shouted a warning.

　　Gojo Satoru, carrying Kei Kojima on his back and Rina Kojima in his hand, slowly stretched out his hand.

　　Shibata Shunta's eyes widened: "He doesn't want to... scatter!"

　　He shouted at the top of his lungs, but it was too late.

　　"boom--"

　　A huge explosion sounded, spreading outward from the ground beneath Gojo Satoru's feet, getting bigger and bigger until the place had become a ruin.

　　The guards, who had no time to escape, were also caught up in it, and the situation lasted for a long time until the explosion subsided.

　　The guards were lying scattered on the ground, already unconscious, with blood all around them.

　　"Go back and tell your master that Kei Kojima is my lover. If you want to capture him, you must first get my permission."

　　Gojo Satoru stood in mid-air, looking down at Shibata Shunta's trembling body, which seemed to be trying hard to get up:

　　"Even if there were ten thousand of you, you wouldn't be my match. Go away and don't force me to kill you."

　　Shibata Shunta raised his head with great difficulty, glanced at his subordinates who were breathing more than they were breathing out, and said while enduring the pain in his body:

　　"I hope you know what you are doing. This is against the entire world of spells!"

　　Unfortunately, the person who should have heard this has long since disappeared.

　　Shibata Shunta slammed the ground hard.

　　I didn't expect Gojo Satoru to actually interfere! Doesn't he know this is treason?! Does he also want to be expelled from the curse world?

　　What is he thinking!

　　"boom!"

　　Somewhere in the distance, there was also a loud explosion.

　　Looking in that direction and thinking of the disappeared Geto Suguru, Shibata Shunta was shocked and confused. The noise coming from afar made his heart beat non-stop. He had a premonition that a major event that would shake the foundation of the world of sorcery might happen tonight.

　　"Glass, where are you?"

　　"In the treatment room."

　　"Well, I have a seriously injured patient here. Come right over here."

　　As soon as Ieiri Shoko hung up the phone, Gojo Satoru on the other end of the phone appeared at the door of the treatment room.

　　He was holding one in his arms and another in his hand.

　　"Kojima? You're badly injured!"

　　Ieiri Shoko quickly cleaned the table, and Gojo Satoru put Kojima Kei on it.

　　"Who is this woman?"

　　Ieiri Naoko placed her hand on the woman's chest and paused:

　　"Gojo, you brought a dead body here so I can do an autopsy? My forensic skills are still at the elementary level, not very proficient."

　　As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt something was wrong and tore open the woman's clothes from her chest.

　　The body was covered with dense scars from the neck to the chest. Ieiri Shoko turned around again and tore off the clothes of Kei Kojima next to her. The scars on the two people were almost exactly the same, except that the woman's body had many other scars.

　　"This is……"

　　The family member was shocked.

　　Gojo Satoru was silent: "This is... Kei's mother."

　　"I see... I'm sorry."

　　Ieiri Naoko's voice dropped to a low pitch.

　　Both of them turned their heads to look at the sleeping Kei Kojima.

　　A lot happened that night.

　　Shibata Shunta failed to complete the task, and the higher-ups also knew Gojo Satoru's attitude. They charged Gojo Satoru with treason on the spot and dispatched more guards and sorcerers to capture Gojo Satoru and Kojima Kei and recover Kojima Rina's body.

　　However, when they arrived at the scene, Gojo Satoru had already gone ahead and cremated Rina Kojima's body, leaving only the ashes.

　　The two groups did not confront each other for long before the guards received an emergency call and withdrew.

　　That night, Takeshi Takeshi took advantage of the gap in defense, rushed into the barrier, slaughtered nearly half of the senior officials, and escaped before the guards turned back. After all the troops had guarded the weak rulers, Takeshi Takeshi launched a surprise attack and almost broke through Tianyuan's defense line.

　　He had been here once and was very familiar with the structure here, which almost allowed him to successfully approach Tianyuan.

　　However, before that, Gojo Satoru received an order.

　　- Stop Geto Suguru, and all his actions tonight will be forgiven. If anyone disagrees, joins Geto Suguru in corruption, or disregards orders, then, as their teacher, Masamichi Yaga will sentence them to death.

