NOVEL NEXT Chapter 88: Chapter 88
So... I've got a smut chapter written, but it'll take a few more chapters to happen. I'd like to apologize to the people I've disappointed.
I'm becoming society's pariah! Forgive me!
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Naoya had always been surrounded by the untalented.
He grew up in an environment where his genius and skill as a sorcerer were constantly praised. Only one person, in his eyes, could surpass him.
Toji Zenin.
As a child, upon learning that Toji was in the clan, he immediately rushed to meet him with the intention of mocking the clan's cursed energy-less trash, but upon meeting him…
He immediately recognized the oppressive strength of the man.
A strength that he acknowledged and respected.
The Zenin clan only existed due to a whim of Toji's, and Naoya grew up knowing this, feeling as though he was one of the few who could understand Zenin.
The sin of the insignificant is failing to understand true strength.
With this in mind, Naoya grew up surrounded by those he considered insignificant.
In his 27 years of life, he had never met anyone as talented as he and Toji.
Because he was one of the few free from the ignorance of understanding true power.
But...
As much as he hated it, he couldn't deny what was right before his eyes. The ability to expand a domain was limited to a few sorcerers and curse users, so few that they could be counted on one hand.
The opponent before him was, by no means, weak.
But even so…
Naoya would still be the last one standing!
!
Receding in a flash of speed as a fist collided with the ground where he stood, Naoya shielded his face from the snow that scattered, his eyes narrowing as he watched Itadori turn to pursue him.
'Even with my broken leg, I can still use my technique.' Disappearing as Itadori reached him, Naoya reappeared a few meters away. 'I can survive; he shouldn't be able to maintain his domain for long.'
Seeing Naoya afar, Itadori sighed in frustration.
He had broken the Zenin's leg to prevent this, but it only seemed to slow him down slightly, which, at this point, would still help him escape.
Naoya couldn't move freely, but he could still create a trajectory whenever he was in danger. Considering his reflexes, catching him would be somewhat difficult.
The Zenin might survive under normal circumstances, but there was just one problem.
Naoya was under his domain, and Itadori wasn't alone.
!
Eyes widening as a cursed energy signature reached his senses, Naoya quickly turned to see a massive wolf about to clamp its jaws around his body.
'What the hell is this?!'
Using his technique at the last second, he moved away just as the wolf dug its claws into the ground to stop its momentum, a growl escaping the massive creature as hot breath puffed from its mouth.
'A Shikigami?!' Naoya's eyes widened in disbelief. He had already dismissed the guaranteed effect of the domain as something that would affect him, since he was still alive, which had made him so confident in his survival.
But with a Shikigami, his chances were much slimmer.
If he wasn't careful, this could be the end.
"Afraid?"
With Itadori speaking as he took a few steps toward the Zenin, Naoya turned to him with narrowed eyes.
"You've always lived treating those around you with arrogance, as if none of them were worth anything…" With the wolf now walking just behind the young sorcerer, Itadori continued. "Men are only there to prove your strength and die for the clan. Women are just housewives, meant to follow the orders of men and bear their children."
!
Eyes widening as the wolf suddenly lunged at him, Naoya quickly projected a trajectory far from the enormous creature, reappearing away from it.
"But how do you feel now?"
His eyes widened again as a voice sounded beside him, Naoya turned in haste, only to be slammed into the ground by a hand at his throat.
"To me, you're nothing but trash, a worm even worse than those high-ranking bastards." Itadori spoke with a tone full of coldness, his eyes staring down at the Zenin, who struggled to free himself from the grip on his neck with an indifferent expression. "I'm being a little selfish by killing you, since others would have more reason to do it than me."
With the grip tightening even more, Naoya grasped the sorcerer's wrist as tears began to well in the corners of his eyes, his face reddening as he struggled more and more to draw air into his lungs.
"So weak, so insignificant, be happy to know that you'll at least serve some purpose…" With a small smile forming on Itadori's lips, Naoya felt terror as he noticed the wolf approaching, its golden eyes gleaming dangerously. "Your technique isn't useless, so I'll take it."
Effortlessly, Itadori lifted the Zenin off the ground while still holding his throat, Naoya immediately attempting to kick him to escape, only to freeze in shock when his body suddenly went completely stiff.
"Your death won't bring me much satisfaction, but what's about to happen will…" With the boy's smile widening, he turned to his giant wolf. "Amaroq, devour him slowly. Let him feel everything."
Naoya's eyes widened in horror, the desperation in his body intensifying as the wolf simply nodded and bared its sharp teeth.
"Very well."
And throwing the Zenin right in front of Amaroq, Itadori tapped the ground lightly, a throne of earth forming, courtesy of the technique of the elder of the clan that his clone had devoured earlier.
"Begin."
Paralyzed by Itadori's gaze, Naoya could do nothing as the wolf loomed over him, its enormous mouth opening while the Zenin could only stare in despair.
His choices in life had led to this moment.
Facing a painful death, he could feel regret for his decisions.
But his regret would never free him from the justice of men. Not even God could save him now.
.
"..."
Walking through what was left of the Zenin clan with Maki and Mai on his shoulders, Itadori showed no emotion as he passed by the numerous bodies.
Though he was responsible for much of the extermination, Itadori's clone wasn't responsible for all of it. Several dozens of remodeled curses also contributed to the chaos after the Hei squad was killed, as there were still many "soldiers" of the clan scattered around.
It might seem a bit cruel, but Itadori didn't care at all for these people. There were no children, so he had no reason to feel bad.
This was far from the situations in the past where he had to kill. The existence of the Zenin clan was insignificant to him and would do more good for the world by being destroyed.
Letting them live could cause problems in the future.
He wouldn't lie, saying that he hadn't planned to leave some of them alive, but that changed after he received Maki and Mai's memories.
He decided to destroy everything at once.
"..."
With Maki and Mai unconscious as he carried them, Itadori couldn't help but look at their sleeping faces.
After their souls were separated, their bodies seemed to have been drained too much, but it appeared to have worked, as Maki didn't have a single trace of cursed energy in her body.
As for Mai, her reserves had expanded to the point of surpassing a first-grade sorcerer, which was quite surprising.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she could reach that level with relative ease.
Their wounds seemed to have healed somewhat with their "awakening," at least enough for him to take them to Shoko safely.
"...!"
Stopping when he noticed movement among some rubble, Itadori raised an eyebrow when he saw something crawling beneath a few pieces of wood.
Cough! Cough!
Hearing the coughing, he soon realized it was a woman, who immediately widened her eyes upon seeing him.
"..." Itadori narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the woman. Her loose hair gave her a familiar appearance, a face that Itadori had seen before…
A familiar face…
As he seemed to think, Maki suddenly shifted on his shoulder, her newfound strength almost causing him to drop her before he regained his balance.
And with realization dawning on him as he steadied Maki on his shoulder, he turned to the woman with surprised eyes.
'So this is their mother...'
Itadori stared at her silently, the woman looking back at him with terror on her face, her eyes shifting to her daughters' bodies before returning to the young sorcerer's face.
"..."
And sighing, he just shrugged as he continued on his way.
He preferred to leave that decision for one of the two in the future. Whether the woman would live or not, that would be entirely up to they.
He wouldn't take that choice away from they.