I Don’t Want to Be a Heroic Spirit

"Star Vessel incident resolved flawlessly. Hmph, as expected of me."

Baobhan Sith sat smugly on the sofa, marking a small check in her notebook.

Unlike most protagonists in novels, Baobhan Sith hadn't found herself saddled with some annoying system issuing mandatory tasks. No "complete this or suffer penalties," no restrictions on moving to other worlds.

As Da Vinci once put it:

"We're not the kind of emotionless, rigid constructs lacking in critical thought. Master, you're free to pursue what you wish. Go ahead, live your life; Mash and I will handle the technicalities of crossing worlds."

While she didn't have any system-imposed quests, that didn't mean Baobhan Sith had nothing to do.

"If I have such a precious opportunity, why not do my best to prevent the tragedies I know are coming?"

This was something she'd always wished she could do while watching shows at her desk, her desire etched into her very soul—not the influence of her Heroic Spirit's essence.

It wasn't to become a hero, nor to gain praise, nor to promote righteousness.

It was hypocrisy, not justice.

It was selfishness, not nobility.

She wanted happiness for those she cared about. She wished eternal damnation upon those she despised.

She deeply understood that offering aid did not necessarily make one good, but taking lives unbidden was always evil.

To acknowledge this evil, this sin, this selfishness… and still, she moved forward without hesitation.

"I've seen people smile. So I believe this is worth doing."

Once, she'd watched from afar.

She had seen a girl, who was supposed to die in front of Suguru Geto, smile more brightly than the sun above.

She had seen the people around the girl, grateful for the blessing of her safe return.

That day, the sunlight was especially warm, the summer breeze brushed her face, and birds carrying flowers soared with wings spread wide under the clouds.

Glancing back, she checked to see Jasmine still busy in the kitchen before continuing to flip through her notebook.

"After the Star Vessel incident… I think it's…"

Suguru Geto's descent into darkness.

Suguru, who firmly believed that sorcerers existed to protect ordinary people, that the strong should defend the weak, began to doubt his beliefs. The ugly faces of ignorant, cruel non-sorcerers led him to see them as unnecessary apes, ultimately causing him to turn against the jujutsu world in a bid to eliminate all non-sorcerers.

To be honest, Baobhan Sith always thought Suguru had lost his mind by then.

Cursed spirits were born from the negative emotions of regular people. So, if all non-sorcerers were killed, cursed spirits would no longer manifest, bringing about a peaceful world.

How absurd! How was this different from using the Holy Grail to wipe out humanity to achieve world peace?

"Is it because this world is already insane that everyone in it seems to lose their minds, one after another?"

Baobhan Sith closed her notebook, gazing blankly at the ceiling.

She didn't want Suguru to turn dark. His downfall would pit him against his closest friend, Satoru Gojo, only to later be buried by him. Even worse, he'd be possessed by Brain-kun, forcing Gojo to confront his best friend once more.

…Why is it that so many in Jujutsu Kaisen have a knack for taking over other people's bodies?

To avoid the chain of tragedies, Suguru's downfall needed to be stopped.

But…

"It'd be one thing if I could resurrect the dead; at least I've got Jasmine for that. But treating a messed-up mind? I wouldn't know where to start."

Annoyed. Deeply annoyed.

Her Heroic Spirit essence whispered to just slice through everyone involved in Suguru's path.

Just chop Suguru into pieces, and there'd be no more concern about his descent into darkness.

Baobhan Sith slapped her cheeks, shaking off these dangerous thoughts.

"Don't rush, Baobhan Sith. Calm down. Try solving the problem at the source."

She circled "Suguru Geto's dark turn" in her notebook and branched out a few lines.

"The reasons for Suguru's fall… First and foremost, Riko Amanai's death before his eyes."

In the original story, the Star Religious Group hired Toji Fushiguro to kill Riko. When Suguru arrived at the Star Religious Group's location, all he found was a group of ordinary people clapping and celebrating around Riko's corpse.

From that moment, Suguru's belief that "sorcerers should protect non-sorcerers" began to waver.

"The second reason would be his cursed technique's relentless toll on his mind."

The Cursed Spirit Manipulation technique was rare, valuable enough to catch the attention of that ancient, twisted curse user.

But having it wasn't easy for Suguru.

Suguru had once compared absorbing cursed spirits to swallowing a rag drenched in vomit.

And with spirits born from humanity's negative emotions, it was nearly impossible for his mind to stay unscathed after absorbing so many.

After the Star Vessel incident, the frequency of cursed spirit appearances had spiked unnaturally.

Satoru had recently mastered Reversal and was focused on advanced techniques and domain exploration. Shoko, in the meantime, was on support duty, which left Suguru responsible for handling the rising number of cursed spirits.

Satoru had become the "Strongest," capable of handling missions solo, and the two of them worked separately more often.

During this period, Suguru's condition visibly deteriorated, even Satoru noticing how strained Suguru looked.

"The third reason: Yuki Tsukumo's appearance."

Unlike other sorcerers, Yuki didn't actively exorcise curses. Her approach was to address the root cause to prevent the creation of curses in the first place.

Through his discussions with Yuki, Suguru began to entertain the idea that killing all non-sorcerers could prevent cursed spirits from ever being born—an idea as ludicrous as it was dangerous.

"The fourth reason: the death of his mentee."

Yuu Haibara, Suguru's junior and a peer of Kento Nanami, was a spirited young sorcerer full of hope for the future.

But he died during a mission. A cursed spirit that had initially been classified as a Grade 2 turned out to be Grade 1, resulting in Yuu's death and his body being sent back to Jujutsu High.

The incident made Suguru realize that even if curses could eventually be eradicated, until that day came, more and more juniors and companions would die in the line of duty.

While there were multiple ways to stop curses from being born, "killing all non-sorcerers" seemed to be the fastest, simplest, and most effective solution.

If these four reasons were like gunpowder piling up…

"Then, the fifth reason was the spark that lit the fuse."

On the fifth line, she wrote words like "village," "two girls," "betrayal," "complete descent into darkness," and "massacre."

With a deep breath, she leaned back on the sofa, staring out the window at the sky.

The sun hid behind a blanket of clouds, only a faint corona visible through the haze.

"Even after thousands of years, humanity hasn't learned. When faced with truth, they only believe what they want to believe."

There would always be those among humans who shone like stars.

But the higher you stood, the smaller that light seemed, while the muck of darkness grew all the more vivid and repulsive. It became easier to think humanity either needed saving… or to be wiped out.

"And that's why all I want is to be a regular person, someone who can find beauty in little things in life."

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T/N: It's hard for heroic spirits likes us (sad smirk emoji)