　　Looking at the photo of Masamichi Yaga unconscious and tied to a chair that appeared on his phone, Gojo Satoru agreed.

　　Geto Suguru learned the news in advance and fled outside the Jujutsu High School before Gojo Satoru arrived.

　　Gojo Satoru blocked Geto Suguru in the suburbs.

　　Two people stood on the dividing line of the road, one bright and one dark.

　　Gojo Satoru stood opposite Geto Suguru, looking at his best friend, and perhaps his only best friend here:

　　"Jay, I know everything that happened. You didn't kill Kyu's mother. Why did you do this?"

　　"There's no reason to change the place of what we've done before. Just pretend it never happened."

　　There was still blood on Xia Yujie's face, and his smile was a bit creepy:

　　"Besides, I don't regret it at all. I just feel a little bit sad. I wish Kei didn't remember these things. Please tell him for me, thank you."

　　"You are truly... hopeless."

　　Gojo Satoru twitched the corner of his mouth.

　　"This is what I've always wanted to do, Wu. I used to think, it would be great if I were you. But now I don't think so. I am unique. Only my body and my abilities can do certain things that you can't do."

　　Geto Summer Oil said.

　　"Is this also what you got when you peeked into the future?"

　　Five questions for enlightenment.

　　"That's right. Keiko is really my lucky star. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have the chance to start over now."

　　Geto Xiayou smiled and said, "Satoru, convey this to me."

　　"I won't tell you."

　　——"That's right. So, are you going to kill me? Satoru." asked Geto Suguru.

　　Gojo Satoru didn't answer.

　　…

　　When Gojo Satoru returned, Kojima Kei had not yet woken up.

　　Before he left, he asked the already awake Kento Nanami and Shoko Ieiri, as well as the secret guards trained within the Gojo family, to protect Kei Kojima's safety.

　　Haibara Yu has woken up. He fell into a coma at the mission site, but when he woke up, the world had turned upside down.

　　He was told that his respected senior, Geto, had killed Kei's mother tonight, killed many high-ranking officials in the high school, and even broke into Lord Tengen's palace, attempting to attack the pillar of the entire sorcery world, and had done something irreversible.

　　He couldn't believe it.

　　"Gojo-senpai, this is fake, right?"

　　Huiyuan Xiong's face turned pale:

　　"How could Senior Geto do such a thing? If it weren't for him, Nanami and I would have died long ago. He just saved us, how could he kill Kei's mother? There must be some misunderstanding here..."

　　"Stop talking."

　　Gojo Satoru sighed slightly and patted Huihara Yu's shoulder:

　　"Your body hasn't recovered yet, Nanami. Take him back to rest. You don't need to look after him here. I'm here, so everything will be fine."

　　"Okay, Senior."

　　Nanami Kento carried the silently crying Haibara Yu on his back, and the two disappeared at the door, their footsteps getting farther and farther away.

　　The only people left in the room were Naoko Ieiri and the still unconscious Kei Kojima.

　　Kairi Nishi suddenly asked:

　　"Where's Summer Oil?"

　　"I don't know where he went."

　　Gojo Satoru shrugged:

　　"I didn't catch up with him."

　　"Um...really?"

　　Ieiri Nozomi snorted.

　　Gojo Satoru avoided answering:

　　"When will Kei wake up?"

　　Kairi Nishiko replied:

　　"Maybe two or three days, or maybe one or two months. This is the first time I've seen the effects of this procedure, so I can't give an exact time."

　　"I see."

　　Gojo Satoru made hand gestures and set up a simple barrier:

　　"I'm going out for a minute. I'll be right back."

　　"where you go?"

　　Ieiri Shoko shouted.

　　"Let's negotiate a deal and release our teacher Ye Moth."

　　Gojo Satoru's voice had already faded away and soon disappeared.

　　Five minutes later.

　　Gojo Satoru stood at the scene that had not yet been cleaned up.

