Robert Sterling's Suguru Geto stood frozen, his pupils constricting as he looked down at the girl lying on the golden tiles.
Only a heartbeat ago, Riko had poured out her heart, crying about how much she wanted to live, to see more scenery, and to stay with her friends. She had been ready to fight for her happiness. But in the space of a single gunshot, all of it had vanished like a fleeting summer dream.
The entire AMC theater in Los Angeles, previously buzzing with the excitement of the "Strongest Duo," fell into a silence so profound it felt heavy.
One second, a girl was embracing a happy future. The next, her life was frozen in a pool of dark red. The stark contrast between the "Azure" youth of the movie's first half and the cold, clinical violence of the second left the audience paralyzed. A silent, sorrowful emotion spread through the rows of the theater, thicker than the smell of popcorn.
"Riko?" Geto whispered, his voice trembling with a disbelief that resonated in every speaker.
The camera zoomed in on Riko's face. Her eyes were still wide open, and blood pooled beneath her temple. She looked exactly like a broken porcelain doll.
"Well, that was a tough one," a man's voice rasped from behind him.
Andrew Stone's Toji Fushiguro stepped into the light, holding a smoking pistol with a bored, casual air. "Dismissed, everyone. Contract complete."
Geto turned to look at the muscular silhouette of Toji, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury. "Why... are you here?!"
Why?... Oh that's what you mean.
Toji revealed a ferocious, shark-like smile, his stark white teeth gleaming in the dim light of the Hoshi Palace. "Because I killed Gojo Satoru."
Suguru Geto remained silent. He replaced words with action.
Behind him, two terrifying, massive Cursed Spirits surged out of the shadows. The air in the theater seemed to vibrate as a giant white dragon with glowing yellow pupils, the Rainbow Dragon snapped its teeth shut, its scales shimmering with a $2 million VFX budget.
Geto stood flanked by his monsters, his expression cold and decisive. "DIE!"
In viewing halls across the country, the silent sorrow of the audience finally erupted into a roar of collective rage!
["AHHH! I want Toji Fushiguro to DIE! Andrew Stone is too good at being a villain, I hate him!"]
["Leo Vance, why won't you act like a human being?! Riko was finally going to be happy! You sadist!"]
["I'm going crazy! My brain is crashing! How can Gojo be dead?! This movie is a trauma simulator!"]
["Toji Fushiguro is the most hateful, coolest, most oppressive character I've ever seen. I want him torn to shreds!"]
In the Industry Row.
The three members of the Vance family sat together in the darkened theater.
"Dad... why are you crying?" Lauren Vance whispered, wiping away her own tears as she looked at her father, Arthur Vance, beside her.
Earlier that night, Mrs. Vance had insisted the family come to support Leo's first major film premiere. As a mother, she couldn't miss her son's big moment, even if she still had reservations about his "Hollywood Hellraiser" past.
Arthur Vance's eyes glimmered with moisture in the reflection of the screen, but he still stubbornly turned his head away. "I'm not crying, Lauren. Don't talk nonsense. It's the... the theatrical fog."
Beside him, Mrs. Vance had no regard for her image. She was already sobbing into a silk handkerchief. "That brat Leo is too hateful! What kind of movie is this?! Does he want to kill the audience with sadness?!"
Lauren Vance couldn't help but chuckle through her own grief. "Mom, although Leo's plot is incredibly cruel, you have to admit—he has captured the entire nation's heart in under two hours. If this movie gets a global release, the box office results will be legendary."
Mrs. Vance gave her daughter a tearful look. "At a time like this, you're still thinking about Vance Global's bottom line? I'm worried about Leo! Andrew Stone's character is too powerful. It feels like Leo's Gojo was completely suppressed."
Arthur Vance didn't say much, but the worry in his eyes was obvious. Seeing his son being "slaughtered" on the big screen, even if it was just acting, was a hard pill for a father to swallow.
On Screen: The Battle of the Palace.
"DIE!" Geto roared.
The giant Rainbow Dragon charged toward Toji Fushiguro, its movement a blur of high-end CGI. But Toji, the man with zero cursed energy, moved like a ghost. He dodged every strike with a fluidity that made the "Strongest" sorcerer look slow.
"The Hoshi Palace and the Cursed Warehouse are hidden barriers," Toji said leisurely as he danced between the dragon's coils. "There's no way to guard every entrance. Once you know where the door is, it's easy to break through."
He swung a blade, slicing through the air. "Every year at this time, the Academy is busy, and there are 'Fly Heads' everywhere masking the energy signatures. I don't have cursed energy, so I'm like an invisible person in your world. That is how I dared to challenge the Six Eyes."
Suguru Geto interrupted, his voice dripping with venom. "Enough. I know you're just revealing information to enhance your technique's effectiveness. But tell me... where is the woman? The maid?"
"The maid?" Toji said indifferently. "I didn't intend to kill her, but I didn't intend to let her live either. If she's lucky, she's still breathing. If not... well, she's with the girl."
"Is that so?" Geto whispered. "Indeed... you truly are a monster. Die."
The Rainbow Dragon lunged again, its huge mouth opening to crush Toji. Simultaneously, Geto waved his hand, and dozens of cursed bullets condensed from dark energy rained down on the Sorcerer Killer.
For a moment, the theater was filled with the sound of destruction. Toji kept dodging, the Hoshi Palace's ancient pillars shattering under the force of the combat. The audience watched with bated breath, Come on, Geto! Kill him!
But Toji Fushiguro found his opening in mid-air. He slashed down with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, and a massive, jagged gash was cut into the Rainbow Dragon's abdomen.
"This is the highest-grade Rainbow Dragon!" Geto gasped, his eyes wide with horror as his most powerful summon dissolved into smoke.
Geto immediately summoned a humanoid Vengeful Spirit, a female ghost-like entity that floated before Toji.
"I ask you... am I... beautiful?" the spirit hissed.
"Let me think," Toji said without a heartbeat of hesitation. "At a time like this, I'll be direct, you're not my type."
The next second, the spirit was cut into ribbons. Geto appeared behind Toji, his hand reaching for the "Storage" Curse on Toji's shoulder. He wanted to take over Toji's arsenal.
But the Sorcerer Killer had already seen through the move.
Pfft!Clang!
Toji's blade flashed in a lethal X-shape, catching Geto across the chest. Geto's uniform burst open as blood sprayed across the floor. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, unable to stand.
The audience's minds were crashing. What is happening? Everyone is losing! Who can stop this man?!
Toji Fushiguro didn't kill Geto. He stood over him, looking down with a clinical coldness. "I won't kill you. If I do, your curses might go out of control and cause a mess I don't want to clean up. Stay there and watch the world change."
At this point, the despair in the cinema was absolute. Andrew Stone had gone completely "Insane" with his dominance. Leo Vance's protagonist was dead, and the co-lead was defeated.
Just as the audience's anxiety hit a breaking point, the scene shifted.
The camera moved back to the school grounds, focusing on the blood-stained grass where Gojo Satoru's body lay.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, a ripple spread through the dark puddle of blood beneath his head. A finger twitched.
The theater went into a state of electric shock!
["THE RIPPLE! DID YOU SEE THE RIPPLE?!"]
["HE'S NOT DEAD! I KNEW IT!"]
["GOJO SATORU IS COMING BACK!"]
The "Azure" was turning red, but the "Strongest One" was about to wake up.
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