Chapter 164
Although Kazuma Hato is currently in some unknown, desolate place, fortunately he hasn't left the cell tower's range, allowing him to make this call.
He wanted to tell Gojo Satoru the good news as soon as possible.
“I killed the mastermind; it turns out its name was [Lu Suo].
Kazuma Hatori was in a good mood—even with Kaori Itadori's reassembled corpse beside him, along with a piece of his broken brain called Toso, he remained completely relaxed.
On his forehead, near his temple, there was a deep cut made by Rōsō with a scalpel. Blood was still oozing out, and a moist, warm sensation slid down from there to the end of his eyebrow and the corner of his eye, until it almost touched the cell phone that was pressed against his ear, before Hatori Kazuma raised his hand to wipe it away.
Outside the basement was a small wooden cabin, resembling a forester's temporary residence. Two or three messy footprints were visible on the dusty ground, and the base of the timber used for construction was covered with traces of ants gnawing at it.
This might just be one of Lu Suo's resting places; it has only a brain left, wandering around possessing other creatures, and it's unknown how long it has lived.
It's a shame that the system didn't give him a platinum achievement—like "[I saw a ghost]"—for being able to plan ahead and take down such a cunning and deeply hidden villainous boss.
But he was still very satisfied, so he sat down on the steps in front of the cabin, under the winter night sky, surrounded by the cold fog and the forest full of fallen leaves, and made the call to Gojo Satoru to share the good news.
"As expected of Ichijin."
Satoru Gojo's voice came through the phone receiver, carrying the same relieved smile, "By the way, why is the personal pronoun '[it]'? Isn't it human?"
"Because I don't know how to describe it, since its main body is a brain."
Kazuma Hatori glanced at the brain beside him, which he had cut into pieces, and couldn't tell if it was male or female.
Even through the phone, Gojo Satoru could hear the distress in those words, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"It's okay, as long as we manage to take them down," he said. "We can celebrate with drinks tonight."
Gojo Satoru even added a witty remark at the end to ease the tension, which made Hatori Kazuma laugh along.
Can I choose sparkling apple juice?
Gojo Satoru didn't understand the meaning of sparkling apple juice to Hagoromo Kazuma, but he still readily agreed.
"Okay, we'll find a bar when you get back, maybe we can even make it for Christmas Eve... Hmm, wait a minute, I wonder if any bars will still be open tonight..."
Kazuma Hatake readily agreed, "We can go to the vending machine and buy two cans."
As long as he was with Wu, he didn't care at all whether the sparkling apple juice was a carefully prepared drink served in a pretty glass or simply required pulling the tab on a casual can.
He even knew that Gojo Satoru, with his vast wealth, wouldn't care whether the sparkling apple juice he was drinking cost several thousand yen or just a single coin inserted into the coin slot.
"Ha ha."
Gojo Satoru let out two short, cheerful laughs, as if he had already understood the unspoken meaning in Hatori Kazuma's words.
He loved Yizhen just as Yizhen loved him—with unreserved trust, absolute respect and understanding, and unwavering devotion.
Hearing that clear laugh that wasn't deliberately suppressed, Kazuma Hatori's heart softened completely.
He looked up and saw that on this Christmas night, fine snowflakes were already falling from the sky.
"Ichima, I'm going to tell you something, so be prepared."
Gojo Satoru saw the falling snow, which refracted a diamond-like brilliance under the warm yellow streetlights.
He strolled along the street for a while, and then sat down in front of a convenience store that had closed early.
These words immediately put Kazuma Hatake on high alert.
"Could Lu Suo be just one of the masterminds behind this?"
After much thought, he realized that this was the kind of news he needed to be mentally prepared to hear.
It's not like the villain in some other work, where if you kill him, there are always his cell-based experimental subjects, and if you kill him again, there are always his thought entities, and so on... In short, it's a never-ending story, and he'll even make cameo appearances in other games.
"What? No, this is the first time I've heard that the mastermind is called Lu Suo. Hmm, it's the name of a Buddhist ritual implement. I guess it's not his real name."
Gojo Satoru was startled, but couldn't help laughing, "That's not what I wanted to tell you. What I wanted to tell you is... that Jack has defected."
When he got to the second half of the sentence, the cheerful tone in his voice had completely disappeared, leaving only more complex and indescribable emotions such as loneliness or melancholy.
Kazuma Hatori was stunned for a moment.
Kazuma Hagoromo frowned in confusion.
"He defected...and went back to the vocational college?"
Can returning to a vocational college be called defection? Shouldn't it be more appropriate to call it arrest and brought to justice... or perhaps abandoning darkness for light?
Gojo Satoru: "...Pfft, wait, that's not what I meant."
Indeed, Xia Youjie had already defected from the sorcerer to the curse master, and now that he had defected again, he was jumping back to the sorcerer side.
Because Kazuma had interrupted him, the heavy emotions that had been weighing on Gojo Satoru's heart like thick ink suddenly dissipated.