　　There were still bloodstains on the screen. The anger and fear of the incomplete senior officials towards Geto Suguru reached its peak. They cursed at Gojo Satoru and asked him why he didn't bring Geto Suguru to justice and execute him on the spot.

　　"Watch your words and actions. The reason you're still standing here alive is because I stood in front of you and prevented Jay from completely taking over the curse world last night. Are you sure you want to piss me off now?"

　　There was a smile on Gojo Satoru's lips, but his eyes were filled with cold murderous intent.

　　The hall fell silent for a moment.

　　"Can you calm down and talk now?"

　　Gojo Satoru stood in the center with his hands in his pockets. He was clearly called here to be judged, but now he seemed to be looking down on everyone and judging them.

　　"What do you want to say?"

　　An elderly man spoke slowly.

　　“I have two conditions:

　　1. Release Ye Mo Zhengdao immediately; he has nothing to do with the whole thing.

　　Second, Kei Kojima's personal freedom must be guaranteed. You may not detain or imprison him for any reason. If you take advantage of my absence, or deliberately allow me to leave, and act against Kei Kojima, I hope you will bear my wrath. Since you have already imprisoned Rina Kojima, I assume that you are aware of her technique and its power, as well as its consequences. I will not allow anyone to contact Kei Kojima privately, to brainwash him, to control him, and to make him your personal property.

　　Did you hear that? He's mine."

　　Gojo Satoru once again publicly declared his sovereignty over Kojima Kei.

　　But this time, everyone finally took it seriously.

　　"Gojo Satoru, you...now that you know this, do you want him to use his ability on you?"

　　Someone pointed out tremblingly.

　　"So what if it is, so what if it isn't."

　　Gojo Satoru snorted coldly:

　　"It's none of your business. It's his freedom."

　　"You're clearly usurping his power. His abilities should be used to benefit the entire world of sorcery, not you..."

　　Gojo Satoru glanced over lightly, and the man quickly shut up.

　　After losing Geto Suguru, a special combat force, they could no longer force Gojo Satoru to stand against them.

　　This time, Geto Suguru's massacre caused great damage to the world of curse arts. Many high-level officials with a say were killed. The remaining people wanted to hold up the scene like their fathers, but under Gojo Satoru's captivating gaze, they could only retreat step by step.

　　Gojo Satoru walked out of the barrier, feeling his head buzzing.

　　The negotiations took a long time. It is now impossible for the Gojo family to survive outside the world of curse. Yoga Sensei, Nozomi, Haibara, Kei, and others still have to rely on the high school to survive.

　　At least until it is confirmed that Geto Suguru has been killed, they can stay here and become the first layer of barrier.

　　Ye Mo Zheng Dao was released soon.

　　The top management finally agreed to Gojo Satoru's conditions.

　　Kei Kojima's powers hadn't yet awakened, and it wasn't certain he could successfully perform spells like his mother. Releasing him out to train might further unleash his powers. However, in exchange for Kei Kojima's freedom, the higher-ups also imposed a corresponding requirement: Yaga Masamichi couldn't even step beyond the Jujutsu High School.

　　"I'm sorry, teacher."

　　Gojo Satoru sat on the steps, his head slightly lowered, feeling somewhat downcast:

　　"…I couldn't stop Jay."

　　This was the first time Yega Zhengdao had seen Gojo Satoru so depressed. The young man, always full of vigor and vitality, would probably find it difficult to maintain his composure after such a huge change. He sighed softly:

　　"There's nothing we can do about it. You can't stop what's already happened."

　　"So, Yoga-sensei already knew about this? Kei, and his mother's technique?"

　　Gojo Satoru suddenly looked up and raised his eyebrows slightly.

　　Ye Moth said: "...You kid, you tricked me! I thought you were sad because of Jay's matter."

　　Gojo Satoru stood up with his hands on his knees:

　　"Sad? Yes, I am sad, but I had already anticipated this, so I'm not too surprised by this outcome. But Mr. Ye Moth, when did you know that Jie killed Kei and his mother in the past?"

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao paused:

　　"It's not very early, but it's not very late either."

