A sharp crack echoed through the street.
The high grade Cursed Tool longsword twisted violently, as though crushed by an invisible hand. Its blade warped beyond recognition before shattering inch by inch into fine dust that drifted through the air.
Haruta coughed up a mouthful of blood.
His face instantly turned deathly pale as the destruction of his Cursed Tool sent a violent backlash through his body. Agony surged through him, leaving him feeling as though his organs had been torn apart.
He stared at Sol in absolute horror, as if looking upon a monster that had crawled out of the abyss.
"M... monster..."
He stumbled backward, every trace of malice gone. The only thought left in his mind was escape.
Nobara stood frozen.
She already knew Sol was powerful, but effortlessly crushing a Cursed Tool without even moving from where he stood was beyond anything she had imagined.
Only then did Sol shift his gaze toward Haruta.
The moment their eyes met, Haruta felt an indescribable pressure descend upon him. The air itself seemed to transform into solid iron, crushing him from every direction.
His knees slammed into the pavement.
Thud.
No matter how desperately he struggled, he could not move a single finger.
His widened eyes remained locked on Sol, whose silent figure resembled an unshakable force of nature.
Sol did nothing.
He simply watched him.
Yet that silent gaze was more terrifying than any form of torture.
Fear overwhelmed Haruta's mind, shattering the last of his resolve.
His eyes rolled back, foam gathered at the corners of his mouth, and he collapsed unconscious.
The overwhelming pressure vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
As casually as someone discarding a worthless piece of trash, Sol turned his attention back to Nobara. His eyes briefly lingered on the hammer and nails in her hands.
Without saying a single word, his figure blended into the surrounding darkness until he disappeared completely, as though he had never been there.
Only Nobara, Akari Nitta, and the unconscious Curse User remained.
The night wind swept through the street, carrying the distant sounds of battle and the scent of blood.
Nobara continued staring at the place where Sol had vanished before lowering her eyes to the weapon clutched tightly in her hands. Her heart still pounded violently.
What... was he trying to do?
He had saved her, yet left without saying a word.
He destroyed Haruta's Cursed Tool, neutralized the threat, and disappeared without offering even the slightest explanation.
What was hidden behind that unreadable expression?
"N... Nobara?" Akari Nitta asked cautiously, her voice still trembling. "Was that... Sol just now? He..."
Nobara snapped back to reality and shook her head sharply, trying to clear the confusion clouding her mind.
"I don't know!"
Her reply came out harsher than intended, sounding more like frustration directed at herself.
"Forget about him for now. Tie this guy up. We need to get Mr. Ijichi somewhere safe."
She forced herself to focus on the mission, but Sol's emotionless crimson eyes remained burned into her thoughts.
A traitor?
An enemy?
Or...
She bit her lip, pushing the impossible questions aside.
Right now, surviving and completing the mission came first.
Nobara and Akari Nitta carried the unconscious Kiyotaka Ijichi to a relatively safe location and provided basic first aid.
Akari remained behind to watch over Ijichi while Nobara took a steadying breath before setting off to find the others, especially Maki Zen'in.
She needed to tell someone capable of understanding the increasingly complicated situation about Sol's appearance and everything that had happened.
She eventually found Maki on a battered street near another subway entrance.
Maki pulled her Cursed Tool spear free from the mangled remains of a Cursed Spirit. Even behind her glasses, her eyes looked sharp despite the exhaustion on her face.
Panda and Toge Inumaki stood nearby, both showing clear signs of battle.
"Maki!" Nobara called as she hurried over.
Maki turned immediately and sighed in relief.
"Nobara? Good, you're alright. Where's Mr. Ijichi?"
"Akari Nitta's looking after him. He's safe for now."
Nobara caught her breath before speaking urgently.
"Maki... I ran into Sol."
The words immediately drew everyone's attention.
Panda's eyes widened.
Toge lowered the collar covering his mouth and looked at her with concern.
"Bonito flakes?"
Maki's expression darkened.
"Sol? Where is he? What did he do to you?"
Her grip tightened around her spear.
News that Sol had sealed Gojo Satoru had already spread through Yuji Itadori's desperate shouts and the fragmented communications between sorcerers.
To everyone present, Sol was now considered a dangerous traitor.
Nobara hurriedly waved both hands.
"No! It's not what you think."
"He... helped me."
She quickly explained her encounter with Haruta and described how Sol had suddenly appeared, immobilized the flying Cursed Tool, crushed it effortlessly, and frightened Haruta into unconsciousness with nothing more than his overwhelming presence.
"Then he just left without saying anything."
When she finished, Maki, Panda, and Toge all fell silent.
Their faces were filled with confusion.
"He helped you?" Panda scratched his head. "Then why would he seal Gojo Satoru?"
"Pollock roe..." Toge muttered quietly, his eyes reflecting the same uncertainty.
Maki adjusted her glasses and thought for a moment.
"There are two possibilities."
"The first is that he has another objective. Saving you may have simply served his own plans, or he's acting according to something we don't understand."
She paused briefly.
"The second..."
Even she seemed hesitant to voice the thought.
"There may be more to Gojo Satoru's sealing than we know."
Nobara frowned.
"What else could there be? Mechamaru saw it happen himself, and Itadori announced it to everyone."
"I don't know," Maki admitted. "But Sol has always been impossible to read. Ever since he enrolled, both his strength and his actions have been beyond normal."
She looked directly at Nobara.
"If he were truly our enemy, then with the power he demonstrated just now, he could have killed you, or even all of us, without much effort."
"But he didn't."
"He helped you, then walked away."
===
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