He briefly recounted what Xia Youjie had done and then repeated their conversation.
"In short, that's how it is. Jay seems to have found a way to complete [the evolution of all mankind], but I suspect he's been misled by Lu Suo."
“Tsukumo Yuki… Ah, that’s another top-tier sorcerer, the one I mentioned to you before. She told Jay that she was looking for a way to prevent the world from producing cursed spirits. At the time, Jay agreed with her idea, but he didn’t know how to achieve this goal.”
Gojo Satoru propped his head up, while Souto stared at the snowflakes that had melted before they even hit the ground.
The battle was over, but from the ruins further away, the sounds of machinery or people amplifying their voices through loudspeakers could still be heard. By the time they reached this side, they were barely audible, probably from logistics personnel working to clear the area as quickly as possible.
—Let all of humanity evolve into sorcerers, creating a world where cursed spirits will no longer be born.
This was the path Xia Youjie ultimately chose. After discussing something with Lu Suo, he finally made up his mind, even if it meant sacrificing some ordinary people.
Could it be that the Lu Suo provided Jie with a potentially feasible solution?
"So that's how it is."
Kazuma Hato wasn't sure if Natsume could really achieve this goal, but since Ryosaku, who posed a threat to Satoru, was now completely dead, he didn't care about the other's departure at this moment.
If there's anything to regret, it's that I didn't extract more cursed spirits from them before.
That being said, since he's already killed the villainous boss, how far do you have to go in the game to consider it a complete success?
"As long as he doesn't hurt you, I don't care what he plans to do."
Kazuma Hatori thought for a moment, "More than anything, I'm worried about Satoru. Is he alright now?"
Although he didn't care about Xia Youjie, he knew that Wu always regarded him as a good friend—Wu, who seemed to treat everything lightly, was actually quite loyal and cherished every hard-won friendship.
Satoru has maintained contact with Junko Arase, Tomoya Tsuji, and Kana Yano.
"I... don't know either."
Gojo Satoru spoke in a low voice, unusually slow, as if a great sense of confusion and unease was rising within him.
"Ichima, I know I'm strong."
"Whether it's Principal Yagami, Shoko, or those so-called seniors, they always say that I'm a bit too strong, and sometimes it even makes people angry."
"How dare they say that about you..."
When Gojo Satoru first heard him talk about things he didn't know before, Kazuma Hato was so angry that he immediately stood up to confront someone, but Gojo Satoru quickly calmed him down, and his tone was no longer so heavy.
"Alright, alright, it was just a joke," Gojo Satoru couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, if Kazuma were here, they definitely wouldn't dare say that to me."
Kazuma Hatori retorted, annoyed, "You can't say that even when I'm not around. Satoru is a million times better than those people."
He began to regret that in this cycle he had become a curse master and could no longer be "Master Kamo"—like forcing a dragon away from the treasure it was guarding.
"Hey, no matter how much you praise me now, there's no kiss I can get as a reward."
Gojo Satoru coughed lightly, realizing that the heavy emotions in his heart were almost completely dispelled by Kazuma, and the corners of his mouth had already unconsciously turned up.
"In short, what I want to say is... it's not enough for me to be strong on my own."
“I want to cultivate more powerful companions, not only to reform the world of pyromancy. I also hope that they will no longer have to wait for others to save them, but will grow into people who are capable of saving others.”
"Whether physical or mental."
He shared his thoughts after much solitary contemplation, much like a tree that has gradually grown from budding and branching to maturity, finally blossoming with countless layers of vibrant petals in the biting wind.
From then on, this ancient tree rooted in the barren soil will not only provide a reassuring shelter for future generations, but will also protect them from wind and rain, nurture them, and look forward to more seedlings blossoming and bearing fruit.
This is the path that Gojo Satoru, as the [strongest], wants to take in the future.
It will probably be ten thousand times more difficult than those tasks that can be accomplished by simply moving a finger and using a spell, but he has already decided to do it and will not regret it.
I will support you.
This is the answer given by Kazuma Hatori, as always.
Even if the entire world of sorcery opposes him, Gojo Satoru will never be alone.
He let out a silent breath and chuckled lightly, "Oh dear, doesn't Yizhen have any ideals of her own? I'd like to hear them too."
[Yizhen's ideal is to help you achieve your ideal; he himself has no desires.]
[He doesn't really care about the world at all; it's as if you're the only real person to him.]
These were the words Jay said to him before he left.
If Kazuma were to completely abandon his own ideals and continue to support him simply to make him happy, Gojo Satoru would prefer that he do something for Kazuma as well.
Ideals...
"Ichima Hatake pondered."
In the real world, his biggest dream right now is probably to get into one of the top three universities in Japan.
But what if we limit our ideals to games...?
Kazuma Hatori, stroking his chin, slowly uttered a few words amidst countless falling snowflakes, witnessed by the boundless night sky and the vast forest.
"My ideal would be... to marry Satoru."
Gojo Satoru: "..."
Gojo Satoru: "Huh!?"
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