As Amber rapidly absorbed the cursed energy, the fox curse finally realized something was wrong.
To prevent its energy from being completely drained, it had no choice but to retract the dispersed cursed energy. Even so, half of its original reserves had already vanished.
Amber felt a tinge of regret. Her Sword Heart was only at the first layer, which meant she couldn't absorb energy from several kilometers around in an instant like she did in her previous world. Both her speed and range were far more limited now.
But... her opponent's strength was also nowhere near what she had faced in that other world.
Special-grade curses possessed a certain level of intelligence, and by now, the fox knew it was cornered.
This only fueled its ferocity further. Without a second thought, it charged toward the girl standing not far away, jaws wide open, ready to bite.
'Even if it's a curse, its form is still a fox. Canines have such obvious weaknesses.'
Why could felines easily kill canines of similar size? It wasn't just because felines were faster and more agile. More importantly, felines didn't rely solely on their jaws for attack.
A naked chokehold was a deadly lock for canines, but felines—big cats in particular—could shred your arms to ribbons with their sharp claws.
In comparison, a canine's claws were far too clumsy.
Faced with such a straightforward pounce, Amber didn't hesitate. She swung her scythe.
Under the effect of Quantumization, the curse-enhanced body offered no more resistance than tofu or air.
There was no sense of impact—it felt as though she were slicing through empty space—and the fox curse was cleanly bisected.
"Well done~"
Gojo Satoru appeared before Amber in the next moment, applauding as he spoke. "Though your technique had the advantage here, even without that, you'd have handled it easily with a bit more time, right~?"
The fox curse's technique was indeed troublesome for jujutsu sorcerers without large-scale destructive capabilities, but was Amber's own technique any less annoying?
Even if she couldn't simultaneously teleport, defend, and attack like the curse dwelling inside her, any one of those abilities alone was already ridiculously overpowered.
Still, based on her performance just now, Amber couldn't be classified as Special Grade.
At best, she was a highly skilled Grade One sorcerer capable of exorcising Special-Grade curses. But... that hardly mattered.
After all, she had only just enrolled.
When Okkotsu Yuta first started, he couldn't even take on a Grade Three curse, let alone a Special Grade. His strength came entirely from the Special Grade vengeful spirit, Rika.
The reason Amber couldn't be fast-tracked as a Special Grade like him was also because Gojo wasn't exactly obedient. And since the disobedient Gojo already had one Special Grade student, the jujutsu higher-ups had no intention of allowing another to join his side.
But then again, even if they wanted to stop it, they couldn't. All they could do was throw up bureaucratic obstacles to annoy the two of them.
'Something's off.'
Dark Amber spoke abruptly.
'Off?'
Amber didn't understand why she'd suddenly say that. 'What do you mean?'
'I can't quite put my finger on it.'
Dark Amber furrowed her brow. She held no fondness for humans and had very little contact with them.
Her knowledge didn't come from any teacher but from books the Herrscher of Sentience had brought her to pass the time.
She'd never been interested in human nature—in her eyes, there was nothing good about it. Though she knew her perspective was flawed, ingrained instincts made it hard to shake her prejudices.
Was this incident really just a scheme to mess with them?
Dark Amber felt there was more to it. Amber, of course, didn't take it as baseless suspicion and explained the concern to Gojo.
"So, the other you thinks this isn't as simple as it seems?"
Gojo rested his chin on one hand, tilting his head as he pondered what they might have missed, but nothing came to mind.
'Why not ask that self-proclaimed Celestial?'
Dark Amber suggested suddenly.
'Self-proclaimed Celestial?'
The oddly phrased term felt unfamiliar to Amber.
'That Herrscher of Sentience. Isn't she supposed to be an expert at these convoluted schemes? Instead of guessing blindly here, why not let her figure it out?'
Amber nodded, then sank her consciousness into the Feather of Serenity.
In this pure white world, a familiar figure floated cross-legged amidst the emptiness. Fu Hua's eyes were closed, showing no reaction to Amber's arrival.
Amber wasn't surprised. Since the Herrscher of Sentience had left, and Amber and Dark Amber had merged, Fu Hua—unable to fully trust either side—had to split her attention between them. If she wasn't here, it meant she was currently with the Herrscher of Sentience.
The girl stepped forward and called out to Fu Hua, who was on the other side.
"What happened?"
Fu Hua opened her eyes, first checking the safeguards she had placed on Amber specifically for Dark Amber. Confirming that no major incident had occurred, she then asked for an explanation.
Amber relayed Dark Amber's suspicions directly.
Though Amber could re-equip the Herrscher of Sentience's core herself, she had just interrupted the Herrscher's sales pitch earlier and upset her.
She didn't feel comfortable repeating that move, so she relied on Fu Hua to act as the intermediary.
"Give me a moment."
Hearing Dark Amber's suspicions, Fu Hua also frowned. She closed her eyes for a long moment before reopening them. "Your classmates are in danger."
"Huh?"
Amber was stunned.
They're targeting me, so why are my classmates in danger?
Wait, does that mean the jujutsu higher-ups really are scheming something?
The flow of time within the Fanghuang Down differed from the outside world, giving Fu Hua the chance to explain. "According to the Herrscher of Sentience's analysis, you and Gojo were lured away by design. Amber, do you remember the binding vow Yuji and Sukuna made?"
"That incident at the juvenile detention center? When Yuji died, and Sukuna promised to revive him under that vow?"
Amber naturally remembered. All the tragedies that followed were rooted in that moment.
"The juvenile detention center incident was orchestrated by Kenjaku. This time, your mission assignment was also designed by him."
Fu Hua nodded.
"But that doesn't make sense. The juvenile detention center incident wasn't supposed to happen this early, was it?"
Amber frowned.
"The Special Grade curse at the juvenile detention center appeared only after consuming one of Sukuna's fingers."
Fu Hua clarified the Herrscher of Sentience's viewpoint. "The jujutsu higher-ups are pawns. Kenjaku is the one pulling the strings. Transferring you away was also part of his plan. Everything was orchestrated by Kenjaku. In this situation, sticking to the original timeline is meaningless because your arrival has altered Kenjaku's state of mind, making him more impatient."
There was one thing the Herrscher of Sentience didn't mention: this situation wasn't entirely Amber's fault... Well, the mischief she was stirring up now was probably the real reason for Kenjaku's growing desperation.
But since Kenjaku was already in motion, the mighty Herrscher of Sentience simply didn't bother mentioning such a minor detail.
Hearing all this, Amber felt a chill run down her spine. She and Gojo had already been away for a full day, and it would take time to return. Was she going to miss the event again? What was the point of her coming here, then?
[Navigation: It's about Approval.]
"Gojo-sensei! We need to get back, now!"
As her consciousness returned to reality, Amber's face was etched with urgency.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.