　　On the first day that Kei Kojima arrived at the technical high school, it was not just Geto Suguru and Gojo Satoru who became suspicious.

　　Ye Mo Zheng Dao was also present.

　　In other words, he was the first person among all people to guess the truth.

　　Masamichi Yaga and Rina Kojima knew each other when they were young, so he was naturally well aware of her abilities and had guessed about them long ago.

　　She seemed to have a clear idea of her future and had already chosen a name for them while they were still in school.

　　"My child's name is Kei, it sounds nice, right?"

　　The girl wrote her name on a piece of paper and showed it to the boy.

　　At that time, the boy thought that this was a confession of love. He thought that Kei would be the name of their future child, but after graduation, he realized that he was not included in the girl's future at all.

　　"I'm going to find my husband. I will definitely give birth to a cute little boy. If I have the chance, I'll introduce him to you."

　　"I...I can't do it?"

　　The boy grabbed the girl. He was usually steady, but now he nervously pulled the girl's sleeve.

　　At that time, the girl showed a sad and nostalgic smile on her face, and murmured:

　　"It looks a bit like my child."

　　The sound was very light, like a gust of wind, and quickly dissipated.

　　The boy didn't take this to heart at first, thinking he had misheard. He saw the girl smiling at him:

　　"I'm sorry, Zhengdao. That person is not you."

　　Sixteen years later, the girl turned into a woman and stood before him with a boy named Kei.

　　The boy grabbed the woman's sleeve and didn't dare to look up at him.

　　At that moment, the words that had been buried deep in his heart were finally brought to light.

　　Although he had never seen Jie before, his face turned pale when he saw Geto Suguru.

　　He called the woman to ask, but the answer he got was inconsistent with his opinion. His investigation told him that there was no one named "Jay" around the boy Kei Kojima.

　　Ye Mo Zhengdao was deeply attracted by the abnormal behaviors they had seen in the past, which always showed a maturity different from that of their peers, but he never thought about the hidden story behind it.

　　Now I finally know.

　　"Don't worry about me, Zhengdao. I'm leaving my child in your care."

　　This was all the woman said to him after she was caught.

　　Ye Mo Zhengdao has already figured out most of the truth from the attitude of the senior executives towards Kojima Rina.

　　——Reverse the future.

　　What a heaven defying and terrifying ability this is.

　　If Kei Kojima inherited this ability, it would be a huge attraction for anyone.

　　After his own death, he let Kei Kojima use the magic to resurrect himself, which can be called a cheat.

　　"I don't know much. Besides the life-for-life drawback of this technique, there are even more serious side effects. My guess is that it's impossible to reveal details about the future, or the technique will backfire. I've never heard her talk about it, but the anger in her eyes when I mentioned Jay's name was undeniable."

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao said:

　　"I used to think she was sick, which was why she kept vomiting blood and having uncontrollable spasms. I wanted to take her to the hospital and ask a healer to help, but she refused. Now I think it must have triggered some taboo of the technique, which is why she's like this."

　　"I see."

　　Gojo Satoru muttered.

　　"Did Kei tell you anything?"

　　Noctua righteously asked.

　　"Nothing."

　　Gojo Satoru looked at the sky in the distance:

　　"This guy has always kept his mouth shut. This is his wound, and I can't ask directly. Teacher, am I being unqualified as a lover?"

　　Ye Moth Zhengdao fell silent.

　　After a night, Kei Kojima woke up.

　　His face was still a little pale, and he staggered a little when he got down to the ground.

　　"I'm sorry, I took the initiative to cremate your mother before you woke up."

　　Gojo Satoru stood next to Kojima Kei:

　　"terribly sorry."

　　Kojima Kei's face was calm, but his eyes were a little red. He replied:

　　"It's okay. I should thank you, Gojo-senpai. I've heard from Mr. Yagata what happened. If it's not cremated soon, it will be... taken away by them for experiments. You protected my mother when I was unconscious. Thank you."

　　He slowly placed the remaining skeleton into the urn in a calm voice.

　　From the time he woke up until now, Kei Kojima hasn't shed a single tear. Apart from looking a little more stable, there is no change at all.

　　"Kyu, are you okay?"

　　Gojo Satoru watched as his hands firmly held the urn and he picked it up.

　　Kojima Kei looked up when he heard this, his face expressionless:

　　"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you, Gojo-senpai."

　　Gojo Satoru didn't answer.

　　Kojima looked him straight in the eyes.

　　"Will Gojo-senpai feel sad?"

　　Kei Kojima asked, tilting his head.

　　"Um?"

　　Gojo Satoru was confused.

　　"You and Geto Xiayou should be good friends. Would you feel bad if something like this happened?"

　　Kojima Kei asked bluntly.

　　After experiencing the death of his mother, Kei Kojima, who had been immersed in memories of the past and wanted to escape reality, was finally awakened by a blow.

　　Running away will not solve the problem.

　　He's already made this mistake once.

　　The lesson is too painful.

　　But now he no longer has time to recall the past and only has one clear goal.

　　——Kill Geto Suguru.

　　This will be his lifelong goal.

　　He is only a fourth-level sorcerer now. In terms of strength, he is probably on par with Haibara Yu, who is only a third-level sorcerer.

　　There is a huge gap between him and the special-grade sorcerer. He has missed the best opportunity now. I'm afraid that Geto Suguru will not take it lightly the next time they meet.

　　Kei Kojima thought about pretending his emotions, getting close to Geto Suguru, and killing him when he was off guard.

　　But now, it is obviously no longer feasible.

　　He understood Geto Suguru, just as Geto Suguru understood him.

　　Being hypocritical will only be exposed, and besides...

　　He was afraid that when he saw Geto Suguru, he would be so filled with anger and hatred that he would not be able to hide his emotions.

　　"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that question."

　　Kojima Kei looked away and smiled:

　　"That's right, Gojo-senpai, how could he not be sad? It must be hard to part ways with your old friend. Have you guys been in touch since then?"

　　"there is none left."

　　Gojo Satoru felt that this kind of Kei Kojima was very unfamiliar. Overnight, he shed the outer shell of being weak, timid and in need of protection, revealing his hard and sharp side.

　　It seemed as if the Kei Kojima he met in those days was a disguise.

　　Gojo Satoru stared at Kei Kojima.

　　He had never understood why Jay always had a special liking for him, but now he might understand a little.

　　That is the vitality conveyed from the bottom of the heart.

　　No matter what happens, nothing can destroy him.

　　Even though he was clumsy, he was trying to break the deadlock in his own way.

　　"What's wrong?"

　　Kojima Kei paused:

　　"Why are you looking at me?"

　　Gojo Satoru smiled and shook his head:

　　"I just feel that Kei is different from before."

　　Kojima Kei turned his head and said:

　　"People always change, Gojo-senpai."

　　"Yes."

　　Gojo Satoru murmured.

　　Kojima Kei tilted his head to look at him.

　　This man who always carries himself with great self-confidence will also show a lonely and wry expression when he suffers a shock or encounters something he is helpless to do.

　　Perhaps he shouldn't be too harsh on this man. From the moment they first met until now, he had always been the one receiving help.

　　"I'm leaving first."

　　Kei Kojima picked up the urn and walked away.

　　Kei Kojima passed the third-level sorcerer exam and the second-level sorcerer exam, and graduated from the Sorcery High School in the blink of an eye.

　　But for several years after that, there was no news about Geto Suguru.

　　Gojo Satoru is still the strongest person in the technical high school. He is a senior and admired by many technical high school students. They are working hard towards this goal.

　　Since the generation of Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru, there have been very few students with extraordinary talent.

　　After all, geniuses are a minority. Most people are ordinary people like Kei Kojima, who are mediocre and hardworking.

　　But you can also rely on your own efforts to carve out a path.

　　After graduating, Kei Kojima embarked on the path of a professional sorcerer.

　　It was five years later that I saw Geto Suguru again.

　　"Hey, long time no see, Kei~"

　　The man put his hands in his pockets and greeted Kei Kojima with a smile:

　　"So this is what you look like when you grow up. It's really strange."